[ROM the appearance of the young man I 

 imagine that Alfred Russel Wallace at 

 twenty-one was very much such a man 

 as his son, who did us such good work at 

 the Roycroft with pick and shovel. 

 Alfred was earnest, intent, strong, and 

 had a deal of quiet courage that he was as unconscious 

 of as he was of his digestion. 



He taught school, and to interest his scholars he would 

 take them on botanical excursions. Then he himself 

 grew interested, and began to collect plants, bugs, bee- 

 tles and birds on his own account. 



By 1848, the confining walls of the school had become 

 intolerable to 'Wallace and he started away on a wild- 

 goose-chase to Brazil, with a chum by the name of 

 Henry Walter Bates, an ardent entomologist. Alfred 

 had no money either, but Bates had influence, and 

 he cashed it in by arranging with the Curator of 

 the British Museum, that any natural history speci- 

 mens of value which they might gather and send to him, 

 would be paid for. And so something like a hundred 

 pounds was collected from several scientific men and 

 handed over, as advance payment for the 'wonderful 

 things that the young men were to send back. 

 They embarked on a sailing vessel that was captained 

 by a kind kinsman of Bates, so the fare was nil in con- 

 sideration of services rendered constructively. 

 Arriving at Brazil the young men began their collect- 

 ing of historic specimens. They got together a very 

 creditable collection of birds' eggs and sent them back 



95 



LITTLE 

 JOURNEYS 



