Ɛpsilon

To John Lubbock   3 May [1875]1

Down, Beckenham, Kent. (Railway Station | Orpington. S.E.R.)

May 3d

My dear Sir John

As I have a chance of sending this note early to London, it will be better than a telegram.2 Tuesday week will suit me just as well as Friday.— Seeing anyone here tires me less than elswhere, but I think High Elms would be much better, if you do not object, as I could get away pretty soon, & I do not see how I could get a sort of living Royal Duke out of my house within the short time I can talk to anyone.—3

Pray do the best you can for me & settle whatever you think best. | Yours very sincerely | Ch. Darwin

1
The year is established by the proposed visit from the duke of Teck (see n. 3, below).
2
Lubbock was a banker in the City of London.
3
CD was expecting a visit from Francis, duke of Teck; High Elms was Lubbock’s house and estate near Down. In the event, the duke was unable to visit because he had to attend a party at Windsor Castle on that day (The Times, 13 May 1875, p. 11). Elizabeth Darwin expressed the Darwin family’s relief that the visit had been put off and their hope that it would never take place in her letter to G. H. Darwin, [14 May 1875] (DAR 251: 1408). The meeting eventually took place on 9 August 1875, when the duke visited CD at Down House before going on to High Elms for lunch (John Lubbock’s diary, BL Add mss 62680).

Manuscript Alterations and Comments

0.1 (Railway …S.E.R.)] parentheses added ink
1.1 note] interl

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-9968,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-9968