To H. W. Weir [before 2 June 1876?]1
Your mother ought indeed to feel proud that she had two sons such true naturalists as you and your brother.2
Footnotes
Weir’s mother, Elizabeth Weir, died on 2 June 1876 (England & Wales, national probate calendar (index of wills and administrations), 1858–1966, 1973–95 (Ancestry.com, accessed 18 December 2019)). The date is conjectured on the basis that the quotation from CD’s letter suggests she is still alive, although either Weir or the journalist may have slightly misquoted it.
Weir’s brother was John Jenner Weir. The context of this quotation is an interview with Harrison Weir in which he discussed his correspondence with famous men. According to the article, Weir had a packet of letters from CD, which he valued ‘more than his silver and gold’. Weir thought that this extract was the highest praise he ever had. No letters from CD to Harrison Weir have been found.
Summary
‘Your mother ought indeed to feel proud that she had two sons such true naturalists as you and your brother [John Jenner Weir].’
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-10524F
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Harrison William Weir
- Source of text
- Kent and Sussex Courier, 25 April 1884, p. 7
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 10524F,” accessed on 18 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-10524F.xml
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