Page:The Message and Ministrations of Dewan Bahadur R. Venkata Ratnam, volume 1.djvu/440

 his teens, a student of the Fifth Form, came out with some Telugu verses which were very touching, characteristically closing with a humorous verse. The humour of it lay in this. The language was English, and the characters were Telugu. It threw us all into bursts of laughter, and I naturally asked myself who the lad was that contained so much humour in him. This was the beginning of our mutual acquaintance. The next year he came into the Sixth Form—the lowest class which I was teaching. He gradually worked his way up to the B. A. when I left the Institution. He was somehow not noted for industry at that time. He did not do justice to himself in the University career, as judged by the ‘results’. To every one who knew him it was quite patent that his talents were of a high order. He passed his examinations with ease, with so little of what the world calls industry; and in this lies the proof of great intellect. To all who knew him it was a disappointment that he did not get a first class in the Matriculation or F. A.; and some