270 The Naturalist of Cumbrac. 



stormy, the goose did not arrive till nine clays after 

 it left you, and I thought it best to wait till it came, 

 or till a sufficient time had elapsed for transit. How- 

 ever, it came in good time and in capital order, not in 

 the smallest degree the worse for its long journey. 

 You need say no more about the small proportions of 

 the Shetland geese. This is quite a leviathan, and, 

 besides, in excellent condition. Mrs. Robertson has 

 had it dressed and it is now before the fire, and we 

 just have it in time for the old new year,* which 

 enables us to extend our festivities so much the 

 longer. 



" And now, since I wrote the last line, I can 



tell you that it is nothing behind in quality to its 

 portly and promising appearance. 



" The plan you took to free the holothurians of 

 the water is a good one. I never thought of it. 

 Even with spirits it would be a great saving. Those 

 I brought home when I was with you took a great 

 deal of spirits, which was pretty much tinted by the 

 time I got them home. Had the water been with- 

 drawn, much less spirit would have done. However, 

 the soft things do not all suit so well with the salt as 

 the harder Crustacea. 



" Mr. Jeffreys' visit to America was a very fortunate 

 circumstance, not only to science, in preventing the 

 loss of those undescribed shells, but particularly to 

 the Americans, who might else have been anticipated 

 in finding them again, and so have lost the credit of 

 the discovery. 



rt We were sorry to hear of Fred's illness, but hope 



* New Year's Day according to the Old Style. 



