Sir Samuel Baker; a memoir,

Front matter

*^ PRINCETON, N.J. '

Purchased by the Hammill Missionary Fund.

DT 107 . 2 .B16 Murray, T. Douglas.

Chapter I. Birth And Ancestry

1821 Baker's Birth and Parentage — Captain Valentine Baker — Sir John Baker, Bart. — Extinction of the Baker baronetcy 1-6

CHAPTER n.

CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH.

1831-1841 Personal Appearance and character — Early Experiments— Education 7-15

CHAPTER HI.

MANHOOD.

1812-1846 Lypiatt Park — Coming of Age — Marriage — The Mauritius— Death of children — Sails for Ceylon . , 16-21

CHAPTER IV.

AN ENGLISH VILLAGE IN CEYLON.

1846-1855 First Visit — Return to England — The Emigrants sail for Ceylon — Newera Eliya — The Settlement — Sport and Hunting — Results .... 22-33

CHAPTER V.

IN QUEST OF A MISSION. 1855-1861 A Journey to the East — Crimean War — The Kustenje

Railway — A Gallant act — Africa .... 34-42

A

VI

CHAPTER VI.

THE MYSTERY OF THE NILE-SOURCES.

r AC E

1861 Incentives to Discoveiy — Progress of Exploration : a Retrospect — State of Knowledge on Baker's Advent 43-48

CHAPTER VII.

A RECONNAISSANCE TOWARDS ABYSSINIA.

1861-1862 Start from Cairo — Crossing the Nubian Desert — Up the Atbara — Encampment — Exploration and Hunting — The Hamran Arabs — Arrival at Khartum— Geographical Results 49-56

CHAPTER VIII.

FAREWELL MESSAGES FROM KHARTUM.

1862 Death of Baker's Father — Organization and Plans —

An unsolicited Testimonial — Doubts . . . 57-61

CHAPTER IX.

MEETING WITH SPEKE AND GR-A-NT.

1863 Start from Khartum — Delays — ^Arrival at Gondokoro — Mutiny — Arrival of Speke and Grant— Speke's information regarding the ' Luta (or Muta) Nzige — Other Relief-Expeditions — Departure of Speke and Grant 62-71

CHAPTER X.

THE DISCOVERY OF THE ALBERT XYANZA.

1863-1864 A Conspiracy — A choice of evils — In the track of the Traders — Outmarched — A new ally — Another mutiny crushed — Arrival in the Latuka countiy — Embarrassing situation — Hostilities avoided — A Reconnaissance towards the South — Sufferings at Obbo — Baker secures the supreme command — Treachery of the guide — Interview with Kamrasi — A critical Situation — Serious illness of Mrs. Baker — Both travellers almost spent — Arrival at their goal 72-90

Vll

CHAPTER XI.

RETURN TO KHARTUM.

PACE

1864- 1865 Departure from Magungo — Discoveiy of the Murchison

Falls — -Trapped — Adventures with Kamrasi — Arrival at Gondokoro and Khartum- — Appreciation of Speke and Grant — Letters Home . . . 91-100

CHAPTER XII.

DISCUSSION OF GEOGRAPHICAL RESULTS.

Effect of discoveries by Speke, Grant, Baker, and Stanley — Geographical terminology a source of error — The original maps and obsei-vations of Speke, Baker, Gessi, Mason and Stanley, compared— Origin and explanation of Baker's error in assuming Lake Albert to extend indefinitely to the South — Correspondence on the subject between Baker and Stanley 101-122

CHAPTER XIIL HOME.

1865- 1869 Honours — Hedenham Hall — The Abyssinian Cam-

paign— Baker's plan rejected — The fate of Livingstone — Baker's tribute — Baker accompanies H.R.H. the Prince of Wales on a Journey up the Nile — His nomination as Commander of an Expedition to the Sudan 123-133

CHAPTER XIV.

THE SLAVE TRADE.

