His religious orientation moved from the orthodoxy of the Church of England to first Agnosticism, then Positivism and finally Roman Catholicism.

He was educated first at Ilminster Grammar School (1836–39), at later at Eton College where he entered Dr Hawtrey's house in 1841 at 13 years of age.

[citation needed] He had not been a King's Scholar himself because although a nomination could be obtained without difficulty, College was at it lowest ebb, in comfort, morals and number.

[8] After a fire in 1883 and other problems, the firm was amalgamated with two other publisher, George Redway, who became a partner, and the heirs of Nicholas Trübner.

The new firm, now a Limited Company titled Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co. Ltd, moved into larger premises in 1891.

[9] While the board accepted Paul's resignation, he remained on good terms with the firm, and they published two more of his translations, as well as his Memories and his volume of verse.

Paul wrote that although he had been a pretty frequent writer in periodicals and of pamphlets and prefaces, these could be ignored in his bibliography as he had collected in books all that are worth preserving.

Her siblings included James William Colvile, a judge in colonial India; Eden Colvile, Governor of Rupert's Land and the Hudson's Bay Company; Isabella Colville, mother of football pioneer Francis Marindin; and Georgiana Mary, Baroness Blatchford.

Paul was badly injured in a traffic accident while crossing Hammersmith Road in 1895, and the injury left him with chronic pain for the rest of his life.