To John Murray 29 April [1869]1
Down. | Beckenham | Kent. S.E.
Ap. 29th
My dear Sir
Some of the Ladies took off the cover of Quarterly & burnt it, & I had no idea who sent it. I thank you sincerely for the present. The article by Wallace is inimitably good & it is a great triumph that such an article shd. appear in the Quarterly, & will make the B. of O. & Owen gnash their teeth.2 My neighbour, Sir J. Lubbock,3 who had no idea who wrote it, was very much struck with the article, as extraordinarily well done.—
I am delighted to hear of sale of Fritz Müller.4
It is good news that you will print 2000 copies of Origin at 14s, for I think I have brought it up to present standard of Science, as the cost of 6 weeks work.
I am making slow, but sure progress with my present book.—5
Thanks for your kind enquiries about my health: my horse rolled over me & hurt me rather seriously, but I have made a surprisingly quick recovery.6
My dear Sir | Yours very sincerely | C. Darwin
Footnotes
Bibliography
Origin 5th ed.: On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. 5th edition, with additions and corrections. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1869.
Summary
Thanks JM for Quarterly Review. A. R. Wallace’s article inimitably good – and a triumph that it appears where it will make B[ishop] of O[xford] and Owen gnash their teeth.
Delighted at the sale of F. Müller’s book.
Thinks he has brought Origin up to "present standard of science" [5th ed. (June 1869)].
Slow progress on Descent.
His horse rolled over him, but he is recovering rapidly.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-6718
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- John Murray
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- National Library of Scotland (John Murray Archive) (Ms. 42152 ff. 201–2)
- Physical description
- ALS 3pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 6718,” accessed on 23 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-6718.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 17