Ismail's object — Nature of Baker's task — The principle of Demand and Supply — Trade-centres— Sources of the Traffic — Methods of slave-hunting — Most effectual means of undermining the Slave Trade 134-146

CHAPTER XV.

ORGANIZATION OF THE EXPEDITION.

1869 Baker's Firman — Rank and Powers — General plans

— Personnel and Materiel — Arrival at Khartum . 147-155

VUl

CHAPTER XVI.

THE TASK OF SISYPHUS.

PAGE

1870-1871 Procrastination, as a Fine Art — Inconsistent action by the Governor-General at Khartum — Pohcy of the slave-traders — Struggles in the Sudd — Turned back — The Camp at Tewfikia — Capture of slavers — Visit to Khartum — Off at last — Renewed Struggles in the Sudd — Arrival at Gondokoro — Annexation of the country (Ismailia) — Trouble with the Bari — Enter Abu Saud — Construction of a strong fort— Successful campaign against the Bari — Disaffection among the Eg>'ptian troops — A mutinous appeal — Trip to the Promised Land- Cut-off from Khartum — Peace with the Bari . . 156-179

CHAPTER XVII.

THE TASK OF SISYPHUS {continued).

1872-1873 Advance to the South — Arrival at Fatiko — Abu Saud again — Arrival at Masindi — Annexation of Unyoro ■ — Kabrega's treachery — Native attacks — Destruction of town — Orderly retreat — Return to Fatiko — Defeat of the slave-traders — Flight of Abu Saiid — Rumours of Baker's death — Pacification of the Shuli country — Alliance with Rionga — M'tesa's co-operation — Return to Ismailia and Khartum — Conclusion of the Expedition — The case of Abu Saud 180-199

CHAPTER XVIII.

APPRECIATION OF RESULTS.

Baker's pioneer-work — Futility of measures for forcible repression of the Slave Trade — Bakers views in after-life — Foundations of a responsible government 200-207

CHAPTER XIX.

SANDFORD ORLEIGH.

1873-1874 Return to England— Congratulations— Public recognition— Purchase of Sandford Orleigh — Baker's English Home 208-214

IX

CHAPTER XX. baker's successor.

PAGE

1874-1876 Baker and Gordon Correspondence — Gordon and Abu Saud — Gordon's tribute to Baker — Relative achievements — Founding Stations — Transport — Communications — Secret enemies — Gordon's Pessimism — News from Khartum .... 215-234

CHAPTER XXI.

GORDON'S GOVERNOR-GENERALSHIP.

1877-1878 Baker and Gordon Correspondence {con finned) — Gordon as a Liberator — 'The little Khedive' — Emin Effendi and Kabrega— M'tesa — Mixed Tribunals— Blockading the Slavers in the Bahr El Ghazal — Native Trade — Baker's tribute to Gordon — Registration of Slaves — The Slave Convention of 1877 — Evacuation and retrenchment — The Conquest of Dar-Fur — The Slave Trade — Baker's estimate of Gordon 235-262

CHAPTER XXII.

THE EASTERN QUESTION.

1875-1879 British Mediterranean Policy— The Russo-Turkish War — The Treaty of Berlin — The Occupation of Cyprus — British Imperial Policy — The invasion of India — A year in Cyprus — Strategic Value of Cyprus — A retreat from Egypt (the key-stone of British Mediterranean Policy) ' a national suicide ' 263-280

CHAPTER XXIII.

1880-1882 Baker's Vindication of Ismail, the ex-Khedive— The

Arabi Revolt — Gordon's views .... 281-292

CHAPTER XXIV.

1882 The rise of the Mahdi — The sacking of Sennar — Giegler's action — The relief of Sennar — Serious Egyptian Reverse — Investment of El Obeid — Other engagements — Causes of the Mahdiist revolt 293-307

X

CHAPTER XXV.

THE BRITISH OCCUPATION.

1883-1884 Lord Dufferin's Report— The Egyptian Crisis— The disaster to Hicks' army in Kordofan — Gordon — Valentine Baker — A Lady's Diary — Val. Baker's reverse — Rejected Allies 308-325

CHAPTER XXVI.

