_RESUMES WORK._
INSTEAD of going directly back to his work, Edward went down to the
harbour to ascertain whether any of the captains would accept of his
services as a sailor. He went from ship to ship for three days. Some
captains were willing to take him with an indenture, which would have
to be signed by his father. Others were willing to take him without
his father’s consent; but in that case they required two sureties to
sign the indenture. These were serious obstacles—too serious to be got
over,—and on the third afternoon he left the harbour with a sorrowful
heart. There were several skippers of coasting vessels, and of lime and
coal hulks, who would have taken him for four years; but these were not
the kind of ships that he wished to sail in.
Being thus forced, though very reluctantly, to give up all thoughts of
going to sea, he now considered whether it might not be possible to
learn some other trade less hateful to him than that of a shoemaker.
But his parents would not hear of any change. They told him that his
former master was willing to take him back, and to give him a shilling
a week more during the ensuing year, and two shillings more during
his last, or fifth year. But Edward strongly objected to return to the
master who had so cruelly used him.
[Sidenote: _RESUMES SHOEMAKING._]
Not wishing, however, to withstand his parents’ advice any longer, he
at last consented to go on with his trade. But, instead of serving out
his time with his former master, he found a pupil-master in Shoe Lane,
who was willing to employ him, and to improve him in his business.
Edward agreed to give the master, for his trouble, a percentage of his
earnings, besides his pupil-money, and a share of the fire and light.
Edward’s work at this place was mostly of the lighter and smaller sort.
His employer was of a much kindlier nature than the last, and he got
on very well with him. Edward was also in a measure his own master.
He could still look after his bird-nesting. That was his strongest
attraction out of doors. He did not rob the birds of their eggs. His
principal pleasure was to search for their nests, and to visit them
from time to time. When the eggs were hatched, and the little birds
were grown and ready to fly, he would take one or two, if they were
singing birds, and rear them for himself, or for other bird-fanciers.
[Sidenote: _WILD BOTANICAL GARDEN._]
It was about this time that Edward began what he called his Wild
Botanical Garden. His parents had left the Green and removed to another
quarter of the town. Behind the house, and behind the adjoining houses,
was a piece of waste ground about ten feet wide. It was covered with
stones, bits of bricks, and broken tiles. Edward removed these from
the ground, and put them in a corner by themselves, covering them with
earth. He dug over the ground, manured it, and turned it over again.
Then he divided the space into compartments for the reception of plants
and flowers. These were brought from the fields, the woods, and the
banks adjoining the Dee and the Don. He watered and tended them daily;
but alas! they would not flourish as they had done on their native
soil. He renewed them again and again. The rasp, the wild strawberry,
the foxglove,—or dead men’s bells as it is there called,—the hemlock,
some of the ferns, and many of the grasses, grew pretty well; but the
prettiest and most delicate field flowers died away one by one.
His mother, who delighted in flowers, advised him to turn the ground
into an ordinary garden. Now, although Edward loved garden flowers, he
very much preferred those which he found in the woods or growing by
the wayside, and which he had known from his infancy. Nevertheless, he
took his mother’s advice; and knowing many of the places near the town,
where the gardeners threw out their rubbish, he went and gathered from
thence a number of roots, flowers, and plants, which he brought home
and planted in his garden. The greater number of them grew very well,
and in course of time he had a pleasant little garden. He never planted
more than one specimen of each flower, so that his garden was various
in its beauty. The neighbours, who had at first sneered at him as a
fool, on seeing his pretty garden, began to whisper that the “loon” was
surely a genius, and that it was a pity that his father had not made
him a gardener instead of a shoemaker. Edward himself often wished that
his parents had been of the same mind as the neighbours.
Near the back of the house in which Edward lived, was an old tannery,
with a number of disused tanning pits, full of water. These, he
thought, would be a nice place for storing his powets and puddocks.[21]
He got a large pail, went to a place where these creatures abounded,
and brought back a large cargo, heaving them into the pit. But they did
not thrive. They nearly all died. He next put about thirty newts there,
but he never saw them again, dead or alive. At last he gave up this
undertaking.
[Sidenote: _THE PICTURE SHOPS._]
About the same time, he used to make a tour among the booksellers of
the town, to inspect the pictures which they had in their windows.
These visits proved a source of great profit and pleasure to him. He
learned something from the pictures, and especially from the pictures
of animals. He found that there was more to be gained from a visit to
the picture shops than from a visit to the public-house. When he saw a
book that he could buy, he bought it, though his means were still very
small.
[Illustration: CASTLEGATE ON FRIDAYS.]
[Sidenote: _THE CASTLEGATE._]
It was in this way that he became acquainted with the _Penny Magazine_.
