368 ALCA IMPENNIS. 
letter only late on Saturday evening, and now beg to assure you that I 
have never for one moment repented parting with the Great Auk’s egg 
to yourself, neither have I the least wish to avail myself of your kind 
offer to return it. ... I have a strong notion of things going to their 
right places, and whether you or Mr. Wolley have the possession of the 
Great Auk’s egg it will in either case be, in my opinion, in its right 
place. If, therefore, you feel disposed for a change, I hope your own 
collection will be benefited, and I shall feel equal pleasure in having 
been indirectiy the means of adding to so fine a collection as your 
own. With the said Mr. Wolley I think Tf have had a few years back 
some entomological correspondence, so that he is not altogether a 
stranger to me. Was he not of Trinity College, Cambridge? ... 
P.S.—I will add that I am sure the head of the clan Bree will entirely 
concur with me in what I have said concerning the Auk’s egg.” 
On the 21st of March I wrote to agree to Mr. Wilmot’s terms, and 
I now only wait for a memorandum of the date of his obtaining the 
egg from Mr. Bree, and fora copy of his letter concerning its history, 
which I saw in Mr. Wilmot’s possession. On the 24th of March 
arrives a letter from Mr. Wilmot including Mr. Bree’s to the follow- 
ing effect :—“ In consequence of the message I received touching the 
Great Auk’s egg I wrote to my son on the subject, and have this 
morning got his answer. He says: ‘ All I can tell about it is that one 
of the Robert Dudleys [our cousins] gave it me in company with 
other sea-birds’ eggs. I should think it is 12 or 14 years ago. I 
recollect examining them about it since the time I gave it to 
J. Wilmot, but they could give no account of it further than it was 
given to them, but by whom they did not recollect” I fear that the 
pedigree of the egg is involved in hopeless mystery.” Mr. Wilmot 
says, 23rd March :—‘“‘I trust the Great Auk’s egg wili have reached 
you in safety....As I took a last look at the egg I felt some 
compunctious prickings of conscience that I had put a Jewish value 
on it. If on comparing it with the specimen you previously possessed 
it should not appear greatly superior to the latter; or should in any 
way fall short of your expectation, I will willingly either take back 
the egg, or reopen the question of value. I should not have parted 
with it to anyone else, but I feel with Mr. Wm. Bree that your 
collection deserves to have it, and that your wonderful enterprise has 
put all us stay-at-home collectors in your debt....I enclose 
Mr. Bree’s letter [from which extracts are given above] for your 
reperusal....To the best of my recollection it is about ten years 
since Wm. Bree gave the egg to me.” 
