Dear Mr. Darwin!

It is only now, that I feel myself able to thank you for the generous gift and the letter accompanying it.¹ The latter arrived during my absence in Rome, where I, in vain, tried to get some assistance from the Italian Government. Immediately on my return I fell sick and could not leave my bed for a fortnight, a Bronchitis accompanied by an insidious attack of Malaria depriving me of the little force, which I had at that time. The fever lasts still and forces me to a complete withdrawal from work, and from Naples.

This statement must be my excuse for not having answered earlier to yourself and to your sons.²

What shall I say, to express my thanks thus as I feel it? If I would try to satisfy my feelings by expressing them, I would tell you, what perhaps you would hardly believe,— and without telling it, I feel, that I am at a loss to express in any way my thanks.

I have accepted your great gift, and it has really saved the Zoological Station from getting into a dangerous embarrasment.

The gradual sinking of my forces since the beginning of the year 1873 caused a great many difficulties to grow up to serious obstacles, through which the development of my enterprise became seriously damaged. It thus happened that all arrangements of the Aquarium as well as still more of the Laboratories suffered great delay and had to be hurried afterwards.

I am very sorry, that I could in consequence of this scarcely offer any considerable facility to those Zoologists, that came to work at the Station.³ Nevertheless I feel confident, that such facilities will be ready, as soon as I can again take my share in the completion of what has been begun, and as soon as the Station shall be enabled to dispose of a regular income.

By great kindness of friends the means of the Embryo-Institution have already been greatly raised so as to give me the possibility of going to Germany without fearing, that during my absence an accident of a serious nature might happen.

In Germany I shall try first to gather a little more strength and then to have arrangements made to free the Station from any further embarrassments. Besides I hope to live quiet at the country-house of my father⁴ and to work out, what I have begun many years before, some chapters of the Insects-Embryology.⁵

Mr. Balfour, who is working very hard at Shark’s-Embryology,⁶ told me about your wish, to see the question of complemental males in Cirripedes studied again.⁷ I hope, it may not be against your intention, should I try to enter this field, as I feel inclined to study the question of the whole morphological development of Cirripedes. I believe I wrote once to you about my views of the connection of Rhizocephala with Cirripedes by the link formed through Anelasma.⁸ I gave this chapter over to another German Zoologist, Dr. Kossmann, and handed him two Anelasma-specimens, and he fully made out, that my view was absolutely correct.⁹ Nevertheless I feel inclined to work the whole question anew and on a larger base, trying to derive some more general result out of this extraordinary case of morphological revolution caused by one fundamental changement of function.

The next year probably will give us a great quantity of new embryological material. I hear that Kowalewsky will bring forth a work on the Embryology of Pyrosoma and Salpa,¹⁰ several other Russians on Cephalopoda, Dr. Bobretsky works on Crustaceans,¹¹ Prof. Wilhelm Müller in Jena has since years a great work on Amphioxus, Petromyzon, Myxine, Ascidians and Salpae in his hands;¹² Dr. Götte in Strassburg is just publishing a book on the development of Bombinator igneus, Talpa europaea, some birds and some fishes.¹³ Thus the results of all this work cannot fail to bring forth some new light upon the question of the connection of Vertebrates and Invertebrates.—

Will you be very angry with me, Mr. Darwin, if I am so immodest as to ask your kind intervention with regard to your publisher Mr. Murray? The condition, upon which the better income of the Aquarium rests, is, that the guide-books Murray as well as Baedeker, speak a little more explicitly on it.¹⁴ I have asked my friend Ray Lankester to write down a note to be inserted into Murray’s Guide-book to Southern-Italy, but not knowing myself this gentleman I am afraid, I shall not be able to gain his favour to such an extent, as to take the trouble of inserting this note on a slip and to attach it to the now-current Edition of his Guide-book.¹⁵

I therefore take the great liberty of sending you as well Lankester’s notice, as a short letter to Mr. Murray, to which you add perhaps one or two lines of recommandation.¹⁶

I know, this is trespassing very very far on your kindness,—but as you have so largely and so powerfully helped my enterprise to become afloat again, I risk to ask you this new favour, as it will undoubtedly go far to secure the future prosperity of the Zoological Station.

Hoping that the Photograph, sent by Mr. Balfour may give you some favourable idea of the building of the Station¹⁷   I only add my promise, that I will do all in my power to arrange the inside thus, as to be a real help to Zoologists.

This letter has grown already to long,— I finish it with the ardent wish, that I may be able to thank you personally for all you have done for me, and to see you in good health, as soon as I may come next time to England.

To Mrs. Darwin and to both your sons I send my best regards and heartiest thanks. May your son resolve as soon as possible to come to Naples! With all my heart | Yours faithfully | Anton Dohrn.