68 PROFESSOR OWEN ch. n. 



He only arrived to find his son at the point of 

 death. It was naturally a great grief to Mr. Clift, 

 but at the same time it was a consolation to know 

 that Owen would eventually stand in the place of 

 his son, both in the museum and at home. After 

 the death of William Home Clift, Owen remained 

 the only assistant, and was paid at the rate of 

 200/. per annum until July 1833, when his salary 

 was increased to 300/. per annum — i.e. to the same 

 amount as that which the Conservator was receiv- 

 ing, except that the latter received an extra 

 gratuity of 100/. annually. 



The Christmas of that year Owen spent in 

 Lancaster, and in a letter dated December 24, 

 written to Mrs. Clift to announce his safe arrival, 

 he says : ' Everything shows how little change 

 Lancaster has undergone since the days of my 

 childhood. ... I sent for the barber this morn- 

 ing to hear all the current scandal, &c.' He also 

 mentions a delay of three hours in getting to 

 Manchester ' in consequence of the coach taking 

 in, I should think, near a ton of oysters at 

 Islington.' 



