Parables From Nature: 1st 4th Series (Classic Reprint)

ISBN-10: 1331174341
ISBN-13: 9781331174349
Series: Parables from Nature
Pages: 322
Language: English
Published: 2015-07-11
Author: Alfred Gatty

Description

Excerpt from Parables From Nature: 1st 4th Series Margaret Scott (Mrs. Gatty) was born at Burnham Rectory, Essex, in 1809. Her father, the Rev. Alexander John Scott, had been Lord Nelson's chaplain on the Victory. He was a most original character; in youth, "pale, thin and tall in person, very romantic and enthusiastic," inclined to be expensive in the matter of old books and music. He was deeply attached to Nelson. "What will you think of me, who detest this victory?" he wrote to his uncle Admiral Scott, after Trafalgar, "it has deprived me of my beloved and adored friend." His passion for books was remarkable. A story is told by his granddaughter, Mrs. Ewing, of how he set off one day with 30 in his pocket to buy a pony at the town of Richmond in Yorkshire: before he carried out that good intention, his ruling passion led him into his familiar bookseller's shop. As fate would have it, the bookseller "had lately purchased the library of Dr. Hutchinson, the historian of Durham, and the books were just being unpacked when Dr. Scott went in." The temptation of having the "first pick" was overwhelming. He spent the day selecting and bargaining for lot after lot, and finally returned home "'from the fair' (one degree less out of countenance than Moses Primrose!) without the pony, but plus a considerable addition to his 'greatest hope of future comfort.'" The consequence of such tastes as these upon his Rectory was what might be expected. "Books flooded the sitting-rooms, and crept up the stairs and lined a long gallery, and overflowed into the bedrooms." To such a parent, and into such a house the little Margaret was born. Her mother, a sweet and cultivated woman, died when she was two years old, and the two little girls were left entirely to their father's care. Most varied, most astonishing, was the amount of knowledge they picked up. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."