Ɛpsilon

To John Murray   [after 18 September 1869]1

Down. | Beckenham | Kent. S.E.

My dear Mr Murray

I heartily wish your Periodical all success: I wish it had been weekly, as then perhaps it would have killed the Athenæum by a lingering death, & that to me would have been a pleasing sight.—2

I have been sorely puzzled what to write about my book, & know not in the least whether the enclosed will do, or is too long.3

Pray ask your Editor to strike out or alter to any extent.4 It looks now too clearly as coming from me. Perhaps if the Editor wd. put in here & there. “We hear” or “we are informed”—it wd improve matters, but I leave it to his or your discretion.— Pray do not publish anything which seems absurd, superfluous or unnecessary.—

I shall be in London later in the Autumn, & want to consult you about woodcuts &c5

Your’s very sincerely | Ch. Darwin

The M.S. is legible, but badly written, as I dictated it to one of my boys.—6

1
The date is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter from John Murray, 18 September [1869].
2
CD refers to the Academy and the Athenæum. See letter from John Murray, 18 September [1869] and n. 2.
3
See letter from John Murray, 18 September [1869] and n. 3. The enclosure has not been found.
4
The editor of the Academy was Charles Edward Cutts Birchall Appleton.
5
CD was in London from 1 to 9 November (Emma Darwin’s diary (DAR 242)).
6
Of CD’s sons, Horace Darwin was the most frequently at home; however Francis and George were also at Down House during the second part of September (Emma Darwin’s diary (DAR 242)).

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

0.1 Beckenham] before del ‘Bromley.’
4.1 later in the] above del ‘in’

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-6900,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-6900