12 Teviot Row
Edinburgh
16 January 1878.
My dear Haeckel
I wish you and Mrs Haeckel, Lizzie, Emma and Walter, all a jolly good new year. I am sure you must all think me a naughty fellow for not having written to thank you for the photographs, which I was so glad to receive – || and for not answering your kind letters sooner. I have been very busy. We had to move all our large collections lately, and I have had much work packing up and sending away.
I hope I may soon be able to visit Germany again, and it will be a great pleasure to spend another “tum diddle dum” time with you and your family.
I am now getting || some fine plates done of the manganese nodules, sharks teeth, cosmic dust and other things from the bottom. I find the description of the deposits will take me much longer than I thought. If you are prepared to go on with the Radiolaria before I get the deposits finished, I think I will hand you over all the Challengeridae || for description at the same time – I will have, I fear, plenty of work without them. I am glad the Meduse have turned out so interesting.
We propose to send you all the Actiniae – there are not many of them but they may be interesting. Sir Wyville seems inclined to send the Hexactinellidae to Marshall, but has not yet made || up his mind. I have sent you two lectures, and I hope you will not require to „pitch into” me for anything I have said. What I have said about the mistake (?) of Bathybius, is in substance what Huxley said to me.
The order which you proposed to confer on me is capital!! and || has amused me very much. There is some talk of an Expedition (deep sea) to the Indian Ocean. – perhaps in a year or so I may be off to my „own true love ten thousand miles away.” The challenger work is getting on first rate. Will you tell Mrs || Preyer that I have been promised an autograph of Murchison and will send it along with others to her soon.
I'll send you a box next week. In the meantime, with kindest remembrances to Mrs Haeckel and love to the children
Yours ever truly
John Murray. ||
What do you think of the fish with the wonderful eye. I would have very much liked to describe it fully, but I was required by the official arrangements to hand all connected with the fish to Günther. It is I think the best physiological thing in the whole Exhibition.
J. M.
