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To Gustavus Fritsche   13 February 1875

February 13 18751

I shall be happy to see you here, but I am sorry to say that the state of my health seldom allows me to convene with anyone for more than half an hour.2 If next Tuesday (the 16th) will suit you, I would suggest your coming by the train which leaves Charing Cross at 10:35, & I will send my carriage to Orsington to meet you. We will lunch at one o’clock & you can return by the train leaving Orpington at 2 47.

Dear Sir | Yours faithfully | Ch. Darwin

P.S | If you cannot come on Tuesday Wednesday would suit me equally well but in that case be so kind as to let me know

LS incomplete3

1
The date is given in the sale catalogue.
2
Fritsche visited CD but the date of the visit was not recorded (see letter from Gustavus Fritsche, 23 October 1875).
3
The original letter is complete and is described in the sale catalogue as being two pages long. The second page, from ‘you can return’, has been transcribed from a facsimile. The rest of the transcription, described as being a full quotation, is from the sale catalogue. ‘Convene’ should probably read ‘converse’; ‘Orsington’ should read ‘Orpington’. According to the 2010 Literary and Historical Manuscripts Catalogue of Michael Silverman (London), the letter is on paper with the Down letterhead.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-9853F,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-9853F