﻿147 
  

  

  upon 
  every 
  rare 
  and 
  curious 
  insect 
  I 
  had 
  added 
  to 
  my 
  collection 
  ! 
  

   How 
  many 
  times, 
  when 
  almost 
  overcome 
  by 
  the 
  ague, 
  had 
  I 
  crawled 
  

   into 
  the 
  forest 
  and 
  been 
  rewarded 
  by 
  some 
  unknown 
  and 
  beautiful 
  

   species 
  ! 
  How 
  many 
  places, 
  which 
  no 
  European 
  foot 
  but 
  my 
  own 
  

   had 
  trodden, 
  would 
  have 
  been 
  recalled 
  to 
  my 
  memory 
  by 
  the 
  rare 
  

   birds 
  and 
  insects 
  they 
  had 
  furnished 
  to 
  my 
  collection 
  ! 
  How 
  many 
  

   weary 
  days 
  and 
  weeks 
  had 
  I 
  passed, 
  upheld 
  only 
  by 
  the 
  fond 
  hope 
  of 
  

   bringing 
  home 
  many 
  new 
  and 
  beautiful 
  forms 
  from 
  those 
  wild 
  regions 
  ; 
  

   every 
  one 
  of 
  which 
  would 
  be 
  endeared 
  to 
  me 
  by 
  the 
  recollections 
  

   they 
  would 
  call 
  up 
  ; 
  which 
  should 
  prove 
  that 
  I 
  had 
  not 
  wasted 
  the 
  

   advantages 
  I 
  had 
  enjoyed, 
  and 
  would 
  give 
  me 
  occupation 
  and 
  amuse- 
  

   ment 
  for 
  many 
  years 
  to 
  come 
  ! 
  And 
  now 
  every 
  thing 
  was 
  gone, 
  and 
  

   I 
  had 
  not 
  one 
  specimen 
  to 
  illustrate 
  the 
  unknown 
  lands 
  I 
  had 
  trod, 
  or 
  

   to 
  call 
  back 
  the 
  recollection 
  of 
  the 
  wild 
  scenes 
  I 
  had 
  beheld 
  ! 
  But 
  

   such 
  regrets 
  were 
  vain, 
  and 
  I 
  tried 
  to 
  think 
  as 
  little 
  as 
  possible 
  about 
  

   what 
  might 
  have 
  been, 
  and 
  to 
  occupy 
  myself 
  with 
  the 
  state 
  of 
  things 
  

   which 
  actually 
  existed." 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Wallace 
  is 
  now 
  on 
  the 
  eve 
  of 
  departure 
  for 
  the 
  eastern 
  instead 
  

   of 
  the 
  western 
  world 
  ; 
  he 
  sails 
  in 
  H. 
  M. 
  S. 
  'Frolic,' 
  first 
  to 
  Sydney 
  

   and 
  then 
  to 
  the 
  islands 
  of 
  the 
  Eastern 
  Archipelago. 
  His 
  face 
  is 
  

   familiar 
  to 
  us 
  here 
  ; 
  his 
  writings 
  are 
  known 
  to 
  most 
  of 
  us, 
  and 
  some 
  

   of 
  them 
  are 
  on 
  the 
  point 
  of 
  publication 
  in 
  our 
  'Transactions.' 
  I 
  am 
  

   sure 
  that 
  there 
  is 
  not 
  one 
  member 
  of 
  the 
  Society 
  but 
  will 
  wish 
  him 
  

   God 
  speed 
  ! 
  

  

  Commensurate 
  to 
  the 
  losses 
  of 
  Mr. 
  Wallace 
  have 
  been 
  the 
  successes 
  

   of 
  Mr. 
  Bates. 
  Next 
  to 
  those 
  of 
  our 
  own 
  country, 
  we 
  have 
  been 
  accus- 
  

   tomed 
  to 
  regard 
  the 
  insects 
  of 
  South 
  America 
  as 
  those 
  with 
  which 
  we 
  

   were 
  most 
  intimately 
  acquainted 
  : 
  the 
  Morphos, 
  nothwithstanding 
  their 
  

   magnificence, 
  the 
  Buprestes, 
  the 
  Cerambyces, 
  the 
  Scarabaei, 
  notwith- 
  

   standing 
  their 
  magnitude, 
  were 
  yet 
  regarded 
  with 
  comparative 
  indif- 
  

   ference 
  ; 
  they 
  were 
  familiar 
  as 
  household 
  words, 
  and 
  because 
  fainiliar, 
  

   they 
  were 
  held 
  in 
  little 
  estimation. 
  But 
  Mr. 
  Bates 
  has 
  developed 
  new 
  

   features 
  in 
  the 
  Entomology 
  of 
  that 
  extraordinary 
  continent 
  ; 
  has 
  sent 
  

   us 
  collections 
  which 
  astonish 
  us 
  equally 
  by 
  the 
  countless 
  profusion, 
  

   the 
  variety, 
  the 
  novelty, 
  and 
  the 
  excessive 
  loveliness 
  of 
  the 
  species 
  

   which 
  they 
  contain. 
  And 
  here 
  I 
  venture 
  to 
  make 
  a 
  passing 
  allusion 
  

   to 
  finance 
  ; 
  and 
  I 
  do 
  this 
  without 
  any 
  collusion 
  with 
  Mr. 
  Bates 
  or 
  his 
  

   agent, 
  our 
  respected 
  Treasurer. 
  I 
  wish 
  to 
  remind 
  you 
  that 
  collecting 
  

   objects 
  of 
  Natural 
  History 
  in 
  South 
  America 
  is 
  most 
  expensive 
  ; 
  that 
  

   the 
  mere 
  transit 
  of 
  the 
  entomologist 
  from 
  place 
  to 
  place, 
  accompanied 
  

   only 
  bv 
  so 
  much 
  a])paratus, 
  and 
  so 
  many 
  assistants 
  as 
  are 
  absolutely 
  

  

  