Ɛpsilon

WCP6135

Letter (WCP6135.7095)

[1]1

CHESTERTON HOUSE

CIRENCESTER

22nd Jan[uar]y [19]’142

Dear Sir3

I think there may have been a few letters between your father and the late Rajah4 but I think it would be quite impossible to find them — & they must have been destroyed long ago — I can remember him as well as if I had met him a month ago [2] and have often regretted that I had not seen more of him in later days — I have always been a great admirer of both his opinions and his writings & they will last I may say for ever — I think the last time I met him was at Dr Murchison’s5 evening parties — when a [3] large number of scientific people were assembled. I was a fellow passenger of his when he brought the first birds of paradise to England & stopped at Malta some time to await warmer weather before bringing the birds to England.

I wish I could give you more information but think his [4] life was so teaming with bright flash[e]s of talent & hard work in natural history as well as so many other branches that I conclude you will find plenty of material for the book[.] The life written by himself6 was most interesting & much of it would well bear repetition —

Believe me | Yours very sincerely | C Brooke7 [signature]

1
The page is numbered WP16/1/76 [1 of 2] in pencil in the top RH corner.
2
Year deduced from birth and death dates of author.
3
Wallace, William Greenell (1871-1951) Electrical engineer, second son and third child of ARW.
4
Brooke, James (1803-1868) British adventurer born in India who served in the Bengal Army. After resigning his commission he bought a ship and sailed out to the Malay Archipelago. There he restored the Sultan of Brunei to his throne by helping to crush a rebellion, and was made the Rajah of Sarawak, ruling until his death. He attracted ARW to the region, leading to the eight-year expedition 1854-1862, recounted in his book (1869) The Malay Archipelago.
5
Murchison, Roderick Impey (1792-1871) Scottish geologist who first described and investigated the Silurian system. His colleagues at the Geological Society of London included Charles Lyell and Charles Darwin. He was one of the founders of the Royal Geographical Society in1830 and president four times between 1843 and 1871.
6
Wallace, A. R. (1905) My Life; A Record of Events and Opinions London, Chapman & Hall Ltd.; New York, Dodd Mead & Company. 2 vols.
7
Brooke, Charles Anthoni Johnson (1829-1917), ruled as the second White Rajah of Sarawak, 1868-1917. Born Charles Anthoni Johnson, he adopted his uncle James Brooke’s name (see Endnote 4) and entered his service in 1852 as Resident at the Lundu station. He was named as his successor in 1865.

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Letter (WCP6135.7095)]

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

Revision history

Transcribed by O'Dell, Sandra [2018-08-15]

Envelope (WCP6135.7096)

Envelope addressed to "W. G. Wallace Esq, Old Orchard, Broadstone, Dorset", with stamp, postmarked "CIRCENCESTER | 4. 30PM | JA 22 |14". Two pencil notes are written on front of envelope in the hand of W. G. Wallace: "Sir C. Brooke | Auto" and "Mr Marchant". [Envelope (WCP6135.7096)]

Please cite as “WCP6135,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP6135