I know the main facts to be true
because not so very long ago Lloyd George himself confirmed them to me.
At the same time I beg leave to doubt whether any great spiritual
fervor was the motive power of Master Lloyd George at that time. It
was just the first outbreak of his desire for revolt against the powers
that be--wicked powers because his uncle had said so--and the
satisfaction of that instinct for audacious action which has marked him
ever since. To me there was not much of the saint about the boy Lloyd
George; he was just a young daredevil--which, on the whole, is perhaps
the more attractive.

By the time Lloyd George was ten or eleven years of age his mother and
his uncle became filled with thoughts as to his future. They both knew
the boy was specially gifted, both realized that unless special effort
were made he must inevitably drift from school into the lower ranks of
labor, probably that of work on a farm. There were long and anxious
consultations between the cobbler and his sister. Finally Richard
Lloyd came to a decision, a decision which was to have a lasting effect
on the destinies of the British nation. He resolved on a noble act,
the nobler in that he had no idea what tremendous consequences would
spring from it.

By long years of work and self-denial he had saved a little sum toward
his old age. It amounted to a few hundred pounds. It was all he had.
He decided to devote that sum toward the making of his nephew, Lloyd
George, an educated man, toward putting him in a profession where he
might have a chance in the world.

After the great speculation had been decided on it was settled that
young David should be brought up as a solicitor. This necessitated not
only the provision of certain heavy fees in connection with the
examinations, but also time spent in a prolonged course of study. The
few hundreds of pounds was a small-enough amount, and it was obvious
that it would have to be sparingly expended if it were to cover all
that was required. Young Lloyd George was a brilliant youth, but even
his brilliancy could not help beyond a certain point. The old cobbler
saw one way of economizing. He set himself the task of personally
learning the elements of French and Latin in order to impart them to
his nephew. I have often imagined the mental agony of the cobbler
struggling with those foreign grammars. But he succeeded. His nephew
also succeeded. Young George passed his preliminary exami