Now, it was as clear as a pikestaff to Peter the Schoolmaster that a
person called Amyntas could not go through the world like any other
ordinary being; so he devoted particular care to his son's education,
teaching him, which was the way of schoolmasters then as now, very many
entirely useless things, and nothing that could be to him of the
slightest service in earning his bread and butter.
But twelve children cannot be brought up on limpid air, and there were
often difficulties when new boots were wanted; sometimes, indeed, there
were difficulties when bread and meat and puddings were wanted. Such
things did not affect Peter; he felt not the pangs of hunger as he read
his books, and he vastly preferred to use the white and the yolk of an
egg in the restoration of an old leather binding than to have it
solemnly cooked and thrust into his belly. What cared he for the rantings
of his wife and the crying of the children when he could wander in
imagination on Mount Ida, clad only in his beauty, and the three
goddesses came to him promising wonderful things? He was a tall, lean
man, with thin, white hair and blue eyes, but his wrinkled cheeks were
still rosy; incessant snuff-taking had given a special character to his
nose. And sometimes, taking upon him the spirit of Catullus, he wrote
verses to Lesbia, or, beneath the breast-plate of Marcus Aurelius, he
felt his heart beat bravely as he marched against the barbarians; he was
Launcelot, and he made charming speeches to Guinevere as he kissed her
long white hand....
But now and then the clamour of the outer world became too strong, and
he had to face seriously the question of his children's appetite.
It was on one of these occasions that the schoolmaster called his son to
his study and said to him,--
'Amyntas, you are now eighteen years of age. I have taught you all I
know, and you have profited by my teaching; you know Greek and Latin as
well as I do myself; you are well acquainted with Horace and Tully; you
have read Homer and Aristotle; and added to this, you can read the Bible
in the original Hebrew. That is to say, you have all knowledge at your
fingers' ends, and you are prepared to go forth and conquer the world.
Your mother will make a bundle of your clothes; I will give you my
blessing and a guinea, and you can start to-morrow.'
Then he returned to his study of an oration of Isocrates. Amyntas was
thunder-struck.
'But, father, where am I to go?'
The schoolmaster raised his head in surprise, looking at his son over
the top of his spectacles.
'My son,' he said, with a wave of the arm; 'my son, you have the world
before you--is that not enough?'
'Yes, father,' said Amyntas, who thought it was a great deal too much;
'but what am I to do? I can't get very far on a guinea.'
'Amyntas,' answered Peter, rising from his chair with great dignity,
'have you profited so ill by the examples of antiquity, which you have
had placed before you from your earliest years? Do you not know that
riches consist in an equal mind, and happiness in golden mediocrity? Did
the wise Odysseus quail before the unknown, because he had only a guinea
in his pocket? Shame on the heart that doubts! Leave me, my son, and
make ready.'
Amyntas, very crestfallen, left the room and went to his mother to
acquaint her with the occurrence. She was occupied in the performance of
the family's toilet.
'Well, my boy,' she said, as she scrubbed the face of the last but one,
'it's about time that you set about doing something to earn your living,
I must say. Now, if instead of learning all this popish stuff about
Greek and Latin and Lord knows what, you'd learnt to milk a cow or groom
a horse you'd be as right as a trivet now. Well, I'll put you up a few
things in a bundle as your father says and you can start early to-morrow
morning.... Now then, darling,' she added, turning to her Benjamin,
'come and have your face washed, there's a dear.'