My dear Lubbock

Pray give my sincere thanks to Sir John Lubbock for his note, & yourself accept my cordial thanks.² Your notes have been of greatest possible assistance to me. I felt so entirely ignorant that I did not know whether my solicitor was quite unreasonable.— I have now written to him, telling him that we require merely fair terms, to be as civil as possible, to push no point to an unreasonable extent, & finally that we are anxious to join. I hope M^r. Atherley will modify some of the points. What you seem to think struck me that there was too much provision for the distant future; as M^r Atherleys son is only 8 years old; I sh^d. have thought (& have so told my solicitor) that all such points might have been left open.—

I hope most deeply that the negotiation will not fall through: I must be guided to a large extent by my solicitor but I have urged him not to be too particular.

Anyhow I am sure you have done everything, far more than I could have expected, to help us.— I should hope that we shall have no need to trouble Sir John or you again; but if perplexed, I will accept your kind offer.—

Yours very gratefully | Charles Darwin