My Life: A Record of Events and Opinions

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By Alfred Russel Wallace

Published 1905
Dodd, Mead & Company

Original from Harvard University

v.1

Digitized Jul 16, 2007

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Key words and phrases

CHAPTER	1
Hanworth, Hoddesdon, Hertford
CHAPTER II	20
lampreys, hatchment, coracles
THE HOME OF MY BOYHOOD	30
river Beane, river Lea, Bengeo
CHAPTER IV	46
Cicero, However, Latin grammar
CHAPTER V	63
Hoddesdon, squibs, fireworks
LONDON WORKERS SECULARISTS AND OWENITES	79
Robert Owen, Lanark, haberdasher

CHAPTER VII	105
Higham Gobion, Bedfordshire, Silsoe
TURVEY	117
Bedfordshire, wild swans, Tinker of Turvey
CHAPTER IX	128
Silsoe, tumulus, LEIGHTON BUZZARD
KlNGTON AND R ADNOKSHIRE	139
Llanbister, George Borrow, Llandrindod
CHAPTER XI	159
Trallong, river Usk, Welsh language
CHAPTER XII	169
Jack Mytton, Herbert Spencer, Brecknockshire
GLAMORGANSHIRE	177
Neath Abbey, Gothic architecture, David Rees
CHAPTER XIV	198
Radnorshire, Carmarthenshire, Glamorganshire
CHAPTER XV	223
ance, shyness, wit or humour
CHAPTER XVI	229
Leicester, phrenological, trance
LONDON AND LEICESTER	239
Phrenology, Swansea, origin of species
CHAPTER XVIII	264
Uaupes, Rio Negro, Santarem
CHAPTER XIX	289
yellow fever, enigmas, Santarem
IN LONDON AND VOYAGE TO SINGAPORE	305
Uaupes, Rio Negro, Jurupari
SINGAPORE MALACCA BORNEO	337
Singapore, Malacca, Dyaks
CHAPTER XXII	355
Ternate, Aru Islands, Menado
CHAPTER XXIII	385
birds of paradise, Sorong, Tidore
CHAPTER XXIV	409
Epping Forest, Sir Charles Lyell, Miocene

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Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth... - Page 155

Appears in 1116 books from 1708-2007

The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine, for ye are strangers and sojourners with me. - Page 156

Appears in 365 books from 1810-2007

But bringing up the rear of this bright host A Spirit of a different aspect waved His wings, like thunder-clouds above some coast Whose barren beach with frequent wrecks is paved; His brow was like the deep when tempest-toss'd; Fierce and unfathomable thoughts engraved Eternal wrath on his immortal face, And where he gazed a gloom pervaded space. - Page 112

Appears in 184 books from 1822-2007

I REMEMBER, I REMEMBER. I REMEMBER, I remember The house where I was born, The little window where the sun Came peeping in at morn : He never came a wink too soon, Nor brought too long a day, But now I often wish the night Had borne my breath away ! I remember, I remember... - Page 28

Appears in 727 books from 1814-2007

Away they sped with gamesome minds And souls untouched by sin; To a level mead they came, and there They drave the wickets in: Pleasantly shone the setting sun Over the town of Lynn. Like sportive deer they coursed about, And shouted as they ran, Turning to mirth all things of earth As only boyhood can; But the usher sat remote from all, A melancholy man! - Page 40

Appears in 230 books from 1828-2006

every species has come into existence coincident both in space and time with a pre-existing closely allied species. - Page 355

Appears in 127 books from 1853-2007

I could never have approached the completeness of his book, its vast accumulation of evidence, its overwhelming argument, and its admirable tone and spirit. I really feel thankful that it has not been left to me to give the theory to the world. Mr. Darwin has created a new science and a new philosophy : and I believe that never has such a complete illustration of a new branch of human knowledge been due to the labours and researches of a single man. Never have such vast masses of widely scattered... - Page 374

Appears in 17 books from 1905-2002

... that is likely to give them bad habits — with the presence of whatever is calculated to inspire them with good ones ; the consequence is, that they appear like one well-regulated family, united together by the ties of the closest affection. We heard no quarrels from the youngest to the eldest : and so strongly impressed are they with the conviction that their interest and duty are the same, and that to be happy themselves it is necessary to make those happy by whom they are surrounded, that... - Page 101

Appears in 29 books from 1822-2008

Christian injunction of" doing to others as we would they should do unto us," uniformly observed, the whole frame of society would be cemented and consolidated into one indissoluble bond of universal brotherhood. - Page 220

