178 THE LIFE OF PHILIP HENRY GOSSE. 



drawing of the white shark, on p. 284, is a capital instance 

 of this double skill. With the warm reception of The 

 Ocean, in 1845, Gosse may be said to have begun to be 

 distinguished ; but when fame found him, he was far away 

 in the tropics. A new chapter of his career had opened. 



Early in 1844, while he was chatting one day with his 

 friends in the insect-room of the British Museum, Edward 

 Doubleday suggested that Philip Gosse would do well as 

 an insect-collector in the tropics. Demerara was origin- 

 ally proposed ; then Jamaica, as being less known to 

 naturalists, and, entomologically, absolute virgin ground. 

 The British Museum had almost nothing from Jamaica, 

 nor was anything known of the natural history of the 

 island since the days of Sloane and Browne. Gosse 

 jumped eagerly at the suggested proposal. He had 

 already had some experience in Newfoundland, in Canada, 

 and in Alabama, and the prospect appeared to him delight- 

 ful in the extreme. He immediately began to prepare. 

 He read up all works which touched upon the zoology of 

 the West Indies, made drawings of desiderata, especially 

 of orchids, butterflies, and humming-birds, constructed 

 collecting-boxes, and gradually bought the necessary 

 materials. 



Doubleday introduced him to Hugh Cuming, of Gower 

 Street, as an agent for selling the collections to be 

 made, and this gentleman, himself a successful collector, 

 gave Gosse some useful instructions. He also took him 

 down to Kew Gardens, where he began that life-long 

 acquaintance with Sir William Hooker, which was to be 

 of such lasting profit and pleasure to him. His latest 

 occupation of a purely literary nature, before starting, was 

 to write for Messrs. Harvey and Darton a Christmas 

 annual, which appeared the ensuing winter under the title 

 of Glimpses of the Wonderful. This little volume, gaily 



