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impressed since he had enjoyed the benefit of reading 

 Wallace's Work on the Malay Archipelago for which he 

 had to thank Lady Barkly. Of the groups of facts_, the 

 lucid arrangement of which^ was one of the most admira- 

 ble j)oints in that book^ there was few to which the Na- 

 tural history of Mauritius and its dependencies could not 

 add some items ; and in another way^ the work of Mr. 

 Wallace was one well worthy of the attention of the 

 Society. If one man had^ by his unaided exertions, been 

 able to add so many thousands of facts to the general sum 

 of scientific knowledge^ surely all the members of the 

 Royal Society of Mauritius, acting in union and engaged 

 on a small field of labor ought to be able to group the 

 results of their investigations^ with some approach to 

 completeness, and in such a form as to make a convenient 

 body of referenccj to support, as it undoubtedly would, 

 the labours of such men as Darwin, Wallace and others. 

 But the Society had no need to go far for a bright, parti- 

 cular example to guide them. The very valuable paper 

 communicated by His Excellency, and the large number 

 of natural objects exposed on the table, were, with much 

 else, the result of a single day's exploration, and if His 

 Excellency were able, with the many calls upon his time 

 made by his position, to furnish so interesting a contribu- 

 tion to the natural history of these islands, surely, in the 

 course of months and years the serious and conscientious 

 labors of all the members of the Society ought to lead to 

 a useful and permanent result. The fact that His Excel- 

 lency had proposed to read a paper on the results of the 

 Round Island Trip, had been received with real pleasure 

 by the working members of the Society, and as Mr. Bruce 

 had accidentally occupied the chair at the meeting when 

 intimation of the Governor's intention was made he might 

 be allowed to give expression to the enthusiasm with 

 which that intimation was received. Undoubtedly the 

 sympathy of persons in exalted position was of advantage 



