'He would take
any amount of trouble to help us,' writes my correspondent. 'We
never felt an affair was complete till we had called him to see,
and he would come at any time, in the middle of any work.' There
was indeed one recognised playhour, immediately after the despatch
of the day's letters; and the boys were to be seen waiting on the
stairs until the mail should be ready and the fun could begin. But
at no other time did this busy man suffer his work to interfere
with that first duty to his children; and there is a pleasant tale
of the inventive Master Frewen, engaged at the time upon a toy
crane, bringing to the study where his father sat at work a half-
wound reel that formed some part of his design, and observing,
'Papa, you might finiss windin' this for me; I am so very busy to-
day.'
I put together here a few brief extracts from Fleeming's letters,
none very important in itself, but all together building up a
pleasant picture of the father with his sons.
'JAN.
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