Had it not been for his extreme shyness of disposition, and
(according to his own estimation) "lack of conversational powers," he
would doubtless have become far more widely known, and have enjoyed the
friendship of not a few of the eminent men who shared his interests,
during this interval before starting on his journey to Singapore.
It was due to his close study of the Insect and Bird Departments of the
British Museum that he decided on Singapore as a new starting-point for
his natural history collections. As the region was generally healthy,
and no part of it (with the exception of the Island of Java) had been
explored, it offered unlimited attractions for his special work. But as
the journey out would be an expensive one, he was advised to lay his
plans before Sir Roderick Murchison, then President of the Royal
Geographical Society, and it was through his kindly interest and
personal application to the Government that a passage was provided in
one of the P. and O. boats going to Singapore. He left early in 1854.
Arrived at Singapore, an entirely new world opened up before him.
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