I remained on at school till I sat alone by myself in the highest class--a position of little dignity and deep loneliness.

I had grown a tall, square-set lad, and my prowess at Rugby football was renowned beyond the parishes of Kirkcaple and Portincross.

To my father I fear I was a disappointment.

He had hoped for something in his son more bookish and sedentary, more like his gentle, studious self.
On one thing I was determined: I should follow a learned profession.
The fear of being sent to an office, like so many of my schoolfellows, inspired me to the little progress I ever made in my studies.

I chose the ministry, not, I fear, out of any reverence for the sacred calling, but because my father had followed it before me.