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British Museum
23rd Jan 1845

To B. H. Hodgson Esq[ui]re

Sir,

I am directed by the Trustees to acknowledge your letter of the 3rd inst. and to offer you their especial thanks for the liberal addition you have made to your former extensive presents to the Museum. The Trustees have directed the Keeper of Zoology to select and receive into the Collections under his charge such of our osteological specimens as may be usefully retained in the Museum, and to take your instructions as to the disposal of the remainder. I am to beg the favor of knowing the names of the various persons referred to in your letter as being in possession of part of the Drawings presented by you to the Trustees
To Mr. Frank Howard, mentioned in your former Correspondence the Trustees have already made application on the subject
I have the honor to be
Sir
your most obedient
humble Servant
J. Forshall
Secretary

British Museum
Dec 20 1844

Sir,

I am directed by the Trustees to acknowledge your letter dated Canterbury, December, and in reply to acquaint you that the Trustees are deeply obliged for the valuable series of Skins and Drawings which you have already presented to the Museum as well as for the liberal offer now made of completing the series.
This offer the Trustees will thankfully accept, and will instruct the proper officer to proceed to Canterbury, whenever it may be convenient to you, for the purpose of making the selection for the Museum, and of giving you such aid as he can consistently with his other public duties, in sorting the specimens to be distributed to other public Institutions, but the Trustees regret to say that to contribute in any way to the publication which you propose, does not fall within the limit of the objects to which they think it right to confine themselves.
I have the honor to be,
Sir,
Your most obedient Servant
J. Forshall
Secretary

To B.H. Hodgson Esq

British Museum
4th March 1845

Sir

Having laid your letter of the 4th February before the Trustees I am directed to express the hope that the tabular statement of your Collections which has been transmitted to you by Mr. Gray, is as far as it extends satisfactory I fear that we shall have very great difficulty in obtaining possession of the Drawings delivered to Mr. Howard. The Museum Solicitors have had an interview with the Solicitor of the party who levied the distress and from the facts which they elicited they incline to the opinion that you have lost all legal claim to the Drawings.
I have the honor to be
Sir
Your most obedient
humble Servant

J. Forshall
Secretary

B.H. Hodgson

[Pencilled notes in the margin]
of Distribution:-
full of omissions and inaccuracies want copy of the thing when correct I will pay for its being copied

[Foot of letter]
I must compromise then what to pay? and I or the Museum?

British Museum
March 15 1845

My dear Sir
The Trustees have determined upon retaining in the museum a complete series of your Osteological Specimens, in the belief that these specimens will be of great use in the [?] necessary in the Departments both of recent and [?] Zoology.
They think it however right to appraise you that it is not their intention to articulate any of these specimens or to exhibit them to the public but to arrange and preserve them for the purpose of Scientific enquiries

I have the honor to be,
My dear Sir
Your very obedient Servant
J. Forshall

B. H. Hodgson Esq

Zool. Soc. London
11, Hanover Square

To Brian Houghton Hodgson

11 June 1845

Sir
I have the honour to enclose herewith a proof of your paper on the Birds of the Nepalese district of India. You will observe that some parts of the manuscript have been omitted - the paper was referred to the publications committee and they determined on publishing only those parts which had not been already printed by Mr. Blyth. If you require to have the manuscript, have the goodness to drop me a line and I will forward it by return of post
I am
Yours faithfully
James G Montgomery
Assist. Sec.

Metcalf Hall, Calcutta
4 August 1848

My dear Sir

I have the pleasure to enclose you a few further remarks from Mr. Frith with reference to your last interesting communication regarding the Wild silk worm of the Saul forests.

I have not forgotten your request for seeds which shall be complied with fully immed[iatel]y the Society's annual consignments arrive:- in the meantime I have sent you a small assortment of acclimated vegetable seeds, enclosed in a bag/box which I despatched by dak banghy to Dr. Campbell a few days since

Yrs very truly

James Hume

To B.H. Hodgson Esq.

Metcalf Hall
Cal. 7 April 1848

My dear Sir

The specimens of wild silk etc and the drawing of the [Eri?] and Tussah moths reached me safely some time ago; the larger specimen of raw silk alluded to in your note of the other day, has also come to hand. Mr Frith has been comparing with your drawing certain specimens in the Society's Museum and has drawn up a Memo on the subject; Mr Laidlay has the silk in hand and will report on the quality of it. I hope to submit these papers, with yours, at the next general meeting of the Agricultural Society after which I will do myself the pleasure of addressing you more fully on the subject.
Will you oblige me with a few leaves and flower of the Pooah plant for Dr. Falconer's examination? I presume you have seen Capt. Thompson's favourable report on the fibre.

