whereas it was possible for Godwin to frequent lectures or not, to
study or to waste his time, pretty much as he chose, subject only to
official inquiry if his attendance became frequently irregular. His
independent temper, and the seeming maturity of his mind, supplied
another excuse for the imprudent confidence which left him to his
own resources. Yet the perils of the situation were great indeed. A
youth of less concentrated purpose, more at the mercy of casual
allurement, would probably have gone to wreck amid trials so
exceptional.

Trials not only of his moral nature. The sums of money with which he
was furnished fell short of a reasonable total for bare necessities.
In the calculation made by Mrs. Peak and her sister, outlay on books
had practically been lost sight of; it was presumed that ten
shillings a term would cover this item. But Godwin could not consent
to be at a disadvantage in his armoury for academic contest. The
first mouth saw him compelled to contract his diet, that he might
purchase books; thenceforth he rarely had enough to eat. His
landlady supplied him with breakfast, tea, and supper--each repast
of the very simplest kind; for dinner it was understood that he
repaired to some public table, where meat and vegetables, with
perchance a supplementary sweet when nature demanded it, might be
had for about a shilling. That shilling was not often at his
disposal. Dinner as it is understood by the comfortably clad, the
'regular meal' which is a part of English respectability, came to be
represented by a small pork-pie, or even a couple of buns, eaten at
the little shop over against the College. After a long morning of
mental application this was poor refreshment; the long afternoon
which followed, again spent in rigorous study, could not but reduce
a growing frame to ravenous hunger. Tea and buttered bread were the