244 LONDON AND CAMBRIDGE. .ETAT. 27. 



at Shrewsbury on October 4, 1836, " after an absence of five 

 years and two days." He wrote to Fox : " You cannot 

 imagine how gloriously delightful my first visit was at home ; 

 is was worth the banishment." But it was a pleasure that 

 he could not long enjoy, for in the last days of October he 

 was at Greenwich unpacking specimens from the Beagle. As 

 to the destination of the collections he writes, somewhat de- 

 spondingly, to Henslow : — 



" I have not made much progress with the great men. 

 I find, as you told me, that they are all overwhelmed with 

 their own business. Mr. Lyell has entered, in the most good- 

 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 the 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. 

 I dare say the British Museum would receive them, but I can- 

 not feel, from all I hear, any great respect even for the pres- 

 ent state of that establishment. Your plan will be not only 

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

 bridge, arrange and group together the different families, and 

 then wait till people, who are already working in difi'erent 

 branches, may want specimens. But it appears to me [that] 

 to do this it will be almost necessary to reside in London. 

 As far as I can yet see my best plan will be to spend several 

 months in Cambridge, and then when, by your assistance, I 



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

 The collection was some years later broken up and dispersed. 



