CHAPTER IV. 



Artfulness and Art. 



There was a quiet boy at Evans's, who did not take 

 much part in games, and who was not particularly 

 studious — 'from the master's point of view — but who 

 was an exceedingly clever mechanic, and devoted to 

 fishing. His great delight was to drive the engines 

 between Windsor and Slough, and he had copies of 

 every detail of every one of them ; all beautifully drawn 

 to scale by himself. He made more than one small 

 engine, entirely by himself in his play-time, at the 

 local ironmonger's shop ; one, at anyrate, being just 

 large enough to take him as passenger up and down the 

 garden walks. Neville was so keen, too, about fishing, 

 that he used to get up very early in the morning, and 

 effect an exit from the house, to try for trout near the 

 master's bathing place, below Windsor Lock, and he 

 caught a considerable number from time to time. He 

 was always back in his place in school at 6.45 a.m. 

 On one occasion he wrote to the late Frank Buckland 

 and asked him to give an Eton Boy some eyed trout 

 ova, and the former most good-naturedly sent him 200. 

 These were placed in a tooth-brush dish, close to 

 the window, and a suificient change of water was 

 obtained by having a tumblerful of water above the 

 dish, from which depended some lamp-wick, that, acting 



