My dear Fanny,--I have received yours of September, and my mother's of October, and as I am now going out of reach of letters for six months I must send you a few lines to let you know that I am well and in good spirits, though rather disappointed with the celebrated Macassar.... For the last fortnight, since I came in from the country, I have been living here rather luxuriously, getting good rich cow's milk to my tea and coffee, very good bread and excellent Dutch butter (3s. a lb.). The bread here is raised with toddy just as it is fermenting, and it imparts a peculiar sweet taste to the bread which is very nice. At last, too, there is some fruit here. The mangoes have just come in, and they are certainly magnificent. The flavour is something between a peach and a melon, with the slightest possible flavour of turpentine, and very juicy. They say they are unwholesome, and it is a good thing for me I am going away now. When I come back there will be not one to be had....--I remain, dear Fanny, your ever affectionate brother, A.R. WALLACE. * * * * * H.W. BATES TO A.R. WALLACE _Tunantins, Upper Amazon. November 19, 1856._ Dear Wallace,-- ... I received about six months ago a copy of your paper in the _Annals_ on "The Laws which have Governed the Introduction of New Species." I was startled at first to see you already ripe for the enunciation of the theory. You can imagine with what interest I read and studied it, and I must say that it is perfectly well done. The idea is like truth itself, so simple and obvious that those who read and understand it will be struck by its simplicity; and yet it is perfectly original. The reasoning is close and clear, and although so brief an essay, it is quite complete, embraces the whole difficulty, and anticipates and annihilates all objections. Few men will be in a condition to comprehend and appreciate the paper, but it will infallibly create for you a high and sound reputation. The theory I quite assent to, and, you know, was conceived by me also, but I profess that I could not have propounded it with so much force and completeness. Many details I could supply, in fact a great deal remains to be done to illustrate and confirm the theory: a new method of investigating and propounding zoology and botany inductively is necessitated, and new libraries will have to be written; in part of this task I hope to be a labourer for many happy and profitable years. What a noble subject would be that of a monograph of a group of beings peculiar to one region but offering different species in each province of it--tracing the laws which connect together the modifications of forms and colour with the _local_ circumstances of a province or station--tracing as far as possible the actual _affiliation_ of the species.