Alfred Russel Wallace 



- V, 



'^ free from all labour, or egotism, yet so full of interest and 

 original thought.''' 



The early part of 1848 was occupied in making arrange- 

 ments with Mr. Samuel Stevens, of King Street, Covent 

 Garden, to act as their agent in disposing of a duplicate 

 collection of specimens which they proposed sending home ; 

 by this means paying their expenses during the time they 

 were away, any surplus being invested against their return. 

 This and other matters being satisfactorily settled, they 

 eventually sailed from Liverpool on April 20th in a barque 

 of 192 tons, said to be ^^ a very fast sailer," which proved 

 to be correct. On arriving at Para about a month later, 

 they immediately set about finding a house, learning some- 

 thing of the language, the habits of the people amongst whom 

 they had come to live, and making short excursions into the 

 forest before starting on l9nger and more trying explorations 

 up country. 



Wallace's previous vivid imaginings of what life in the 

 tropics would mean, so far as the surpassing beauty of nature 

 was concerned, were not immediately fulfilled. As a start- 

 ing-point, however. Para had many advantages. Besides the 

 pleasant climate, the country for some hundreds of miles 

 was found to be nearly level at an elevation of about 30 

 or 40 ft. above the river; the first distinct rise occurring 

 some 150 miles up the river Tocantins, south-west of 

 Para; the whole district was intersected by streams, with 

 cross channels connecting them, access by this means being 

 comparatively easy to villages and estates lying farther 

 inland. 



Before making an extensive excursion into the interior, 

 he spent some time on the larger islands at the mouth of 



^ There is no record in his autobiography as to the exact date when he 

 first became acquainted with Lyell's work, though several times reference is 

 made to it. 



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