61 Clyde R[oa]d
West Didsbury
Manchester
March 7th 1904
My dear Pa
Thanks for yours of 3rd & for Mr Dressers letter.
I have heard from Sleigh & if I do not hear again in a fortnight I am to tug him up.
In the meantime he is digging up his genealogical tree.
He says his uncle — John S. born about 1820 dies 1897 wrote something on the subject & [2] traced his descent from a knight who came over with the conqueror, but of course this would not help us as we only come in late on the female side.
I am very glad to hear that Mr Sims has kept hose old papers I hop you get hold of them all.
I will write Sleigh again in a day or two & get more details.
My early recollections are of a vague nature & as nothing startling happened to me during my early years I cannot fix the dates I can however remember a [3] number of trivial incidents which happened at Grays — such as Violet & me playing on a plant on trestles behind the house near the hedge between us & Redferns (?) & eating stolen carrots. I've called the plank 'the high board' & it seemed about 8 f[oo]t high to me.
I can also remember the library table being let down out of an upper window.
Ma sometimes took us to Gravesend & at the landing there was a covered passage with round glass windows in which I saw a resemblance to certain mother-of-pearl button which I wore on a velvet suit.
We used also to see fires glowing across the Thames & were [4] informed they were the [1 word illeg.] works.
You used to bring us back jumping frogs from London which evidently made a great impression on me.
I have a recollection of a hound bovine beast of some description running at me between the Dell & the railway crossing — I had on red petticoats or paints, but there was a feud between us & I was not alone, but I was much frightened though probably it was nothing very fearful in reality.
I can remember Blair Williams who had long curls & a splendid wheelbarrow!
I expect these reminiscences are not of much use to you & may not be accurate.
Tell Ma ?I will write soon but nothing has happened to base a letter upon lately.
Has Violet come back yet?
Your affectionate son | W. G. Wallace [signature]
Status: Draft transcription [Letter (WCP1325.1104)]
For more information about the transcriptions and metadata, see https://wallaceletters.myspecies.info/content/epsilon
Please cite as “WCP1325,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 30 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP1325