228 MISCELLANEA {continued). [1876. 



MISCELLANEOUS LETTERS — 1876-1882. 



[The chief incident of a personal kind (not already dealt 

 with) in the years which we are now considering was the 

 death of his brother Erasmus, who died at his house in Queen 

 Anne Street, on August 26th, 1881. My father wrote to 

 Sir J. D. Hooker (Aug. 30) : — 



" The death of Erasmus is a very heavy loss to all of us, for 

 he had a most affectionate disposition. He always appeared 

 to me the most pleasant and clearest headed man, whom I 

 have ever known. London will seem a strange place to me 

 without his presence ; I am deeply glad that he died without 

 any great suffering, after a very short illness from mere 

 weakness and not from any definite disease.* 



" I cannot quite agree with you about the death of the old 

 and young. Death in the latter case, when there is a bright 

 future ahead, causes grief never to be wholly obliterated/' 



An incident of a happy character may also be selected for 

 especial notice, since it was one which strongly moved my 

 father's sympathy. A letter (Dec. 17, 1879) to Sir Joseph 

 Hooker shows that the possibility of a Government Pension 

 being conferred on Mr. Wallace first occurred to my father at 

 this time. The idea was taken up by others, and my father's 

 letters show that he felt the most lively interest in the success 

 of the plan. He wrote, for instance, to Mrs. Fisher, " I hardly 

 ever wished for anything more than I do for the success 

 of our plan." He was deeply pleased when this thoroughly 

 deserved honour was bestowed on his friend, and wrote 

 to the same correspondent (January 7, 1881), on receiving a 

 letter from Mr. Gladstone announcing the fact : " How extra- 

 ordinarily kind of Mr. Gladstone to find time to write under 



* " He was not, I think, a happy ing." — From a letter to Sir Thomas 

 man, and for many years did not Farrer. 

 value life, though never complain- 



