To S. R. S. Norton   23 November [1871]1

Down, | Beckenham, Kent.

Nov, 23d

My dear Mrs. Norton

I am very much obliged for your kind & pleasant letter & for your present of the little book about Goethe.2 It is written by a very good zoologist, & I shall be glad, to look at it, but the German language is a sore grief & trouble to me.—

My sons enjoyed themselves wonderfully in America, & they met with really extraordinary kindness from many persons.—3 When I asked them what on the whole they liked best there, they answered without a moment’s doubt “our stay at the Ashburners4 & the great valleys in California”,—which seems an odd couplet. We heard much of all the fun & laughter they had with your sister & brother; & they heartily congratulated themselves that they had the good fortune to be invited to the house.—5

I am glad to hear you are comfortably settled at Dresden, & as for dullness forgive me for saying that with your party it is not to be believed.—

Pray give my respect & kind remembrances to Mrs. Norton,6 & good wishes to all your party, & I remain | My dear Mrs Norton | Yours sincerely & obliged | Ch Darwin

P.S. My wife has just given me a good scolding, & I always tremble before her just severity, for not having given you her affectionate remembrances.—

1
The year is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter from S. R. S. Norton, 20 November [1871].
2
CD had received a pamphlet by Oscar Schmidt, ‘War Goethe ein Darwinianer?’. See letter from S. R. S. Norton, 20 November [1871].
3
Francis Darwin and George Howard Darwin visited America between August and October 1871 (see letter to Asa Gray, 16 July [1871]).
6
Catherine Eliot Norton was Susan Norton’s mother-in-law.

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

2.1 they] interl

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-8083,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-8083