xiv PREFACE. 



Charles Allen. I was just eight years away from England, 

 but as I travelled about fourteen thousand miles within 

 the Archipelago, and made sixty or seventy separate 

 journeys, each involving some preparation and loss of 

 time, I do not think that more than six years were really 

 occupied in collecting. 



I find that my Eastern collections amounted to : 



310 specimens of Mammalia. 



100 



Reptiles. 



8,050 • - 



Birds. 



7,500 



Shells. 



13,100 



Lepidoptera. 



83,200 



Coleoptera. 



13,400 



other Insects. 



125,660 specimens of natural history. 



It now only remains for me to thank all those friends 

 to whom I am indebted for assistance or information. My 

 thanks are more especially due to the Council of the Royal 

 Geographical Society, through whose valuable recommen- 

 dations I obtained important aid from our own Govern- 

 ment and from that of Holland ; and to Mr. William 

 Wilson Saunders, whose kind and liberal encouragement 

 in the early portion of my journey was of great service to 



