To W. D. Fox 24 June [1858]
Down Bromley Kent
June 24th
My dear Fox
Will you read the enclosed & return it me soon— All those, whom I have asked think that Dr L. is probably innocent.—1 Mr Thom’s (a very sensible nice young man) evidence;2 the admitted coldness of Dr. Lane’s letters,—3 the absence of all corroborative evidence—& more than all the unparalleled fact of a woman detailing her own adultery, which seems to me more improbable than inventing a story prompted by extreme sensuality or hallucination,—altogether make me think Dr. Lane innocent & that it is a most cruel case.—4 I fear it will ruin him. I never heard a sensual expression from him.—
I am writing this under much hurry, (but I will not miss a post) as poor dear Etty has been most seriously ill with an attack very like Diptheria; but thank God after much suffering is recovering; but last night our Baby commenced with Fever of some kind.5
Yours affectionately | C. Darwin
Footnotes
Bibliography
Summerscale, Kate. 2012. Mrs Robinson’s disgrace: the private diary of a Victorian lady. London: Bloomsbury.
Summary
Gives his opinion of the charges against E. W. Lane.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-2293
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- William Darwin Fox
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- Christ’s College Library, Cambridge (MS 53 Fox 114)
- Physical description
- ALS 3pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 2293,” accessed on 28 May 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-2293.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 7