To J. D. Hooker 5 March [1863]
Down
March 5th
My dear Hooker
I have been having very bad 10 days with much sickness & weakness, & have been obliged to stop the Lyells.1 It breaks my heart, but Emma says, I believe truly, that we must all go for two months to Malvern.2 It is very provoking after London doing me so much good.3 And so many experiments in prospect. I doubt whether I shall ever finish my book on Variation: I do not suppose I have done 3 months work during the last 9 months,4 and poor little Horace is ailing much.5 But it is no use complaining. One must grin & bear; but a grumble to you, my dear old friend, does one good.— A good severe fit of Eczema would do me good, & I have a touch this morning & consequently feel a little alive.6 This might save me from Malvern. If not, we should go after Easter holidays early in April.7 If I get any strength, & you could spare a Sunday, I shd very much like to see you here; but I doubt whether it wd. be worth your while.—8
A few words about the Stove Plants: they do so amuse me; I have crawled to see them 2 or 3 times. Will you correct & answer & return enclosed.9 I have hunted in all my Books & cannot find these names, & I like much to know family. They nearly all look splendidly well; except nepenthes & like an ass, I knew it liked warmth & put it in the bed near pipe & now find it has been having 109o bottom Heat!!! One little plant has leaves browned. I have made list of plants, 165 in number!!!10 Do you not think you ought to be sent with Mr Gower11 to the Police Court? and such interesting forms many of them to me.—
I am reading Wellwitschia:12 what a wonderful plant it is; but the case requires more knowledge than I have fully to appreciate: those devilish ovules, embryos,, sacks & membranes drive my weakened brain half mad—
Cordial thanks for your deeply interesting letters about Lyell, Owen & co.13 I cannot say how glad I am to hear that I have not been unjust about species-question towards Lyell.14 I feared I had been unreasonable. When a bit stronger I must write to him. As for showing him your letter; I would as soon burn his house down.15 I am too fearful & shall put the case much milder; but shall tell him that I am much disappointed. He has written to me, & thinks (perhaps truly) that his chapter will produce great effect on species question.—16 He puts you with me on migration during mundane glacial period: what do you say to that? I fear you will not approve of this.17 I have not yet seen Rolleston’s letter. I shall be very glad if he exposes Owen’s cloud of false words.—18
I have half a mind to get Owen’s paper on Aye-Aye, in which Lyell tells me, that he claims whole credit of making out the derivation or origin of species; & if this is so, write a letter to Athenæum & show, what he has really done.—19 It is in my Hist. Introduct. to 3d Edit of Origin; but I did not then point out the laugable definition he gives of “Creation”; after doubting whether certain species were “created”.—20
I am so heartily glad to hear about Lubbock’s lecture: I could not resist telling him by dictation in letter what you said.—21
Good Bye— I am weary.— I fear you will hardly read this. You really must not write so often. I cannot bear to add to your too hard work. Farewell | C. Darwin
Footnotes
Bibliography
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Origin 3d ed.: On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. 3d edition, with additions and corrections. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1861.
Origin: On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1859.
Raphael, Sandra. 1970. The publication dates of the Transactions of the Linnean Society of London, series 1, 1791–1875. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 2: 61–76. [Vols. 10,11]
Rupke, Nicolaas A. 1994. Richard Owen, Victorian naturalist. New Haven, Conn., and London: Yale University Press.
‘Two forms in species of Linum’: On the existence of two forms, and on their reciprocal sexual relation, in several species of the genus Linum. By Charles Darwin. [Read 5 February 1863.] Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society (Botany) 7 (1864): 69–83. [Collected papers 2: 93–105.]
Variation: The variation of animals and plants under domestication. By Charles Darwin. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1868.
Summary
Ill health.
At work on Variation.
Reading JDH on Welwitschia.
Letter from Lyell defends his position on species.
Anger at Owen.
John Lubbock’s lectures.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-4024
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Joseph Dalton Hooker
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- DAR 115: 184
- Physical description
- ALS 6pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 4024,” accessed on 26 September 2022, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-4024.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 11