WCP223

[1]

High-Force Hotel. Middleton-in-Teesdale

Sunday Morning. [1892]

My dear Violet¹

I take ^the opportunity of a soaking morning to write to you. I had a pleasant day on Wednesday at Dundee, and a good audience with a most gushing but really eloquent vote of thanks after it from Prof. Darcy Thompson.² On Thursday evening I met Ma³ at York all right. We went to the Station Hotel, had a good square tea (mutton chops and muffins &c. french beans & potatoes) and then walked round the Minster. Friday morning after an equally square breakfast we had a cab to Mr. Backhouse’s⁴ went all round the garden, rocks, orchid & fern houses &c. &c. cab back at 12 & in here by 5:30. We have a fine upstairs sitting room looking up the valley to the falls [2] ¼ mile off. Yesterday (Saturday) was very damp & foggy but we went out to discover "the gentian" and after walking about 2 miles and up a tolerablye hill above some rocks we found it scattered sparingly over a moor, with scattered limestone rocks. We dug up a lot, and on our way back a farmer at whose house we had enquired the way ran out after us with some fine clumps he had dug up. It was drizzling most of the time & when we came back it rained hard, so were lucky to get some. The country here is wild & very rich in flowers,— cowslips primroses anemones and orchises grow all together in the fields woods and roadsides, all very fine.

This hotel is a very comfortable country Inn, where they give us [3] unlimited cream,— buttered cakes, trout, fresh from the river and the frying pan, and splendid Yorkshire ham & eggs. I should like to be here a fortnight in the summer in fine weather. I send you Mrs. Fisher’s letter about "Hell" &c. as it may interest you. Also a Newspaper par[agraph] about me.

We had a long letter from Willie⁵ 3 sheets! describing his excursion to Waltham, & as he will not write it all over again I send it to you also. Grandpa⁶ & ma are at Parkstone all right, & I have sent a lot of orchises & anemones to him to plant. We shall be back on Wednesday ^night as my first Exⁿ [Examination] meeting is on Friday.

[4] I have not written to Romanes⁷ yet. What Mr. Butler⁸ says is not of the least importance. Though he is wonderfully clever in some things — "Erewhon"⁹ & "Life & Habit"¹⁰ — he does not understand Darwinism and nobody minds what he says about it. Wishing you good success with your chemistry Exam.

Believe me | Your affectionate Papa | Alfred R. Wallace [signature]

P.S. With this pen I cannot write distinctly and I should not wonder if it has made me spell wrong! A.R.W.

You need not return the letters.