WCP1925

Letter (WCP1925.1815)

[1]

Down.

Beckenham Bromley

Kent. S.E.

Oct. 21. 1869

My dear Wallace

I forwarded your letter1 at once to my son George2, but I am nearly sure that he will not be able to tell you any thing; I wish he c[oul]d for my own sake; but I suspect there are few men in England who could. Pray send me a copy or tell me where your article on Murphy3 will be published.4 I have just rec[eive]d [2] "the month"5 but have only read half as yet. I wish I knew who was the author; you ought to know as he admires you so much; he has a wonderful deal of knowledge, but his difficulties have not troubled me much as yet, except the case of the dipterous larva.6 My book will not be published for a long time, but Murray7 wished to insert some [3] notice of it. Sexual selection has been a tremendous job. Fate has ordained that almost every point on which we differ sh[oul]d be crowded into this vol. Have you seen the last Oct. No. of Rev. des deux mondes?8 It has an article on you,9 but I have not yet read it; & another art.[icle] not yet read by a very good man on the Transformist school.10

I am very glad to hear that you are beginning a book, but do not let it be "little", on distribution &c— I have no hints to give about maps; the subject w[oul]d require [4] long & anxious consideration. Before Forbes11 published his essay on distribution & the glacial period12 I wrote out & had copied an essay on the same subject, which Hooker13 read. If this M.S. w[oul]d be of any use to you, on account of the references in it to papers &c I sh[oul]d be very glad to lend it to be used in any way; for I forsee that my strength will never last out to come to this subject.

I have been pretty well since my return from Wales, tho' at the time it did me no good.

We shall be in London next month when I shall hope to see you—

My dear Wallace | yours very sincerely | Ch. Darwin [signature]

[5]14 P.S. How curiously inaccurate the author of article in "The Month" is in some respects— He speaks of similarity of teeth of Thylacinus & Canis as being so great as to bespeak community of descent, & what a profound difference in essential nature in incisors & premolars & molars!15 How odd with the giraffe—16 but it is not worth writing.—

1
ARW sent a note enclosed with his letter to Charles Darwin on 20 October 1869. The enclosure is now lost but George Howard Darwin's reply on 23 October 1869 is extant. (See WCP1926.1816).
2
Darwin, George Howard (1845-1912). Astronomer, mathematician and 2nd son of Charles Robert Darwin.
3
Murphy, Joseph John (1827-1894). Irish author on philosophy, logic, psychology and religion.
4
Darwin refers to ARW's review of Murphy's Habit and Intelligence in Their Connexion With the Laws of Matter and Force (1869) published in Nature on the 25 November 1869 and 2 December 1869. See Wallace, A. R. 1869. The Origin of Species Controversy I. Nature 1: 105-107 (25 Nov. 1869) / II. Nature 1: 132-133 (2 Dec. 1869).
5
The Month was a Jesuitical journal founded by the Catholic nun, Frances Margaret Taylor in July 1864. Taylor sold the journal to the Jesuits who appointed Henry James Coleridge as the editor from 1865-1881. In 1969 The Month absorbed the Dublin Review and was printed until 2001. (Sullivan, A. 1983. British Literary Magazines: The Victorian and Edwardian Age, 1837-1913. New York: Greenwood Press. p.220).
6
Darwin refers to an article 'Difficulties of the Theory of Natural Selection’ by St George Jackson Mivart which was published anonymously in the Month from July to September 1869. See [Mivart, St. George]. 1869. Difficulties of the Theory of Natural Selection. The Month. 11: 35-53, 134-153, 274-289.
7
Murray, John (1808-1892). British publisher who embarked on a career in the family publishing house at 50 Albemarle Street, London. Notably published the Quarterly Review and Darwin's Origin of Species
8
Revue des deux Mondes (Review of the Two Worlds) is a French monthly journal covering literature, politcs and travel writing. The journal was founded in July 1829 by Prosper Mauroy and Pierre de Ségur-Dupeyron. After 1848 the journal shifted from a liberal to more a conservative direction. (Broglie, G. 1979. Histoire politique de la Revue des deux Mondes : de 1829 à 1979. Paris: Perrin).
9
Randau, R. 1869. Un Naturaliste dans l'Archipel Malais. Revue des Deux Mondes. 2nd ser. 83: 675-706.
10
Saporta, G. 1869. L’École Transformiste et ses Derniers Travaux. Revue des Deux Mondes. 2nd ser. 83: 645-674.
11
Forbes, Edward (1815-1854). British natural historian.
12
Forbes, E. 1846. On the Connexion Between the Distribution of the Existing Fauna and Flora of the British Isles, and the Geological Changes Which Have Affected Their Area, Especially During the Epoch of the Northern Drift. Memoirs of the Geological Survey of Great Britain, and of the Museum of Economic Geology in London. 1: 336-432.
13
Hooker, Joseph Dalton (1817-1911). British botanist and explorer.
14
The Darwin Correspondence Project have attributed the postscript of this letter to Darwin's letter to ARW on 21 October 1869 after it was previously assigned to another incorrect letter. (See Burkhardt, F. & Secord, J. A. 2016. Supplement to the Correspondence, 1838-75. The Correspondence of Charles Darwin: Volume 24, 1876. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p.1865.)
15
[Mivart, St. George]. 1869. Difficulties of the Theory of Natural Selection. The Month. 11: 35-53, 134-153, 274-289.
16
Mivart argued that Darwin's theory would require other herbivorous mammals beside the giraffe to develop longer necks. ([Mivart, St. George]. 1869. Difficulties of the Theory of Natural Selection. The Month. 11: p.49).

