as a linguist, what a Buonarotti in
art, what a Vestris in the dance, or what a Michael Toddy in fencing:--I
hasten to remark that I do not even yet understand anything of all
these things. I have only to relate how they taught them to me.

When I went to my private lessons--"together with the others"--the
professor was not at home; we indulged in an hour's wrestling.

When I went to my dancing lessons--"together with the others"--the
dancing master was missing: again an hour's wrestling.

During the French lessons we again wrestled, and during the drawing and
violin hours we spent our time exactly as we did during the other hours;
so that when the gymnastic lessons came round we had no more heart for
wrestling.

I did just learn to swim,--in secret, seeing that it was prohibited, and
truly without paying:--unless I may count as a forfeit penalty that mass
of water I swallowed once, when I was nearly drowned in the Danube. None
even dared to acquaint the people at home with the fact; Lorand saved
me, but he never boasted of his feat.

As we left the house of this very kind man, who quite overcame
grandmother and us, with his gracious and amiable demeanors, Lorand
said:

"From this hour I begin to greatly esteem the first professor: he is a
noble, straight-forward fellow."

I did not understand his meaning--that is, I did not wish to understand.
Perhaps he wished to slight "my" professor.

According to my ethical principles it was purely natural that each
student should admire and love that professor who was the director of
his own class, and if one class is secretly at war with another, the
only reason can be that the professor of one class is the opponent of
the other. My kingdom is the foe of thy kingdom, so my soldiers are the
enemies of thy soldiers.

I began to look at Lorand in the light of some such hostile soldier.

Fortunately the events that followed drove all these ideas out of my
head.

CHAPTER III

MY RIGHT HONORABLE UNCLE

We were invited to dine with the Privy Councillor Balnokhazy, at whose
house my brother was to take up his residence.

He was some very distant relation of ours; however, he received a
payment for Lorand's board, seven hundred florins, a nice sum of money
in those days.

My pride was the greatest that my brother was living in a privy
councillor's house, and, if my school-fellows asked me where I lived, I
never omitted to mention the fact that "my brother was l