Page:A Life of Matthew Fontaine Maury.pdf/156

142 view—that Lieutenant Maury is certainly entitled to the rank of one of the greatest public benefactors of the age."

These charts were generally adopted by the larger steamship companies, and in consequence of their satisfaction therewith, and the shortening of the routes everywhere by Maury's Sailing Directions and Wind and Current Charts, he was presented by the merchants and underwriters of New York with $5000 in gold and a handsome service of silver. This was in 1855.

In the same year, Maury delivered an address before the literary societies at the University of Virginia, of which the following are extracts:—

"In entering upon your duties as a citizen, recollect your excellent training here: it has given you many advantages; therefore, do not neglect to lay down rules of conduct by which they may be most improved.

"Whatever may be the degree of success that I have met with in life, I attribute it, in a great measure, to the adoption of such rules. One was, never to let the mind be idle for the want of useful occupation, but always to have in reserve subjects of thought or study for the leisure moments and the quiet hours of the night. When you read a book, let it be with the view to special information.

"The habits of mind to be thus attained are good, and the information useful.

"It is surprising how difficult one who attempts to follow this rule finds it at first to provide himself with subjects for thought—to think of something that he does not know.

In our ignorance our horizon is very contracted: mists, clouds, and darkness hang upon it, and self fills almost the entire