Wednesday, April 30th

Anniversary of my first day at school—Isle of Man, 1835. Went with Captain Brown and Hamilton to the Island with a few bricks. Captain Brown trotted through the mud after red-legs—a sixteen stone sportsman in thin Wellington straps and dandy trousers: he shot one poor bird and several cormorants on his way home. We pulled him on board and stayed to dinner, and all night in a most uncomfortable bed, doubled up with Hamilton.