Appears in 118 books from 1806-2006

I begin to feel rather dissatisfied with a mere local collection ; little is to be learnt by it. I should like to take some one family to study thoroughly, principally with a view to the theory of the origin of species. By that means I am strongly of opinion that some definite results might be arrived at. - Page 256

Appears in 17 books from 1905-2007

References from web pages

PAGES IN WAITING.
ALFRED RUSSEL WALLACE'S two-volume autobiography, "My Life: A Record of Events and Opinions," which Dodd, Mead Co. are about to send out after many delays, ...
query.nytimes.com/ gst/ abstract.html?res=F30D15FD3A5E12738DDDA00894DA415B858CF1D3

Wallace Collection - Resources and references
My Life: a record of events and opinions, 2 vols. by arWallace (Chapman & Hall Ltd, London, 1905). The Revolt of Democracy by arWallace (Cassell, London, ...
www.nhm.ac.uk/ nature-online/ collections-at-the-museum/ wallace-collection/ resources.jsp

Endeavour : Alfred Russel Wallace's North American tour ...
ar Wallace In: My Life: A Record of Events and Opinions 2 (1905), p. 145. 22. wd Armes, Editor, The Autobiography of Joseph leconte, D. Appleton (1903), pp. ...
linkinghub.elsevier.com/ retrieve/ pii/ S0160932700013570

The Infography about Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913)
The Alfred Russel Wallace Page. http://www.wku.edu/~smithch/index1.htm. · Wallace, Alfred Russel, 1905. My Life; A Record of Events and Opinions. 2 volumes. ...
www.infography.com/ content/ 167335534546.html

2002-“The Dell” plaque | The Alfred Russel Wallace Memorial Fund
My Life; A Record of Events and Opinions. London: Chapman & Hall, Ltd. pp. (i)-xii, (1)-408. Acknowledgements. The production and installation of the plaque ...
wallacefund.info/ 2002-dell-plaque

``Wallace, Alfred Russel''. In: Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia
Wallace, ar: My Life, A Record of Events and Opinions, 2 Vols. Chapman and Hall, London, UK, 1905. 4.
doi.wiley.com/ 10.1002/ 9780471743989.vse10202

Alfred Russel Wallace :: Additional Reading -- Britannica Online ...
Standard sources on Wallace include his autobiography, My Life: A Record of Events and Opinions, 2 vol. (1905, reissued 1974); James Marchant, Alfred Russel ...
www.britannica.com/ eb/ article-7752/ Alfred-Russel-Wallace

Alfred Russel Wallace: Biography and Much More from Answers.com
Considerable biographical information can be gleaned from Wallace's own writings, My Life: A Record of Events and Opinions (2 vols., 1905) and ar Wallace: ...
www.answers.com/ topic/ alfred-russel-wallace

ARW in his own words
... our many differences of opinion, I feel to be one of the greatest honours of my life. from My Life: A Record of Events and Opinions, Volume 2, p.16. ...
www.iol.ie/ ~spice/ quotes.htm

Image:Wallace Mechanics Institute.jpg - Wikimedia Commons
Photo of building Wallace and his brother designed and built for Mechanics Institute of Neath in the 1840s. Source. My Life; A Record of Events and Opinions ...
commons.wikimedia.org/ wiki/ Image:Wallace_Mechanics_Institute.jpg

References from books

Evolution, Genesis and Revelations: With Readings from Empedocles to Wilson

by C. Leon Harris - Science - 1981 - 339 pages

Includes index.

Limited preview - About this book - Add to my library

Macrosociologia

by Angelo Saporiti - 2004 - 310 pages

Title of series appears on cover.

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Other editions

My Life: A Record of Events and Opinions

by Alfred Russel Wallace - Naturalists - 1905 - 408 pages

Readex Microprint edition.

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My Life: A Record of Events and Opinions

by Alfred Russel Wallace - 1905

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My Life: A Record of Events and Opinions

by Alfred Russel Wallace - 1905

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References from scholarly works

Alfred Russel Wallace
M Fichman - 1981

Teleology: yesterday, today, and tomorrow?
Michael Ruse - 2000 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Biol & Biomed Sci

Reasoning to Hypotheses: Where Do Questions Come?
Matti Sintonen - 2004 - Foundations of Science

Evolutionary Ethics: What Can We Learn From The Past?
Michael Ruse - 1999 - Zygon

The Romantic Conception of Robert J. Richards
Michael Ruse - 2004 - Journal of the History of Biology

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The Alfred Russel Wallace Reader: A Selection of Writings from the Field

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Places mentioned in this book

Neath - Page 185
tramway from some collieries to the works ran in front of the house at a little distance, and we had a good view of the town and up the vale of Neath. ...
more pages: 230 243 253 257 283 314

