2fl 
 
 
Mr 
 
 - 
 
 
 Bf R K E IE Y 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OP 
 CALIFORNIA 
 
 
 THE SPORTING GALLERY 
 AND BOOKSHOP, INC. 
 
 No. 38, East 52/W St., New York 22 
 
* 
 
 
 
 
 
 * 
 
 . 
 
 2 ' 
 
 
LECTURES 
 
 NATURAL HISTORY, 
 
 BY 
 
 EDWARD JESSE, ESQ., 
 
 DELIVERED AT 
 
 THE "FISHERMAN'S HOME," BRIGHTON, 
 
 AND SOLD FOE THE BENEFIT OF THE INSTITUTION. 
 
 REPRINTED FROM "THE BRIGHTON HERALD." 
 
 LONDON : 
 JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. 
 
 BRIGHTON : 
 ROBT. FOLTHORP, 173, NORTH STREET. 
 
 1860. 
 
CT5S 
 
 BIOLOGY 
 LIBRARY 
 
 THESE LECTURES 
 
 AEE DEDICATED TO 
 
 THE BRIGHTON FISHERMEN, 
 
 BY THEIR SINCERE FRIEND AND 
 WELL-WISHER, 
 
 EDWARD JESSE. 
 
 M842045 
 
LECTURES, &c. 
 
 i. 
 
 [From the Brighton Herald of January 7th, I860.] 
 
 At the foot of the Ship-street "Gap" there is a series of arches 
 built in the face of the cliff ; and in one of these a very novel and 
 interesting scene took place on Thursday evening. It is known as 
 the Fisherman's Home and Reading Room, and is a warm, com- 
 fortable, well-lighted place, perfectly adapted to induce our beach 
 population to prefer a cup of coffee and a book to the expensive 
 luxury of the beer-shop. In this room were gathered as many of our 
 seamen as could be crowded into it, this being a kind of inaugural 
 assembly, one of, we hope, a long series of nights on which the 
 members of the Home will meet for readings, songs, and other 
 means of rational amusement. 
 
 As this was the first, so it was a special night, marked by the 
 attraction of a special paper written for the occasion by the very 
 eminent naturalist, Mr. Jesse. That gentlemam was himself present, 
 apparently in the enjoyment of good health and an old age, " frosty 
 but kindly." He did not, however, read his own paper. 
 
 Alderman Burrows undertook that task ; but, before commencing 
 the reading, he took occasion to observe that this Institution had been 
 provided by persons taking an interest in those who were not so well 
 able to help themselves, in order that the fishermen frequenting this 
 beach might have a nice warm, dry, comfortable apartment, in which 
 they might read newspapers and books provided for them, so that 
 they might be led to make an intelligent and right use of those 
 faculties which the Almighty had bestowed upon them. By educating 
 himself, a man was the better able to appreciate the advantages of a 
 good and virtuous life, and also to discriminate between right and 
 
 B 
 
wrong, so that he might do his duty towards his neighbour, his duty 
 towards himself ; and in the performance of those two duties he 
 would be doing the greatest of all duties, that towards his Maker. 
 (Applause.) It was with this conviction that this Reading Room 
 had been provided ; and it gave him much pleasure to see it so 
 full this evening. If the fishermen only showed their appreciation of 
 it by their attendance, an adjacent arch would also be fitted up, 
 and there would thus be accommodation for double the number. 
 In the meantime, as many among the fishermen had not the advan- 
 tage of education, it had been thought desirable that there should 
 be some one to read aloud some amusing book in the room of an 
 evening : he had pledged himself to do so once a fortnight, and if 
 other gentlemen would do the same, there would, with very little 
 trouble, be an amusing and instructive entertainment provided there 
 almost every evening in the week. (Applause. ) It was a source of 
 pleasure to find many persons taking a warm interest in this Institu- 
 tion, which was to a considerable extent self-supporting, and it is 
 always a pleasure to help those who help themselves. (Hear, hear.) 
 He was accompanied by a very dear and affectionate old friend, Mr. 
 Jesse, who had kindly undertaken to read a paper on " Singular 
 Facts relating to Fish," expressly for this occasion. The fact of a 
 gentleman of his attainments and position taking this trouble, and 
 also attending there that evening, was one of the highest testimonials 
 that could be paid to the Institution and those attending it. (Cheers.) 
 He sincerely hoped the Institution might, with God's blessing, prove 
 an advantage to them and to their families, and he assured them that 
 nothing would be left undone on the part of the Committee to 
 render it prosperous and serviceable. (Applause.) 
 
 The following paper was then read by Mr. Burrows : 
 
 SINGULAR FACTS RELATING TO FISH. 
 
 MY DEAR FRIENDS, 
 
 I am going to read you something about fish, as you are all 
 fishermen ; but not all about the fish of this country, as you know 
 them well, but about the fish of hot countries ; and what I am about 
 to say of them will, I am sure, interest you. The facts I am going 
 to state are well known to observant naturalists, and are sufficiently 
 authenticated to leave no doubt of their truth. In the East Indies, 
 
Ceylon, and other hot countries, there are numerous ponds and 
 tanks, which in the rainy season are well filled with water as well 
 as with fish. When the sun afterwards blazes forth in all its tropical 
 heat, these ponds and tanks are dried up, and, you would suppose, 
 that the fish would also be dried up with them. But this is not the 
 case. The fish have the power of penetrating deeper and deeper 
 into the mud as it gradually dries, till they find a sufficient moisture 
 to keep them alive till the periodical rains come some months after- 
 wards, when they find their way back again into the water. In the 
 meantime, then- retreat is occasionally disturbed by the natives, who 
 dig down and find them generally at a depth of two feet. The soil 
 is clay, into which they have the power of burying themselves. In 
 some of the sandy plains of the East Indies there are large but 
 shallow ponds, or rather hollows, which are filled in the rainy season, 
 but in hot weather are perfectly dry. As they become so, great 
 numbers of small fish may be seen dead on the sandy surface ; but 
 on the recurrence of heavy rains these hollows are again stocked 
 with fish. 
 
 Now, Dr. Buist, a learned and observant naturalist, gives us 
 many instances of fish having fallen from the clouds. He tells us 
 that, on the 19th February, 1830, at noon, a heavy fall of fish 
 occurred at Nokuthatty factory, and that attestations of the fact 
 were obtained from nine different parties. The fish were all dead ; 
 some fresh, others not. They were seen in the sky like a flock 
 of birds, descending rapidly to the ground. Again, he says that, 
 on the 16th and 17th May, 1833, a fall of fish occurred near 
 Puttehpoor, after a violent storm of rain. The fish were from l^lbs. 
 to 31bs. in weight, and all dead. Some fish fell at Meerut, while 
 Her Majesty's 14th Regiment were out at drill, and were caught 
 in numbers. At another time, during rain, a quantity of live fish, 
 about 3in. in length, fell about 20 miles from Calcutta ; they were 
 all of the same kind. Many other instances might be mentioned ; 
 one vouched for by the late Governor of Ceylon, Sir Emmerson 
 Tennant, who, while riding out after a heavy rain, observed many 
 small fish alive on the road. After these facts, I should mention 
 that, if showers of fish, are to be explained, it must be on the 
 assumption that they are carried up by squalls or violent winds from 
 rivers or spaces of water not far away from where they fall. An 
 instance also occurs to me, in this country, which was seen by 
 a friend of mine. He had a garden surrounded by a high wall, 
 
 B 2 
 
with a dry soil. After a heavy fall of rain, the garden was filled 
 by myriads of small frogs, which must have descended from the 
 clouds. 
 
 After these remarks on the showers of fish, I may tell you 
 what is still more extraordinary, that some fish in Ceylon, in the 
 dry season, leave the pools when they contain but little water, and 
 can make their way through the grass to other pools, going to them 
 in one direct line. Some fish, also, in Guiana, have been seen 
 travelling overland during the dry season, in search" of their natural 
 element, in such droves that the negroes have filled their baskets 
 with them. Sir John Bowring, in his account of the embassy of 
 the Siamese Kings, in 1855, states that in ascending and descending 
 the River Meinam, he was amused with the curious sight of fish 
 leaving the river, gliding over the wet grass, and losing themselves 
 amongst the trees of the jungle. Whilst travelling on land, the 
 fish have their gills open or expanded. The class of fish which 
 have this power of moving on land have some of their bones so 
 disposed in plates and cells as to retain a supply of moisture, which, 
 while crawling along, gradually exudes so as to keep the gills damp. 
 Another small species of fish is often seen travelling along a hot 
 and dusty road in Ceylon, under the mid-day sun, in search of 
 water. Extraordinary as these facts may appear to you, they are 
 perfectly well vouched for ; also, that a species of perch in Ceylon, 
 of a very peculiar formation, has been seen to ascend trees, in search 
 probably of some food, insects most likely. 
 
 Now, in hearing what I have to say to you, I must request 
 you to bear in mind that a Benevolent Creator has endowed 
 animals, fish included, with that formation and those instincts 
 which are necessary for their self-preservation. I will give you a 
 proof of this which is familiar to you. You know that many flat 
 nsn> soles, turbot, &c., have brown and white surfaces. When 
 they are attacked by other fish which prey on them, they remain 
 flat on the white surface of their skins, showing only the brown 
 surface, which is generally the colour of the sands on which they 
 feed ; and thus they escape the observation of their enemies. 
 So it will be found to be all through Nature. Every animal is 
 furnished with either some means of escape, of defence, or of 
 cunning. Some are swift, and some are strong, and others hide 
 themselves from their enemies in holes in the earth. But all 
 are fed in some way or other by the same Almighty hand which 
 
5 
 
 created them. You will find a beautiful reference to this in 
 Psalm cxlv. : 
 
 The eyes of all wait upon Thee, Lord ; and Thou givest them their meat in due 
 
 m. 
 
 Thou openest Thine hand, and fillest all things living with plenteousness." 
 
 If God thus cares for the birds of the air, the beasts of the 
 field, and the fishes of the sea, be quite sure that He will take 
 care of you if you place trust in His goodness. When out at sea 
 in your boats, exposed perhaps to boisterous and contrary winds, 
 as most of you must have been, then lift up your hearts to that 
 Good Being who can make the storm to cease and the waves to 
 be still. You will always find this a great comfort and relief, 
 especially when you are in any danger. 
 
 Let me now give you an instance or two of the goodness of 
 Almighty God to His creature man. You are aware that mack- 
 erel, herrings, pilchards, sprats, &c., are caught in vast numbers 
 at certain seasons of the year, though perhaps you may not 
 be aware that there are as many hills, and, probably, mountains, 
 in the sea as there are upon dry land ; this has been partly as- 
 certained in laying down the cable across the Atlantic. Now, these 
 hills are covered with marine plants, like a forest or jungle ; and 
 you might suppose that, for purposes of concealment or pro- 
 tection, these gregarious fish would resort to such places to 
 deposit their spawn ; and if they did, you may well suppose how 
 few would be taken in your nets. Now a benevolent Providence 
 has designed that these fish should become useful to man. 
 And so they are, to a great extent ; for, besides affording 
 food to many in this country, they are exported to different parts 
 of the world. I must now tell you that no spawn of fish will 
 vivify, or become productive, without light. There is, then, a 
 powerful instinct implanted in them, which compels them to resort 
 to shallow places in the sea, in order to deposit their spawn under 
 the influence of light, and where you are enabled to use your nets 
 to advantage. These gregarious fisn, or fish which go in shoals, are 
 pursued by many enemies besides yourselves : gulls, porpoises, and 
 other fish follow and feed on them, and yet nothing drives them 
 from the shoals. It is the incredible numbers alone which keep 
 up the annual migration. 
 
Before I conclude, I wish to call your attention to an unusual 
 occurrence which took place along our coasts about four years 
 ago, and which some of you may, perhaps, be able to give 
 some explanation of. At the time referred to a very heavy- 
 fall of snow took place, and soon afterwards great numbers 
 of conger-eels and many other fish were picked up perfectly blind. 
 Now, some of these eels and fish were examined by Professor 
 Owen, the head of the Natural History Department in the British 
 Museum, and second to no one as a scientific anatomist. His report 
 was that the eyes of the fish he examined were covered with an 
 opaque substance, which produced total blindness. This curious 
 fact was not confined to fish off our Brighton coast. At South- 
 ampton and many other places, grey mullets and other fish came 
 on shore perfectly blind : and I picked up what, I believe, is called 
 the parrot-fish, in the same state. It is not easy to account for 
 this sudden blindness. I am aware that some attribute it to the 
 fall of snow ; but why conger-eel and other deep-sea fish should 
 be affected by it is a mystery not easy to be solved. I shall, 
 therefore, be glad to hear what any of you have to say on the 
 subject. Let me add that fishermen enjoy the advantage over 
 landsmen of seeing the sun rise on a beautiful morning, shedding 
 its gilded rays over the rippling waves far out at sea, and also of 
 viewing the glorious setting of the same luminary. These are sights 
 which may well excite your admiration, and which ought to raise 
 your thoughts to that Great and Good Being who has preserved 
 your lives in the midst of many and great dangers, and at this 
 moment enables you to meet together in peace to receive instruction 
 and amusement. May He bless you all ! 
 
