BOYHOOD. 31 



school in Shrewsbury, and remained there for seven 

 years till Midsummer 1825, when I was sixteen years 

 old. I boarded at this school, so that I had the great 

 advantage of living the life of a true schoolboy ; but 

 as the distance was hardly more than a mile to my 

 home, I very often ran there in the longer intervals 

 between the callings over and before locking up at 

 night. This, I think, was in many ways advanta- 

 geous to me by keeping up home affections and 

 interests. I remember in the early part of my school 

 life that I often had to run very quickly to be in time, 

 and from being a fleet runner was generally successful ; 

 but when in doubt I prayed earnestly to God to help 

 me, and I well remember that I attributed my success 

 to the prayers and not to my quick running, and 

 marvelled how generally I was aided. 



I have heard my father and elder sister say that I 

 had, as a very young boy, a strong taste for long soli- 

 tary walks ; but what I thought about I know not. I 

 often became quite absorbed, and once, whilst return- 

 ing to school on the summit of the old fortifications 

 round Shrewsbury, which had been converted into a 

 public foot-path with no parapet on one side, I walked 

 off and fell to the ground, but the height was only 

 seven or eight feet. Nevertheless the number of 

 thoughts which passed through my mind during this 

 very short, but sudden and wholly unexpected fall, 

 was astonishing, and seem hardly compatible with 

 what physiologists have, I believe, proved about each 

 thought requiring quite an appreciable amount of time. 



Nothing could have been worse for the develop- 



