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Letter 1107

Darwin, C. R. to Studer, Bernhard

13 Aug [1847]

    Summary Add

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    Invites BS to visit Down. Advises him to call on Daniel Sharpe. Suggests he see the work of the Ordnance Survey in Wales.

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    Offers to lend him Murchison's The Silurian system [3 vols. (1839)].

Transcription

Down Farnborough Kent

August 13

My dear Sir

I have just received your note & heard with pleasure of your arrival in London.—. I suppose you received my letter addressed to Berne, in answer to yours, informing me of your intended visit to England. If you can spare the time, I should feel very great pleasure & honour in seeing you here at my house; if you cannot come here, & will be in town & at home on Monday morning, I will joyfully come up for the pleasure of making your acquaintance.— If you will favour me with a visit here, I will send my carriage to meet you half way. You would probably be glad to have your morning in London, & in that case if you will start by the Croydon Railway from London Bridge at 3o15', (from Hungerford St to London Bridge will take 34 of hour in a cab) you will get to Croydon (fare only 1s''3d) at 3o, 45', where my one horse phaeton shall be waiting for you, & it will bring you in one hour & a half to this house, in time for dinner. And you can return the same way any day you like.—

Will you be so kind as to write me a note on Saturday morning, which I shall get on Sunday & will either come up myself, (if you remain in town) or gladly send my phaeton to meet you at Croydon. The distance is too great for you to come here & return the same day.—

You will have received incomparably better advice & assistance from Mr L. Horner & others than I can give; but if you have not seen Mr Daniel Sharpe of 2. Adelphi Terrace, Strand, I would advise you to call on him, as he knows well Wales & has attended to cleavage: I informed him of your expected arrival.— If you intend travelling in Wales, I wd advise you strongly to join for a time the Ordnance Survey & see them at work. When I heard of your intended visit, I wrote to Sir H. Delabeche, & he has given me instructions, how to find out where the party is, & if you like to join them, I can put you on the way.

I am well aware how little use I can be of, but if you can suggest anything, I shall be much pleased.— Have you Murchis<on's> Silurian System? if not, would you like to borrow from me the maps, they would perhaps be useful to you, in travelling.—

With much respect | Believe me | dear Sir | Yours very faithfully | C. Darwin
To | Prof. B. Studer | &c &c &c

    Footnotes Add

  • +
    f1 1107.f1
    Letter to Bernard Studer, 4 July [1847].
  • +
    f2 1107.f2
    CD refers to the Geological Survey of Great Britain rather than to the Ordnance Survey. The Geological Survey was at this time working in Wales (Geikie 1895); the Ordnance Survey had completed its maps of the area by 1846 (Seymour ed. 1980, p. 115).
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    f3 1107.f3
    Henry Thomas De la Beche, director-general of the Geological Survey since 1835.
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    f4 1107.f4
    Murchison 1839. CD's copy, including the maps, is in the Darwin Library–CUL.
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