WCP191

[1]

Broadstone, Wimborne

March 16th. 1908

My dear Will¹

I am surprised at Mr. Waugh.²I have sent him a card at once. Some oversight in his office I expect.

Yes: I am going steadily on with the "Reading" affair, though so far I have not even the consolation of a "commended" — or "mention", let alone even a guinea prize! I know that I have answered all the Q.s correctly with the one exception of the Telegraph poles "due" to the "New" argument. And as regards all the statements required in 50 or 100 or 200 words, I feel sure I have done them as well as we will say 99 [2] out of 100. But then I expect there are several thousand very clever men & women at it, who have had some more experience than myself and often a whole family to help them. I rather think my failure has been in overlooking one of the possible references occasionally. Last week I nearly did so, but determined to take a last look, & found something I had overlooked.

I have just begun a great outdoor work which much interests me (& all of us). I thought I would celebrate the conclusion of the Spruce³ book⁴, and ^use the £.25 I shall get when it is published by putting up a good [3] windscreen to the upper garden. After getting estimates of each of Brick, concrete, wood & corrugated iron — I had nearly determined on the latter with concrete piers instead of posts. But on further consideration I found that a concrete wall like that I built at Grays only higher, would cost no more and be far more durable, good looking, & satisfactory in all respects — (as do Ma⁵ & Violet⁶) — So for the last 2 weeks I have been "completing my design" — which I think now is both practicable & nearly perfect. I have just got in about £5. worth of timber, a ton of cement (to begin with) am casting a good gravel which Mr James gives me for digging, and shall do the foundations this [4] week. I shall have engaged a good bricklayer (who has done concrete work) and labourer, and shall superintend the putting up the frames &c. myself. The wall is to be 10 feet high! with piers 10 feet apart — over 100 feet long — and people here don’t think I can do it! But I shall astonish them!

Further particulars as we get on. I have got an artist here — Mr. Young — to finish some of Spruce’s drawings that were in outline — & Mr Slater⁷ has found 4 more ^{large ones} hidden, & I have got some fine photos, so the book will be well illustrated. All the portraits of natives are done, reduced about half! I am now doing the first proofs.

Yours affect^ly | Pa | A.R. Wallace [signature]