He bought the first number,[22] and liked it so well that he continued
to take it. He especially liked those parts of it which related to
natural history. Among the other publications which he bought, was one
called the _Weekly Visitor_. It cost only a halfpenny. It had good
pictures, and gave excellent stories, which were usually of a religious
tendency. He read this little publication over and over again. Nor did
he ever lose the opportunity of going to the Castlegate on Fridays, to
see the pictures and picture books, which were usually exposed for
sale on market days.
[Sidenote: _THE GUNMAKERS’ WINDOWS._]
The gunmakers’ windows were also a source of attraction, for they often
had stuffed birds exhibited in them. There was also a window devoted
entirely to stuffed birds near the entrance to the police office in
Watch Lane, and another in Meal Market Lane, both of which attracted
a large share of his attention. The sight of these things first gave
Edward the idea of preserving animals. The first beast he stuffed was a
mole, and he was very proud of it.
The shoemaking trade having become very flat, Edward left Shoe Lane
after having been there for about twenty months. He then went to work
at a shop on the Lime Quay, near the harbour. He had steady work there
for some time, at set wages. Though he had less time to attend to his
natural history pursuits, he still managed to attend to his garden and
his “family,” as his mother termed his maingie[23] of beasts. Trade
again recovering, he went back to work at the old place. But this did
not continue long. The men had to be paid off; and then Edward did not
know what to do.
[Sidenote: _TRIES TO EMIGRATE._]
At that time, emigration to America was the rage. Trade was very
depressed throughout the country. There were bread riots in many of
the manufacturing towns. Numbers of labourers were without work, and
without the means of living. Aberdeen shared in the general depression;
and many persons emigrated to the United States, where there was a
better demand for labour. Edward wished to emigrate too; but he had no
money. He had only a few shillings to spare. But might he not contrive
to emigrate as a Stowaway?
This course is frequently adopted at the ports from which ships sail
for America. A boy gets on board, conceals himself in the hold, and
after the ship has got out of sight of land he makes his appearance on
deck, usually half-starved. Edward determined to try this method of
escaping from Aberdeen, and more especially from his shoemaking trade.
He knew one of the sailors on board the ship which he had selected;
and although the sailor was strongly opposed to the project, Edward
prevailed upon him to make an opening in the cargo, so as to admit him
into a hole near the bow of the ship. Here, amidst some boxes and coils
of rope, Edward deposited three dozen biscuits and two bottles of water.
He waited outside, hovering about the quay, until the day of sailing
arrived. But the ship did not sail until five days after the advertised
time. When the emigrants went on board, Edward went with them. For
three days and nights he lay amongst the coils of rope, feeding upon
his biscuits and water. On the forenoon of the fifth day he was in
his berth; and just as the vessel was about to be loosed from her
moorings, Edward’s friend came along the hold in breathless haste, and
inquired (for he was in the dark) “if he was there.” “Surely,” replied
Edward. “For the love of God,” said the sailor, “come out at once, and
get on shore. You have time yet. Simon Grant (the town’s officer) and
a lot of his sharks have come, and they are about to rummage the ship
from stem to stern for runaways. So make haste, and come out; you have
no chance now!”
Edward still delayed. He did not like to leave his hole. But hearing an
unusual commotion going on, amidst a great deal of angry speaking, and
fearing the worst, he at last very unwillingly crept from his berth,
went on deck, and leapt on shore just as the ship was leaving the quay.
He afterwards learnt that the town’s officer was in search of another
class of stowaways, who, it seems, had been carried on board in boxes
or barrels. Edward found that he could not see the world after this
method; and he returned home defeated and mortified.
[Sidenote: _ABERDEENSHIRE MILITIA._]
The Aberdeenshire Militia having been called out in 1831, Edward
enlisted in the regiment. He was only about eighteen years old at the
time. When the men assembled, they were found to be a very bad lot—mere
riff-raff—the dregs of the neighbourhood. They were regardless both of
law and order. Seldom a night passed without the patrol bringing in
numbers to the guardhouse for being drunk and disorderly. Even during
parade, many of the men were put under arrest for insubordination,
chiefly because of the insulting language they used towards their
officers.
[Sidenote: _FLIES AFTER A BUTTERFLY._]
The militia were only embodied for four weeks. During the first
fortnight, the regiment was drilled without arms of any sort. It was
only during the last fortnight that the men were provided with muskets
and bayonets. The company to which Edward belonged was drilling one day
on the links. It was a bright sunny afternoon. The company was marching
along near the lower part of the links, when a large brown butterfly
flitted past. Edward saw it in an instant. He had never seen the like
of that butterfly before![24] Without thinking for a moment of what
he was doing, he flew after it,—among the bents and sand hillocks,
grasping after it with his hand.
