PAKT I (Continued) 



II. — Early Letters 



[1854—62] 



OF the few letters which have been preserved relating 

 to this period, a number have already been published 

 in ^^ My Life/' and need not be reprinted here. 

 But in some cases portions of these letters have been given 

 because they bring out aspects of Wallace's character which 

 are not revealed elsewhere. The various omissions which 

 have been made in other letters refer either to unimportant 

 personal matters or to technical scientific details. The first 

 of the letters was written during Wallace's voyage to the 

 Malay Archipelago. 



To G. Silk 



Steamer " Bengal," Red Sea. March 26, [1854]. 



My dear George, — ... Of all the eventful days of 

 my life my first in Alexandria was the most striking. 

 Imagine my feelings when, coming out of the hotel 

 (whither I had been conveyed in an omnibus) for the 

 purpose of taking a quiet stroll through the city, I 

 found myself in the midst of a vast crowd of donkeys 

 and their drivers, all thoroughly determined to appropriate 

 my person to their own use and interest, without in the 

 least consulting my inclinations. In vain with rapid 

 strides and waving arms I endeavoured to clear a way 

 and move forward; arms and legs were seized upon, and 

 even the Christian coat-tails were not sacred from the pro- 

 fane Mahometans. One would hold together two donkeys 



45 



