HISTORY OF GREAT AUKS' EGGS 47 



thirty-two shillings. The history and antecedents of all 

 the specimens were minutely investigated, and a mass 

 of correspondence, which he preserved, with people in 

 many countries testifies to Newton's imtiring industry in 

 this respect. Many of his correspondents were inaccu- 

 rate, and some even drew on their imagination to give 

 him information which they thought might appear to be 

 true, but he was expert in sifting the grain from the 

 chaff, and never recorded any fact of the accuracy of 

 which he had the smallest doubt. 



It is very curious how men readily accept as evidence 

 of history, what is not evidence at all. Not many days 

 since I had a remarkable instance of this. I wanted to 

 find out what had become of the Gare-fowl's egg that 

 Wilmot had in his collection, and at his death left to a 

 friend of his, Mr. George L. Russell, himself now dead. 

 I made inquiries through a friend, and in time got a 

 letter telling me all I wanted to know and a great deal 

 that I did not know ; e.g. that the egg was taken by 

 WoUey on an island near Archangel (! !). Fortunately 

 for the cause of historical accuracy I have Wilmot's own 

 testimony that he bought his specimen for £5 in 1846, 

 of Leadbeater, and there can be little doubt of its being 

 one of those that were got on Eldey.* 



The history of Mr. Yarrell's egg, which went to Mr. F. 

 Bond and subsequently into the collection of Baron 

 D'HamonviHe, was investigated by Mr. Harting. Yarrell 

 had bought the egg as a Duck's egg from a fisherwoman 

 at Boulogne or Paris, and her story was that she had 

 received it from her husband, who had been a seaman on 

 board a whaler, implying that it might hg,ve been 

 brought from the Arctic regions This Newton considered 

 most improbable. 



* Letter to Col. H. W. Feaden, December 1, 1884. 



