BackfromseaMartinEdencame, homingforCaliforniawithalover', hehadshippedbeforethemastonthetreasure-huntingschooner; andtheSolomonIslands, aftereightmonthsoffailuretofindtreasure, , , buttheyhadenabledhimtodoagreatdealofstudyingandreading.

Hiswasthestudent'smind, , , andoften, fromlackofpractice, .

Afterhehadbeenthroughthegrammarrepeatedly, , andatwheelorlookouthesteadilywentoverandoverhislengtheninglistofpronunciationsanddefinitions, whileheinvariablymemorizedhimselftosleep."Neverdidanything," "ifIwere," and "thosethings," werephrases, withmanyvariations, thatherepeatedunderhisbreathinordertoaccustomhistonguetothelanguagespokenbyRuth."And" and "ing," withthe "d" and "g" pronouncedemphatically, hewentoverthousandsoftimes; andtohissurprisehenoticedthathewasbeginningtospeakcleanerandmorecorrectEnglishthantheofficersthemselvesandthegentleman-adventurersinthecabinwhohadfinancedtheexpedition.

Thecaptainwasafishy-eyedNorwegianwhosomehowhadfallenintopossessionofacompleteShakespeare, whichheneverread, , sosteepedwasheintheplaysandinthemanyfavoritepassagesthatimpressedthemselvesalmostwithouteffortonhisbrain, ; withalitintroducedintohismindmuchthatwasarchaicandobsolete.

Theeightmonthshadbeenwellspent, and, inadditiontowhathehadlearnedofrightspeakingandhighthinking, , , ,—theycoulddo; , , insplendorandglory, , oneoftheearsthroughwhichitheard, —everything—poetryandprose, fictionanddescription, 'sgiants, .