The only person I know who appears to me to be qualified to take the post at the Royal Agricultural Society is Dr. Fream, and I conjecture that his hands are much too full to allow it. Still I should be glad if it were so. Professor Harker has great knowledge of beetles, and indeed, I believe, of insect ways and customs generally, but I should scarcely think his tastes would lead him to this sort of work. However I have not the least idea what the R.A.S.E. proposes to do.
March 15, 1895.
As the time of your African trip is drawing near, I am just venturing to remind you, with what pleasure (if consistent with your own convenience) we would see you before you go. There appears to me to be a Gordian knot, and a few words (spoken not written) sometimes are invaluable on these occasions. I am pulling well with the European centres, but there are places where, much as I regret it, co-operation is not going on, and I think I might very likely get, as on a previous occasion, some most useful advice from yourself.
April 9, 1895.
I am very sorry and disappointed to say that I am ailing and so I do not know whether in your own hardly run time, you would care (or could at all spare the while) to run down for an hour or two on Thursday. The special trouble is that lately a very small bit of glass jerked up from something I was doing at my right eye. I thought it only hit the eye, but nearly a week after I found injury resulted from the bit having embedded itself in the upper part of the eyeball and formed a small abscess. Of course it had to be operated on and I hope put all right, but the very long, weary operation and the cocaine, &c., &c., have so tired everything concerned that I have not got over it all yet. So I thought I ought to tell you. What I want to say as distinguished from writing is more in detail.
March 19, 1896.
I make no doubt that I shall hear from our good friend Dr. Fream very shortly, or at least as soon as his much occupied time permits, but meanwhile I do not like to delay thanking you for kindly letting me know that the University Court had paid me the very gratifying compliment of appointing me co-examiner with Dr. Fream[[98]] in Agricultural Entomology. I think myself much honoured and much pleased also by their selection. If I might ask you to take the trouble, and it should be admissible, I should much like you to express to the University Court my grateful appreciation and assurance that I will endeavour to do whatever may be required in the office to the best of my ability.
March 27, 1896.
I am really very greatly obliged to you for the clear and full explanation you have spared time to give me, in your letter received this afternoon, of the arrangement of my co-examinership. It does please me very much to have even this little post, for I look on it as a mark of approval of your grand old University; also I am very glad that you approved of my letter to the Secretary.
I never knew the injurious insects so active as they have been this winter, in air, earth, and water—in the latter to the great damage of watercress (chap. XVI.). I had yesterday, some good specimens of great mischief from clover-stem sickness and for the first time found a nice way of collecting quantities of the Anguillulidæ (eel-worms) for observation. Generally they hide up in the rubbish, but I found that by teazing it out very finely in water on the slide and then carefully lifting it all away until the slide looked bare, that still such numbers of the eel-worms remained that they could be thoroughly examined.