To Charles Lyell   25 April [1873]1

Down, | Beckenham, Kent.

April 25th

My dear Lyell

I do not know how to express my feelings at the dreadful news just received.2 To think how perfect & charming she was & has now left you. My dear old friend you are now suffering from by far the greatest calamity which a man can endure in this world   God grant that you may have strength to bear your misery in some degree.—

I shd. not have thought of writing to you at present, did I not think myself compelled to acknowledge the safe receipt of your generous additional contribution.3

God give you strength.— | My dear friend | Yours affectionately | Ch. Darwin

1
The year is established by the reference to the death of Mary Elizabeth Lyell.
3
Lyell had sent an additional £50 contribution to the subscription fund for Thomas Henry Huxley (see letter to T. H. Huxley, 25 April 1873 and n. 4).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-8884,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-8884