WCP385

Letter (WCP385.385)

[1]1

[February 1856?]2

Dear Thomas3

Your note about the Engraving was very interesting. I hope you may make it succeed & keep it secret. You & Fanny4 talk of my coming back for a trifling sore as if I was within an omnibus ride of Conduit St[reet].5 I am now perfectly well, & only waiting to go Eastward. The far East is to me what the far West is to the Americans[.] They both meet in California [2] where I hope to arrive some day. I quite enjoy being a few days at Singapore now. The scene is at once so familiar & strange. The half naked chineese [sic] coolies, the neat shop keepers, the clean fat old long tailed merchants, all as busy & full of business as any Londoners. Then the handsome Klings6 who always ask double what they take & with whom it is most amusing to Bargain. The crowd of boatmen at the Ferry, a [3] dozen begging & disputing for a farthing fare, the Americans[,] the Malays & the Portuguese make up a scene doubly interesting to me now that I know something about them & can talk to them in the general language of the place. The streets of Singapore on a fine day are as crowded & busy as Tottenham Court road,7 & from the variety of nations & occupations far more interesting. I am more convinced than ever that no one can appreciate a new [4] country in a short visit. After 2 years in the country I only now begin to understand Singapore & to marvel at the life & bustle[,] the varied occupations & strange population, which on a spot which so short a time ago was an uninhabited jungle. A volume might be written on Singapore without exhausting its singularities — "The Roving[?] Englishman’s" is the pen that should do it.8

Yours affectionately | Alfred R Wallace [signature]

T Sims Esq.

1
Could WCP388 be a postscript, even if paper different size?
2
The document has been annotated "[FEB.1856]" as part of the cataloguing process and various sections have been marked in red crayon, perhaps at a later date for publication.
3
Sims, Thomas (1826-1910). Brother-in-law of ARW; photographer.
4
Sims (née Wallace), Frances "Fanny" (1812-1893). Sister of ARW; teacher.
5
"Conduit St[reet]", a street in central London, running off Regent Street in what was then a fashionable area with many shops (Walford, E. 1878. Regent Street and Piccadilly. 4, 246-262. In: Old and New London, 6 vols. London, UK: Cassell, Petter & Galpin). 7, Conduit Street was the home of Fanny and Thomas Sims from May 1855, as identified by van Wyhe and Rookmaaker from an advertisement in The Atlas which appeared from late July to late October 1855 (The British Library Board. 2018. The Atlas. 28 July 1855. No. 1524. [p. 15]. Findmypast. <https://www.findmypast.co.uk>).
6
"Klings", a derogatory term used to describe Indian settlers in Malaysia. (Oxford English Dictionary. 1989. Kling, n. Oxford English Dictionary. <www.oed.com>).
7
A street which was described in the late nineteenth centuries as "one of the busiest thoroughfares in London", in which several large stores were situated (Walford, E. 1878. Tottenham Court Road. 4, 467-480. In: Walford, E. (Ed.). Old and New London, 6 vols. London, UK: Cassell, Petter & Galpin. [vol. 4, p. *** page number not given online]).
8
Murray (Eustace Clare) Grenville, author of [Murray, E. C. G.]. 1854. The Roving Englishman, reprinted from "Household Words". London, UK: G. Routledge & Co.

Editorial information

Status: Edited (but not proofed) transcription [Letter (WCP385.385)]

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

Revision history

Transcribed by Bevan, Deniz [2012-03-13] Transcription checked by Brunnen, Claire [2012-04-13] Transcription checked by Catchpole, Caroline [2013-01-15] Transcription checked by Watt, Helen [2018-09-11]

Published letter (WCP385.5908)

[1] [p. 61]

TO HIS BROTHER-IN-LAW, THOMAS SIMS

Singapore. (Probably about March, 1856.)

Dear Thomas,—... You and Fanny1 talk of my coming back for a trifling sore as if I was within an omnibus ride of Conduit St. I am now perfectly well, and only waiting to go eastward. The far east is to me what the far west is to the Americans. They both meet in California, where I hope to arrive some day. I quite enjoy being a few days at Singapore now. The scene is at once so familiar and strange. The half-naked Chinese coolies, the neat shopkeepers, the clean, fat, old, long-tailed merchants, all as busy and full of business as any Londoners. Then the handsome Klings2, who always ask double what they take, and with whom it is most amusing to bargain. The crowd of boatmen at the ferry, a dozen begging and disputing for a farthing fare, the Americans, the Malays, and the Portuguese make up a scene doubly interesting to me now that I know something about them [2]3 and can talk to them in the general language of the place. The streets of Singapore on a fine day are as crowded and busy as Tottenham Court Road, and from the variety of nations and occupations far more interesting. I am more convinced than ever that no one can appreciate a new country in a short visit. After two years in the country I only now begin to understand Singapore and to marvel at the life and bustle, the varied occupations, and strange population, on a spot which so short a time ago was an uninhabited jungle.... —Yours affectionately,

ALFRED R. WALLACE.

1
Sims (née Wallace), Frances ("Fanny") (1812-1893). Sister of ARW; teacher.
2
A word used in parts of Southeast Asia to denote a person originating from South Asia. Wikipedia <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keling#:~:text=Keling%20(pronounced%20%5Bk%C9%99li%C5%8B%5D),it%20is%20commonly%20not%20capitalised.> [accessed 22 March 2021].
3
There is a Header at top centre of Page 2 which reads "Alfred Russel Wallace".

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Published letter (WCP385.5908)]

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

Revision history

Transcribed by Congerton, John [2019-12-17] Transcription checked by Lo, Yen [2022-07-19]

Please cite as “WCP385,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 27 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP385