From W. S. Dallas 19 September 1879
Geological Society, | Burlington House, W.
19 Sept. 1879
Dear Mr. Darwin
Many thanks for the proof, which I will keep, as you suggest, until Dr. Krause returns the one I have sent to him.—1 I called his attention to the passage on p. 171,— my note upon it was not intended to be printed, but only in order that the question might not be lost sight of.— Your suggested alteration makes all right,— we shall see what he proposes.—2
I notice that a little quotation from the “Botanic Garden” is considerably altered,— there must be some difference in the editions, & yet I thought the copy which I borrowed from the Linnean Society was the second.—3 The additional words “and adds” inserted in a subsequent page were in my MS. but seem to have been struck out by somebody as unnecessary, & the cancelling line afterwards smudged as if to rub it out, but the printers have taken it as cancelled.—
Would not the title of this translated part of your book read better:–
The Scientific Labours
of
Erasmus Darwin.–?
I think there is a better word than either works or labours but I can’t hit upon it.—4
Believe me | Yours very truly | W. S. Dallas
Footnotes
Bibliography
Darwin, Erasmus. 1789–91. The botanic garden; a poem, in two parts. Pt 1. The economy of vegetation. London: J. Johnson. 1791. Pt 2. The loves of the plants. With philosophical notes. Lichfield: J. Jackson. 1789.
Erasmus Darwin. By Ernst Krause. Translated from the German by W. S. Dallas, with a preliminary notice by Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1879.
King-Hele, Desmond. 1999. Erasmus Darwin. A life of unequalled achievement. London: Giles de la Mare Publishers.
Summary
Final decisions about the printing of Erasmus Darwin.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-12235
- From
- William Sweetland Dallas
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- Geological Society
- Source of text
- DAR 99: 125–6
- Physical description
- ALS 3pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 12235,” accessed on 28 March 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-12235.xml