WILD ANIMALS IN CAPTIVITY 
the kindness by return of post to let me know if there is any 
hope of your calling at my house for that purpose. You may 
feel some surprise at the suddenness of this announcement and 
my not having shown it to any one, or allowed any person to 
know it was in progress. My reason for this was having long 
studied the subject, carefully examined all the parts, the paint- 
ings, etc. (I visited the Hague last year for the purpose of 
examining the picture in that collection), and formed my opinion 
respecting the bird, I commenced it at once, taking care no part 
should be seen until it was complete, for fear the views of others 
might differ from my own and I might be confused ; again, the 
work being attended with much difficulty, requiring considerable 
skill, much time and perseverance, I was fearful of being 
annoyed by the impatience of my friends had they known it 
was in progress. As you already know. Dr. Melville lived in 
my house several months and wrote the second part of the Dodo 
book here, yet, to this hour, has no idea that I had it in hand. 
You will see that I possessed peculiar advantages during the 
time Dr. Melville lived here, having the head and foot from 
Oxford for his use, and he kindly allowed me to examine these 
parts whenever I pleased. I thus had the opportunity of ex- 
amining the head more than once in a wet state, an advantage 
that may never occur again to any one (it was soaked in water 
by Dr. Melville for the purpose of turning the skin over the 
skull to display the bony structure). In this state it was of the 
greatest use to me, and enabled me to form a more correct idea 
of the bird’s head than 1 could gain by any other means, and I 
finished my model of the head before the real head left my house, 
so that I had an opportunity of comparing them. 
“ I had an equally good chance with the Didunculus, which Dr. 
Melville placed in my hands for the purpose of obtaining the 
skull and leg-hones^ which I did and afterwards replaced them. 
This added much to my knowledge respecting what I might 
expect was the natural size, form and condition of tlie horny part 
of the bill of the Dodo, and I finished it accordingly, quite to 
my own satisfaction ; and I hope when seen by you and otliers 
competent to judge, it will be considered sufficiently perfect and 
complete to justify the great amount of time I have devoted 
to it. 
“I should feel much obliged if you would have the kindness to 
obtain for me a cast of the Dodo’s head and foot to put by the 
side of the model.” 
4 
