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Darwin Correspondence Project

To Rifle Volunteer Corps   23 April 1872

Down, | Beckenham, Kent.

Ap. 23. 1872.

Gentlemen

I am sorry that the state of my health will prevent my attending the proposed concerts in aid of the Rifle Corps Fund1 & therefore I must decline the honour of having my name

[he must decline the honour of being a patron; wishing them nevertheless all success in the undertaking]2

Ch. Darwin

Footnotes

1
The Rifle Volunteer Corps was established in 1859, funded by public support. By the early 1860s some government funding was made available (for more on the funding of the Corps, see Beckett 1982, pp. 125–38).
2
The first page of the letter (down to ‘name’) has been transcribed from an image on Bonham’s website; the part in square brackets and the signature are from the description in the catalogue.

Bibliography

Beckett, Ian Frederick William. 1982. Riflemen form. A study of the Rifle Volunteer Movement, 1859–1908. Aldershot: The Ogilby Trusts.

Summary

Regrets that his health will prevent his attending concerts in aid of the Rifle Corps Fund.

Letter details

Letter no.
DCP-LETT-8299F
From
Charles Robert Darwin
To
Rifle Volunteer Corps
Sent from
Down
Source of text
Bonhams (dealers) (22 November 2011, lot 223)
Physical description
LS inc

Please cite as

Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 8299F,” accessed on 5 June 2025, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/view/letters/DCP-LETT-8299F

Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 20

letter

Darwin Correspondence Project
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