Litchfield enquirer., 1877-03-29
WHOLE. NO. 2e52.

l sfaat a yOR s0ans aan6 never aAoEsn book: Hand take that too 1 abgingimW s4Eu uehmB , lFdown heavily upon his back.. Tom. thought that his. back was broken, and that he would never get his breath again.
 A third school was tried with no bettor success. Tom could not be weaned from his love of "beasts," and his teachers Lpatience was soon exhausted. One day a hcentipede was found in the school.room. land Tom was accused of having brought it in. He had not done so but his word was not taken, and he was cruelty thrash led, first for an ofense he had not commit ted. and then for a lie he had not told. Fearing to go home, he wandered about all night, suffering from cold and hunger. and the terrible beating. In the norm ling he was found by the kindly Mrs. Kai- mar, who encouraged the poor boy with hsoothing wOrdss s.Eh, laddle," said tho IIgood hearted dames ye'hae glen your folk la sair nicht O't. But bide wee; I'll R&mR in vi ye." As she enknnaa -&he ,dooR shs safe. Oh, ye vagaboon, said tho molh- Ter, ''far have you been q richt Tor fathers oot seekin ye. I Iwonder how I can keep my hands aff ye. i" ..No. no. Maggie" :" sad Mrs. Kelmar, ye wilma do that. but I'll tell ye what ye'n do. lGie him some meat. and let him get to his bed as fast as he can, !" 'sHiu bed i'' aaid his mother; ''he shanna bed here till his faithes comes in." ''Just gie him some thing, Maggie, and get him Oot O the road. After some paFleying, Tom got something to eat, and was m bed, with the blankets over him, before his father returned. .. --e sa' Good Mrs. Kelmar staid till Toms fa- ther returned. He was worn out with anxiety, angry, and minded to give the boy thrashings But Mrs. Celmar inter. ceded 90 warmly for the poor lad that he next day he told his parents how he had been treated by tue master. On looking at his back, it was found that his shirt was hard with clotted blood, and seill sticking to his skin. The wales extended right down. to his legs. Means were adopted to soften the shirt and remove it From the skin. But while that wns bein0. done, the boy fell back and tainted away. On coming to himself he found his moth- I CT bathing his brow with cold water, and Mrs. Kelmar holding smelling bottle to his nose, which made his eyes run with water. A large piece of linen, covered with ointment, was then put upon his back. His father went away. ordering him to keep the house, and not to go out that day.
 Tom did not go to school again. Though only six years old, he made up his mind to go to work. His parents gave their consent with reluctance. Bnt the boy was forming very idle habits,. securing the hills in search of ''beasts," and bringing them home to the "terrif- cation" of the neighbors. His elder brother was working in tobacco factory, and there Tom found employment at fourteen pence 6 week. The master was bird-fancier, 60 that Tom got along very we'll with him. The boy brought him lots of nests and young birds in summer, and old birds which he trapped during theswinter. He was allowed to keep rab- bits in the back yard; so that, what be- tween working and playing, attending to his rabbits and catering for their food, his time passed much more happily than it T had dune at school. RsaH ~ "a i Tom renamed as this faOsoEy two years, and thea, with his brother, went to work at another situated at Grandholm. on the river Don, about two miles from Aber- deen. Here the wages we're higher; but Tom was even more attracted by the beautiful walk, in the course of which he crossed the picturesque "Auld Brig O Balgownie." The hours of work were from six o'clock in the morning till eight at night. The boys had to be up at four, get their breakfast and then walk to the factory. They were seldom home at night before nine. It was delightful in sum- mer, but dreary in winter, when they went and came in the cold dark nights and mornings. The wages of the boys were l at first from three to four shillings week each, and before they left the mill their wages were from five to six shilliDgs a week. Those were happy days for Tom. There were no jaws to fear, and he had plenty of leisure for roaming without.neg. lecting his work.
 But after he had been at GrandhOlm about two years, he was taken away, and bound apprentice to @ shoe-maker named Charles Begg,a ski.lful workman, a ddicted to drink, and of brutal, quarYelsome disposition. Tom would have learned his trade we'll but for his masters disso- lute habits. Begg was very often absent from the shop, and when customers call ed, Tom was sent out to look for him in the neighboring public houses. When found he was usually drunk. Business fell of, and Begg grew worse and worse. When he came home drunk he would rave and swear, and after beating Tom in the shop,lhe would go up stairs and beat his wife. .s... ..,...
 Toms fondness for birds, butterflies, moths. and other living creatures brought him into constant trouble with Begg, who hated pets of all kinds. Many tiIne he has knocked the boy down and beat him cruelty. He used to say he would stamp the fool out of him;" but he tried in vain. One day, after Tom had been three years in his employment, Begg found three young noies in his possession. He killed them at once, knocked down Tom with last, seized him by the neck and breast, dragged him to the door. and with hOr- ] rible imprecation threw him into the streets Tom was a good deal hurt; but he went home, determined that from that day he would never again serve under such @ brute. sstsSa r nl{aass,ssia f'sf 2. =. And now the question vas, what to do next9 Tom wanted to be sailor, and visit foreign lands, but his mothers en- treaties induced him to give. mp this scheme. When the Aberdeen militia was called out, in 1881. he enlisted, being then eighteen years old. His passion for natural history led him, into several scrapes. but on the whole he served his time with credlt.. z.eps-s .I a.H .t When twenty years old, Edward, a we must now call the man, went to Banf to work at his trade. Three years later he fell in love with comely. bright, and cheerful lass, and aftera short OOnrtship, married her, and began housekeeping on about two dollars and e half a week. Poor as they were. they were content and hap py. Edward at once began to make col lections of the objects gathered in his walks. He had acquired the art of pre- serving birds as well as insects. Unfor- tunatelY he knew almost nothing of books and was unable to write. He did not pos sess single work on natural history. and did not know the names of the birds and animals he caught and whose habits he was familiar with. All his knowledge had been gathered by himself and was his own.@ e,a- si.ss ssa ,sTslI..+-g.
 E. To assist him in procuring specimens l of hirds and animals Edward hnnnhk an