To Hugh Miller 29 March [1855]
Down Farnborough Kent
March 29th.
Dear Sir
I hope that you will excuse the liberty I take in troubling you; but I heard lately at the British Museum, from Dr. Baird & Mr A. White1 (who said that I might use their names as an introduction) that you had published a very curious paper in the Witness on the effects of the frost on certain shells;2 & I am anxious to see this. They could not tell me at all the date of the Witness, & I now write to ask whether you will take the trouble to inform me, that I may order the copy.
It may be presumptuous, but I cannot resist, expressing the very great pleasure I owe to you, from the perusal of the two of your works, which I have as yet read.3
With much respect | I remain | Yours very faithfully | Charles Darwin
Footnotes
Bibliography
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Miller, Hugh. 1841. The Old Red Sandstone; or, new walks in an old field. Edinburgh.
Miller, Hugh. 1847. First impressions of England and its people. London.
Miller, Hugh. 1849. Footprints of the Creator: or, the Asterolepis of Stromness. London: Johnstone and Hunter.
Summary
Requests HM’s article in the Witness [24 Feb 1855; see HM, "On the late severe frost", Proc. R. Phys. Soc. Edinburgh 1 (1854–8): 10–14], on the effects of frost on shells. CD expresses admiration for the two works by HM he has read.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-1657
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Hugh Miller
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- National Trust for Scotland (Hugh Miller’s Cottage, Cromarty)
- Physical description
- ALS 2pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 1657,” accessed on 20 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-1657.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 5