Yours very truly

James Hume

B.H. Hodgson
Darjeeling

Stamped Calcutta
1846 Apr. 7

Metcalf Hall, Calcutta
12 June 1848

My dear Sir,

I have now the pleasure to enclose for your information copy of a Memo which Mr. Frith has been kind enough to draw up regarding the silk alluded to in your communication to my address. I regret the delay that has occurred in sending you this paper, the fact is I received it some time ago but was waiting a report on the raw specimens from Mr Laidlay which he promised me - but which, from present business, I have not yet received from him. Had I any idea of this delay on his part I should have sent Mr. Frith's paper to you long since

Yours very [truly]
James Hume
Hon. Secy

B.H. Hodgson Esq
Darjeeling

Bhomsong Teesta
XMAS [1848?]

Dear H

Many happy returns of the day from Campbell and myself. I arrived here two days ago and yesterday the letters I first sent you from Pemiongchi were returned to C. both himself and Mrs. C being away. I want none of the things therein begged for except some [Hoolyrah?] Tobacco which perhaps [Eli R.?] will get for him and a light load of brown paper - [Langrip Lepcha?] is a good faithful coolie and will soon find a companion to follow him - them the books and the cigars are all I want and a little parcel of note-books which Muller will send you. I wrote you last by the Havildar and the letter went 3 days ago. I was then on my way here where I found Campbell waiting for me to my surprise for my [?] were all fake ones and denied to be so. I suppose to facilitate my sending away the Havildar. It rained hard and always so that I have little to say of the route. The Rajah is here such a droll little object, the presentation etc is a perfect mummery conducted with propriety enough but a perfectly tedious show of poverty and pride. The Dewan is a thorough faced liar still a well conducted man in all his intercourse with us except on politics. A yellow striped Buceros here do you know it? He has been all over Thibet and gives the information most willingly - is a [Shukan?] and jolly rogue - we get on capitally for he is always civil and respectful though I would not trust him 2 days running for the latter qualities. Politics have progressed C insists on a proper [?] and the only one [?] and fit is the [Heir app's]. Dewan, a dead enemy of the R's D and a man of more liberal and enlightened ideas. He also insists on my visiting Lachen and Lachong next year. March-April. The R. is thoroughly frightened, or rather I should say bewildered we are off at once for Mainanchoo the high Mt. with the rock you see from [fillapabar?]. I shall then go S. along the spur which divides Teesta from Gt. Rungeet. Then across to Pemiongchi and so on to Jongri. I do hope to get some geology this way. I like the Lepchas betteer the more I travel amongst them.
Please send to Pemionchi

Ever your affectionate
Jos. D. Hooker

P.S. I send you a fine Yak

Sunday 1849

My dear H
I have just got through all I intend to send down and thats but half my collections and will be with you as soon as I possibly can get the coolies away with safety. That must not be till the weather breaks for here we are delayed with rain and such miserable wretched weather - It blew so hard t'other night as to wet my boxes in the Verandah, with the torrents of rain it is indeed a dismal climate and if my things are caught in such weather as this going down it will be much deplorable. I sent you Lyell pray excuse my cutting it to which I was irresistabl[y] impelled. I quite envy you the first reading of it, being convinced you will be greatly gratified.
For heavens sake say nothing of it at present but I do believe that I have caught Waugh in an error of 100ft in the height of fillapahar! Muller is convinced I am right. What a delicious morsel it will be: just fancy the [?] snob who measures Kinchin to inches with 1000 guineas appliances out of a hundred in the fillapahar. The fact is I expect he did this sort of work very carelessly devoting the [?] minute attention only to the great objects - in this he is right and were it not that he is a bombastic fellow this would be beneath my notice. As however fillapahar is my station from where I work all other heights I must not be 100ft out in it. W. says "fillapahar highest point" 287ft above Darjeeling hill - now your house is fully that, whether worked by Calcutta or Muller's house, or by angles all of which agree to 3ft [?] Lane's house which perhaps he means for top of fillapahar is good 160 above your's. The real top of F.P. is a mile further back, but that he cannot mean, or else his map is wrong and his height 200ft wrong. The document is Waugh's own and pompously signed "compared" A.S. Waugh and yet we have it in Tenglo 11,0076 feet! I mention these things to shew you how sloppy he is and how ridiculous his pretentions. I send you a few letters which I think will please though hardly interest you - I was joking with [Tim] Thurman/Thuman who asked me to meet him at Sahamupore but I suppose I was awkward in my wit, for I cannot allow that (like some other people) he can't understand a [repartee?]. Harvey is Prof. of Botany at Trin. C. Dublin a most gentlemanly and dour fellow was even Col. Treasurer at the Cape whereby hangs a most pitiful tale of real life. Bowling writes to ask C to come up and take his duties. C responds asking B to ask me when Thurman/Thuman is coming up. They must be very green to suppose I would allow [Tim] (who comes up to [?] with me) to be trapped into medical duty for his 2 or three month's holiday!
[Sammler?] ejects Muller on the 1st February and I do not think his house will be ready for him as however he will be able to get all his things in it and only want a [dry] sleeping room. I have so far trespassed on your kindness as to offer him my bed at fillapahar for a week during our absence. A bed is all he wants. I will give you two days warning of my advent. There is no prospect of its clearing up for several days Muller says - it is just raining as hard and foggy as last August cold withal and gusty at times
Your ever affectionate
Jos. D. Hooker