SIR GEORGE DARWIN 191 



himself by wondering whether they really did 

 like him. 



Of his energy we have evidence in the amount 

 of material contained in his collected works. There 

 was nothing dilatory about him, and here he again 

 resembled his father, who had markedly the power 

 of doing things at the right moment, and thus 

 avoiding waste of time and discomfort to others. 

 George had none of a characteristic which was 

 defined in the case of Henry Bradshaw, as "always 

 doing something else." After an interruption he 

 could instantly reabsorb himself in his work, so 

 that his study was not kept as a place sacred to 

 peace and quiet. 



His wife is my authority for saying that although 

 he got so much done, it was not by working long 

 hours. Moreover, the days that he was away from 

 home made large gaps in his opportunities for 

 steady application. His diaries show in another 

 way that his researches by no means took all his 

 time. He made a note of the books he read, and 

 these make a considerable record. Although he 

 read much good literature with honest enjoyment, 

 he had not a delicate or subtle literary judgment. 

 Nor did he care for music. He was interested in 

 travels, history, and biography, and as he could 

 remember what he read or heard, his knowledge 

 was wide in many directions. His linguistic power 

 was characteristic. He read many European 

 languages. I remember his translating a long 

 Swedish paper for my father. And he took 

 pleasure in the Piatt Deutsch stories of Fritz 

 Reutef. 



