HOW I BECAME A NATURALIST 5 



to which Westall himself writes : " The gentleman alluded to 

 in this passage is William Ayton, Esq., late of Macclesfield. It 

 was written with the strongest sentiments of gratitude and 

 affection for the paternal regard which he had ever shown me, 

 from my early days, when his advice, his assistance, and pro- 

 tection were of the highest importance to me. Unfortunately 

 for me, and for his family, he is now dead. The feelings, in which 

 the passage originated, and which cannot cease but with my 

 existence, have induced me to suffer it to remain as it was during 

 his life. What was addressed to him in the moments of joy 

 stands now, conjunctly with this note, a weak tribute to his 

 memory ; but soothing to myself, and not unpleasing to those of 

 my dear hereditary friends who survive him." 

 Here are the lines : 



Thou, my dear, my early friend, 

 Thou shalt read, and we'll attend, 

 Till each soul, impassion'd wears 

 Joy for joy, and grief for tears. 



A short note concerning Kichard's brother, William, may well 

 conclude these ancestral details. The latter was a landscape 

 painter, and, as such, would of course be brought into intimate 

 touch with the beauties of outdoor life. I have before me a fine 

 quarto volume of engravings and notes entitled " Great Britain 

 Illustrated," containing about fifty reproductions of William 

 WestalPs pictures, this tome having recently been purchased by 

 me at a local second-hand bookseller's for a few pence. The 

 subjects mainly consist of notable houses, churches, and water- 

 ways of the period, and it is interesting to note that there is one 

 of Oxford as viewed from the meadows. Many of the places 

 illustrated I have myself visited, unconscious of the fact that 

 my great -uncle preceded me about a century ago, and I have 

 particularly noted his presentations of Berry Pomeroy Castle, 

 near Totnes, Devon ; Canterbury Cathedral ; Christchurch 

 Priory, Hampshire ; St John's College, Cambridge ; the Eden 

 Bridge at Carlisle ; the Entrance to Newmarket ; Melrose Abbey ; 

 Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh ; Scarborough Castle ; the Stone 

 Bridge at Newcastle ; Hastings ; Liverpool Docks ; Abbotsford, 

 the residence of Sir Walter Scott ; Nottingham Castle ; Arthur's 

 Seat, Edinburgh ; Whitby ; Manchester ; Brighton ; Durham 

 Cathedral ; Winchester ; Eaton Hall, Cheshire ; and Lincoln 

 Cathedral. 



