1876. j MR. WALLACE. 405 



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 hard- 

 ly 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 let- 

 ter from Mr. Gladstone announcing the fact : " How extraor- 

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

 the present circumstances.* Good heavens! how pleased I 

 am!" 



The letters which follow are of a miscellaneous character 

 and refer principally to the books he read, and to his minor 

 writings.] 



C. Darwin to Miss Buckley (Mrs. Fisher). 



Down, February n [1876]. 



MY DEAR Miss BUCKLEY, You must let me have the 

 pleasure of saying that I have just finished reading with very 

 great interest your new book.f The idea seems to me a 

 capital one, and as far as I can judge very well carried out. 

 There is much fascination in taking a bird's eye view of all 

 the grand leading steps in the progress of science. At first I 

 regretted that you had not kept each science more separate ; 

 but 1 dare say you found it impossible. I have hardly any 



* Mr. Gladstone was then in office, and the letter must have been writ- 

 ten when he was overwhelmed with business connected with the opening 

 of Parliament (Jan. 6). 



f ' A Short History of Natural Science.' 



