Ɛpsilon

From W. E. Darwin   28 December [1871]1

Southton

Dec 28.

My dear Father,

I send you 3 sheets, the 4th I must keep because of the headings of chp. XIV.2 I pay tonight your money to the Union Bk.3

Has John mentioned a field with curves on the way to Orpington, that is worth looking at; I asked him to tell George.4 The grass embankment of Sir John’s5 that one passes going to Orpington I fancy is worth looking at; It seemed to me that the railings were extremely close to top of slope; it would be possible to find out their original position, does one not see grass graves fade away in a church yard?

I hope Bessy6 is better & up to the Ball; I had a jolly 4 days at home, & it is a great grind getting on to one’s stool again | Your affect son | W E Darwin

1
The year is established by the references to proof-sheets and the Union Bank (see nn. 2 and 3, below).
2
William was correcting the proof-sheets of Origin 6th ed. (see this volume, Supplement, letter from W. E. Darwin, [19 November 1871]).
3
CD had an account at Union Bank, Charing Cross branch, London; in his Account books–banking account (Down House MS), he recorded a deposit of £370 14s. 8d. on 30 December 1871, from Emily Catherine Darwin’s trust.
4
For CD’s interest in furrows, see this volume, Supplement, letter from W. E. Darwin, [17 November 1871] and n. 4. John, probably a servant of the Darwins, has not been further identified. William also refers to George Howard Darwin.
6
Elizabeth Darwin.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-8122G,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-8122G