iv OBITUARY NOTICES OF MEMBERS DECEASED. 



says that although he was usually quiet in manner he invariably 

 became nervous and unhappy in the presence of moving objects, 

 which painfully affected his eyes, 



A short autobiography published in Lamp in 1903 gives a glimpse 

 of his family life: 



"During the ten years (1864-1874) of enforced inactivity and rest 

 occurred my marriage to Fraulein Marie Gruber, who became the mother of 

 my children and was my true companion for twenty years until her death. 

 Of her now I think only with love and gratitude. She was the one who more 

 than any one else helped me through the gloom of this period. She read 

 much to me at this time, for she read aloud excellently, and she not 'only 

 took an interest in my theoretical and experimental work but she also gave 

 practical assistance in it."2 



His great work on the " Natural History of the Daphnoidea " 

 (1876-79) is dedicated to "My father-in-law, Adolph Gruber, in 

 thankful memory of the beautiful hours of leisure spent on the 

 shores of Bodensee." His colleague, the anatomist Wiedersheim, 

 married another daughter of Gruber who was a Genoese banker. 

 After the death of his first wife Weismann married again when 

 about sixty years old, but not happily. One of his daughters mar- 

 ried the zoologist W. N. Parker, who translated into English his 

 best known work " The Germ Plasm." A son was trained as a 

 professional violinist. 



Weismann, like so many other naturalists, was of an artistic dis- 

 position. He loved nature, art and music and he was an accom- 

 plished pianist. During the periods when he suffered much from 

 his eye trouble he says that he " found solace in playing a good deal 

 of music." He was an enthusiastic admirer of Beethoven but 

 could not appreciate Wagner. His artistic temperament is further 

 shown in many of his essays which for beauty of expression are 

 rarely surpassed in scientific literature. 



He was an excellent speaker, being simple and earnest in manner 

 and never indulging in jokes. His lectures on evolution, which were 

 delivered regularly for almost forty years, were famous and always 

 attracted great audiences. As a teacher of advanced students he 

 was stimulating and helpful, a kind critic and an attentive listener. 



He took no active part in politics, but like many German pro- 



2 Quoted from Locy's '" Biology and its Makers," p. 401. 



