Alfred Russel Wallace 



in disgust and refused to believe in the truth of the 

 fable. His restless brain and vivid imagination at this 

 early period is shown by some dreams which he could 

 still recall when 82 years of age; whilst the strong im- 

 pression left on his mind by certain localities, with all 

 their graphic detail of form and colour, enabled him to 

 enjoy over again many of the simple pleasures that made 

 up his early life in the beautiful grounds of the ancient 

 castle in which he used to play. 



The first great event in his life was the journey under- 

 taken by ferry-boat and stage-coach from Usk to Hertford, 

 to which town the family removed when he was 6 years 

 old, and where they remained for the next eight years, 

 \intil he left school. 



The morning after their arrival an incident occurred 

 which left its trace as of a slender golden thread running 

 throughout the fabric of his long life. Alfred, with child- 

 like curiosity about his new surroundings, wandered into 

 the yard behind their ^ house, and presently heard a voice 

 coming from the other side of the low wall, saying, '^ Hallo ! 

 who are you ? '^ and saw a boy about his own age peering 

 over the top. Explanations follow^ed, and soon, by the 

 aid of two water-butts, the small boys found themselves 

 sitting side by side on the top of the wall, holding a long 

 and intimate conversation. Thus began his friendship 

 with George Silk, and by some curious trend of circum- 

 stances the two families became neighbours on several sub- 

 sequent occasions,^ so that the friendship was maintained 

 until in due course the boys separated each to his own way 



^ " While at Hertford I lived altogether in five different houses, and in 

 three of these the Silk family lived next door to us, which involved not only 

 each family having to move about the same time, but also that two houses 

 adjoining each other should have been vacant together, and that they should 

 have been of the size required by each, which after the first was not the same, 

 the Silk family being much the larger." — " My Life," i. 32. 



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