I remained at Edinburgh two years.

My early progress in mathematics would have been lost in the classical training which was then insisted upon at the academy, but for my brother who was not only a good mathematician but an excellent mechanic.

He took care to carry on my instruction in that branch of knowledge, as well as to teach me to make models of machines and buildings, in which he was himself proficient.
I remember, in one of my journeys to Edinburgh, by coach from Darlington, that a gentleman expressed his wonder what a screw propeller could be like; for the screw, as a method of propulsion, was then being introduced.

I pointed out to him the patent tail of a windmill by the roadside, and said, "It is just like that!" In 1844 my mother died; and shortly after, my brother having become M.D., and obtained a prize gold medal, we returned to Scarborough.

It was intended that he should assist my father; but he preferred going abroad for a few years.