14 LIFE OF SIR JOHN LUBBOCK ch. 



the wrong way up in the pods. That was very 

 curious, and I asked him for some specimens, but 

 heard nothing more for some months, when he 

 wrote again to say that the beans had given him 

 an immense amount of trouble. He had heard 

 the story from a friend, and when he went to him 

 and asked for some of the curious beans he was 

 referred to some one else, and so on. In fact, he 

 had been riding about all over the country from 

 one person to another for weeks and at last came 

 to the conclusion that it was all a mistake ! At 

 any rate he never got one of the beans. 



" That, however, had no direct reference to 

 Parliament. I will therefore quote another which 

 I received last year from the agent of a Scotch 

 Life Insurance Office : 



Dear Sir — 



General Election, 1892 



In spite of the fact that at such a period you will 

 be inundated with correspondence, — some of benefit 

 to yourself but the greater part worthless, — I feel bound, 

 not only as a matter of business, but because I firmly 

 believe it is the right thing to do, to urge upon you the 

 necessity of an increase in your life assurance. 



Your expenses, at such a period, must be heavy, and 

 the only way in which you can recreate the capital you 

 expend, protect the risk of your death, and provide 

 ready money in case of such an event happening, so 

 leaving your estate unencumbered and giving your 

 executors breathing time, is by a Life Policy. 



" Occasionally very amusing letters come from 

 most unexpected sources. For instance, one 

 winter a couple of dormice were sent to one of my 

 daughters by post. They were seized, and she 

 received the following letter : 



I have to inform you that a packet addressed to you 



