106 ENGLISH MEN OF SCIENCE. [CHAP. 



own hand. I spend much time, perhaps too 

 much, in putting things straight." 



3. " I believe I am reckoned a good chair- 

 man at public meetings, and I always find that 

 administrative and other work gravitates to- 

 wards my hands." 



4. " My professional life is strictly metho^ 

 dical ; every working day is still mapped out 

 into hours, half hours, and quarters/' 



Fully one half of those who state that they 

 possess business habits in a decided degree 

 accredit one or both of their parents with the 

 same faculty. 



Only two of my correspondents speak of 

 being deficient in business capacities. Both 

 these are physicists. 



The following quotation may with propriety be 

 inserted here, although the first named quality, 

 independence, is the subject of a future chapter. 

 " I attribute all the knowledge I have ac- 

 quired, and any success I may have had, chiefly 

 to three qualities, all of which I believe I in- 



