1869-71 A HAPPY NEW YEAR 215 



that "serpent-charming" was not conducted 

 under circumstances favourable to a rational or 

 scientific explanation of the process ; that, on the 

 contrary, it was attended, like other marvels 

 which dread the light, with purposive obstruc- 

 tions to fair and accurate observations ; and, 

 finally, that it was a rude mode of conjuring, in 

 which the snake, professed to be charmed out of 

 a hole in the wall, was concealed upon the person 

 of the conjuror, and transferred by sleight of arm 

 and hand to the floor of the room alleged to have 

 been infested.' 



At the close of 1871 Owen received the 

 following letter from one of his oldest friends, 

 Thomas Bell : — 



From Thomas Bell to Richard Owen 



December 27, 1871. 



( I find as I get on further and further towards 

 the close of life that I feel more and more drawn 

 to those whom I have most and longest esteemed, 

 and, as there are few whom I have known longer 

 and none whom I have more esteemed than 

 yourself, I feel impelled to offer you my best and 

 most cordial wishes for a happy and peaceful new 

 year. Amidst the jarring and discordant ele- 

 ments of which the present scientific atmosphere 

 is almost exclusively composed, it is a relief to 

 bring oneself into contact with such men as your- 



