It was always his boyish
joyous exuberance which touched me. He never grew old. When I had sat
with him an hour he was a young man, he became transfigured to me." ...
"The last time I saw Dr. Wallace," writes Prof. T.D.A. Cockerell of
Colorado, "was immediately after the Darwin Celebration at Cambridge in
1909. I was the first to give him the details concerning it, and vividly
remember how interested he was, and how heartily he laughed over some of
the funny incidents, which may not as yet be told in print. One of his
most prominent characteristics was his keen sense of humour, and his
enjoyment of a good story." In the summer of 1885 he spent a holiday
with Prof. Meldola at Lyme Regis. "After our ramble," said the
Professor, "we used to spend the evenings indoors, I reading aloud the
'Ingoldsby Legends,' which Wallace richly enjoyed. His humour was a
delightful characteristic. 'The inimitable puns of T. Hood were,' he
said, 'the delight of my youth, as is the more recondite and fantastic
humour of Mark Twain and Lewis Carroll in my old age.'"
* * * * *
Wallace loved to give time and trouble in aiding young men to start in
life, especially if they were endeavouring to become naturalists. He
sent them letters of advice, helped them in the choice of the right
country to visit, and gave them minute practical instructions how to
live healthily and to maintain themselves.
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