The Life And Letters of George John Romanes

hooting, he would sit down and write something, perhaps a poem, perhaps (as he once said playfully when condoled with on account of heavy rain and absence of books, ' I don't care, I'll write an essay on the freedom of the will') an article for a magazine. A great deal of reviewing, chiefly in ' Nature,' filled up some of his time, and he also turned his attention more and more to poetry. In the postscript of a letter written in 1878 to Mr. Darwin he says: ' I am beginning to write poetry!' and poetry interested him more and more as years went on. Of this, more later. He much enjoyed society; he ceased to mingle exclusively with scientific and philosophical people, and as time went on he became acquainted with many of the notabilities of the day. And, as has been said, it is impossible perhaps to exaggerate the outward pleasantness of those years. He was able to devote himself to his work; he had an ever-increasing number of devoted friendsboth of men and women, and he was intensely happy in his home life. His children were a great and increasing interest to him, and he was an ideal father, tender, sympathetic, especially as infancy grew into childhood. He shared in all his children's interests, and lived with them on terms of absolute friendship, chaffing and being chaffed, enjoying an interchange of pet names and jokes, and yet exacting obedience and gentle manners, and never permitting them as small children to make themselves troublesome to v...