He was full of spirits and fond of fun,
and in spite of his passionate temper, every one liked him. He
was not particularly fond of lessons, but he did them easily and
then turned to other things. What he liked best was fighting.
"He would fight any one," says one of his old schoolfellows,*
"Morning, noon, and night, his brothers among the rest. It was
meat and drink to him." "Yet," says another, "no one ever had an
angry word to say of him, and they loved him not only for his
terrier-like courage, but for his generosity, his high-
mindedness, and his utter ignorance of what was mean or base."
But although John was so much loved, and although he was
generally so bright and merry, he had miserable times too. He
had fits of melancholy, but when these came he would go to his
brothers and pour out all his grief to them. This made him feel
better, and he troubled no one else with his moods.
*E. Holmes.
Very soon after John went to school his father was killed by a
fall from his horse, his grandfather died too, and his mother
married again.
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