His health, never very good, rapidly improved; both brain
and eye were trained to practical observations which proved eminently
valuable. His descriptions of the people with whom he came in contact
during these years of country life reveal the quiet toleration of the
faults and foibles of others, not devoid of the keen sense of humour and
justice which characterised his lifelong attitude towards his
fellow-men.
The many interests of his new life, together with the use of a pocket
sextant, prompted him to make various experiments for himself. The only
sources from which he could obtain helpful information, however, were
some cheap elementary books on mechanics and optics which he procured
from the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge; these he studied
and "puzzled over" for several years. "Having no friends of my own age,"
he wrote, "I occupied myself with various pursuits in which I had begun
to take an interest. Having learnt the use of the sextant in surveying,
and my brother having a book on Nautical Astronomy, I practised a few of
the simpler observations.
Pages:
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44