187-1.] PROF. A. NEWTON ON A LIVING DODO. 44/ 



3. S. palpebralis, antea, p. 16. 



4. S. curtata, antea, p. 19. 



5. S. albicapilla, antea, p. 22. 



6. S. pudibunda, supra, p. 44.5. 



7. S. humilis, antea, p. 23. 



8. S. graminicola, supra, p. 446. 



9. &. virgata, supra, p, 446. 

 10. S.flammulata, antea, p. 26. 



7. On a Living Dodo shipped for England in the Year 16^8. 

 By Alfred Newton, M.A., F.R.S., F.Z.S. 



[Received June 12, 1874.] 



Having had the satisfaction, at the meeting of this Society on the 

 19th of May last, of exhibiting to the Members then present two 

 original letters mentioning a Dodo (Didus ineptus) sent to this 

 country by the writer of them in the year 1628, I now offer a few 

 remarks thereon ; for the short time they had been in my possession 

 hardly allowed me then to ascertain the chief points of interest to be 

 derived from them. 



The two letters were lent to me by their custodian, John Bramston 

 Wilmot, Esq., M.D., of Tunbridge Wells. Early in the present 

 year a notice of the Dodo by Mr. Tegetmeier, F.Z.S. (with a wood- 

 cut from the picture formerly belonging to the late Mr. Broderip, 

 and now in the Society's keeping*), appeared in the 'Field' news- 

 paper. This attracted Dr. Wilmot' s attention; and he immediately 

 communicated to that useful periodical a short extract from one of 

 these letters, which, however, was very inaccurately printed f. On 

 reading this I at once wrote to Dr. Wilmot, who has most kindly 

 done all in his power to gratify my wishes on the subject. 



The writer of the letters was Emanuel Altham, younger brother 

 of Sir Edward Altham, Kt., of Marke Hall, in Essex, to whom they 

 are addressed. Emanuel sailed from England in the spring of 1626, 

 to the East Indies, on board the ' Hopewell,' in company with live 

 other ships, one or more of which undoubtedly bore the ambas- 

 sadors, Sir Dodmore Cotton and Sir Robert Sherley, whom Charles I, 

 was sending to the " Pot-shaugh " of Persia, and, in their retinue, 

 Sir Thomas Herbert, whose figure and descriptions of the Dodo are 

 well known J. The fleet anchored in Swalley road, off Surat, on the 

 30th of November in that year ; and soon after, the voyagers separated 

 — Herbert going, in the ship ' William,' to Gombroon in the Persian 

 Gulf§. It is no easy matter to glean the dates of the various inci- 



* Trans. Zool. Soc. iv. p. 186, pi. 54. 

 t 'Field,' xliii. p. 177, No. 1104, Feb. 21, 1874. 

 \ See Strickland 'The Dodo' &c, pp. 19, 20. 



§ Herbert's 'Travels' &c, 2nd ed. 1638, p. 110; 3rd ed. 1665, p. 107- 4th 

 ed. 1677, p. 102. r 



