LIFE AT DOWN. /ETAT. 33-45. [1847. 



C. Darwin to /. D. Hooker* 



Down [October, 1847]. 



I congratulate you heartily on your arrangements being 

 completed, with some prospect for the future. It will be a 

 noble voyage and journey, but I wish it was over, I shall miss 

 you selfishly and all ways to a dreadful extent ... I am in 

 great perplexity how we are to meet ... I can well under- 

 stand how dreadfully busy you must be. If you cannot come 

 here, you must let me come to you for a night ; for I must 

 have one more chat and one more quarrel with you over the 

 coal. 



By the way, I endeavoured to stir up Lyell (who has been 

 staying here some days with me) to theorise on the coal : his 

 oolitic upright Equisetums are dreadful for my submarine 

 flora. I should die much easier if some one would solve me 

 the coal question. I sometimes think it could not have been 

 formed at all. Old Sir Anthony Carlisle once said to me 

 gravely, that he supposed Megatherium and such cattle were 

 just sent down from heaven to see whether the earth would 

 support them ; and I suppose the coal was rained down to 

 puzzle mortals. You must work the coal well in India. 



Ever yours, 



C. DARWIN. 



C. Darwin to J. D. Hooker. 



[November 6th, 1847.] ^ 



MY DEAR HOOKER, I have just received your note with 

 sincere grief : there is no help for it. I shall always look at 

 your intention of coming here, under such circumstances, as 

 the greatest proof of friendship I ever received from mortal 

 man. My conscience would have upbraided me in not hav- 

 ing come to you on Thursday, but, as it turned out, I could 

 not, for I was quite unable to leave Shrewsbury before that 



* Parts of two letters. 



