CELEBES, THE MOLUCCAS, ETC. 365 



in a letter home I thus refer to it. " I have received letters 

 from Mr. Darwin and Dr. Hooker, two of the most eminent 

 naturalists in England, which have highly gratified me. I 

 sent Mr. Darwin an essay on a subject upon which he is 

 now writing a great work. He showed it to Dr. Hooker and 

 Sir Charles Lyell, who thought so highly of it that they had 

 it read before the Linnaean Society. This insures me the 

 acquaintance of these eminent men on my return home." I 

 also refer to my next voyage as follows : " I am now about 

 to start for a place where there are some soldiers, and a 

 doctor, and an engineer who can speak English, so if it is 

 good for collecting I shall stay there some months. It is 

 called ' Batchian,' an island on the south-west side of Gilolo, 

 and three or four days' sail from Ternate. I have now quite 

 recovered from the effects of my New Guinea voyage, and 

 am in good health." 



I reached Batchian on October 21, and about a month 

 afterwards, there being a Government boat going to Ternate, 

 I took the opportunity of writing to my school-fellow and 

 oldest friend, Mr. George Silk. As he knew nothing what- 

 ever of natural history, I wrote to him on subjects more 

 personal to myself, and which may therefore be more suitable 

 to quote here : — 



" I have just recived yours of August 3 with reminis- 

 cences of Switzerland. To you it seems a short time since 

 we were there together, to me an immeasurable series of 

 ages ! In fact, Switzerland and the Amazon now seem to 

 me quite unreal — a sort of former existence or long-ago 

 dream. Malays and Papuans, beetles and birds, are what 

 now occupy my thoughts, mixed with financial calculations 

 and hopes for a happy future in old England, where I may 

 live in solitude and seclusion, except from a few choice friends. 

 You cannot, perhaps, imagine how I have come to love soli- 

 tude. I seldom have a visitor but I wish him away in an 

 hour. I find it very favourable to reflection ; and if you have 

 any acquaintance who is a fellow of the Linnsean Society, 

 borrow the Journal of Proceedings for August last, and in the 

 last article you will find some of my latest lucubrations, and 



