1831.] CAPTAIN FITZ-ROY. 2OI 



Beaufort and Fitz-Roy. Good-bye. You will hear from me 

 constantly. Direct 17 Spring Gardens. Tell nobody in 

 Shropshire yet. Be sure not. 



C. DARWIN. 



I was so tired that evening I was in Shrewsbury that 

 I thanked none of you for your kindness half so much as 

 I felt. 



Love to my father. 



The reason I don't want people told in Shropshire : in 

 case I should not go, it will make it more flat. 



C. Darwin to Miss S. Darwin, 

 i 



17 Spring Gardens, Monday 



[September 5, 1831]. 



I have so little time to spare that I have none to waste in 

 re-writing letters, so that you must excuse my bringing up 

 the other with me and altering it. The last letter was 

 written in the morning. In [the] middle of [the] day, Wood 

 received a letter from Captain Fitz-Roy, which I must say 

 was most straightforward and gentlemanlike, but so much 

 against my going, that I immediately gave up the scheme ; 

 and Henslow did the same, saying that he thought Peacock 

 has acted very wrong in misrepresenting things so much. 



I scarcely thought of going to town, but here I am ; and 

 now for more details, and much more promising ones. 

 Captain Fitz-Roy is [in] town, and I have seen him ; it is no 

 use attempting to praise him as much as I feel inclined to do, 

 for you would not believe me. One thing I am certain, 

 nothing could be more open and kind than he was to me. It 

 seems he had promised to take a friend with him, who is in 

 office and cannot go, and he only received the letter five 

 minutes before I came in ; and this makes things much better 

 for me, as want of room was one of Fitz-Roy's greatest 

 objections. He ' offers me to go share in everything in his 



