1 St Mary’s Terrace | Paddington W.
Nov 7. 1880.
Dear Mr. Darwin,
It is all right as far as regards Mr. Wallace himself—
I told him that you & Mr. Huxley thought him entitled to a Govt. pension if it could be got—1 At first he hesitated but when I represented that such men as Joule & Faraday had received it2 he said “I confess it would be a very great relief to me and if such men as Darwin & Huxley think I may accept it it suppose I may”—adding “I really have some claim, for most naturalists & travellers on their return from a foreign country have been given some post, & I have tried for one in vain”.
It seems some friend suggested it to him some time ago but he rejected the idea; but now that it comes from men like yourself & Huxley who can appreciate his work it makes a difference—
I could not get the memorial lists but when I said that you would have only a few good names & suggested the Duke of Argyll,3 Mr. Wallace said he is just the man who would probably give his name with pleasure—
He quite understands that the result is very doubtful & indeed he said very little about it, for when I had once ascertained his views I did not want to lead him to dwell upon it—
I have nothing I think to add to the notes I gave you.4 I enclose a very brief statement which may be of some use, though of the real value of his work you can speak best—
From my short conversation yesterday I am more than ever sure that your generous efforts if they succeed will really confer a great boon on Mr. Wallace & relieve him of anxiety—
If I can look out anything more for you please let me know—
With kind remembrances to Mrs. Darwin | Yours very sincerely | Arabella B Buckley
He gave up his profession of surveyor & architect from pure love of Natural History & depended entirely on his collections for his remuneration— The loss of these collections sent him to the Malay ⟨archipelago⟩ & on his return from there in 1862 he began at once to try for some post as naturalist & curator—5 The East London Museum was as nearly promised to him as was possible before the building was concluded, & the loan of Sir R Wallace’s pictures giving a new turn to the use of the building threw him out—6 His failure with regard to Epping Forest7 & other appointments has led him to give up all idea at his age of obtaining a post— Want of success in some investments has diminished his income & he is dependent now chiefly on his writings which are (not very) remunerative in an inverse ratio to their true value—
His chief claims seem to be
That he has opened out a knowledge of the whole flora & fauna of the Malay Archipelago of which specimens are in the British & other museums—
His share in the question of the Origin of Species—
And above all his application of this theory to the Geographical distribution of Animals8
Please cite as “DCP-LETT-12802,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on