CHAP. x. HIS WALLETS EMPTIED. 189 



on the moor, and also the flies which he had pinned 

 into the crown of his hat, were all right. His hat 

 was usually two-storied ; we wish we could have 

 given a section of it. The lower part contained his 

 head, and the other, above it, separated by a thin 

 piece of board, contained mosses, birds' eggs, butter- 

 flies, insects, and such like. 



He next proceeded to take off some of his wallets. 

 But, just as he had begun to remove them, he heard 

 the girls behind him twittering and giggling. Turn- 

 ing round, he saw one of them pointing to his back, 

 and trying to suppress her mirth. He could not 

 imagine the reason. Another, and yet another stifled 

 laugh ! On his looking round again, they rushed 

 out of the room ; and then he heard them exploding 

 with laughter. The cause of their merriment was this. 

 The storm of rain had soaked Edward to the skin. 

 Every pocket and wallet was full of chip-boxes and 

 water. The glue of the boxes had melted ; the ants, 

 worms, slugs, spiders, caterpillars, and such like, had 

 all escaped, and were mixed up in a confused mass. 

 They shortly began to creep out of the innumerable 

 pockets in which they had been contained. It was be- 

 cause the girls had seen the mixture of half- drowned 

 spiders, beetles, ants, and caterpillars, creeping up the 

 strange man's back, that they rushed from the place, 

 and laughed their full out of doors. 



Edward was now left to himself. The girls had 

 doubtless gone to fetch their mother. He began to 



