WCP3757

Letter (WCP3757.3669)

[1]1

NEW UNIVERSITY CLUB,

ST JAMES’S STREET,

S.W.

[No date]2

Dear Mr. Huxley,3

The V[ice]. C[hancellor]. at Cambridge4 cannot come on Wednesday5 and I hear the Duke6 is at Holker,7 so that altho’[ugh] [the] V[ice]. C[hancellor]. has telegraphed to him I think it is 10 to 1 he will not come. It has suddenly flashed across me that Wallace is a man whom it w[oul]d. be gracious to ask to be a pall bearer.8 What do [2] you think.[?] The only objection I know of is that H[erbert]. Spencer9 might think it more his place. Personally, altho’[ugh] I fear I am rather ignorant of his writings) I think Wallace more important. Do you know Wallace’s address.[?] Pray give me your candid opinion[.] [3]10 I have received [a] telegram from Down11 which removes all objections to our proceeding. They determined not to consult my mother12 further — rightly I am sure.

Yours sincerely | G. H. Darwin13 [signature]

I have written to Lowell14 & D[octo]r J[oseph]. H[ooker].15 telegraphs consent.

1
The page is numbered 96 in pencil in the top RH corner and "Darwin, G. H." is written at the top centre, both in pencil.
2
"1883 Ap[ri]l. 22" is written in pencil in square parentheses at the top centre of the page, below "Darwin, G. H.". The year must be incorrect, as the letter concerns arrangements for Darwin’s funeral, which took place on 26 April 1882.
3
Huxley, Thomas Henry (1825-1895). English biologist (comparative anatomist), philosopher and advocate of Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection. He was a pall-bearer at Darwin’s funeral.
4
Porter, James (1827-1900). was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge (Darwin’s alma mater) at the date of the letter (in office 1881-1884). He was not a pall-bearer at Darwin’s funeral.
5
The author refers to the funeral of his father, Charles Robert Darwin (1809-1882), English naturalist and writer, originator with ARW of the theory of evolution by natural selection and author of On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. He died on 19 April 1882 and the funeral was held on Wednesday 26 April at Westminster Abbey.
6
Cavendish, William, 7th Duke of Devonshire (1808-1891), British landowner, benefactor and politician. He was a pall-bearer at Darwin’s funeral.
7
Holker Hall is a privately owned country house located about 2 km to the southwest of the village of Cartmel, Cumbria, located in the county of Lancashire, England, at the date of the letter. The house was largely rebuilt in 1838-41 for the 7th Duke of Devonshire.
8
ARW was a pall-bearer at Darwin’s funeral.
9
Spencer, Herbert (1820-1903). English philosopher, biologist, anthropologist, sociologist and political theorist. He conceived evolution as the progressive development of the physical world, biological organisms and the human mind, culture and societies. He was not a pall-bearer at Darwin’s funeral.
10
The page is numbered 97 in pencil in the top RH corner.
11
The former home of the English naturalist Charles Darwin and his family, in the village of Downe, Kent. It was in this house and garden that Darwin worked on his theories of evolution by natural selection.
12
Darwin, Emma (née Wedgwood) (1808-1896). Wife and first cousin of Charles Darwin and mother of the author. They were married in 1839 and were the parents of 10 children, three of whom died at early ages.
13
Darwin, George Howard (1845-1912). English astronomer and mathematician, the second son and fifth child of Charles and Emma Darwin. He became Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy at the University of Cambridge in 1883. He studied tidal gravitational forces and formulated the fission theory of Moon formation.
14
Lowell, James Russell (1819-1891). American Romantic poet, critic, editor, and diplomat. He was American ambassador to Britain at the date of the letter and a pall-bearer at Darwin’s funeral.
15
Hooker, Joseph Dalton (1817-1911). British botanist and explorer, founder of geographical botany. He succeeded his father William Jackson Hooker (1785-1865) as Director of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew on his death and held the post for 20 years. He was a pall-bearer at Darwin’s funeral.

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Letter (WCP3757.3669)]

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

Revision history

Transcribed by O'Dell, Sandra [2018-08-15]

Please cite as “WCP3757,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 27 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP3757