Ɛpsilon

WCP4405

Letter (WCP4405.4672)

[1]

Parkstone, Dorset.

Novr. 26th. 1896

My dear Poulton1

I am sorry to be obliged to decline the honour you would put upon me but there is nothing so distasteful to me as to attempt to make speeches, while to such an audience as I shall have at Oxford it is simply impossible!

The proper man is Sir Joseph Hooker,2 who was Darwin’s3 oldest friend, or rather is the [2] only surviving old friend.

I could have wished, myself, that Oxford would do honour to Darwin’s memory in another way — by founding some institution or Professorship for research & experiment on Evolution-problems. That would be worth any number of statues & more to [3] his taste.

Pray excuse my perversity on this matter & Believe me

Yours very faithfully| Alfred R. Wallace [signature]

1
Poulton, Edward Bagnall (1856-1943). British entomologist. Hope Professor of Zoology at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Jesus College.
2
Hooker, Joseph Dalton (1817-1911). British botanist and explorer. Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 1865-85. President of the Royal Society 1873-78.
3
Darwin, Charles Robert (1809-1882). British naturalist, geologist and author, notably of On the Origin of Species (1859).

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Letter (WCP4405.4672)]

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

Revision history

Transcribed by Lord, Annette [2012-07-17] Transcription checked by Catchpole, Caroline [2013-01-15] Transcription checked by Chua, Christine [2026-04-18]

Please cite as “WCP4405,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP4405