To George Knights 24 August 1857

My dear Knights,

Suppose we say the first Thursdays in Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. & March will be the Museum Lecture days. I will engage for two from myself, & endeavour to obtain two more by exchanges, which involves my lecturing twice more. The Committee may secure the fifth & as many more as they feel inclined to have. I cannot come in Oct, as I am nailed for a lecture at Hadleigh & another at Cambridge in that month. Let me know for certain before I write again to Ld A. H. & Sidney. You had better look into an Almanack for 1858 to see whether the first Thursdays are any way objectionable in Jy Fy March of next year.

I am very glad the pavement is in hand. Costly as it may be it is well worth preserving. These Romano British things are getting rarer & rarer, & it wd be a thousand pities to lose it.

I am sorry for the remake of the label stands - but I suppose a village carpenter is not equal to such a job. I think perhaps some of the old material may be of use to my Village Botanists for Lens-blocks- if it is only to be burnt or thrown away.

I don't exactly comprehend the allusion to "admitting the whole village party on board the Southampton Gun-boat". Is this the /2d or the /9d excursion steamers you spoke of before? or what?

I believe Dr Falconer who borrowed the Mastodon teeth will be in Ipswich this week or the next & possibly Dr Hooker & I may come over to [illeg.] - possibly not. Dr Hooker tells me Mr Shelley of the Treasury lately visited the Mus. & expressed him much pleased with it. I hope the Bird stuffer has done my Birds so that I can have them in plenty of time before the Show day (16 Sep)

The Linnean specimens want [illeg.] Perhaps I could have the W[illeg.] to show on the 16th. I don't see anything else in particular unless the case of Australian birds which is rather showy

Yrs very truly

J. S. Henslow