 A vote of thanks was unanimously passed to the Author of the 
 
 Mr. Jesse briefly expressed his thanks. He was glad to see before 
 him so many good, honest English faces. He should not detain 
 them. ; but he should give them at parting one piece of advice. It 
 was this, "Avoid the gin-shop." That was the curse of the 
 country. The money paid for gin in England would pay the poor- 
 rates. He liked to see a man enjoy his pipe and his pint of beer ; 
 but no spirits. There was once a dispute between two ships-of-war 
 in Plymouth dock-yard, whether the rum-drinkers or the beer- 
 drinkers were the strongest men. A rowing-match was got up to 
 
try it, one crew being rum-drinking men ; the other, beer-drinking 
 men. The boats were of the same size ; but the beer-drinkers beat 
 the others out and out. (Applause.) If they wanted to be happy 
 in this world and to get into the next, let them avoid every thing 
 which simply led to intoxication. (Hear, hear.) It had afforded 
 him much pleasure to write the paper for them : he hoped it was 
 interesting ; he knew it was true. He prayed God to bless them. 
 (Cheers.) 
 
 The men were afterwards addressed by Mr. King, the Fisherman's 
 Home Society's Sussex Missionary, who put it to a show of hands 
 whether they would avail themselves of the Reading Room ; and, 
 receiving an unanimous affirmative, promised that the next arch 
 should be opened forthwith, so that they might have a comfortable 
 place in which to mend their nets and piece their sails, 
 
 Soon after, the proceeding were closed. 
 
 II. 
 
 [From the Brighton Herald of Jan. 21st, I860.] 
 
 The Fisherman's Home and Reading Room, recently established 
 in one of the arches facing the sea at the foot of the Ship-street 
 Gap, and to which we have on several occasions alluded, is pro- 
 gressing most satisfactorily, and now numbers exactly one hundred 
 members, consisting, of course, of fishermen. 
 
 Some two weeks since there was a special night at the Institu- 
 tion, when was read an original paper, on the subject of fish, kindly 
 written by Mr. Jesse, the eminent naturalist, who is at present 
 residing in Brighton. 
 
 This passed off with such great success, and the men were so 
 highly delighted with the paper, as giving many singular facts re- 
 lating to fish (and which paper we published in our columns at the 
 time), that Mr. Jesse undertook to write a second paper. 
 
 The reading of the second paper came off on Thursday evening. 
 It was read, as was the first, by Mr. Alderman Burrows. The 
 
8 
 
 Author himself was present, as also were the Rev. A. A. Morgan, 
 the Author of The Mind of Shakspeare, and Mr. J. Gibson, a gentle- 
 man visiting Brighton. 
 
 Mr. Alderman Burrows prefaced the reading of the paper by a few 
 remarks. He said their kind friend, Mr. Jesse, was so very pleased 
 with his visit on the first meeting, which might be said to be their 
 inaugural meeting, that he had been kind enough to write another 
 paper. (Applause. ) Every thing Mr. Jesse wrote was read with 
 great pleasure, and was accepted as an authority. They ought, 
 therefore, to feel greatly indebted to Mr. Jesse for the trouble he 
 had taken in their behalf. ( Applause.) Mr. Burrows then gave a 
 brief history of the position which they the fishing population once 
 held in the town. He might tell them that some seventy years 
 since Brighton was entirely under the government of the fishing 
 population. They, however, no longer held the same rank. They 
 were perhaps still more numerous, but they were very much less 
 important in proportion to the population. In those days the 
 Vicar nominated a Churchwarden, as also did the under cliff men 
 (as the fishing population was styled), and the upper cliff men a 
 third Churchwarden. The authority and government and manage- 
 ment of the town gradually fell into the hands of a more numerous 
 population ; but, certainly, we were all deeply interested in the 
 fishermen. He could point out peculiarities in the fishing popula- 
 lation of this town, and one was, that they mostly had large 
 families. From the other population of the town they certainly 
 were a different breed. [Mr. Jesse : They are a noble breed. ] They 
 had amongst them some handsome young men and handsome young 
 women. (Laughter.) He had seen them, when difficulties had 
 arisen, go out to sea in the most manly and self-sacrificing manner. 
 After a few other remarks, Mr. Burrows proceeded to read Mr. 
 
 SECOND PAPER ON FISH. 
 
 MY DEAR FRIENDS, 
 
 In my last lecture to you, I endeavoured to address you in that 
 mood and way which would best come home to your feelings, and 
 show you that I had only one object in view, that of amusing 
 and. improving you. In fact, I wished you to consider me as your 
 
9 
 
 true friend, and such I hope I shall be found to be. You appeared to 
 listen attentively, as well as to like what I wrote for you, a few 
 evenings ago, on the subject of fish in hot countries. Some of 
 you might have thought that what I then said respecting fish making 
 their way over land to other waters and of their climbing up trees 
 was not very probable ; nor can I wonder at it. Now, I wish you 
 to consider for a moment the possibility of fishes being differently 
 constructed or formed in some countries to what those are which you 
 take in your nets off the Brighton coast ; and in doing .so always bear 
 in your minds that Divine Wisdom knows no bounds. His will is 
 the well-being and well-doing of all His creatures, each of them in 
 its own place or sphere, and His Almighty power enables Him to 
 give peculiar formation and faculties to those beings which His 
 wisdom created and His will decreed. 
 
 After these remarks, I may tell you that it is by a muscular 
 movement of their ribs that fish can propel themselves along dry 
 land, somewhat in the same way that eels and serpents are known to 
 do. Now, if you will look at this sketch of a fish I have brought 
 with me, you will see that what may be called ribs can be used as 
 organs of muscular motion, according to the will of the animal. I 
 should be making this lecture of too great a length if I was to enter 
 more minutely into the particulars of the anatomy of these crawling 
 fishes ; but I hope enough has been said to convince you that they 
 exist. As to the fact of fish ascending trees, I will only mention one 
 proof of it, which is, that there is a little climbing perch well known 
 to naturalists, and which is found in the mangrove swamps. It can 
 ascend trees like a chimney-sweep, and this it does by only using a 
 pair of prickles from the gill-flaps, instead of elbows, and thus it 
 gains the tops of stems many feet above high-water mark, picking off 
 the flies that alight on the tree it climbs up. 
 
 But let us now turn to flying fish. There are several different 
 species of these, and they are sadly persecuted, being pursued in the 
 sea by bonitos and other rapacious fishes, and take flight when they 
 are in danger from them. While in the air, the frigate and other 
 marine birds make them their prey. It may seem to you as sur- 
 prising that there should be flying fish as well as creeping and climb- 
 ing fish, and yet they are known to exist. 
 
 Many of you, no doubt, have heard of the sea-cow. It appears a 
 mass of blubber and almost incapable of motion, yet its fins are 
 covered with a sort of nails which enable it to crawl on shore, as- 
 
 c 
 
10 
 
 sisted by its pectoral fin, and also to get on the ice. I mention this 
 to prove to you that the fins of these creatures are as curious as the 
 formation of the fish referred to, and that in both cases the fins of 
 the sea-cow, and the muscular movement of the bones of crawling or 
 climbing fish, serve the purposes of feet. 
 
 I now wish to call your attention to some of the enormous mon- 
 sters which are to be found in more distant seas ; for, fortunately for 
 you, you have not to encounter them in your nets off these shores. 
 One of these is called a squill. It is provided with several arms of 
 enormous length, and when living it is said to be as transparent as 
 crystal. It has a large mouth, and its eyes are of a sky-blue colour, 
 imbedded in the substance of the head. This monster is said to 
 form part of the food of the whale. I will now relate an anecdote 
 of the squill. The captain of a whaler landed on a small, unin- 
 habited, rocky island in the South Pacific, with one of his mates, in 
 search of curious shells. The tide was receding, and the mate, 
 having gone a few feet up a rock, found a squill adhering to it. 
 Never having seen one of them before, he disturbed it, when the 
 creature endeavoured to flounder down to the sea. The man inter- 
 cepted it in its course, when it raised itself up, and seized him with 
 its long arms, squeezing him in such a way that he felt as if all his 
 bones would be broken, at the same time it breathed hot air into his 
 face, and glared at him with its blue and angry eyes. In this 
 extremity the mate called out to the captain, who luckily was near, 
 and who came and released him by cutting in two the arms of the 
 squill with a large knife which he had with him. Had it not been for 
 this interference, the man would have been killed and his body fed 
 upon afterwards. In the Mediterranean these creatures are found, 
 but of an inferior size. They spread themselves on the ground, and, 
 when persons are bathing, instances have been known of their being 
 seized and killed by the squills. 
 
 There is another monster found in the West Indies called the sea- 
 eagle, because in its rage and anger it sometimes elevates itself with 
 such force as to raise the sea into a foam, and makes a noise like 
 thunder. One of the species, called by sailors the sea-devil, was 
 taken at Barbadoes, and was so large that it required seven pairs of 
 oxen to draw it on shore. Sharks and rays, which are nearly allied 
 to them, are known to have been caught of the enormous length of 
 forty feet. 
 
 You may well ask what can be the use of these and many other 
 
11 
 
 monsters of the deep ? I will endeavour to explain this to you. You 
 know that quadrupeds in general only have one young at a time, 
 while a fish will produce a million ; and, indeed, it is calculated that a 
 cod-fish alone will put forth nine millions of eggs in one year. Now, 
 it is evident that if it was not for these monsters, which open their 
 enormous mouths and throats and swallow the smaller fish by 
 hundreds, the ocean would soon be filled with them, and there would 
 scarcely be room for other marine animals. Only think for one 
 moment how gregarious fish, such as mackerel, herrings, &c., would 
 increase and multiply if it was not for your nets and the predatory 
 creatures which feed upon them. Remember also that He, whose 
 tender mercies are over all His works, has fitted the creatures thus 
 exposed to destruction for their fate ; and we may therefore conclude 
 that, being what are called cold-blooded animals, they do not suffer 
 from great pain and anguish. The tremendous animals I have 
 referred to also devour all carcasses, <fec. , which may be found floating 
 in the water, and thus they serve to purify the ocean, as hyaenas and 
 vultures do upon earth. I will mention another lesson which may be 
 learnt from the existence of these monsters ; for, if God fitted them 
 to devour, He fitted them also to instruct. The existence of crea- 
 tures so evil, and such relentless destroyers of the works of the 
 Almighty, teaches us that there are probably analogous beings in the 
 spiritual world, and which should warn us to use great care and 
 watchfulness in our conduct, in order that we may escape their des- 
 tructive fury. You see, I occasionally give a little good advice while I 
 am endeavouring to amuse you. 
 
 Nothing is more remarkable than the infinite variety and singu- 
 larity of the figures and shapes of fishes. It has been thought that 
 the ocean contains representatives of every animal that is to be 
 found on the earth or in the air at all events, the forms of fishes are 
 more singular and extraordinary than those of any other department 
 of natural history. Amongst the animals of South America, one of 
 the most curious and interesting is the gymnotus, or electric eel so 
 strong is their electric power, that it is said they can kill a fish by it 
 (and on which they feed,) at a distance of sixteen feet. Lacepede, the 
 celebrated French naturalist, is my authority for this statement. 
 They abound in the rivers and ponds of South America. When the 
 Indians want to catch them, they assemble and drive the wild horses 
 of the plains, by shouts and other means, into the river. The 
 electric eels then attack them : now and then a horse will receive so 
 
 c 2 
 
12 
 
 severe a shock that he is killed. Others contrive to swim across the 
 river, and then throw themselves down exhausted on the opposite 
 bank. The eels are thus deprived of their electric power for a time, 
 and are then speared by the Indians, who feed on them. There is 
 another singular fish, which is able to bring its prey within its reach 
 by discharging a different element than that of the electric eel, and 
 that is water. It is a small fish, remarkable for its singular shape, 
 the brilliancy of its colours, and the quickness of its movements. It 
 may be called the fly-shooter, from its food being chiefly flies and 
 other insects, and especially those that are found on aquatic plants. 
 "When it sees one of these on a leaf, it blows out a drop of water with 
 some force, which knocks the fly off the leaf, and it then feeds on it. 
 I will mention another fish, and an ugly one it is, which you are 
 probably acquainted with, for it is found in all the European seas. 
 They are sometimes called fishing-frogs, from their resemblance to 
 that animal ; but I believe you call them sea-devils. It is a large 
 fish, and has been caught seven feet in length. Now this fish has no 
 defensive arms, nor strength in its limbs, or quickness in swimming ; 
 but it is a cunning fish, as I will prove to you. In order to procure 
 its food, it hides itself in the mud, covers itself over with sea- weed, 
 or conceals itself among stones, and lets no part of it be seen but the 
 end of some fringes of its body, which it moves and agitates in 
 different directions, so as to make them appear like worms or other 
 baits. Fishes, attracted by this apparent prey, come near this sea- 
 devil, when he catches them in his enormous throat, which is 
 furnished with almost innumerable teeth. There is another of this 
 species which has only a single, what may be called, bait, just above 
 his mouth. You see in this case of the sea-devil, that if it cannot 
 pursue and overtake and seize its prey, it is enabled as in the case 
 of the electric eels and the fly-shooterto do so in a way we should 
 not expect, thus showing the beneficence, wisdom, and power of the 
 Great Creator, and to which I am always glad to call your attention. 
 
