effect. He flunked and
was transferred to the other school. This time he was told that
failure meant that he would be taken out of school entirely and
apprenticed to a hatter.

The warning had the desired effect. Herbert buckled down to work and
not only passed his examinations, but even began to show a decided
liking for mathematics--which study was to be of good service in later
life.

By this time the family had moved into a more pretentious home, known
as the Crotta House. Little is related of his boyhood life there. It
was quiet and uneventful. The boy was of reserved nature, preferring
to sit quietly in the corner and listen while others did the talking.
Yet when drawn out, he could talk well, preferring to reason rather
than argue. His chief outdoor sport was swimming. The home was only a
few miles inland from the Atlantic coast, and he and his brothers often
rode over for a dip.

His father was of industrious and thorough-going type. The family
motto was "Thorough," and the Colonel lived up to it. "K. of K." also
became a master of detail; and here on his father's estate he learned
his first lessons in it. Colonel Kitchener constantly preached the
value of time--and practised what he preached. Instead of settling
down to a life of ease, he was always at work on the estate. He
reclaimed large tracts of bogs, turning them into fertile land. He
raised breed horses and cattle. He set up his own factory for making
bricks, tiles, and drain-pipes. His own life of energy and
organization was the best possible example to his boys. That Herbert,
with all his apparent indolence, was profiting by it, became evident
years afterward.

When the boy was fifteen, his father determined on a complete change of
environment for him. "I want you to see something else besides
Ireland," he said. Herbert was accordingly sent to Switzerland, to a
French school conducted by a Mr. Bennett. It was in Villeneuve, at the
eastern end of Lake Geneva. In this scenic spot of Europe he remained
for some four years, paying occasional visits home, but becoming more
and more a cosmopolitan, instead of merely a shy Irish lad. He learned
to speak French like a native, and got a start in German and Italian.
Languages always came easy to him.

Meanwhile he trudged about the mountain country on many a long
excursion, with a camera slung across his shoulders, learning an art
that he was soon to put to good use. Thanks to this