Ɛpsilon

WCP622

Letter (WCP622.622)

[1]1

Croydon.

Dec[ember] 6 [?1886]2

Madam,3

Some days ago I informed y[ou]r husband through his attorney that if only two men of undoubted hono[u]r could be found from among all the various Societies to which he belongs who would publicly testify to the acuity and propriety of his conduct [2] or if any professional man of renown and established reputation would confirm the decision of that unprincipled Editor Walsh,4, 5 I would cause to cease all further exposure of him as a "cheat, a swindler and impostor".6 I have written to five or six of the Societies to which I know he [3] belongs, to the same effect. What earthly use have his forced apologies been to him? The miserable wretch7 knew at the time, how thoroughly and completely I have him in my power. Your own sense must tell you that had his conduct been otherwise the case [4] fraudulent and disgraceful,8 thousands of his professional confreres would have been too ready for their own sakes to testify to the correctness of the award. And you see that not one but his own hired attorney that dared raise a finger in his [5]9 defence!! And this usual support is really all that British Science has to depend on!! But never mind, — all y[ou]r husband or you have to do is to find two, only two, if you can get no more who will prove your husband was justified in stealing [6] my £500,10 contrary to the evidence11 at the time, contrary to the decision of the "both referees", & contrary to my explicit remonstrance! He has had three and half years to justify that fraudulent appropriation,12 and he has failed [7] to do so! And you and he are insane enough to suppose that all the lawyers in England will deter me from exposing such outrageous villainy!13 I have been compelled to lay the whole case before the Editors of the "Contemporary [8] Review"14, 15, who I fear were ignorant of his conduct. Pray, for the sake of his children, who must inevitably share their father’s disgrace, urge him, or his friends on his behalf, to put an end to an exposure, which otherwise shall cease only with my life.

Y[ou]rs [1 word illeg.], John Hampden16 [signature]

Mrs. Wallace

1
The repository reference number "[WP13/1/14 (1)]" appears here.
2
Year inferred in Wallace Letters Online database entry.
3
Wallace, Annie (née Mitten) (1846-1914). ARW’s wife.
4
Walsh, John Henry (1810-1888). English surgeon, sports writer and editor of Field magazine, the world's oldest country and field sports magazine, published continuously since 1853. Walsh was the judge for the wager (see Endnote 10), who declared Wallace the winner, but Hampden refused to accept the result.
5
The words "unprincipled Editor Walsh" are underlined in blue pencil.
6
The words "cheat, a swindler and impostor" are underlined in blue pencil.
7
The words "earthly use", "his forced apologies been to him?" and "miserable wretch" are underlined in blue pencil.
8
The words "fraudulent" and "disgraceful" are underlined in blue pencil.
9
The repository reference number "[WP13/1/14 (2)]" appears here.
10
The sum of £500 was to be offered by the author, a Flat-Earth proponent, and £500 by a Fellow of the RGS, with the £1000 to be deposited in Coutts Bank and paid on the result of an experiment to prove the curvature of the earth, on or before 15th March 1870. ARW accepted the wager and designed an experiment along a six-mile (10 km) stretch of canal, which demonstrated curvature to the satisfaction of the judge (see Endnote 4) and so his stake was returned and he won £500 from the author.
11
The words "stealing my £500, contrary to the evidence" are underlined in blue pencil.
12
The words "fraudulent appropriation" underlined in blue pencil.
13
The words "outrageous villainy" are underlined in blue pencil.
14
British biannual (formerly quarterly) magazine, established in 1866 by a group of intellectuals to promote intelligent and independent opinion about the great issues of the day. Sir Percy Bunting (no information found) was editor from 1882 to 1911.
15
The words "Editors" and "Contemporary Review" are underlined in blue pencil.
16
Hampden, John (no dates available). A resident of Swindon, Wiltshire, set a public challenge for proof of the rotundity of the earth, which ARW accepted and won. Hampden refused to accept the result. He launched a lengthy campaign of writing letters to various publications and to organisations of which ARW was a member, denouncing him as a swindler and a thief. ARW won multiple libel suits against Hampden, but the resulting litigation cost him more than the amount of the wager and he was criticized by his peers for "his 'injudicious' involvement in a bet to 'decide' the most fundamental and established of scientific facts".

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Letter (WCP622.622)]

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]

Please cite as “WCP622,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP622