To George Bentham   9 March [1874]1

Down, | Beckenham, Kent.

March 9th.

My dear Mr. Bentham

If you ever attend the Balloting at the Athenæum Club will you be so kind as to give your vote & exert any influence which you properly can, in favour of my nephew, Henry Parker.2 His ballot comes on at the first meeting, on the 16th of the current month.3 He is a fellow of Oriel College,4 & I can assure you that he is a fitting man for election from his abilities, & in every other respect.

Pray believe me | Yours very sincerely | Ch. Darwin

To | G. Bentham Esq

1
The year is established by the reference to Henry Parker’s election to the Athenaeum Club, which took place in March 1874 (see Waugh [1888]).
2
The ballots at the Athenaeum Club were not valid unless twenty members took part (Athenæum: rules and regulations, and list of members, p. 9).
3
CD originally dated this letter 1 February, evidently thinking that Parker’s ballot might take place early that month; the date on the letter was changed to 9 March when Parker’s ballot was scheduled for 16 March 1874. Elections at the Athenaeum Club took place on Mondays from February to the end of July (Athenæum: rules and regulations, and list of members, p. 9).
4
Parker had been a fellow of Oriel College, Oxford, from 1851.

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

0.2 March 9th.] below del ‘Feb 1st’; not in CD’s hand
1.2 vote] interl
1.3 on the 16th of] above del ‘early in’; not in CD’s hand

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-9347,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-9347