THE NILE CAMPAIGN.

1884 Gordon's Mission — Gordon's Appeal from Khartum — Lord Wolseley on Nile-navigation — Massacre of Stewart's Party— Fall of Khartum . . . 326-341

CHAPTER XXVII.

THE COLOSSUS AND THE SPHINX.

1885-189 Great Britain and Eg)'pt— The Drummond- Wolff Mission — The future of Egypt — The future of the Sudan — The re-conquest or Pacification of the Sudan — Baker's Nunc Diinittis . . . 342-361

CHAPTER XXVIII. ^ A POSTSCRIPT.

1892-1893 Egypt and the Sudan : their intimate inter-relations — Emin Pasha — Great Britain and Germany in East Africa — Uganda — Chartered enterprise in Tropical Africa — Irrigation — The development of the Sudan — Railways 362-377

CHAPTER XXIX.

QUESTIONS OF THE DAY. 1875-1893 British Imperial Policy— The Irish Question— The Integrity of India — The Pacification of Burma — China and Japan — The Transvaal — Naval Defence— Plan for a Mercantile Marine — The raising of the Vang7tard 378-390

CHAPTER XXX.

TRAVEL AND SPORT.

The Ethics of hunting — Lord Wharncliffe's reminiscences of Baker — Baker as a N-aturalist — India — Coursing black-buck— China — ^Japan — Japanese customs 391 407

XI

CHAPTER XXXI.

PERSONALIA.

PACE

Anecdotes — General Valentine Baker — Colonel James

CHAPTER XXXn.

LAST DAYS.

1893 Baker decides to winter in England — His last illness

CHAPTER XXXni.

AN APPRECIATION.

A Typical Englishman — Characteristics — His Ardent

Patriotism— Tributes 418-425

APPENDICES.

First Appendix : ' Military Routes towards Berber' . 428-432

Second Appendix : A List of the Published Works

and Polemical Writings by Sir Samuel Baker . 433-435

Third Appendix : Sir Samuel Baker : Titles, and

Chronological Memoranda 436-437

Index 439

[List of Illl'stkations and Maps, overpass.

LIST OF THE

ILLUSTRATIONS and MAPS.

Illustrations :

1. Portrait of Sir Samuel Baker .... [FronthpUce)

3. Portraits of Sir Samuel and Lady Baker . „ ,, 123

4. Newera Eliya : Ceylon .... ,, ,, 24

5. Facsimile of a page in Baker's Field-Journal „ ,, 90

Maps :

1. The Nile Lakes ' At end of Volume')

2. The Nile Basin (General Route-Map) . . To face page 1

3. Baker's original map of Abyssinian Tributaries ,, „ 56

4. Spread of Mahdiist Revolt : 1882 . . ,, ,, 306

5. The Albert Nyanra : Sketch-map by Speke . See page 105

I. "it

' ' 'Sir'' 'fill

VEGETATION MAP

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THE iSILE BASIN

SIR SAmUEL BAKERS ROUTES SCALE, ivziiiSe OR ABOUT 180 MtLE2TO I tnCH .

CONVCNTIONAL SIGNS

CaroA^an Hoods Stream. Beds "V'^'"

Rivers - Villages o

Dhscrta HB Fratrt^-la7t^[i I _

Baker's roiaes Baker's stations

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35*

CHAPTER I.

Samuel White Baker was born in London on the eighth of June, 1821, a few weeks before the coronation of George IV. He was the secondborn of a family of eight children — five sons, the eldest of whom died in youth, and three daughters. His mother was the daughter of Thomas Dobson, Esquire, of Enfield, in the County of Middlesex.

