WILD ANIMALS IN CAPTIVITY 



the kindness by return of post to let me know if tliero is any 

 hope of your calling at my house for that purpose. You may 

 feel some surprise at the suddenness of this announcement and 

 my not having shown it to any one, or allowed any person to 

 know it was in progress. My reason for this was liaving long 

 studied the subject, carefully examined all the parts, the paint- 

 ings, etc. (I visited the Hague last year for the purpose of 

 examining the picture in that collection), and formed my opinion 

 respecting the bird, I commenced it at once, taking care no part 

 should be seen until it was complete, for fear the views of others 

 might differ from my own and I might be confused ; again, the 

 work being attended with much difficulty, requiring considerable 

 skill, much time and perseverance, I was fearful of being 

 annoyed by the impatience of my friends Jiad they known it 

 was in progress. As you already know, Dr. Melville lived in 

 my house several months and wrote the second part of the Dodo 

 book here, yet, to this hour, has no idea that I had it in hand. 

 You will see that I possessed peculiar advantages during the 

 time Dr. Melville lived here, having the head and foot from 

 Oxford for his use, and he kindly allowed me to examine these 

 parts whenever I pleased. I thus had the opportunity of ex- 

 amining the head more than once in a wet state, an advantage 

 that may never occur again to any one (it was soaked in water 

 by Dr. Melville for the purpose of turning the skin over the 

 skull to display the bony structure). In this state it was of the 

 greatest use to me, and enabled me to form a more correct idea 

 of the bird's head than 1 could gain by any other means, and I 

 finished my model of the head before the real liead left my house, 

 so that I had an opportunity of comparing them. 



" I had an equally good chance with the Didunculus, which Dr. 

 Melville placed in my hands for the purpose of obtaining the 

 shdl and leg-bones, which I did and afterwards replaced them. 

 This added much to my knowledge respecting what I might 

 expect was the natural size, form and condition of tlie hointj part 

 of the bill of the Dodo, and I finished it accordingly, quite to 

 my own satisfaction ; and I hope when seen by you and others 

 competent to judge, it will be considered sufficiently perfect and 

 complete to justify the great amount of time I have devoted 

 to it. 



" I should feel much obliged if you would have the kindness to 

 obtain for me a cast of the Dodo's head and foot to put by the 

 side of the model." 



