To Albert Günther 19 December 1881
Down, | Beckenham, Kent. | (Railway Station | Orpington. S.E.R.) [4 Bryanston Street, London.]
Dec. 19th 1881
My dear Dr. Günther
I am going to beg a favour of you, namely to ask what are the best steps to take to recommend a man (in whom I take much interest) as a messenger or other such post in the B. Museum. The circumstances are as follows: a man of the name of Surman lived with my late Brother as his Butler for about 2 years & attended to him most carefully; so that my Brother left him a Legacy, which I doubled as a mark of my respect & gratitude.1 He is in every way thoroughly respectable & pleasant mannered, & he came to my Brother with the highest possible character. He now wishes for some post, such as a messenger or attendant in some public office, instead of going into service again. I shd. therefore take it as a great kindness, if you would inform me how I can aid Surman in obtaining the desired situation.—
Dear Dr. Günther | Yours sincerely Ch. Darwin
P. S. I do not even know to whom I ought to address the character which I could give of the man, or to whom he ought to apply.—
Footnotes
Summary
Asks how he can obtain a Museum post for his late brother’s butler, F. W. Surman.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-13569
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Albrecht Carl Ludwig Gotthilf (Albert) Günther
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- Shrewsbury School, Taylor Library
- Physical description
- ALS 4pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 13569,” accessed on 28 March 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-13569.xml