Tell England: A Study in a GenerationRaymond, Ernest
General
Tell England: A Study in a Generation
Raymond, Ernest
World War, 1914-1918 -- Fiction
This utterly senseless remark I had no opportunity of answering, so
I determined to sulk with Doe, as soon as the interval should
arrive. When, however, the bell rang for that ten-minutes'
excitement, I forgot everything in the glee of thinking that the
second period would be spent with Herr Reinhardt. Ten minutes to go,
and then--and then, Mr. Caesar!
Sec.3
In the long corridor, on to which Radley's class-room opened,
gathered our elated form, awaiting the arrival of Herr Reinhardt. He
was late. He always was: and it was a mistake to be so, for it gave
us the opportunity, when he drew near, of asking one another the
time in French: "Kell er eight eel? Onze er ay dammy. Wee, wee."
Caesar Reinhardt, the German, remains upon my mind chiefly as being
utterly unlike a German: he was a long man, very deaf, with drooping
English moustaches, and such obviously weak eyes that now, whenever
Leah's little eye-trouble is read in Genesis, I always think of
Reinhardt. But I think of him as "Mr. Caesar." Why "Mr. Caesar" and
not purely "Caesar" I cannot explain, but the "Mr." was inseparable
from the nickname. Good Mr. Caesar was misplaced in his profession.
Had he not been obliged to spend his working life in the position of
one who has just been made to look a fool, he would have been an
attractive and lovable person. He had the most beautiful tenor
voice, which, when he spoke was like liquid silver, and, when he
sang elaborate opera passages, made one see glorious wrought-steel
gateways of heavenly palaces. This inefficient master owed his
position to the great vogue enjoyed by his books: "Reinhardt's
German Conversation," "Reinhardt's French Pieces," and others. But
the boys, by common consent, decided not to identify this "Caesar
Reinhardt, Modern Language Master at Kensingtowe School" with their
own dear Mr. Caesar. Thus, you see, in their ignorance, they were
able to bring up the Reinhardt works to Mr. Caesar, and say with
worried brows: "Here, sir. This bally book's all wrong"; "I could
write a better book than this myself, sir"; "The Johnny who wrote
this book, sir--well, _st. st._" Pennybet, however, used to tremble
on the brink of identification, when he made the idiotic mistake of
saying: "Shall I bring up my Caesar, sir,--I mean, my Reinhardt?"
The jubilation of our class, as we lolled or clog-danced in the
corridor, had need to be organised into some systematic fooling; and
for once in a way, the boys accepted a suggestion of mine.
"Let's all hum 'God Save the King' exactly at twelve o'clock. Mr.
Caesar won't hear; he's too deaf."
Immediately several boys started to sing the popular air in
question, and others went for a slide along the corridor, both of
which performances are generally construed as meaning: "Right-ho!"
"It's crude," commented Penny, "but I'll not interfere. I might
even help you--who knows? And here comes Mr. Caesar. Ah, wee, wee."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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