He jots down any striking thought or saying he comes across
in the course of his reading; he makes practical experiments to test
his theories; above all, his insatiable curiosity to find out the
"why" and "how" of things makes him speculate on their causes, and
discuss with his friends the right and wrong of existing institutions.
This curiosity to make out how things work is common to most healthy
boys; to probe deep into the reasoned "why" is rare. It makes the
practical mechanic into the man of science. Possessing both these
qualities as he did, it is easy to understand his own description of
his early ambitions:--
As I grew older, my great desire was to be a mechanical
engineer, but the fates were against this; and, while very
young, I commenced the study of medicine under a medical
brother-in-law. But, though the Institute of Mechanical
Engineers would certainly not own me, I am not sure that I
have not all along been a sort of mechanical engineer _in
partibus infidelium_. I am now occasionally horrified to think
how little I ever knew or cared about medicine as the art of
healing. The only part of my professional course which
really and deeply interested me was physiology, which is
the mechanical engineering of living machines; and,
notwithstanding that natural science has been my proper
business, I am afraid there is very little of the genuine
naturalist in me.
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