12 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK oh. 



Scotch pebbles. They are quite beautiful. They 

 will be very nice for my collection. And Lady 

 Home" (mother of Lord Dunglass) "sent me a 

 particular favourite of hers. Was it not kind ? " 

 There are in course of this letter, which covers 

 four sides — you may be sure it was written on 

 a Sunday ! — two distinct wails of home-sickness 

 from the little boy, plucky though he was. :c I 

 do miss you all so much. I do not know what 

 to do at all, and in short am very unjolly." He 

 evidently found this last word aptly descriptive 

 of his feelings, for we have it again on the next 

 page : " Now I know you will think me rather 

 odd, but if I think too much of the pleasure of 

 home it makes me rather unjolly." 



There is a hint here again of a mental per- 

 ception above the childish. He has realised 

 that the only way of tolerable happiness in his 

 present state is to banish from mind the thought 

 of that which he has temporarily lost. It is a 

 profound truth. 



Another letter, the last to be quoted from 

 his private school, gives further indication of 

 the future man that he was to be : "A pair of 

 robins seeking a place to build their nest fixed 

 on the sleeve of a coat at the gardens of Hirsel. 

 Was not that curious ? I thought you would 

 like it. The bird hatched the eggs and fledged 

 the young without caring for the multitudes 

 who came to see her house. We had a charity 

 sermon to-day. Mr. Waring preached. I thought 

 it a very beautiful sermon." 



He worked hard at this private school, and 

 gave every satisfaction to his master. " I had 



