220 LIFE OF TEGETMEIER 



for a few folks' enjoyment ! " Intolerant of 

 ignorance, impatient of opposition, he certainly 

 was, but never intolerant of the religious beliefs 

 of others. He was violently opposed to the Anti- 

 Vivisection agitation, and strongly objected to 

 most of its methods of propaganda, but he never 

 wantonly inflicted pain on any sentient creature. 

 Pessimistic he was in illness and towards disease, 

 and he advocated the putting of stricken birds 

 and animals out of their pain rather than the 

 nursing of them back to health, especially among 

 laymen and amateurs. 



One of his strongest traits was his intense 

 patriotism and loyalty to British institutions — 

 his love of the land of his birth and his mother's 

 native country. Despite his German name and 

 possibly even Jewish ancestry, he knew no word 

 of German, nor encouraged his children to learn 

 it ; he was conservative to Toryism, and a true 

 " John Bull " to the tips of his fingers. Although 

 a real " Bohemian," and not much of a politician, 

 he deemed the Reform Bill of 1832 a harmful 

 error, and was against the lowering of the 

 franchise in any form. Another of his traits 

 was a fondness for games such as whist, back- 

 gammon, chess, draughts and dominoes, at which 

 he was very skilful, and an exigent partner and 

 a keen opponent. In his latter days his greatest 

 fits of depression or irritability could be 

 instantly dissipated by the offer to play him a 



