Excerpt from Why Did He Do It? Professor's character was a jumble of contradictions. He could, for instance, be fond in some directions, inhuman in others. His erudition did not prevent his taking a mischievous delight in gossip of the most frivolous description. Mentally all there, he was subject, nevertheless, to fits of absent-mindedness, during which one might pull his leg without his knowing anything about it. A very bookworm by nature, he could become a malt-worm on provocation, and, throwing off the sage, like Dr. Johnson, for an evening's frolic with the boys, come home to excogitate logograms into the small hours of the morning. According to his mood, in short, he was a Fellow or a fellow; and, if the compositor has attended to his business, there is the distinction made without need, of further words. Finally, with a most unprepossessing appearance of his own, he had somehow endowed his only child, Miss Pauline Urchin, with the best of the graces which he lacked.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.