Ɛpsilon

From W. H. M. Christie   12 October 1874

Royal Observatory, Greenwich, | London, S.E.

1874 Oct. 12

Sir,

The Astronomer Royal requests me to inform you that a telegram has just been received announcing the arrival of the “Merope” at Canterbury, but that no date was mentioned.1

I am, Sir | Yours faithfully | W. H. M. Christie

C. Darwin Esqre F.R.S. | &c &c

1
The expedition to observe the transit of Venus was on board the Merope, which had arrived at Lyttelton, near Christchurch, Canterbury province, New Zealand, on 27 September 1874 (Airy ed. 1881, p. 483; letter from Leonard Darwin to Emma Darwin, [after 26 June – 28 September 1874]). CD’s son Leonard joined the expedition in Plymouth in June 1874 (see letter from Emma Darwin to J. B. Innes, 24 June [1874]). The astronomer royal was George Biddell Airy; for more on the expedition, see G. B. Airy ed. 1881.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-9677,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-9677