Ɛpsilon

To W. M. Hacon?1   29 August 1871

Down, Beckenham, Kent

Aug. 29, 1871

My dear Sir

The most convenient time for your clerk2 to come here tomorrow (Wednesday) will be by the train which leaves Charing Cross at 5.5 or Cannon St 5.15 arriving at Orpington at 5.47, where I hope he will take a fly for the four mile drive. A suitable train to return will be the 8.20 from Orpington. I hope these hours will not be inconvenient.

I beg leave to repeat my thanks for all your kind assistance in this affair, | and remain, my dear Sir, | Yours sincerely, | Charles Darwin

1
The recipient is suggested by the proximity of the date of the letter to the marriage of Henrietta Emma Darwin. Hacon was CD’s solicitor. CD settled £5000 in debenture stock in the North Eastern Railway Company on Henrietta on her marriage to Richard Buckley Litchfield on 31 August 1871, the day after the proposed visit of the clerk (CD’s Investment book (Down House MS), p. 135; Emma Darwin’s diary (DAR 242)). George Howard Darwin had discussed the details of the settlement with Hacon on CD’s behalf (see letter from G. H. Darwin, [17 July 1871] and n. 5).
2
The clerk has not been identified.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-7918F,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-7918F