The Wallace-Darwin Correspondence 



Hurstpier point, March 8, 1868. 



Dear Darwin, — I am very sorry your letter came back 

 here while I was going to town, or I should have been very 

 pleased to have seen you. 



Trimen's paper at the Linnean was a very good one, 

 but the only opponents were Andrew Murray and B. 

 Seeman. The former talked utter nonsense about the 

 *^ harmony of nature '' produced by '* polarisation,'^ alike 

 in *^ rocks, plants and animals,'^ etc. etc. etc. And Seeman 

 objected that there was mimicry among plants, and that our 

 theory would not explain it. 



Lubbock answered them both in his best manner. 



Pray take your rest, and put my last notes by till you 

 return to Down, or let your son discover the fallacies in 

 them. 



Would you like to see the specimens of pupae of butter- 

 flies whose colours have changed in accordance with the 

 colour of the surrounding objects ? They are very curious, 

 and Mr. T. W. Wood, who bred them, would, I am sure, 

 be delighted to bring them to show you. His address is 

 89 Stanhope Street, Hampstead Road, N.W. — Believe me 

 yours very faithfully, Alfred R. Wallace. 



Darwin had already written a short note to Wallace 

 expressing a general dissent from his views. 



4 Chester Place, Regent's Park, N.W. March 17, 1868. 



My dear Wallace, — Many thanks about Pieridge. I have 

 no photographs up here, but will remember to send one 

 from Down. Should you care to have a large one, of treble 

 or quadruple common size, I will with pleasure send you 

 one under glass cover, to any address you like in London, 

 either now or hereafter. I grieve to say we shall not be 

 here on April 2nd, as we return home on the 31st. In 



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