Ɛpsilon

To John Tyndall   11 June 1872

Bassett, Southampton,

June 11th 1872.

My dear Tyndall

I write one line to give you my present address. I am delighted to hear of the proposed step. If the document has been already sent to Down, it will be forwarded to me directly, but there will unfortunately be a day or two’s loss of time.1

In haste | Yours very sincerely | Charles Darwin.

P.S— I saw Lady Derby the other day and talked to her about Hooker’s case, and she said she would repeat all I said to Lord Derby, in reference to the House of Lords. I mention this that you may remember to send a copy of the letter to Lord D.2

The memorial seems to me to be admirable.

Copy

1
CD was staying with his son William Erasmus Darwin in Southampton. Tyndall had written to CD that he would shortly ask him to sign a memorial in support of Joseph Dalton Hooker, the director of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in his dispute with Acton Smee Ayrton of the Office of Works over the running of the gardens. See Correspondence vol. 20, letter from John Tyndall, 8 June [1872].
2
Lady Derby: Mary Catherine Stanley, wife of the earl of Derby, Edward Henry Stanley. Lord and Lady Derby were living at Holwood House, near Down. Lord Derby was leader of the House of Lords; Tyndall had supplied him with correspondence regarding Hooker’s case (see Correspondence vol. 20, letter to J. D. Hooker, 14 June [1872] and n. 3).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-8383F,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-8383F