234 MEMOIR OF GEORGE WILSON. CHAP. IX. 



After a time a successor to Grim was found, who seemed 

 to have so many of his ways, that it was declared his 

 spirit had returned in this new shape, and the dog was, on 

 this account, named Redivivo, contracted into Vivo for 

 ordinary use. It was this dog that corresponded with the 

 squirrel. His portrait is given by George in a letter : " I 

 wish you saw my dog, a Skye terrier, considered one of the 

 finest of his kind, though some of my lady friends hold 

 that the uglier a terrier in ladies' eyes, the more beautiful he 

 is in gentlemen's. I am sure, however, that you would 

 admire my dog, with his long silver-grey, soft hair, steel- 

 grey drooping ears, finely feathered tail, and mild brown 

 eyes. He has a long body, short legs, and great broad feet 

 like a mole's. He is good temper itself, and as full of fun 

 and sagacity as a clever child. Indeed, I call him my son, 

 and my little nieces always salute him as their cousin." 



It will be seen from these quotations that the love for 

 animals shown in boyhood continued undiminished, and 

 while it afforded pleasant relief from the serious cares of 

 life, it contributed to the buoyancy and freshness so 

 characteristic of him. 



Among the friends made by George wherever he went, 

 were little girls from the age of two years upwards. He 

 was a great favourite with them, and promised to marry 

 several when they got the height of his stick. The court- 

 ship was chiefly carried on by an exchange of valentines 

 each year, and it did prove a little inconvenient when the 

 young ladies had come so far to years of discretion as to be 

 found taking private measurements of the stick, by which 

 their fitness for matrimony was to be tested. His interest 

 in the children of his relatives and friends was great. 

 While in London in 1854, he spent a night in the -house of 



