The Life of Sir Rowland Hill and the

A FINELY BALANCED MIND. 413
ness and the pride with which a father looks upon his
only boy. Take it from him, and his life was done.
There was in him a rare combination of enthusiasm
and practical power such a combination as the world
has not often seen, and may not again see for many a
long day. He had "the usual concomitant of great
abilities, a lofty and steady confidence in himself;"*
but together with this confidence was found a cautiousness
that, for the most part, is only seen in those who
are far too timid for any great undertaking. He
clearly saw every difficulty that lay in his path, and
yet
he went on with unshaken firmness. To the
simple pleasures of life he was by no means indifferent ;
but he had in his early years attained a thorough self-
mastery.
In everything but in work he was the most
temperate of men. He never repined over the past,
or, when once he had taken a step, fretted at the
result. His health was greatly shattered by his
excessive toils and his long struggles. For the last
years of his life he never left his house, and never
even left the floor on which his sleeping-room was.
But in the midst of this confinement, in all the weak-
ness of old age and sickness, he wrote, " I accept the
evil with the good, and frankly regard the latter as by
far the weightier of the two. Could I repeat my
course, I should sacrifice as much as before, and
regard myself as richly repaid by the result."
With these high qualities was united perfect in-
tegrity. He was the most upright and the most
truthful of men. He hated By-ends and all his
companions. He was often careless of any gain to
himself, but the good of the state never for one
moment did he disregard. He watched over the
* Johnson's "Life of Milton."