XXVIII] FRIENDS AND ACQUAINTANCES 77 



on the envelope (here reproduced) is to the description of 

 the king bird of paradise, and shows how he was able to 

 introduce appropriate cuts from his large stock. The letter 

 itself is in hieroglyphic form, intimating that he had other 

 engagements, indicating himself by his large nose and 

 scrap-book under his arm. 



The next I shall give is an account of the sad results 

 of reading one of my books aloud. The heading is a 

 pseudonym for his operating room. 



" Fang Castle, June, 1870, 



" Therm. 77|. 



"Thanks worthy Signor for the entertainment afforded 

 by your Boke on Natural Selection. But good as * Natural 

 Selection ' is, or maybe : I like Mutual Selection much better ; 

 and to my thinking it is of much more importance : ex. gr. 

 mutual selection is this — A Lady asks me to become her 

 husband — I ax her to become my wife — that's Miittial Selec- 

 tion — aint it * Natural ' ? The question of the ' fittest * is a 

 subsequent affair : as is the Creation by birth, etc., etc. 



" But the pleasure was sadly and suddenly interrupted : I 

 was reading aloud, and got on pretty well through p. 90-91. 

 At 92 Jaws ached terribly ! but at p. 94 and 5, even vulcanite 

 could not stand it ; and to my horror my upper set of teeth 

 gave way with a crash ! divided between the right lateral and 

 the canine. I was helpless ; and but for an old piece in 

 reserve, my enjoyment of a succulent Roast Pig would have 

 been entirely destroyed : it cost me dear — quite the value of a 

 collection : I must give up reading scientific (J) names aloud. 



" I picked up a good specimen of Lignum ambulans for 

 a shilling a week ago : and it now forms a prominent feature 

 in our surgery. We are promised a Phyllium in a few days : 

 and a Kallima paralekta. The Rosa Canina is a puzzle at 

 present : I never saw a Red Canine tooth ! Speaking of 

 teeth — Huxley in his Physiology says Bicuspids never have 

 more than two fangs — He knows nothing about it. I have 

 them with three — Molars with 4, 5, and 6 ! In my lecture 

 case, now before me, there are several : they are not as 



