JACK'S LETTERS TO WALLICH, 1819-1821. 211 



I rejoice to hear that the Nepal expedition has been so happily 

 brought about; both as regards yourself and as regards science 

 it is most glorious. You will spend a year or more most delight- 

 fully in a Hyperborean climate, with no vile Calcutta cares and 

 vexations to disturb you, restore your health " to its pristine dig- 

 nity " (that phrase is a favorite of yours and mine) and descend 

 again into the plains like a new fledged eagle from his mountain 

 eyrie. But what is this to the harvest before you, to the glorious 

 discoveries that await you, you are about to revel among the living 

 sweets, whose dead anatomies have been exciting our admiration 

 during past years. 217 Agreeably as I am situated here, I could 

 wish to transport myself in a twinkling to your side in a ramble 

 over some pine covered hill, or enormous snow crowned mountains. 

 What exclamations, what triple marks of admiration ! ! ! verily and 

 truly, friend of mine, we lose a positive pleasure in surveying all 

 our wonders with solitary eyes. 



I wish in place of your present trip, we could have carried you 

 with us to this island of wonders. But we cannot have everything 

 we wish. 



I enclose for your edification, two copies 21s of the flrstfruits 

 from our Sumatran Press, it is my part of the first volume of the 

 Malayan Miscellanies, (so we have entitled our collections). The 

 first volume is not particularly interesting, consisting chiefly of 

 papers that Sir S. left to keep the press at work during our absence, 

 and taken at random out of a mass of materials, without under- 

 going examination or revision. As however when we returned we 

 found enough to make a small volume, forth they come, as they 

 are, and to help it out I have given a few descriptions of minor 

 interest. We have also put one or two of the Frenchmen's papers, 

 which will show what they really are, and enable us if they attempt 

 anything, to judge them out of their own mouths. Let me have 

 the benefit of any remarks that suggest themselves to you upon the 

 plants here mentioned. 



Our second volume will be more interesting, it is proposed to 

 contain the proceedings of the Agricultural Society, 219 the first 

 Report of which I have just completed. It is in fact rather a 

 statistical than Agricultural paper, and forms a kind of supple- 

 ment to my former Eeport on the State of Society. I am now 

 cogitating on my projected fascicle, and plan a considerable ex- 

 tension of the original idea. It strikes me, that such splendid 

 plates as they are intended to be, ought to be accompanied with 

 more than the few sheets of letter press that the mere scientific 



217. E. Gardner, the Resident in Nepal has been sending down 

 specimens dried. 



218. Not one copy of part No. 1 and one of part No. 5 of volume I. 

 but two copies of part No. 1 ; for part No. 5 was not printed at this date. 



219. It did not. The Proceedings were printed under their own title, 

 and made a volume of about 200 pages. 



R. A. Soc. No. 73, 1916. 



