50 PIIOCEEDISGS OF THE 



In 1807 he married Catherine Howes, the 011I3' daughter of 

 George D. Howes, tour sons and two daughters forming their 

 family. 



He was admitted a solicitor in 1809, witli honours, and his 

 legal reputation grew until he was admitted into partnership 

 under the title of Ashurst, Morris, Crisp & Co. While working 

 hard in the City, and bringing home piles of papers to investigate 

 far into the morning, he happily had a hobby to turn his thoughts 

 when free at times from that imperious mistress, the law — namely, 

 the use of the microscope and books upon that instrnment. Early 

 acquiring a perfect museum of splendid instruments and apparatus, 

 he set himself to build up a complete library of books on the 

 microscope, and before many years had elapsed he was able to say 

 that he possessed every vohnne catalogued by lioper in his account 

 of his own library. In 187U he became a Fellow of the lloyal 

 Microscopical Society, served on its Council from 1874, and in 

 1878 was chosen one of its secretaries. Here he had scope for 

 his energies. Dr. Henry Lavvsou, the editor of the ^Jociety's 

 'Journal,' had just died, and Mr. Crisp at once remodelled 

 the ' Journal,' gathered round him a band of specialists, and, 

 besides the reports of activities of the Society, copious sunnuaries 

 and papers at home and abroad were printed in the pages, very 

 largely at the expense of the secretary, whose purse was readily 

 drawn upon to improve the publication in text and illustration. 



He was elected a Fellow of our Society on the 10th June, 1870, 

 and thus had nearly completed his 49th year of Fellowship. He 

 served on the Council from 1879 almost continuously, and was a 

 member of it to the day of his death. On the death of Frederick 

 Currey in 1881 our late Fellow was elected his successor as Trea- 

 surer, and held that office till May 1905, a period of 24 years, 

 when the pressure of his legal work obliged him to resign. The 

 frontispiece of the Society's ' Proceedings,' 1904-5, is from a 

 photograph of our former Treasurer. 



For more than forty years Sir Frank had loved that part of the 

 Thames Valley of which Henley is the centre, and after many 

 visits to that town he bought an estate with two houses upon it, 

 and began a gradual rebuilding of the principal house until it 

 assumed its present shape. At the same time the grounds were 

 laid out under his direction, and an Alpine garden of unique dis- 

 tinction was set out. The ' Guide ' published to the gardens 

 shows the quaint and whimsical fancies in which the owner used 

 to indulge, the visitor being early met by the warning "Don't 

 keep off' the grass." This volume, the only one of which he was 

 the author, ran through several editions, and the profits of its 

 sale, with the entire receipts for admission to the garden on AVed- 

 nesdavs in summer, were devoted to local and gardening charities. 



Of his great business capacity this is hardly the ])lace to speak; 

 hut I may record that his knowledge of company law \\as admit- 

 tedlv unique, and his experience was repeatedly used on Committees 

 and Commissions. These qualities shone out in Council, and many 



