12 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



of a year* had passed since I a small, helpless, 

 mis-shapen embryo had hidden myself under 

 some casual pebble or fragment of a rock. I 

 I was then scarce an inch in length, my body 

 marked with transverse bluish-grey lines, the 

 1 badge of all our tribe,' and my head and eyes 

 altogether out of proportion to my body. I 

 was now some four inches long, trim, well- 

 shaped, and vigorous. Although haunting the 

 waters in which I had first breathed the breath 

 of life, I had long since extended my rambles, 

 and, in company with my brethren, sought the 

 more rapid streams. We rejoiced in our new- 

 born strength to stem the torrent, and vied 

 with one another, whilst poised as hawks in 

 mid-air, in seizing the small insects which were 

 borne along the stream above us. Although 

 there was a sameness in this life, it was not 

 monotonous. We had become sufficiently cog- 

 nizant of the dangers around us, but, with the 

 buoyancy of youth, we felt more pride in our 

 cleverness in escaping them than gratitude for 



* My friend S. S. must know best, and it is not for me 

 to contradict him ; but I must say, that for a year old and 

 upwards, he exhibited at this period a very juvenile appear- 

 ance. Ed. 



