1848-49 EVIDENCE BEFORE HOUSE OF COMMONS 335 



serious and rather pretty Brobdignag cherub, but 

 is no cherub in sense ; whatever he says is to the 

 point, and good feeling and thorough truthfulness 

 are always at the bottom of it.' 



' 15///. — R. dining with the " Red Lions." He 

 was to-day at the British Museum Committee of 

 the House of Commons giving evidence. R.'s 

 statements and evidence caused much sensation.' 



'March 13. — Lecture I. for 1849. 4 Last 

 night R. read to me his first introductory lec- 

 ture for criticisms, &c. The whole course this 

 season is intensely interesting. This introductory 

 lecture is split up into two parts. They are to be 

 published at once.' 



' 17th. — Mr. Mitchell called to say that the 

 Zoological Gardens had made another acquisition 

 — bower birds, two males and a female, brought 

 over alive. R. was talking it over this evening, 

 and he remarked, a propos of the bower bird 

 building with bright-looking shells, stones, &c, 

 that it might be a remnant of such a propensity 

 as causes a magpie to carry off and hide glittering 

 objects.' 



' 21st. — To-night a letter from the Admiralty 

 to R., enclosing one from Admiral Sir C. Napier 

 describing a sea-serpent. The first lieutenant's 

 drawing (a good one) was sent too. R. soon had 

 an idea which seems a satisfactory one.' 



' 22nd.— To-day I drew the explanation of the 



4 Hunterian Lectures, ' On Invertebrata. 5 



