INTRODUCTION. 



same time warm-hearted and affectionate ; full of strong im- 

 pulses, he disliked heartily and loved much, and in his affections 

 was wonderfully unselfish, wholly forgetting himself in his 

 thought for others, and ready to do things which he disliked to 

 please those whom he loved. Though, as we have said, some- 

 what clumsy, he was nevertheless active and courageous ; in 

 learning to ride he shewed no signs of fear, and boldly put his 

 pony to every jump which was practicable. 



In 1 86 1 he was sent to the Rev. C. G. Chittenden's prepara- 

 tory school at Hoddesden in Hertfordshire, and here the quali- 

 ties which had been already visible at home became still more 

 obvious. He found difficulty not only in writing but also in 

 spelling, and in the ordinary school-work he took but little 

 interest and made but little progress. 



In 1865 he was moved to Harrow and placed in the house 

 of the Rev. F. Rendall. Here, as at Hoddesden, he did not 

 shew any great ability in the ordinary school studies, though as 

 he grew older his progress became more marked. But happily 

 he found at Harrow an opportunity for cultivating that love of 

 scientific studies which was yearly growing stronger in him. 

 Under the care of one of the Masters, Mr G. Griffith, the boys 

 at Harrow were even then taught the elements of natural 

 science. The lessons were at that time, so to speak, extra- 

 academical, carried on out of school hours ; nevertheless, many 

 of the boys worked at them with diligence and even enthusiasm, 

 and among these Balfour became conspicuous, not only by his 

 zeal but by his ability. Griffith was soon able to recognize the 

 power of his new pupil, and thus early began to see that the 

 pale, earnest, somewhat clumsy-handed lad, though he gave no 

 promise of being a scholar in the narrower sense of the word, 

 had in him the makings of a man of science. Griffith chiefly 

 confined his teaching to elementary physics and chemistry with 

 some little geology, but he also encouraged natural history 

 studies and began the formation of a museum of comparative 

 anatomy. Balfour soon began to be very zealous in dissecting 

 animals, and was especially delighted when the Rev. A. C. 

 Eaton, the well-known entomologist, on a visit to Harrow, 

 initiated Griffith's pupils in the art of dissecting under water. 

 The dissection of a caterpillar in this way was probably an 



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