“A very hunter did he rush
Upon the prey: with leaps and springs
He followed on from brake to bush.”
[Sidenote: _IS APPREHENDED._]
The butterfly eluded him; it flew away before him. Again he rushed
after it, losing his bonnet in the hunt. He was nearing the spot where
it had alighted. He would catch it now,—when suddenly he was gripped by
the neck! He looked round, and saw it was the corporal of his company,
with four militiamen behind him.
Looking Edward sternly in the face, the corporal said, “What’s up,
Edward?” “Nothing.” “The deuce!” “No, it wasn’t that, it was a
splendid butterfly.” “A butter-devil!” “No! it was a butter-_fly_!”
“Stuff!” said the corporal; “are you mad?” “No; I don’t think I am.”
“You look like a madman; and I’ll tell you what it is, you’ll have to
pay for this.” “For what?” “For breaking away from the ranks during
drill. I am sent to arrest you and take you to the guardhouse: so come
along!” And away they marched; two militiamen before, two behind, and
Edward and the corporal in the centre. By this time a number of persons
had collected, the younger people calling out to their companions to
come and see the mad militiaman.
On crossing the links, the prisoner and his escort encountered one
of the officers of the regiment, accompanied by a group of ladies.
“Where are you going with that boy?” said the officer, addressing the
corporal. “To the guardhouse!” “What? more insubordination?” “Yes!”
“This is most dreadful; what has he done?” “He broke the ranks during
drill, and although Sergeant Forbes called him back, he ran away after
what he calls a butterfly!” There was a short silence, after which
the ladies were observed tittering and laughing. “What did you say,
corporal?” “He ran out of the ranks after a butterfly.” “What? ran
away from his exercise for the sake of an insect! Most extraordinary.
Is he mad, corporal?” “Well, the sergeant thinks so; and that’s the
reason why I have got four men to help me to take him; but I don’t
think that he’s mad.” “He must be drunk then?” “No, I don’t think he’s
drunk either.” “He must be either mad or drunk: did he ever behave so
before?” “No, not to my knowledge.”
The officer and the ladies retired, and talked together. After
about five minutes had elapsed, the officer returned and said to
the corporal, “Are you quite sure that the prisoner behaved himself
properly before his ridiculous chase after the butterfly?” “I know of
nothing whatever against him, sir.” “Call him forward.” Edward advanced
towards the officer. “Well, sir, what have you to say about breaking
the ranks during drill, and running after the butterfly? are you
subject to fits of insanity?” Edward did not reply. “Can’t you speak,
sir?” cried the officer angrily. “Yes, sir,” replied Edward, “but you
have asked questions that I cannot answer.” “What induced you to leave
the ranks, and run after a harmless insect?” “I really do not know,
unless it was from a desire to possess the butterfly.”
[Sidenote: _HIS LIBERATION._]
Looks were exchanged between the officer and corporal, when the former,
calling Edward aside, said to him, “I dare say, young man, you are
not aware that the crime which you have committed against military
discipline is a very severe one. This constant disobedience to orders
must be put a stop to. But as this is your first offence, and as these
ladies have interceded for you, I shall endeavour to obtain your
acquittal, in the hope that you will closely attend to your duty in
future.” Addressing the corporal, he added, “Take him back to the
ranks, and tell Sergeant Forbes that I will speak to him about this
affair.” This was Edward’s first and last military offence; and he
served out the rest of his time with attention and diligence.
[Sidenote: _ENLISTS IN THE RIFLES._]
Edward disliked returning to his trade. His aversion to it was greater
even than before. He disliked the wages, which were low; but he still
more disliked the manner in which the masters treated their men. They
sometimes kept them idle for days, and towards the end of the week,
they would force them to work night and day in order to finish their
jobs. Edward liked his militia life much better; and, in order to get
rid of the shoemaking and continue his soldier’s life, he enlisted in
the 60th Rifles. When his mother heard of the decision he had come to,
she expressed herself as strongly opposed to it; and, working upon
the young man’s feelings, which were none of the hardest, he at last
promised not to go, and arrangements were made to get him off. Thus
ended Edward’s military career.
Before he left Aberdeen, he assisted his father as beadle (or
pew-opener) in the North Church, King Street. He continued in this
office for about two years. He liked the occupation very well, and was
sorry to leave it when he finally left Aberdeen to settle at Banff.
FOOTNOTES:
[21] Tadpoles and frogs.
[22] The _Penny Magazine_ was published in 1832, when Edward would be
about eighteen years old.
[23] _Maingie_—many—“a great lot.” From the German word _Menge_.
[24] It proved to be a _Brown Fritillery_.