38 SPENCER FULLERTON BAIRD 
To this after a time he began to add a record of birds 
shot, and later brief memoranda of his work or movements 
on days when these rose above the ordinary routine. 
Referring to his systematic ways as a child, Miss 
Baird notes that among the relics of that period was 
found a list written out in a boyish hand entitled ‘Songs 
that I sing’; though she does not remember his doing 
anything more in the way of music than to occasionally 
hum a tune. As a boy, however, he formed the habit 
of whistling. There was in the family quite a little 
musical talent, especially in the household of his uncle 
William Biddle, where they frequently had small concerts 
on piano, violin and flute. On these occasions whole 
operas would sometimes be played, and young Spencer’s 
quick ear and retentive memory enabled him to whistle 
large portions of them for his own amusement during 
his walks. Sometimes he varied his method by reciting 
favorite German verses, such as Schiller’s “Song of the 
Bell.” 
The list of “Songs that I sing” was only one of his 
juvenile records. There are still extant carefully kept 
childish accounts of money received and expended, and 
lists of books borrowed, lent, and read by him. 
An amusing page of statistics is a statement of the 
ages of the various members of the family, including 
uncles and aunts, one or two of which, among the ladies, 
he notes that he “was unable to obtain.” 
He had a very vivid imagination, and members of 
the family recall that, as little children, there was con- 
siderable rivalry as to who should sleep in the same room 
with him, to enjoy the wonderful tales which he extempo- 
rized for the benefit of the brothers and sisters who could 
listen to him. 
