WCP4192

Thoresby Park,

Ollerton.¹

French.²

Have you³ forgiven our unfortunate game at Cross purposes? It only struck me afterwards, that, to make the imbroglio more complete, you probably thought Wallace was a friend of mine, & that my vexation was in in the interest of his reputation — whereas I knew nothing whatever of him, but his books on natural history, & his noble generous conduct regarding Darwin.⁴ —

[2] It is an old story now perhaps, but I cannot resist saying how much good I believe your "Discourse" at Liverpool has done. I have seen it in many allusions, from the Church Congress (!) downwards. A generous tone on one side induces the same on the other, and you have shown that men of science are not all indiscriminate Iconoclasts, & that the sincere seekers after Truth need not be [3] at enmity, even though they should differ as to the roads open for reaching it. I hope you don't mind my saying this? I don't mean to be presumptuous — but it has been so often in my thoughts.

We are living here in a corner of the magnificent new house my brother is building, with the poor old home of my childhood all dismantled staring me in the face. But the melancholy [4] recollections of my visit last year reconcile me in some degree to the wrench of leaving it. We go forward hence to London on Monday next, and shall be at home all the evening from 6 o'clock upwards, in case you were inclined to repeat the proposal you made us last time of a visit.

I humbly beg pardon for filling a second sheet, but the post goes early, & I had not time to consider what ought to be left out. What a miserable⁵