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Darwin Correspondence Project

To J. D. Hooker   2 February [1865]1

Down

Feby 2d.

My dear Hooker

I heard this morning of Falconer’s death.2 Poor fellow   I am much grieved; It will be a great loss to science. What a lot of knowledge of all kinds has perished with him. He was always a most kind friend to me. So the world goes.—

But I write to ask you to write me ever so short a note to tell me when you are well.—3 I got pretty well on Monday & had bad day again yesterday.— Whenever you can come here for a Sunday do pray come. I must take my chance of being well or ill; for I can rarely tell even a day before hand; but last week I had an extra bad time.—4 I hope you have got over that horrid influenza, which makes a man feel so wretchedly ill.

Farewell | Yours affectionately | C. Darwin

Footnotes

The year is established by the reference to Hugh Falconer’s death (see n. 2, below).
After a short illness, Falconer died of heart-failure on 31 January 1865 (see letter from F. H. Hooker, [27 January 1865], and DNB).
Hooker was recovering from an attack of influenza; before becoming ill, he had planned to visit Down House (see letter from F. H. Hooker, [27 January 1865]).
Emma Darwin reported CD’s sickness in her diary on 24, 25, and 27 January (DAR 242).

Bibliography

DNB: Dictionary of national biography. Edited by Leslie Stephen and Sidney Lee. 63 vols. and 2 supplements (6 vols.). London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1912. Dictionary of national biography 1912–90. Edited by H. W. C. Davis et al. 9 vols. London: Oxford University Press. 1927–96.

Summary

Hugh Falconer’s death great loss to science.

His own health has been especially bad this last week.

Letter details

Letter no.
DCP-LETT-4762
From
Charles Robert Darwin
To
Joseph Dalton Hooker
Sent from
Down
Source of text
DAR 115: 259
Physical description
ALS 3pp

Please cite as

Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 4762,” accessed on 16 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-4762.xml

Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 13

letter