a retiring disposition, and in no sense the hero of the
tale which I am about to tell, I shall say no more concerning myself than
is absolutely necessary. At the same time, it is essential to a right
comprehension of what follows that I say something about myself, and
better that I should say it now than interrupt the even flow of my
narrative later on.

My name is Geoffrey Bacon, and I have reason to believe that I was born at
a place in Essex called (appropriately enough) Dedham. My family is one of
the oldest in the county, and (of course) highly respectable; but as the
question is often put to me by friends, and will naturally suggest itself
to my readers, I may as well observe, once for all, that I am _not_ a
descendent of the Lord Keeper Bacon, albeit, if he had had any children, I
have no doubt I should have been.

My poor mother died in giving me birth; my father followed her when I was
ten years old, leaving me with his blessing (nothing else), to the care of
his aunt, Miss Ophelia Bacon, by whom I was brought up and educated. She
was very good to me, but though I was far from being intentionally
ungrateful, I fear that I did not repay her goodness as it deserved. The
dear old lady had made up her mind that I should be a doctor, and though I
would rather have been a farmer or a country gentleman (the latter for
choice), I made no objection; and so long as I remained at school she had
no reason to complain of my conduct. I satisfied my masters and passed my
preliminary examination creditably and without difficulty, to my aunt's
great delight. She protested that she was proud of me, and rewarded my
diligence and cleverness with a five-pound note. But after I became a
student at Guy's I gave her much trouble, and got myself into some sad
scrapes. I spent her present, and something more, in hiring mounts, for I
was passionately fond of riding, especially to hounds, and ran into debt
with a neighboring livery-stable keeper to the tune of twenty pounds. I
would sometimes borrow the greengrocer's pony, for I was not particular
what I rode, so long as it had four legs. When I could obtain a mount
neither for love nor on credit, I went after the harriers on foot. The
result, as touching my health and growth, was all that could be desired.
As touching my studies, however, it was less satisfactory. I was spun
twice, both in my anatomy and physiology. Miss Ophelia, though sorely
grieved, was very indulgent, and had she liv