162
ESSEX WORTHIES.
analysis and became a very capable experimenter in this way. One
rather ludicrous accident I remember in connection with this. He was
using the mixed gases from a small bladder with a blowpipe when a
smart explosion occurred. This, however, did no more mischief
than burning off the whiskers from one side of his face. He laughed
when he told me that he had to ring the bell for his housekeeper to
bring his shaving tackle to clear the other cheek, so that he should
not appear lopsided.
He took an interest in and valued education. In 1852-3, when the
people of Colchester determined to make their old Grammar School
more useful to the town, we find his name among the subscribers, and
in 1848, when an exhibition of objects of science and art was held in
Chelmsford Shire Hall in connection with the Literary and Mechanics'
Institution of that town, Mr. Brown exhibited a number of valuable
and interesting fossils from various parts of Essex.
During his life at Stanway John Brown collected a vast number
of specimens illustrating Geology and Conchology. His house was
literally crammed with them, upstairs and down. He had a very
fine series of English (especially Essex) land and fresh-water recent
shells, and marine shells from various parts of the world, carefully
arranged in cabinets. Besides these he had fossils from all parts of
the county, named and mounted, and specimens of rocks from many
places in England. It is lamentable that such valuable collections
were lost to the county of Essex. I know very well that Colchester
might have had all John Brown's collections had there been public
spirit enough to found a museum. He was always ready, by giving
lectures, preparing papers, and subscribing money, to encourage the
pursuit of his favourite studies, but often and often his efforts received
nothing but discouragement, and in his case the old saying was
verified that a "prophet hath no honour in his own country." At
Copford, near Stanway, he founded a small institution for educa-
tional purposes, and did all he could to lead his neighbours to take
interest in the wonders of nature. While studying he acted upon the
motto of one of our great men (Faraday, I believe), "discover and
publish," and during the time he lived at Stanway he frequently con-
tributed articles to the various scientific periodicals, and to the local
newspapers. In the list of papers on Geology recently published in
the Essex Naturalist by Mr. Whitaker and Mr. Dalton, we find
twenty-one from his pen. In addition to these, there are in the
"Essex Literary Journal" (Chelmsford, 1839), five others, and some