Editorial information

Status: Edited (but not proofed) transcription [Letter (WCP1925.1815)]

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

Revision history

Transcribed by Darwin Correspondence Project [2012-11-19] Transcription checked by Beros, Matt [2019-12-20]

Published letter (WCP1925.6012)

[1] [p. 247]

Down, Beckenham, Kent, S.E. October 21, 1869.

My dear Wallace. — I forwarded your letter at once to my son George, but I am nearly sure that he will not be able to tell you anything; I wish he could for my own sake; but I suspect there are few men in England who could. Pray send me a copy or tell me where your article on Murphy1 will be published. I have just received the Month, but have only read half as yet. I wish I knew who was the author; you ought to know, as he admires you so much; he has a wonderful deal of knowledge, but his difficulties have not troubled me much as yet, except the case of the dipterous larva. My book will not be published for a long time, but Murray2 wished to insert some notice of it. Sexual selection has been a tremendous job. Fate has ordained that almost every point on which we differ should be crowded into this vol. Have you seen the October number of the Revue des deux Mondes? It has an article on you, but I have not yet read it; and another article, not yet read, by a very good man on the Transformist School.

I am very glad to hear that you are beginning a book, [2] [p. 248] but do not let it be "little," on Distribution, etc. I have no hints to give about maps; the subject would require long and anxious consideration. Before Forbes3 published his essay on Distribution and the Glacial Period I wrote out and had copied an essay on the same subject, which Hooker4 read. If this MS. would be of any use to you, on account of the references in it to papers, etc., I should be very glad to lend it, to be used in any way; for I foresee that my strength will never last out to come to this subject.

I have been pretty well since my return from Wales, though at the time it did me no good.

We shall be in London next month, when I shall hope to see you. — My dear Wallace, yours very sincerely, | CH. DARWIN.

1
Murphy, Joseph John (1827-1894). Irish author on philosophy, logic, psychology and religion.
2
Murray, John (1808-1892), British publisher of the family firm of John Murray founded by John Murray (1737-1793).
3
Forbes, Edward (1815-1854). British natural historian.
4
Hooker, Joseph Dalton (1817-1911). British botanist and explorer.

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Published letter (WCP1925.6012)]

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

Revision history

Transcribed by Lo, Yen-Nyuk [2019-12-17]

Please cite as “WCP1925,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 27 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP1925