Ɛpsilon

WCP169

Letter (WCP169.169)

[1]

[in WGW’s hand] House hunting

Parkstone, Dorset.

July 17th. 1901

My dear Will1

I have been so very busy that I have had no time to write & nothing to say. We are glad to hear that you may have a fortnight’s holiday & will come & see us.

I have since ‘Xmas been work at (1) New Wond. Century2 — (2) New Edition of Darwinism;3 (3) new Edn. of "Island Life"4 requiring lots of correspondence to correct list of mammals, birds, insects, plants &c. and (4) the Wond. Cent Reader causing no end of trouble with illustrations &c. The first [2] and last I have now sent off, but shall have the final proofs to correct— and after these are all done I shall have several chapters of the Wond. Cent to correct & one new to write.

In the midst of all of this I have been away 3-4 times looking at estates, some very good, but all have come to nothing except one, — a great beauty, small & comparatively cheap, between T. [Tunbridge]. Wells & East Grinstead, which Mr. Swinton5 is going to see tomorrow, & which I hope will be decided on. It is a poor house, but with an addition of 4 rooms will have a beautiful view [3] and can be made very pretty. This is almost my last hope.

Rose6 & Grandpa7 are here. It is fearfully hot. They have been up to the Caseys this afternoon to see the Roman remains, Olive’s8 print collection &c.

I enclose the I. L. P. News, with my art.9 on Tolstoy. I am sorry to hear he is very ill— perhaps dangerously.

Rose looks quite recovered & well, but is weak and cannot walk much. Grandpa is very well & tramps about as usual. Excuse more.

Your affectionate Pa | Alfred R. Wallace [signature]

1
Wallace, William Greenell (1871-1951). Son of ARW.
2
Wallace, Alfred Russel. 1903. The Wonderful Century: the age of new ideas in science and invention. Revised edition and largely re-written. Swan Sonnenschein.
3
This was never published. YES OR NO???
4
Wallace, Alfred Russel. 1902. Island Life. Or, The Phenomena and Causes of Insular Faunas and Floras, including a revision and attempted Solution of the Problem of Geological Climates. London: Macmillan and Co., Limited.
5
Swinton, A. C. (fl. 1860-1905). British spiritualist and land nationalisation advocate.
6
Mitten, Rose Elizabeth (c. 1848- ). Daughter of William Mitten; Sister-in-law of ARW.
7
Mitten, William (1819-1906). Father-in-law of ARW; chemist and authority on bryophytes.
8
Comerford-Casey, Olive Bourcicault. 1875-1958. Daughter of the Rev. George Edward Comerford-Casey.
9
Wallace, A. R. 1901. Is Tolstoy Inconsistent? I. L. P. News. The monthly organ of the Independent Labour Party 5:52 (July): 1-2.

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Letter (WCP169.169)]

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

Revision history

Transcribed by Griffin, Molly [2010-07-08] Transcription checked by Catchpole, Caroline [2011-11-23] Transcription checked by Catchpole, Caroline [2013-01-15] Transcription checked by Lo, Yen [2020-12-03] Transcription checked by Chua, Christine [2024-11-11]

Please cite as “WCP169,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP169