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

CHAPTER XXIIA CHAPTER ON MONEY MATTERS—EARNINGS ANDLOSSES—SPECULATIONS AND LAW-SUITSUp to the age of twenty-one I do not think I everhad a sovereign of my own. I then received a smallsum, perhaps about ;^50, the remnant of a legacyfrom my grandfather, John Greenell. This enabledoutfit of clothes, and to keep myselfme to get a fairtill I got the appointment at the Leicester school.While living at Neath as a surveyor I did little morethan earn my living, except during the six months ofthe railway mania, when I was able to save about;^ioo. This enabled me to go to Para with Bates,and during the four years on the Amazon my collectionsjust paid all expenses, but those I was bringinghome with me would probably have sold for ;;C20o.My agent, Mr. Stevens, had fortunately insured themfor ;^I50, which enabled me to live a year in London,and get a good outfit and a sufficient cash balancefor my Malayan journey.My eight years in the Malay Archipelago weresuccessful, financially, beyond my expectations.Celebes, the Moluccas, the Aru Islands, and NewGuinea were, for English museums and private collections,an almost unknown territory.A large proportionof my insects and birds were either whollynew or of extreme rarity in England ; and as many