THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 61 



In the Report issued on April 29, 1836, reference is made to 

 the expected arrival of the giraffes obtained by M. Thibaut, and 

 to previous attempts to obtain examples: 



In the earlier years of the Society's existence the acquisition of this 

 singular and rare animal was among the most important objects to which 

 the attention of the Council was directed, and they made many inquiries 

 as to the most probable means of effecting it, and even named a price 

 which would be paid for one or two of them on their being delivered in 

 good health at the Society's Gardens. 



These efforts go back, at any rate, to 1831, and Mr. Money 

 Wigram, a Fellow of the Society, had a hand in the negotiations. 

 On March 28 he wrote to Mr. Vigors to the effect that he could 

 give no particulars as to the price of the giraffe then daily 

 expected to arrive, since the owner was absent from England. 

 He offered to use his best endeavours to obtain a preference for 

 the Zoological Society in having the refusal, but expressed his 

 own opinion that, " provided he [the giraffe] arrives in London 

 in perfect health, the price to be paid for him ought not to be a 

 consideration, under the difficulty of obtaining such an animal in 

 this country at all." Five days later Mr. Vigors was informed, 

 by another hand, that the "Geraffe on board the Lady 

 McNaughte7t is dead, but they reserved the skin of it." At 

 the same time the writer offered an Indian elephant for four 

 hundred guineas, stating that " Mr. Yates, of the Adelphia," 

 was "rather urgent to get it." The animal was purchased by 

 Mr. Yates, and in Broderip's " Zoological Recreations " (p. 320) 

 there is a reference to " the sagacious acting of the elephant 

 at the Adelphi." 



In September, 1833, Mr. Charles Phillips made overtures to 

 the Society, on behalf of Messrs. Phillips and King, with respect 

 to a giraffe shipped from the Cape of Good Hope. An agreement 

 was signed by which the Society consented to pay £500 for the 

 animal, if on arrival it was approved by the Council. A building 

 was to be erected for it in the Gardens, where it was to form a 

 special show, for which all visitors other than Fellows and 

 holders of privileges were to be charged one shilling each. For 

 the space of a twelvemonth this money was to be paid over to 

 Messrs. Phillips and King. 



The agreement, however, was not carried out. On Sept. 27 



