1846-47 ROAST OSTRICH 295 



' 23rd. — R. had a very bad night. Query, 

 roast ostrich ? At four o'clock he called on Sir 

 Robert Peel, who gave him a card for me to 

 view the pictures at Whitehall Place.' 



' 26th. — The proteus still alive. Gave him an 

 earthworm ; would not touch it. Tried some 

 spawn, but with the same result.' 



'May 1. — R.'s twenty-fourth and last lecture. 

 We hurried off as soon as we could to the Royal 

 Academy, so as to get a look at the pictures 

 before dinner/ 



' 2nd. — R. took one more look at the nar- 

 whal's head. I feel very savage with the College 

 Council. They will not buy the head. If I were 

 sure it would go to the British Museum I should 

 not mind so much ; it seems a shame to let it go 

 out of the country.' 



1 6tk — Dr. H. Acland told R. that his proteus 

 (not the same species as ours) only ate a worm 

 about once a fortnight.' 



' *jth. — Lady Hastings here with the Hordle 

 crocodile, which she has pieced together admi- 

 rably. She was busy in the museum for over two 

 hours, glorying over her bones.' 



' 8tA. — The worm I put into the vessel with 

 the proteus the other morning has now been 

 eaten.' 



' 23rd. — R. and I to the Gardens, according to 

 a request from Sir Roderick Murchison, as the 

 Grand Duke Constantine was to be there. The 



