was essentially a man of affairs. Yet he contrived to be a student
too. Thus, owing to the fact that he often shifted his
headquarters, I have seen a good deal of general society in several
parts of England. Moreover, I was brought up in a distinctly
intellectual atmosphere.

I was at a big public school, and gained a scholarship at the
University. I was a moderate scholar and a competent athlete; but I
will add that I had always a strong literary bent. I took in
younger days little interest in history or polities, and tended
rather to live an inner life in the region of friendship and the
artistic emotions. If I had been possessed of private means, I
should, no doubt, have become a full-fledged dilettante. But that
doubtful privilege was denied me, and for a good many years I lived
a busy and fairly successful life as a master at a big public
school. I will not dwell upon this, but I will say that I gained a
great interest in the science of education, and acquired profound
misgivings as to the nature of the intellectual process known by
the name of secondary education. More and more I began to perceive
that it is conducted on diffuse, detailed, unbusiness-like lines. I
tried my best, as far as it was consistent with loyalty to an
established system, to correct the faulty bias. But it was with a
profound relief that I found myself suddenly provided with a
literary task of deep interest, and enabled to quit my scholastic
labours. At the same time, I am deeply grateful for the practical
experience I was enabled to gain, and even more for the many true
and pleasant friendships with colleagues, parents, and boys that I
was allowed to form.

What a waste of mental energy it is to be careful and troubled