Challenger Expedition Office,
32 Queen Street, Edinburgh,
30 January 1884.
My dear Haeckel
My best thanks for your letter with notes for the narrative, the Challengerida plate, and your statement about state of your Report.
I am delighted to hear that you are progressing || so well. You can have the 10 supplementary plates you ask, but do all you can to get the Report finished soon, and I will do all I can to assist you.
Perhaps you can arrange to come here in April with the || first part of your M.S. when we can arrange details as to printing and have a specimen set up?
If you do come will you stay with me or would you rather stay with some of the Great University Swells (!!) who are sure to ask you!!
Thanks for the information you || have kindly sent about Thomson.
I have built a steam yacht for dredging which I have called „Medusa” after your villa, and also a floating laboratory which I call the „ark”, in which we will study all the animals Noah had not in his ark.
Long live Zoology! Nature!
Yours, with the best remembrances to your family
John Murray
