He thought that ideas came into clever people's heads by a kind of
spontaneous germination, without parentage in the thoughts of others or
the course of observation; for as yet he believed in genius, of which he
well knew that he had none, if it was the fine frenzied thing he thought
it was.
Not very long before this he had come of age, and Theobald had handed him
over his money, which amounted now to 5000 pounds; it was invested to
bring in 5 pounds per cent and gave him therefore an income of 250 pounds
a year. He did not, however, realise the fact (he could realise nothing
so foreign to his experience) that he was independent of his father till
a long time afterwards; nor did Theobald make any difference in his
manner towards him. So strong was the hold which habit and association
held over both father and son, that the one considered he had as good a
right as ever to dictate, and the other that he had as little right as
ever to gainsay.
During his last year at Cambridge he overworked himself through this very
blind deference to his father's wishes, for there was no reason why he
should take more than a poll degree except that his father laid such
stress upon his taking honours.
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