Shortly after their marriage, his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Baker, settled at Enfield, in a house called ' Ridgeway Oaks.' Mr. Baker was the youngest of seven brothers and three sisters. On the death of his father, Valentine Baker, of Bristol, he had succeeded to the family estates. He possessed large properties and sugar-plantations in Jamaica and in the Mauritius ; whilst, for purposes of trade, he maintained a fleet of his own vessels. A very active and enterprising man, he was constantly occupied with public business ; and spent much of his time in London, where he owned a house in Whitehall Yard. Later in life, he became a Director of the Great Western Railway and Chairman of the Gloucester Bank.

Valentine Baker, the paternal grandfather of Samuel White Baker, was a noted citizen of Bristol. Following the example of his father and grandfather, he entered the Royal Navy as a youth ; but he subsequently abandoned this career, in order to take the independent command of a privateer. Born in 1737, he lived in the stirring times that witnessed, among other notable events, the Seven Years' War, the conquest of India, and the War of American Independence.

It was during the last-named period, so disastrous for the prestige and colonial success of our country, that Captain Valentine Baker chiefly distinguished himself. Having taken-out ' letters of marque,' he equipped the CcBsar, a sloop of 18 guns, which he fought in a very gallant action against a French frigate of 32 guns. This was in the year 1782, when Great Britain had been engaged for four years in a desperate maritime struggle against France, Spain and Holland ; and was carrying-on hostilities, not only in North America, against the Colonists, but also in the West Indies, in the English Channel, and in India.

Valentine Baker's action resulted in a hardwon victory : the French frigate struck her flag ; but the Cccsar was herself so badly crippled,

CAPTAIN VALENTINE BAKER 3

that, in the absence of boats, all of which had been shot into splinters by the enemy's guns, she was unable to take possession of her prize. The French vessel, seizing this opportunity of escape, re-hoisted her flag and sailed away. She was, however, captured on the following day by an English frigate, and taken into Portsmouth. To this port also Captain Valentine Baker had sailed his ship, to be re-fitted : and it is said, that the French Commander, on seeing at closer quarters the comparatively small size of the Cccsar, became so despondent, that he committed suicide.

In recognition of the part borne by Captain Valentine Baker in this action, the merchants of Bristol presented him with a silver vase bearing the following inscription :

For many generations the Bakers were searovers of the type of Hawkins and Frobisher,

B 2 owning and commanding their own ships, and fighting them whenever an opportunity presented itself. The immediate ancestors of Samuel White Baker possessed large estates in Dorsetshire and Kent, at Poole and Deal, where the maritime traditions of the family were in harmony with the active life of those sea-ports. It may be assumed, therefore, that Baker inherited that marked independence of spirit, love of roving, courage and enterprise, which are and have been so characteristic of his family. Baker, as we shall see, was himself conspicuous among his contemporaries as an ' Elizabethan Englishman'; and possessed many of the characteristics of that vigorous and enterprising age which built-up the British Empire beyond the Seas. In fact, the Story of his Life might almost have furnished the subject of a medieval epic.

But, it is needless to remark. Baker's ancestors were not all men of action. The branch of the family to which Samuel White Baker belonged traces its descent in a direct line of male-issue from James, a brother of Sir John Baker, Recorder of London, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Henry VIII., Attorney-General (1539), Speaker to the House of Commons, Historian, and described as a ' faithful Councillor and Servant to Henry VIII., Edward VI., and Queen Mary.' A son of Sir John Baker entertained Queen Elizabeth at the family-seat of Sissinghurst Castle, near Cranbrook, in Kent, which is now in ruins.

SIR JOHN BAKER, BART. 5

Lloyd, in his State Worthies, says of the eminent Sir John Baker :

' There is one of this name remarkable in every king's reign since the Conquest. There is one now renowned in this : I. For integrity, to be neither awed nor corrupted; II. For a spirit public as nature, neither moved with particular respect, nor terminated in a private design.'

