﻿226 
  

  

  THE 
  NATIONAL 
  GEOGRAPHIC 
  MAGAZINE 
  

  

  ALEXANDER 
  GRAHAM 
  BEEE 
  AT 
  THE 
  AGE 
  OE 
  ElETEEN 
  

  

  From 
  an 
  old 
  photograph 
  taken 
  at 
  his 
  father's 
  country 
  home 
  in 
  the 
  

   suburbs 
  of 
  Edinburgh. 
  

  

  called 
  upon 
  for 
  a 
  lecture. 
  So 
  a 
  special 
  

   meeting 
  of 
  "The 
  Society 
  for 
  the 
  Promo- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  Fine 
  Arts 
  among 
  Boys" 
  was 
  held 
  

   in 
  my 
  study, 
  the 
  attic 
  of 
  my 
  father's 
  

   house 
  (13 
  South 
  Charlotte 
  Street, 
  Edin- 
  

   burgh). 
  This 
  was 
  sacred 
  to 
  me, 
  and 
  there 
  

   my 
  collections 
  presented 
  an 
  imposing 
  ar- 
  

   ray 
  of 
  anatomical 
  specimens. 
  

  

  Some 
  boards 
  were 
  arranged 
  as 
  seats 
  

   for 
  the 
  members 
  of 
  the 
  society. 
  On 
  a 
  

   table 
  in 
  the 
  middle 
  lay 
  the 
  defunct 
  suck- 
  

   ing 
  pig. 
  It 
  was 
  a 
  great 
  moment 
  when 
  I 
  

   started 
  to 
  thrust 
  my 
  knife 
  into 
  the 
  abdo- 
  

   men 
  of 
  the 
  subject 
  for 
  dissection. 
  But, 
  

   unfortunately, 
  there 
  happened 
  to 
  be 
  some 
  

   air 
  in 
  the 
  creature, 
  so 
  that 
  the 
  knife 
  thrust 
  

   was 
  followed 
  by 
  a 
  rumbling 
  sound 
  that 
  

  

  resembled 
  a 
  groan, 
  

   with 
  the 
  result 
  that 
  we 
  

   thought 
  the 
  creature 
  

   alive. 
  

  

  Horror-stricken, 
  I 
  

   rushed 
  from 
  the 
  room, 
  

   followed 
  by 
  all 
  the 
  

   boys. 
  We 
  tumbled 
  over 
  

   one 
  another 
  in 
  our 
  

   eagerness 
  to 
  get 
  down- 
  

   stairs. 
  Each 
  boy 
  fled 
  

   to 
  his 
  home, 
  and 
  none 
  

   returned 
  to 
  hear 
  the 
  

   lecture. 
  Even 
  the 
  lec- 
  

   turer 
  himself 
  was 
  too 
  

   frightened 
  to 
  revisit 
  

   the 
  lecture-hall. 
  My 
  

   father 
  was 
  obliged 
  to 
  

   go 
  upstairs 
  and 
  take 
  

   charge 
  of 
  the 
  corpse; 
  

   I 
  never 
  saw 
  it 
  again. 
  

   Urged 
  by 
  curiosity, 
  

   I 
  was 
  very 
  fond 
  of 
  

   opening 
  the 
  bodies 
  of 
  

   small 
  animals 
  to 
  see 
  

   what 
  they 
  were 
  like 
  

   inside. 
  I 
  had 
  a 
  large 
  

   collection 
  of 
  little 
  

   skeletons, 
  nicely 
  ar- 
  

   ranged 
  and 
  classified 
  

   as 
  in 
  a 
  museum. 
  I 
  

   also 
  had 
  a 
  good 
  collec- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  the 
  skulls 
  of 
  

   the 
  "higher 
  mammalia" 
  

   (squirrels 
  and 
  rab- 
  

   bits), 
  even 
  including 
  

   the 
  heads 
  of 
  "carniv- 
  

   ora" 
  (cats 
  and 
  dogs) 
  ; 
  

   but 
  the 
  gem 
  of 
  the 
  

   whole 
  collection 
  was 
  a 
  

   real 
  human 
  skull, 
  presented 
  to 
  me 
  by 
  my 
  

   father. 
  

  

  I 
  can 
  see 
  in 
  these 
  natural-history 
  col- 
  

   lections 
  a 
  preparation 
  for 
  scientific 
  work. 
  

   The 
  collection 
  of 
  material 
  involved 
  the 
  

   close 
  observation 
  of 
  the 
  likenesses 
  and 
  

   differences 
  of 
  objects 
  of 
  very 
  similar 
  

   kind, 
  and 
  the 
  orderly 
  arrangement, 
  as 
  in 
  

   a 
  museum, 
  stimulated 
  the 
  formation 
  of 
  

   generalizations 
  of 
  various 
  kinds. 
  

  

  My 
  father 
  encouraged 
  me 
  in 
  making 
  

   collections 
  of 
  all 
  sorts 
  and 
  in 
  arranging 
  

   the 
  specimens 
  in 
  accordance 
  with 
  my 
  own 
  

   ideas 
  rather 
  than 
  in 
  conformity 
  with 
  the 
  

   ideas 
  of 
  others. 
  I 
  am 
  inclined 
  to 
  think 
  

   that 
  the 
  making 
  of 
  these 
  collections 
  

   formed 
  an 
  important 
  part 
  of 
  my 
  educa- 
  

  

  