The Story of Grenfell of the Labrador | Page 4

and it is a mighty good

man that can stand up before him. In most boys' schools of that day,
and doubtless at Marlborough College, boys settled their differences
with gloves, and in all probability Grenfell had plenty of practice, for
he was never a mollycoddle. He was perhaps not always the winner,
but he was always a true sportsman. There is a vast difference between
a "sportsman" and a "sport." Grenfell was a sportsman, never a sport.
His life in the open taught him to accept success modestly or failure
smilingly, and all through his life he has been a sportsman of high type.
The three years that Grenfell spent at Marlborough College were active
ones. He not only made good grades in his studies but he took a leading
part in all athletics. Study was easy for him, and this made it possible to
devote much time to physical work. Not only did he become an expert
boxer, but he had no difficulty in making the school teams, in football,
cricket, and other sports that demanded skill, nerve and physical
energy.
Like all youngsters running over with the joy of youth and life, he got
into his full share of scrapes. If there was anything on foot,
mischievous or otherwise, Grenfell was on hand, though his mischief
and escapades were all innocent pranks or evasion of rules, such as
going out of bounds at prohibited hours to secure goodies. The greater
the element of adventure the keener he was for an enterprise. He was
not by any means always caught in his pranks, but when he was he
admitted his guilt with heroic candor, and like a hero stood up for his
punishment. Those were the days when the hickory switch in America,
and the cane in England, were the chief instruments of torture.
With the end of his course at Marlborough College, Grenfell was
confronted with the momentous question of his future and what he was
to do in life. This is a serious question for any young fellow to answer.
It is a question that involves one's whole life. Upon the decision rests to
a large degree happiness or unhappiness, content or discontent, success
or failure.
It impressed him now as a question that demanded his most serious
thought. For the first time there came to him a full realization that some
day he would have to earn his way in the world with his own brain and

hands. A vista of the future years with their responsibilities, lay before
him as a reality, and he decided that it was up to him to make the most
of those years and to make a success of life. No doubt this realization
fell upon him as a shock, as it does upon most lads whose parents have
supplied their every need. Now he was called upon to decide the matter
for himself, and his future education was to be guided by his choice.
At various periods of his youthful career nearly every boy has an
ambition to be an Indian fighter, or a pirate, or a locomotive engineer,
or a fireman and save people from burning buildings at the risk of his
own life, or to be a hunter of ferocious wild animals. Grenfell had
dreamed of a romantic and adventurous career. Now he realized that
these ambitions must give place to a sedate profession that would earn
him a living and in which he would be contented.
All of his people had been literary workers, educators, clergymen, or
officers in the army or navy. There was Charles Kingsley and
"Westward Ho." There was Sir Richard Grenvil, immortalized by
Tennyson in "The Revenge." There was his own dear grandfather who
was a master at Rugby under the great Arnold, whom everybody knows
through "Tom Brown at Rugby."
It was the wish of some of his friends and family that he become a
clergyman. This did not in the least suit his tastes, and he immediately
decided that whatever profession he might choose, it would not be the
ministry. The ministry was distasteful to him as a profession, and he
had no desire or intention to follow in the footsteps of his ancestors. He
wished to be original, and to blaze a new trail for himself.
Grenfell was exceedingly fond of the family physician, and one day he
went to him to discuss his problem. This physician had a large practice.
He kept several horses to take him about the country visiting his
patients, and in his daily rounds he traveled many miles. This was
appealing to one who had lived so much out of doors as Grenfell had.
As a doctor he, too, could drive about the country visiting patients. He
could enjoy the sunshine and feel the drive