PERSONAL HISTORY 179 



about, became his pets. Especially dear to his 

 heart was a thornless cactus {E piphyllum) 

 which he carried about in his arms, until in an 

 unhappy moment he stumbled and fell, break- 

 ing pot and plant. This was his first great 

 sorrow; although by care the plant was made to 

 flourish again. Trees and flowers were espe- 

 cially abundant near our home, and wandering 

 among them was a pastime he greatly enjoyed. 

 Xo child ever entered more fully into the heart 

 of nature. From my brother's writings I glean 

 the following reminiscences of his childhood: 



"From a distinctly remembered incident I 

 must from the first have been of an investigat- 

 ing turn of mind. The first thing that was fixed 

 in memory happened in this way: my good 

 mother, conforming to one of the customs of 

 old New England days, had just finished pre- 

 paring a large quantity of 'fried cakes,' and had 

 placed the boiling fat upon the floor in the 

 rear of the stove. Apparently it was a great 

 mystery to me how the hot fat could change 

 the sticky, unpalatable dough into the brown, 

 crisp — and evidently to my infant fingers — 

 irresistible 'doughnuts.' So, when mother's back 

 was turned, I 'hitched' along, as children do be- 

 fore they learn to walk, personally to investigate 

 the subject, and removing the lid from the ket- 