He died in 1558, a few days after the accession of Queen Elizabeth. His grandson, Sir Richard Baker, may still be remembered among book-collectors as the author of A Chronicle of the Kings of England, from the time of the Romans' Government until the death of King James, whermnto is now added in this Third Edition [1660] the Reign of King Charles the First; and of Meditations and Disquisitions upon the First Psalm, the Penitential Psalms, and Seven Consolatory Psalms, first published in 1639-40, and republished, with an introduction, by the Rev. A. B. Grosart, LL.D.

The Baker baronetcy became extinct upon the death of a later Sir John Baker (eldest son of Sir John, third baronet) who was buried at Cranbrook, in 1661, leaving issue four daughters. According to Grosart, the heiresses ' sold each their share in the Sissinghurst estates to Sir Horace Mann, of Linton, in the county of Kent : and so ended the direct line.'

The son and descendants of the aforementioned James Baker left Kent and settled in Dorsetshire, where they remained for generations, until Captain Valentine Baker, who was born at

Poole in 1737, took-up his abode at Bristol, and defeated the French frigate in the action already recorded. He had issue seven sons and three daughters ; but only two sons married and had descendants. The eldest, James, left an only daughter ; and his youngest son, Samuel, was the father of the subject of our Memoir.

Chapter II

Baker's earliest years were spent at Enfield. One who knew him at this period of his life describes his personal appearance and character in the following terms :

' He was of the Saxon type : a noble-looking boy, with a very fair complexion, light hair, and fearless blue eyes. He was enterprising, mischievous, for ever getting into scrapes and leading others into them ; but he was never known to tell a lie nor to do a mean thing. He was very affectionate, and fond of his home ; always tearful at leaving it for school ; but a plucky little fellow, ready to fight much bigger boys than himself on the slightest charge of homesickness, or for any infringement of his rights. Early in life, he was a bold explorer into Nature,—cutting open everything that puzzled him, to see how it was made ; filling his pockets with living insects ; fishing drowned kittens and puppies out of ponds, to exercise his skill at restoring them to life, and, after inevitable failure, burying them with honours.'

The earliest letter in our possession is one which Baker, at the age of eleven, addressed to a lady who was probably the first to inculcate in him that love for Nature which afterwards became the leading impulse of his life :

' Rottingdean,

' My dear Aunt,

' I have not been very well since I last came from home, which is about a week ago, but I am now much better. Tell me in your next letter whether you forgot to take that piece of metal that I found with a piece of flint in the middle to London, because since you left us I have found several bits of the same sort in the house, which I suppose had been broken off the same lump. We have not had the chest yet, because Grandpapa says there are no lobsters at Billingsgate. Give my love to Aunt Maria and Grandpapa.

* I remain,

* Your affectionate nephew,

' Sam. W. Baker.'

Although his interest in the lobsters was not strictly scientific, it is evident that a collection of mineTalogical specimens occupied his attention at that time.

Our former authority says : ' In the lessons learnt at his mother's knee, the instincts of the explorer were sufficiently evident. Geography was his delight ; and as a mere baby he had learnt the names of all the countries then known, and had acquired some knowledge of their capitals and their special characteristics. From the time of his first school (at Rottingdean, from whence the foregoing letter was sent) till he reached man's

EARLY EXPERIMENTS Q

estate, there was little of general interest to distinguish him from others of his age and class, beyond a growing independence and impatience at the restrictions of life in cities.'

On one occasion, when Baker was very young, and apparently ignorant of the elementary laws of physiology, he planted one of his sisters up to her neck in the ground, in order to try whether she would not grow faster by this natural process. But the experiment does not appear to have been allowed sufficient time to produce the desired result.

Somewhat later in life, during one of his visits to his grandfather, Mr. Dobson, the enterprising youth undertook the manufacture of fireworks. A heap of gunpowder lay on the kitchen-table, from which he was compounding a squib-mixture. Having wrapped some of it in brown-paper, he tried the effect of contact with a lighted candle. The squib ignited and spluttered sparks in all directions, some of which fell upon the gunpowder. The resulting explosion rang all the bells in the house, smashed all the crockery and every pane of glass in the kitchen, and deposited young Samuel at the farend of the room. As he had been working with his coat off, his bare arms were most severely burnt ; and, in addition to other injuries, he nearly lost his eyesight. The younger children, who had been watching the experiment, were happily saved from the effects of the accident through the presence of mind of a servant.

lO

In 1833, when Baker was twelve years old, his parents removed to Highnam Court, which was rented from Sir John Guise.

