ch. vii.] 1S36-1842. 155 



all nature looking as happy as I felt. I wandered over the 

 mountains in all directions, and examined that most extraor- 

 dinary district. I think, without any exceptions, not even 

 the first volcanic island, the first elevated beach, or the 

 passage of the Cordillera, was so interesting to me as this 

 week. It is far the most remarkable area I ever examined. 

 I have fully convinced myself (after some doubting at first) 

 that the shelves are sea-beaches, although I could not find 

 a trace of a shell ; and I think I can explain away most, if 

 not all, the difficulties. I found a piece of a road in another 

 valley, not hitherto observed, which is important; and I 

 have some curious facts about erratic blocks, one of which 

 was perched up on a peak 2200 feet above the sea. I am 

 now employed in writing a paper on the subject, which I 

 find very amusing work, excepting that I cannot anyhow 

 condense it into reasonable limits. At some future day I 

 hope to talk over some of the conclusions with you, which 

 the examination of Glen Roy has led me to. Now I have 

 had my talk out, I am much easier, for I can assure you 

 Glen Roy has astonished me. 



I am living very quietly, and therefore pleasantly, and 

 am crawling on slowly but steadily with my work. I have 

 come to one conclusion, which you will think proves me 

 to be a very sensible man, namely, that whatever you say 

 proves right ; and as a proof of this, I am coming into your 

 way of only working about two hours at a spell ; I then go 

 out and do my business in the streets, return and set to work 

 again, and thus make two separate days out of one. The 

 new plau answers capitally; after the second half day is 

 finished, I go and dine at the Athenaeum like a gentleman, 

 or rather like a lord, for I am sure the first evening I sat in 

 that great drawing-room, all on a sofa by myself, I felt just 

 like a duke. I am full of admiration at the Athenaeum, one 

 meets so many people there that one likes to see. . . . 



I have heard from more than one quarter that quarrel- 

 ling is expected at Newcastle * ; I am sorry to hear it. I 

 met old this evening at the Athenaeum, and he mut- 

 tered something about writing to you or some one on the 

 subject ; I am, however, all in the dark. I suppose, how- 

 ever, I shall be illuminated, for I am going to dine with him 

 in a few days, as my inventive powers failed in making any 

 excuse. A friend of mine dined with him the other day, a 



* At the meeting of the British Association. 



