My dear Charles Darwin

I cannot refrain from offering to you my very sincere condolences on the loss of your Brother, for I know it must be a great sorrow to you, & I must always sympathize in all that concerns you—² When I last saw Erasmus, this Spring, he appeared much in his usual health—

I am here, & have been, for more than three weeks, in attendance on my poor Sister Sobie, who returned from Aix les Bains in a most wretched state, & she has ever since been dangerously ill, Inflammation of the Lungs, & her Heart also affected, her recovery is more than doubtful, & her sufferings are sad to witness—³ Fanny Biddulph is here also, she desires many kind remembrances to you—⁴

Believe me always | Most sincerely Your’s | S H Haliburton

Do not take the trouble to answer this, I only wished to assure you, that your trouble had not been disregarded by me—