i847 FIRST WORK IN THE RATTLESNAKE 35 



most Portuguese towns, hot and stinking, the odours here being 

 improved by a strong flavour of nigger from the slaves, of 

 whom there is an immense number. They seem to do all the 

 work, and their black skins shine in the sun as though they had 

 been touched up with Warren, 30 Strand. They are mostly 

 in capital condition, and on the whole look happier than the 

 corresponding class in England, the manufacturing and agri- 

 cultural poor, I mean. I have a much greater respect for them 

 than for their beastly Portuguese masters, than whom there is 

 not a more vile, ignorant, and besotted nation under the sun. 

 I only regret that such a glorious country as this should be in 

 such hands. Had Brazil been colonised by Englishmen, it would 

 by this time have rivalled our Indian Empire. 



The naturalist Macgillivray and I have had several excur- 

 sions under pretence of catching butterflies, etc. On the whole, 

 however, I think we have been most successful in imbibing sherry 

 cobbler, which you get here in great perfection. By the way, tell 



Cooke,* with my kindest regards, that is a lying old thief, 



many of the things he told me about Macgillivray, e.g., being an 

 ignoramus in natural history, etc. etc., having proved to be lies. 

 He is at any rate a very good ornithologist, and, I can testify, 

 is exceedingly zealous in his vocation as a collector. As in 



these (points) Mr. 's statements are unquestiorfably false, 



I must confess I feel greatly incHned to disbelieve his other 

 assertions. 



March 29. — We sail hence on Sunday for the Cape, so I will 

 finish up. If you have not already written to me at that place, 

 direct your letters to H.M.S. Rattlesnake, Sydney (to wait 

 arrival). We shall probably be at the Cape some weeks sur- 

 veying, thence shall betake ourselves to the Mauritius, and 

 leave a card on Paul and Virginia, thence on to Sydney ; but it 

 is of no use to direct to any place but the last. 



P.S. — The Rattlesnakes are not idle. We shall most likely 

 have something to say to the English savans before long. If I 

 have any friz in the fire I will let you know. 



He gives a fuller account of this piece of work in a 

 letter to his sister, dated Sydney, August i, 1847. The 

 two papers in question, as appears from the briefest notice 

 in the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, ascribing them to 

 William ( !) Huxley, were read in 1849 : — 



* His brother-in-law. 



