He seems to have crossed my
path only to shake my self-confidence. The little conversation we had
has left me dissatisfied. I look upon my collection with less interest
than I did. I am not as pleased with the result of my investigations as
they appear in my monograph on "The Saurian Family of Equatorial
America." Doubtless the mood that now possesses me will pass away, and I
shall recover my equanimity. His story would have upset most men. Worse
still was his unpleasant habit of interjecting strange opinions. Judge
for yourself.
It was when passing through the Reptile room on my way to the study that
I first saw him. I took him to be a mere common working man passing away
an idle hour; one of the ordinary Museum visitors. Two hours later, I
noticed that he was closely examining the lizard cases. Then later, he
seemed interested in my collection of prints illustrating the living
world of the ante-diluvian period. It was then that I approached him,
and, finding him apparently intelligent, with, as it seemed, a bent
towards lizards, and further, discovering that he had traveled in Peru
and Colombia, took him to the study.
The man had some unusual habits. He was absolutely lacking in that sense
of respect, as I may term it, usually accorded to one in my position.
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