i809— 1842] VOYAGE 1 3 



I had not the specimen to back me up nobody would believe Letter 4 

 in its most anomalous structure. But as for novelty all this 

 is nothing to a family of pelagic animals which at first sight 

 appear like Medusae but are really highly organised. I have 

 examined them repeatedly, and certainly from their structure 

 it would be impossible to place them in any existing order. 

 Perhaps Salpa is the nearest animal, although the transparency 

 of the body is nearly the only character they have in common. 

 I think the dried plants nearly contain all which were then 

 (Bahia Blanca) flowering. All the specimens will be packed 

 in casks. I think there will be three (before sending this 

 letter I will specify dates, etc., etc.). I am afraid you will 

 groan or rather the floor of the lecture room will when the 

 casks arrive. Without you I should be utterly undone. 

 The small cask contains fish : will you open it to see how 

 the spirit has stood the evaporation of the Tropics. On 

 board the ship everything goes on as well as possible ; the 

 only drawback is the fearful length of time between this and 

 the day of our return. I do not see any limits to it. One 

 year is nearly completed and the second will be so, before 

 we even leave the east coast of S. America. And then our 

 voyage may be said really to have commenced. I know not 

 how I shall be able to endure it. The frequency with which 

 I think of all the happy hours I have spent at Shrewsbury 

 and Cambridge is rather ominous — I trust everything to time 

 and fate and will feel my way as I go on. 



Nov. 24th. —We have been at Buenos Ayres for a week ; 

 it is a fine large city, but such a country, everything is 

 mud, yuu can go nowhere, you can do nothing for mud. 

 In the city I obtained much information about the banks 

 of the Uruguay — I hear of limestone with shells, and beds 

 of shells in every direction. I hope when we winter in 

 the Plata to have a most interesting geological excursion 

 into that country : I purchased fragments (Nos. 837-8) of 

 some enormous bones, which I was assured belonged to 

 the former giants ! ! I also procured some seeds — I do 

 not know whether they are worth your accepting ; if you 

 think so I will get some more. They are in the box. I 

 have sent to you by the Duke of York packet, commanded 

 by Lieut. Sncll, to Falmouth two large casks containing fossil 

 bones, a small cask with fish and a box containing skins, 



