In the spring of 1821 he entered Westminster School, taking his place on
the fourth form, which secured him all exemption from fagging. Here,
again, his progress was that of a boy of first-rate abilities, great
diligence, and unvarying good conduct. Two years afterwards, viz. in the
spring of 1823, he gained a king's scholarship, without the assistance
of a "_help_," a thing which it is believed was unprecedented. In the
College, however, he could not escape _fagging_; but such was his
independent spirit, that he refused to submit to it, and immediately
resigned his hard-won scholarship, with all its prospects. His father
was somewhat nonplussed by this occurrence; and presently sent him to a
school at Blackheath, kept by the present rector of Woolwich, the Rev.
Willain Greenlaw, a son of his former master, Dr. Greenlaw. The
Blackheath school contained no fewer than seventy-two boys, many of them
on the eve of quitting for the universities; but as soon as John William
Smith made his appearance, he was not only recognised as being far
superior to them all, but equally well read with the ushers; and he
consequently read with Mr. Greenlaw himself, alone! being then, it will
be recollected, little move than fourteen years of age! He wrote every
species of Latin verse with the utmost facility--of which he gave, on
one occasion, a proof not yet forgotten by his schoolfellows: for, one
evening, shortly after going there, he wrote all the Latin verses for
the entire school, from the highest to the lowest--in all metres, and on
every variety of subject. This feat was lately communicated to me by one
of his then schoolfellows; and I also recollect him once mentioning the
subject to me himself; adding, if I recollect correctly, that there was
not a blunder found in any of the verses which he had written. During
his vacations he visited France, and mastered the French and Italian
languages, with both of which, up to the period of his death, he
continued perfectly familiar, and very partial to the writers of both.
About this time he began to cast about for a profession; and entertained
the notion of either going out to India, in a military capacity, or
entering Woolwich academy as a cadet. His father persuaded him to
relinquish the former step, but assented to his adopting the latter; and
he paid close attention to engineering. He has often expressed to me the
delight he took in studying _fortification_; adding, that he had
sometimes