Ɛpsilon

From E. A. Darwin   7 December [1869]1

London

Dec 7

Dear Charles

I enclose you E Hollands2 letter. I have written to him to say so & I should think you need not take any further notice

yours aff | E D

[Enclosure]

London

Dec 6th 1869

My dear Erasmus

Where is Charles? I am not sure of his Surrey address and therefore through you beg to communicate with him—3 Today I came up from Portsmouth where I have been since Tuesday—and where I return on Thursday to bid my son Swinton4 farewell before he leaves for China. He is appointed to the Sylvia (now in Chinese waters) as her first Lieutenant. The Sylvia is a surveying ship and will have to deal with deep waters in inner seas— Swinton is a naturalist by taste and habit—and if Charles Darwin has any particular instructions to give him regarding any objects in which he is particularly interested, I think that he would find Swinton carrying out those instructions con amore—5

He sails in the Donegal—probably on Friday next—but if a letter were addressed forthwith to

Lieut S. C. Holland RN

H.M.S. Donegal—Portsmouth

it would reach him before the ship leaves—and it is through an oversight of mine that I have delayed thus announcing to Charles, the departure for China of a ready worker in Nat: History.

Hoping that this will find you well believe me sincerely ys | Ed Holland

1
The year is established by the date of the enclosure.
3
CD lived in Kent, but had relatives in Surrey.
5
Swinton Holland later presented some of his anthropological observations to the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, and contributed photographs and implements of the Ainu people of Japan to the Christy collection of the British Museum (see Holland 1873). No correspondence between CD and Swinton Holland has been found.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-7023,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-7023