i86 FRANCIS ORPEN MORRIS 



spent in a wood near Banff moth-hunting ; he de- 

 scribed the place as a most romantic and secluded 

 spot, close to the side of a river, and right well he 

 tells his tale. This communication was inserted in 

 the pages of the Naturalist, which Mr. Morris at 

 that time edited, and in it the " Scotch Naturalist " 

 alludes to his extraordinary passion and fondness for 

 all living creatures in these words : " I have, and 

 it would seem that I have been born with it, a most 

 inordinate, and perhaps unexampled, either in this 

 country or in any other, predilection for everything 

 of this kind, whatsoever be the number of their feet 

 or legs, or whether they have any or none at all ; 

 all is one to me providing they are of Nature's 

 handiwork." Accordingly one summer evening he 

 proceeded with his collecting-box and other appa- 

 ratus to his hunting-ground. He was alone, as was 

 his wont on such occasions, and he rejoiced in the 

 freedom of his nightly excursion, which refreshed 

 him after his daily task was done, for he was by 

 trade a shoemaker and had to work for his bread. 

 He had a delightfully natural way of describing 

 all he saw and did. After relating the manner of 

 his movements in capturing his specimens, this 

 ardent lover of Nature graphically proceeds with 

 his narrative : 



" So on I went, and at the same time listening to 

 the doleful and melancholy wailing of the Owl, the 

 spinning-wheel-like birr, birr of the Night-Jar, and 

 the occasional barking of the fleet and lightsome 

 little Roe, the pride of our lowland woods, as they 



