THE ESSEX FIELD CLUB. 237
Caroline Oates, on the death of her distinguished son, Captain Gates, the
following letter was read :—
Gestingthorpe Hall,
Castle Hedingham, Essex.
2nd October 1913.
" Dear Sir,
" I am extremely sorry that your kind letter should have remained
thus long unanswered. I feel sure though that you will understand how
only by degrees have I been able to reply to the vast number of letters
which have reached me. May I ask you now, please, to convey to the
members of the Essex Field Club my very hearty thanks for, and assu-
rance of, appreciation of their kind message of sympathy and condolence.
'Tis really wonderful the goodness of people towards me. Letters, some
very touching ones, have come to me from all parts of the world. In
some cases the writers are entire strangers.
" Again my thanks. Sincerely yours,
Caroline A. Gates."
" To William Cole, Esq."
The late Dr. A. R. Wallace, O.M., F.R.S.—The following letter
was read from Mr. W. G. Wallace, in acknowledgment of the letter of
condolence sent by the Secretary to Mrs. Wallace :—
Old Orchard, Broadstone, Dorset,
20th November 1913.
" To William Cole, Esq.,
" Hon. Secretary of the Essex Field Club.
" Dear Sir,
'' My Mother desires me, on her own behalf and on behalf of my sister
and myself, to thank sincerely the members of the Essex Field Club for
their kind message of sympathy for us in our bereavement, and also for
the words of high appreciation in which you refer to my late Father's
work in the realms of Natural and Social Science.
" Yours very truly,
W. G. Wallace."
The President said that he had received a beautifully worded letter
from Prof. Meldola on the death of the great Naturalist.—Mr. Whitaker
read the letter, and it was resolved that it should be printed in full in the
report of the Meeting :—
" 6 Brunswick Square, W.C.
" 20th November 1913.
" My dear Whitaker,
" As I shall be unable to attend the Club Meeting on the 29th, I am
writing to ask you to bring before the meeting the news (now of course
generally known) of the death of Dr. Alfred Russel Wallace, O.M., F.R.S.,
the co-founder with Darwin of the theory of the origin of species by Natural
Selection. Both Darwin and Wallace were Hon. Members of our Club
almost from the foundation, and both took an active interest in our work,
and in our early years as a Club I received many encouraging message
from these illustrious naturalists. I may remind the Club that on
4th January 1881, Mr. Wallace did us the honour of bringing before us,
in the form of a lecture, the outline of his views on Island Life, which
were subsequently embodied in his great work bearing that title. Again
on 2nd October 1886, Mr. Wallace favoured us with another lecture in
which he brought before us his conclusions with respect to the range of
variability in species from the point of view of what is now known as