Freeman s Life of Kirby. 3555 



Curtis, he was fully and entirely satisfied, as he had the gratification 

 of witnessing their labours after the hour of midnight." — P. 485. 



****** 



" Mr. Kirby possessed, as we have already noticed, a remarkable 

 power of fixing his undivided attention upon any subject which was 

 before him, and with great facility withdrawing it completely, and 

 fixing it with an equal degree of intensity upon any other subject, 

 however different in its nature. Nor was this confined merely to mat- 

 ters of study ; it was his habit from early life to take a given proposi- 

 tion, and think upon it for a certain fixed time, forcing his mind back 

 to it whenever it was disposed to wander, raising up to himself imagi- 

 nary opponents bringing forward arguments against him, and thus 

 viewing the matter in all its bearings. This power never forsook him, 

 for in later life, when he was prevented taking his usual walk, he would 

 employ an hour in this way, walking up and down his room." — P. 491. 

 ****** 



" Until a very short time before his death, Mr. Kirby never went to 

 bed without pausing before a picture of his mother which hung upon 

 the landing ; and frequently would he be heard soliloquizing upon 

 her many good qualities, and giving vent to feelings of affection and 



tender regard for her memory." — P. 492. 



* ***** 



" At one time Mr. Kirby kept bees, and was an accurate observer of 

 their habits : when or why he gave them up I do not know. Latterly 

 his only domesticated pets were his cats, of which he was exceed- 

 ingly fond : they were also associated in his mind with older times, his 

 father having been fond of them, and having received the self-same 

 breed, from which the Barham cats came, from his grandfather. They 

 were certainly an unusually fine breed, and enjoyed great indulgence. 

 If their claws pierced his silk stockings, for which his adherence to 

 the custom of the last century afforded considerable facilities, even 

 though the rough token of friendship occurred again and again, yet it 

 never produced more than a playful remonstrance. While engaged 

 in writing, Frolic would often play with his pen from her favourite 

 post, his shoulder ; but even this would not disturb his tranquillity." 

 —P. 494. 



* * * * * * 



The last act of Mr. Kirby's public life, was the opening of the Nor- 

 wich Museum. The lamp of life had burned very low, and was flick- 

 ering in its socket ; but he could not resist our friend Ransome's 

 invitation to be present on this occasion, as it seems the consumma- 



