TO MR. W.G. WALLACE
Parkstone, Dorset. March 2, 1902.
My dear Will,—This week's progress has been fairly good although the wet after the frost has caused two falls in the cellar excavations, and we have had to put drain pipes to carry water out, though not much accumulated.... During the week some horses in the field have not only eaten off the tops of the privet hedge, but have torn up some dozens of the plants by the roots, by putting their heads over the 4-foot wire fence. I am therefore obliged in self-defence to raise the post a foot higher and put barbed wire along the top of it. Some cows also got in our ground one day and ate off the tops of the newly planted laurels, which I am told they are very fond of, so I have got a chain and padlock for our gate....
We moved into the new house at Broadstone at the end of November, 1902, before it was quite finished, and here Dr. Wallace lived till the end of his life. The garden was an endless source of interest and occupation, being much larger than any he had had since leaving Grays.
When writing he was not easily disturbed and never showed any impatience or annoyance at any interruption. If interrupted by a question he would pause, pen in hand, and reply or discuss the matter and then resume his unfinished sentence.
THE STUDY AT "OLD ORCHARD"
He seemed to have the substance of his writing in his mind before he commenced, and did not often refer to books or to notes, though he usually had one or two books or papers on the table at hand, and sometimes he would jump up to get a book from the shelves to verify some fact or figure. When preparing for a new book or article he read a great many works and papers bearing on the subject. These were marked [pg 121] with notes and references on the flyleaves; and often by pencil marks to indicate important passages, but he did not often make separate notes. He had a wonderful memory, and stored in his mind the facts and arguments he wished to use, or the places where they were to be found. He borrowed many books from libraries, and from these he sometimes made a few notes. He was not a sound sleeper, and frequently lay awake during the night, and then it was that he thought out and planned his work. He often told us with keen delight of some new idea or fresh argument which had occurred to him during these waking hours.