THOMAS EDWARD. / / 



fell, but he could not make out where it had dropped 

 down. In searching for it he had to climb the cliff, 

 and in doing so missed his footing and fell down a 

 distance of some forty feet. His gun had preceded him 

 and had become wedged between two rocks, and he fell 

 on it, breaking it to pieces ; but it broke his fall and 

 probably saved his life. He fell into two clefts of the 

 rock, and the weight of his body and the force of the 

 fall made it impossible for him to get out by himself. 

 Two ploughmen, who had been watching him from a 

 distant field, came to his assistance. Had it not been 

 for them it would have gone very hard with Edward. 

 This accident cost him a fortnight's loss of work. No 

 bones were broken, but he was very sore, and had 

 sustained some severe contusions. 



Nor was this the only occasion when his life was in 

 real danger of being sacrificed to his love of nature, 

 but this did not deter him from still going on in his 

 researches. 



A Rev. Mr. Smith, Presbyterian minister in the 

 neighbourhood, was one of the warmest and best friends 

 that Edward ever had. He advised him to write down 

 on paper all that he knew or could learn about the 

 specimens which he acquired, and this, after a good deal 

 of persuasion, he did, and afterwards communicated to 

 a local paper short but most interesting sketches, some 

 of which displayed a quickness of perception and 

 a felicity of expression which was really most 

 remarkable, considering how little education he had 

 received. His description of birds and their habits 

 was most graphic. In the preparing of these papers 



