FLEEMING AND HIS SONS 169 



play-hour, immediately after the despatch of the 

 day's letters ; and the boys were to be seen 

 waiting on the stairs until the mail should be 

 ready and the fun could begin. But at no other 

 time did this busy man suffer his work to inter- 

 fere with that first duty to his children ; and 

 there is a pleasant tale of the inventive Master 

 Frewen, engaged at the time upon a toy crane, 

 bringing to the study where his father sat at work 

 a half-wound reel that formed some part of his 

 design, and observing, ' Papa, you might finiss 

 windin' this for me ; I am so very busy to-day.' 



I put together here a few brief extracts from 

 Fleeming's letters, none very important in itself, 

 but all together building up a pleasant picture 

 of the father with his sons. 



' Jan. 15th, 1875. — Frewen contemplates sus- 

 pending soap bubbles by silk threads for experi- 

 mental purposes. I don't think he will manage 

 that. Bernard ' [the youngest] ' volunteered to 

 blow the bubbles with enthusiasm.' 



' Jan, 17th. — I am learning a great deal of electro- 

 statics in consequence of the perpetual cross- 

 examination to which I am subjected. I long 

 for you on many grounds, but one is that I may 

 not be obliged to deliver a running lecture on 

 abstract points of science, subject to cross-examin- 

 ation by two acute students. Bernie does not 

 cross-examine much ; but if any one gets dis- 



