he got in a
very ingenious fashion, by visiting all the rubbish heaps of the
neighbourhood, on which garden refuse was usually piled. A good many
roots and plants can generally be found in such places, and by digging
them up, Tam was soon able to make himself a number of bright and
lively beds. Such self-help in natural history always lay very much in
Edward's way.

At the same time, young Edward was now beginning to feel the desire for
knowing something more about the beasts and birds of which he was so
fond. He used to go in all his spare moments among the shops in the
town, to look at the pictures in the windows, especially the pictures
of animals; and though his earnings were still small, he bought a book
whenever he was able to afford one. In those days, cheap papers for the
people were only just beginning to come into existence; and Tam, who
was now eighteen, bought the first number of the Penny Magazine, an
excellent journal of that time, which he liked so much that he
continued to take in the succeeding numbers. Some of the papers in it
were about natural history, and these, of course, particularly
delighted the young man's heart. He also bought the Weekly Visitor,
which he read through over and over again.

In 1831, when Tam was still eighteen, he enlisted in the Aberdeenshire
militia, and during his brief period of service an amusing circumstance
occurred which well displays the almost irresistible character of
Edward's love of nature. While he was drilling with the awkward squad
one morning, a butterfly of a kind that he had never seen before
happened to flit in front of him as he stood in the ranks. It was a
beautiful large brown butterfly, and Edward was so fascinated by its
appearance that he entirely forgot, in a moment, where he was and what
he was doing. Without a second's thought, he darted wildly out of the
ranks, and rushed after the butterfly, cap in hand. It led him a
pretty chase, over sandhills and shore, for five minutes. He was just
on the point of catching it at last, when he suddenly felt a heavy hand
laid upon his shoulder, and looking round, he saw the corporal of the
company and several soldiers come to arrest him. Such a serious
offence against military discipline might have cost him dear indeed,
for corporals have little sympathy with butterfly hunting; but luckily
for Edward, as he was crossing the parade ground under arrest, he
happened to meet an officer walking with some