Ɛpsilon

From J. T. Knowles   9 February 1875

from | The Hollies | Clapham Common | S.W

Feby 9th. 1875

My Dear Sir/

I lose no time in assuring you that we shall be delighted to reserve space in the April rev: of the “Contemporary Review” for Prof: Whitney’s article (on the terms mentioned so kindly in his letter)—.1 Perhaps you will be so kind as to suggest to him that we should be glad to put as much as 20 pages at his disposal & would prefer a substantive paper of some such extent to the brief essay he seems to contemplate—if it would be agreeable to himself to let us have his longer article.2

I need hardly say that should you yourself be at all persuadable to write a few introductory pages—or even paragraphs—we shall feel as much honoured by them as Prof: Whitney would be benefitted—3

I am my dear Sir | Yours sincerely & | respectfully | James Knowles

To/ Charles Darwin Esq—

CD annotations

2.1 I . . . benefitted— 2.3] brace to left of paragraph, line to ‘This is nonsense | C.D.’ pencil
1
William Dwight Whitney’s letter to CD, in which he enclosed a letter to Knowles asking whether he might respond to an article by Friedrich Max Müller (Max Müller 1875), has not been found (see letter to G. H. Darwin, 10 [February 1875] and n. 2). CD sent this letter to Whitney along with two brief notes, which have not been found (see letter to G. H. Darwin, 10 [February 1875]).
2
Whitney’s article, ‘Are languages institutions?’ (Whitney 1875), was published in Contemporary Review, April 1875, and was twenty pages long.
3
In 1874, Knowles had tried to persuade CD to write an article for the Contemporary Review, but CD declined (see Correspondence vol. 22, letter to J. T. Knowles, 5 August 1874). In the event, CD did not write an introduction to Whitney 1875.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-9848F,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-9848F