RECORD: Geikie, James. 1882.06.09. [Recollection of Darwin in the letter to Francis Darwin]. CUL-DAR198.75. Edited by John van Wyhe (Darwin Online, http://darwin-online.org.uk/)

REVISION HISTORY: Transcribed by Christine Chua and edited by John van Wyhe 4.2021. RN1

NOTE: See Darwin, C. R. 1881 [= 1880]. [Extracts from 2 letters on the drift deposits near Southampton]. In Geikie, J., Prehistoric Europe. A geological sketch. London: Edward Stanford, pp. 141-142. http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?itemID=F1351

Reproduced with permission of the Syndics of Cambridge University Library.


1

Kindly return the Envelopes with the letters.

Please return to F Darwin

Birnam, Perthshire

June 9 1882

Dear Sir, Enclosed are a few letters which your [renowned] father, Mr. Darwin, did me the honour to send me. They sufficiently explain themselves but I may note that in the letter of date Nov. 16. 76 Mr. Darwin ascribes the "Life of Murchison" to me – the author being my brother Archibald. 

Some time in July when I was preparing a volume for press ("Prehistoric Europe") I wrote asking Mr. Darwin's permission to quote from one of his letters of 1876. The kind letter of July 19. 1880 was his ready response. In obedience to his request I made one or two trifling verbal alterations in the passages I quoted in my book; as you will see by comparing Mr. Darwin's M.S. with the text.

The views suggested in his letter as to the origin of the angular gravels etc. in South of England will I believe come to be accepted as the truth. This question has a much wider bearing than might at first appear –In point of fact it solves one of the most difficult problems in quaternary geology – and has already attracted the attention of German Geologists.

Believe me

Truly your

James Geikie

My last letter I received from Mr. Darwin I have not sent – It was entirely personal, being a Testimonial in my favour as Candidate for the Chair of Geology in Edinburgh University, which I have since obtained.

JG.


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Citation: John van Wyhe, ed. 2002-. The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online. (http://darwin-online.org.uk/)

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