Highnam Court, situated about two miles from Gloucester, is surrounded by a beautiful park of about 56 acres. The house is a large and commanding building of stone, planned somewhat in the style of a French chateau. Attached to it are about 2,000 acres of land, over which there is excellent shooting : and here Baker learnt the use of the gun.

When Mr. and Mrs. Baker first settled at Highnam Court, they had five children, of whom Samuel White was the eldest, — Thomas having died in the preceding year. The children were greatly attached to their home and to their parents. Samuel, living a healthy and contented life, developed into a youth of powerful physique. His home-training nurtured all those qualities of mind which make for manliness. The daily association with parents whom he loved and respected, with brothers and sisters old enough to be his companions, an out-door life that offered ample opportunities for sport and field-games — these were the main conditions under which Baker's early youth was passed.

Between 1833 and 1835, he attended the College School at Gloucester, boarding in an adjoining house, which accommodated fifteen boys. The school-house, an ancient stone building, now much in the same condition as it was in Baker's youth, is close to the Cathedral.

EDUCATION

II

Fifty-five years later, Baker referred to his experience of the College School at Gloucester, in these words : ' My reminiscences of the College School are not agreeable. I believe that I was the only boy who never received corporal punishment, as an exception among g6 individuals. The solitary exemption of myself from the cane, or birch, was not the result of any superior merit on my part : I was only a size too big and strong.* Geoffrey St. Aubyn represented the school, by election, as the Liberal Member ; I represented the Conservatives, by the same election.'

The boys appear to have been treated with unnecessary severity ; and, so far as one may judge. Baker derived little profit from the schoolcurriculum. His parents, being dissatisfied with the result, removed him from the College.

In the year 1838, Mr. Baker secured the services of a private tutor, to whose care he entrusted the further education of his son. This gentleman was the curate of the Parish Church, at Tottenham : the Rev. H. P. Dunster, who has been good enough to supply the following account of his charge :

' In the spring of 1838, I had an interview with Mr. Baker, who told me how disappointed he was at the backward state of his son Samuel's education. He men-

* As an illustration of his exceptional strength at that time, or somewhat later, it may be mentioned that, whilst at a fair in Gloucester, Baker, who was a capital fencer and boxer, interfered to protect an innocent citizen from a notorious and powerful bully, whom he struck to the ground with a single blow.

tioned, that he had extensive and valuable estates in the Mauritius, which would form an excellent provision for his two eldest sons ; and said, that he wished his son, Samuel, to go out as soon as possible and take-over the management of the property.

' The result was, that the future Sir Samuel Baker came to me as my resident pupil. He was at that time a strong, well-made lad, with a very gentlemanly bearing, a florid complexion, bright auburn hair, and an open, honest countenance, full of life and animal spirits. We took to each other from the very first ; and continued fast friends to the day of his death.

' My pupil was certainly deficient in subjects of general education. I tried him in Latin and Greek : with the former he was fairly conversant, but the latter was new to him. He was much interested, I remember, with Xenophon's stirring narrative of the retreat of the Ten Thousand. He also read Ccesar and Livy with me.

' It was the dull process of school-routine that had discouraged him. My chief aim was to cultivate in him a taste for reading and to make the acquisition of general knowledge as easy as I could.

' My father had an excellent library, containing works by the best English authors — History, Travels, Fiction, etc. Here my pupil and I worked together. He was much interested in scientific subjects, some of which we illustrated by actual experiments. But the books in my father's library pleased him most, chief among them being, curiously enough, Belzoni's Travels in Egypt and Nubia, and two volumes of Dr. Madden's Travels, one of which described A twelve months' residence in the West Indies, during the transition from slavery to apprenticeship.

