[dated by DCP as after 20 August 1862]
[1][top half of MS page torn and beginning of letter missing] I have only the 1st. Edition of the "Origin"1— I suppose the one you kindly sent2 to Singapore must have reached after I left3 & they did not think it worth while to return it. I should be much pleased to have the 3rd. Ed[itio]n.4
I have never considered the Ostriches to have any real connection with Mammals, & should imagine [2] [top half of MS page torn and section of letter missing] difficult [MS torn, several words missing] of anomalous semiaquatic animals which should easily admit of modification into these three forms. —
I find myself very delicate & dread the winter, as I have been suffering here from inflamation of the pleura,5 & bad cough through a little exposure to night air.
I remain | My dear Mr Darwin | Yours very faithfully | Alfred R. Wallace [signature]
C. Darwin Esq.
Status: Edited (but not proofed) transcription [Letter (WCP4287.4409)]
For more information about the transcriptions and metadata, see https://wallaceletters.myspecies.info/content/epsilon
Please cite as “WCP4287,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 29 March 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP4287