WCP1539

Letter (WCP1539.1318)

[1]

Fang Castle1 —

7 Mortimer St

W.

Jan. 9 — 1870 — 1.

[A sketch of a frog appears here]

Now you're wuss and wuss2! Tues is the "University"3 of the High-mighty and pious "College of Dentists of England", and everywhere else: The "collection"4 of Officers, and when I am to give an acc[oun]t of all the four penny pieces [2] I have received during the year — for, and on behalf of the Jaw-breakers in general, and the Council in particular. We begin at 7 — close when we have no more to say; and adjourn to St James's Hall5 feeding Box: for a trial of the Artificials6!

It was lucky I called there this morn[in]g[.] — Our Sec[ond] had ordered a Cold Collation — Cold Veal — Ham and Fowls! Cold Devils! You may as well eat a Hat-box or Fire-wood: I have ordered a Hot Supper[,] Ducks — Giblet Pies — Plum-pudding and such like Comforts — cold Grub indeed, and the Glass at 26[°]. So you see, as I cannot well be [3] in two places at once; and "where Duty call one must obey", we shall not have the pleasure of Banquetting upon the Cold Greens.7

As to "Alcohol"8 — I do not think I shall venture out — Aunt Loo9 is going to preside at a School treat in the shape of T. Bunns — Plum Cake and sundry indigestibles, one a Magic-Lanthorn10, which they are to devour: Tom11 and his Cousin Constance12 go as well: So I shall be alone: as the Gals are at Torquay — capital place for females as it is all Talkée! talkée!13-So[,] as I said before[,] I shall be alone — and I contemplate the utter destruction of a kidney pudding! think of that Master Brook14 — a kidney pudding! and perhaps a bit of steak or a Sausage or two — perhaps three! only two of us — the pudding and I! no weggibles [sic], to take up the room the pudding ought to occupy! Oh no! And then the ale — think of the ale — a fresh Cask — Nine Gallons! a shilling a Gallon! goes down your throat like a wheel-barrow; washing out the Corners preparatory to a fresh plate of pudding — the idea is enchanting; and would, if set to Music, be overpowering! Talk of quartettes and quintettes; what are they to a Solo upon a Kidney pudding? Answer me that! No you can't; it is unanswerable! So with our blessing upon thee and thine15[,] I remain "pretty much as usual"

Yours T. Purland. [signature]

They have taken great liberties with your name at St Georges Hall16 — and a D[octor] [of] S[urgery] often has done the same[.] — So does some fellow who travelled in the Indian archi something to collect oyster-shells, a Yankee.

1
Purland used the pseudonym "Fang Castle" to refer to the operating room of his dental surgery on Mortimer Street, Cavendish Square. (Wallace, A. R. 1905. My Life: A Record of Events and Opinions, vol 2. London, UK: Chapman & Hall, Ltd., p.77.)
2
Archaic form of "worse and worse."
3
ARW notes that Purland is fond of puns and obscure allusions which "forbids his writing like other people." In this manner he writes "university" for "anniversary" and "collection for "election". (Wallace, A. R. 1905. My Life: A Record of Events and Opinions, vol 2. London, UK: Chapman & Hall, Ltd., p.79.)
4
A play on words, referring to "election".
5
St. James's Hall was a concert hall in Regent Street which opened on 25 March 1858 and was designed by the architect Owen Jones. The hall was privately sponsored by two music publishers, Chappell & Co. and Cramer & Co. The original building was demolished in February 1905. (Forsyth. M. 1985. Buildings for Music: The Architect, the Musician, and the Listener from the Seventeenth Century to the Present Day. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp.203-205).
6
Refers to artificial teeth.
7
ARW notes "I presume cold green refers to some delicacy (perhaps lobster-salad) I had tempted him with." (Wallace, A. R. 1905. My Life: A Record of Events and Opinions, vol 2. London, UK: Chapman & Hall, Ltd., p.79.)
8
A pun on 'spirits' alluding to ARW's invitation to a séance with friends, which were very frequent during this period.
9
Unidentified but probably the aunt of Harriet Louisa Purland (c.1856). "Wallace, A. R. 1905. My Life: A Record of Events and Opinions, vol 2. London, UK: Chapman & Hall, Ltd., p.79.)
10
Archaic form of lantern.
11
Unidentified but probably Purland, Thomas Theodosius "Terence" Constantine (1860-1923).
12
Unidentified person.
13
Archaic term for an English-based creole or pidgin language.
14
Probably an allusion to Falstaff's speech in William Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor. "Think of that, — a man of my kidney, — think of that; I am subject to heat, as butter; a man of continual dissolution [...] think of that, master Brook." (The Merry Wives of Windsor, [2001]. In: Proudfoot, R., Thompson A., & Kastan, D. S., (Eds) The Arden Shakespeare Complete Works. 2nd edition. p.878).
15
Archaic form of "you and yours".
16
St. George's Hall was a theatre located in Lanham place in the West End of London. The hall was originally built as a concert hall for the New Philharmonic society and was also used as a theatre for small-scale British operas. The building sustained bombed damaged in 1943 and was demonlished in 1966. Purland is probably alluding to an entertainer who performed at St. George's Hall and shared Wallace's name. (Weinreb, B. Hibbert, C. et al. 2008. The London Encylopaedia. 3rd Ed. London: Macmillan p.760.)

Editorial information

Status: Edited (but not proofed) transcription [Letter (WCP1539.1318)]

For more information about the transcriptions and metadata, see https://wallaceletters.myspecies.info/content/epsilon

Revision history

Transcribed by Hijikata, Shori [2014-07-30] Transcription checked by Beros, Matt [2019-12-20]

Envelope (WCP1539.1442)

Envelope with printed address at top reading "Mesmeric and Phrenological Society, Mesmeric and Phrenological Institute, 27 Duke Street, Manchester Square." addressed to "A. R. Wallace Esq. &c &c, Holly House, Tanner Street, Barking | E" with stamp, postmarked "LONDON-W | [illeg.] | JA 9 | 71". Note in ARW's hand reads "Amusing letter — Kidney pudding &c" in pencil. Drawing by Purland pasted on back of a comical man with a scarf. Back postmarked "BARKING | A | JA10 | 71". [Envelope (WCP1539.1442)]

Please cite as “WCP1539,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 25 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP1539