CHAP. VIII. | Brandon Fair. 145 
penters. He papered the insides, painted the outsides, and 
glazed the whole of the cases himself. The thirty cases 
containing his shells were partitioned off, each species hav- 
ing a compartment for itself. This was a difficult piece of 
work, but he got through it successfully. There were about 
three hundred cases in all. 
His house was now filled with stuffed birds, quadrupeds, 
insects, and such-like objects. Every room was packed with 
the cases containing them, his shoe-making apartment in- 
cluded. What was he to do with them? He had, indeed, 
long had a project in his mind. In the first place, he wish- 
ed to abandon the shoe-making trade. He was desirous of 
raising money for the purpose of commencing some other 
business. He also wished to have some funds in hand, in 
order to. prosecute his investigations in natural history. 
How could he raise the requisite money? He thought that 
he might raise a part of it by exhibiting his collection. 
Hence his large accumulation of specimens, and his large 
collection of cases. 
There was a feeing fair held twice a year at Banff, on 
market-days, called Brandon Fair. Young lads and lasses 
came in from the country to be feed, and farmers and their 
wives came in to fee them. It was a great day for Banff. 
All the shows and wild beasts, the dwarfs and giants, the 
spotted ladies and pig-faced women, accompanied by drums 
and trumpets, converged upon Banff on that day. The 
town, ordinarily so quiet, became filled with people—partly 
to hire and be hired, and partly to see what was to be seen. 
The principal streets were kept in a continual row until the 
fair was over. 
Edward gave an exhibition of his collection at the Bran- 
don Fair in May, 1845. He took a room in the Trades’ 
Hall, and invited the public to inspect his “Collection of 
Preserved Animals, comprising Quadrupeds, Birds, Fishes, 
Insects, Shells, Eggs, and other Curiosities.” 
The local paper called the public attention to the rare 
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