1837 33. A PALACE OF A LABORATORY. 147 



letter conveyed. I am proud of you, Daniel, with your high 

 thoughts and high hopes, and persevering laborious duties, and 

 unresting application 



" For the present I bid you good-night, and as night brings 

 sober, chastened, religious feelings and duties, let me only add 

 the hope (alike for both of us) that earthly things, however 

 noble, will not shut from our straining eyeballs the higher 

 things which must swallow up all other feelings, when death- 

 beds and eternities come. God bless and preserve you, my dear 

 brother, from all evils and snares, and myself too, for I have 

 many. Good-night." 



" June 19 th. I do not resume with good-morrow, for night 

 is the time with me for writing, and I have just fallen to again 

 to your epistle. Having discoursed of your prospects, occupa- 

 tion, and the like, let me say a word of my own. After the first 

 re-beginning of Dispensary rambles was fairly past, I began 

 seriously to think of some way of getting my chemistry prose- 

 cuted, and it came into my head, as my wisest plan, just to have 

 a room, a garret, or the like, and turn it to good account. I 

 betook myself to requesting the assistance of some old dames to 

 get me one. Chancing to call on Mrs. - - to see Samuel 

 Brown, I had to sit a while, and mentioned the wish to that old 

 lady, who immediately stalked about the Lothian Eoad, and 

 such places, in search of a room. Whilst engaged thus, I called 



at Leith Street, and mentioned it to Mrs. , who at once 



offered and gave me her most kind and most useful assistance, 

 for she sent rne over to a pensioner of hers, a widow, who had 

 rented a room for six months or so, but having lost her daugh- 

 ter, had gladly taken a place as housekeeper in a family. From 

 her I got the key of the room, which will cost me nothing but a 

 trifle a week to the old deaf lady who sweeps and sorts it ; and 

 will be as it is a very palace. It is situate in that strange and 

 not very decent place of Edinburgh, Eichmond Court ; but, as 

 far as I have yet seen, it is an excellent little corner, with the 

 best window in the court. I have a goodly sized furnished 

 room a perfect palace of a laboratory ; the window to be sure 

 does not command a very fine view, but lets in a great stream 

 of light, that valuable auxiliary to all sorts of researches that 



