A YORKSHIRE NATURALIST 89 



To the Marquis of Northampton, then the President 

 of the Royal Society, I was indebted, not only for 

 the privilege of attending the meetings of that 

 Society, but also for the pleasure of being present 

 at the magnificent soire'es which the President 

 gave from time to time at his noble mansion in 

 Piccadilly. 



Through the entire period of my London student- 

 ship, I lodged in two minute attics in the house of a 

 tailor in Grafton Street, opposite the eastern end of 

 the College Hospital. My slender finance compelled 

 me to practise the severest economy, my dinner con- 

 sisting on most days of meat sausages, which I was 

 able to purchase at a few pence per pound. They 

 were fairly good, and I asked no questions as to what 

 they were made of. 



I was sustained by a hopeful disposition and a 

 resolute determination to make the best possible use 

 of such opportunities as chance might throw in my 

 way. Nevertheless, I worked daily under the heavy 

 pressure of financial anxieties, which at times, in 

 spite of myself, almost crushed all energy. 



I had, before leaving Manchester, become engaged 

 to the lady upon whom my affections had long been 

 centred, and through these months of anxiety and 

 over- work the bright, hopeful letters, which I re- 

 ceived from her, acted as an unfailing stimulant 

 and encouragement, saving me, I believe, from de- 

 spondency, which might have become too great to 

 be endured. 



