368 THE OLD BONE CONDEMNED. CHAP. xvn. 



become tired of the bone, or whatever else it was, 

 and wished to get rid of it. He removed it from 

 the case in which it was deposited, and threw it 

 among the rubbish of the museum. When Edward 

 was appointed sub-curator of the museum, about 

 nine years afterwards, his first natural impulse was 

 to go to the table where the bone had been deposited, 

 but lo i it had been removed. He searched the whole 

 place, but no bone was to be found. He feared lest 

 the curator had carried out his intention, and burnt it. 



Next morning, Edward received orders to destroy 

 a lot of useless stuff which lay on the floor, consisting 

 of broken-down astronomical and philosophical instru- 

 ments, moth-eaten beasts, birds, and fishes, together 

 with other wrecked specimens of the long-neglected 

 museum. Edward went to work, and whilst groping 

 amongst the rubbish at the bottom of the heap, he 

 came upon a round dark object. He brought it up, 

 and lo ! it was the " auld been " in other words, the 

 old bone ! It had not been burnt ! He cleaned it 

 and put it in the old place. 



When the curator next made his appearance to 

 ascertain how far the burning had gone, he gave a 

 glance at the case where the bone had been replaced. 

 He stood aghast. " You have put this thing on the 

 table again ! " he shouted. " Yes," replied Edward. 

 " Do you know," rejoined the curator, " that by so 

 doing you are insulting myself, and the gentlemen 

 of the Society, who requested all objectionable 



