332 Alexander Goodman More. [isss 



in which he thenceforth continued for more than a whole 

 year. It was a period of intense suffering which little 

 could be done to relieve. "The least touch or movement 

 makes me scream with pain," says one of his pencilled 

 letters (February 2ist) to Mr. Barrington ; and as the 

 months went by with little alteration, his cause for anxiety 

 became great, the doctors at times holding out but slender 

 hopes of his recovery. Through even the worst period of 

 his illness (March to August, 1886) he still endeavoured 

 to give some attention to natural history. Short notes 

 dictated from his bed, in reply to letters received from 

 Mr. Stewart, bear date April 5th, and May 26th of this 

 year; and on July iQth he wrote with his own hand to 

 Mr. Sheridan about the identification of a fish and of a 

 Gull. But on the whole those six months (during which 

 his father, and likewise his long attached friend Newbould, 

 died) may here be treated as a blank. 



He was only very slightly better when early in Septem- 

 ber, he wrote to inform Professor Babington of his illness, 

 and of his plans for furthering meanwhile the revision of 

 the " Cybele." On September 8th, Professor Babington, 

 in reply, wrote : " Dear More, your letter received last 

 evening has grieved us very much indeed. It is only a day 

 or two since I remarked that it was a long time since I had 

 heard anything about you. I feared that you might be ill, 

 but had no idea that the illness could be as serious as 

 your letter tells me it is. Happily you can obtain the very 

 best medical advice at Dublin; and as you are told that 

 there is some hope that you may get better, we may hope 

 that it will please God in His goodness to restore you in 

 His good time. ... I think that you are doing well for 

 the C. H. by getting men who can be trusted to add their 

 information in the interleaved copy. You will then be able 

 to make use of the information obtained whenever it is in 

 your power. A new edition is much wanted." 



In November, he was still so far from mending that " six 

 months' leave on half-pay " was granted him, from the i ith 

 of that month. November 24th is the date of the following 

 letter : 



