WCP671

Letter (WCP671.843)

[1]

Holly House, Barking, E.

July 3rd 1871

Dear Stainton

Owing to your having said you were just leaving town for the Lakes I put your letter1 aside for a few days, & then being much occupied with other matters entirely forgot all about it, till your presence called it to my recollection. For this apparent neglect I must apologise both to you and to the Linnean Society.

With regard to the offer you were as good as to make [2] me on behalf of the Society I could can only say, that my only motive for declining it could be, my feeling that it is an honour so entirely beyond any thing that I have any right to expect or that I have done anything to deserve. Should however the Council of the Society think differently I shall not be so ungracious as to refuse the proffered honour.2

I remain | D[ea]r. Stainton | Yours very faithfully | Alfred R.Wallace [signature]

H.T. Stainton Esq.

1
Letter not found.
2
Probably the Fellowship of the Linnean Society, of which Stainton was secretary. See WPC3946.3886, ARW to the Secretary of the Linnean Society, 3 Feb 1872. ARW was admitted as FLS on 15 February 1872. The Linnean Society of London. 160th anniversary of the presentation of "On the tendency of Species to form Varieties". 1st July 2018. <https://www.linnean.org/news/2018/07/01/1st-july-2018-160th-anniversary-of-the-presentation-of-on-the-tendency-of-species-to-form-varieties> [accessed 30 Apr. 2021].

Editorial information

Status: Edited (but not proofed) transcription [Letter (WCP671.843)]

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

Revision history

Transcribed by Bourne, Fiona [2013-04-22] Transcription checked by Catchpole, Caroline [2013-04-22] Transcription checked by Lucas, Paula [2022-07-19]

Please cite as “WCP671,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 28 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP671