There were many other books in the library, upon which Philip browsed
voraciously. Uncle Joseph's selection of literature had been a little
severe, but here was far richer fare. Philip discovered a writer called
Robert Louis Stevenson, but though he followed his narratives
breathlessly found him lacking in feminine interest. The works of Jules
Verne filled him with rapture; for their peculiar blend of high
adventure and applied science was exactly suited to his temperament. He
had other more isolated favourites--"The Wreck of the Grosvenor"; "Lorna
Doone"; "The Prisoner of Zenda"; and "To Have and to Hold," which latter
he read straight through twice. But he came back again and again to the
shelf containing the red and blue volumes, and the magician who dwelt
therein never failed him. There were two fascinating stories called "The
Ship that Found Herself," and ".007." After reading these Philip ceased
to regard Boanerges as a piece of machinery; he endowed him with a soul
and a sense of humour. There was a moving tale of love and work called
"William the Conqueror"; there was a palpitating drama of the sea called
"Bread upon the Waters"; and there was one story which he read over and
over again--it took his thoughts back in some hazy fashion to Peggy
Falconer and Hampstead Heath--called "The Brushwood Boy."
Only one book upon this shelf failed to please him. It was a complete
novel, and dealt with a love affair that went wrong and never came
right. The hero, a cantankerous fellow, became blind, and the unfeminine
independent heroine never knew, so went her own way and left him to die.
This tragic tale haunted Philip's dreams. It shocked his innate but
unconscious belief in the general tendency of things to work together
for good. He considered that the author should have compelled these two
wrong-headed people to "make allowances for one another," and so come
together at the last. He even took the opinion of Mr. Mablethorpe on the
subject. Mr. Mablethorpe said:--
"His best book, Philip. But--I read it less than any of the others."
Then he introduced Philip to "Brugglesmith," and the vapours were blown
away by gusts of laughter.
III
Philip's orthodox education was not neglected. After a year's attendance
as a day-boy at the establishment near St. Albans he was sent to
Studley, a great public school in the south of England.
Here many things surprised him.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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