OCR Text |
Show 1874.] PROF. A. NEWTON ON A LIVING DODO. 447 3. S. palpebralis, antea, p. 16. 4. S. curtata, antea, p. 19. 5. S. albicapilla, antea, p. 22. 6. S. pudibunda, supra, p. 445. 7. S. humilis, antea, p. 23. 8. S. graminicola, supra, p. 446. 9. S. virgata, supra, p, 446. 10. S. fiammulata, antea, p. 26. 7. O n a Living Dodo shipped for England in the Year 1628. By ALFRED N E W T O N , M.A., F.R.S., F.Z.S. [Received June 12, 1874.] Having had the satisfaction, at the meeting of this Society on the 19th of M a y last, of exhibiting to the Members then present two original letters mentioning a Dodo (Didus ineptus) sent to this country by the writer of them in the year 1628, I now offer a few remarks thereon ; for the short time they had been in m y possession hardly allowed me then to ascertain the chief points of interest to be derived from them. The two letters were lent to me by their custodian, John Bramston Wilmot, Esq., M.D., of Tunbridge Wells. Early in the present year a notice of the Dodo by Mr. Tegetmeier, F.Z.S. (with a woodcut from the picture formerly belonging to the late Mr. Broderip, and now in the Society's keeping*), appeared in the 'Field' newspaper. This attracted Dr. Wilmot's attention ; and he immediately communicated to that useful periodical a short extract from one of these letters, which, however, was very inaccurately printed f. On reading this I at once wrote to Dr. Wilmot, who has most kindly done all in his power to gratify m y wishes on the subject. The writer of the letters was Emanuel Altham, younger brother of Sir Edward Altham, Kt., of Marke Hall, in Essex, to whom they are addressed. Emauuel sailed from England in the spring of 1626, to the East Indies, on board the ' Hopewell,' in company with five other ships, one or more of which undoubtedly bore the ambassadors, Sir Dodmore Cotton and Sir Robert Sherley, whom Charles I. was sending to the " Pot-shaugh " of Persia, and, in their retinue, Sir Thomas Herbert, whose figure and descriptions of the Dodo are well known J. The fleet anchored in Swalley road, off Surat, on the 30th of November in that year; and soon after, the voyagers separated -Herbert going, in the ship • William,' to Gombroon in the Persian Gulf§. It is no easy matter to glean the dates of the various inci- * Trans. Zool. Soc. iv. p. 186, pi. 54. t 'Field,' xliii. p. 177, No. 1104, Feb. 21, 1874. | See Strickland 'The Dodo' &c, pp. 19, 20. § Herbert's 'Travels' &c, 2nd ed. 1638, p. 110; 3rd ed. 1665, p. 107; 4th ed. 1677, p. 102. |