WCP66

[1]

Broadstone, Wimborne.

Nov^r. 15th. 1902

My dear Will¹

Having got home early this evening I will send you a few lines to report progress. At length the Study is habitable, & we had hot-water to wash with for the first time on Friday, having had Pennington’s sister to help clean & prepare. The various lavatories & bath. rooms are also finished, & look very nice & rather original. The Doulton fireplace in glazed ware for the drawing-room is come & will be fixed when we get some instructions. It will be I think quite a feature in the house. Percy is now putting up cupboards in the "S." & the S.W. "S.E." bedrooms & then they will be finished. The East balcony is finished all but painting the balusters. The Shed is at [2] last finished & some of the rubbish is getting sorted into it. We are waiting as usual for stone-steps to enable us to finish the Porch. The next important job in doing the Dado of the Drawing-room, when it can be stained & the Dr^g. room will be finished & can have furniture put in it. Then the Dining room must be ceiled with match-boarding like the Study, & after that the only work will be the outside verandahs, & the Teak Panelling of the Dining Room. The Dr^g Room will take a fortnight & the Panelling a month probably which will carry us right on to ‘Xmas! The fire in the Study works well & looks very comfortable; and the little fireplace in the Hall is also finished & looks nice.

[3] Unfortunately we are driven on to winter again before doing the road up to the front door, but I have now about 40 cub [cubic] yards of gravel ready to make it up with.

Now a word or two on the gravitation question. You say if the pressure is caused by material particles however minute & moving with almost infinite speed, resultant forces would be set up & interfere with the effect. This I do not quite understand. But, if on the other hand there is only wave-motion of a material fluid, then no pressure will be produced. Sound-waves in air produce no pressure unless the cause of the sound is an exertion of force that displaces a mass of air as in an explosion, or a blow, or the actual motion of a vibrating cord, or [4] the blast in an organ-pipe. The objection to wave-motion only throughout the universe in every direction at once, is, that it would not cause pressure because it would not be a continuous displacement of the fluid but only a back-and-forward motion. How is this difficulty to be overcome?

I enclose you a beautiful poem sent me (several copies) I know not by whom. It is one of the fine products of Spiritualism. Miss Lizzie Doten² is an Inspirational Medium. It is worth [illeg.] reading more than once. It reminds me of Charles Mackay’s³ style & may have been inspired by him.

I think I shall get through the house with a debt of about £.100. It will have cost I expect near £.1500, but it will be well worth it.

Your affectionate Pa | Alfred R. Wallace [signature]