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To William Bowman   9 March [1874]1

Down, | Beckenham, Kent.

March 9th

My dear Bowman

If you ever attend the Ballotting at the Athenaeum Club, will you give your vote & exert any influence which you properly can in favour of my nephew, Henry Parker. He will be ballotted for at the first meeting on the 16th of the current month. He is a fellow of Oriel College, & I can assure you that he is a fitting man for election from his abilities & in every other respect.—2

Believe me | Yours very sincerely | Ch. Darwin

W. Bowman Esq

1
The year is established by the reference to Henry Parker’s ballot at the Athenaeum Club; Parker was elected a member in March 1874 (Waugh [1888]). This letter was previously published in Correspondence vol. 22, from a dealer’s description.
2
Parker was elected a fellow of the Athenaeum Club at a meeting on 16 March (see Correspondence vol. 22, letter to George Bentham, 9 March [1874], and Waugh [1888]).

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

0.2 March 9th] below del ‘Feb. 1st.’ in hand of amanuensis
1.3 at … meeting] above del ‘early in’
1.3 on the 16th of the] interl in hand of amanuensis
1.4 man] above del ‘member’

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-9346,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-9346