To J. D. Hooker 17 December 1879
Down, | Beckenham, Kent. | Railway Station | Orpington. S.E.R.
Dec 17. 79
My dear Hooker,
I have had a letter marked private from Miss Buckley on the following subject, but please observe that she wishes her name not to be mentioned. She says that Wallace “is not strong & that literary work tires him very much, & the uncertainty of it is a great anxiety to him”. She adds that she knows “that pecuniarily it is of importance to him to get a regular salary”. He lately wrote to her “I want some regular work either partially out-door or if indoor then not more than 5 or 6 hrs a day, & capable of being partially done at home. This I see no probability, hardly a possibility of getting at my age”.1
Miss Buckley asks me to consult you, Lubbuck,2 & others whether any thing can be done for him. I can see no possibility of obtaining any scientific post for him, with a small regular salary; but it has occurred to me that it might be just possible to get him one of the government pensions. You can judge infinitely better than I can on this head; and will you be so kind as to let me hear what you think. If the presidents of the several leading scientific societies & some dozen other eminent scientific men were willing to sign a memorial stating his claims, Government would perhaps listen to it; especially if any influential man like yourself could say a word in his favour. It seems to me that a fairly strong claim might be made out,— his travels in S. America & the Malay Archipelago for scientific purposes,— his large share in the descent theory,— his grand work on geographical distribution,— Essays on Protection &c.3 If you think at all favourably of the scheme, will you talk it over with any other leading men such as Huxley or Spottiswoode,4 as soon as you meet them. I am in very bad position for doing much, but should feel bound to undertake all the labour, if the plan is considered feasible by you & a few others. I hope & trust that the cause justifies me in troubling you about it.
My dear Hooker | Every yours sincerely | Charles Darwin
Footnotes
Bibliography
Darwin, Charles and Wallace, Alfred Russel. 1858. On the tendency of species to form varieties; and on the perpetuation of varieties and species by natural means of selection … Communicated by Sir Charles Lyell … and J. D. Hooker. [Read 1 July 1858.] Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society (Zoology) 3 (1859): 45–62. [Shorter publications, pp. 282–96.]
Origin: On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1859.
[Wallace, Alfred Russel.] 1867b. Mimicry and other protective resemblances among animals. Westminster Review n.s. 32: 1–43.
Wallace, Alfred Russel. 1876a. The geographical distribution of animals, with a study of the relations of living and extinct faunas as elucidating the past changes of the earth’s surface. 2 vols. London: Macmillan and Co.
Summary
Miss Arabella Buckley’s letter on Wallace’s poor health and finances leads CD to seek JDH’s aid in getting a Government pension.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-12360
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Joseph Dalton Hooker
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- DAR 95: 491–3
- Physical description
- ALS 6pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 12360,” accessed on 17 August 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-12360.xml