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September 6th, 1852. 

 My dear Harry, &c., &c. 



You will be surprised when you come to read what I am about to inform you ; 

 a short time prior to your leaving old England, that you loved, made a vow to your 

 better half, provided circumstances would allow to come back, and lay your weary head 

 low in old England, who, you said, "You loved with all its faults ;" It is possible you 

 can reccollect, I shewed you a paper ; I headed it " Wisdom," reasoned what I should 

 gain or lose in the estimation of Fanciers in general, if 1 attempted a Work on Tame, 

 Domesticated and Fancy Pigeons ; the conclusion we came to, was, I had every thing 

 to lose and nothing to gain, therefore came to the determination to abandon the idea for 

 ever, especially as I could not obtam my text, (John Mooee's Work, 1735) ; although 

 it cost me many pounds one way and the other, to obtain the book, besides great loss 

 of time, I searched every Bookseller, North, East, South and West, besides advertising 

 it several times through the different channels. Had I not seen and read the Work, 

 should not have believed there was such a Work. The Fancier to whom the Work be- 

 longed, used to say it was the only copy in the World ; he promised me more than a 

 year, he would lend it to me, (if he had, I had made up my mind to have employed 

 some one to have written it out before I returned it), he had lent it to a Fancier, and 

 could not get it back. 



You had scarcely sailed, 3rd September, for Geelong, having two gentlemen to wait 

 upon in town with the difference of about an hour and a half as to time ; knowing by 

 the time I ai-rived home, it would be time to starl again to wait upon the other, I 

 thought I might as well loiter about as to work hard for nothing ; being in a bookselling 

 neighbourhood, the idea struck me I would try if possible to obtain Mooee's work, by 

 passing away the time, believing booksellers with their immense stock of old books, not 

 having a methodical catalogue of their old books, and being busy at times, when a 

 question is put to them without considering answer. No ! it is possible booksellers may 

 not have a work to-day, who knows but they may have it to-morrow. I was de- 

 termined to make good use of this one hour and a half surplus time on my hands, went 

 into many bookshops, the answer was No ! No ! No ! You must Hunt it up ! I 

 thought I had hunted it up, the more I hunted it the further I was off the scent, I knew 

 my labour to obtain this book, better than any one can tell me ; if you doubt what I 

 say, take a bumper and try to obtain it. 



Seeing two boys in deep conversation at an extensive second-hand or old book shop, 

 I believe if I had asked one of them if he had Mooee on Pigeons, he would have said 

 No ! (I had ray wits about me for the first and last time), I arrested both their atten- 

 tions, stating I would stand a glass or a shilling's worth of brandy and water if he had 

 got the book I wanted, told the boy to consider before he said No ! the two boys looked 

 at each other, I took them by surprise, " I think they smelled the brandy and water ;" 

 afte a little consideration one of the boys went down a tremendous long shop to his em- 



to Dean Wolstbnholmb, and every Brother Fancier (if I may have the vanity to call 

 myself one), convey my best wishes, and tell them, when I am far away I shall still 

 bear them in remembrance, 



** Farewell, and believe me to remain, 



" Yours most sincerely, 



" HENEY MAJOR." 



The vessel sailed the following morning, 3rd September, his Old Friend and myself 

 went to see him, but the vessel had sailed a few hours before we arrived, to our great 

 disappointment. 



Why was I so great an admirer of Major, he was a man of integrity and of truth, 

 and would yield to no man if he thought he was right ; in argument, on different topics, 

 at times, we were mountains high, (but we agreed to differ, believing each other 

 sincere,) and to use an expression of his elder brother, Mr. George Major, that he 

 carried about hitn so large a quantity of Carbonic Gas, he was afraid to come near him 

 for fear of being ** Blown up.'' 



