CORRESPONDENCE WITH DR. MANTELL. 193 



Dr. B. to Stowe, the celebrated seat of the Duke of Buck- 

 ingham, (of whom you will have heard as the purchaser of 

 thejlrst plesiosaurus,) and thence to Oxford; the weather 

 was most propitious ; we are now doing penance for it. I 

 long to see Morton's book on the secondary fossils of 

 America, and if that is followed by Conrad's on the tertiary 

 shells, these two works will do more than any others to bring 

 your treasures before the European geologists. I am often 

 very covetous, unreasonably so I confess, yet I cannot 

 but say how very anxious I am to hear from you, so soon as 

 you can devote an hour to an unseen friend. When next I 

 write, I hope it will be with better spirits, at any rate 

 with less bodily suffering; indeed, I could not bear up 

 under this long. I shall not, however, wait till I hear from 

 you before I write again, but if anything new and interesting 

 comes within my reach, I shall send it across the Atlantic. 

 My little folks leave us next week, the holidays being over ; 

 they now unite with me and their mamma in best wishes 

 and tenderest regards to you and yours. Walter received 

 his books in safety, and is greatly obliged to your dear boy 

 for them. I have this day heard from Mr. Bakewell ; the 

 poor old gentleman has been afflicted with gout in his 

 hands, an affliction, of all others, the most annoying to a 

 literary man. Can you tell me if Dr. Harlan and all his 

 treasures arrived safe ? he obtained a very good collection 

 from various quarters. You remember the teeth of the 

 gigantic Tapir of Cuvier. Mr. Bakewell figures a grinder ; 

 they have found two perfect lower jaws of the animal at 

 "Darmstadt ; strange to tell, it has two tusks at the anterior 

 extremity of the lower jaws, and which point downwards : 

 was ever anything so extraordinary ? They must have 

 been intended to enable the animal to grub up bulbous and 

 tuberose roots, from under the matted fibrous roots of a 

 forest. Adieu, my dear, kind friend. I am suffering so 

 much I cannot write more. May Heaven bless you and 

 yours. 



VOL. II. 13 



