CHAPTER XXIII 



LIFE IN LONDON, 1862-187I SCIENTIFIC AND 



LITERARY WORK 



On reaching London in the spring of 1862 I went to live 

 with my brother-in-law, Mr. Thomas Sims, and my sister 

 Mrs. Sims, who had a photographic business in Westbourne 

 Grove. Here, in a large empty room at the top of the house, 

 I brought together all the collections which I had reserved 

 for myself and which my agent, Mr. Stevens, had taken care 

 of for me. I found myself surrounded by a quantity of 

 packing-cases and storeboxes, the contents of many of which 

 I had not seen for five or six years, and to the examination 

 and study of which I looked forward with intense interest. 



From my first arrival in the East I had determined to 

 keep a complete set of certain groups from every island or 

 distinct locality which I visited for my own study on my 

 return home, as I felt sure they would afford me very valuable 

 materials for working out the geographical distribution of 

 animals in the archipelago, and also throw light on various 

 other problems. These various sets of specimens were sent 

 home regularly with the duplicates for sale, but either packed 

 separately or so distinctly marked " Private " that they could 

 be easily put aside till my return home. The groups thus 

 reserved were the birds, butterflies, beetles, and land-shells, 

 and they amounted roughly to about three thousand bird 

 skins of about a thousand species, and, perhaps, twenty thou- 

 sand beetles and butterflies of about seven thousand species. 



As I reached home in a very weak state of health, and 

 could not work long at a time without rest, my first step 

 was to purchase the largest and most comfortable easy-chair 

 I could find in the neighbourhood, and then engage a car- 



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