THREE NEW BOOKS. 71 



lecting specimens for that special purpose. Messrs. 

 Baker, also, the well-known opticians of High Holborn, 

 most liberally placed their entire stock of instruments 

 and slides at my father's disposal ; and so, the mechanical 

 part of the labour being so greatly lightened, he was 

 able to write the book in such odd moments as were not 

 monopolised by the Natural History. 



In 1862, as already mentioned, came the resignation 

 of the chaplaincy at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, and 

 the removal from London to Belvedere, better known at 

 that time as Lessness Heath. And the following year 

 witnessed the appearance of no less than three books. 

 Two of these, however, were quite of small size, and, 

 under the title of the " Old and New Testament 

 Histories," consisted of a short and concise account of 

 the Scriptural narrative, written in plain and simple 

 language for the use of children. These two little 

 books were perhaps the pioneers of Bible manuals for 

 the young, and met with a tolerably large sale, although, 

 as was usually the case, my father profited but little by 

 their success. 



The last of the three books was of quite a different 

 character, and, under the descriptive title of " Glimpses 

 into Petland," comprised short biographies of a number 

 of pet animals, nearly all of which had been in the 

 possession of my father himself. " Pret," the cat, and 

 " Eoughie " and " Apollo," the dogs, together with 

 chameleons, chicken-tortoises, lizards, and butterflies, all 

 were described in turn, in manner entirely anecdotal, and 

 from the point of view of one who regarded them as 