 I will only mention the habits of one or two other fish, as they 
 may interest you. The hussar fish of Demerara, and the black goby 
 of the Mediterranean, each makes an artificial and prettily-made nest, 
 the first of fresh-water plants and the other of sea-weeds. They 
 protect their spawn and defend their young fry, observing in this 
 way all the instincts of birds that lay eggs. The little sticklebacks 
 of our brooks, in Engknd, do the same. The little frog-fishes have 
 side-bags full of water, and pectoral fins, like feet. They hop about 
 
13 
 
 for hours on the sands, left dry by the retreating tide, to prey upon 
 the sand-hoppers, &c. The mud-fish of the River Gambia, in Africa, 
 when the stream falls low, burrows and coils itself up in a deep mud- 
 cellar, leaving a little hole for air, which its swim-bladder deals with 
 like a lung. When the rainy season returns it comes out, and then 
 breathes as fish do. It is a true amphibious creature that is, it can 
 exist both on land and in the water. 
 
 I have now done, and trust that I have interested you. From my 
 advanced age, I may not be spared to come amongst you another 
 year ; but while I live I shall always be delighted to hear that you 
 duly appreciate and avail yourselves of the advantages prepared for 
 you in your Fisherman's Home. I pray God to bless and prosper 
 you all. 
 
 The men listened to the paper with very great attention, and 
 appeared to be much pleased. 
 
 Mr. J. Gibson then addressed the meeting, remarking on the 
 interest every person man or woman took in the British sailor. 
 He could give them one or two instances. It was not two years since 
 that the Dover fishermen were in great distress. Their claims were 
 laid before the public by means of the public papers, and in less than 
 three weeks 1,000 was subscribed for their benefit ; and he believed 
 the sum asked for, 4,000, was ultimately obtained. (Applause.) 
 Mr. Gibson gave, also, an instance of the courage of fishermen, as 
 witnessed by him when staying at Lowestofft. By their bravery they 
 saved eleven souls out of a crew of sixteen. Those noble men had 
 their reward. Mr. Gibson then stated the advantages to be derived 
 from a Penny Savings Bank, and hoped to see one established among 
 the fishermen of Brighton. It would be a great benefit to them. 
 When a gentleman of Mr. Jesse's standing in life and venerable 
 appearance, who came down to Brighton for a little while to benefit 
 his health, devoted his time to their interest, he hoped to see the 
 people of Brighton come forward. (Hear, hear. ) With a few other 
 remarks Mr. Gibson sat down. 
 
 A fisherman could not help rising to thank Mr. Gibson for the 
 kindness he had shown in behalf of the Society generally and particu- 
 larly by coming there that evening. 
 
 Mr. Nathaniel King, the missionary of the Society for Promoting 
 Missions to Seamen, stationed at Brighton, said a few words, and 
 
14 
 
 stated that the Rev. E. Clay had undertaken to open a Penny 
 Savings Bank in connection with this Society. (Applause. ) 
 
 A vote of thanks was unanimously given to Mr. Jesse, who briefly 
 but feelingly returned thanks. 
 
 The Rev. A. A. Morgan then addressed the members, and shortly 
 afterwards the proceedings terminated. 
 
 We may add that the objects of "The Fisherman's Home" are 
 numerous : they provide a comfortable retreat on the beach where 
 the fishermen of Brighton may find refuge from the storm : where 
 they can at all times obtain tea and coffee ; can be amused in their 
 leisure hours by the perusal of desirable literature ; and have an 
 opportunity of listening to lectures, delivered gratuitously by those 
 residents and visitors who take a lively interest in their welfare. Two 
 of the blessings which will arise from this Institution are a ' ' Penny 
 Bank" and a "Sick and Clothing Fund;" and, if properly conducted, 
 it is almost impossible to calculate how greatly they will improve the 
 condition not only of the fishermen but their wives and families. 
 
 At present the vacant space of a single arch on the beach is appro- 
 priated to this philanthropic "Home;" and could many of our 
 wealthy inhabitants and visitors have left their dinner tables on 
 Thursday evening and seen this small space crowded with fishermen 
 listening attentively to a dissertation on fish, if they could have 
 witnessed their demeanour and heard the grateful expressions made 
 use of towards those who had come there to meet them, funds would 
 not long be wanting to enlarge the place considerably, to provide 
 every necessary, and place on a permanent footing an Institution that 
 cannot do otherwise than materially benefit a numerous and im- 
 portant class of the inhabitants of this prosperous town. 
 
 Subscriptions, we are informed, will be thankfully received by the 
 President, Mr. Alderman Burrows ; the Honorary Secretary, Mr. 
 W. J. Williams, Ship-street ; and Mr. H. Goulty, 2, Sussex-square ; 
 or at either of the Banks. 
 
15 
 
 III. 
 
 (From the Brighton Herald of February 4th, 1860. ) 
 
 Gratified with the reception given to his contributions, by the 
 members of the Brighton Fisherman's Home on two former 
 occasions, Mr. Jesse, the eminent naturalist (at present staying 
 at Brighton), has kindly written them a third and most interesting 
 paper. The subject of the other two papers (both of which have 
 been published in our columns) was sea fish ; while the present 
 paper is on "birds." It was read at the "Home," on Thursday 
 evening, by the Rev. A. A. Morgan. The venerable author himself 
 was present ; and also Edmund Chapman, and Stringer Stringer, 
 Esqrs. 
 
 The Rev. A. A. Morgan, in a few words previous to reading 
 the paper, remarked that, whether on the subject of the birds 
 of the air, the fish of the sea, or the beasts of the earth, Mr. 
 Jesse was looked upon as an authority. He would ask them 
 what a man was who did not use his observation ? He resembled 
 the mole, to whom half the beauties of Nature are hidden. We 
 were placed here in a world surrounded by beauties ; we are given 
 eyes to see them, and reason to comprehend them. The Creator 
 was invisible, and the only manner we could come to any knowledge 
 of Him was by His works. Through those works, and their skill 
 and contrivance, we came to a knowledge of the Creator. Then, 
 in addition to that, we had revelation to confirm what we gathered 
 by those means ; and, therefore, the more we studied His works 
 the more we knew of Him. After a few other observations, the 
 Reverend Gentleman proceeded to read the following 
 
 INTERESTING PAPER ON "BIRDS." 
 
 MY DEAR FRIENDS, 
 
 I have given you two lectures on foreign fish ; and, as they 
 appeared to amuse you, I will now read you one on birds, because, 
 except gulls and a few marine birds, you are not very likely, 
 from your occupation as fishermen, to know much of their habits 
 
16 
 
 and peculiar instincts. These are well worth your attention, and 
 I hope that what I shall have to say on this subject may both 
 instruct and amuse you. But, before I proceed further, I wish 
 to say a word respecting the gulls which dip and flit and fly 
 about these shores, in a way which every lover of Nature, and 
 every visitor to this town, must always admire. Now I ask of 
 you, as a little return for the trouble I have taken in writing 
 these lectures for you, to protect these interesting birds as far 
 as you are able to do so. I always watch their flight with the 
 greatest satisfaction : it is one of the sights which renders my 
 visit to Brighton a pleasing one. Besides, they are useful birds ; 
 for, if you take a stroll on the Downs when land is being ploughed 
 up, you will perhaps see gulls following the ploughman, and picking 
 up the grubs of many of those insects which are so injurious to 
 the farmer. 
 
 As there are but few trees and bushes in the more immediate 
 neighbourhood of Brighton, I am afraid that you are not often 
 gladdened with the song of the blackbird, thrush, and nightingale, 
 though you have probably heard the cheerful notes of the lark, 
 as he pours them forth, and approaches to heaven nearer than 
 any other bird. The lark makes its nest always on the ground, 
 and generally early in the Spring, in grass fields. If you examine 
 the claws of a lark, which you may do at Mr. Sinnick's or any 
 other poulterer's, where, I am sorry to say, too many of them 
 are to be found, you will find that these claws will readily take 
 up one of the eggs of these birds. When, therefore, the mowers 
 either approach to or mow over their nests, they will take up 
 an egg in each foot, as I have seen them do, and convey them 
 to some more secure place, returning quickly for the rest, till all 
 are removed. Now, in viewing this structure of the foot of the 
 lark, one cannot help admiring the goodness of a benevolent Creator, 
 who has thus supplied one of his creatures with the means of 
 rearing its young. Should the egg be only just hatched, the young 
 will be removed in the same way. 
 
 I will now tell you that there are about forty different sorts 
 of tender and, generally, what are called soft-billed birds, that 
 is, birds that feed on insects, which arrive in this country from 
 far-distant places every Spring. You may not be aware that these 
 little birds perform their long journeys in the night, led by an 
 unerring instinct, which the Great Creator has implanted in them. 
 
37 
 
 This fact I have ascertained from some of the keepers of lighthouses, 
 who have informed me that they have occasionally found these 
 birds, early in the morning, killed by flying against the revolving 
 light. They have also found woodcocks, snipes, and other birds, 
 dead, showing that they also migrated in the night. As another 
 proof of this curious fact, I may mention that, riding out early 
 one morning in a meadow, a large flock of swallows dropped on 
 the ground near me, and so much exhausted that they appeared 
 incapable of moving, although I rode my horse amongst them. 
 After resting some tune they took flight, and dispersed in various 
 directions. Swallows are supposed to migrate to this country from 
 Africa, Italy, Spain, Greece, and other places. A captain of a 
 ship assured me that when he was at a long distance from land, 
 numerous swallows settled on his rigging, as a resting-place. They 
 are a useful bird, destroying myriads of flies ; for they are on the 
 wing, catching them, from the first light of day till late in the 
 evening. It is a pretty sight to see them thus employed. They 
 are sensible, clever birds, and I will give you one or two instances 
 of this. You know that swallows make their nests of mud or 
 clay. Now sparrows are apt to take possession of these nests and 
 lay their eggs in them. When the hen-sparrow is sitting on them, 
 a number of swallows will collect together, each with some clay 
 in its mouth, and, in an instant, stop up the hole of entrance, 
 thus leaving the sparrow to starve to death in the nest she had 
 stolen. This fact I observed myself, and also the following : A 
 pair of sparrows had driven a pair of swallows from their nest, 
 laid their eggs in it, sat on them, and hatched six young ones. 
 When this took place, a number of swallows came and pecked 
 down their former nest, and I saw the helpless young sparrows 
 on the ground, where they soon perished. A third instance of this 
 combined intelligence in birds was communicated to me by the 
 late Sir Henry WiUock, who was our Ambassador in Persia. There 
 was a ruined tower opposite his window, at Teheran, on which 
 those migratory birds, the storks, came year after year to make 
 their nest. On one occasion a pair of peafowl forstalled them,, 
 and took possession of the tower and began to prepare a nest, 
 driving the old storks away. After a short time a number of 
 these latter assembled, attacked the peafowl, drove them away, 
 and remained near the spot until the original storks were securely 
 established on the tower. Now you must perceive that this faculty 
 
 D 
 
18 
 
 of communicating their wants and of exciting their congeners, or 
 others of their own species, to assist in revenging their wrongs, 
 is not only curious, but wonderful. How this is done must be left 
 to conjecture, except that it is an impulse implanted in them by 
 their Divine Creator. Dogs that have been ill-treated by a larger 
 one have been known to entice another to revenge their cause. 
 
 I will now tell you a little about the cuckoo a bird, I am afraid, 
 you seldom hear at Brighton ; but it arrives in this country early 
 in the Spring, and its unvaried notes seem to proclaim fine and 
 pleasant weather. It is a lazy bird ; for, instead of sitting on and 
 and rearing its young, as all other birds do, it deposits its eggs, 
 but only one, in the nests of other birds, selecting always those of 
 insectivorous birds, that is, of birds which feed their young only 
 on insects : these are generally robins, wag-tails, and hedge-sparrowa. 
 Now, the cuckoo is as large as a blackbird, and requires a great 
 quantity of food. It is evident, therefore, that if the parent robin, 
 &c., had to feed their own young as well as the voracious cuckoo, 
 some of them would be starved. In order to prevent this, the 
 latter is furnished with a hollow in his back, in which he contrives 
 to get the newly-hatched robin or hedge-sparrow, and then throws 
 them out of the nest one by one, remaining sole possessor of it. 
 Having done this, he is readily fed and brought up, though it 
 requires all the exertions of his foster-parents in order to supply 
 his enormous appetite. There is another curious fact connected 
 with the cuckoo. There was a small hole in the wall of my garden 
 in which a robin had built its nest. Now, it was quite impossible 
 that a cuckoo could get into it to lay its egg, and yet I found a 
 young cuckoo in it. She must, therefore, have dropped her egg 
 on the ground near the hole, and either taken it up in her mouth, 
 or in her foot, and placed it in the nest. 
 
