John Short was apparently very poor; the Honourable Cornelius on the
other hand had plenty of money. Short was undeniably clever; Angleside
was uncommonly dull. Short was the son of a decayed literary man;
Angleside was the son of a nobleman. Short was by nature a hard worker;
Angleside was amazingly idle. Short meant to do something in the world;
Angleside had early determined to do nothing.

It would not be easy to define the reasons which induced Mr. Ambrose to
receive John Short under his roof. He had never before taken a pupil on
any but his usual terms, and at his time of life it was strange that he
should break through the rule. But here his peculiar views of charity
came into play. Short's father had been his own chum at school, and his
friend at college, but had failed to reap any substantial benefits from
his education. He had been a scholar in his way, but his way had not been
the way of other scholars, and when he had gone up for honours he had got
a bad third in classics. He would not enter the church, he could not
enter the law, he had no interest whatever, and he found himself
naturally thrust into the profession of literature. For a time he had
nearly starved; then he had met with some success and had, of course,
married without hesitation; after this he had had more misfortunes. His
wife had died leaving him an only son, whom in course of time he had sent
to school. But school was too expensive and he had reluctantly taken the
boy home again. It was in a fit of despair that he wrote to his old
friend Augustin Ambrose, asking his advice. The Reverend Augustin
considered the matter with the assistance of his wife, and being
charitable souls, they determined that they must help Short to educate
his son. Accordingly the vicar of Billingsfield wrote to his old friend
to say that if he could manage to pay a small sum for the lad's board,
he, the vicar, would complete the boy's education, so that he might at
least have a chance in the world. Short accepted the offer with boundless