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Darwin Correspondence Project

From J. D. Hooker   [3 December 1874?]1

like Fanny2 ⁠⟨⁠2 or 3 words ⁠⟩⁠ the ⁠⟨⁠wrea⁠⟩⁠th there in her hair ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ ⁠⟨⁠  ⁠⟩⁠liffe 13 years ago— wh⁠⟨⁠at⁠⟩⁠ sweet ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ ⁠⟨⁠b⁠⟩⁠eamed on me every where ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ ⁠⟨⁠lov⁠⟩⁠eliest arched brows that ever ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ God how passionately I loved ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ as I lay dosing & hear the ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ chimes ring music to my ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ sadly I miss her, but I don’t, ⁠⟨⁠  ⁠⟩⁠re & scoff away sleep that I may ⁠⟨⁠w⁠⟩⁠ake in those old times recalled. ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ heart & soul my dear old Darwin ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ ⁠⟨⁠  ⁠⟩⁠fully & wonderfully made— in ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ did I then exist, & how soon is ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ ⁠⟨⁠rekin⁠⟩⁠dled by the senseless fuel of sight ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ ⁠⟨⁠  ⁠⟩⁠er ashes that have been to all ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ & cold for 13 years! I then scarce ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ ⁠⟨⁠k⁠⟩⁠now the most vehement ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ ⁠⟨⁠  ⁠⟩⁠ised in a public assembly ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ brightness of the memories ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ ⁠⟨⁠  ⁠⟩⁠t love.— It strikes 2 ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ ⁠⟨⁠  ⁠⟩⁠-bell— that ‘matter of fact’ ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ sensible man—Henslow ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ ⁠⟨⁠  ⁠⟩⁠t room like ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ [illeg] a deuced ⁠⟨⁠2 or 3 words⁠⟩⁠ s⁠⟨⁠  ⁠⟩⁠ father-in-law.— ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ the roses come from by ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ genetic resemblance?. not ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ however & there they now are; ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ to a little girl 5 years old!3 ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ leaves are faded   I have th⁠⟨⁠  ⁠⟩⁠ will be fresh & sweet in ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ roses will return to it in the next.

I go to Town tomorrow & to Kew ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ write & tell me at what time I can ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ you (if at all) at the Establish⁠⟨⁠ment⁠⟩⁠4

Ever yrs affec | Jos. ⁠⟨⁠D. Hooker⁠⟩⁠

I shall be at home all F⁠⟨⁠  ⁠⟩⁠

Footnotes

The date is conjectured from the possible relationship between this letter and the letter to Hooker of 2 December [1874], and from the apparent references to the deaths of Frances Harriet Hooker and John Stevens Henslow (see nn. 2 and 3, below).
Hooker refers to his wife, Frances, who had died suddenly on 13 November 1874 (Allan 1967, p. 225).
Hooker seems to be saying that his wife’s death brought to mind the death of his father-in-law, John Stevens Henslow, thirteen years previously in 1861, and also that of his six-year-old daughter, Maria Elizabeth (Minnie), in 1863. For Hooker’s reaction to Henslow’s and Minnie’s deaths, see L. Huxley ed. 1918, 2: 61–2. For Minnie’s death, see also Correspondence vol. 11, letters from J. D. Hooker, [28 September 1863] and 23 October 1863 and n. 13.
The ‘establishment’ was the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; CD had written that he would be in London from 3 to 10 December 1874 (letter to J. D. Hooker, 2 December [1874]; in fact, he stayed until 12 December, probably due to an illness that kept him in bed on 9 December (‘Journal’ (Appendix II); Emma Darwin’s diary (DAR 242)).

Bibliography

Allan, Mea. 1967. The Hookers of Kew, 1785–1911. London: Michael Joseph.

Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.

Summary

Probably a discussiion of J. D. Hooker’s feelings after death of his wife, Frances Harriet, on 13 November 1874: the letter is badly damaged.

Letter details

Letter no.
DCP-LETT-9719F
From
Joseph Dalton Hooker
To
Charles Robert Darwin
Source of text
DAR 166: 263
Physical description
ALS inc

Please cite as

Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 9719F,” accessed on 28 March 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-9719F.xml

Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 22

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