Xil PREFACE. 
the sedulous care of an affectionate relative, the companion of all my 
excursions, the encourager of all my exertions, in so tedious, laborious, 
and difficult a work, for the finest of any—that exhibited to the British 
Association, taken by herself from the garden pond at Binns House, in 
Linlithgowshire.” Another passage, dictated by the same grateful con- 
siderations, occurs in the same volume, p. 124, under Plumatella repens. 
“ Of these an admirable example occurred near a ruinous mansion called 
Fenton Tower, in the county of Haddington, about twenty-one miles 
east of Edinburgh, for which I was indebted to that same affectionate 
companion of my excursions already noted, who takes the liveliest in- 
terest in all my pursuits, and who values the beauties of Nature as de- 
monstrations of the Divine essence vouchsafed to the gaze of admiring 
mankind.” 
When this affectionate relative had somewhat recovered from the 
bereavement which deprived her of a valued companion, she resolved to 
undertake the task which he had contemplated. Difficulties, however, 
of a formidable kind at once presented themselves. The state of the 
manuscripts was such, that, independent of their almost illegible charac- 
ter, which the intelligent printers of the former volume could alone 
decypher, there were so many erasures and changes of nomenclature, as 
to render much caution requisite in judging of the latest views intended 
to be expressed. Many of the references to the Plates, in consequence 
of the numerous alterations which had taken place in the text, required 
to be corrected. The unfinished Plates, and the Figures which had 
not been engraven, stood in need of assortment, and a careful revision. 
Much of this indispensable labour she only could perform, and here her 
efforts were above all praise. But there were portions of the task in 
which some assistance was needed. This Sir Joun Datyett foresaw, 
should the work prove a posthumous one, and had expressed to his 
relative a hope that I might, perhaps, endeavour to give her the requi- 
site aid ; especially as I had for many years previous to the publication 
of the “ Rare and Remarkable Animals,” urged upon him the propriety 
of giving to the world those observations, in the making of which he 
had expended so much successful labour. In proof that such efforts 
