My dear Nephew

I know little about the late D^r. Darwin the grandfather of the present M^r. Darwin except a few anecdotes told to me by my Father D^r. Fox of Derby, who was a physician in Derby at the same time D^r. Darwin lived there—¹ They were very intimate—  I never knew him, he having died at the end of the last century or just at the beginning of this— I need hardly say my Father & others always looked up to him as a man of great mental power— He had a great dislike to the unnecessary use of all alcoholic beverages, long (of course) before Teetotalism or Temperance Societies— My Father told me the D^r. was seized suddenly one morning after drinking freely of buttermilk, & died shortly afterwards— My Father made a post-mortem examination of his body, but as far as I remember he did not find any cause from malady to account for his death—

The D^r. had a great appetite for cream,—which he took freely— My Mother² had at all times, when he spent an evening at my Father’s house to supply him with a pint basin of cream at tea— He had a summer house in his garden in the Full Street in Derby made of an old coach body— I will now give you a few anecdotes which my Father related at times to us as youths.—

Your’s most affec^ty. | Douglas Fox—

Capt. W. De W. Abney

I state the above, & the following, in answer to your letter to me on the subject asking for any information relative to D^r. Darwin³

A gentleman when consulting D^r. Darwin was asked how he lived, & especially what he drank, he said he took a certain quantity of wine when he dined, the D^r. said what do you drink that for, the patient replied, for the good of my constitution, the D^r. said you are a liar, you drink it because you like it—

On another occasion a gentleman consulted D^r. Darwin, he asked the patient whether he took any stimulus at dinner, his answer was he and his son drank a certain quantity of stimulus, the D^r. then said oh, you are initiating your son in drinking are you— That son died the death of an inveterate drunkard years afterwards—

The patient was so greatly offended at the D^r’s remark that he never consulted him again or let him enter his house—

D^r. Darwin was called into consultation with a medical attendant on a man in high position, on arriving at the patient’s house the Butler met him, he then at once asked the Butler how his master had lived, & especially what he took as stimulus, he was informed the patient never took any thing except genuine Madeira— When the D^r. returned from seeing the patient the Butler asked with much earnestness, what he thought of his master’s state, the answer was your master’s genuine Madeira has killed him— The Butler doubtless thought if the wine was genuine no harm could arise from it—

The D^r. being at Lincoln one day, a large crowd was passing through the Street which caused him to walk into a book-seller’s shop & he ask permission to be there till the people had passed, he then asked the book-seller what was going on, who informed him the principal lawyer was being taken to his burial, The D^r. who liked a little fun, said bury a lawyer, I never heard of such a thing before, the astonished book-seller said why what could be done otherwise, the D^r. replied we never bury a lawyer in our part of the country, we place a lawyer when dead in an arm chair on the stairs opposite a window, & leave him there for the night, and he is always gone in the morning—

The D^r. related the following anecdote— An elderly gentleman lived with his sister, one day he said to the sister I shall go on a visit to-morrow to an old friend some miles distant, he accordingly started on the following day on horse-back having his servant on another horse following him, when he had got half way over a common he stopped suddenly, & called to his servant John, who rode up to him, & said what is the matter, his master said matter, why I am dying, dying   Sir his servant said, yes I am dying, for my bowels have come out, his servant said. impossible, his master replied is it impossible, see here I have got them in my hands, on looking; the man said sure enough you have got them in your hands— The gentleman ordered him to help him in alighting from his horse, & he laid his master carefully on the grass on the side of the road, still holding the bowels, and set off full speed to fetch a doctor, who soon arrived— On seeing the patient he said what is matter with you, matter, why I am dying, but what ails you,? why see my bowels have come out, nonsense was the D^r’^s. reply, the poor sufferer then exhibited the bowels in his hands— The D^r. then said well they are out sure enough, and I must put them in again—therefore let me unbutton your coat &c— upon doing so out fell a shirt his sister had provided for him, & without telling her brother she had put into the shirt a little present to their friend of a pound of sausages, which had slip^d. out of the shirt, & was what he thought were his own bowels—

This was a case proving that any one should not decide upon having any malady by only one symptom let it be ever so marked a one—

One day the D^r. was called to Ashbourn, & he travelled in his close carriage, on leaving the house a lady friend sent by him a present to M^rs. Darwin of a cream cheese, as he was on his road home he thought he would break off a little just to taste it, but that was not enough, he kept tasting it till on arriving at home all the cheese was eaten—⁴ This was another instance of his fondness for cream—

The above are but little matters & probably of no use, but they are all I remember—