After working in a shop in Liverpool for a time he went to Lausanne in Switzerland to study languages, developing a love of the French language and literature which had a great influence on his later writings.
After working in a shop in Liverpool for a time he trained at Bala Theological College. In 1874 he went to Lausanne in Switzerland to teach English in a private school and to study languages, developing a love of the French language and literature which had a great influence on his later writings.