In his
eighteenth year he entered Trinity College, Dublin, as a sizar, that
is, a poor student who pays in part for his tuition by doing certain
kinds of work. After four years devoted to study--spiced with a good
deal of fun--he graduated at the foot of his class.
At twenty-one he showed no special bent. For a while he lived with his
mother, now a widow, and idled his time away with gay companions.
After being refused a position in the church, he resolved to try
teaching; but this occupation proved so little to his taste that he
decided to give it up and study medicine. With the help of a generous
uncle he entered the medical school at Edinburgh, leaving Ireland never
to return. At the end of a year and a half he concluded that foreign
travel would do more for him than a longer stay in Scotland. His uncle
sent him twenty pounds, and with this he reached Leyden, where, if he
possibly attended a few lectures, he certainly associated with wild
companions who helped him to get rid of his money. Having succeeded in
borrowing a small sum, he was about to leave Leyden, when in a
florist's garden he saw a rare, high-priced flower which he felt sure
would delight his kind uncle, who was an enthusiast in flower culture.
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