Foxholme Hall, and Other TalesKingston, William Henry Giles
General
Foxholme Hall, and Other Tales
Kingston, William Henry Giles
Adventure stories; Boys -- Conduct of life -- Juvenile fiction; Children's stories; Conduct of life -- Juvenile fiction
From that moment he resolved to show that he had not been wrongly
placed. It was a great satisfaction to feel that he should have only to
remain a year numbered among those who could be fagged. He was thus
also only one division below Power. He found that unless he was
"plucked," he should rise one division every half-year, with certain
trials and examinations interposed, into Fifth Form, and so on, but that
there was no trial into Sixth Form, the vacancies in it being filled up
by seniority.
Power and Anson congratulated him on his successful _debut_ in the
school-yard.
"Cicester, big as he looks, is below you in the school," observed Anson.
"He is an earl, but we don't take note here of titles. He eats too
much to be strong, and thinks too much of himself to have many real
friends. I am very glad that you treated him as you did, because I
think that it will sicken him of attacking you again, and make other
fellows treat you with respect. Of course, however, there are
tuft-hunters here as well as elsewhere, and as some of the Fifth Form
are among his friends, you must expect to be fagged a little sharply by
them occasionally, if you get in their way. However, you'll know how to
manage to keep out of rows. One thing I have found out; there is no use
attempting to shirk fagging. A fellow is always certain to get the
worst of it. There is no dodge a fellow can try which the Fifth Form
are not up to, because you see that they have tried them all themselves.
The worst thing a fellow can do is to show the sulks. He is certain to
take nothing by it. I always find it best to do a thing willingly and
promptly, however disagreeable it may be."
Reginald thanked his friends for their advice, and moreover took care to
follow it.
The next day, when he went into school, he was found to have prepared
his lessons particularly well, and the master looked at him with an
approving eye, as a boy likely to do credit to himself, and some little,
perhaps, to the school. From the very first Reginald set himself
against the use of cribs. He was rather laughed at for this, at first,
by his associates, who were aware of what they considered his peculiar
crotchet.
"I have just a question to ask you fellows," he observed one day. "Do
you think it right or gentlemanly to tell a lie? Answer me seriously,
not in joke."
It was agreed that a lie was ungentlemanly and wrong.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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