To W. E. Darwin 24 [February 1852]
Down.
Tuesday 24th.—
My dear old Willy
I have not for a very long time been more pleased than I was this morning at receiving your letter with the excellent news at your having got so good a place.1 We are both rejoiced at it, & give you our hearty congratulations. It is in every respect a very good thing, for you will be amongst an older set of Boys. Your letter was a very good one, & told us all that we liked to hear: it was well expressed & you must have taken some pains to write it. We are so very glad to hear that you are happy & comfortable; long may you keep so my dear Boy.— What a tremendous, awful, stunning, dreadful, terrible, bothering steeple-chase, you have run: I am astonished at your getting in the the 5th.. When next you write, explain how it came that you, a new Boy, & Erny,2 an old Boy, came to run together? What boys run, all those in your house? or in your Form? You must write to Mr Wharton:3 you had better begin with “My dear Sir” Tell him about your examination. End by saying that “I thank you & Mrs. Wharton for all the kindness, you have always done me. Believe me, Your’s truly obliged.”
Next Sunday when you write here, tell us who your master is, & what Books you are in; & give us a History of the last Friday. The more you can write, the better we shall be pleased. All the servants enquire about you; and so they did at Aunt Sarah’s.4 I was there the other day & saw the pretty little grey Hens. We are doing nothing particular; one day is like another: I go my morning walk & often think of you, & Georgy5 draws every day many Horse-guards; and Lizzie6 shivers & makes as many extraordinary grimaces as ever, & Lenny7 is as fat as ever. We shall probably come & see you during the first week in April.8 Have you seen anything of Cator?9 Farewell my dear Willy; may you go on as well as you have begun. All here send their best loves to you.
Your affectionate Father | C. Darwin
Give my Love to Erny
I was saying before Georgy that he did not much like reading, when he said “No, I hate reading, but I like money.”—10 I suppose he thought this made up for his not liking reading.—
Footnotes
Bibliography
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Freeman, Richard Broke. 1978. Charles Darwin: a companion. Folkestone, Kent: William Dawson & Sons. Hamden, Conn.: Archon Books, Shoe String Press.
Rugby School register. 4 vols. Rugby: George Over. 1933–57.
Summary
Is glad WED has made a good beginning [at Rugby?].
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-1474
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- William Erasmus Darwin
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- DAR 210.6: 3
- Physical description
- ALS 4pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 1474,” accessed on 19 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-1474.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 5