so, and then laid them out to be pressed and dried.  At such times,” he continues—­and I have quoted the passage for the sake of this revealing confession—­“I experienced the joy which every discovery of a new form of life gives to the lover of nature, almost equal to those raptures which I afterwards felt at every capture of new butterflies on the Amazon, or at the constant stream of new species of birds, beetles and butterflies in Borneo, the Moluccas, and the Aru Islands."[4]

Anything in the shape of gardening papers and catalogues which came in his way was eagerly read, and to this source he owed his first interest in the fascinating orchid.

“A catalogue published by a great nurseryman in Bristol ... contained a number of tropical orchids, of whose wonderful variety and beauty I had obtained some idea from the woodcuts in Loudon’s ‘Encyclopedia.’  The first epiphytal orchid I ever saw was at a flower show in Swansea ... which caused in me a thrill of enjoyment which no other plant in the show produced.  My interest in this wonderful order of plants was further enhanced by reading in the Gardener’s Chronicle an article by Dr. Lindley on one of the London flower shows, where there was a good display of orchids, in which ... he added, ’and Dendrobium Devonianum, too delicate and beautiful for a flower of earth.’  This and other references ... gave them, in my mind, a weird and mysterious charm ... which, I believe, had its share in producing that longing for the tropics which a few years later was satisfied in the equatorial forests of the Amazon."[5]

For a brief period, when there was a lull in the surveying business and his prospects of continuing in this profession looked uncertain, he tried watchmaking, and would probably—­though not by choice—­have been apprenticed to it but for an unexpected circumstance which caused his master to give up his business.  Alfred gladly, when the occasion offered, returned to his outdoor life, which had begun to make the strongest appeal to him, stronger, perhaps, than he was really aware.

Early in 1844 another break occurred, due to the sudden falling off of land surveying as a profitable business.  His brother could no longer afford to keep him as assistant, finding it indeed difficult to obtain sufficient employment for himself.  As Wallace knew no other trade or profession, the only course which occurred to his mind as possible by which to earn a living was to get a post as school teacher.

After one or two rather amusing experiences, he eventually found himself in very congenial surroundings under the Rev. Abraham Hill, headmaster of the Collegiate School at Leicester.  Here he stayed for a little more than a year, during which time—­in addition to his school work and a considerable amount of hard reading on subjects to which he had not hitherto been able to devote himself—­he was led to become greatly interested in phrenology and mesmerism,