, 1877-03-03
HTHE AVIS"
10 PUBLISHED
EVERY WEDNESDAY M SATURDAY.
SCOTCH
From tile Times.

whose story Mr.. Smiles has written In this
book, was born at Gosport on Christmas
day, 1914. His father was a private in
the Fifeshire Militia, which towards the
close of the great Continental war bad
been stationed at Portsmouth, he and his
wife, Margaret Mitchell, following the re-
qiment to that place. After the Battle Of
Waterloo the Fifeshire Militia returned to
Scotland, and when some time after the
regiment was d~isembodied Edward and
his wife settled with their family at Aber-
deem, where be resumed his trade as a
hand-loom linen-weaver. With them went
the future naturalist, who even before the
arrival Of the family in Aberdeen had been
a sore grief TO his mother by his early love
Of animals, which was so great that when
he was scarce able to walk he disappeared
one night only to be found sleeping with
a t|erocious sow called Bess and her pigs
in a Stye, where he had spent some hours,
When they settled on the Green in Aber-
deem Thomas was in his glory. The Green,
now the site of the Aberdeen Railway
Station, was really a green then, and close
by were the "Inches,' near the mouth of
the Dee, over which the tide flowed daily
and, besides, his fathers house being on
the outskirts OF the town, the boy was
free to ramble over the country as far as
his feet could carry him. Some children,
low as we'll rs high, hate rats, beetles,
spiders, and insects in general. Not at all
Of this kind was Thomas Edward. At first
he collected tadpoIes, beetles, frogs, site.
kle-bacHs, and small! green crabs and,
perhaps, had he limited his love OF nature
10 these creatures he might have escaped
much suffering, but, then, he might not
have made himself into a naturalist. But
as he grew older he graSped at greater
things. Now he brought home horse
leeches. nevis, rats, hedge-hogs, moles,
aud birds. Having brought them into the
house it was hard to keep them within
bounds. His " venomous beasts" as the
neighbours called them, made their escape
into the adjoining houses, and their in.
mates not unnaturalIy complained when
they found young Edwards korse-leeches
crawling up their legs, while the nevis,
and rats, and beetles rOamed about the
wards and floors and bred in holes and
corners.
The parents Of Thomas were, his father
especially, rather "dour" people. They
SCOlU6u the CllIIus CdSC OuL HIS 'UedS(SJ
and when he brought them back logged
him. But Thomas was "dour" too. His
mother tried to keep him at home by
setting him to rock the cradle but as
soon as his father went to his work and
his mother was busy with her household
affairs Tom was off to the Inches, and if
any one rocked the cradle the rest Of the
day it was not Thomas. Besides beating
him, they tried all sorts of devices to cure
him of his love for nature. They took
away some of his clothes, tied his hands
together, and his leg by a stout cord to
the table but it was no good. As Mr.,
Smiles tells US, be disengaged himself from
his bonds almost as quickly as the Daven-
port Brothers !; when his hands were free
he dragged the table to the fire and burnt
the rope in two, after which he put on his
elder brothers. coat and ran of, leaving
the table on fire, and had a glorious day
out of doors. Another time they took his
clothes away from him altogether, but for
&UTifa of q Scotch Naturalist Thonos E5word