Scientific Travellers. 59 



grated, I remarked a single individual, in one instance associated 

 with the swallow, and in another with the martin and it together ; 

 and in both cases remote from their burrows. They alighted on 

 houses and trees along with their congeners, as well as accompa- 

 nied them in flight. In neither year were these sand martins seen 

 after the other species were gone, whence it may be presumed that 

 they set out with them on their migration. 



Aristotle mentions the sand martin as frequenting the valleys of 

 Greece, and it was with much gratification that in the first valley, 

 or rather defile, of the Morea visited by me, I saw several of them. 

 This was on the 30th of April, when walking between Navarino and 

 Modon. 



Audubon gives a very full and interesting account of this bird as 

 an American species. In Macgillivray's 'British Birds' (vol. iii. ) 

 is a very good description of it by the author, enriched by valuable 

 contributions from Mr. Weir and Mr. Duncan. 



[To be continued.] 



XII. — Information respecting Scientific Travellers, 



In a letter to a friend in Belfast, dated Syra, June 27, 1842, Mr. 

 Forbes says : — 



" This is the first opportunity I have had of writing to you, or 

 any one else, since the end of February. After the Beacon left 

 Xanthus, Spratt, Daniell, and I, struck into the interior, and wan- 

 dered about Lycia in all directions until the first week in June. 

 During all that time we had no communication with Europe, and 

 heard no news of any kind — were even completely shut out of the 

 world ; but our tour was so intensely interesting, that we did not 

 miss it. Every day we discovered the ruins of cities which have 

 long been lost, and the geological and botanical features of the 

 country were of the highest interest. Daniell has written a letter 

 to the ' Athenaeum,' giving a notice of our antiquarian discoveries, 

 so that I need not detail them here*. 



" On arriving at Rhodes, after being as nearly lost as near could 

 be, crossing the sea in a little Turkish caique, I found a parcel of let- 

 ters * * *. After waiting seven days at Rhodes we took our passage 

 in a caique for Syra. The second day I was seized with fever, and 

 for eight days lay in a dreadful state in the hold of the caique with- 

 out medicine or advice. At last a providential wind blew us to Syra, 

 where finding the Isabella accidentally in the port we made appli- 

 cation through the consul to put her in quarantine, and go to Paros. 

 This was at first refused, but afterwards granted, and my life was 

 saved, for if I had remained two days longer in the caique I should 



* This appeared in a late number of the * Athenaeum '; as in that of Aug. 6, 

 did a notice of the winter tour of Mr. Forbes and Mr. Hoskin, communi- 

 cated by the latter gentleman to the Geographical Society. 



