viii PREFACE. 



my chief still kept me in mind, and I shall not easily forget the day when, with Captain 

 Stanley's letter in his hand, he came to offer me that share in an exploring expedition which 

 had been one of my childish ambitions, and which afforded the largest scope for the 

 faculties, or, at any rate, the tastes, which had grown up with my manhood. I need 

 not say how gladly I accepted the proffered appointment. 



The "Rattlesnake" sailed in the winter of 1846; and as a full history of her voyage 

 has been given to the world by Mr. Macgillivray, it is needful only to state that, after 

 safely effecting her circumnavigatory voyage and successfully surveying the regions she 

 was sent to explore, the ship returned to England, and was paid off on the 9th of 

 November of the year 1850. 



Although occasionally in circumstances which might give rise to anxiety, no serious 

 evil befel the " Rattlesnake," or her crew, until her last return to Sydney, in the spring 

 of 1850, when her Commander, whose health had been shattered by the trying climate 

 of New Guinea, and by the still more wearing responsibilities of his office, sank with 

 lamentable suddenness. 



I will not allude to the private circumstances which intensified the sadness of this 

 sudden blow to all who were witnesses of it, but I can truly say that nothing could 

 have been more unfortunate for the scientific interests of the expedition or for the personal 

 welfare of the officers who had performed its duties and shared its fatigues. 



Captain Stanley possessed large means of influence, and as it was an eminent virtue 

 of his to stand by his officers, there can be no doubt that, had he lived, his Ueutenants, 

 already men of standing and experience, would not have been left for years without 

 promotion; nor would his and their hydrographic labours have been indistinguishably 

 mero-ed in those of other persons; nor would the official naturalist of the expedition 

 have been refused the means of publishing the narrative of the voyage; nor, in all 

 probability, would the present work be making its appearance so many years after date. 



In truth it is to the explanation of the circumstance that all the original illustrations 

 in my plates were drawn between the years 1847 and 1850 inclusively, and that all my 

 observations, with the exception of those on Porpita, were made so long ago, that I feel it 

 necessary to devote these prefatory remarks. 



The facts are these. I made a good many observations during our cruise, and sent 

 home several papers to the Linnean and Royal Societies ; but of these doves, or rather 

 ravens, which left my ark, I had heard absolutely nothing up to the time of my return ; 

 and, save for the always kind and hearty encouragement of the celebrated William MacLeay, 

 whenever our return to Sydney took me within reach of his hospitality, I know not whether I 

 should have had the courage to continue labours which might, so far as I knew, be valueless. 



