To Mary Somerville   21 January [1869]1

Down. | Bromley. | Kent. S.E.

Jan 21st.

Dear Madam

I beg leave to thank you very sincerely for your great kindness in sending me a copy of your beautiful work, received yesterday, on Molecular & Microscopic Science, and for the honour you have thus conferred on me.2

I have not yet had time to do more than turn over the pages, & to read the part about Orchids, in which you give an excellent summary of the subject.

With my best thanks & the most sincere respect, | I beg permission to remain | dear Madam, | yours truly obliged | Charles Darwin

LS

1
The year is established by the publication date of Mary Somerville’s book (see n. 2, below).
2
Somerville’s book, On molecular and microscopic science (Somerville 1869) was published at the beginning of January 1869 (Publishers’ Circular, 16 January 1869, p. 10). CD’s copy is in the Darwin Library–Down. Somerville, having received CD’s permission, used fourteen illustrations from Orchids in the book (Somerville 1869, 1: 389–403; see also Correspondence vol 14, letter from Mary Somerville, 30 October 1866).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-6563,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-6563