Ɛpsilon

WCP3282

Letter (WCP3282.3250)

[1]

6, Huntingdon Road

Cambridge.

3d August 1905

Dear Sir

I regret extremely that I have to return to you the letter1 you had kindly sent me undeciphered. I have not found any one even among native Malays who could read it and my own efforts notwithstanding the smattering of the language I have acquired have proved unsuccessful. The reason is that the letter has been written by an illiterate person who does not form his letters properly and spells incorrectly.

I have felt it a great honour to receive an autograph letter from you and I only wish I had been of service to you. Being an old pupil of Professor Huxley's2 I have long been an admirer your work and I shall never forget the pleasure I derived from the perusal of your Malay Archipelago[.]3

[2] Recently, through Mr Sharpe4 I had the pleasure of reading your book on Spiritualism.5

Hoping I may some day have the honour of meeting you.

Believe me, | yours truly | Syed Ali Bilgrami6 [signature]

[3]7

1
The letter has not been found.
2
Huxley, Thomas Henry (1825-1895). British biologist and author, known as "Darwin's Bulldog".
3
Wallace, A. R. 1869. The Malay Archipelago: The land of the orang-utan, and the bird of paradise. A narrative of travel, with studies of man and nature. London: Macmillan and Co. Two volume.
4
Sharpe, Richard Bowdler (1847-1909). British ornithologist and museum curator. Founder of the British Ornithologists' Club in 1892.
5
Wallace, A. R. 1896. Miracles and modern spiritualism. Revised edition, with chapters on apparitions and phantasms. London: George Redway.
6
Bilgrami, Syed Ali (1853-1911?). Indian civil servant, lecturer, translator and geologist.
7
In ARW’s handwriting, “Bilgrami”.

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Letter (WCP3282.3250)]

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

Revision history

Transcribed by Tannock, Wendy [2015-03-10] Transcription checked by Benny, Ruth [2015-03-10] Transcription checked by Sherwood, Danni [2020-08-10] Transcription checked by Chua, Christine [2026-04-18]

Please cite as “WCP3282,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP3282