CHARACTERS. 



775 



Biographia Britannica, and one 

 of the party exclaimed — " Eugene 

 Aram, for instance!" — "Nay," 

 replied lie, "a man that has been 

 hanged has some pretension to no- 

 toriety ; and especially a man who 

 has got himself hanged by his own 

 cleverness, which Eugene Aram 

 certainly did." 



In October, 1759, he became a 

 resident member of Christ's col- 

 lege ; and on the first evening after 

 his departure for Cambridge, his 

 father observed to a pupil, who 

 was then his only boarder, " My 

 son is now gone to college,— he'll 

 turn out a great man — very great 

 indeed, — I'm certain of it ; for he 

 has by far the clearest head I ever 

 met with in my life." When he 

 commenced his residence in the 

 university, he was little more than 

 sixteen; an age which he fre- 

 quently mentioned afterwards, as 

 too early to encounter the dangers 

 of a college life. But he always 

 had an old look, which, together 

 with the superior strength and vi- 

 gour of his understanding, im- 

 pressed his companions with the 

 idea of a much maturer age. 



In his second year at college, 

 when his character became more 

 generally known, and the number 

 of his acquaintances increased, he 

 was often engaged in company 

 during the latter part of the day. 

 But still reading was not neglected, 

 and, amid scenes which would have 

 dissipated any other man's atten- 

 tion, he displayed a most extraor- 

 dinary concentration of mind. 

 His room (for he seldom locked his 

 door, either by night or day) was 

 the frequent rendezvous of the idle 

 young men of his college ; yet, 

 notwitlistandin^ all their noise and 



nonsense, he might be often seen 

 in one corner, as composed and 

 attentive to the subject in which 

 he was engaged, as if he had been 

 quite alone. 



He was never remarkable for- 

 early rising, but was generally the 

 last at morning-prayers, "running," 

 to use the poet's phrase, *' with hose 

 ungartered, 



" To reach the chapel ere the psalms 

 began." 



and, of the leave of absence given 

 twice a-week to the under grad uates, 

 he uniformly took advantage on 

 the first and second days, when he 

 lay in bed till a late hour in the 

 forenoon. 



On the death of king George II. 

 Mr. Paley wrote a few lines in 

 imitation of the poems attributed 

 to Ossian, then much in vogue ; 

 and, as this tribute was excluded 

 from appearing amongst the poe- 

 tical effusions of the university, by 

 reason of the style which he adopt- 

 ed, he afterwards inserted it in some 

 periodical miscellany, under the 

 signature of Tomwi/ Potts, which 

 was a cant name with him at the 

 time. 



He discovered an early propen- 

 sity to study the human character, 

 as displayed among the lower ranks 

 of society, particularly in their 

 pastimes and sports. This led him 

 to frequent the fair held annually 

 at Stirbitch, a village about two 

 miles from Cambridge, where mix- 

 ing with the crowd, at puppet- 

 shows or other exhibitions, he 

 watched the various changes of 

 countenance in the spectators, and 

 listened attentively to their re- 

 marks. In forming from thence 

 an opini'oh' of their characters,. 



though 



