Your joint letter of the 27th Wednesday, did not reach me until yesterday afternoon, probably because the steamer which brought it did not leave London on that evening on a/c of the coronation etc., Here the festivals were poor beyond description, and although scarcely anything was to be seen, the whole population was on foot the entire day, and nearly the whole night, gazing at each other like lost sheep.—No illuminations except at two shops, Mr. Henderson's and another close by him.—The fireworks at the castle consisted merely of about one hundred rockets, not a gun was fired from the batteries. MacGillivray & I went to see the fireworks at 10 p.m., and soon returned disgusted.—His museum (College of Surgeons) and the Edinburgh Museum were thrown open _gratis_, and were thronged to excess Upwards of 20000 in the first, and about 25000 in the other; all was however quite orderly. The day was showery; cloudy and dismal at times, but the evening was clear and fine.—Mr. Hill's father died on the morning of the 27th and I have not seen Alexander H., since. Many thanks to Maria for her bunch of letters, and the few lines of her own to me, I hope that everything will go on well with you all. We begin printing _tomorrow 2d of July, 1838!!_ remember that Mesdames et Messieurs! and I intend to proceed with all possible despatch and care. _All_ the birds in rum will be inspected as far as internal or digestive organs, trachea &c are concerned, and as I am constantly present in the dissecting room, I think I shall know something about the matter anon.—I am almost in hopes to see Victor tomorrow night but cannot be sure. There are somewhere at home the nests of the birds found on the Columbia by Nuttall and Townsend, I believe that of Bewick's Wren is among them; send them _all_, very carefully packed. I want the journal of my first trip to the Floridas, which was cut out of my large leather journal, previous to going to Labrador, also a letter on the habits of the Yellow-bellied Cuckoo, by a gentleman at Charleston. If it cannot be found perhaps Maria will recollect his name, being a friend of John Bachman, if so send me that, _in full_ if possible. It is the gentleman in whose garden I procured the small and large cuckoos in the same nest.—