CHAP. X.] Edward’s Certificate. 181 
of birds and other things. He always carried this certifi- 
cate with him; and when he presented it to a gamekeeper, 
he was allowed to go wherever he pleased. The certificate 
was as follows: 
“These are to certify that the bearer, Thomas Edward, shoe-maker, 
who is in height about five feet six inches, has dark eyes and hair, 
much pock-pitted, round-shouldered, and about thirty-five years of age 
—is, in addition to his other calling, engaged in collecting and pre- 
serving various objects of Natural History, particularly those objects 
which relate to Ornithology (Birds), Oalogy (Eggs), Entomology (In- 
sects), Helminthology (Worms, etc.), and Conchology (Shells) ;—That, 
for the purpose of procuring Ornithological Specimens, he is under 
the necessity of using a Gun, but in doing so, We, the undersigned, 
have never heard of a single case of poaching being brought against 
him; and, as far as we know, he is not in the habit of killing Game of 
any sort, nor of destroying property of any description, which, were 
he in the practice of so doing, being so frequently out with his Gun, 
he could not, we think, have escaped public notice so long—having 
resided in this town for a period of sixteen years, during which time 
he has borne an unimpeachable character. 
{James Dorr, J.P., etc, etc.] 
“ Banrr, March, 1850.” 
Edward was now in the prime of life, yet he was draw- 
ing very heavily upon his constitutional powers. Sleeping 
out-of-doors nightly, whether the weather “was fair or foul, 
subjected him to many attacks of cold and rheumatism. 
Yet he had no sooner recovered than he was out again at 
his nightly work. He was still as wild a birdnester as he 
had ever been in his youth. He would go to any distance 
or to any place to find a bird or a bird’snest that was new 
to him. He would run up a tree like a squirrel, and come 
down again with the birds or the nest. 
He would also walk or climb up a precipice when a nest 
was to be had. Of course, he had many falls. But what 
of that, if the object was gained? The most dangerous 
fall that he ever had was at Tarlair. The circumstance 
may be described, as a specimen of the dangers which Ed- 
ward ran in his pursuit of natural history. The author 
