Ɛpsilon

To C. W. Stoddard   5 May [1870]1

Down. | Beckenham | Kent. S.E.

May 5th

Dear Sir

I am much obliged for your extremely courteous letter. It is of course a great satisfaction to me to hear that my works have in any way interested an instructed & observing person.— I am rather surprised at what you say about certain plants not fruiting or flowering in the Sandwich Islands; though this is very common in hotter countries.—

There is nothing I shd enjoy so much as to visit California, but I am growing old & my health is weak.—2

With my best thanks, I beg leave to remain Dear Sir | Yours faithfully | Ch. Darwin

P.S. I am obliged for your enclosures—3

1
This letter was previously published from a sale catalogue description in Correspondence vol. 18. The year is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter from C. W. Stoddard, 11 April 1870 (Correspondence vol. 18).
3
Stoddard had enclosed some of his verses with his letter of 11 April 1870.

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

0.1 Beckenham] interl before del ‘Bromley.’

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-7180,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-7180