35 o Voyage of the Novara. 



to be 48 feet long and seven inches thick, at the house of 

 a secular ecclesiastic in the suburb of Santa Cruz. This 

 gigantic reptile had been confined for 32 years in a large 

 wooden cage, where it had enjoyed such a carefully tended 

 existence that it had fairly outlived the good padre, and 

 was now for sale by his heirs. The indolent animal, con- 

 stantly lying almost motionless among the sand, is fed only 

 once in every four weeks, when it is usually presented with 

 a young pig. 



On the 24th of June the members of our Expedition went 

 on board the small steamer plying to Cavite, where lay the 

 frigate, on board which all necessary preparations had been 

 made. Now, on the eve of departure, almost every one of 

 our number mourned the disappointment of cherished ex- 

 pectations. The inclemency of the weather had not alone 

 precluded our undertaking the more distant excursions 

 which would have repaid our researches in the natural 

 history of the islands, but had even interposed serious ob- 

 stacles to our wanderings in the immediate neighbourhood ; 

 moreover, up to the very moment of our departure the Govern- 

 ment manifested the utmost indifference to the objects of the 

 Expedition, while even the educated portion of the Spanish 

 residents never took the slightest notice. The more reason 

 therefore is it, under such circumstances, that we should not 

 be unmindful of the few, such as Messrs. Steffan, Schmidt, 

 Wegener, Wood, Fullerton, Fonseca, Girandier, and Creus, 

 who, with warm interest in our plans, furnished us with 



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