‘I don't think you are getting the meaning of it very well. Let me try, said I, And taking the volume, I commenced where he paused, and read freely on, to the no small astonishment of the boys, who agreed that I knew more about Latin than they did. This raised me not a little in the estimation of those who used to think me a dull, lifeless creature, who moped over books while they were at play, and gave a fresh impulse to my classical studies,
“A volume which fell into my hands at this time had a powerful influence over my mind. This was Foster’s Essays. The Essay on Decision of Character I remember reading on a grassy knoll one fine sunshiny afternoon after my task on the loom had been finished for the day. The perusal almost overwhelmed me. I arose and looked down upon the village, the meadow, and the silver stream that meandered through the valley beneath, and I felt that nothing was too difficult for me, provided I applied my faculties to it, and perseveringly toiled on, The impulse received from this noble effort of genius was not soon lost, and even to this day I never take up the volume without feeling conscious that it has proved to me a real blessing.
“The lessons assigned by my cousin Thomas grew more and more interesting after I became familiar with the first elements. The window at which I sat weaving commanded a view of the narrow footpath along which he always came; and when I caught a glimpse of his manly figure as he approached, my heart leaped within me for joy. His patience was remarkable. He rarely censured me for doing too little, but often told me that I undertook too much.
“During the three winter months, my father sent me to evening school to study arithmetic. My teacher
