6 THE REV. J. G. WOOD. 



Then a sudden " grab " was made, the creature seized 

 behind the great claws, so as to deprive it of the power 

 of employing those formidable weapons upon the un- 

 protected hand, and forthwith transferred to the cap, 

 which in those days was a roomy article of attire, 

 capable of holding several crayfishes without danger 

 of overcrowding. The presence of half a dozen of 

 these creatures moving about upon the head, and 

 occasionally giving a sharp pull to the hair, does not 

 seem to have been regarded in the least, the great 

 beauty of the arrangement being, of course, that it 

 left the hands free, while there was little or no danger 

 of the captives escaping. 



My father had many amusing stories to tell of 

 his early boyhood. One of an organised attempt to 

 excavate a subterranean passage from the garden to the 

 river-bank (half a mile away), which resulted in the 

 removal of huge quantities of earth, and the dis- 

 covery of the scheme by the higher powers just in 

 time to prevent the probable burial alive of the 

 whole enthusiastic party. Another of a great plan 

 for the purchase of a donkey by means of the gradual 

 accumulation of halfpence ; which plan seemed so- 

 feasible, and so certain of fruition, that a big pair of 

 scissors were surreptitiously removed from the maternal 

 workbox, and the lawn diligently cropped, in order 

 that a store of hay might be laid up for the prospec- 

 tive animal's requirements. And a third of the queer 

 code of honour which forbade the plucking of apples 

 from the trees in the orchard (where windfalls were 



