Larmor  were  announced.  These  are  two  great  mathematicians
both  of  whom  I  knew  before.  That  led  to  a  pleasant  little
gathering,  and  tea  on  the  lawn.  Presently  they  left,  and  then
after  another  hour's  reading  I  stole  into  my  study,  where  I  am
now  writing  with  a  portable  gas  lamp,  which  is  a  great  bless-
ing. F.  is  opposite  to  me  reading  one  of  the  volumes  of  the
'  Encyclopaedia  Britannica.'  I  have  just  bought  twenty-five
volumes  in  Russian  leather.  It  is  now  g  P.M.  R.  has  only  just
gone  to  bed,  and  the  young  people  with  Mr.  Harmer  are  in  the
morning-room.
"  F.  began  to  pay  off  her  scores  of  visits  this  week.     She  had
an  open  carriage  for  three  hours  on  Friday  and  polished  off  I

143


Reminiscences  of  Sir  Robert  Ball

know  not  how  many,  as  they  were  all  out,  and  no  wonder,  this
lovely  weather.  Yesterday  she  and  I  started  off  and  we  walked
right  to  the  other  side  of  Cambridge  and  back  again,  and  paid
three  visits  to  Sir  George  and  Lady  Stokes,  Professor  J.  J.
Thomson,  and  to  two  wonderful  widow  ladies,  Mrs.  Lewis  and
Mrs.  Gibson,  who  have  just  returned  from  an  expedition  on
camels  to  Mount  Sinai,  where  they  have  been  studying  ancient
manuscripts  in  a  monastery !  They  have  discovered  a  new  manu-
script of  the  Gospels.  They  delighted  the  monks  by  prattling
to  them  in  modern  Greek.  They  can  also  talk  Arabic,  Syriac,
Armenian,  and  I  know  not  what  other  tongues.
