30 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 



fond of collecting eggs, but I never took more than a 

 single egg out of a bird's nest, except on one single 

 occasion, when I took all, not for their value, but from 

 a sort of bravado. 



I had a strong taste for angling, and would sit for 

 any number of hours on the bank of a river or pond 

 watchinc: the float ; when at Maer * I was told that 



O 



I could kill the worms with salt and water, and from 

 that day I never spitted a living worm, though at the 

 expense probably of some loss of success. 



Once as a very little boy whilst at the day school, 

 or before that time, I acted cruelly, for I beat a 

 puppy, I believe, simply from enjoying the sense of 

 power ; but the beating could not have been severe, 

 for the puppy did not howl, of which I feel sure, as 

 the spot was near the house. This act lay heavily on 

 my conscience, as is shown by my remembering the 

 exact spot where the crime was committed. It prob- 

 ably lay all the heavier from my love of dogs being 

 then, and for a long time afterwards, a passion. Dogs 

 seemed to know this, for I was an adept in robbing 

 their love from their masters. 



I remember clearly only one other incident during 

 this year whilst at Mr. Case's daily school, namely, 

 the burial of a dragoon soldier ; and it is surprising 

 how clearly I can still see the horse with the man's 

 empty boots and carbine suspended to the saddle, and 

 the firing over the grave. This scene deeply stirred 

 whatever poetic fancy there was in me. 



In the summer of 1818 I went to Dr. Butler's great 



* The house of his uncle, Josiah Wedgwood. 



