STRAY NATURE-NOTES 263 



by the servant who was with us one of the best 

 swimmers, by the way, I ever knew, and my success- 

 ful instructor in that art. His method was a very 

 simple one ; he took me out into deep water, out of 

 my depth, and then let me go sink or swim keep- 

 ing near for fear of accidents. I struck out at once, 

 and was a swimmer ever after." Geoffrey Connell 

 (such was the servant's name) came to an untimely 

 and extraordinary end. He afterwards went to sea, 

 and was believed to have been one of the crew of 

 a merchant-ship, the captain of which turned out 

 to be insane. The poor fellows, as if their own 

 senses had taken leave of them, allowed themselves 

 to be tied down one by one by this madman, who 

 then deliberately cut their throats. 



When Dr. Morris left England for America in 

 1856, my father succeeded him as editor of the 

 Naturalist, and continued to act in that capacity 

 for several years ; this of course added considerably 

 to his literary work, for he frequently wrote him- 

 self for the magazine, and the entire direction of 

 it fell upon him for some time, though for a year 

 or so he was associated with Mr. C. R. Bree, who 

 conducted the entomological department. Many 

 interesting and widely varied articles and nature- 

 notes filled the pages of the magazine, and few 

 were more readable than those of Mr. Thomas 

 Edward, who for several years was a constant 

 contributor to the periodical. 



In 1856 Mr. Morris began what he called a 

 " Sy sterna Natures" in the pages of the Naturalist; 



