230 MY LIFE 



required a few months' hard work to be fitted for his school, 

 and wished me good-morning. 



My next attempt was more hopeful, as drawing, surveying, 

 and mapping were required. Here, again, I met a clergy- 

 man, but a younger man. and more easy and friendly in his 

 manner. I had taken with me a small coloured map I had 

 made at Neath to serve as a specimen, and also one or two 

 pencil sketches. These seemed to satisfy him, and as I was 

 only wanted to take the junior classes in English reading, 

 writing, and arithmetic, teach a very few boys surveying, 

 and beginners in drawing, he agreed to engage me. I was 

 to live in the house, preside over the evening preparation of 

 the boarders (about twenty in number) and to have, I think, 

 thirty or forty pounds a year, with which I was quite satisfied. 

 I was to begin work in about a fortnight. My employer was 

 the Rev. Abraham Hill, headmaster of the Collegiate School 

 at Leicester. 



I stayed at the school a little more than a year, and should 

 probably have remained some years longer, and perhaps even 

 have been a junior school assistant all my life, but for a quite 

 unexpected event — the death of my brother William. I was 

 very comfortable at the school, owing to the kindness of Mr. 

 and Mrs. Hill, and of the opportunities afforded me for read- 

 ing, study, and the observation of nature. In my duties I 

 got on fairly well, as the boys were mostly well-behaved, 

 though of course, my ignorance and shyness led to some un- 

 pleasantness. The first evening I sat with the boys at their 

 work, one of the older ones came to me to ask me to explain 

 a difficult passage to him in some classic — I forget which — 

 evidently to test my knowledge or ignorance. So I declined 

 even to look at it, and told him that I taught English only, 

 and that for all other information they were to go to Mr. 

 Hill himself. On another occasion the classical assistant 

 master asked me to take the lowest class in Greek for him, 

 and I was obliged to tell him I did not even know the Greek 

 alphabet. But these little unpleasantnesses once got over did 

 not recur. There were two assistant masters in the school, 

 both pleasant men, but as they did not live in the house I did 



