"
He took no interest in the law or the Church. He seems to have moped
along in a lackadaisical sort of way in the classroom. He had not
given an indication of "shining" in any direction. Consequently there
was nothing left for a gentleman's son--except the army! It was a
make-shift choice.
Those were the days of the American Revolution. The progress of this
struggle must have appealed powerfully to the English boys; and the
final defeat of the trained British troops by the raw Colonials must
have been a bitter blow. There came an insistent demand for more and
better schools for the officers. England seems to have been poorly
equipped in this respect. Wellesley himself, like many another English
boy, was sent across the channel to France. The chosen school was at
Angers on the Maine, and was conducted by the Marquis of Pignerol, a
celebrated military engineer of the time. In connection with the
school was a fine riding academy.
It was in 1785 that Arthur entered this school. He was then sixteen, a
thin gangly-looking boy, who perhaps because he had grown too rapidly
could not be persuaded to take much interest in anything. He felt out
of his element and ill at ease, although he was not the only English
lad here. He is described by General Mackenzie, who was a schoolmate,
as "not very attentive to his studies, and constantly occupied with a
little terrier called Vick, which followed him everywhere.
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