and the waiter said, "Eggs
and bacon"; and though he hated bacon more than anything else in the
world, he felt obliged to have it.

On August 16th, 1856, George was sent to school. Our elder brother,
William, was at Rugby, and his parents felt his long absences from home
such an evil that they fixed on the Clapham Grammar School for their
younger sons. Besides its nearness to Down, Clapham had the merit of
giving more mathematics and science than could then be found in public
schools. It was kept by the Rev. Charles Pritchard, {157} a man of
strong character, and with a gift for teaching mathematics by which
George undoubtedly profited. In, I think, 1861 Pritchard left Clapham
and was succeeded by the Rev. Alfred Wrigley, a man of kindly mood but
without the force or vigour of Pritchard. As a mathematical instructor I
imagine Wrigley was a good drillmaster rather than an inspiring teacher.
Under him the place degenerated to some extent; it no longer sent so many
boys to the Universities, and became more like a "crammer's" and less
like a public school. My own recollections of George at Clapham are
coloured by an abiding gratitude for his kindly protection of me as a
shrinking and very unhappy "new boy" in 1860.

George records in his diary that in 1863 he tried in vain for a Minor
Scholarship at St. John's College, Cambridge, and again failed to get one
at Trinity in 1864, though he became a Foundation Scholar in 1866. These
facts suggested to me that this capacity as a mathematician was the
result of slow growth. I accordingly applied to Lord Moulton, who was
kind enough to give me his impressions:

My memories of your brother during his undergraduate career
correspond closely to your suggestion that his mathematical power
developed somewhat slowly and late. Throughout most, if not the
whole, of his undergraduate years he was in the same class as myself
and Christie, the ex-Astronomer Royal, at Routh's. {158a} We all
recognised him as one who was certain of being high in the Tripos,
but he did not display any of that colossal power of work and taking
infinite trouble that characterised him afterwards. On the contrary,
he treated his work rather jauntily. At that time his health was
excellent and he took his studies lightly, so that they did not
interfere with his enjoyment of other things. {158b} I remember that
as the time of the examination came near I u