1 14 REMINISCENCES. 



a sharp-witted, affectionate dog ; when her master was going 

 away on a journey, she always discovered the fact by the 

 signs of packing going on in the study, and became low- 

 spirited accordingly. She began, too, to be excited by seeing 

 the study prepared for his return home. She was a cunning 

 little creature, and used to tremble or put on an air of misery 

 when my father passed, while she was waiting for dinner, 

 just as if she knew that he would say (as he did often say) 

 that "she was famishing." My father used to make her 

 catch biscuits off her nose, and had an affectionate and mock- 

 solemn way of explaining to her before-hand that she must 

 " be a very good girl." She had a mark on her back 

 where she had been burnt, and where the hair had re-grown 

 red instead of white, and my father used to commend her for 

 this tuft of hair as being in accordance with his theory of 

 pangenesis ; her father had been a red bull-terrier, thus the 

 red hair appearing after the burn showed the presence of 

 atent red gemmules. He was delightfully tender to Polly, 

 and never showed any impatience at the attentions she 

 required, such as to be let in at the door, or out at the 

 verandah window, to bark at " naughty people," a self-im- 

 posed duty she much enjoyed. She died, or rather had to be 

 killed, a few days after his death.* 



My father's midday walk generally began by a call at the 

 greenhouse, where he looked at any germinating seeds or 

 experimental plants which required a casual examination, but 

 he hardly ever did any serious observing at this time. Then 

 he went on for his constitutional either round the "Sand- 

 walk," or outside his own grounds in the immediate neigh- 

 bourhood of the house. The "Sand-walk" was a narrow 

 strip of land i acres in extent, with a gravel-walk round 

 it On one side of it was a broad old shaw with fair-sized 



* The basket in which she usually Parsons' drawing given at the head 

 lay curled up near the fire in his of the chapter, 

 study is faithfully represented in Mr. 



