358 
PROFESSOR OWEN 
CH. XI. 
There was an immense crowd of visitors to the 
Gardens. R. and I got through the crowd to the 
giraffe paddock, in the hope of getting some 
friends into the house, but soon found it out of 
the question. There was a dense mass of people 
waiting their turn to get inside the house, and 
the whole road leading to that part of the Gardens 
was full of a continuous stream of people. Mr. 
Mitchell said that there were more than 6,000 last 
Saturday, and that there were about 10,000 to- 
day.’ 
The Hunterian Lectures of the season were 
finished by May 4. On that day Owen went 
to the Royal Academy dinner. ‘ Sir Robert Peel 
was there, and also Thackeray, who sent to me 
across the table to take a glass of wine.’ 
A remarkable collection of antique watches, 
containing, amongst others, one which the owner 
stated to have belonged to Milton, was exhibited 
this year. Owen went to see them, and his wife 
records that on his way back ‘ R. said that he felt 
convinced the watch could never have belonged 
to Milton, because of the bad Latin of the inscrip- 
tion on its face, which Milton was supposed to 
have written himself R. did not tell this to the 
owner of the watch. It was, in fact, impossible for 
him to do so, as the worthy gentleman himself 
was quite unconscious of the mistake.’ 
Owen’s holiday this year was spent chiefly 
Edinburgh. He occupied the whole of August 
