THE ENGLISH BOY. 167 



reason for an hour's regret, except at the fact that she 

 continued childless 1 . 



But there was another member brought into the house- 

 hold of Cardan the English Boy. When he reached 

 Milan, unable to explain what were his own wishes or 

 what promises his father might have made to him, little or 

 nothing could be done till he had picked up a knowledge 

 of Italian. The physician became full of occupations, 

 and the luckless William suffered great neglect. At the 

 end of a year and a half he spoke Italian well enough to 

 complain that he had not been sent to any school, that 

 nothing had been done for him. He had, however, been 

 put under a music-master, because, says Cardan, " the 

 people of his country seemed to have aptitude for music," 

 but the master took small pains to teach, though he re- 

 ceived in one year ten gold crowns, and the boy seemed 

 to be very quick at learning. Then, when Jerome bought 

 a book, William did not appear at all solicitous to learn 

 to read it, for he was immoderately fond rather of playing 

 with companions of his own age. In the crowd and 

 hurry of his daily practice, Jerome forgot, culpably it 

 must be said, his duty to his charge; he did not fulfil 

 the trust he had too thoughtlessly accepted. When his 

 conscience was uneasy at the boy's neglected education, 

 1 De Vita Propria, cap. xxvii. 



