THE LATE MORRIS YOUNG, F.E.S. 5 



Paisley shortly before his death, mainly to meet our Curator. 

 Edwards was introduced by a mutual friend one morning, 

 and left with Mr. Young, with the strict injunction to mind 

 dinner. Dinner-time came, but no Edwards. Three o'clock, 

 four o'clock, and still Edwards had not come. Edwards's 

 friend now made sure something must be wrong, and off he 

 rushed to the Museum, only to find two " old men eloquent " 

 over bird and beast. After a great effort, he got Edwards 

 away with him, grunting : " Dinner might ha' waited for 

 anither hour ; for its no aye ane gets sic a gran' crack." 



Mr. Young was wont to tell of one of his experiences on 

 the top of Ben Lomond. He had ascended the mountain in 

 search of some species of Alpine beetles. He determined to 

 remain on the top all night, and lying down under what 

 little shelter he could get, he soon fell fast asleep. Early 

 in the morning he was awakened by some heavy drops 

 falling upon his face, and when, in his dazed condition, he 

 looked around, he imagined he was placed among some 

 islands in the midst of the ocean. When fully awake, he 

 knew that a thunderstorm was raging in the valley below. 

 What to his dazed senses seemed to be islands appearing 

 above the ocean were but the tops of the neighbouring hills, 

 seen in the bright sunshine, rising above the gray-coloured 

 clouds. A drenching to Mr. Young, however, was nothing 

 if he got his collecting- boxes filled. One feature of Mr. 

 Young's character which is not generally known is that he 

 was passionately fond of music, and a not unacceptable 

 player on the violin. 



Mr. Young was by nature very reserved on private 

 matters. Few entered his dwelling-house, and fewer still 

 could take the liberty of asking personal questions. In 

 short, apart from his profession as a schoolmaster, or on the 

 subject of natural history, he was a recluse, spending all his 

 spare time in the country as far as possible from the busy 

 haunts of men. 



In the Museum, however, to ask Mr. Young a question 

 was to honour him, not to trouble him. Nothing delighted 

 him more than to be asked about the habits of some beast, 

 bird, or insect; and, though he did not often lecture publicly, 

 his talk about any topic in natural history was extremely 



