KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



plum. Nor do they object to the leaf of the plum 

 tree, when hungry. The leaf of the Michaelmas 

 daisy will also do, as well as thorn, in case of 

 need. But they prefer a young carrot, both root 

 and leaf, and do not refuse nasturtium. Mul- 

 berry and currant leaves are not disagreeable, 

 any more than strawberry or potentilla. They 

 like much, cold roast mutton; but will not touch 

 the fat. They have no objection to a pear after 

 it, or an apple, if a sweet one. They like Budicea 

 globosa as well as thistle, and do not say no to 

 willow. They are fond of both the leaf and the 

 flower of the dahlia. They like horse-radish, 

 and will nibble at carnation. They will eat dry 

 bread, if not too stale, and will devour it when 

 soaked in milk. They have no objection to 

 rhubarb, beet-root, the white- berried honeysuckle, 

 and convolvulus major. They enjoy jasmine 

 parsley, Oenothera JEsclioltzia, and even Great 

 Jupiter's Beard. But I could never induce them 

 to touch a piece of the common striped grass; 

 nor would they taste lavender, thyme, sage, or 

 mint. 



Bombyx Atlas. 

 Tottenham, Nov. 2, 1852. 



THE ICHIEUIOI. 



Mr. Editor,— -From a Report of the Proceed- 

 ings of the '-Society of British Entomologists" on 

 the 7th of September ult,, published in the "Zoo- 

 logist" for October — it would seem a doubtful 

 point among the members, whether or not the 

 larva Macroglossa Stdlatarum is liable to be in- 

 fested by the Ichneumon. Now, Mr. Editor, 

 although I cannot speak particularly as to British 

 lame, yet (having brought up a considerable 

 number abroad),I can assure the gentlemen form- 

 ing the " Society of British Entomologists" of 

 one thing, — viz: that on the Continent there is 

 scarely a larva more liable to be attacked. 



Should this meet the eye of any of these gen- 

 tlemen, it may be gratifying to them to learn this 

 fact ; it may lead to more intimate researches 

 among their body. Some day, posssibly, they 

 may find out that they will not be more fortu- 

 nate than I have been. 



Tottenham, Nov. 2. Bombyx Atlas. 



ANECDOTES OF GOLDSMITH,— No. III. 



How to procure a suit of clothes — Fresh 

 disappointment — A tale of distress — The 

 suit of clothes in pawn — Punishment for 

 doing an act of charity. 



( Concluded from page 239). 



In tiie meantime, cut down in his hopes, and 

 humiliated in his pride by the failure of his 

 Coromandel scheme, he sought, without con- 

 sulting his friends, to be examined at the College 

 of Physicians for the humble situation of hos- 

 pital mate. Even here, poverty stood in his 

 way. It was necessary to appear in a decent 

 garb before the examining committee; but how 

 was he to do so? He was literally out at elbows 

 as well as cash. Here again the muse, so often 



jilted and neglected by him, came to his aid. In 

 consideration of four articles furnished to the 

 " Monthly Eeview," Griffiths, his old task- 

 master, was to become security to the tailor for a 

 suit of clothes. Goldsmith said he wanted them 

 but for a single occasion, on which depended his 

 appointment to a situation in the army; as soon 

 as that temporary purpose was served, they would 

 either be returned or paid for. The books to be 

 reviewed were accordingly lent to him ; the muse 

 was again set to his compulsory drudgery; the 

 articles were scribbled off and sent to the book- 

 seller, and the clothes came in due time from the 

 tailor. 



From the records of the College of Surgeons, 

 it appears that Goldsmith underwent his exa- 

 mination at Surgeons' Hall on the 21st De- 

 cember, 1758. Either from a confusion of mind 

 incident to sensitive and imaginative persons on 

 such occasions, or from a real want of surgical 

 science, which last is extremely probable — he 

 failed in his examination, and was rejected as 

 " unqualified." The effect of such rejection was 

 to disqualify him for every branch of public ser- 

 vice : though he might have claimed a re-exa- 

 mination after the interval of a few months de- 

 voted to further study. Such a re-examination 

 he never attempted ; nor did he ever commu- 

 nicate his discomfiture to any of his friends. 



On Christmas-day, only four days after his 

 rejection, while he w r as suffering under the mor- 

 tification of defeat and disappointment, and hard 

 pressed for means of subsistence, he was sur- 

 prised by the entrance into his room of the poor 

 woman of whom he hired his wretched apart- 

 ment, and to whom he owed some small arrears 

 of rent. She had a piteous tale of distress to 

 tell; and was clamorous in her afflictions. Her 

 husband had been arrested in the night for debt, 

 and thrown into prison. This was too much for 

 the quick feelings of Goldsmith. He was ready 

 at any time to help the distressed ; but in this 

 instance he was himself in some measure a cause 

 of distress. What was to be done? He had no 

 money, it is true ; but there hung the new suit 

 of clothes in Avhich he had stood his unlucky 

 examination at Surgeons' Hall. Without giving 

 himself time for reflection, he sent it off to the 

 pawnbroker's, and raised thereon a sufficient 

 sum to pay off his own debt, and to release his 

 landlord from prison. 



Under the same pressure of penury and de- 

 spondency, he borrowed from a neighbor a pit- 

 tance to relieve his immediate wants ; leaving as 

 a security, the books which he had recently re- 

 viewed. In the midst of these straits and ha- 

 rassments, he received a letter from Griffiths, 

 demanding in peremptory terms the return of the 

 clothes and books, or immediate payment for 

 the same. It appears that he had discovered the 

 identical suit at the pawnbroker's. The reply of 

 Goldsmith is not known; it was out of his power 

 to furnish either the clothes or the money ; but 

 he probably offered once more to make the muse 

 stand his bail. His reply only increased the ire 

 of the wealthy man of trade ; and drew from 

 him another letter, still more harsh than the 

 first; using the epithets of " knave" and 

 " sharper;" and containing threats of prosecution 

 and & prison. 



