62 



MY LIFE 



[Chap. 



Richard Spruce, one of the most cultivated and most charm- 

 ing of men, as well as one of the most enthusiastic and 

 observing of botanists. As he lived in Yorkshire after 1867, 

 I only saw him at rather long intervals, but I generally took 

 the opportunity of lecture engagements in the north to pay 

 him a few days' visit. Our correspondence also was scanty, 

 as he was a great invalid and could not write much, and I 

 only preserved such letters as touched upon subjects con- 

 nected with my own work. I will, however, give a few 

 extracts from these, both to illustrate the character of a little- 

 known man of science, and also because some of the matters 

 touched on are of general scientific interest. 



I sent Spruce a copy of my little volume of Essays on 

 "Natural Selection," in 1870, and after reading it he sent it 

 on to his friend, W. Wilson, of Warrington, a British botanist, 

 and, like my friend, an enthusiast in mosses. His reply 

 Spruce sent to me, and it is rather amusing, as showing the 

 feelings of the older school of naturalists towards the new 

 heresy of Darwinism. 



"My dear Friend, 



" You will think me a wayward chiel when you hear 

 my confession that to-day, feeling very squeamish mentally, 

 I happened to bethink myself of Wallace's book, and ven- 

 tured to open it with great misgivings about my coming into 

 rapport with one whom you introduced to me as the champion 

 of Darwinian philosophy. With fear and trembling I paused 

 on the threshold of the book, just to see what I should have 

 to grapple with. The * Contents,' therefore, engaged such 

 attention as I could command, and after examining, or rather 

 glancing, at the contents of the first seven chapters without 

 much emotion of either attractive or repulsive character, 

 skipped over to chapter x., the last of the series, not greatly 

 excited at either pole of the intellect, until I came to * Matter 

 is Force ; all Force is probably Will-force.' ^ Oho ! ' said I, 

 * now we come to something of interest and connected with 

 my friend Rev. T. P. Kirkman's rather unskilfully written 

 pamphlet on this very subject— we shall have everything in 



I 



