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of indulging his feelings too rauch ^ or of restraining them too carefully—but love must cast out fear . From early childhood , courage , used 111 its largest sense , moral as well as physical , was the pervading characteristic of the deceased . Thrown early into situations which required self-reliance and
energy , John Rowe added force to the naturally strong powers of his weil-cul tivated mind , by keeping them in exercise . Firm and efficient , undertaking silently , he executed perseveringly , and seemed to regard reverse and disappointment rather as adding to his stock of useful and available experience , than as clouding his prospect or diminishing his chance of ultimate success . With a
singularly cool and reflecting judgment , he acted , when once entered on a pursuit , as though he were inspired with the confidence and zeal of the most sanguine . Yet vanity or self-sufficiency had no part in him ; he was often silent when many others would have spoken ; but it was an honest , single-minded reserve—au unaffected absence of display—as far removed , too , from want of kindness as from want of intelligence .
With very little acquaintance or communication , certain indications of character , more easily felt than described , imparted the conviction of John Rowe ' s perfect integrity . A shrewd observer of mankind , and the more so from being habitually attentive to the workings of his own mind , the results he drew reaolved themselves into a practical
philosophy of thought and conduct , very benevolent , very energetic , and very straightforward . Steadfast in his friendships , and most affectionate in his family relations , his mind seemed to rel ^ tx and enjoy itself with peculiar zest , in performing quiet and unnoticed acts of kindness to his inferiors ; and many are the unknown regrets and unheard blessings which follow him .
AU things savouring of tyranny , or finesse , or vacillation , were objects of his uncompromising dislike . Cruelty or deceit , in any guise , ( and more particularly when directed towards others , ) kindled instant indignation . This unchecked evidence of high principle and a naturally warm temperament ,
abstracted nothing from his usefulness , and could not , and ought not , to have been withheld . Never expressed unless called for , his zeal for justice and truth in-Creased the influence which they who associated with him unconsciously acknowledged ; for they knew he was always ready to act , and that having
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already arrived at his own firm and virtuous conclusion , he never used words to convince or to encourage himself , They knew , too , how much more often kind and happy emotion suddenly lighted up his features than even transient anger flashed them , and how readily forgiveness followed the sense of injury . He was fond of mechanics from
infancy , and striking te > timonies to his early proficiency in mechanical knowledge still remain . He had also informed himself well in practical chemistry , and was as patient in searching out the causes of success or failure in his experiments , as he was ingenious in applying or removing them Whatever engaged him he loved to do or to understand
completely , and he would rather work out the information he sought for himself at once , than postpone his inquiry until easier means might offer . During a residence iu Spain and at Gibraltar he had made himself master of the Spanish language , and enlarged his acquaintance with mankind . Thus qualified , the formation of the Real del
Monte Mining Company supplied him , in his 26 th year , with an opportunity of being usefully engaged in the prosecution of that vast undertaking , which , as it held out a fair prospect of rewarding great exertion , threatened also to call for it . A generous spirit of adventure entered largely into the motives which guided his decision to share in .
this distant enterprise . It was a new aera as well as a new world which attracted him , and he anticipated that while the great , the beautiful , the unexplored works of nature repaid the search of ardent curiosity , and raised and gratified still nobler feelings , the interests of his native country , and the civilization of his species , would be promoted .
He left England in March , m 1825 , one of the superior officers of a transport party , by whose exertions stores and the ponderous machinery of steam engines were to be conveyed through surfs , and torrents , and quicksands , and over ravines and mountains , far into the interior of Mexico . The party reached Vera Cruz too late in the season to
encounter with safety the numerous delays and obstacles which presented themselves . Guided and assisted , however , by his friend and companion J . N . Colquhoun , Esq , ( who , with the master key of a powerful mind and a warm heart , opened all congenial resources , ) these difficultien were encountered by him without hesitation . The raiuy season set in but too early on a pestilential coast :
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568 Obituary . — Mr . John Rowe .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Aug. 2, 1828, page 568, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2563/page/56/
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