 Perhaps you are not aware that there is a great difference between 
 rooks and crows, although it is very usual to call them all crows. 
 The rook feeds on worms, slugs, &c., and is very useful to the 
 farmer ; while the crow is not only a great thief, but will kill, 
 if he can, other birds, in order to make them his prey. A gentleman 
 driving one day in his gig along a lane in Shropshire, saw a house- 
 pigeon pursued by two carrion crows, as they are called from eating 
 carrion, as they were probably hungry, and wanted the pigeon for 
 food. The latter, becoming exhausted, fled for refuge into a tall, 
 thorny hedge. One of the crows, however, stationed himself above 
 
19 
 
 the pigeon, and the other below it. They then got nearer and 
 nearer to the poor bird, who, seeing its danger, left the hedge, 
 but was immediately followed and seized by one of the crows. 
 To the surprise of the gentleman who had watched the whole 
 proceeding, he saw the crow rise up into the air, and at last fall 
 down dead ; one of those active little animals, called weasels, had 
 fastened on him. This serves to illustrate the old proverb of the 
 biter being bit. The pigeon was afterwards picked up alive, and 
 taken home by the gentleman referred to. I will now tell you 
 another anecdote of the crow. In the Island of Ceylon there is 
 a very cunning and impudent one, not black, as ours are, but with a 
 brown or bronzed back. In the court-yard of the house of the 
 Governor of Ceylon, a large dog was chained up, and was employed 
 one day in picking the meat off a bone which had been given him. 
 One of these crows alighted near him, and showed a wish to partake 
 of the bone. This the dog would not allow, so the crow flew away 
 and soon returned with a companion, who was placed near the tail of 
 the dog, and the other took his station as near as he could venture 
 to the coveted bone. The crow near the dog's tail then gave a strong 
 pluck at it, when the dog turned quickly round to see who had taken 
 this liberty with him. This was the opportunity wanted, for the first 
 crow seized the bone and flew away with it, followed by his com- 
 panion, and they no doubt enjoyed it together in some secure place. 
 You see this is another proof of what I have said of combined 
 intelligence and communication in animals. The above curious 
 anecdote is related by the late Governor of Ceylon in his history 
 of that island. 
 
 There is another cunning bird, which Shakspeare calls the maggot- 
 pie, but we the magpie. In a tamed state they are easily taught to 
 talk, which they will sometimes do quite as distinctly as a parrot ; 
 in a wild state they now and then make a chattering noise, but do 
 not often collect together as rooks do, although some years ago 
 I counted more than twenty, in one flock on the Brighton Downs. 
 They make curious nests, using a large quantity of thorny sticks 
 and brambles, and sometimes place them in odd situations, as I 
 am about to tell you. You have heard of the celebrated Dr. 
 Johnson, who, almost without assistance, and in the midst of 
 poverty, completed that wonderful Dictionary, a proof of his 
 great learning and extensive reading, which is called after him. 
 In his more prosperous days, he went a journey into Scotland, 
 
 i> 2 
 
20 
 
 accompanied by his friend, Mr. JBosweH ; and, as he was a large, 
 heavy man, he had a stout stick in proportion to his size. Now, 
 it so happened that he lost this stick, and deplored his loss very 
 much. His companion, in order to comfort him, said that it would 
 be found again. "Never," said Dr. Johnson; "consider, sir, the 
 value of such a piece of timber in this country." Thus you see 
 that trees were not very abundant in those days in Scotland. This 
 being the case, a pair of magpies, for want of a better place, 
 resolved to make their nest in a gooseberry bush in the garden. 
 They brought great quantities of brambles, sticks, and gorse, or 
 furze, and made it so large, and with so many twistings and turnings 
 in it, that no arm (even if it was as long as my own, and that is 
 pretty long, as you may see,) could reach either the eggs or the young 
 ones. It was considered a curiosity, and was suffered to remain 
 unmolested ; and there it may be, for all I know, at present, although 
 the Scotch are a thrifty people, and might not like to lose their 
 crop of gooseberries. 
 
 I do not know whether any of you have seen the fishing eagle. 
 It is sometimes found in this country, and it feeds upon fish when it 
 can get any. It is a noble bird, but not so fine a one as the golden 
 eagle, for which it is sometimes mistaken. A lady told me that a 
 flock of wild swans, perfectly white, flew past her drawing room 
 window in Ireland, pursued by two eagles. It must have been a fine 
 sight. As the swan is a much larger bird than the eagle, it shows 
 the boldness and power of the latter in attacking such a prey. 
 
 The heron is a bird you have probably seen, and a most patient 
 one it is, standing, with its long legs, in the shallow water of 
 some pond or stream, for hours together, waiting to catch an eel, 
 or some other fish, or a frog or water-rat. It will also feed on 
 snakes. In frosty weather they go to the marshes, as well as to 
 the sea-shore, in search of food. They build on the highest trees ; 
 and, notwithstanding the great length of their wings, they quit 
 the trees and alight on them again with the most perfect silence. 
 In the fine heronry in Windsor Great Park and it is a Royal 
 one I once saw an interesting sight. A pair of ravens wanted 
 to take possession of a heron's nest. The battle began on the 
 tree in which the nest was built ; but the ravens were driven 
 from it, and then the fight was continued in the air. The 
 ravens soared round and round, uttering their harsh notes, while 
 the herons struck at them with their sharp strong beaks, 
 
21 
 
 and after a long time drove them off. In a heronry on 
 the top of some noble Scotch fir-trees in Ashly Park, near 
 Walton-on-Thames, a young heron had fallen out of its nesfc, 
 and was brought into the house and given to a gentleman who 
 happened to be there. It was put into a basket, which was placed 
 in his gig, and he drove that evening to his house some miles 
 distant. On arriving there, he turned the young bird into his 
 garden, which was walled round. Early the next morning he saw 
 an old heron feeding the young one, and this it continued to do 
 until the latter was able to fly and make its escape. It would 
 appear that this affectionate parent must have fled miles and miles 
 in search of its offspring, until at last, hearing its plaintive cry, 
 it came to its support. 
 
 The affection of birds for their young is very extraordinary. 
 I have known a blackbird attack a cat that was near its nest 
 while on the top of a wall, and by flying rapidly against it drive 
 it away. This affection I have frequently seen in partridges and 
 peewits, or plovers. When they have considered their young to 
 be in danger, they will fly along the ground just before the 
 person who is near their brood, flapping their wings as if they 
 were wounded, and uttering piercing cries, thus drawing the 
 intruder after them. It is a pleasing instance of maternal affection. 
 I do not know whether any of you remember an extraordinary 
 flight of the small blue or rock pigeon which took place over 
 Brighton some years ago. I am informed that there was a similar 
 one last year at this place. Where they come from, or where 
 they go to, I am unable to inform you. In North America the 
 flights of these birds are so enormous that they continue in one 
 long, broad line for miles together, and towards evening they settle 
 on trees in the forests, breaking down some of the branches, and 
 many falling on the ground perfectly exhausted. The farmers 
 in the neighbourhood know pretty well the time of this annual 
 migration, and drive their pigs into the woods to feed and fatten 
 on the pigeons. 
 
 But I must conclude, or I shall tire you. Let me, however, 
 beg of you not to abandon your snug Fisherman's Home. When 
 the advantages of it are more known, depend upon it a more 
 general and liberal assistance will be afforded it by the inhabitants 
 of this large and prosperous town. Some persons have said to 
 me, ' ' You will do no good amongst these fishermen they will 
 
22 
 
 spend their money in drink and idleness as soon as they get it." 
 Now, I think very differently, and far better, of you. I will 
 never believe that the fine body of men I now see before me 
 are incapable of receiving well-intended and kindly advice, and 
 of acting upon it. I trust and think that this will not be the 
 
 I will only add, that in walking about Brighton, I occasionally 
 see in those vile receptacles for drunkards, called beer-shops, a paper 
 stuck in the window with these words on it "Best Old Tom 
 here." Now, this Old Tom, as he is called, is a consummate rascal, 
 as I am going to prove to you. You may ask, what has this 
 old gentleman done to deserve such an epithet ? You shall hear. 
 If you form a too intimate acquaintance with him, he will lead 
 you to poverty, misery, and ruin. He will make you impoverish 
 your wives and children, and not only ruin your own health, but 
 ruin also the health of your soul, rendering you at last a fit 
 subject of the Devil. But this is not all that this old rascal does. 
 He has been even known to incite those who have been too much 
 under his seductive influence to commit the crime of murder, and 
 many, as they were ascending the fatal scaffold, have attributed 
 their being led to do this from their having begun an acquaintance 
 with Old Tom. Nor is this all. As a Magistrate for Middlesex, I 
 can assure you that very many of those who are brought to our 
 County Lunatic Asylum at Hanwell, in a state of insanity, both 
 men and women, are indebted for their madness to this same 
 Old Tom ; for, I am sorry to say, that he has a very extensive 
 acquaintance. What can I say more to you, except to urge and 
 beseech every one to avoid his company and acquaintance, or, in 
 other words, not to become a gin-drinker. From my long ex- 
 perience, I have known good, hard-working men, well to do, fall 
 a victim to this sad vice, and become ruined in this world and, 
 it is to be feared, ruined in the next. 
 
 I have now done my best to amuse and instruct you. Do not 
 think that what I have said respecting gin-drinkers is intended to 
 apply to you. I see too many open, honest, healthy countenances 
 before me not to feel sure that the vice of gin-drinking has been 
 avoided by them. Farewell, and may God bless you all. 
 
 The paper was listened to with marked attention and evident 
 pleasure. A vote of thanks was unanimously accorded to the 
 
23 
 
 worthy author, who briefly but feelingly returned thanks. Mr. 
 Jesse said he was old and had not long to remain with them, but as 
 long as he lived he should always be pleased to hear from them. 
 He assured the men he felt a great interest about them all ; and 
 he hoped, when he got home, to send a good many books for 
 them to read. (Cheers.) He would now and then send a lecture 
 for his friend, Alderman Burrows, to read to them. He would not 
 forget them. (Loud cheers.) 
 
 E. Chapman, Esq., addressed the men, depicting the evils arising 
 from attending public-houses. 
 
 Mr. Jesse, with the other gentlemen, soon after took their leave, 
 with a hearty " good-night" from all the men. 
 
 IV. 
 
 (From the Brighton Herald of February 18th, 1860. ) 
 
 There was a large muster of fishermen at their " Home," in the 
 arch on the beach, on Tuesday evening, the attraction being the 
 reading of another most interesting paper from the pen of Mr. 
 Jesse. This was the fourth original paper that that eminent 
 naturalist had kindly written for the " Fisherman's Home," and 
 he promises to write a fifth before leaving Brighton. The former 
 papers, all of which have been published in our columns, were 
 on the subjects of fish and birds, while the present one was on 
 quadrupeds. 
 
 Mr. J. Gibson undertook the task of reading the paper on Tues- 
 day evening. The venerable author, as on former occasions, was, 
 however, present. 
 
 Mr. Gibson observed that when a gentleman of Mr. Jesse's 
 talents, and, too, at the good old age of eighty, not only wrote 
 lectures for the men, but took so much interest in their Institu- 
 tion as to come there that evening, they ought to be very grateful. 
 
24 
 
 (Applause.) He (Mr. Gibson) was very glad that, since he was last 
 there, a little money had come in ; and he had only to repeat what 
 ne had said before, that if their claims and the usefulness of the 
 Institution were fully laid before the public many persons would 
 come forward. He had just come down from London, and the 
 first visit he paid was to them, and he was now going to do what 
 Mr. Jesse could not do so clearly as himself. He was going to 
 read Mr. Jesse's paper. (Applause.) 
 
 Mr. Jesse remarked that he would read it himself only his 
 voice was weak. 
 
 Mr. Gibson then read the following 
 
 PAPER ON "QUADRUPEDS/' 
 
 MY DEAR FRIENDS, 
 
 I have written three lectures for you, two on the subject of 
 fish and one on birds, and I am now going to address you on 
 the subject of quadrupeds, or four-footed beasts. I have a few 
 anecdotes to tell you respecting them which I hope will interest 
 you ; but, before I do this, I wish to impress upon you how de- 
 sirable it is that you should become acquainted with the works of 
 the Great Creator ; and, be assured, that the more you acquire a 
 knowledge of them, so much the more will you be led not only 
 to admire but to wonder at the infinite variety and extraordinary 
 contrivances of Him who made you and all things both in heaven 
 above and upon and in the earth beneath. If the most minute 
 insect is examined through a magnifying glass, an exquisite and 
 curious formation will be discovered, and will appear as wonderful 
 as that of the largest animal. In short, it is our duty to see God 
 in His works, and those works will declare His goodness. 
 
