How does Paul feel about his own childhood?

Paul doesn't feel he had much of a childhood: he skipped it. His life began when Dunstan taught him a few magic tricks. The Paul ran away with a circus.

I was entranced by Willard the Wizard; he was so much more skilful than Ramsay. He was quite clever with cards and a very neat pickpocket. I begged him to take me, and was such an ignorant little boy—perhaps I might even call myself innocent, though it is a word I don’t like—that I was in ecstasy when he consented. But I soon found out that Willard had two weaknesses—boys and morphia. The morphia had already made him careless or he would never have run the terrible risk of stealing a boy.