iv.] EDUCATION. 241 



training under Professors . . . . at . . . . , and 

 especially in Germany, under . . . ." 



(9) " The steadiness with which I was taught 

 by one eccentric schoolmaster reading and ac- 

 curate spelling, clear, neat, and intelligible 

 writing, and quick and accurate computation by 

 all the primary rules of arithmetic. Faults in 

 these several branches were never overlooked, 

 and all competition was for excellence in each ; 

 Latin and French were evidently thrown in to 

 please parents. Going to sea, at the age of 13, 

 I really think I started with the best education 

 I could have had. Compared with my youthful 

 messmates, some of whom had passed through 

 public schools, I was far their superior in 

 writing (I soon acquired chart-drawing and 

 sketching from nature), and in calculation of 

 the day's work, and in astronomical observa- 

 tions." 



K 



