Ɛpsilon

To W. R. S. Ralston   27 March 1877

Down, | Beckenham, Kent. | Railway Station | Orpington. S.E.R.

Mar 27. 1877

My dear Mr Ralston,

Many thanks for the reviews. I have read that in the Times with extreme interest. This seems a sort of judgment on me because I said to you that reviews never helped one in forming an opinion on a book.1

I shall be pleased & proud to see Mr Wallace if he thinks it worth while to come so far  You had better tell him that Orpington is our station. I would suggest his leaving Charing X at 11.15 & coming here to luncheon; & if he will let me know beforehand I will sure to be at home.2

One word more,—as I should be very sorry to appear ungracious, pray tell him that I am unable to converse long with anyone, as my health suffers afterwards

Yours very sincerely | Ch. Darwin

LS

1
Ralston’s letter to CD has not been found. He probably sent reviews of Donald Mackenzie Wallace’s Russia (D. M. Wallace 1877). A long review appeared in The Times, 18 January 1877, p. 3. Ralston had been contracted by the publisher Cassell & Co. to write a large historical work on Russia but ceded the commission to Wallace (McCrimmon 1988, p. 183). CD probably met Ralston in December 1875; see Correspondence vol. 23, letter from W. R. S. Ralston, 2 December 1875.
2
No letter from Wallace mentioning a visit has been found.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-10916,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-10916