146 MEMORIAL SKETCH. 



for reproduction and application. He was thus able to do 

 mentally what most others can only accomplish by an 

 elaborate machinery of labelled papers. Nor did he con 

 cern himself only with facts. Like other eminent men of 

 science, he was a great novel-reader. In hours of weari 

 ness he always turned to his favourite, Scott. Though he 

 could not originate humour, he enjoyed it greatly in others. 

 To Lamb he was drawn with a positive affection ; he was 

 familiar with Hood and Dickens ; the sayings of Mrs. 

 Poyser were sometimes on his lips, though he found Daniel 

 Deronda &quot; rather tough ; &quot; and he had a warm appreciation 

 of Thackeray, with whom, through his kinship to Mrs. 

 Carpenter, he was brought into occasional contact, the 

 character he loved best in all fiction being Colonel 

 Newcome. 



These resources made Dr. Carpenter a welcome guest 

 among a large circle of friends ; but it was in his own home 

 that his personality was most amply revealed. There it 

 became clear how large was the circle of his interests. The 

 study was equally open to the tried scientific investigator, 

 or the young man in the first flush of enthusiasm over 

 some new work ; there the stores of his collections, accu 

 mulated for future memoirs, some of which were never 

 written, were displayed ; there the bearings of one element 

 or another of doubtful interpretation were discussed ; there 

 his delight in beauty, whether in a new form of animal life 

 or in the order and coherence of a chain of reasoning, 

 kindled the zeal of fellow-workers and friends. For those 

 to whom the microscope had less charm, there were remem 

 brances of travel, photographs and stereographs gathered 

 from other lands ; politics, literature, antiquities, music, all 

 supplied in turn themes for his eager and discursive talk 

 And he would always take the same pains (or even greater) 

 for the undistinguished, as for the brilliant and famous 



