IV MODERN E VOL UTION 125 



Wallace asks Bates if he had read the Vestiges of the 

 Natural History of Creation, and a subsequent letter 

 indicates that Bates had not formed a favourable 

 opinion of the book. A later letter is interesting 

 as conveying an estimate of Darwin. * I first/ 

 Wallace says, ' read Darwin's Journal three or four 

 years back, and have lately re-read it. As the 

 journal of a scientific traveller, it is second only 

 to Humboldt's Personal Narrative ; as a work of 

 general interest, perhaps superior to it. He is an 

 ardent ' admirer and most able supporter of Mr. 

 Lyell's views. His style of writing I very much 

 admire, so free from all labour, affectation, or 

 egotism, yet so full of interest and original thought.' 

 But, of still greater moment, is a letter in which 

 Wallace tells Bates that he begins 'to feel dissatis- 

 fied with a mere local collection. I should like to 

 take some one family to study thoroughly, princi- 

 pally with a view to the theory of the origin of 

 species.' The two friends had often discussed 

 schemes for going abroad to explore some virgin 

 region, nor could their scanty means prevent the 

 fulfilment of a scheme which has enriched both 

 science and the literature of travel. The choice of a 

 country to explore was settled by Wallace's perusal 

 of a little book entitled A Voyage up the River 

 Amazons, including a Residence in Pard, by W. H. 

 Edwards, an American tourist, published in Murray's 

 * Family Library,' in 1847. In the autumn of that 

 year Wallace proposed a joint expedition to the 

 river Amazons for the purpose of exploring the 

 Natural History of its banks ; the plan being to 

 make a collection of objects, dispose of the dupli- 



