1817-32. SCHOOL REMINISCENCES. 27 



School, that proceeded more from a certain volatility or thought- 

 lessness, which often accompanies genius, than from ignorance 

 of the prescribed lesson. He was always very much alive to 

 any ludicrous incident that occurred in the class, and I remem- 

 ber seeing a little book, in which he had set down a number of 

 odd remarks made by the master, and strange mistakes made 

 by the boys. The book was embellished by pen-and-ink 

 sketches, made, I believe, by his brother Daniel. This book of 

 scenes in the High School was very droll. On one page there 

 was a likeness of the master, standing in his kind of pulpit 

 holding out a ruler ; a heavy-looking boy was rehearsing his 

 lesson from Virgil. He had made some stupid mistake in quan- 

 tity, which had excited the master's ire to the utmost, and the 

 contrast between the grand classic Latin, and the terms of dis- 

 approbation used by the master, in very undignified English, 

 was ludicrous in the extreme. On another page, a whole day's 

 lessons were given, with the remarks and interjections of the 

 master and boys, and the hearty laugh of the boys occasionally 

 at some classic wit of the master, which George greatly enjoyed. 

 I remember also, one fine frosty winter, such as we used to have 

 long ago, George's relating, with great glee, that the master 

 (I cannot recall his name), to the great surprise of the class, 

 after hurrying over the Latin lesson, said, ' Now, boys, as you 

 have done very well, I think it would do you all good to go out 

 for the remaining time, and have a hearty slide/ and, what 

 George thought added much to the amusement, the master him- 

 self stood outside enjoying the scene. 



" One other anecdote I recollect his telling : The mathe- 

 matical master, a short-sighted man, and enthusiastically at- 

 tached to the science he taught, was one day demonstrating a 

 difficult problem, with his eyes close to his paper ; the boys in 

 the meantime were wistfully eyeing, through the half- open door, 

 the group outside sliding and snowballing. At length, the 

 temptation to join in the sport became too strong for them to 

 withstand, and one after the other departed. George happened 

 to look in at the window just as the master, having finished his 

 demonstration, lifted his head. The description given by 

 George of his confounded look when he saw nothing but empty 



