122 CORRESPONDENCE. 



BOSTON, June 6, 1836. 



DEAR SIR In common with your numerous friends in this 

 city, I congratulate you on the successful termination of your 

 application to congress in behalf of a South Sea expedition. 



I say your application : for certainly, sir, to your unwearied 

 zeal, and untiring exertions, this great undertaking owes its exist- 

 ence ; and I learn, with much satisfaction, that it will still continue 

 to have the advantages of your personal presence and experience. 

 The scientific, as well as the commercial world, look to this under- 

 taking as destined to expand its stores ; and I trust that that de 

 partment, in which, you know, I am most interested, will receive 

 its full share, and that, among the savans of the expedition, a 

 Comparative Anatomist of eminence may be found. For him, there 

 will be a vast field yet unexplored ; for it is especially true, that in 

 Natural History we are never to rest satisiied with what has been 

 done, for Nature demonstrates to us that her stores are boundless. 

 The gentleman selected should be a practical anatomist, one quali- 

 fied to investigate the intimate structure of animals, and prepare 

 them for preservation. Especially should he be a good physiolo- 

 gist, for there are many mechanical anatomists, whose usefulness 

 extend not beyond the dexterity of the hands. In short, he should 

 be one capable of making researches under the influences of an 

 expanded philosophy, upon the phenomena of life in their totality. 

 For such a one, those distant seas and shores will yield a rich har- 

 vest; and we may now have an opportunity to repay, in some 

 measure, the debts so long due to the old world, by giving to it, in 

 our turn, some amount of our own practical knowledge. It is our 



