Pièce 7 - Letter from A Grote to Brian Houghton Hodgson

1 letter

Belgrave Mansions S[outh?]

My dear Hodgson

I had a talk with G. Marshall today about your portfolios from wh[ich] he seems to have already abstracted such memoranda as [?] on the [Capitonida?] wh[ich] is the [work?] he has in hand. The rest of the contents of y[ou]r collection he wishes to catalogue for Hume's benefit and such a catalogue is a [?] for the [?] of naturalists generally. He hopes to find time for clarifying and cataloguing all y[ou]r drawings before he leaves England and in the interval will get Hume's reply to the letter wh[ich] he has written [explaining?] all that he has seen at Alderley. We both think that [regard?] being had to his own available space you had better send me portfolio at a time. He will write to you himself on this subject. I don't think from the tenor of our conversation that Hume's [?] book presents itself to him in a more definite shape than it does to me. But there appear to be some printed sheets of the work on their way to Engl[and] and these will show us something of the plan and if you approve of this and Hume expresses a wish to profit by your notes for the rest of his book you can hereafter supply him with the materials he requires. This methinks w[oul]d be preferable to sending out all yr portfolios indiscriminately. Marshall is evidently incorrect and may be relied on for [?] that he undertakes. He expects to publish his first [no?] of the Barbets on the 1st prox[imity]. I shall not be able to visit you for another fortnight or 3 weeks - My daughter Mrs [Strepwell?] will have I find to leave London to seek a milder climate in the I. of Wight. I have been looking at the so called Maracus Pelops in the Zoo, the animal is quite different from that I believe you to have described. I s[houl]d like to see from figures and notes of all the monkees your collection may contain. You might put these with the first portfolio wh[ich] you send up to us.

With Kind Regards to
Mrs. H.

Ever Y[our]s S[incerel]y

A. Grote