1817-32. LEAVES THE HIGH SCHOOL. 31 



bright and sparkling, which we have seen emerge threadlike 

 from its source, and gleefully pursue its way through sunshine 

 and shade, has now widened its banks, and we begin to realize 

 that one day it may bear on its bosom the hopes and fears of 

 thousands, ere it pass into the boundless ocean, and be lost to 

 view in its expanse. 



In autumn 1832, he quitted the High School with a fair share 

 of prizes. Languages never proved his favourite study, and he 

 did not devote himself to them with the hearty zeal which 

 marked him in his earliest scientific acquirements. While 

 occasionally at the head of a class of one hundred and fifty 

 boys, he never passed below the first five, and enjoyed the ease 

 and freedom from care unattainable by the always envied dux. 



