2!1 



him su long ia npite of bis character would, he hoped, bear 

 with him a little longer. (Laughter). The nigger was, 

 in fact, a black caterpillar which destroyed the turnip crop, 

 and he had been fortunate enough to make an implement 

 which enabled the farmers to get rid of the destroyer. 

 Apropos of the lecture which they had heard with so much 

 pleasure he would relate one or two anecdotes which 

 occurred to him. A bishop went with his chaplain to a 

 certain village to catechise the children. Their answers 

 plc-iicd him, and at the end of the examination the bishop 

 said to one of them, "Little girl, you have answered very 

 N well. Now would you like to ask me a question ? " She 

 replied " Yes, if you please. Sir ; how many legs has a 

 caterpillar .' " The bishop turned to his chaplain who was 

 as wise as himself, or probably as many of the audience 

 before they entered the room. At last he said " Little girl 

 I give it up. Can you tell me .' " She answered " Yes, 

 '^ Sir, I have counted them, there are sixteen." That was a 

 kind of experimental philosophy which might be recom- 

 mended for imitation. An old gentleman who was nearly 

 blind, used to take wnlks in his garden, guided by a stick 

 and generally accompanied by his daughter. Feeling along 

 with his stick one day he hit a gooseberry bush out of 

 which flew a hedge sparrow. The daughter looked into 

 the bush and there found a nest with four eggs, and the 

 bird had begun to sit. The next day she again went to 

 look at the nest, and was greatly alarmed to see " a horri- 

 ble frog" sitting in the nest, and the eggs were smashed. 

 Next day her brother came home and she took him to the 

 spot. The frog was still there and he pushed it out. Two 

 days afterwards, to the surprise of everybody, the frog got 

 into the nest again, and there remained until the bush was 

 cut down. (Laughter.) It was a very remarkable thing 

 that a frog should have chosen a rough gooseberry bush to 

 ascend and a nest for its home. Some persons might sup- 

 pose that " froggy would a wooing go" in spite of diflicul- 

 ties. I'erhaps, however, the true solution was that the 

 flies congrrgalcd round the decaying gooscbcnios and that 



