THOMAS EDWARD. 65 



most assiduous in his labours. If lie wanted to procure 

 a particular bird or insect lie would walk miles, and 

 search patiently for days until he discovered that for 

 which he was looking. He fixed a number of traps in 

 all sorts of places, composed of dead birds, rats, rabbits, 

 hedgehogs, fish, crabs, or seaweed, and these he placed 

 in all sorts of out-of-the-way corners, and visited some 

 of them daily, others weekly and monthly. By dint of 

 his perseverance he had collected over nine hundred 

 specimens of insects, and these he had pinned down in 

 boxes of his own making, and placed numbers to them 

 which he had cut out of an old almanack. There were 

 twenty boxes in all, and these he had ready for glazing. 

 They had been deposited in a garret for safety, and 

 after he had obtained the glass he went up to the room 

 to get them, when, to his great astonishment, he 

 discovered that the box had been stripped entirely of 

 its contents. On looking at the others, all had been 

 served the same, except a wing here and a head there. 

 Rats or mice had evidently got at them. His wife 

 asked him what he was going to do next : " Weel," 

 said he, " it's an awfu' disappointment, but I think the 

 best thing will be to set to work and fill them again." 

 This he did, although to collect these 916 insects he had 

 been four years engaged. 



Sir Isaac Newton setting to work again after his 

 favourite dog "Diamond' had overturned a candle. 

 which had set fire to some papers upon which were 

 mathematical calculations, which had occupied him Bar 

 years, did not show a more noble spirit than did 

 Edward, who, without delay, began again collecting 



