" From this we infer that Arthur
was a silent, reserved lad, who did not shine at his studies, but who
nevertheless did "a heap of thinking." Being misunderstood at home he
withdrew more and more into his shell--thus forming a crust of reserve
which was to be more or less a handicap to him all through life. For
the Iron Duke, as he came to be called, never threw off his diffidence
nor won the hearts of his soldiers, as did that other recluse,
Bonaparte.
Arthur Wellesley's first school away from home was Eton, that great
"prep" school of so many English boys. The fact that he attended there
helped to give rise to the proverb that "Waterloo was won on the
cricket fields of Eton"--but as a matter of record the boy was not
interested in this sport. He preferred the fiddle to the racquet, as
he had inherited his father's love of music.
"I was a player of the violin once myself, sir," he remarked in after
years to a friend; "but I soon found that fiddling and soldiering
didn't agree--so I gave it up, sir! I gave it up!"
Only one other anecdote is recorded of his life at Eton, and this was a
fight! Nor was it a case of choose your weapons--it was plain fists.
He began with first principles. A fellow student, Robert Smith, who is
chiefly noted as having been the brother of Sydney Smith, the noted
essayist and preacher, was enjoying a swim in the river, near the
campus.
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