62 MY LIFE 



observing of botanists. As he lived in Yorkshire after 1867, 



I only saw him at rather long intervals, but I generally took 



the opportunity of lecture engagements in the north to pay 



him a few days' visit. Our correspondence also was scanty, 

 as he was a great invalid and could not write much, and I 

 only preserved such letters as touched upon subjects con- 

 nected with my own work. I will, however, give a few 

 extracts from these, both to illustrate the character of a little- 

 known man of science, and also because some of the matters 

 touched on are of general scientific interest. 



I sent Spruce a copy of my little volume of Essays on 

 ' Natural Selection," in 1870, and after reading it he sent it 

 on to his friend, W. Wilson, of Warrington, a British botan- 

 ist, and, like my friend, an enthusiast in mosses. His reply 

 Spruce sent to me, and it is rather amusing, as showing the 

 feeling of the older school of naturalists towards the new 

 heresy of Darwinism. 



"My Dear Friend, 



You will think me a wayward chiel when you hear my 

 confession that to-day, feeling very squeamish mentally, I 

 happened to bethink myself of Wallace's book, and ventured 

 to open it with great misgivings about my coming into rapport 

 with one whom you introduced to me as the champion of 

 Darwinian philosophy. With fear and trembling I paused on 

 the threshold of the book, just to see what I should have 

 to grapple with. The ' Contents,' therefore, engaged such 

 attention as I could command, and after examining, or rather 

 glancing, at the contents of the first seven chapters without 

 much emotion of either attractive or repulsive character, 

 skipped over to chapter x., the last of the series, not greatly 

 excited at either pole of the intellect, until I came to * Matter 

 is Force ; all Force is probably Will-force.' ' Oho ! ' said I, 

 ' now we come to something of interest and connected with 

 my friend Rev. T. P. Kirkman's rather unskillfully written 

 pamphlet on this very subject — we shall have everything in 

 shape and properly argued by the clear-minded Wallace, no 

 doubt/ 



