THE LATE MR. E, T. BOOTH, OF BRIGHTON. 93 



Twenty years later he said his tutor's words had come true, 

 though not in the sense they were intended. He only regretted 

 that he had not spent more time in the fens ! He never was so 

 happy as when out of doors, in some wild part of the country ; 

 in some lonely marsh after Snipe ; lying in a punt in some tidal 

 harbour waiting for a shot with the big gun at Wigeon, or Brent 

 Geese, or clambering amongst heather and boulders through a 

 Scotch mist in search of Ptarmigan. Or if it was not the 

 shooting season, trout- and salmon-flies would engage his 

 attention, and few things he loved better than to put off to sea 

 for a day's fishing with net or hand-line, on which occasions he 

 would always have a gun handy, as he said, in case anything 

 turned up that was wanted for the collection. 



When first we became acquainted, twenty years ago, he was 

 living at Vernon Terrace, Brighton ; or perhaps it would be 

 more correct to say that he had a house there, for he was 

 scarcely ever at home, except by appointment. He was almost 

 sure to be away somewhere shooting or fishing, and only came 

 home, as he said, to deposit his trophies, or to lay in a fresh 

 stock of clothes, ammunition, or whatever else was needed for 

 the success of his next campaign. When the house in Vernon 

 Terrace became too small to hold the collections, and every 

 room from cellar to garret was full of cases of stuffed birds, 

 it became necessary to look out for another habitation, and 

 a piece of vacant ground upon the downs being for sale, 

 Mr. Booth conceived the idea of being his own architect, 

 building his own house, and subsequently a museum. This he 

 carried out entirely to his satisfaction, erecting a museum 

 200 ft. long, 40 ft. wide, and 30 ft. high, and lighted with a skylight 

 throughout its entire length. This building he connected with 

 his drawing-room by a charming fernery, composed of natural 

 boulders, carted thither at great expense, between which ran an 

 artificial stream, spanned by a rustic foot-bridge, and tenanted by 

 fish and Kingfishers, while Bobins and Wagtails, in undisturbed 

 tranquility, built amongst the ferns which cropped out in profu- 

 sion from the rocks. Out of doors in the grounds a pond of 

 sea-water, periodically renewed, surrounded by shingle from the 

 beach, and protected on all sides with a high oak paling, served 

 as an excellent observatory for studying the actions of Bazorbills, 

 Guillemots, Puffins, Skuas, Gannets, and other seafowl which 



