WCP1882

Letter (WCP1882.4064)

[1]1 2

76½, Westbourne Grove Bayswater. W.

Oct[obe]r. 1st. [1867]3

Dear Darwin

I am sorry I was not in town when your note came. I took a short trip in Scotland after the Brit[ish]. Ass[ociation].4 Meeting; and went up Ben Lawers. It was very cold and wet and I could not find a companion or I should have gone as far as Glen Roy.

My article on "Creation by Law"5 in reply to the Duke of Argyle6 [2] and the North British Reviewer7, is in the present month’s Number of the "Quarterly Journal of Science". I cannot send you a copy because they do not allow separate copies to be printed. There is a nice illustration of the predicted Madagascar Moth and Angraecum sesquipedale.

I shall be glad to know whether I have done it satisfactorily to you, and hope you will not be so very sparing of criticism as you [3] usually are.

I hope you are getting on well with your great book. I hear a rumour that we are to have one vol. of it about ‘Xmas.8

I quite forget whether I told you that I have a little boy, now three months old, and have named him "Herbert Spencer"9,— (having had a brother Herbert10.) I am now staying chiefly in the country at Hurstpierpoint [4]11 but come up to town once a month at least. You may address simply

Hurstpierpoint

Sussex.12

Hoping your health is tolerable & that all your family are well

Believe me | Dear Darwin | Yours very faithfully | Alfred R. Wallace [signature] —

Charles Darwin Esq.

1
Darwin adds "Leach" as an annotation in red crayon at the top right-hand corner of page 1.
2
Darwin adds "crossing" as a circled pencil annotation at the top left-hand corner of page 1.
3
The year 1867 is established by the Darwin Correspondence Project, see DCP-LETT-5637.
4
ARW refers to the British Association for the Advancement of Science, a learned society and charity founded in 1831 to promote the development of science. The provision of funds provided to individual researchers was a key role of the activities of the association from its inception until the early 1940s. The association played a significant role in the debate on evolutionary theory. (James, F. A. J. L. 2000. British Association for the Advancement of Science. Reader's Guide to the History of Science. New York: Routledge, pp.106-107.)
5
Wallace, A. R. 1867. Creation by Law. Quarterly Journal of Science. 4: 471-88
6
Campbell, George (1823-1900). Scottish politician and scientist, eighth Duke of Argyll in the peerage of Scotland. Leader in the scholarly opposition against Darwinism.
7
Jenkin, Henry Charles Fleeming (1833-1885). Scottish electrical engineer and critic of Darwinism.
8
Darwin adds a scored red crayon line running down the left margin of page 3 from the text "I hope" to "about 'Xmas."
9
Wallace, Herbert Spencer ("Bertie") (1867-1874). Son of ARW.
10
Wallace, Herbert Edward ("Edward") (1829-1851). Brother of ARW and assistant to him in Brazil.
11
Darwin adds "Victoria Institute" as an annotation in red crayon at the bottom of page 4.
12
Darwin adds "address" as an annotation in red crayon in the left hand-margin of page 4.

Editorial information

Status: Edited (but not proofed) transcription [Letter (WCP1882.4064)]

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

Revision history

Transcribed by Darwin Correspondence Project [2012-07-02] Transcription checked by Beros, Matt [2019-12-20]

Transcription (WCP1882.1772)

[1]

To C.Darwin.) 78½, Westbourne Grove Bayswater, W. Oct'r.1st. [1867]

Dear Darwin I am sorry I was not in town when your note came. I took a short trip to Scotland after the Brit. Ass. Meeting, and went to Ben Lawers. It was very cold and wet and I could not find a companion or I should have gone so far as Glen Roy.

My article on "Creation by Law"1 in reply to the Duke of Argyll and the North British Reviewer, is in the present month's Number of the "Quarterly Journal of Science". I cannot send you a copy because they do not allow separate copies to be printed.

There is a nice illustration of the predicted Madagascar Moth2 and Angra[e]cum Sesquipedale.

I shall be glad to know whether I have done it satisfactorily to you, and hope you will not be sorry so very sparing of criticism as you usually are.

I hope you are getting on well with your great book. I hear a rumour that we are to have one vol. of it about 'Xmas.