 And now I may tell you that much has been written on the 
 subject of instinct and reason in animals, as well as in men. I 
 will endeavour to explain the difference. Instinct leads all ani- 
 mals to do exactly what was first instilled in them at their 
 creation. Birds build the same sort of nests and feed their 
 young with the food most proper for them the lion wanders 
 about at night seeking his prey the ostrich lays its eggs in the 
 hot sand the bee makes the same sort of curious cells and so 
 it is through all animated nature ; but the dog, the elephant, and 
 
25 
 
 some other creatures will sometimes act as if they were possessed 
 of reason, and of which I will presently give you some instances. 
 Man, on the contrary, is not led to act from instinct, but from 
 reason. If you were going to commit an act of great folly or 
 wickedness, reason would tell you not to do so, while instinct 
 would teach a bird to avoid a hawk, and a rabbit to get into 
 its hole to escape from a fox. I will now give you an instance 
 of reason in men. You may remember the circumstance, for it 
 only happened a very few years ago. A number oi passengers, with 
 many women and children, embarked in a ship, and in which was 
 a company of soldiers. The ship sprung a leak, and it was soon 
 evident that it could not be stopped, but that she must sink. The 
 boats were lowered, but would not possibly hold the whole num- 
 bers on board. The brave, noble soldiers called out that the 
 women and children should be saved first ; and they were so, the 
 boats being soon filled with them and the passengers and crew. The 
 soldiers were thus left alone on the deck, drawn up in line, daunt- 
 less and unwavering, their captain at their head. They felt the 
 foundering vessel gradually sinking beneath them, but, strong in 
 their sense of duty as well as of discipline, without an effort to 
 save themselves, they went down with the vessel and all perished ; 
 the women, children, and passengers and crew were saved. Here 
 was the triumph of reason over instinct. Instinct would have led 
 these noble soldiers to seize one of the boats and to save them- 
 selves. Reason interposed, and triumphed, as you have seen, over 
 instinct, and that in a way which did the greatest honour to British 
 soldiers. 
 
 I will now give you some instances of reason in animals. Two 
 friends of mine went out duck shooting. When they came near 
 some high reeds where they expected to find ducks, they threw 
 their hats down, crawled to the reeds, and having shot at the 
 birds, they sent their retriever dog for the hats, one of them being 
 much smaller than the other. The dog took up first one hat in 
 his mouth, and then trying to take up the second, the first, of 
 course, dropped on the ground. After some efforts to take them 
 both up at the same time, he put the smaller hat into the larger 
 one, pressed it down with his foot, and then readily brought them 
 both to his masters. This, I think, affords a strong proof of 
 reason. 
 
 Another friend of mine was shooting on a hill in the north of 
 
26 
 
 England, which was surrounded by a stone wall, about four feet 
 high. He fired at and wounded a hare, which ran through one 
 of the holes left at the bottom of the wall. He sent his retriever 
 after it, who readily leaped the wall from the higher ground, and 
 pursued, caught, and killed the hare, and returned with it in his 
 mouth to the wall. When there, he made some attempts to leap 
 it, but failed. He then poked the hare through one of the holes 
 with his nose as far as he could, jumped over the wall, went to 
 the hole, and brought the hare to his master. 
 
 In Cumberland there are very extensive and high hills, on which 
 numerous flocks of sheep depasture, and which at a distance look 
 like little white specks. A shepherd will stand at the bottom of 
 one of these hills, and send his dog up in the evening to collect 
 his flock. This the dog will do by selecting the sheep from the 
 different flocks, and bring them down to his master, there being 
 seldom one missing. Should there, however, happen to be one, 
 the dog is sent back, and never fails to return with the proper 
 sheep. I have watched this proceeding, and it has always ap- 
 peared to me most wonderful that, in a flock consisting probably 
 of some hundreds, mixed with several others, a poor dog should 
 be able to distinguish each one of his master's sheep. A caress 
 on the head, or a kind word, seem sufficient to repay him for all 
 his trouble. He will return at night to his master's cottage, wet 
 and tired, and coil himself up before a fire, probably, of a few 
 sticks, and be ready to renew his toil the next day. 
 
 These sheep-dogs have a wonderful degree of intelligence. When 
 I had a small farm, I was in the habit of having two hundred sheep 
 sent me from the Cheviot Hills, some two hundred and fifty miles 
 from my farm in Surrey. On asking the shepherd who brought 
 them the first year how he had got on, he said he had but a young 
 dog, and found much difficulty by the sheep taking wrong turnings, 
 going up lanes and by-roads. The next year I asked him the same 
 question. He told me that he had been accompanied by the same 
 dog, who recollected all the false turnings the sheep had made the 
 year before, and had gone before them and kept them in the proper 
 road, so that he had no difficulty with them. Here was recollection, 
 intellect, and a certain degree of reason as well as instinct. 
 
 The Highland shepherds are firmly convinced that their dogs 
 perfectly understand what is said. Indeed, Hogg, the celebrated 
 Ettrick Shepherd, related to me one or two instances in proof of 
 
27 
 
 this, which, I am sorry to say, I have forgotten ; but you shall 
 hear another. A Highland shepherd, speaking to a gentleman, 
 said accidentally, "I'm thinking the coo (cow) is in the corn." 
 His dog immediately rose, passed out of the house, and climbing 
 to the top of a pig-sty, which commanded a view of the corn, 
 field, satisfied himself that the cow was not there, and returned 
 to the house. In order to try the dog, he said, "Deed, sir, the 
 coo's in the taturs." Again the dog went out, made his own ob- 
 servations, and again returned. A third trial was then made, which 
 showed that there was no occasion for the dog's services. He re- 
 turned and went under the bed, sulky, growling, and dissatisfied, 
 evidently disgusted at having been made a fool of. 
 
 A shepherd was in the habit of taking his little son with him, 
 a boy of three or four years of age, when he was going to attend 
 his sheep. He left him one day on the slope of a hill, while he 
 went to some distance. On his return, he looked and hunted for 
 the lad in every direction, but at last went back, late at night, to his 
 cottage, and told his wife of their loss. While they were sitting 
 together, miserable and disconsolate, they heard a scratching at the 
 door. On its being opened, the shepherd's dog came in, which had 
 not before been missed, and by his significant actions, by pulling the 
 shepherd's coat and looking earnestly at him, induced him to follow 
 the animal with his lantern, and was led by him to some rocks, into 
 which the boy is supposed to have slipped, and thus the life of the 
 child was saved. 
 
 I might multiply anecdotes of the sense of dogs to a great extent ; 
 but I will now tell you something of the sagacity of elephants, which 
 perhaps have stronger reasoning powers than any other animal. 
 
 The father of a young lady, who is now staying with me, was one 
 day in a jungle in India, tiger shooting, mounted on the back of a 
 favourite and much petted elephant. All at once he saw a tiger 
 crouching just beyond the head of the elephant. Having pulled the 
 trigger, his rifle missed fire ; he threw it on the ground in order to 
 seize another, when, to his surprise, the elephant picked up the fallen 
 gun with his trunk and gave it to him, as if aware that it was neces- 
 sary for the destruction of the tiger. 
 
 Another day, this gentleman, while out tiger shooting on the same 
 elephant, was aware that a tiger was concealed in a very thick jungle 
 close by, but from which he could not be driven. The mohout, or 
 driver of the elephant, was desired to tell him to bend and beat the 
 
 E2 
 
28 
 
 bushes with a tree which stood near. This the animal did so effec- 
 tually, that the tiger started out, and was shot. The gentleman 
 was so pleased with the sagacity of his elephant, that he told the 
 mohout to give him some sugar when they returned home, a favour- 
 ite food with them. This was forgotten ; but in the evening the 
 sagacious animal found out his master, rubbed him gently and re- 
 peatedly with his trunk, and contrived to do so until the promised 
 sugar was given him. 
 
 A third instance of sagacity and reason in the elephant I will now 
 tell you. While on a shooting party, one of these animals got into 
 a morass or bog. Nothing that it could do, or the attendants, could 
 get it out. At last, some one suggested that a quantity of bushes 
 should be thrown to it. These the sensible animal placed under its 
 feet, and thus by degrees extricated itself. 
 
 An elephant, on one occasion, was ordered to drag a tree, which 
 proved too heavy for its strength. It was urged and excited to 
 continue the trial, till the poor animal broke the chains which at- 
 tached it to the tree and ran away. It was supposed that it had 
 escaped into the jungle, and would mix with the wild elephants. 
 But how differently did this noble and sensible creature act. In- 
 stead of returning to its native wilds in the forest, it came back 'in 
 about an hour, accompanied by two other elephants, and their united 
 strength performed the task allotted to the first elephant. Here was 
 reason and a power of communication in animals, which I have re- 
 ferred to in former lectures. You may doubt the accuracy of what 
 I have stated ; but, I can assure you, that the fact may be strictly 
 relied on. 
 
 Let me tell you an anecdote of a seal, one of which was lately 
 exhibited in Brighton, and a noble animal it was, and very obe- 
 dient to its keeper. A gentleman, living near the sea in a remote 
 part of Ireland, where the people are very superstitious, had a seal 
 so tame, so affectionate, and so fond of his master, that it would 
 follow and caress him whenever he had an opportunity of doing 
 so. It so happened that there were two bad harvests in succession, 
 and the foolish people attributed it to the poor innocent seal. They 
 made such a stir about it that the proprietor was obliged to consent 
 to its being sent away, provided its life was spared. It was placed 
 in a boat, which was rowed to a considerable distance, and the seal 
 then turned into the water ; but it soon found its way back to its 
 old master. A second time it was taken to a still farther distance ; 
 
29 
 
 but again came back. A third time it was taken so far that the 
 boatmen were absent two or three days ; but, before they consigned 
 the seal to the waters, they had the cruelty to put out its eyes. One 
 day, the gentleman thought he heard the plaintive cry of his affec- 
 tionate favourite. On opening his door, there was the seal, who had 
 strength enough left to crawl so far, and then died*: thus showing 
 his love to the last. It must have died of starvation, as it was in- 
 capable of catching any food. 
 
 In the Firth of Forth, in Scotland, seal are very numerous, and 
 will often put up their heads close to a boat. The fishermen, how- 
 ever, declare that if there should be a gun in the boat, no seal will 
 ever come within its range. They are clever, sensible animals, and 
 easily attracted by musical sounds, putting their heads out of water 
 evidently for the purpose of listening to them. There is a well- 
 known old seal in the Forth, who, from old age, has become perfectly 
 white. The fisherman call him the Laird of Aberdour ; and, as they 
 have never been able to kill him, they think that he cannot be killed. 
 When a boat approaches the rock on which he is, he rolls himself 
 into the water. The quantity of fish seals destroy is enormous, 
 coming up the rivers after the salmon. 
 
 The beaver is another sagacious animal, living in companies, and 
 acting together as if they were possessed of reason. In making 
 their strong dams across the rivers in North America, they will, 
 with their sharp teeth, gnaw through the bottom of a tree, so as 
 to make it fall exactly where they want it. They then fill up the 
 spaces with clay, to form the dam, using their flat tails, as brick- 
 layers use trowels, in plastering it. In the recesses of this dam they 
 lay up their winter store of food. 
 
 But I must conclude, with the hope that I may have amused 
 you. I will endeavour to give you one more lecture before I leave 
 Brighton, and then they shall all be printed, and sold for the benefit 
 of the " Fisherman's Home," which I hope you will all stick to as a 
 place of rational resort, and in the success of which I shall always 
 take the greatest interest. Good night, and may God bless and 
 prosper you. 
 
 The paper was received with immense cheering, and with every 
 appearance of delight. 
 Mr. Gibson said that if ever it was in his power, when in Brighton, 
 
30 
 
 to promote their interest, he should be happy to do so. He really 
 hoped that the people of Brighton would come forward and do what 
 they could to assist them. We all had seasons of trouble and afflic- 
 tion, and we all knew that in the winter the fishermen had a great 
 deal to put up with. He therefore thought the rich ought to come 
 forward. He liad no doubt that the men all worked hard ; and if 
 any accident occurred at sea, they were always ready to put out ; 
 therefore, they had a great and a peculiar claim on public sympathy. 
 Mr. Gibson then gave one or two remarkable instances ('such as 
 Mr. Jesse had related in the paper just read) of the power which 
 reason, in human nature, has over instinct ; and, in conclusion, 
 proposed that the best thanks of the fishermen be given to Mr. 
 Jesse, not only for the essay he had written for them, but for his 
 presence there that evening, and Mr. Gibson hoped they should 
 see his grey hairs there next week. This Institution was only 
 a beginning ; but great things arose out of little things, and he 
 hoped next year to see the place increased four times. ('Cheers.) 
 
 The vote of thanks to Mr. Jesse was carried with acclamation. 
 
