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Darwin Correspondence Project

From John Innes   [24 December 1861]1

2 Coley Hill | Reading

Christmas Eve.

Dear Darwin,

We have concluded that our little party shall remain together till we are near the time of our departure, and that Quiz must celebrate my birthday here. Johnny wants his portrait taken before he goes so we will arrange to send him to you next week, ie on Thursday 2nd. Janry 1862   he shall go by the South Eastern train hence at 9.50.2 He will arrive at the London Bridge station at 1. This will be quite time to secure his conveyance by Snow to you. I will direct him fully. He travels in a hamper—3

Thanks for all your kind wishes for us. I shall certainly not be anything like a chieftain, hardly to say a laird—4 A small house and a little land hardly make any ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ I retain my ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ where there are to ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ recollections; and ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ be lightly par⁠⟨⁠  ⁠⟩⁠ ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ it is by no me⁠⟨⁠ans⁠⟩⁠ ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ that after a loo⁠⟨⁠  ⁠⟩⁠ ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ we may return ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ ⁠⟨⁠es⁠⟩⁠pecially if I can ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ to get a house ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ one. But I do not w⁠⟨⁠ant⁠⟩⁠ to disturb the present arrangement, it is so desirable to leave Stephens in peace.5 It has been the greatest comfort to me ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ ⁠⟨⁠  ⁠⟩⁠nt a cu⁠⟨⁠  ⁠⟩⁠ ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ ⁠⟨⁠m⁠⟩⁠y best wishes ⁠⟨⁠  ⁠⟩⁠y Christmas & ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ you all | Dear Darwin | ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ faithfully | J. B Innes

CD annotations

Over first paragraph: ‘Dog’ brown crayon, circled brown crayon

Footnotes

The year is given by the relationship to the letters to John Innes, 15 December [1861] and 19 December [1861].
See letters to John Innes, 15 December [1861] and 19 December [1861]. The dog Quiz belonged to Innes’s son, John William Innes.
Innes had recently inherited the ancestral family home, Milton Brodie, in Forres, Scotland and changed his name to Brodie Innes.
Thomas Sellwood Stephens served as the curate of Down after Innes’s departure (see Moore 1985, p. 469).

Bibliography

Moore, James Richard. 1985. Darwin of Down: the evolutionist as squarson-naturalist. In The Darwinian heritage, edited by David Kohn. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press in association with Nova Pacifica (Wellington, NZ).

Summary

Arrangements for sending Quiz.

Letter details

Letter no.
DCP-LETT-3349
From
John Brodie Innes
To
Charles Robert Darwin
Sent from
Reading
Source of text
DAR 167: 6
Physical description
ALS 4pp damaged

Please cite as

Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 3349,” accessed on 16 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-3349.xml

Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 9

letter