To John Lubbock 9 August [1861]1
2. Hesketh Crescent | Torquay
Aug 9th.
My dear Lubbock
Your kindness has been so unbounded & your assistance so valuable that it is no use trying to thank you. You have laid William & myself under an enduring obligation.—2 We have not heard this morning from Mr. Hacon (as I had hoped) his final opinion;3 & we are trying to keep open till tomorrow morning, till we see Mr Hacon’s deliberate opinion; but in fact we shall be far more guided by your general impression, & I think (unless Mr Hacon’s argument should seem very strong) that we shall agree.— The clause certainly seems rather harsh, but a hundred, or rather a thousand, to one, it would never signify.—
When I have written to Mr Atherley tomorrow finally, I will tell you the result.—
I have been twice hunting Lepismas with very little success,—but William went yesterday & this morning & with much difficulty caught 7 or 8; only one is large. It really is almost impossible to get them without injuring them.—4
I send them by this post in tin-Bottle— Please send the Bottle sometime to my House, as it belongs to one of the Boys. If you want more, we will go again to the one spot where we can find them.—
Pray give our thanks to Sir John & Mr Ellice5 & believe me.— Yours cordially obliged | Charles Darwin
I have just had long letter on Species from Kingsley6
Footnotes
Bibliography
Banking almanac: The banking almanac, directory, yearbook and diary. London: Richard Groombridge; Waterlow & Sons. 1845–1919.
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
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.
Summary
JL’s kindness has laid William and himself "under an enduring obligation". One clause in the partnership agreement seems harsh but will probably never signify.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-3228
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- John Lubbock, 4th baronet and 1st Baron Avebury
- Sent from
- Torquay
- Source of text
- DAR 263: 48 (EH 88206492)
- Physical description
- ALS 4pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 3228,” accessed on 23 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-3228.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 9