My life : a record of events and opinions - Wallace-online.org

LYELL AND DARWIN 235" I am delighted to hear that you spend so muchtime out-of-doors and in your garden. From Newman'sold book (I forget title) about the country nearGodalming, it must be charming." We have just returned home after spending fiveweeks on Ullswater. The scenery is quite charming,but I cannot walk, and everything tires me, evenseeing scenery, talking with any one, or readingmuch. What I shall do with my few remainingyears of life I can hardly tell. I have everything tomake me happy and contented, but life has becomevery wearysome to me. I heard lately from MissBuckley in relation to Lyell's Life, and she mentionedthat you were thinking of Switzerland, whichI should think and hope that you would enjoymuch." I see that you are going to write on the mostdifficult political question, the land. Something oughtto be done, but what is the rub. I hope that you will(not) turn renegade to natural history ;but I supposethat politics are very tempting." With all good wishes for yourself and family," Believe me, my dear Wallace,"Yours very sincerely,"Charles Darwin."This letter is, to me, perhaps the most interestingI ever received from Darwin, since it shows that itwas only the engrossing interests of his scientific andliterary work, performed under the drawback of almostconstant ill-health, that prevented him from taking amore active part in the discussion of those social andpolitical questions that so deeply affect the lives andhappiness of the great bulk of the people. It is agreat satisfaction that his last letter to me, written