My dear Sulivan

I thank you cordially for your very kind letter of congratulation & for your interesting news.² All my sons are an infinite satisfaction & none of them have ever given me an hour’s uneasiness.— My third son has just passed his examination at Cambridge for Natural Sciences, but he was unfortunate & tells me that he has done very badly & will be very low.—³ I had not heard of Lieut Musters’s surprising Journey: no doubt I shall see some account in Journal of Geograph. Soc^y.⁴ As for myself I keep much as usual, always ailing & grumbling, but able to do some hours work daily. I have lately been working rather too hard in the intolerably tedious labour of correcting the proofs & making uncouth English rather less uncouth for my new book on man, which will disgust you & many others.—⁵ It is now nearly done, otherwise it w^d. have done for me; for my strength is at a very low ebb.—

It is enough to make one boil over with indignation to hear of the negligence & indifference of the Admiralty in sending your son to the coast of Africa.—⁶ If you go to Southampton again, do call on my son William: :⁷ he said he intended to call on you, if he went to see the Langtons at Bournemth.⁸

We are all fairly well. With kind remembrances to Lady Sulivan.⁹ Ever | My dear Sulivan | Yours very sincerely | Ch. Darwin