THOMAS ANDREW KNIGHT, ESQ. 53 



see her, she is upon the whole well for her time of life. I beg 

 to be kindly remembered to Mr. Walpole, and pray tell him that 

 I shall be happy to see him here for as long a period as will suit 

 his engagements. 



" Ever your affectionate Father." 



Mr. Knight continued occasionally to communicate the 

 results of his observations and investigations to the Royal and 

 Horticultural Societies. His last paper in the Philosophical 

 Transactions was " On the hereditary Instincts of Animals/' 

 which was read on the 25th of May, 1837. He took much 

 pleasure in cultivating the attachment of the brute creation, 

 and it was sometimes a subject of doubt whether his children's 

 pet birds and animals shared most largely in their affection or 

 in his ; but besides the indulgence of the kindness of his dis- 

 position, he was thus afforded opportunities of observing many 

 peculiarities in the habits of creatures thus brought imme- 

 diately under his eye, and relieved from the restraint which 

 the fear of man, by long continuance converted into an in- 

 stinct, usually throws in the way of the naturalist. His fond- 

 ness for animals was not of that senseless kind which is shown 

 by lavishing unreasonable indulgences on them ; but it was 

 dictated by a true benevolence, which would have led him to 

 suffer pain himself, rather than have been the cause of it to a 

 worm or a fly. He was very particular as to the manner in 

 which the game and poultry were killed for the supply of his 

 table; and he sometimes even superintended the operation 

 himself, that he might be sure it was done in the manner 

 calculated to cause least pain. At the time when he was an 

 eager sportsman, he has often been known to spend half the 

 day, and remain out long after his dinner-hour, in hunting for 

 a wounded bird ; and if unsuccessful in his search, the idea of 

 the sufferings of the poor creature seemed to weigh upon his 

 mind, and he would not unfrequently resume his search early 

 on the following morning. 



Among domesticated animals, Mr. Knight particularly cle- 



