Though his parents were healthy and vigorous, he was of weakly constitution, which would not have been half so dangerous to him if his mind also had been weakly.
But his mind (or at any rate that rudiment thereof which appears in the shape of self-will even before the teeth appear) was a piece of muscular contortion, tough as oak and hard as iron.

"Pet" was his name with his mother and his aunt; and his enemies (being the rest of mankind) said that pet was his name and his nature.
For this dear child could brook no denial, no slow submission to his wishes; whatever he wanted must come in a moment, punctual as an echo.

In him re-appeared not the stubbornness only, but also the keen ingenuity of Yordas in finding out the very thing that never should be done, and then the unerring perception of the way in which it could be done most noxiously.

Yet any one looking at his eyes would think how tender and bright must his nature be! "He favoreth his forebears; how can he help it ?" kind people exclaimed, when they knew him.

And the servants of the house excused themselves when condemned for putting up with him, "Yo know not what 'a is, yo that talk so.