To Charles Lyell [11 October 1847]1
[Down]
Monday
My dear Lyell
Perhaps you would like to see the final result of the comparison of the Lochaber & Galashiels Terraces, (the latter measured by Mr Kemp):2 it is wonderful.— The upper Glen Roy terraces have been levelled by Mr Stevenson from a lower one, measured by Mr Chambers, & I am quite prepared to believe from my rude measurements that he is accurate & Macculloch quite wrong. There can, I think, then be no “cooking” of results & it is wonderful.
I would have sent Chambers’ last letter, but I thought you wd not have thought it worth the trouble of returning. His last letter is rather flippant & presumptuous: I told him that you, as well as I thought the ice-lake theory worth considering. He answers me that it is a dream & as probable as that Julius Cæsar instituted trial by Jury.
I have heard from Mr Maclaren,3 who says that as he had not inserted any abstract of Mr Milne’s paper,4 my discussion would be unintelligible to his Readers,5 but that Jameson would insert it in the Philosph. Journal;6 I have, however, written to Jameson to beg him to destroy it.
Thanks for your Casteroides paper7 wh. shall be returned with Miller.8 We have the house full of relatives
Ever yours | C. Darwin Final measurements9 Lochaber Tweed–measured by Mr Kemp Glen Gluoy —1202 1203 & Kilfinnin Upper Glen Roy—1170 none Middle Glen Roy—1090 1087 Lower Glen Gluoy— 989 987 Lower Glen Roy 877 877. & the Spean
Footnotes
Bibliography
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Miller, Hugh. 1847. First impressions of England and its people. London.
Summary
Discusses enclosed figures on elevation of terraces in several Scottish glens as surveyed by William Kemp and David Stevenson. Comments on Robert Chambers’ view of the terraces. Mentions a letter on the terraces, originally written for publication, which he has asked Robert Jameson [editor of the Edinburgh New Philos. J.] to destroy.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-1126
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Charles Lyell, 1st baronet
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.64)
- Physical description
- ALS 4pp, encl 1p
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 1126,” accessed on 29 March 2023, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-1126.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 4