CHAPTER XVI 



LONDON AND LEICESTER 



As I came of age in January, 1844, and there was nothing 

 doing at Neath, I left my brother about the middle of Decem- 

 ber so as to spend the Christmas with my mother and sister 

 at Hoddesdon, after which I returned to London, sharing my 

 brother John's lodging till I could find some employment. 

 At that time the tithe-commutation surveys were nearly all 

 completed, and the rush of railway work had not begun ; sur- 

 veying was consequently very slack. As my brother Wil- 

 liam, who had a large acquaintance among surveyors and 

 engineers all over the south of England, could not find 

 employment, except some very small local business, I felt 

 it to be quite useless for me to seek for similar work. I 

 therefore determined to try for some post in a school to teach 

 English, surveying, elemetary drawing, etc. Through some 

 school agency I heard of two vacancies that might possibly 

 suit. The first required, in addition to English, junior Latin 

 and algebra. Though I had not looked at a Latin book since 

 I left school, I thought I might possibly manage; and as 

 to algebra, I could do simple equations, and had once been 

 able to do quadratics, and felt sure I could keep ahead of 

 beginners. So with some trepidation I went to interview the 

 master, a rather grave but kindly clergyman. I told him my 

 position, and what I had been doing since I left school. He 

 asked me if I could translate Virgil, at which I hesitated, but 

 told him I had been through most of it at school. So he 

 brought out the book and gave me a passage to translate, 

 which, of course, I was quite unable to do properly. Then 

 he set me a simple equation, which I worked easily. Then a 

 quadratic, at which I stuck. So he politely remarked that I 



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