his pretended indignation at those who affirmed him to have been beaten,
were highly amusing to the bystanders.

Such discussions were considered highly edifying and instructive by
them, and they were sometimes at a loss whether to give the palm of
ingenuity and eloquence to the father or Denny. The reader, however,
must not suppose that the contemptuous expressions scattered over
Denny's rhetorical flourishes; when discussing these points with his
father, implied want of reverence or affection--far from it. On the
contrary, the father always liked him the better for them, inasmuch as
they proved Denny's vast superiority over himself. They were, therefore,
only the licenses and embellishments of discussion, tolerated and
encouraged by him to whom they were applied.

Denny at length shot up to the stature of a young man, probably about
eighteen; and during the two last years of his school studies he
presented a considerable, if not a decidedly marked change in his
character and external appearance. His pride became more haughty, and
the consciousness of his learning, and of the influence annexed to
the profession for which he was intended, put itself forth with
less discussion, but more energy. His manners and attitude became
constrained; the expression of his face began to darken, and to mould
itself into a stiff, gloomy formality, that was strongly calculated
to conceal the natural traits of his character. His dress, too, had
undergone a great improvement; for instead of wearing shop blue or
brown, he wore good black broad-cloth, had a watch in his fob, a
respectable hat, and finer linen.

This change, now necessary in consequence of his semiclerical character,
influenced him through every relation of life. His nearest friends,