WCP7149

Letter (WCP7149.8280)

[1]

Down, Beckenham, Kent. (Railway Station Orpington. S.E.R.)

Dec. 27th 1880

My dear Dr Günther

Enclosed is the Memorial about which I take a very deep interest.1

Will you kindly read & consider it, & if you approve, I hope that you will sign, appending your official title at the Museum.2We intend to get only a few signatures, viz of ⁠⟨⁠men⁠⟩⁠ who from their special studies, or as Pres. of Scientific Socs. have some claim to be heard.

Hooker, Lubbock & Huxley will sign.3 The D. of Argyll has written to Mr Gladstone that he highly approves of the Memorial.4 Now I want to ask a favour of you, unless for any reason you dislike granting it, namely, to send the memorial to Owen; you might say that you had been asked to lay it before him, as his signature wd carry great weight. If he asks who originated the memorial you will of course have to ⁠⟨⁠tell⁠⟩⁠ him that it was I; & this w⁠⟨⁠ill⁠⟩⁠ I fear prejudice him against it. I could not myself send it as I have not spoken to him for 20 years.5 I enclose an envelope for the return of the memorial, as time is of consequence on account of the meeting of Pa⁠⟨⁠r⁠⟩⁠lt.

Pray forgive me for troubling you & believe me | My dear Dr Günther | Yours very faithfully | Charles Darwin

I thank you much for giving me your address so fully.6 There has been great delay owing to the disturbance of the Post.

Lord Aberdare7 signed it on the 23d & I have received it only this morning!

LS(A)

Shrewsbury School, Taylor Library

1
The enclosure was the memorial to obtain a government pension for Alfred Russel Wallace. It has not been found, but there is a draft of it in DAR 196: 3; for a transcription, see Appendix VI.
2
Günther was keeper of the zoological department at the British Museum.
3
Joseph Dalton Hooker, John Lubbock, and Thomas Henry Huxley.
4
The letter of George Douglas Campbell, eighth duke of Argyll, to William Ewart Gladstone has not been found, but see the letter to G. D. Campbell, [before 27 December 1880].
5
Richard Owen and CD had not been on speaking terms since shortly after the publication of Origin (see letter to T. H. Huxley, 9 December 1880 and n. 2).
6
See letter to Albert Günther, 22 December [1880]; Günther’s reply has not been found.
7
Henry Austin Bruce, first Baron Aberdare, was president of the Royal Geographical Society.

Editorial information

Status: Draft transcription [Letter (WCP7149.8280)]

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

Revision history

Transcribed by Darwin Correspondence Project [2020-06-12]

Please cite as “WCP7149,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 29 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP7149