CHARLES ROBERT DARWIN. 369 



walk with me, although I walked fast, yet she 

 often used to go before, pirouetting in the most 

 elegant way, her dear face bright all the time with 

 the sweetest smiles. Occasionally she had a pretty 

 coquettish manner towards me, the memory of 

 which is charming. . . . 



" In the last short illness her conduct, in simple 

 truth, was angelic. She never once complained ; 

 never became fretful ; was ever considerate of 

 others, and was thankful in the most gentle, 

 pathetic manner for everything done for her. 

 When so exhausted that she could hardly speak, 

 she praised everything that was given her, and 

 said some tea 'was beautifully good.' When I 

 gave her some water, she said, ' I quite thank you ; ' 

 and these, I believe, were the last precious words 

 ever addressed by her dear lips to me." 



Such consideration and politeness she naturally 

 inherited. Francis Darwin says in his delightful 

 life of his father, "He always spoke to servants 

 with politeness, using the expression, ' Would you 

 be so good,' in asking for anything. In business 

 matters he was equally courteous. His solicitor, 

 who had never met him, said, 'Everything I did 

 was right, and everything was profusely thanked 

 for.' " Of the drawings made by his children, he 

 would say, " Michael Angelo is nothing to it ! " 

 but he always looked carefully at the work and 

 kindly pointed out mistakes. 



"He received," says his son, "many letters from 

 foolish, unscrupulous people, and all of these re- 



