To J. D. Hooker   6 November 1873

Down, | Beckenham, Kent.

Nov. 6 1873

My dear Hooker

We go to London tomorrow morning to “R. B. Litchfield 2 Bryanston St Portman Sqr.”1 I want very much to come down early in the morning to Kew, to talk with you about several things; to see the Eucalypti & the young plants of the genus, of which you said I cd have some; & lastly, to observe Mimosa Albida.2 Could you therefore have M. albida placed for a few days in as hot a house as it can withstand.

I dare say you could send some one with me to look at these plants without losing your own time. Now what day wd be the most convenient to you? All days are the same to me if I hear two or three days before but of course my movements must depend to a certain extent on how I am. I wd start about 8o.30′ & drive down—

If Sunday shd be the most convenient day I wd come the day after tomorrow; but in this case you must send me a line to Bryanston St by return of post—

yours affectionately | Ch. Darwin

LS(A)

1
This letter was published in Correspondence vol. 21 from a copy at CUL; the original was later found at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The postscript included with the letter in vol. 21 has been moved to the letter to J. D. Hooker, [before 15 July 1874] (Correspondence vol. 22). CD stayed in London with his daughter Henrietta Emma Litchfield and her husband, Richard Buckley Litchfield, from 8 to 18 November 1873 (see Correspondence vol. 21, Appendix II).
2
For CD’s interest in Mimosa albida, see Correspondence vol. 21, letter to J. D. Hooker, 3 November [1873] and n. 5, and Movement in plants.

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

1.1 morning] interl in CD’s hand
2.3 if … before] interl in CD’s hand
2.3 two] after del ‘a day or’ in CD’s hand

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-9135,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-9135