64 PnOCEEDINGS or THE 



read his important memoir on " Mimicry in the Malaj'^an Papilios " 

 in 1864, Wallace's share in the joint papers was his greatest 

 scientific acliievement ; while, in the second publication, he was the 

 first to extend tiie principles set forth by his old fellow-traveller, 

 H. AV. Bates, to the East, and to discuss and throw new light on 

 certain important aspects of Miniicry wliich had up to that time 

 escaped attention — I specially refer to polymorphism in Mimicry 

 and to the presence of Mimicry in the female. Not only was 

 the parent theory of Natural Selection first brought before the 

 scientific world by the Linnean Society, but the daughter theory 

 of Mimicry, which formed and still forms its most striking 

 illustration and defence, was first made known by Bates, then 

 extended by Wallace, and later by Roland Trimen, through the 

 same channel. Mimicry always possessed an intense fascination 

 for AVallace, and I remember how he wrote to me soon alter 

 iny election as Hope Professor, urging that the whole resources of 

 the Hope Department should be devoted to this subject. 



The last paper communicated by Wallace to a scientific society 

 was read by him before the Linnean on June 18, 1896. I'he 

 subject was " The Problem of Utility," and, as he haa himself 

 explained *, his " purpose was to enforce the view that all specific 

 and generic characters must be (or once have been) useful to their 

 possessor, or. owing to the complex laws of growth, be correlated 

 with useful characters. ... 1 endeavoured to show that the 

 ])roblem is a fundamental one, that utility is the basic principle 

 of Natural Selection, and that without Natural Selection it has 

 not been shown how specific characters can arise." 



I recall with the greatest pleasure meeting Wallace at breakfast 

 at Prof. Meldola's the morning after the meeting. He showed 

 not the slightest trace of fatigue after the journey and the effort 

 of reading the paper. The party, which also included Francis 

 Darwin, sat and talked until far into the morning. Einally, as 

 AVallace rose, he said, with the greatest animation, " Well, I 

 should like to go on in this way all day !" 



It is a piece of remarkable ill-luck that the Linnean Society 

 does not possess a noble representation of one of our greatest 

 Fellows — a splendid companion to the D;irwin we know and 

 love so well. Ten years ago the Hon. John Collier generously 

 offered to paint a portrait of Wallace, and even, if it weva 

 necessary, to stay at Broadstone for the purpose. I told 

 Wallace of the offer, and tried to persuade him to accept it. 

 Others tried also, but no one could induce him to sit. "My 

 portrait is just appearing in 'Black and White,'" he said, " and 

 I am sure nothing could be better than that." The Linnean 

 Society and the whole world of science and letters are the poorer 

 for his decision. 



Nothing would have pleased Wallace better than the thought 

 that the books in his library, which bear the imprint of bis per- 

 sonality, should find the j)ermanent home in the Linnean Society 



* ' My Life' (Loudon, 1905), ii. p. 215. 



