From J. D. Hooker to Emma Darwin   [13 May 1872]1

Royal Gardens Kew

Monday.

My dear Mrs Darwin

I feel quite sorry that I wrote, & troubled you to write. I am again entangled in a lot of work that will prevent my leaving home at present, & hence with great regret defer my visit to you.2

I am beginning to wish that Vesuvius was nearer at hand, to put an end to all our troubles in a dignified manner.3

My wife sends her love & thanks— she wants a change badly, but cannot get away yet. I had said nothing to Harriete.4

Most sincerely Yrs | J D Hooker

1
The date is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter from J. D. Hooker, 11 May 1872. The Monday following 11 May 1872 was 13 May.
3
Mount Vesuvius began erupting on 24 April 1872 (The Times, 26 April 1872, p. 12).
4
Hooker’s wife was Frances Harriet Hooker; Harriet Anne Hooker was their daughter.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-8320,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-8320