66 FRANCIS ORPEN MORRIS 



due course Messrs. Longmans brought out the book, 

 which formed a small volume of anecdotes of animals, 

 gathered from various sources. What gave rise to 

 the publication of a book of this kind was this. He 

 had undertaken to give a lecture before the members 

 of the York Institute on the subject of Humanity, 

 and intended illustrating the lectures by anecdotes 

 of the various animals spoken of ; but it was soon 

 found, as stated in the preface, "that the pleasant 

 part of the subject would have to be omitted, to 

 make way for that which was of a contrary character. 

 The thought then occurred to me that I might pub- 

 lish the former as a separate work, and the following 

 pages are the result." 



This series was but a first instalment of that large 

 store of similar recorded instances of the sagacity of 

 animals which he accumulated in later years. A 

 thousand and one stories of this description were 

 actually supplied by him month by month for several 

 years in one publication only ; and had he under- 

 taken to supply some editor with five times the 

 number, there can be little doubt that he would have 

 proved himself equal to the task. In fact, he used 

 to say that he could fill a whole shelf with simi- 

 lar authentic anecdotes. A second and illustrated 

 edition of the " Anecdotes" was subsequently 

 brought out by Messrs. Partridge. 



