Studying a portrait of his own father he mused: 'The child that has never
known both parents, must be conscious of having missed part of its
inheritance in the world.' He had been thus robbed, a few days before his
birth, by the slaughter at Badajoz, where Colonel Grey fell, a gallant
soldier, scarce past thirty.

To a problem which the youngest child carries lightly, Sir George had
given much thought, namely, 'Of what does human life consist? what are
its elements?' Thereon he had the deliverance:

'Quite early in my own life, I formed the opinion that we had neglected
to consider an element of existence; that besides the solids and the
fluids there was ether. It seemed to me that ether played a very
important part, alike in the creation and the maintenance of life. That
was the everlasting ingredient, the something which never perished, but
went on and on, the soul in the body of flesh and blood. Brought into
contact with various eminent men, I was happily able to discuss such
vital questions with them.'

Sir George's mother first set him thinking, and he had a recollection of
learning the Lord's Prayer from her. Indeed, his earliest mental problem
arose from the opening words, 'Our Father, which art in Heaven.'

'I took the "which art in" to be all one word, and puzzled over its
possible meaning. The circumstance was a light to the obstacles that
beset a child's mind, and a lamp to parents in training that mind. Never
was there a mother more fitted than mine, for the glorious
responsibilities of motherhood. Very highly educated, she added Latin to
her other accomplishments, in order that she might teach the language to