My dear Sir,

Permit me to apologize for trespassing upon time so very importantly occupied as your own, and allow me to plead in excuse your known accessibility to humbler workers in Natural History, and the facts that I am an old FLS;¹ and have, for some years past, been much engaged on the Annelida

I enclose herewith an Abstract published in 1871 of a paper on the Earthworm read by me, and I would ask you, if in the course of any correspondence on the subject, you may have received information in regard to the question of luminosity exhibited by these animals, or if in your numerous observations and experiments the phenomenon has been frequently presented—²

I need hardly add that I shall highly esteem your kind reply, and if you care to have in extenso the portion of the paper relating to this point, it will be a great pleasure to me to furnish it, as indeed it would be any other items of interest to you—

I am my dear Sir | Yours faithfully | Charles J Breese

C Darwin Esq etc etc etc