Hertford - Page 88
I myself had heard such horrible sermons as these in one of the churches in Hertford, and a lady we knew well had been so affected by them that she ...
more pages: 13 17 32 33 48 63

Swansea - Page 243
and was for the purpose of bringing the coal and iron of Merthyr Tydfil and the surrounding district to Swansea, then the chief port of South Wales. ...
more pages: 190 205 242 244 245

Leicester - Page 240
My year spent at Leicester must, therefore, be considered as perhaps the most important in my early life.
more pages: 232 237 239 241 266 283

Monte Alegre - Page 279
Santarem and Monte Alegre both differ from almost all the rest of the places on the banks of the Amazon in being open country, with rocky hills dotted ...

Godalming - Page 189
A good many years later, when I lived at Godalming, he was again my neighbour, as after the death of his wife he came to live with his nephew,.
more pages: 190

Hitchin - Page 107
One day he and I went for a walk over the hills towards Hitchin, where on the ordnance map a small stream was named Roaring Meg, and we wanted to see ...
more pages: 115

Llandrindod Wells - Page 149
This was at Llandrindod Wells, where there was then a large extent of moor and mountain surrounded by scattered cottages with their gardens and small ...

Birmingham - Page 139
and in a day or two we started for Herefordshire, going by the recently opened railroad to Birmingham, where we visited an old friend of my brother's, ...
more pages: 111 130 132 145

Luton - Page 128
This very small village is an appanage of Wrest Park, the seat of Earl de Grey, and is about halfway between Luton and Bedford. ...
more pages: 105

Bristol - Page 193
This also gave me a general interest in plants, and a catalogue published by a great nurseryman in Bristol, which David Rees got from the gardener, ...
more pages: 16 30 239

London - Page 86
He often took me with him on fine evenings to some of the best business streets in London to enjoy the shops, and especially to see anything of ...
more pages: 37 137 227 243 310

Interlachen - Page 414
Bernard we went to Interlachen and Grindelwald, saw the glaciers there, and then went over the Wengern Alp, staying two days at the hotel to see the ...

Coventry - Page 137
The movements of the watches dealt in were purchased in Coventry, where the various kinds in general use were designed, the separate parts cast, ...
more pages: 238

Lille - Page 14
About the time I went to live with my brother my sister Fanny entered a French school at Lille to learn the language and to teach English, ...
more pages: 72

Epping - Page 417
me free to do literary work which I should certainly not have done if I had had permanent employment so engrossing and interesting as that at Epping. ...

Bombay - Page 383
The ship stayed three or four days at Bombay to discharge and take in. cargo, coal, etc., and all the passengers went to a hotel, so I brought the ...
more pages: 333

Gibraltar - Page 332
The voyage was a very interesting one, stopping a few hours at Gibraltar, passing within sight of the grand Sierra Nevada of Spain, staying a day at ...
more pages: 333

Glasgow - Page 93
all which work was done by himself, and he then sold it to the agent of some Glasgow manufacturers of British muslins, then quite a new business. ...
more pages: 95

Thun - Page 326
Next day we walked down to Thun, whence we returned home via Strasburg and Paris. Although I enjoyed this my first visit to snowy mountains and ...

Calcutta - Page 376
for them was enormous, as they are so seldom brought, and the rich Chinese merchants or rich natives in Calcutta are always ready to purchase them. ...
more pages: 333

Portsmouth - Page 330
I think it was about the middle of February that I went to Portsmouth with all necessaries for the voyage, my heavy baggage having been sent off by a ...

Dunstable - Page 130
One day, having to drive over to Dunstable on some business, my brother took me with him. When there, we walked out to a deep cutting through the ...

Wrexham - Page 167
Hughes and Son, of Wrexham, issue a list of more than three hundred Welsh books mostly published by themselves. Another indication of the wide use of ...

Paris - Page 326
Next day we walked down to Thun, whence we returned home via Strasburg and Paris. Although I enjoyed this my first visit to snowy mountains and ...
more pages: 112 246 256 325 334

Liverpool - Page 268
and on the next, when we came on deck before sunrise, found ourselves anchored opposite the city of Para, twenty-nine days after leaving Liverpool. ...
more pages: 245 267

Oxford - Page 148
Before we left Llanbister my cousin, Percy Wilson, who was preparing for ordination after taking his degree at Oxford, came to stay a short time with ...
more pages: 173

Cardiff - Page 206
This part, therefore (the neighbourhood of the towns of Cowbridge and Cardiff), is excepted from the following remarks. ...
more pages: 246

Edinburgh - Page 95
Besides these, there were about five hundred children, chiefly obtained from the workhouses of Edinburgh and other large towns, who were apprenticed ...

