1858. DELIGHT IN " PUNCH." 327 



them serviceable for winter's work." A volume of ' Punch ' 

 was a frequent addition to the books selected for country 

 reading. On one occasion a large parcel, brought to the 

 railway station when starting, was found to consist of four 

 volumes of that periodical. A niece, about five or six years 

 old, shared the pleasure of this study one autumn. Each 

 day after dinner were the illustrations admired by the two 

 together, clear ringing laughter testifying to the appreciation 

 of them, till at last the child declared as her settled con- 

 viction, " Oh ! Uncle George, I think ' Punch ' is the most 

 delightful book in the world ! " and that Uncle George was 

 of the same mind she could not doubt. 



While at Innerleithen the comet of 1858 began to show 

 itself distinctly to the naked eye, and was often watched 

 from the cottage door as it appeared above a hill directly 

 opposite. At first George's mother had difficulty in dis- 

 tinguishing it, but one night she announced having seen it. 

 " Did you see it wag its tail 1 " asked he, gravely, as if no 

 other evidence could be received. " Ah ! George," was the 

 reply, " the waggery is all in you." 



The Memoir of Edward Forbes made some progress this 

 season, but the associations it recalled made it very trying 

 work. " The reading of Ed. Forbes's papers," he says, 

 u continually brings before me the fate of my fellow-stu- 

 dents, and often saddens me beyond endurance. I would 

 lose heart and hope myself but for the hope of an endless 

 and blessed life beyond the grave ; yet is not the life of 

 Christ enough to show us that on this earth sorrow and 

 suffering are the appointed rule for most (I do not say for 

 all), and may we not suffer with Him that we may rise in 

 glory with Him also ? May the blessed Saviour lead us in 

 His own bleeding footsteps to the rest that remaineth for 

 the children of God ! " 



