102 



MY LIFE 



[Chap. 



natural-history societies of London, and from many eminent 

 men, but was not chosen. At the time this was a great dis- 

 appointment, but I have reason to believe now that it was 

 " all for the best." 



In 1 88 1 a society was formed for advocating the nationali- 

 zation of the land, of which I was elected president, and in 

 1882 I published a volume, entitled "Land Nationalization : 

 its Necessity and its Aims." Some account of this move- 

 ment will be given in a future chapter. Its publication 

 brought me letters of sympathy and general agreement from 

 Sir David Wedderburn, M.P., Lord Mount- Temple, and 

 many other friends and correspondents. In this year, on 

 June 29, the Dublin University gave me the honorary degree 

 of LL.D., as already mentioned in the last chapter. I will 

 here give the very short but flattering Latin speech of the 

 public orator in introducing me, with a translation by my 

 friend Mr. Comerford Casey — 



'•Introduco quoque Alfredum RusSEL WALLACE, Dar- 

 winii aemulum, immo Darwinium alterum. Neque hunc 

 neque ilium variae eluserunt species atque ora ferarum. Dar- 

 winius nempe lauri foetus auricomos decerpsit primus. Sed 

 quid querimur ? 



*' ' Primo'avulso non deficit alter 



Aureus, et simili frondescit virga metallo.' " 



"I introduce also Alfred Russel Wallace, the friendly 

 rival of Darwin. Equally familiar to both are the different 

 species and varieties of animals. Darwin, indeed, was the 

 first to pluck the golden laurel-branch. Yet through this did 

 Wallace suffer no eclipse ; for as Virgil sang — 



" ' One branch removed, another was to hand : 

 Another, bright and golden as the first.' " 



In this year, too, the world was made poorer by the 

 death of my kind friend and teacher, Charles Darwin, and I 

 was honoured by an invitation to his funeral (on April 26) 

 in Westminster Abbey, as one of the pall-bearers, along 

 with nine of his most distinguished friends or admirers. 