' Sam. Baker had plenty of natural ability, and had been well-grounded in earlier 3-ears. He read fluentl}', spelt correctly, wrote a good hand, and could express himself well and easily.

EDUCATION

* In our neighbourhood, there was a Circulating Library, containing some three thousand volumes, from which he kept himself supplied with books, selecting Travels, tales of adventure, and the best works of contemporary Fiction. There was little in the way of sport or out-door amusements. Occasionally he took his gun on the Tottenham marshes, with a fine old English spaniel of ours, — a most excellent water-dog and high in favour with him. Sometimes, in open weather, he had a run with a pack of beagles belonging to a friend in the village. In the summer, his chief amusement was bathing in the river ; and he soon became a strong swimmer.

* During the two years that Sam. Baker was with me, he was more my companion than my pupil. His education consisted in the development of that which was in him, rather than in the acquisition of book-knowledge.'

Baker's own views on education, in the decline of his life, may be briefly referred to in this place. On the occasion of the presentation of prizes at Newton College he addressed the boys in a speech, of which the following are excerpts :

' The close of the last year at school recalls to our remembrance the days of boyhood ; and in regarding you, I can fully sympathize with the emotions which such a period must inspire. . . . We must remember that school is a little section of the world which represents a young society, governed, like all societies that are incapable of self-government, by a despot : therefore, a wellconducted college or school should be a model of paternal government. The Head Master is your despotic monarch. The common object of the ruler and subjects is to prepare for the struggle when boys shall become men, and enter upon the competition for success in this great world.

. . . ' In former times the despotic Monarch of the School forced down unwilling throats volumes of classical literature, to the detriment of other more useful learning ; and we found in society men of high renown as classical authorities, who could not have ordered their own dinners in modern languages, if they happened to be travelling on the continent of Europe. It has been remarked by an eminent orator of our own time, that " nothing is so humiliating to a man of supposed education as to feel himself both deaf and dumb the instant he leaves the shores of England."

' The knowledge of living languages is an absolute necessity. At the same time, the classics should not be neglected : as they may be termed the mental dumb-bells of our youth, which exercise and train the mind to a refined line of thought, and lay a solid foundation for future knowledge.

' To form a calm and accurate opinion of the future, we must have a thorough knowledge of the past (history). . . . Great Britain is a Power which embraces every quarter of the globe. . . . The future of many of you now present may be cast in some parts of the world where your forefathers conquered and added distant lands to the vast colonies of England. The same spirit of enterprise and determination to surmount all difficulties must be your guide and your ambition. We are so peculiarly the Ruling Power in various portions of the earth that geography becomes a science most important to ourselves. The study of physical geography is absolutely necessary to Englishmen, as we are the great freight-carriers and merchants of the world.

. . . ' We may safely assume, that a sound education should comprise a certain knowledge of classics, mathematics, geography, living-languages, history, geology, and astronomy. The vast progress that has been made in the various sciences within the last century necessitates a corresponding advance in general education ; and no exertion should be spared to enable you to meet the requirements of the future.

. . . ' The character of the man is formed when a boy. I do not believe in great moral changes, as a rule.

EDUCATION 15

If I knew the character that a man bore when he was a boy at school, I should regard him accordingly : and you may depend upon it, that the lad who is respected by his masters and school-fellows for upright and honourable conduct will bear with him that noble reputation throughout his life.

' To enable you to perform your part on the great stage of the world, you must receive a thorough education ; but, in addition to book-learning, you must possess a special individual character which is comprised in the English word " gentleman." That word expresses all.'

These views, though in no sense original, are given as the best index we can find to Baker's personal experience. His school-education had been fitful and fragmentary. But self-education began early in his life ; whilst the salutary influence of public-school discipline was scarcely missed by one who either inherited or by his home-training acquired those qualities of mind and bearing that conduce to manliness, self-restraint and honourable conduct.