140 SIR HUMPHREY DAVY. 



had the vicious habit of punishing by pulling the 

 pupils' ears. On one occasion, Humphrey came to 

 school with a large plaster on each ear. Upon 

 being asked what was the matter, he said, with a 

 grave face, that he had "put the plasters on to 

 prevent a mortification ! " 



As he grew older, he composed Latin and Eng- 

 lish verses easily, and was in great demand among 

 the boys as a writer of valentines and love-letters. 

 Though shy in manner, with his vivid imagination 

 and flow of language, he told stories remarkably 

 well, and might have been seen, often, in a cart at 

 the Star Inn, addressing a most attentive audience. 



Says his brother, Dr. John Davy, "Humphrey, 

 when a boy, was fond of declaiming, and indulged 

 in it in his solitary walks and rambles. On one 

 occasion it is recorded of him, that, on his way to 

 visit a poor patient in the country (during his ap- 

 prenticeship), in the fever of declamation, he threw 

 out of his hand a vial of medicine which he had to 

 administer, and that when he arrived at the bed- 

 side of the poor woman he was surprised at the 

 loss of it. The potion was found the next day in 

 a hay-field adjoining the path." 



When Humphrey was fourteen he attended the 

 Truro Grammar School for a year, where he was 

 greatly liked for his good-humor, affectionate dis- 

 position, and originality. Says Mr. Nicholls, a 

 school friend, "I can never forget that as boys 

 we knew and loved each other. I recollect a visit 

 he paid in company with his aunt at iny father's, 



