276 THE RE 7. J. G. WOOD. 



of aquatic insects in a large bell-shaped vessel of water. 

 Possibly in a shallow jar upon the table, filled with 

 water, and with a layer of bees'-wax at the bottom, 

 would be a careful insect-dissection. The microscope 

 hard by would be ready for instant use. And then 

 scattered about in odd corners, on the shelves, under 

 the shelves, even on the couch itself would be a 

 heterogeneous mixture of odds and ends of all descrip- 

 tions, each in reality having a place of its own, but all 

 in appearance constituting a scene of the most admired 

 disorder. We always used to say, indeed, that my 

 father's study was more like a marine store than a room 

 in a respectable house ; but he was quite unmoved by 

 such sarcasms, and nothing annoyed him more than to 

 have any object in his room interfered with. 



And if any object were removed, he had a most 

 wonderful way of discovering its absence. In this 

 respect I fear I was myself a very frequent offender, for 

 I used to borrow books or tools in his absence for some 

 temporary purpose, and almost invariably forgot to 

 replace them. After a time he found this out, and, 

 whenever anything was missing, used to go straight 

 from his room to mine to institute a search ; in which, 

 I am bound to say, he was usually successful. 



His own writing-table was a kind of small exhi- 

 bition in itself, for he always liked to have ready to 

 his hand such articles as were in constant use, and made 

 provision accordingly. So a small leather cross-piece 

 on one leg of the table held a pair of enormous scissors,. 

 a band higher up held a smaller pair, while in a small 



