182 ENGLISH MEN OF SCIENCE. [CHAP. 



inquiries by my father's acute observations in all 

 such topics." (e) 



(6) " I cannot say that I had naturally a turn 

 for any pursuit in particular. My addiction to 

 medicine was purely the result of accident. I 

 never gave a thought to physic as a subject of 

 study until I was 27 years old." (d) 



(7) " Accidentally [directed] to medicine by 

 associating with a medical friend in a superficial 

 study of botany." (c, d) 



STATISTICS. 



(1) c< Certainly my scientific tastes appear to 

 me to have been, so to say, innate." (a) 



(2) " My interest in science was due to my 

 having been officially employed in the early part 

 of [my career,' in a very important statistical 

 inquiry]." (d) 



(3) " Innate, I think. I inherit many mental 

 peculiarities and talents from my paternal grand- 

 father, amongst which is a love of figures and 



