FAMILY LIFE AND CHARACTER 221 



game of dominoes, which he had learned from a 

 Frenchman, and which in his hands became 

 a veritable game of skill. At lawn-tennis, too, 

 he had been a good plaj^er, well up into his 

 'sixties. 



In December, 1908, his eldest daughter Edith 

 died rather suddenly, and Mrs. Tegetmeier, who 

 had long been failing, did not recover from the 

 blow, and followed her first-born within three 

 weeks, passing away on January 2nd, 1909. 

 The death of his eldest daughter, and especially 

 that of his wife, proved a great shock to 

 Tegetmeier, and one from which he never really 

 recovered. Almost at once he sank into his 

 second childhood, with all a child's waywardness 

 and irresponsibility. His bodily health was prac- 

 tically perfect, and in many respects his mental 

 powers were as alert as ever. For some six 

 months my wife kept house for him, and it was 

 at this period, during which I was brought into 

 close touch daily with the old man, that I was 

 enabled more closely to see into his character, 

 to glean facts and traits, and obtain glimpses 

 into his early life and the time before I had 

 known him. That he had his trying moments 

 it were useless to deny : it was certainly hard 

 at times for his erstwhile dominant mind and 

 commanding temperament to sink into " the 

 lean and slipper 'd Pantaloon " ; but he was 

 wonderfully patient on the whole, and, as I 



