But I well remember one of the most
important steps that I ever made. I had tried experiments with the
object-glass of an opera-glass and was greatly astonished at the
appearance of the images of objects seen through the glass under
different conditions. By these things my thoughts were turned to
accurate optics, and I read with care Rutherford's Lectures, which my
uncle possessed. The acquisition of an accurate knowledge of the
effect of optical constructions was one of the most charming
attainments that I ever reached. Long before I went to College I
understood the action of the lenses of a telescope better than most
opticians. I also read with great zeal Nicholson's Dictionary of
Chemistry, and occasionally made chemical experiments of an
inexpensive kind: indeed I grew so fond of this subject that there was
some thought of apprenticing me to a chemist. I also attended to
surveying and made a tolerable survey and map of my uncle's farm.
"At school I was going on successfully, and distinguished myself
particularly by my memory. It was the custom for each boy once a week
to repeat a number of lines of Latin or Greek poetry, the number
depending very much on his own choice. I determined on repeating 100
every week, and I never once fell below that number and was sometimes
much above it.
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