R. WALLACE
_The Ferns, Witcombe, Gloucester. June 25, 1909._
Dear Dr. Wallace,--It is difficult for me to tell you how gratified I am
by your extraordinarily kind letter.... The truth is that success was
easy. It has been my immense good fortune to know most of those who
played in the drama. The story simply wanted a straightforward
amanuensis to tell itself. But it is a real pleasure to me to know that
I have met with some measure of success.
There are many essays in the book that you will not like any more than I
do. The secret of this lies in the fact, which you pointed out in your
memorable speech at the Linnean Celebration, that no one but a
naturalist can really understand Darwin.
I did not go to Cambridge--I had my hands full here. I was not sorry for
the excuse. There seemed to me a note of insincerity about the whole
business. I am short-tempered. I cannot stand being told that the origin
of species has still to be discovered, and that specific differences
have no "reality" (Bateson's Essay, p. 89). People are of course at
liberty to hold such opinions, but decency might have presented another
occasion for ventilating them.--Yours sincerely,
W.T. THISELTON-DYER.
* * * * *
SIR W.T. THISELTON-DYER TO A.R. WALLACE
_The Ferns, Witcombe, Gloucester. July 11, 1909._
Dear Mr. Wallace,-- ... I have just got F. Darwin's "Foundations.
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