To F. C. Donders   19 May 1870

Down. Beckenham. Kent. | S.E.

May 19th. 1870.

My dear Sir

You have my heartfelt sympathy. If I had lived in London, I should no doubt have heard of your great calamity.1 I once lost a dear & good girl, & know what a dreadful grief it is; but then I had other children left to love.—2 Your loss is irreparable, & I feel deeply for you.

It is most kind in you to take at present trouble for me in scientific matters. I shall be very grateful for the translation of your paper & your letter whenever they may arrive: for I feel an exaggerated degree of interest in the subject of expression.—

With the kindest sympathy & respect, believe me | my dear Sir | yours sincerely | Charles Darwin.

Copy

1
See letter from F. C. Donders, 17 May 1870. Donders’s daughter, Marie Engelmann, had died in March 1870.
2
CD refers to the death of his daughter Annie (Anne Elizabeth Darwin) in 1851 (see Correspondence vol. 5).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-7194,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-7194