I quite forget whether I told you that I have a little boy, now three months old, and have named him "Herbert Spencer", — (having had a brother Herbert.) I am now staying chiefly in the country of Hurstpierpont but come up to town once a month at least. You may address simply Hurstpierpoint Sussex.

Hoping your health is tolerable & that all your family are well

Believe me Dear Darwin Yours very faithfully | Alfred R. Wallace.

1
Wallace, Alfred Russel. 1867 Creation by Law. Quarterly Journal of Science, Volume 4 (October) 1867. London, John Churchill and Sons, New Burlington Street. [pp471-488]. See https://people.wku.edu/charles.smith/wallace/S140.htm
2

Xanthopan morganii praedicta, Morgan's Sphinx moth, whose existence Darwin inferred in 1862 from the shape of the orchid Angraecum sesquipedale. Wallace correctly predicted that it would be a Sphinx moth, and it was that prediction that was

honoured by the subspecies name praedicta.

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Transcription (WCP1882.1772)]

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

Revision history

Transcribed by Congerton, John [2019-12-17]

Transcription (WCP1882.4519)

[1]

To C. Darwin.) 76½, Westbourne Grove Bayswater. W. Oct’r. 1st. 1867

Dear Darwin

I am sorry I was not in town when your note came. I took a short trip to Scotland after the Brit. Ass. Meeting1; and went up Ben Lawers2. It was very cold and wet and I could not find companion or I should have gone as far as Glen Roy3.

My article on "Creation by Law" in reply to the Duke of Argyll and North British Reviewer, is in the present month’s Number of the "Quarterly Journal of Science". I cannot send you a copy because they do not allow separate copies to be printed.

There is a nice illustration of the predicted Madagascar Moth and Angracum Sesquipedale.4

I shall be glad to know whether I have done it satisfactorily[sic] to you, and hope you will not be sorry so very sparing of criticism as you usually are.

I hope you are getting on well with your great book. I hear a rumour that we are to have one vol. of it about ‘Xmas.

I quite forget whether I told you that I have a little boy, now three months old, and have named him "Herbert Spencer",- (having had a brother Herbert.) I am now staying chiefly in the country at Hurstpierpoint but come up to town once a month at least. You may address simply Hurstpierpoint Sussex.

Hoping your health is tolerable & that all your family are well

Believe me | Dear Darwin | Yours very faithfully | Alfred R. Wallace [signature]

1
British Association, short for The British Association for the Advancement of Science (BAAS)
2
Mountain in Scotland
3
National Nature Reserve in Scotland
4
Angraecum sesquqipedale’s (syn. Darwin’s Orchid) has a notably long spur, which CD used to predict a moth with a corresponding probiscus. The moth was discovered in 1903 — Xanthopan morgani

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Transcription (WCP1882.4519)]

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

Revision history

Transcribed by Vanostran, Collin [2012-08-20] Transcription checked by Catchpole, Caroline [2013-01-15]

Published letter (WCP1882.5965)

[1] [p. 188]

76½ Westbourne Grove, Bayswater, W. October 1, 1867.

Dear Darwin, — I am sorry I was not in town when your note came. I took a short trip to Scotland after the British Association Meeting, and went up Ben Lawers. It was very cold and wet, and I could not find a companion or I should have gone as far as Glen Roy.

My article on "Creation by Law," in reply to the Duke of Argyll and the North British reviewer, is in the present month's number of the Quarterly Journal of Science. I cannot send you a copy because they do not allow separate copies to be printed.

There is a nice illustration of the predicted Madagascar moth and Angroecum sesquipedale.

I shall be glad to know whether I have done it satisfactorily to you, and hope you will not be so very sparing of criticism as you usually are.

I hope you are getting on well with your great book. I hear a rumour that we are to have one vol. of it about Christmas.

I quite forget whether I told you that I have a little boy, now three months old, and have named him Herbert Spencer (having had a brother Herbert). I am now staying chiefly in the country, at Hurstpierpoint, but come up to town once a month at least. You may address simply, "Hurstpierpoint, Sussex."

Hoping your health is tolerable and that all your family are well, believe me, dear Darwin, yours very faithfully, ALFRED R. WALLACE.

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Published letter (WCP1882.5965)]

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

Revision history

Transcribed by Congerton, John [2019-12-17]

Please cite as “WCP1882,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 26 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP1882