 Mr. Jesse returned thanks. He said : though I can write a little, 
 I am a very bad speaker. I feel a great and deep interest in the 
 welfare of this "Fisherman's Home/ 7 I hope it will be a " Home" 
 for you all, for enjoyment and rational amusement, by reading 
 books that give you instruction. As long as my life is spared 
 I shall always take an interest in the "Brighton Fisherman's 
 Home." When I get home I shall send you books, and now and 
 then a lecture which I will ask some friend of mine to read to 
 you. (Cheers.) Good night ; I wish you all prosperity, health, 
 and happiness, and God bless you all. (Renewed cheers.) 
 
 Shortly after Mr. Jesse and the other gentlemen took their leave 
 amid the cheers of the men. 
 
31 
 
 V. 
 
 (From the Brighton Herald of Feb. 25th, 1860.) 
 
 There was another "special" evening at the Fisherman's Home 
 on Tuesday, when that eminent naturalist, Mr. Jesse, read the 
 fifth lecture which he had written for the Institution. The subject 
 of this, the last paper previous to Mr. Jesse's leaving Brighton, was 
 insects. 
 
 There was an unusually large attendance, and the men were 
 honoured by the presence of a lady who takes a deep interest in the 
 prosperity of the "Home." The men appreciated this visit, and 
 one and all purposely abstained from smoking, for be it known 
 that smoking is allowed at the Fisherman's Home ; it is, in fact, 
 with the cup of coffee, and newspaper or book, one of its chief 
 luxuries to the members. 
 
 The Rev. A. A. Morgan, E. Chapman, Esq., and others, were also 
 present. 
 
 On the four previous occasions, Mr. Jesse's lectures were read 
 by some gentleman or friend. In this instance, however, the 
 venerable Author said he would endeavour to read it himself. This 
 might be considered a somewhat difficult task for a gentleman so 
 far advanced in years ; but Mr. Jesse succeeded very well indeed, 
 enunciating his words most distinctly. Before reading his lecture, 
 he said, addressing the men, he had told them before that he had 
 a bad cold, and could not read his lecture. His voice was not 
 very strong, but he would do his best. If he came to an anchor, 
 his friend Mr. Morgan would help him to go on. (Applause.) 
 Mr. Jesse continued : My dear friends, I will call you, because I 
 have a desire to show an affection for you all, and a great interest 
 in your well-being. I have already written four lectures for you, 
 I do not know whether you liked them or not, two were on 
 fish, one was on birds, and one was on quadrupeds ; and now I 
 am going to read you one on insects. (Applause.) Do not be 
 surprised at what I shall tell you they are all God's creatures ; 
 He made them exceedingly beautiful, and it is only by becoming 
 
32 
 
 acquainted with His works that we can become acquainted with 
 Him. Mr. Jesse then proceeded to read the following 
 
 INTERESTING PAPER ON "INSECTS." 
 
 MY DEAR FRIENDS, 
 
 One of our most celebrated poets has said, 
 
 " Each crawling insect holds a rank 
 Important in the plan of Him who framed 
 This scale of beings ; " 
 
 and it is on the subject of these insects that I am now about to 
 address you. 
 
 The scale of beings in this world has been so beautifully and 
 wisely ordained by the Great Creator, that one of the greatest of 
 naturalists and philosophers in this or in any other country, while 
 showing me a very small insect through his microscope, made the 
 following remark : " I believe that if it was possible to destroy the 
 whole of these insects, the scale of created beings would become 
 entirely disorganised or disarranged, so completely does the well- 
 being of some depend on the existence of others." This is a curious 
 and interesting remark, coming from such authority, and is well 
 worth your recollection. 
 
 There are supposed to be about fifteen thousand different sorts of 
 insects in the world, and many of them, if viewed through a micro- 
 scope, would surprise you by the beauty and richness of their colours. 
 Some have fins, like a fish, or a beak, resembling that of birds. 
 Others have horns, like a bull or a stag. One is armed with tusks 
 not unlike those of an elephant ; another has spines, like the quills 
 of the porcupine or hedgehog ; and some are covered with a sub- 
 stance like horn. 
 
 But perhaps the most interesting fact is, that there is no one 
 invention of man up to the present time of which some hint may 
 not have been taken from insects. You know that steam-boats are 
 made to pass along the water by means of a wheel on each side of 
 the vessel. Well, there is an insect which moves itself in the water 
 by the assistance of two little wheels fixed to its sides, which it turns 
 round with great quickness, and thus goes from one place to another. 
 Spiders may teach the art of weaving ; and the bee that of building. 
 
33 
 
 One insect has an instrument like a saw ; and another like an auger, 
 or a carpenter's tool, to bore holes with. The nautilus, which may 
 almost be called a sea-insect, spreads out a little sail, and guides 
 itself with oars. In short, there is no creature, however insignificant 
 it may appear, from which some benefit or instruction may not be 
 derived. 
 
 You will, perhaps, be surprised when I tell you that many of the 
 little insects you see around you have a great degree of sense, 
 though you, probably, avoid them with dislike. But so it is ; and I 
 will give you one or two instances of it. You know that bees are 
 kept in hives, where they lay up a store of honey, and they go in 
 and out of the hive through a hole left open at the bottom of it. 
 Now, a large slimy slug, which has no shell, got into a hive through 
 this hole. The bees soon killed it ; but their united strength could 
 not drag it out of the hive, and therefore they covered it completely 
 over with a thick coating of coarse wax, called propolis. It 'so hap- 
 pened that one of the common brown-shelled snails got into the same 
 hive. It was soon stung to death ; but, instead of covering it and 
 its shell over with wax, they merely glued the edge of the latter to 
 the board of the hive, and thus left it, as no unpleasant smell could 
 issue from it, which would not have been the case with the slug had 
 it not been cased over with wax. Was there not reason in this ? 
 
 I had a hive of bees which was attacked by wasps, who wanted 
 to get at their honey. In order to defend the entrance to the hive, 
 they made a sort of fortification of wax behind the hole of entrance, 
 leaving only two or three small passages just sufficient to enable one 
 bee to pass at a time, so that they could defend themselves against 
 the wasps with great ease. 
 
 When the heat in the inside of a hive is so great that the wax is in 
 danger of melting, a number of bees will collect at the bottom of the 
 hive, and move their little wings with such rapidity that they can 
 create as great a circulation of air as a lady would do in fanning 
 herself. 
 
 In very hot countries, such as the West Indies, bees alter their 
 mode of laying up their store of honey. If they placed it in cells at 
 the top of the hive, as they do in colder countries, the great heat of 
 the sun would melt the wax, and all their fanning would be to no 
 purpose. They therefore place it in very small waxen bottles, some- 
 what in shape of an inverted mushroom, the stalk or neck being 
 uppermost. These are placed at the bottom of the hive, and in this 
 
34 
 
 situation the wax is kept cooler, and, of course, less liable to suffer 
 from heat. 
 
 I think that these facts will show you that bees are possessed of 
 sense, or what some would call a superior intellect. It is not, 
 however, only their sense which we should admire, but also their 
 industry and usefulness. They are never idle, but work from 
 morning to night in collecting honey; and when the weather is 
 bad, they employ themselves in cleaning the hive, and in making 
 and repairing their cells. These cells are beautifully constructed ; 
 and, as the bees are obliged to pass over them very frequently, the 
 edges of them are much stronger and thicker than the walls of the 
 cells. These edges, however, serve another purpose, as they help to 
 retain the honey. When the cells are filled, they are covered over 
 with wax, and not opened until the honey is wanted. 
 
 Ants are another class of insects whose operations are curious and 
 wonderful. For instance, there is a small red ant in the West Indies 
 which conceals itself in covered ways, and attacks and feeds on the 
 hardest woods, never appearing on the bark, or even touching it. 
 Thus, when a tree or a beam of a house appears perfectly sound, it 
 has been, perhaps, eaten out, and nothing but a shell remains. 
 
 Some of our English ants will ascend a poplar or a lime tree, where 
 they find, on the tender shoots of the tree, a small green insect called 
 an aphis. You may ask, "Do they eat these insects?" Quite the 
 contrary. The ants, as I have often see them do, tickle them with 
 their antennse, or little feelers, which project from their heads. This 
 seems to please the aphes, who discharge a sweet substance from 
 their bodies, called honey dew, on which the ants feed. They may 
 be called the milch cows of the ants. 
 
 In a fine morning, ants disperse themselves in various directions 
 and to considerable distances from their usual abodes in search of 
 food. When they have discovered any, they make their companions 
 acquainted with it by means of their antennse, or feelers, which serve 
 them, as I will presently prove to you, to hold a sort of conversation with 
 each other. You may be surprised at hearing this ; but it is perfectly 
 true, not only with respect to ants, but also with bees and wasps, and 
 probably, also, in regard to other insects. I have frequently placed 
 a small green caterpillar near an ants' nest, and watched what 
 would take place. A solitary ant has, perhaps, discovered it, and 
 eagerly attempted to draw it away, as a winter-store for they lay up, 
 as prudent persons should do, against a rainy day. Not being able 
 
35 
 
 to accomplish this, I have seen it go up to another ant, and by means 
 of the antennal language, bring it to the caterpillar. Still, these two 
 were not able to accomplish the task. They separated, and brought 
 up reinforcements of their community by the same means, until a 
 sufficient number were collected to enable them to drag the caterpillar 
 to their nest. You thus see that a sort of language can be kept up 
 by means of these antennae. It is supposed that a strong hive of 
 bees will contain 36,000 workers. Now, each one of these, in order 
 to be aware of the presence of their queen, whom they love, as I am 
 sure you do yours, touch her every day with their antennae. Should 
 the queen die, or be removed, such is the affection of her subjects for 
 her, that the whole colony disperse themselves, and are seen in the 
 hive no more perishing, every one of them, and quitting all their 
 store of honey which they had laboured so industriously to collect. 
 On the contrary, should the queen be put into a very small wire cage, 
 placed at the bottom of the hive, so that her subjects could touch and 
 feed her, they are perfectly contented, and the business of the hive 
 proceeds as usual. 
 
 You see, then, that tin's antennal language is a wonderful and 
 curious gift, bestowed by a Benevolent Creator on little insects ; but 
 who are all, like you, objects of His love and care. You should 
 always bear this in mind ; for, if God clothes the flowers of the field, 
 and feeds the young ravens that call upon Him, be sure that He will 
 both clothe and feed you if you trust in Him, and endeavour to do 
 what is pleasing to Him. 
 
 There is another class of insect, the common house-fly, well worth 
 your notice. On examining them, you will see that each has two 
 projecting eyes, both of which are furnished with 4,000 lenses, 
 appearing, through a microscope, like a piece of honeycomb. These 
 give them that rapidity of motion which you must often have ob- 
 served in escaping capture. Their flight, also, is so swift that it has 
 been supposed they can fly at the rate of nearly a mile in a minute. 
 Their interior structure is equally curious, having blood vessels and 
 other functions which are to be found in larger animals. But I must 
 draw your attention to their feet, which are furnished with a sort of 
 wet sponge, which enables them to run up and down smooth surfaces, 
 such as glass, with the greatest facility. Some flies lay their eggs in 
 dung-pits ; others in the bark of trees, which causes them to throw 
 out those gnarled and wooden projections which you may sometimes 
 see in old oak and elm trees. 
 
 F2 
 
36 
 
 Wasps are another species of insects whose proceedings are very 
 curious and interesting. Early in the Spring, and on a sunny day, 
 you may see a large wasp settling on some decayed wood and ap- 
 pearing to feed on it. This is a female wasp, the parent of a large 
 colony. The wood she seems to eat is formed into a few cells, per- 
 haps at first only five or six, in which she deposits her eggs. These 
 are gradually increased in number until the eggs are turned into 
 wasps, which then come out and assist in the work of building, 
 until what may be called a large city is formed, inhabited by some 
 thousands of her subjects, for the queen is the mother of them all. 
 She generally selects a hole in a bank, some old hollow tree, or a roof 
 of a house, in which to make her future colony. There are, how- 
 ever, two distinct species of wasps in this country ; one of which 
 forms her nest, generally a smaller one, on the boughs of fir and 
 other trees. They are round, and are covered with what may be 
 called flakes of a substance made also from wood. These throw 
 off the rain and also serve to keep the young wasps warm before 
 they arrive at maturity. The other species of wasps make the 
 same covering. 
 
 In order to show you with what rapidity these insects form their 
 nests, I will mention the following fact : I built a small shed early 
 one Spring, which was covered over with slates. In the course of the 
 following Autumn it was found that the slates admitted the rain. 
 Some of them were, in consequence, taken off, when a wasps' nest 
 was found built on the rafters, so that it could readily be removed 
 perfectly entire. It was a beautiful structure, the outside appearing 
 as if covered with small brown shells, and it measured 3^ft. in circum- 
 ference. I sent it to the Zoological Museum. Now, this large nest 
 must have been made in the course of five or six months. 
 
