The climate of Glasgow never suited Tom's health and in 1876, on the
advice of his doctors, he decided to return to England. For a time he
seemed to regain his health, but only for a time. Soon he relapsed, and
before another year dawned it became evident, if not to himself, to his
friends, that his years on earth were numbered. With what grief I heard
the news, which came to me from his parents, I need not say. Bravely for
a while he struggled with work, but all in vain; he had to give in, and
return to his parents' home in Lincolnshire. That home he never again
left, except once, in the summer of 1877, to visit my wife and me, when
he stayed with us for several weeks. Though greatly reduced and very
thin, and capable only of short walks he was otherwise unchanged; the
lively fancy, the bright humor and the sparkling wit, which made him so
delightful a companion, were scarcely diminished. He himself was
hopeful; talked of recovery, planned excursions which he and I should
take together when his health returned; but his greatest pleasure was in
recalling our Derby days, our _Maypole_ visits, our country rambles, our
occasional dances and flirtations, and our auld acquaintances generally.

Tom was remarkable for the quickness of his observation, for keen
penetration of character, and for happy humorous description of
particular traits in those he met. He possessed, too, a wonderfully
retentive memory. It is largely due to his lively descriptions of our
interesting fellow clerks at Derby that I have been able, after the lapse
of half a century, to sketch them with the fidelity I have. His humorous
accounts of their peculiarities often enlivened the hours we spent
together, and impressed their personalities more forcibly on my mind than
they otherwise would have been.

When his visit came to an end, and he returned to his home, I too
indulged in the hope that he might regain some measure of health, for he