i 9 4 THE LIFE OF SIR JOSEPH BANKS 



the chief of whom I am sorry to say was the principal 

 fomenter of the mutiny which took place in the ships, 

 built upon the strongest Jacobin principles. . . . 1 



" As the duplicates would serve no purpose but to 

 encumber Her Majesty, I shall with pleasure, if I am 

 honoured with Her Royal commands, undertake to 

 select a complete collection of one good specimen of 

 such species ; but as individual specimens from whence 

 they are to be taken cannot number less than ten thou- 

 sand, every one of which must be separately examined, 

 I dare not undertake to complete the work in less than a 

 year from the present time. 



" The Birds are in tolerable preservation, and many of 

 them extremely beautiful. If Her Majesty chooses to 

 make a collection, I would by all means advise Her 

 Majesty to accept them. There are about twelve hundred, 

 many of them quite new. The cost, however, of stuffing 

 them . . . and providing glass cases to contain them, 

 would amount to several hundred pounds. The Snakes 

 and Lizards are dried. They might be mixed with the 

 Birds, as some of them are not only curious but as hand- 

 some as such reptiles can be. ... 



" Provided, as I conclude is likely to be the case, that 

 Her Majesty does not choose to encumber herself with 

 the stuffed animals, a word from her would probably 

 direct the Due d'Harcourt's attention toward the British 

 Museum, where they would become a National ornament, 

 and promote materially the knowledge of Natural 

 History. . . ." 



Further, there is a suggestion that the charts and 

 sketches would be best placed in the King's library, 

 " where men of real Science have always access, in a 



[? l It was a curious complication of affairs. The naval officers were 

 adherents of the White Flag, and the naturalists were all republicans. 