 The nests of hornets are equally curious ; but they use green wood 
 in forming them. They are generally found in hollow trees, but some- 
 times on the branches of firs ; so that, probably, like the wasps, there 
 are two species. They are a dangerous insect, as their sting is very 
 severe. They are also very strong. I once placed a hornet under a 
 common wine glass, when it got its fore feet under the edge of the 
 glass, and thus lifted it up, and made its escape. I also once saw a 
 hornet carry away a small pear from my garden. Like wasps, the 
 female hornet is the parent of the colony. She remains torpid during 
 the Winter, and in the Spring leaves her retreat, and begins making 
 her nest. All the workers, both those of the wasps and hornets, die 
 
37 
 
 in the Winter. This is a beautiful arrangement of Providence, or, 
 rather, I should say, of the Great Creator ; for if these insects in- 
 creased and multiplied in the same proportion as bees, we should 
 experience a most unbearable nuisance. Bees, on the contrary, in- 
 crease ; are confined in hives ; and are most beneficial to mankind in 
 producing wax and honey. I had, however, almost forgotten to tell 
 you that there is a winged ant in South America which builds a curious 
 and beautiful nest in trees. The cells of the combs are hexagonal, like 
 those of bees, and are stocked with honey, which is both good and 
 sweet. The cells are much smaller than those of bees, and the whole 
 arrangement of them shows the most interesting specimen I have seen 
 of insect architecture. I have brought a piece of their comb to show 
 you. 
 
 The large forests in South America would be almost impassable, 
 both for man and beasts, if it was not for the beetles. The trees 
 which compose them stand very thick, and as they and the branches 
 are constantly falling down, they are quickly consumed by beetles, 
 which abound in these forests in incredible numbers. Ants also 
 assist in the destruction of the trees, so that the forests can be tra- 
 velled through without many impediments. But for these useful 
 insects, no one could get through them. 
 
 The nests of many insects, as I have mentioned, are very curious 
 and interesting. I have brought two or three specimens of them to 
 show you. One is that of a moth, found in South America. You 
 will see with what labour and wonderful skill it is formed, and how 
 impossible it seems for an insect, shaped as a moth, to introduce these 
 numerous bits of sticks and fix them on the outside of its nest. Here 
 are some other specimens I have brought to show you. 
 
 But I must not forget to tell you of a little creature which lives 
 far out at sea, and is found on the gulf -weed. Its name is latiopa. 
 Sometimes a rough wave will sweep it from the weed and force it 
 into the deep waters ; but it is provided with an air bubble, and it 
 glues to this bubble a thread, which it lengthens as the bubble 
 naturally rises to the surface. This small quantity of air, before it 
 bursts, floats on the water, and is soon attracted by the gulf-weed, 
 towards which it runs and fastens itself alongside. Then up comes 
 the insect, by means of her thread, and thus regains her seat on the 
 weed, her natural position. You see how wonderfully and kindly 
 the Great Creator has provided for the well-being of a little insig- 
 nificant creature. 
 
38 
 
 There are, no doubt, many curious and interesting insects in the 
 sea ; but, from the element in which they live, we know but little 
 of their habits and peculiar instincts. Some are parasitic, or adhere 
 to the bodies of fish, and others eat into the flesh of whales. I must, 
 however, refer to the muscles which, as you are aware, attach 
 themselves to rocks, by means of a strong, silk-like thread ; but 
 perhaps you are not aware that these threads, which are very 
 strong, have been collected and made into a pair of gloves. 
 
 I have deferred my mention of the most interesting and valuable 
 of insects for the conclusion of my lecture. I refer to the silk- 
 worm. In order the better to enable you to understand the won- 
 derful arrangements of Providence in regard to this moth, I may 
 tell you that all butterflies and moths, when they quit their cocoons, 
 or winter-coverings, fly away, and are of no service to man, except 
 as objects of admiration of their beauty and peculiar instincts. But 
 how different is the case of the silkworm ! If she was furnished with 
 expanding wings, like other moths, she would fly away and become 
 useless. Her wings, however, are so short, that although she 
 flutters them a little, she never attempts to quit her home which has 
 been provided for her, but lays her eggs and dies so short is her 
 existence as a perfect insect. These eggs, when hatched, produce 
 very small grubs, which must have mulberry leaves provided for them 
 to feed upon. When they have arrived at maturity they leave off 
 eating, and begin to spin them valuable silk, forming it into a 
 cocoon, or covering, which they may be heard doing night and day, 
 for three days, when it is finished. The silk which covers the cocoon 
 will extend for many hundred yards. In the silk countries that is, 
 in places where the silk-worms are most cultivated these cocoons are 
 thrown into a cauldron of hot water, the ends of the silk unfasten, 
 when 50 or 60 of them are caught and wound off into hanks, or 
 skeins, like worsted, all together, and sold by weight to silk mer- 
 chants. The grubs which spin these cocoons, of course, are killed ; 
 but a certain number are reserved for breeding, and these lay many 
 
 Now, let us consider the utility of the silk-worm. The countries 
 which produce the greatest quantity of silk are Italy, Turkey, India, 
 and China. The number of persons in the world who are benefited 
 or clothed by silk is perfectly enormous. There are the growers of it, 
 the feeders, the cultivators of mulberry trees, the manufacturers of 
 silk, the shopkeepers and their attendants, and many others who are 
 
39 
 
 either directly or indirectly benefited by it ; and all this is owing to 
 the peculiar construction of an apparently insignificant insect. And 
 here I may mention that no fishermen's knots are foimd in winding 
 off the silk, and no entanglement or breakage, but all runs smoothly 
 from one end to the other. Let us wonder at and admire this 
 wonderful arrangement of a Benevolent Creator in forming this 
 insect. 
 
 But I must conclude this, my last lecture at least, for the 
 present with every kind wish for your happiness and prosperity. 
 Do not forget your old friend, but try and make a good use of 
 what he has said to and written for you, and God bless you all! 
 
 Mr. Jesse was listened to with great attention, only being in- 
 terrupted by frequent bursts of applause ; and scarcely had he 
 concluded before the men set to cheering at the top of their 
 voices. 
 
 Mr. Nathaniel King, the Missionary in this district, from the 
 Society in London for promoting Missions to Seamen, thought 
 the fishermen could not do less than give their kind friend, Mr. 
 Jesse, a vote of thanks. 
 
 This, we need hardly say, was carried with immense applause ; 
 and many of the men expressed a wish that Mr. Jesse would be 
 able to give them another lecture before he left Brighton. 
 
 Mr. Jesse was very much obliged for the thanks his good friends 
 had offered him ; and (he continued) I assure you that the best 
 thanks you can give me is that you will let me know that you are 
 going on well, making a good use of your " Home," always keeping 
 out of the ale-house, by which you will make a good home for your 
 wife and children, and be prosperous. (Prolonged cheers.) 
 
 The lady present having taken a cup of coffee, and given the men 
 the means of enjoying a good smoke in consideration of their ab- 
 staining from this indulgence during her visit, Mr. Jesse and his 
 friends shortly after took their leave, amid the hearty applause of 
 all the men. 
 
 Really our fishing population have reason to be grateful they 
 ought to consider themselves highly favoured when a gentleman of 
 Mr. Jesse's talents and years, visiting Brighton for the benefit of his 
 health, takes so much interest in their behalf as to write for their 
 especial use and instruction such valuable and interesting lectures as 
 
40 
 
 he has done ; and, moreover, to have those lectures printed and sold, 
 as he promises to do, for the benefit of their "Home." The men 
 evidently do appreciate Mr. Jesse's kindness, as a token of which they 
 have returned their thanks to him as follows : 
 
 "We, the undersigned fishermen and boatmen of Brighton ('and 
 others present), beg to return our sincere thanks to Mr. Jesse, for 
 writing and reading his good lectures. 
 
 (Signed) 
 
 "Joseph Salvage, Richard Markwick, George Young, Jim Shrivell, 
 William Pentecost, Thomas Pentecost, George Priest, and 
 Philip Collins (fishermen)-. 
 
 "Joseph Wells, James Harries, and Friend Payne (seamen^). 
 
 " Thomas Laycock, John Measor, Francis Measor, Richard Giliam, 
 Thomas Daws, James Mockford, William Bray, Samuel 
 Akehurst, George Gunn, John Gooding, George Harman, 
 Philip Barnard, Thomas Bassett, John Laycock, James 
 Bassett, Thomas Bassett, sen. , George Monk, John Barton, 
 and George Jeflfery (boatmen)." 
 
 This must be very gratifying to the feelings of Mr. Jesse. 
 
 VI. 
 
 (From the Brighton Herald of March 3rd, I860'.) 
 
 Agreeably to their expressed wishes, Mr. Jesse, previous to his 
 departure from Brighton, has kindly written for the members of 
 the Fisherman's Home another valuable and interesting lecture, 
 
41 
 
 being the sixth that that gentleman has given them while a visitor 
 to this town. 
 
 The subject of the paper was on the love of animals for man 
 and for each other ; and it was read on Tuesday evening, the 
 venerable author himself again undertaking the task. 
 
 The attendance of men was larger than on any former occasion, 
 every available seat being occupied. It is on occasions such as 
 this that the want of the adjoining arch is felt ; and we trust 
 that ere long the required accommodation will be obtained. Mrs. 
 Jesse, Miss Lowndes, and W. Jevons and J. Verner, Esqrs., and 
 others, were present. 
 
 Mr. Jesse, on rising, said it gave him great pleasure to know 
 that the men were pleased with the lectures he had written for 
 them, and he was very much obliged for the thanks they had 
 given him, which he read in the newspaper. He had written the 
 present lecture for them in a very short time ; but he hoped they 
 would be pleased with it. Mr. Jesse then read the following 
 paper on 
 
 "THE LOVE OF ANIMALS FOR MAN AND 
 FOR EACH OTHER" 
 
 MY DEAR FRIENDS, 
 
 Some of you asked me to read you another lecture, and I am 
 going to give you one on the love of animals for man and 
 for each other. It is an interesting subject, and may, perhaps, 
 induce those who either read or hear it, to treat dumb animals 
 with that kindness which every one who has a good heart would 
 wish, to do. 
 
 When that fearful curse was pronounced upon man, "the fear 
 of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the field 
 and fowl of the air," leading creatures to avoid mankind as their 
 worst enemies, one exception seems to have been made in the case 
 of the dog. This faithful animal cleaves to his master through 
 poverty, distress, hunger, and even death itself. Nothing de- 
 stroys his love and attachment. We have instances when officers 
 have been killed in battle, a loving dog has remained close to the 
 body of his master, howling his distress, refusing all food and 
 
42 
 
 comfort, following the body to the grave, and expiring upon it, 
 thus showing his affection to the last. 
 
 Another affecting instance is related of a dog, who followed his 
 master to his grave, which was in one of the London church-yards, 
 and was overlooked by several houses. On this grave the dog 
 scratched a hole and lay in it. One of the kind-hearted inhabitants 
 of the houses brought it some food ; but there it remained day after 
 day, but eating what was brought it. At last, some one erected a 
 small shed over it, to shelter it from the weather. There the dog 
 might be seen year after year, protected and sympathised with by 
 every one who knew the circumstance of its remarkable attachment, 
 till death and nothing but death released it from its fidelity to the 
 master it loved. 
 
 But, before I proceed with my anecdotes of these affectionate 
 animals, I must express my surprise that so many unfeeling 
 allusions should constantly be made to these noble creatures. Thus 
 we hear of a "lazy dog" a "drunken dog" a "dirty dog" a 
 "shabby dog" of leading a "dog's life" of a "dogged temper." 
 We call a dandy a " puppy," and sometimes another man a 
 "cur." All these are epithets misapplied as far as the dog is 
 concerned ; and I think you will agree with me when you hear the 
 following anecdote: 
 
 A young gentleman of the name of Gough, of considerable 
 talents and of an amiable disposition, lost his way when wandering, 
 without a guide, on the mountain Hellvellyn, in Cumberland. 
 He was accompanied -by a terrier bitch, his constant attendant 
 during frequent solitary rambles through the wilds of Westmore- 
 land and Cumberland. Trying to reach the top of the mountain 
 by a difficult pass, he fell down a precipice called " Stridenedge," 
 and was killed. His remains were not discovered until three 
 months afterwards, when they were found guarded by his faith- 
 ful dog. Although the body had been so long a time exposed to 
 the attacks of the numerous wild birds of prey, and also the foxes 
 which abound in that region, it was found untouched and unde- 
 faced by them, so strictly had it been watched over and protected. 
 How the dog procured his food is a mystery which has never been 
 discovered, but the fact of his remaining near the body of his 
 master is undoubted. The celebrated Sir Walter Scott, a great 
 lover of dogs, and who frequently visited a friend in Cumberland, 
 wrote a beautiful poem, called Hellvellyn, on the incident I have 
 
43 
 
 just related. It is too long to quote the whole of it, but I will 
 give you an extract from it. Sir Walter Scott says he had 
 seen the place where the wanderer had died, and then adds 
 
 " Dark green was the spot mid the brown mountain-heather, 
 Where the Pilgrim of Nature lay stretch'd in decay, 
 
 Like the corpse of an outcast abandon'd to weather, 
 'Till the mountain-winds wasted the tenantless clay ; 
 
 Nor yet quite deserted, though lonely extended, 
 
 For, faithful in death, his mute fav'rite attended, 
 
 The much-lov'd remains of her master defended, 
 And chas'd the hill-fox and the raven away. 
 
