July 15th, dredging 30 miles from Madeira
... I had the privilege of examining some of the curiosities in the Analyzing room the other night, & was very much surprised & interested with what I saw. The mud that comes up from the bottom of the sea is softer than velvet & passes through the fingers like so much cream or butter. The wonderful Prawn was in spirits of wine in a glass jar & was almost as large as a small Lobster. He had a pair of wings folded over his back like a pigeon's I also saw several things through a large microscope, even more wonderful.