i86i] Visit to London. 139 



left me ; and it will take some weeks to set me right again, 

 though I am happy to say I have now taken a turn in the 

 right direction." 



And on May loth : " I rejoice to tell you I hope there 

 is after all a chance of our meeting in London. The doctor 

 has ordered me away from Bembridge, and I expect to go 

 and stop at Turnham Green or Richmond, so I could easily 

 manage to run up to London any day you like to name. 

 I should be glad if you could manage to name an hour 

 in the morning, say n or 12 o'clock, as my strength at 

 present hardly holds out the day through. I have many 

 things I wish to talk over with you. I have found the 

 writing out lists takes so much time that I have arranged 

 for printing a hundred or two, but first I should like to 

 ask your advice about excluding some five or six birds 

 whose claims seem very dubious." 



To his disappointment, he missed seeing Mr. Newton : 

 theB.O.U. meeting referred to in the letter was held before 

 he left Bembridge. But a long visit (May i5th-June i3th) 

 to Mr. Newbould did much to reinvigorate him. Still 

 working hard at critical botany, he now spent many morn- 

 ings with his friend among the London Herbaria; but 

 did not miss the opportunities of bird- work afforded him 

 from the vicinity of so many noted ornithologists, libraries, 

 and collections, both of dead and of living birds. There 

 were a " Shrike " question, a " Skua " question, a " Puffin " 

 question, and various others, to investigate in the British 

 Museum ; the newest " British " bird, Pallas's Sand- 

 grouse whose first irruption had occurred in 1859 was 

 to be seen alive in the Zoological Gardens ; a few members 

 of the B. O. U., as Mr. Salvin and Mr. F. Godman, were in 

 London, and must be seen and consulted; while introduc- 

 tions to some other ornithologists living at a distance were 

 to be sought for and put to use. Then on leaving Mr. New- 

 bould he spent two days (June 1 3th- 1 5th) at Thames 

 Ditton with Mr. Watson , and here too the Bird-Cybele 

 was kept in view. Mr. Watson had just had a new map 

 engraved to fit into an octavo page without folding, and 

 " in the most liberal way said I might have copies struck 

 off to illustrate the bird paper whenever I like." " What 



