Page:The Poetical Works of Ram Sharma.djvu/12

 pain soon ended in pleasure. The lessons which he at first conned with great reluctance soon became a source of delight and he developed into an apt and diligent student. Of all the different branches of knowledge he discovered a peculiar aptitude for English; yet, with all his partiality for this language, his intellect owned to a decided turn for Mathematics. His talents attracted the notice of Captain Palmer, Professor of English. His interpretations of some of the difficult passages of Pope were so clever, that he was playfully called Little Pope by Mr. Kirkpatrick, another Professor of the school. When he was but six years old he recited Pope's A dying Christian to his Soul at a prize distribution ceremony held at the Town Hall, presided over by Sir Edward Ryan, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and obtained a prize, Babu Keshab Chandra Ganguly, well-known at the time as the Garrick of Bengal, being his coach. His school- career soon came to a close; for in his thirteenth year he went up for the final examination from the Fourth Standard which he passsd with great credit. His answer papers were of such high excellence that Dr. Muat, Secretary, Board of Examination, offered him the Head Mastership of the Howrah School, which, on account of his extreme youth, he was advised by his friends and well-wishers to decline. While at school, he contributed to the news-papers of the time, chiefly to the Harkara and the Citizen, both in prose and verse, and in this he was.