From George Cupples 15 January 1869
Guard Bridge | Fifeshire. N.B.
Jany. 15/69
Dear Mr Darwin,
I enclose a letter just now received from Mr Mc.Neill of Colonsay in reference to the deer’s horns.1 I trust it may be of some definite value, though (as usual with some people) it is discursive and rambling, apparently. I had furnished him with an exact quotation of your queries.2
I await reply from the Forester of Black Mount,3 who, I have no doubt, can tell about all three species.
Mr Wright,4 I presume, will communicate direct.
I venture to ask that in Mr McNeill’s case (as he wrote previously about the relative sizes of Deerhound dog and bitch) you would send him a line or two in reply.5 Not that he expects this—indeed no one could wish to trespass on your time—but he is always ready to serve if he can. He is brother to Lord Colonsay,6 and himself a scholarly Highland gentleman, as well as an Edinburgh lawyer of high standing—the author of the portion of Scrope’s book referring to the “long-descended race of Deerhounds”.7
At your leisure and convenience you might perhaps return Mr McNeill’s letter. Any others I may receive on the question shall not give you such trouble. I do hope they may furnish the facts required—and that the Spring may recruit your health.
Ever truly yours | George Cupples
To | Charles Darwin, Esq. | &c &c—
Footnotes
Bibliography
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Scrope, William. 1838. The art of deer-stalking; illustrated by a narrative of a few days’ sport in the forest of Atholl, with some account of the nature and habits of red deer, and a short description of the Scotch forests; legends; superstitions; stories of poachers and freebooters, &c. &c. London: John Murray.
Summary
Forwards A. McNeill’s letter on deer horns. McNeill wrote portion on deerhounds in William Scrope’s book [The art of deer-stalking (1838)].
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-6555
- From
- George Cupples
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- Guard Bridge
- Source of text
- DAR 161: 289
- Physical description
- ALS 2pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 6555,” accessed on 24 April 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-6555.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 17