WCP71

[1]

Broadstone, Dorset.

Feb^y. 1^st. 1903

My dear Will¹

I am promised separate copies of the B. & W. portrait, but they have not come yet. Never mind about the house photo? yet, as the people must wait. We had a terrific gale last night, which shook the house, but did no damage. Ma² & I have ^had both a slight touch of Influenza — Ma was worst & was in bed 3 days but is better now. Two of our men ^{(our last)} Kerley & White are now both laid up, so with old Pennington alone, and I not [2] being able to stand about with him while the ground is so wet & the wind cold, we do not get much forwarder.

I am also promised a set of all the pictures the photographer took for B. & W. including one of the House.

I hope your journeys were successful & that you got some orders, as I suppose that was the object of them. Was it not a little injudicious to ask for a rise till you had been at the new work a little longer? Of course, as it is sure responsible [3] work you ought to be paid at least double what you are getting: but the great thing is of course to make yourself rather essential to them by success in all the work they give you to do.

I have written the two first chapters of the new book, & hope to get on quicker now.

There are annual sales of all kinds of surplus stores at Portsmouth Dockyard- including everything from carpets to chain cables & from desks to Dynamos. In these there are usually some lots of timber. [4] Mine was bought at one of these, I think in July. There are also quarterly or half-yearly sales of "Offal Wood", that is refuse timber from the huge quantities imported for the internal work of ships. Walker got his at one of these sales. King & Co. of Portsmouth- Auctioneers usually sell these. Of course the wood is refuse, of all shapes & sizes but much of it is good, and is sold cheap.

The big Annual sales are by a London firm & are advertised in the London papers. A great deal of the timber sold is teak but there is also mahogany, oak, &c.

Your affect[iona]^te Pa | Alfred R. Wallace [signature]