To J. V. Carus   17 June [1874]1

Down, | Beckenham, Kent.

June 17th

My dear Sir

My second son, George Darwin is going partly for health sake to stay some weeks or months in Germany, & will stay some little time in Leipzig & perhaps in Dresden.2 He is not a naturalist, but a mathematician.—

Now if you could give him one or two introductions to residents in Leipzig it would be a very great kindness to him & to me. You must not, however, trouble yourself, if you cannot easily think of anyone.—

I sent you the other day a copy of “Coral Reefs”, I have urged Printers to send revised sheets of Descent, but have not yet received one.3 As usual I fancy they do not finally correct the sheets till many are ready.—

My dear Sir | Yours very sincerely | Ch. Darwin

P.S. I have just discovered that I had misunderstood my son’s plans. He goes to Dresden first, & hopes, if his health permits, to return by Leipzig. Now I fear that it a mere chance whether you can give him a letter to anyone at Dresden. As far as I can remember I have not corresponded with any naturalist at Dresden.—

1
The year is established by the relationship between this letter and the letter to J. V. Carus, 21 January 1874 (see n. 3, below).
2
George Howard Darwin left for Holland on 18 June and returned home on 11 July 1874 (Emma Darwin’s diary (DAR 242)).
3
Carus was preparing a German translation of Descent 2d ed. (Carus trans. 1875a; see letter to J. V. Carus, 23 May [1874]). Descent 2d ed. was being printed by William Clowes & Sons. CD had also approached him about a German translation of the recently published second edition of Coral reefs (letter to J. V. Carus, 21 January 1874).

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

2.1 residents] after del ‘ac’

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-9495,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-9495