XII.] 



''FOB THE GOOD CAUSE/' 



297 



The collection was rich in parrots of ^'arious species, among which 

 were several specimens of a brilliant Charmosyna {C. 2'^ctpucnsis) 

 and the wonderfully minute Nadtcrna hruijni — pygmy of its tribe — 

 less than four inches in extreme length, and not so large as the bill 

 of the great Microglossus ! There were other birds of interest and 

 rarity, and as we were anxious to obtain some of them, we broached 



bruijn's pygmy farkot. {Xasiterna Jrridjni.) Natui-al size. 



the subject to Mr. Woelders. He informed us that he would part 

 with them " for the sake of the good cause," and asked us to make 

 an estimate of their value, which we accordingly did on — as we 

 considered — the most liberal terms. To our astonishment our ofter 

 was refused, and a sum demanded which was more than double 

 what the collection would have been worth in Europe. As politely 

 as we w^ere able we intimated that the state of our purses did not 

 admit of the expenditure of such an amount — even for the " good 

 cause," and the matter dropped. At a later period, however, as 

 one of us was particularly anxious for certain of the specimens, we 



