MARINE BIOLOGICAL STATION AT POET ERIN. 49 



Scotland and into North Wales, which he used sometimes 

 to recall. I have heard of his doing over sixty miles in 

 the day. It is of this time that Dr. Nicholson writes : 

 " We had several pursuits in common, and one was the 

 long walks you refer to. We walked fifty miles together 

 to Rhyl, and he was not quite content, and walked several 

 more after getting home. We repeated the same for two 

 years, I thmk. It did not appear to hurt us, and we were 

 all teetotalers.'" Miss Thompson adds to this : " A 

 medical man wished to see Isaac, and expressed his 

 concern at his taking these long walks. Isaac naturally 

 asked, ' Why ? ' as he did not feel any the worse. Where- 

 upon the doctor said he must have to take doses of brandy 

 towards the end of the walk to keep up his strength ; but 

 on hearing that lie was a teetotaler, he had nothing 

 more to say." 



Thompson remained an active man all his life, aud 

 being for the most part in vigorous health, was addicted 

 to many forms of healthy exercise — climbing, cycling, 

 rowing and swimming. He ascended Mont Blanc and 

 Monte Kosa in 1868 ; and when in the country was keen 

 to get to the tops of all the hills in sight. He was always 

 fond of sea-bathing, which he would indulge in at any 

 hour of the day or night, and sometimes, during holidays 

 at the sea-side, several times in the day. It was his 

 regular custom, when on scientific expeditions at Puffin 

 Island or Port Erin, to begin the day with a plunge and 

 a swim before breakfast, and no weather deterred him. 

 The present writer has been routed out of bed and 

 conveyed, off to bathe by his friend more than once in 

 December and .January, over ground covered with snow. 



He is said to have been the first in this part of the 

 country to ride the bicycle. His brother George writes 

 to me: " I believe it was in 1865 that he read of bicycles 



