HATRED OF POLITICS. 311 



the subject, no one could ever ascertain whether he had 

 any views at all. What the reason for this curious 

 reticence might be I never could discover ; but it was 

 very deeply rooted. He impartially read the news- 

 papers of both sides, but invariably kept his opinions to 

 himself. When voting-day came round he went and 

 voted, as became a man and a ratepayer ; but no one 

 ever knew to which side his vote had gone. And almost 

 the only way to offend him was to persist in talking to 

 him upon the one subject which he abhorred, or to press 

 for a statement of his views upon matters which all the 

 rest of the world were eagerly and excitedly discussing. 

 Although we saw but little of him when at home, 

 and although, even upon the few occasions on which he 

 left his study, he was commonly engrossed in the parti- 

 cular subject upon which he happened to be working, 

 my father was always a delightful companion, with the 

 power of thoroughly entering into and sympathising 

 with the hobbies and pursuits of those much younger 

 than himself. In society, too, he was always very 

 popular. He might talk, or he might not : that, to a 

 great extent, was a matter of chance. But, when he 

 once began to enter into conversation, and to interest 

 himself in the topic of discussion, he was one of the 

 pleasantest of talkers, always ready and apt with quota- 

 tion, anecdote, and illustration, full of humour, and at 

 the same time very careful and accurate in his state- 

 ments. In the words of one who knew him well, from 

 the time of his matriculation to the end of his life, " he 

 was an excellent conversationalist, and no matter how 



