Now for a little personal matter.  For two years I have made up my mind to leave this place—­mainly for two reasons:  drought and wind prevent the satisfactory growth of all delicate plants; and I cannot stand being unable to attend evening meetings and being obliged to refuse every invitation in London.  But I was obliged to stay till I had got it into decent order to attract a customer.  At last it is so, and I am offering it for sale, and as soon as it is disposed of I intend to try the neighbourhood of Dorking, whence there are late trains from Cannon Street and Charing Cross.

I see your post-mark was Dorking, so I suppose you have been staying there.  Is it not a lovely country?  I hope your health is improved, and when, quite at your leisure, you have waded through my book, I trust you will again let me have a few lines of friendly criticism and advice.—­Yours very faithfully,

ALFRED R. WALLACE.

* * * * *

Down, Beckenham.  June 17, 1876.

My dear Wallace,—­I have now finished the whole of Vol.  I., with the same interest and admiration as before; and I am convinced that my judgment was right and that it is a memorable book, the basis of all future work on the subject.  I have nothing particular to say, but perhaps you would like to hear my impressions on two or three points.  Nothing has struck me more than the admirable and convincing manner in which you treat Java.  To allude to a very trifling point, it is capital about the unadorned head of the Argus pheasant.[102] How plain a thing is, when it is once pointed out!  What a wonderful case is that of Celebes!  I am glad that you have slightly modified your views with respect to Africa,[103] and this leads me to say that I cannot swallow the so-called continent of Lemuria, i.e. the direct connection of Africa and Ceylon![104] The facts do not seem to me many and strong enough to justify so immense a change of level.  Moreover, Mauritius and the other islands appear to me oceanic in character.  But do not suppose that I place my judgment on this subject on a level with yours.  A wonderfully good paper was published about a year ago on India in the Geological Journal—­I think by Blandford.[105] Ramsay agreed with me that it was one of the best published for a long time.  The author shows that India has been a continent with enormous fresh-water lakes from the Permian period to the present day.  If I remember right he believes in a former connection with South Africa.

I am sure that I read, some 20 to 30 years ago, in a French journal, an account of teeth of mastodon found in Timor; but the statement may have been an error.