less than men; or that they have an uneasy half-consciousness that,
if this were not the case, they would themselves have no claim to be
their superiors. For a sober education naturally inspires self-
respect. But he who respects himself will respect others; and he who
respects both himself and others, must of necessity be a brave man.
The great importance of this subject, and the increasing interest
which good men of all denominations feel in the bringing about of a
national education, must be my excuse for having entered so minutely
into Sir Alexander Ball's opinions on this head, in which, however, I
am the more excusable, being now on that part of his life which I am
obliged to leave almost a blank.

During his lieutenancy, and after he had perfected himself in the
knowledge and duties of a practical sailor, he was compelled by the
state of his health to remain in England for a considerable length of
time. Of this he industriously availed himself to the acquirement of
substantial knowledge from books; and during his whole life
afterwards, he considered those as his happiest hours, which, without
any neglect of official or professional duty, he could devote to
reading. He preferred, indeed he almost confined himself to,
history, political economy, voyages and travels, natural history, and
latterly agricultural works; in short, to such books as contain
specific facts or practical principles capable of specific
application. His active life, and the particular objects of
immediate utility, some one of which he had always in his view,
precluded a taste for works of pure speculation and abstract science,
though he highly honoured those who were eminent in these respects,
and considered them as the benefactors of mankind, no less than those
who afterwards discovered the mode of applying their principles, or
who realised them in practice. Works of amusement, as novels, plays,