e!" {175b}

The only one of Sydney's brothers who need be mentioned was Robert,
commonly called Bobus {175c} (an Eton nickname). He once spoke of his
mother's beauty in the presence of Talleyrand, who, "with a shrug and a
sly disparaging look," said, "Ah! mon ami, c'etait donc apparemment
monsieur votre pere qui n'etait pas bien." {176a}

Sydney went to Winchester on the foundation, where he had to endure
"years of misery and positive starvation." He used to say that he had at
school made about ten thousand Latin verses, "and no man in his senses
would dream in after-life of ever making another."

Sydney passed from Winchester to New College, Oxford, where his rank as
Captain of the School apparently entitled him to a fellowship. In spite
of this he seems to have been poor and to have lived in consequence very
much out of society. Between Winchester and Oxford he was sent to Mont
Villiers in Normandy to learn French, in which he succeeded admirably.
The revolution was then at its height, and he had to be enrolled in a
Jacobin Club as "Le Citoyen Smit, Membre Affilie, etc." It speaks well
for Sydney's self-restraint and powers of self-management, that after he
became a Fellow {176b} of his college he never received a farthing from
his father. On leaving Oxford he was _faute de mieux_ ordained, and
became a curate at a small village in the middle of Salisbury Plain.
Here he made the acquaintance of the neighbouring squire, Mr Beach. He
became tutor to the squire's son, and it was arranged that they should go
to the University of Weimar; but this turned out impracticable, and (says
Sydney) "in stress of politics we put into Edinburgh," where he remained
five years. Here he came in contact with a number of interesting
people--Jeffrey, {177a} Horner, {177b} Playfair, Walter Scott, Dugald
Stewart, Brougham, Murray, Leyden and others, many of whom were life-long
friends of Sydney. Another eminent person whose acquaintance he made
later, may be mentioned here. Sydney wrote to Lady Holland in 1831 (ii.,
p. 326):--"Philosopher Malthus came here last week. I got an agreeable
party for him of unmarried people. There was only one lady who had had a
child; but he is a good-natured man, and if there are no appearances of
approaching fertility, is civil to every lady."

Sydney's housekeeping difficulties at Edinburgh proved an unexpected
difficulty; his servants "always pulled off their stockings, in spite of
my repeated