PROFESSORSHIP AT NEUCHATEL. 191 



must be more advanced now than it was last 

 year, and you would oblige me greatly by giv- 

 ing me some information concerning it. I 

 have spoken of my project to M. de Humboldt, 

 whom I often see, and who kindly interests 

 himself about my prospects and helps me with 

 his advice. He thinks that under the circum- 

 stances, and especially in my position, meas- 

 ures should be taken in advance. There is an- 

 other point of great importance for me about 

 which I wished also to speak to you. Though 

 you have seen but a small part of it, you 

 nevertheless know that in my different jour- 

 neys, partly through my relations with other 

 naturalists, partly by exchange, I have made a 

 very fair collection of natural history, espe- 

 cially rich in just those classes which are less 

 fully represented in your museum. My collec- 

 tion might, therefore, fill the gaps in that of 

 the city of Neuchatel, and make the latter 

 more than adequate for the illustration of a 

 full course of natural history. Should an in- 

 crease of your zoological collection make part 

 of your plans for the Lyceum, I venture to 

 believe that mine would fully answer your 

 purpose. In that case I would offer it to you, 

 since the expense of arranging it, the rent of 

 a room in which to keep it, and, in short, its 



