LORD LILFORD 305 



word " Pingouin," or part thereof, written on it in two 

 places. I had a letter from Franck on 19th ult. saying 

 that the lowest price was £150, and that it was the 

 finest specimen in the world. I declined to buy, and 

 know no more about it except that Burton told me that 

 Franck had bought it for the Continent, and that I told 

 several people about it. 



My doings since I last saw you are shortly told. 

 I went with my wife and youngest boy to Biarritz at 

 the end of January, stayed there much bored for about 

 three weeks and went on to Seville via Madrid about 

 the end of February. I had this vessel in the river, 

 but lived at pothouse, made several expeditions down 

 the river, but was much hampered during March and 

 early April by bad weather. We shot about 20 Great 

 Bustards, and nothing else worthy of remark except a 

 pair of Sterna Caspica, rare birds in those parts, never 

 met with before by self or Irby. Flamingoes were 

 more numerous than I ever saw them before, but at 

 their nesting time / was crippled by gout in the right 

 hand, not very severe but sufficiently so to prevent 

 any pleasure in locomotion, and I could not inspire 

 my boy to wade some two or three miles of mud and 

 water to the Lucio seal, which is no doubt the spot 

 where Abel Chapman tells in last Ihis of having seen 

 them on their nests. I joined my wife at Granada 

 towards the end of May, and came home thence by 

 Cordova, Madrid and Paris. Went to Neuevahn with 

 Irby at beginning of June, he caught several swallow- 

 ytailed Flutter-bugs, P. podalirius, with his boy from 

 Darmstadt, and remained in apparently comparative 

 contentment for ten days. My wife joined me, we 

 found nest of Cyanecula loolji I bathed, drank, and 

 came to London at the beginning of July, was detained 

 there by bad weather for several days. Did my 

 Fisheries Ex*"" several times as well as a bath-chairist 

 could. Met your brother there, the " worthy Magis- 

 trate," who told of your worthy self; and came down 

 here about three weeks ago. Weather and fishing 



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