esh enough, does not furnish
much material for biography. He came to school young,--a
pretty, gentle, and rather timid boy. I think his experience
there was not generally pleasant. Though he had afterwards a
scholarlike knowledge of Latin, he did not attain distinction
in the school; and I should think that the character of the
head-master, Dr. Russell, which was vigorous, unsympathetic,
and stern, though not severe, was uncongenial to his own. With
the boys who knew him, Thackeray was popular; but he had no
skill in games, and, I think, no taste for them.... He was
already known by his faculty of making verses, chiefly
parodies. I only remember one line of one parody on a poem of
L. E. L.'s, about 'Violets, dark blue violets;' Thackeray's
version was 'Cabbages, bright green cabbages,' and we thought
it very witty. He took part in a scheme, which came to
nothing, for a school magazine, and he wrote verses for it, of
which I only remember that they were good of their kind. When
I knew him better, in later years, I thought I could recognise
the sensitive nature which he had as a boy.... His change of
retrospective feeling about his school days was very
characteristic. In his earlier books he always spoke of the
Charter House as Slaughter House and Smithfield. As he became
famous and prosperous his memory softened, and Slaughter House
was changed into Grey Friars where Colonel Newcome ended his
life."

In February, 1829, when he was not as yet eighteen, Thackeray went up to
Trinity College, Cambridge, and was, I think, removed in 1830. It may be
presumed, therefore, that his studies there were not very serviceable to
him. There are few, if any, records left of his doings at the
university,--unless it be the fact that he did there commence the
literary work of his life. The line about the cabbages, and the scheme
of the school magazine, can hardly be said to have amounted even to a
commencement. In 1829 a little periodical was brought out at Cambridge,
called _The Snob_, with an assurance on the title that it was _not_
conducted by members of the university. It is presumed that Thackeray
took a hand in editing this. He certainly wrote, and published in the
little paper, some burlesque lines on the subject which was given for
the Chancellor's prize poem of the year. This was _Timbuctoo_, and
Tennyson was