378 AT LAST ACCREDITED. CHAP. xvin. 



nor the means of doing so, having to work for his daily 

 bread all the time that he was carrying on his re- 

 searches. 



He had another difficulty to contend with, besides 

 his want of time and means. When he did pub- 

 lish what he had observed with his own eyes, and 

 not in books through the eyes of others, his facts were 

 often disputed by the higher class of Naturalists. 

 He was under the impression that this arose from the 

 circumstance that they had never been heard of before, 

 and that they had now been brought to light by a poor 

 shoemaker a person of no standing whatever. This 

 deterred him, in a great measure, from publishing his 

 observations, as he did not like his veracity to be 

 called in question. And it was not until years after, 

 when others higher up the ladder of respectability 

 had published the same facts, that his observations 

 were accredited, simply because they could no 

 longer be denied. 



Towards the close of his labours, Edward, on 

 looking back, was himself surprised that in the midst 

 of his difficulties his want of learning, his want of 

 time, his want of books he should have been able to 

 accomplish the little that he did. He had had so 

 many obstructions to encounter. His bringing up as 

 a child, and his want of school education, had been 

 very much against him. Then he had begun to work 

 for daily bread at six years old, and he had continued 

 to labour incessantly for the rest of his life. Of course 



