Matthews Duncan prefixed
by way of introduction to the second edition of the work. The mere
act of writing seems to cheer the vanity of the most incompetent;
but a correction accepted by Darwin, and a whole review borrowed
and reprinted by Matthews Duncan are compliments of a rare strain,
and to a man still unsuccessful must have been precious indeed.
There was yet a third of the same kind in store for him; and when
Munro himself owned that he had found instruction in the paper on
Lucretius, we may say that Fleeming had been crowned in the capitol
of reviewing.
Croquet, charades, Christmas magic lanterns for the village
children, an amateur concert or a review article in the evening;
plenty of hard work by day; regular visits to meetings of the
British Association, from one of which I find him
characteristically writing: 'I cannot say that I have had any
amusement yet, but I am enjoying the dulness and dry bustle of the
whole thing'; occasional visits abroad on business, when he would
find the time to glean (as I have said) gardening hints for
himself, and old folk-songs or new fashions of dress for his wife;
and the continual study and care of his children: these were the
chief elements of his life.
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