Early Letters 



prettier and more varied than those of the tropics. It is 

 only the great leaves and the curious-looking plants, and 

 the deep gloom of the forests and the mass of tangled 

 vegetation that astonish and delight Europeans, and it is 

 certainly grand and interesting and in a certain sense 

 beautiful, but not the calm, sweet, warm beauty of our 

 own fields, and there is none of the brightness of our own 

 flowers ; a field of buttercups, a hill of gorse or of heather, 

 a bank of foxgloves and a hedge of wild roses and purple 

 vetches surpass in heauty anything I have ever seen in the 

 tropics. This is a favourite subject with me, but I cannot 

 go into it now. 



Send the accompanying note to Mr. Stevens immediately. 

 You will see what I say to him about my collections here. 

 Java is the richest of all the islands in birds, but they are 

 as well knoAvn as those of Europe, and it is almost impos- 

 sible to get a new one. However, I am adding fine speci- 

 mens to my collection, which will be altogether the finest 

 known of the birds of the Archipelago, except perhaps 

 that of the Ley den Museum, who have had naturalists col- 

 lecting for them in all the chief islands for many years 

 with unlimited means. 



Give my kind love to mother, to whom I will write next 

 time.— Your affectionate brother, Alfred K, Wallace. 



To G. SlLK^ 



Singapore. January 20, 1862. 



My dear George, — ... On the question of marriage we 

 probably differ much. I believe a good wife to be the greatest 

 blessing a man can enjoy, and the only road to happiness, 

 but the qualifications I should look for are probably not such 

 as would satisfy you. My opinions have changed much on 



1 For the other part of this letter see " My Life," i. 379. 

 87 



