Down. | Beckenham | Kent. S.E.
Jan 18th
My dear Innes
I was truly obliged for your kind & extremely pleasant letter. I was
at first awfully annoyed: I really think being examined in court
wd half-kill me.— I have had no
communication with Mr Horsman; but my solicitor from what I
cd. told him, thought the man
wd. never be such a fool, as to bring the case
into court. He advises me to take no trouble till he hears from
Mr. Horsman's solicitors that he is earnest.—
I have already heard of 3 unpaid debts in this village.
If things go on I will apply to Lubbock for chance of his having preserved
the letters to which you refer.— If I have to defend myself, I
will push things to extreme. I heard that he bolted from Hotel at Torquay,
after leaving Down, without paying his bill.— I suspect that
Mr Robinson is the informant, as he is now in this
neighbourhood—curate at Brasted, & is a friend of
Horsman's. If he is informant, it is too bad, for I remember explaining to
Mr R, why people wd not pay subscriptions
for School &c to him, only to me, & why persons did not call
on him, as his predecessor had been a mere swindler. Poor little
Mr R. will look like a fool, if asked in court why
he left Down.— I believe & hope that you will prove right,
& that the case will never come to trial. Certainly we have been
unfortunate in Mr H. & Mr
R. Mr Powell is, I think, a thoroughly good man
& gentleman. Does good work of all kinds in the Parish, but
preaches, I hear, very dull sermons. I shd. be a
wonderful brute, if I had one single unpleasant recollection of an
association with your name. We often differed, but you are one of those rare
mortals, from whom one can differ & yet feel no shade of
animosity,—& that is a thing which I shd
feel very proud of, if anyone cd. say of
me.—
Farewell with very kind remembrances to Mrs Innes &
your son | Yours very sincerely | Charles Darwin
