my antecedents. A case in point occurred when McKinnon Wood,
Secretary for Scotland, refused in the House of Commons to give any
information whatsoever about me, this after pressure had been brought
to bear on him by three mernbers of Parliament. Either the Home
Secretary knew nothing about my antecedents, or his trained discretion
counseled silence.

I was brought up in the traditions of a house actively engaged in the
affairs of its country, for hundreds of years. As an only son, I was
promptly and efficiently spoiled for anything else but the station in
life which should have been mine--but never has been and, now, never
can be. I used to have high aspirations, but promises never kept
shattered most of my ideals. The hard knocks of life have made me a
fatalist, so now I shrug my shoulders. _"Che sara sara."_ I have had
to lead my own life and, all considered, I have enjoyed it. I have
crowded into thirty-nine years more sensations than fall to the lot of
the average half a dozen men.

Following the custom of our house, I was trained as a military cadet.
This military apprenticeship was followed by three years at a famous
_gymnasium_, which fitted me for one of the old classic universities
of Europe. And after spending six semesters there, I took my degrees
in philosophy and medicine. Not a bad achievement, I take it, for a
young chap before reaching his twenty-second birthday. I have always
been fond of study and had a special aptitude for sciences and the
languages. On one occasion I acquired a fair knowledge of Singalese
and Tamul in three months.

From the university I returned home. I had always been obstinate and
willful, not to say pigheaded, and being steeped in tales of wrongs