CiiAp. II.] LEAVES ST. PAUL'S SCHOOL. 



CHAPTEE II. 



1834 TO 1839. 



Leaves St. Paul's School, age sixteen, and enters as a medical student at King's 

 College, London — Distinguishes himself at King's College; age seventeen 

 — 'Takes more prizes; age nineteen — Alfred Smee reads his first paper; 

 age twenty — ^His second paper — ^Leaves King's College and goes to St. Bar- 

 tholomevy's Hospital — Takes more prizes in 1838 — ^Invents a splint; age 

 twenty-one — Experiment-book — Account-book — Laboratory — Life at the 

 Bank of England — His love of music. 



In midsTiinmer 1834, Alfred Smee left St. Paul's School, and in 

 October of the same year he commenced his studies for the 

 medical profession, and became a medical student of King's 

 College, London. Up to this time we have seen him as a boy 

 endowed with strong feelings, possessing a strong will, keen 

 susceptibilities, and an innate love for natural history; a sharp 

 pair of eyes which nothing passed unheeded, a keen sense for fun, 

 an open and very generous disposition, and a kind heart towards 

 his fellow- creatures and the lower animals. 



But up to this period of his life he had not shown any dis- 

 position for book lore. His literature when a young boy was 

 limited, and it consisted principally of a few works on natural 

 history. For Gilbert White's 'History of Selborne' he ever 

 entertained an unbounded admiration, as he did also for the 

 immortal works of Shakspeare. By this it will be seen that 

 Alfred Smee was not what is termed a "reading man." Of the 

 plays of Shakspeare the ' Tempest,' supposed to be the last 

 written by the poet, was his favourite. Perhaps it may not be 

 out of place here to mention that my father, to the last year of 

 his life, never ceased to speak of the marvellous and unrivalled 

 manner in which Shakspeare's plays were put on the stage by 

 Macready in 1839-40.* 



* For a full account of the exquisite pains which Macready gave himself in 

 putting on the stage the plays of Shakspeare, I refer the reader to the interesting 

 diary of that tragedian, edited by Sir Frederick Pollock. 



