Rev. Canon Norman on Ebalia nux. 345 



were actually first figured in the ' Depths of the Sea ' as from 

 off the Butt of Lewis, that is as much within the British area 

 as the waters trawled by the ' Flying Fox,' and were again 

 recorded by me as among the Crustacea procured in the 

 * Knight Errant ' expedition. 



I must conclude with some general observations, regretting 

 to occupy your pages on personal matters, but constrained to 

 do so. 



MS. Nnmes. — I regard the publication of these as highly 

 objectionable, and it is well understood that authors are not 

 obliged to recognize them. I have had at times scores, I 

 think 1 may say hundreds, of MS. names in my collection, 

 but never have printed such names unless compelled by cir- 

 cumstances to do so. 



Correspondents. — Mr. Pocock lays to my charge that a 

 letter which he wrote to me asking whether I had described 

 Ehalia nux remained unanswered. I have no recollection on 

 the subject, though I have a recollection of Mr. Pocock asking 

 me some question, which I am under the impression I 

 answered by postcard. If I left his inquiry unanswered 

 I am very sorry. 1 never omitted to answer a letter in my 

 life from willing want of courtesy, but I deeply regret to say 

 that I have been obliged to leave many unanswered from the 

 impossibility of finding time to reply to them. Last 

 autumn, when Mr. Pocock must have written, I was quite 

 unable to answer the numerous letters which were written 

 to me. This is impressed on my mind by the remem- 

 brance that my friend Prof. Jeffrey Bell wrote twice if 

 not three times to ask me to allow him to see certain Echini 

 which he desired to examine in connexion with his notes on 

 the Echinoderms of the * Flying Fox,' and that, though 

 wishing to assist him as far as possible, I was unable to find 

 time to send them until they were too late to be of service 

 {vide ' Annals,' ser. 6, vol. iv. p. 441, note). 



I am not a naturalist by profession. Science is the recrea- 

 tion, not the business of my life, and has always to be kept 

 subservient to duty. Often, especially in the late autumn 

 and winter months, I can find little or no time for the 

 pleasurable pursuit of natural history. When possible I 

 endeavour to answer letters at once ; but sometimes such an 

 accumulation takes place that hope of making up arrears 

 vanishes. For years, though usually working in one form or 

 another not less than twelve hours a day, the time which I 

 have had for natural history has been more taken up in 



