THE HOME OF A NATURALIST. 7 



of scalp-locks ; some queer stones, fossils, and pretty 

 shells. On the mantelpiece itself were books of every 

 description, rising tier on tier, all well thumbed, yet 

 frequently covered with dust, which had gathered there 

 not by the usual mode, but through his experiments 

 upon the coal and ashes in the grate. He had theories 

 about fuel as well as about everything else ; and some 

 of the " notions " which were thought " so queer," are 

 now being recognised as full of practical wisdom. The 

 sideboard was crowded with medicine bottles and the 

 chemical apparatus of his profession. The room, in 

 truth, looked a picture of disorder, but in reality was 

 not so, for its presiding genius knew the exact position 

 of each book and bottle. It was only when others 

 intruded themselves and belongings, that the reign of 

 chaos began. 



Besides that parlour, where he usually sat, the Natu- 

 ralist possessed what his children called a den. A den 

 it truly was. Oh, the marvels which came out of that 

 place, and the curiosities and useful articles which disap- 

 peared into its depths ! There is a tradition in the family 

 that once the piled-up heaps were overturned, and 

 a plough was discovered which had been amissing for 

 years. In one corner of this den there hung a skeleton, 

 which acted as a very effectual bugbear to over-curious 

 children and servants. One shelf contained medicine 

 bottles out of number, with brown - paper parcels, 

 bones, and boxes. One parcel contained a portion of 

 skin which had once covered the body of Burke the 

 murderer, who had been dissected in Edinburgh by the 



