WCP1890

Letter (WCP1890.4069)

[1]1 2

Hurstpierpoint

March 8th. [1868]3

Dear Darwin

I am very sorry your letter came back here while I was going to town, or I should have been very pleased to have seen you.

Trimen’s paper4 at the Linnaean was a very good one,— but the only opponents were Andrew Murray5 and B[erthold]. Seeman [Seemann],6— the former talked utter nonsense about [2] the "harmony of nature" produced by "polarization",— alike in "rocks plants and animals" &c. &c. &c. And Seeman objected that there was "Mimicry" among plants, and that our theory would not explain it. Lubbock7 answered them both in his best manner.

Pray take your rest, and put my last notes by till you return to Down, — or let your [3]8son9 discovery the fallacies in them.

Would you like to see the specimens of pupae of butterflies whose colours have changed in accordance with the colour of the surrounding objects. They are very curious, and Mr. T. W. Wood10 who bred them would I am sure be delighted to show bring them to show you.11 His address is, 89, Stanhope Street, Hampstead Road N.W.

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

1
Darwin adds "Keep" as a pencil annotation in the top left-hand corner of page 1.
2
Darwin adds a vertical double scored pencil line down the centre of page 1 from the text "I am" to "nonsense".
3
The Darwin Correspondence Project have established the year 1868 as the correct date for this letter. See DCP-LETT-5996.
4
Trimen, R. 1868. On Some Remarkable Mimetic Analogies Among African Butterflies. Transactions of the Linnean Society. 26: 497-522.
5
Murray, Andrew (1812-1878). British lawyer, entomologist and botanist.
6
Seemann, Berthold Carl (1825-1871). German botanist and appointed naturalist on the HMS Herald voyage exploring the American West coast and Pacific 1847-51.
7
Lubbock, John (1834-1913). British banker and polymath.
8
Darwin adds "Protection" as a pencil annotation at the bottom left-hand corner of page 3.
9
Darwin, George Howard (1845-1912). 2nd son of Charles Robert Darwin; astronomer and mathematician.
10
Wood, W. Thomas (1839-1910). British zoological illustrator.
11
Darwin adds a double scored vertical line in pencil in the left-hand margin of page 3 from the text "whose colours" to "show you".

Editorial information

Status: Edited (but not proofed) transcription [Letter (WCP1890.4069)]

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 (WCP1890.1780)

[1]

To C.Darwin.) Hurstpierpoint March 8th. (1868)

Dear Darwin I am very sorry your letter came back here while I was going to town, or I should have been very pleased to have seen you.

Trimen's paper at the Linnean was a very good one, — but the only opponents were Andrew Murray1 and B.Seeman, — the former talked utter nonsense about the "harmony of nature" produced by "polarization", — alike in "rocks plants and animals" &c. &c. &c. And Seeman objected that there was "Mimicry" among plants, and that oneour theory would not explain it.

Lubbock answered them both in his best manner.

Pray take your rest, and put my last notes by till you return to Down, — or let your son discover the fallacies in them.

Would you like to see the specimens of pupae of butterflies whose colours have changed in accordance with the colour of the surrounding objects[?] They are very curious, and Mr T.W.Wood who bred them would I am sure be delighted to bring them to show you. His address is, 89, Stanhope Street, Hampstead Road, N.W.

Believe me Yours very faithfully Alfred R. Wallace.

1

Murray, Andrew Dickson (1812-1878). British biologist and lawyer. President of the Royal Physical Society

.

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Transcription (WCP1890.1780)]

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 (WCP1890.4515)

[1]

To C. Darwin.) Hurstpierpoint Sussex. March 8th 1868

Dear Darwin

I am very sorry your letter came back here while I was going to town, or I should have been very pleased to have seen you.

Trimen’s1 paper at the Linnean was a very good one,- but the only opponents were Andrew Hurray and B. Seeman,- the former talked utter nonsense about the "harmony of nature" produced by "polarization",- alike in "rocks plants and animals" &c. &c. &c. And Seeman objected that there was "Mimicry" among plants, and that one our theory would not explain it.

Lubbock2 answered them both in his best manner.

Pray take your rest, and put my last notes by till you return to Down,- or let your son discover the fallacies in them.

Would you like to see the specimens of pupae of butterflies whose colours have changed in accordance with the colout of the sorrounding objects. They are very curious, and Mr T.W.Wood who bred them would I am sure be delighted to bring them to show you. His address is, 89, Stranhope Street, Hamstead Road, N.W.

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

1
Henry Trimen (1843-1896), British botanist
2
Sir John Lubbock (1834-1913), British polymath, politician, and Vice-President of Linnean Society in 1865

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Transcription (WCP1890.4515)]

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 (WCP1890.5977)

[1] [p. 201]

Hurstpierpoint. March 8, 1868.

Dear Darwin, — I am very sorry your letter came back here while I was going to town, or I should have been very pleased to have seen you.

Trimen's paper at the Linnean was a very good one, but the only opponents were Andrew Murray and B. Seeman. The former talked utter nonsense about the "harmony of nature" produced by "polarisation," alike in "rocks, plants and animals," etc. etc. etc. And Seeman objected that there was mimicry among plants, and that our theory would not explain it.

Lubbock answered them both in his best manner.

Pray take your rest, and put my last notes by till you return to Down, or let your son discover the fallacies in them.

Would you like to see the specimens of pupae of butterflies whose colours have changed in accordance with the colour of the surrounding objects? They are very curious, and Mr. T. W. Wood, who bred them, would, I am sure, be delighted to bring them to show you. His address is 89 Stanhope Street, Hampstead Road, N.W. — Believe me yours very faithfully, ALFRED R. WALLACE.

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Published letter (WCP1890.5977)]

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 “WCP1890,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 24 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP1890