CHILDHOOD 



17 



in the bushes, rustling in the dry leaves, attracted 

 my attention. It was a small bird. I looked at 

 it very carefully, saw that it had a black head 

 and neck, was black above, had black wings with 

 some white markings, and rather a long tail with 

 some white feathers in it. Its colors underneath 

 were white on the belly and chestnut-brown 

 on the sides. From these memories I know now 

 that it was a cheewink, or towhee. 



Because I was delicate, I was much at home, 

 and had private instruction from a governess, and 

 was allowed to be out of doors all the time possible. 

 The brook was my favorite resort. Here I caught 

 many fish, and learned through experience and 

 some help the fundamental principles of fishing. 

 I watched also many of the other creatures that 

 lived along the banks and in the water — turtles, 

 frogs, and snakes. 



After I was thirteen years old I went away to 

 a German school in South Brooklyn, kept by two 

 masters named Deghuee and Schmieder. I was 

 at this school for nearly three years, and lived in 

 the house of Mr. Deghuee. Here I had my first 

 systematic teaching, for before this I had been 

 so much of an invalid that my education consisted 

 largely in reading such books as I liked, and a 

 certain amount of disconnected teaching in a num- 

 ber of schools and by different tutors and gover- 

 nesses. Everything save English composition 



