ffc. IV.] REMINISCENCES. 91 



certain amount of work, and he acted for some years as a 

 County Magistrate. 



With regard to my father's interest in the affairs of the 

 village, Mr. Brodie Innes has been so good as to give me his 

 recollections : — 



" On my becoming Vicar of Down in 1846, we became 

 friends, and so continued till his death. His conduct towards 

 me and my family was one of unvarying kindness, and we 

 repaid it by warm affection. 



" In all parish matters he was an active assistant ; in matters 

 connected with the schools, charities, and other business, his 

 liberal contribution was ever ready, and in the differences 

 which at times occurred in that, as in other parishes, I was 

 always sure of his support. He held that where there was 

 really no important objection, his assistance should be given 

 to the clergyman, who ought to know the circumstances best, 

 and was chiefly responsible." 



His intercourse with strangers was marked with scrupulous 

 and rather formal politeness, but in fact he had few oppor- 

 tunities of meeting strangers, and the quiet life he led at Down 

 made him feel confused in a large gathering ; for instance, at the 

 Koyal Society's soirees he felt oppressed by the numbers. The 

 feeling that he ought to know people, and the difficulty he had 

 in remembering faces in his latter years, also added to his 

 discomfort on such occasions. He did not realise that he 

 would be recognised from his photographs, and I remember 

 his being uneasy at being obviously recognised by a stranger 

 at the Crystal Palace Aquarium. 



I must say something of his manner of working : a striking 

 characteristic was his respect for time ; he never forgot how 

 precious it was. This was shown, for instance, in the way 

 in which he tried to curtail his holidays; also, and more 

 clearly, with respect to shorter periods. He would often say, 

 that saving the minutes was the way to get work done ; he 

 showed this love of saving the minutes in the difference he felt 

 between a quarter of an hour and ten minutes' work ; he never 

 wasted a few spare minutes from thinking that it was not 

 worth while to set to work. I was often struck by his way 

 of working up to the very limit of his strength, so that he 

 suddenly stopped in dictating, with the words, "I believe I 

 mustn't do any more." The same eager desire not to lose 

 time was seen in his quick movements when at work. I 

 particularly remember noticing this when he was making an 

 experiment on the roots of beans, which required some care 

 in manipulation; fastening the little bits of card upon the 



