Ch. VII.] 1836—1842. HI 



natured manner, and almost without being asked, into all my 

 plans. He tells me, however, the same story, that I must do 

 all myself. Mr. Owen seems anxious to dissect some of the 

 animals in spirits, and, besides these two, I have scarcely met 

 any one who seems to wish to possess any of my specimens. I 

 must except Dr. Grant, who is willing to examine some of the 

 corallines. I see it is quite unreasonable to hope for a minute 

 that any man will undertake the examination of a whole order. 

 It is clear the collectors so much outnumber the real naturalists 

 that tho latter have no time to spare. 



" I do not even find that the Collections care for receiving 

 the unnamed specimens. The Zoological Museum * is nearly 

 full, and upwards of a thousand specimens remain unmounted. 

 1 dare say the British Museum would receive them, but I 

 cannot feel, from all I hear, any great respect even for the 

 present state of that establishment. Your plan will be not 

 only the best, but the only one, namely, to come down to 

 Cambridge, arrange and group together the different families, 

 and then wait till people, who are already working in different 

 branches, may want specimens. . . . 



" I have forgotten to mention Mr. Lonsdale,f who gave me 

 a most cordial reception, and with whom I had much most 

 interesting conversation. If I was not much more inclined for 

 geology than the other branches of Natural History, I am sure 

 Mr. Lyell's and Lonsdale's kindness ought to fix me. You 

 cannot conceive anything more thoroughly good-natured than 

 the heart-and-soul manner in which he put himself in my place 

 and thought what would be best to do." 



A few days later he writes more cheerfully: "I became 

 acquainted with Mr. BeU,:f who, to my surprise, expressed a 

 good deal of interest about my Crustacea and reptiles, and 

 seems willing to work at them. I also heard that Mr. Broderip 

 would be glad to look over the South American shells, so that 

 things flourish well with me." 



Again, on November 6 : — 



" All my affairs, indeed, are most prosperous ; I find there 



* The Museum of the Zoological Society, then at 33 Bruton Street. 

 The collection was some years later broken up and dispersed. 



t William Lonsdale, b. 1794, d. 1871, was originally in the army, and 

 served at the battles of Salamanca and Waterloo. After the war he left 

 the service and gave himself up to science. He acted as assistant-secre- 

 tary to the Geological Society from 1829-42, when he resigned, owing to 

 ill-health. 



X T. Bell, F.R.S., formerly Professor of Zoology in King's College, 

 London, and sometime secretary to the Royal Society. He afterwards 

 described the reptiles for the Zoology of the Voyage of the Beagle. 



