In 1863, I was favoured by Miss A. Burdett Coutts with an introduction to the Bishop of Mauritius, then in this country, and I endeavoured to interest his lordship in aiding or promoting the acquisition, by the British Museum, of the zoological rarities of Madagascar, and especially of any remains of the Dodo which might be discovered in the island of Mauritius, to which his lordship was about to return. How speedily and successfully the Bishop has fulfilled my latter desire will be shown by the following letter, with which I was favoured in November, 1865. “St. James, Port Louis, “October 7, 1865. “+My dear Sir+,—when I had the pleasure of conversing with you for a short time in London two years ago, I promised to acquaint you with any facts or discoveries which might come to my knowledge, likely to interest you in connexion with Madagascar. I have not anything as yet to communicate definitely respecting that island in the way of natural history, but I have strong reasons to believe that a discovery has been made here recently which will gratify you very much. Mr. George Clark, who has for many years devoted himself to the work of teaching in this island with great success, is an ardent student of natural history, and has explored many parts of the island in search of information on the subject. From careful observation he was led to conclude that no remains of the Dodo were likely to be found in any of our watercourses, because of their steep descent and the immense rush of water which sweeps down them at times. But he had also frequently expressed his opinion that in certain marshes, with high banks of sand between them and the sea, such remains would probably be found. In one of these places he has found several of the bones of the Dodo (as he believes), and is now forwarding them home for your inspection[22]. “At his request, I write these lines to ask for your kind care of his interests in securing any reward which may accrue to him. It would be a great pleasure to me to find that his discovery was really important, and likely to be useful to himself; for he has pursued these and similar investigations with an amount of intelligence, skill, and diligence, in his vacation-times (by no means extensive), which deserves much credit and encouragement. “The book which you kindly sent me on the Aye-Aye has been read by many, and especially by medical men, with much interest. I entrusted the other copy to Mr. John Douglas for the Society here. “I remain, my dear Sir, “Your very faithful Servant, (Signed) “+Vincent N. Mauritius+.” “_Professor Owen._”