128 CHARACTER OF WILLIAM. 



somewhat reserved nature. He clung with great affection 

 to his relatives, but would never let them see it. From 

 earliest youth he was ambitious and a little inclined 

 to jealousy. When the tenderness of mother, grand- 

 mother, brothers and sisters was disputed by his next 

 brother Frederick, a deep resentment against the little 

 rival manifested itself - - a feeling which I fancy was 

 never wholly extinguished in him. in spite of all the 

 fraternal affection and help bestowed so abundantly in 

 later years. He possessed an extremely clear under- 

 standing and a quick power of apprehension, could 

 always follow with great ease the train of thought of 

 others, as well as grasp and give life to the spirit of 

 what he had acquired. The good pupil developed with 

 perfect consistency into the logical, methodical thinker, 

 the able engineer and man of business. His great 

 success in England he owes chiefly to his peculiar power 

 of appropriating easily and quickly from the store- 

 house of German science what was of practical value 

 for the moment, as well as to the further gift of 

 having this scientific knowledge ever ready, and of 

 always immediately discovering in the technical ques- 

 tions he met with the fulcrum, where the scientific lever 

 should be applied for their furtherance or solution. No 

 doubt he was essentially assisted by the circumstance 

 that he came to England at a time when scientific 

 culture was only represented there sporadically, 

 although then in a remarkable degree, and when 

 active co-operation between science and practice was 

 as rare as in Germany. So he succeeded, not only 



