THE END 327 



rejoiced in his friendship ; but rare indeed is the ex- 

 change of deep sentiment. His remaining something of 

 a phantom to us lies in this : that he never talked ^or 

 wrote about himself. His letters, journals, instructions, 

 scientific reasonings, are all objective. The first-person- 

 singular is rarely used. When he has to make a protest, 

 or a mild suggestion of blame, the error or the offence is 

 not shown to be a wrong done to himself. It is made to 

 appear a breach of proper principle, neither more nor less. 

 And when anything bordered on misconduct which could 

 not be condoned, it was Banks's way to dismiss from his 

 thoughts the offence and the offender alike. 



If, however, we cannot easily recognize the inner 

 man, in the absence of self-revelation through the medium 

 of diaries or letters, it is not difficult to understand why 

 vSir Joseph Banks secured such general respect and affec- 

 tion. His life, as it appeared on the surface, was one 

 long career of honour ; shown in his habitual honesty of 

 purpose, his generosity and kindliness, and in his untiring 

 public spirit. In one of the few cases where the above- 

 mentioned law (as to the use of the first-person-singular) 

 does not apply, we find him writing to Brissot de War- 

 ville : " My disposition is not of a nature inclined to wish 

 for the control of any man's sentiments ; we should all 

 speak or print what we think is true. For we shall cer- 

 tainly be esteemed by the world in proportion to the 

 truth and justice of what we speak or print." These are 

 golden words, and it was because of Banks's uniformly 

 and instinctively living up to their tenour, that he kept 

 such firm hold upon the regards of his fellow-countrymen. 

 The circumstance that he did not please everybody can 

 be accounted for, as long as the envy of distinction, or 

 the jealousy of high personal qualities, continues to infect 

 the meaner portion of humanity. 



Banks had the advantage of a fine presence, tall and 



