ded, as she justly said, beyond all
considerations or vain honours. Pen, although not aware of any lurking
disease which was likely to end his life, yet kindly promised his mamma
not to sit up reading too late of nights, and stuck to his word in this
respect with a great deal more tenacity of resolution than he exhibited
upon some other occasions, when perhaps he was a little remiss.

Presently he began too to find that he learned little good in the
classical lecture. His fellow-students there were too dull, as in
mathematics they were too learned for him. Mr. Buck, the tutor, was no
better a scholar than many a fifth-form boy at Grey Friars; might have
some stupid humdrum notions about the metre and grammatical construction
of a passage of Aeschylus or Aristophanes, but had no more notion of the
poetry than Mrs. Binge, his bed-maker; and Pen grew weary of hearing the
dull students and tutor blunder through a few lines of a play, which he
could read in a tenth part of the time which they gave to it. After all,
private reading, as he began to perceive, was the only study which was
really profitable to a man; and he announced to his mamma that he should
read by himself a great deal more, and in public a great deal less. That
excellent woman knew no more about Homer than she did about Algebra, but
she was quite contented with Pen's arrangements regarding his course of
studies, and felt perfectly confident that her dear boy would get the
place which he merited.

Pen did not come home until after Christmas, a little to the fond
mother's disappointment, and Laura's, who was longing for him to make a
fine snow fortification, such as he had made three winters before. But
he was invited to Logwood, Lady Agnes Foker's, where there were private
theatricals, and a gay Christmas party of very fine folks, some of
them whom Major Pendennis would on no account have his nephew neglect.
However, he stayed at home for the last three weeks of the vacation,
and Laura had the opportunity of remarking what a quantity of fine
new clothes he brought with him, and his mother admired his improved
appearance and manly and decided tone.

He did not come home at Easter; but when he arrived for the long
vacation, he brought more smart clothes; appearing in the morning in
wonderful shooting jackets, with remarkable buttons; and in the evening
in gorgeous velvet waistcoats, with richly-embroidered cravats, and
curious linen. And as she pried about hi