CHAPTER XVII 



LAST YEARS AT THE MUSEUM 



MR. CHARLES FAGAN, the Secretary of the Natural 

 History Museum, was naturally in receipt of many 

 private letters from his chief when the latter was 

 away on his holidays. Most of these are of a 

 personal character, or are concerned with official 

 matters on which it would possibly not be desirable 

 to publish his opinion. But the following, selected 

 from a number which Mr. Fagan has kindly placed 

 at my disposal for use in this Memoir, will give an 

 idea of some of the matters which daily engaged 

 the Director's attention at the Museum or when he 

 was away for his holidays : 



YORK, August 26, I894. 1 

 MY DEAR FAGAN ... I was very pleased to find 



ready to take up a piece of work in the Hall, and told him I 

 would give him all facilities in the way of specimens or materials, 

 but that I could not apply again to the Treasury for any overtime 

 allowance. About this, however, he made no difficulty, and if he 



1 In this year a notice of his late friend Sir Victor Brooke's researches in 

 natural history was contributed by him to Sir Leslie, then Mr. Leslie Stephen's 

 Life of Sir Victor Brooke. 



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