" Whoever owns that Man" 325 



work escape him. Gwyn Jeffreys, who had previously 

 sent him Atlantic dredgings from the Valorous 

 expedition, now sent him the ooze of the Mediter- 

 ranean to examine. This material had been obtained 

 in the neighbourhood of Crete by the late Admiral 

 Spratt Gwyn Jeffreys searched it for mollusca, and 

 then passed it on to Robertson to be sifted over for 

 foraminifera and the like. Some of it eventually 

 came into the present writer's hands ; as if any glean- 

 ings were to be expected when two such reapers had 

 already been in the field ! But besides work from a 

 distance, the shores of Cumbrae were an unexhausted 

 and continual resource. It happened one day at 

 Millport, after a considerable storm, that Mr. Robert- 

 son was fishing with a long pole from the shore for the 

 seaweeds that were being borne in on the breakers. 

 As he took care for this sort of work not to wear his 

 best costume, he advanced without much fear further 

 and further into the water, till at last, without his 

 knowing it, his coat-tails were flapping up and down 

 with each heave of the swell. One of his friends, see- 

 ing from a window what was happening, came down 

 to the shore to give him notice, and, as he passed 

 through the crowd of onlookers, he overheard a lady 

 remark, " It is a great shame of whoever owns that 

 man to let him go about in that way by himself." 



Every one who has been to the seaside must have 

 noticed limpets sticking to the rocks. Do they after 

 once taking up their position retain it for life, or are 

 they in the habit of changing their quarters ? As to 

 the answer to this question, Robertson found that 

 naturalists were not all in agreement. He therefore 



