THOMAS EDWARD. 50 



reached Kettle, but his uncle did not by any means 

 give him a warm reception. This rather chilled him, 

 and for the first time he began to think what his father 

 and mother would say of his disappearance. The next 

 day he started for home again, his uncle having sup- 

 plied him with eighteenpence to pay for food and the 

 crossing of the ferry at Dundee. He reached home 

 again without anything more serious happening than 

 a near chance of being tossed by a bull, and got nothing 

 worse than a severe lecture. He begged to be allowed 

 to go to sea, but this his father and mother would not 

 hear of, and so he resumed his shoemaking, but this 

 time under another master, who had a kind disposition, 

 and as Edward did not neglect his work during his 

 master's time, he was allowed to follow the bent of his 

 inclination, and of these opportunities he made the 

 most use. 



His parents about this time had removed to another 

 house, and adjoining this was a piece of waste ground. 

 He now commenced what he termed his Wild Botani- 

 cal Grarden. Here he tried to raise the wild flowers 

 which he gathered during his rambles. Some of them 

 grew pretty well, but others of them withered and died. 

 His mother suggested the making of an ordinary gardes 

 of it, and, adopting this plan, he visited frequently a heap 

 where the gardeners, at several large houses outside 

 Aberdeen, were accustomed to throw away roots which 

 they did not want, and from this Edward obtained 

 sufficient to make a neat and well-stocked garden. 1 !<• 

 made a habit of never planting more than one flower, 

 so that in course of time he had quite a rich variety. 



