82 REMINISCENCES. [Ch. IV. 



&c. ; at Torquay lie observed the fertilisation of an orchid 

 (Spiranthes), and also made ont the relations of the sexes in 

 Thyme. 



He rejoiced at his return home after his holidays, and 

 greatly enjoyed the welcome he got from his dog Polly, 

 who would get wild with excitement, panting, squeaking, 

 rushing round the room, and jumping on and off the chairs ; 

 and he used to stoop down, pressing her face to his, letting 

 her lick him, and speaking to her with a peculiarly tender, 

 caressing voice. 



My father had the power of giving to these summer 

 holidays a charm which was strongly felt by all his family. 

 The pressure of his work at home kept him at the utmost 

 stretch of his powers of endurance, and when released from 

 it, he entered on a holiday with a youthfulncss of enjoyment 

 that made his companionship delightful ; wo felt that we saw 

 moro of him in a week's holiday than in a month at homo. 



Besides the holidays which I have mentioned, there were his 

 visits to water-cure establishments. In 1849, when very ill, 

 suffering from constant sickness, he was urged by a friend 

 to try the water-cure, and at last agreed to go to Dr. Gully's 

 establishment at Malvern. His letters to Mr. Fox show how 

 much good the treatment did him ; he seems to have thought 

 that he had found a cure for his troubles, but, like all other 

 remedies, it had only a transient effect on him. However, he 

 found it, at first, so good for him, that when he came home he 

 built himself a douche-bath, and the butler learnt to be his 

 bathman. 



He was too, a frequent patient at Dr. Lane's water-cure 

 establishment, Moor Park, near Aldershot, visits to which he 

 always looked back with pleasure. 



Some idea of his relation to his family and his friends may 

 be gathered from what has gone before ; it would be impossible 

 to attempt a complete account of these relationships, but a 

 slightly fuller outline may not be out of place. Of his 

 married life I cannot speak, save in the briefest manner. In 

 his relationship towards my mother, his tender and sympathetic 

 nature was shown in its most beautiful aspect. In her presence 

 he found his happiness, and through her, his life — which 

 might have been overshadowed by gloom — became one of 

 content and quiet gladness. 



The Expression of the Emotions shows how closely he watched 

 his children ; it was characteristic of him that (as I have heard 

 him tell), although he was so anxious to observe accurately the 

 expression of a crying child, his sympathy with the grief spoiled 



