James Hinton was the third child (of eleven) of the well-known Baptist minister, John Howard Hinton, having been born at Reading in 1822. His father’s mother was aunt to Isaac Taylor, the author of the “Natural History of Enthusiasm.” It was from his mother, Eliza Birt, however, that James Hinton derived most. She is described as a fervent, lofty-souled woman, full of enthusiasm and compassion, yet dignified and able to rule others with mild but irresistible sway. As a little child, James Hinton, though sweet-tempered, showed a strong tendency to investigate everything, and to rearrange the elder children’s games “as they ought to be.” The father taught the children to be keenly observant of natural history. The mother bred them up to have an instinctive feeling for religion, especially in its aspect of love to God. An elder brother, Howard, died when James was but twelve, and this bereavement made such an impression upon him that he soon after was baptized and publicly received as a member of the Baptist Church. At school James Hinton did not show special ability, though he had a remarkable verbal memory until a certain period, when he suddenly lost it without any special cause. In 1838 his father left Reading for London, becoming minister of the Devonshire Square Chapel. Feeling some pressure of circumstances with his large family, Mr. Hinton placed James in the first situation which presented itself, viz., that of cashier at a wholesale woollen-draper’s shop in Whitechapel. This temporary immersion in proximity to some of the coarsest scenes imaginable had a very deep influence in educing the thoroughgoing altruism which afterwards characterised him. After holding the Whitechapel situation about a year, and spending some time in search of a more suitable occupation, Hinton became a clerk in an insurance office in the city. Here, while not becoming an adept at book-keeping, he sat up at night and gave himself a miscellaneous education. At this time he has been described as “an abstract idea untidily expressed;” he was wholly indifferent to appearances, and his clothes could never be made to fit him; and he was often guilty of lapses from politeness. He was full of argumentativeness, and determined to get to the bottom of everything.