The Days of a Man 1866 



gorgeous cartoons to please Eric. 1 The lack of 

 training in these regards I have always regretted, 

 not alone because it would have been a direct help 

 in my scientific studies, but also because the accu- 

 rate use of line and color is a factor in mental training 

 and a "means of grace" in the affairs of life. 

 NO Another art in which I should have taken great 



songbird pleasure was denied me by Nature. A favorite 

 winter diversion of the youth of my time was the 

 "singing school." Everywhere in the country 

 villages of that region, classes were formed by some 

 musician, usually from a larger town near by. Being 

 mildly interested in musical notation, and having an 

 accurate sense of time, I was at first regarded as a 

 promising pupil. But my sense of pitch was very 

 faulty, and one teacher finally said that "I might 

 perhaps some day learn to sing, but he didn't see 

 how." And I never did. Meanwhile, though not a 

 singer, I was good at athletic sports. In jumping, 

 especially in high jumping, and running I excelled; 

 and I made some progress in boxing, wrestling, and 

 fencing with wooden swords. 



Dickens Along with my developing interests in science, 

 the world of literary fiction was suddenly opened up. 

 This came through my introduction to "David 

 Copperfield," then just published. One of our 



1 Some of these, done over in black and white and accompanied by ap- 

 propriate jingles, were published as "Eric's Book of Beasts." L' 'envoi reads 

 as follows: 



I write and paint in doggerel; 



Though all the muses shriek and yell, 



I go serenely on my way 



No matter what such folks may sayf 



r 28 n 