Brighton - Page 107
We found a very steep and narrow valley something like that called the Devil's Dyke near Brighton; but this was thickly wooded on both sides, ...

Villeneuve - Page 414
descends from Mount Emilius; and on another day we drove up the main valley to Villeneuve, and then walked up a little way into the Val Savaranches. ...

Cairo - Page 335
Then the Pyramids came in sight, looking huge and solemn; then a handsome castellated bridge for the Alexandria and Cairo railway; and then Cairo ...

Kensington - Page 380
I suppose that you will walk every morning from Kensington and back in the evening, and that things at the archdeacon's go on precisely and ...

Halifax - Page 311
Yet this unseaworthy old ship, which ought to have been condemned years before, had actually taken Government stores out to Halifax, had there been ...

Montgomery, Alabama - Page 223
In the following year, at the invitation of the parents of some of the pupils, she removed to Robinson, near Montgomery, Alabama, as mistress of a ...

Harrow - Page 172
alone enough to demoralize any youth of his disposition; and as a natural sequence he was expelled, first from Westminster and then from Harrow. ...

Venice - Page 17
with Malvolio and Sir Andrew Aguecheek, with the thrilling drama of the Mer~ chant of Venice, with Hamlet, with Lady Macbeth, and other masterpieces. ...

Manchester - Page 92
at work for fifteen or sixteen hours a day ; so after a year he obtained another situation in a large shop in Manchester at a salary of £40 a year. ...
more pages: 81

Cleveland, Ohio - Page 265
In a year or two it was sold to the Catholics, and he thinks it is now in one of their churches at Cleveland, Ohio. ...

Cambridge - Page 231
Hill was a good mathematician, having been a rather high Cambridge wrangler, and finding I was desirous of learning a little more algebra, ...

Waterloo - Page 172
matriculated at neither; and when nineteen became a cornet in the 7th Hussars, which he joined in France with the army of occupation after Waterloo. ...

Leeds - Page 101
In 1819 the town of Leeds sent a deputation, consisting of Mr. Edward Baines, Mr. Robert Oastler, and Mr. John Cawood, to report on the character and ...

Greenwich - Page 82
About the time referred to, his father kept a public-house in or near Greenwich, much frequented by mechanics and other workmen, who came there in ...

Canterbury - Page 313
what in the style of Rabelais, or of Chaucer's coarsest Canterbury tales. Old Jeronymo was a quiet old man, a half-bred Indian, or Mameluco as they ...

Windsor - Page 412
After a week at Windsor we came to live in London, and in early autumn went for a month to North Wales, staying at Llanberris and Dolgelly. ...

Dover - Page 325
On our way from London to Dover we had for companion in our compartment a stout, good-humoured American, a New England manufacturer, going to Paris on ...

Barking - Page 416
wished for a country life, I took a small house at Barking in 1870, and in 1871 leased four acres of ground at Grays, including a very picturesque ...

Jerusalem - Page 333
A clergyman came on board here going to Jerusalem, and a namesake of my own to Bombay. The latter has a neat figure, sharp face, and looks highly ...

San Francisco - Page 262
so in the spring of 1849 he gave it ap and sailed for California in April, soon after the discoveries of gold there and when San Francisco was a city ...

York - Page 75
a great many of James's, and Harrison Ainsworth's "Rookwood," that fine highwayman's story containing a vivid account of Dick Turpin's ride to York. ...

Chichester - Page 7
This is one at Chichester on Henry Case, aged 28 — "Here lies a brave soldier whom all must applaud, Much hardship he suffer'd at home and abroad, ...

Sorong - Page 392
Allen had received somewhat similar information; and we therefore resolved that he should make another attempt at Sorong, where we were assured all ...
more pages: 391 393 394

Rio Negro - Page 312
He was a Portuguese trader who had been many years resident on the upper Rio Negro, on whose boat I took a passage for my first voyage up the river, ...
more pages: 268 307 316 322 350 377

Singapore - Page 348
The streets of Singapore on a fine day are as crowded and busy as Tottenham Court Road, and from the variety of nationalities and occupations far more ...
more pages: 330 332 339 349 353 383

Lima - Page 313
and to tell him that he still has the shirt that Senhor Alfredo gave him, and that he is still living a poor wanderer with his friend Lima. ...

Wellington - Page 215
It is nothing uncommon to see these men dressed in coat and trousers of tine black cloth, elegant waistcoat, fine shirt, beaver hat, Wellington boots, ...