taking, though somewhat hurried, being decidedly warmer than his
abstracted manner during the journey had led me to expect.

At this school, let it suffice to say, I remained for the following
seven years; enjoying, during that period of my life, such happiness as,
up to then, my imagination had never been able to conceive; and devoting
myself to my studies with a zest and enthusiasm which won the warmest
encomiums from the several masters who had charge of my education.
French, geography, mathematics, and navigation were my favourite
subjects; and I also developed a very fair amount of talent with my
pencil. Athletics I especially excelled in; and by the time I had been
three years at the school I had become almost amphibious. It affords me
particular pleasure to reflect that, notwithstanding my previous total
want of training, I was, from the very outset of my school career, an
especial favourite with my fellow-pupils, never having had more than one
quarrel serious enough to result in a fight, on which occasion I
succeeded in giving my antagonist--a great bully who had been cruelly
tyrannising over a smaller boy--so severe a trouncing that a resort to
this rough-and-ready mode of settling a dispute never again became
necessary, so far as I was concerned. During this period there was only
one thing that troubled me, which was, that I never saw my father.
Owing to what at the time seemed to me an uninterrupted series of
unfortunate coincidences, it invariably happened that when holiday-time
came round my father had urgent business calling him away from home; and
arrangements had accordingly to be made for my spending my holidays at
the school. This, in itself, constituted no very great hardship; there
were several other lads--Anglo-Indians and others whose friends resided
at too great a distance to admit of the holidays being spent with them--
who always remained behind to bear me company; and, as we were allowed
to do pretty much what we liked so long as we did not misconduct
ourselves or get into mischief, the time was passed pleasantly enough;
but, notwithstanding his singular treatment of me, I loved my father,
and regarded it as a positive hardship that so long a time should be
permitted to elapse without my seeing him. I was continually in hopes
that, as we were unable to meet at holiday-time, he would run down into
the country and pay me a visit, but he never did, and this was another
disappointment.

At le