WCP4422

[1]

Broadstone, Wimborne

Dec[embe]^r.. 10^th. 1903

My dear Poulton

I send you to day [sic] by Parcel Post, the 3 Vol[ume]s of Butterfly Papers &c. & the "grinning" Photo of self, as supplied to Mr. Dracopoli[?] &c. I also send in separate roll, a copy of the "Black and White" portrait of last January, taken by Elliot & Fry for the[se?], & which I think the best of me yet, as I am now. The original photo[graph]s are a little smaller but very good.

[2] One of the col[oure]^d plates of Bates paper was cut out to photo the figures for illustration of my Lecture on Mimicry. I put it back in place with bits of Postage stamp.

I have written my name & yours in the books as you wished.

About a year ago a gentleman living at Bournemouth Yelverton S[outh] Devon, called my attention to the story of Hassan of Bassora in the Arabian Nights, who visits the "Islands of Wak-wak" in search of his wife who, in a magic feathered dress had ^{changed to a bird and} flown away there. I have [3] now just been reading the story in Lane’s Edition (vol[ume] III) and it is most interesting, as there can not be the least doubt that the islands are the Aru Islands, and that the main incident in the story is founded on the mysterious plumes of the G[rea]t Bird of Paradise fr brought from there, but made the foundation of all sorts of magic, — Jinns — Afreets and Demons of all kinds. It is clear that at that time no Arabs, Persian, or even Mongol or Chinese had been to the Aru Islands, but that all accounts of the [4]¹ birds & the Islands came through two or three persons before they reached the Arab or Persian story-tellers. Hence they do not connect the name "Wák wák" at all with the birds, but say that there are trees on the islands with human heads on the branches, "and when the sun riseth those heads all cry out, saying in their cry "Wák wák"!".

All this is as clear as possible to me. Those who heard the cry sailing along the coast or in the channels between the Islands "at sunrise" — did not connect it with the birds ^{wh[ich] are seldom seen,} so invented the human heads to account for it. The cry is very clear & human! I think of writing a little art[icle] on this [letter crossed out]. Has anyone written on it before? Ask your Arabic Scholar?

Yours truly| Alfred R. Wallace [signature]