 " How long didst thou think that his silence was slumber ? 
 
 When the wind waVd hia garment, how oft didst thou start ? 
 How many long days and long weeks didst thou slumber, 
 
 Ere he faded before thee, the friend of thy heart? 
 And, oh ! was it meet that no requiem read o'er him, 
 No mother to weep, no friend to deplore him, 
 And thou, little guardian, alone stretched before him 
 
 Unheeded the Pilgrim from life should depart.". 
 
 I am sure you will all thank me for relating this beautiful and affect- 
 ing anecdote of the love and fidelity of a poor dumb animal to his 
 master, whose remains were interred in the burial-ground attached to 
 a Quaker's meeting-house, near the foot of the mountain. 
 
 A poor woman, returning one winter's evening from a market, 
 where she had purchased her loaf of bread, a bit of bacon, and a small 
 piece of mutton, and accompanied by a small dog, was overtaken by 
 a violent snow-storm, as she was passing along a narrow lane. She 
 was unable to proceed, and at the end of three or four days was found 
 dead. Her dog had survived, and was discovered close to his mistress 
 and the basket of food, which was untouched, although the poor 
 animal must have been nearly starved from having had nothing to 
 eat for so long a time. 
 
 I will now relate another anecdote of the love and affection in 
 dumb animals, which I am sure will please you. Mr. Morritt, well- 
 known to the readers of the life of the celebrated Sir Walter Scott, 
 as his intimate and confidential friend, had two terriers of the pepper 
 and mustard breed, or, rather, for it is a character I always delight in, 
 the Dandy Dinmont breed. These dogs, for it is as well to leave 
 out the feminine appellation, were much attached to their kind- 
 hearted master, and he to them. They were mother and daughter, 
 and each produced a litter of puppies about the same time. Mr. 
 Morritt was seriously ill at this period, and confined to his bed. 
 
 G2 
 
44 
 
 Fond as these dogs were of their puppies, they had an equal affection 
 for their master, and they accordingly showed this in the following 
 manner. They conveyed their two litters of puppies to one place, 
 and while one of the mothers remained to suckle and take care of 
 them, the other went into Mr. Morritt's bed-room, and continued 
 there from morning until evening. When the evening arrived, she 
 went and relieved the other dog, who then came into the bed-room, 
 and remained quietly all night by the side of the bed ; and this they 
 continued to do, day after day in succession, until Mr. Morritt re- 
 covered. This charming anecdote was communicated to me from a 
 quarter which need not leave a doubt of its authenticity, and affords 
 an affecting proof of love and gratitude in animals who, I am sorry 
 to say, are too often ill-treated. 
 
 A vessel was driven by a storm on the beach of Lydd, in Kent, a 
 place some of you are probably acquainted with. The surf was 
 rolling furiously, and eight men were calling for help ; but not a boat 
 could be got off to their assistance ; although I have no doubt but 
 that some of you now present would have tried, for the Brighton 
 fishermen have done many brave things. However, a gentleman at 
 length came on the beach, accompanied by his Newfoundland dog. 
 He directed the attention of the noble animal to the vessel, and put 
 a short stick into his mouth. The dog at once understood his mean- 
 ing, and sprang into the sea, fighting his way through the foaming 
 waves. He could not, however, get close enough to the vessel to 
 deliver the stick he was charged with, but the crew joyfully made fast 
 a rope to another piece of wood and threw it towards him. The 
 sagacious dog saw the whole business in an instant he dropped his 
 own piece, and immediately seized that which had been cast to him, 
 and then, with a degree of strength and determination almost in- 
 credible, he dragged it through the surge and delivered it to his 
 master. In this way, a line of communication was formed, and every 
 man on board saved. Does not this anecdote make you love dogs ? 
 It ought to do so. 
 
 I will now give you an instance or two of the love and kindness 
 of animals to each other. My home is at East Sheen, in Surrey ; 
 but a short distance from it there resides an amiable and excellent 
 gentleman, who, like many others, has his cows, pigs, and poultry, 
 and one of his pigs produced a large litter. As is generally the 
 case, the. youngest of the litter was a small weakly pig, and was 
 pushed away when he attempted to feed with the others. Being 
 
45 
 
 thus without food, he gave utterance to his plaintive feeble cries. 
 These attracted the sympathy of a kind-hearted hen in the yard, 
 who sheltered and warmed it under her wings. The pig was 
 subsequently fed by artificial means, but the hen continued her 
 care of it till it no longer required her protection. 
 
 I will give you another instance of animal kindness which oc- 
 curred under my own observation. The late Earl of Albemarle, 
 when Master of the Horse to the Queen, lived at the Stud House 
 in Hampton Court Park. He had a fine breed of black and tan 
 spaniels, one of which produced a litter of puppies and died in 
 bringing them forth. Their plaintive cries, like those of the pig 
 I have mentioned, induced a young female of the same breed, 
 who never had puppies' of her own, or was in the way of having 
 any, to foster and warm them. They attempted to suckle her, 
 milk came in consequence, and she was thus enabled to bring 
 them all up. I have often seen her employed at her task, and 
 nothing could exceed the affectionate way in which she performed it. 
 
 You shall hear of an instance of friendship in animals. When 
 the German Legion was actively engaged in the Peninsular War, 
 two horses were always picketed together and served side by side in 
 the same troop. One of these horses at last died. His companion 
 refused all food, and pined away and expired a victim to his 
 affection for his constant companion. Birds, also, that have been 
 kept together in cages have been known to die when they have 
 lost a companion : so capable are animals of showing love and 
 affection. 
 
 But let me return to the dog ; for I like to dwell on his noble 
 qualities. It was a pleasing remark of Sir Edwin Landseer, whose 
 pictures of dogs approach so near to the life, that the Newfound- 
 land dog was "a distinguished member of the Humane Society." 
 Indeed, we see in Sir Edwin's pictures faithfully pourtrayed honesty, 
 fidelity, courage, and sense no exaggeration no flattery. He 
 makes us feel that his dogs will love us without selfishness, and 
 defend us at the risk of their own lives ; that though friends may 
 forsake us, they never will ; and that in misfortune, poverty, 
 and death, their affection will be unchanged and their gratitude 
 unceasing. 
 
 A gentleman, while bathing in the sea near Portsmouth, was 
 in the greatest danger of being drowned. Assistance was loudly 
 called for ; but no boat was ready, and, although many persons 
 
46 
 
 were looking on, no one could be found to go to his help. In 
 this predicament, a Newfoundland dog rushed of his own accord 
 into the sea, and was the means of saving the life of the gentle- 
 man.' He afterwards purchased the dog for a large sum, treated 
 it as long as he lived with great kindness, and had the following 
 words worked on his table-cloths and napkins " Virum extuli 
 mari ; " which may be thus translated " I have rescued a man 
 from the sea." 
 
 You will be amused with the following anecdote, for it is some- 
 thing in your way as sailors. There was a Newfoundland dog on 
 board H.M.S. Bellona, which not only kept the deck at the bloody 
 battle of Copenhagen, but ran backwards and forwards with so much 
 courage and apparent anger at the foes, that he became a greater 
 favourite than ever with the crew. When the ship was paid off, after 
 the Peace of Amiens, the sailors had a parting dinner on shore. 
 Victor, the dog, was placed in the chair, and fed with roast-beef and 
 plum-pudding, his health drank, and the bill made out in "Victor's 
 name. 
 
 A kitten, only a few days old, had been put into a pail of water in 
 the stable-yard of an inn for the purpose of drowning it. It had re- 
 mained there for a minute or two, until it was to all appearance dead, 
 when a female terrier, attached to the stables, took the kitten from 
 the water and carried it off in her mouth. She suckled and watched 
 over it with great care, and it lived and thrived. She had at the time 
 a puppy of her own. 
 
 I will now tell you something of the turnspit. In my very young 
 days I was at a school where large joints of meat were turned by two 
 of these dogs, one 011 one day and the other on the next. When you 
 consider that a joint of beef would take at least three hours to roast, 
 you may suppose that the poor dogs had no easy task to perform. 
 The consequence was that, as the dinner-hour drew near, they would 
 often hide themselves, and I have been told that if one of them was 
 found, and it was not his turn to be put into the wheel, he would 
 point out the retreat of his companion, showing that they not only 
 calculated time, but are clever, sensible dogs. 
 
 Dogs have been known to die from excess of joy at seeing their 
 masters after a long absence. An English officer had a large dog 
 which he left with his family in England while he accompanied an 
 expedition to America during the wars of the colonies. Throughout 
 his absence, the animal appeared very much dejected. When the 
 
47 
 
 officer returned home, the dog, who happened to be lying at the door 
 of an apartment into which his master was about to enter, imme- 
 diately recognized him, leaped upon his neck, licked his face, and, in 
 a few minutes, fell dead at his feet. A favourite spaniel of a lady 
 recently died on seeing his beloved mistress after a long absence. 
 
 I have now given you some anecdotes of the affection, sense, and 
 strong attachments of animals either to man or to each other, 
 especially of the dog. I am convinced that the more the character 
 of this animal is known, the better treatment he will receive, and a 
 stronger sympathy will be excited for him. In fact, he is a friend so 
 faithful a protector so disinterested and courageous that he de- 
 serves all the kindness and affection which can be shown him. A 
 French writer has boldly affirmed that, with the exception of women, 
 there is nothing on earth so agreeable, or so necessary to the comfort 
 of man, as a dog. However this may be, it is certain that if we were 
 deprived of the companionship and the services of the dog, man 
 would be a solitary, and, in many respects, a helpless being. The 
 dog has died in the defence of his master saved him from drowning 
 warned him of approaching danger, and, if deprived of sight, has 
 gently and faithfully led him about. If his master wants amusement 
 in the fields or the woods, he is delighted to have an opportunity of 
 procuring it for him. If he finds himself in solitude, his dog will be 
 a cheerful companion ; and may be, when death comes, he will be 
 the last, as we have seen, to forsake the grave of his beloved master. 
 In fact, he is fond, intelligent, and grateful. I will here quote some 
 lines, by Lord Byron, on his dog : 
 
 " When some proud son of man returns to earth, 
 Unknown to glory, but upheld by birth, 
 The sculptor's art exhausts the pomp of wo, 
 And storied urns record who rests below : 
 Not what he was, but what he should have been. 
 But the poor dog, in life the firmest friend, 
 The first to welcome, foremost to defend, 
 Whose honest heart is still his master's own, 
 Who labours, fights, lives, breathes, for him alone, 
 Unhonour'd falls. * 
 
 Ye who perchance behold this simple urn, 
 Pass on it honours none you wish to mourn ; 
 To mark a friend's remains these stones arise 
 I never knew but one, and here he lies." 
 
 I have now done with my lectures for the present. You wished, 
 when I last met you, to have one more, and I need not tell you that 
 
48 
 
 this has been a hurried one. I have only to say that I quit you with 
 much regret ; for I have been listened to with kindness and attention, 
 and, what has gratified me much more, I have been assured that I 
 have both pleased and instructed you. Be quite certain that I shall 
 never forget you, or cease to feel a deep interest in your welfare. 
 Do not forsake your "Home." It is a place for rational enjoyment 
 and improvement, equally a place also for an honest, sober man, as 
 well as a Christian. And now farewell, and may God bless you all. 
 
 The attention which the men paid to Mr. Jesse must have been 
 highly satisfactory to that gentleman. With the exception of an 
 occasional laugh, created by Mr. Jesse's racy anecdotes, and frequent 
 bursts of applause, the strictest decorum was observed throughout 
 the reading. Mr. Jesse sat down amid loud applause. 
 
 Mr. Nathaniel King, the Missionary from the Society for Pro- 
 moting Missions to Seamen, thought it the duty of the men to 
 give their esteemed friend, Mr. Jesse, a vote of thanks. 
 
 This Mr. J. Verner had great pleasure in seconding ; and the 
 vote was carried with acclamation. 
 
 Mr. Jesse, in returning thanks, said that this was the sixth time 
 he had had the pleasure of thanking them for thanking him. (A. 
 laugh. ) He could only repeat what he had said over and over again. 
 He thanked them all for the kind attention they had paid him ; he 
 begged to thank them very much. (Loud applause.) 
 
 The men gave Mr. Jesse three hearty cheers as he took his 
 departure. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 FLEET AND SON, PRINTERS, BRIGHTON. 
 
GENERAL LIBRARY 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY 
 
 RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED 
 
 This book is due on the last date stamped below, or on the 
 
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