To John Scott   26 October 1872

My Dear Sir,—

I thank you very sincerely for your letter of September 25th, which is excellent, and, to use a homely phrase, is as full of information as an egg is of meat.¹ It will be of much value to me, and you answer all my queries much more fully than I thought possible. I have written to Dr Hooker for Dr King’s address, to enquire whether he has any notes; but I doubt whether he can tell me more than you have done.² In the latter part of your letter you describe some gigantic castings, and state that they are so many inches in circumference, and then state that after heavy rain, they extended to many inches down the slope. I will assume, if I do not hear to the contrary, that they were nearly circular when you first measured them before the rain.

I thank you for telling me a little about your present position. It seems like a piece of jobbery that a medical man should always have the place of superintendent.³ I am glad to hear that you have been doing some anatomical work, and Dr Hooker alluded to some most elaborate drawings which you had sent home.⁴ I hope you will be cautious and not be tempted to work too hard. In about a week’s time I hope to send you my little book on expression.⁵

With hearty thanks for your kindness, believe me, | Yours sincerely, | Charles Darwin.

P.S.—Perhaps you are not aware that owing to the climate, and to your writing on thin paper, the ink on one side often renders the words on the other side quite illegible, though your handwriting is very distinct. None of us could decipher some very important words in your letter. I am sure that you will excuse my mentioning this to you, as your letters are so very valuable.