20 April 1889

This morning, it seemed that the light had finally reached its maturity. The surrounding birds, as well as the garden plants, understood the signal. It is time now to grow and to multiply. A marvelous abundance that gives strength through the display of its profusion. This spectacle never fails to evoke the expedition I undertook with the colonel. I remember that I was still a young man. For a six-month period the British East India Company allowed me to penetrate deep into dark forests. Armed with rifles and machetes, we made our way through wild, almost mad, natural surroundings. It would not have astonished me if we had come upon some legendary monster. Instead of that, though, there were birds in the hundreds, in the thousands even. It is pleasing to know that certain of my own specimens now decorate the displays at the British Museum. Certainly, it was necessary to kill. But for a little beauty and for science, is the sacrifice not worth the price? And is the world not infinite thanks to the ceaseless metamorphoses of its smallest parts?