The Fifth Form at Saint Dominic's: A School StoryReed, Talbot Baines
History
The Fifth Form at Saint Dominic's: A School Story
Reed, Talbot Baines
Boarding schools -- England -- Juvenile fiction; Boys -- Conduct of life -- Juvenile fiction
There was Tom Braddy, for instance, smoking a big cigar the size of a
pencil-case, looking the picture of a snob. And with him a
vacant-looking young man with a great crop of whiskers on his puffy
cheeks. His name was Simon. The great idea of these two worthies
seemed to be to do the grand before their posterity. They were
convinced in their own minds that in this they were completely
successful, but no one else saw it.
Boys took a good deal more interest in a lame gentleman present, who was
cracking jokes with everybody, and hobbling about from one old crony to
another in a manner that was perfectly frisky. Every one seemed to like
Mr Pembury, and not a _few_ to be afraid of him. Perhaps that was
because he was the editor of a well-known paper of the day, and every
one likes to be on good terms with an editor.
Then there were a batch of fellows whose names we need hardly enumerate,
who had run over from Oxford, or Cambridge, or London for the day, and
who got into clusters between the innings and talked and laughed a great
deal over old times, when "Bully did this," and "Rick did that," and so
on. A nice lot of fellows they looked on the whole, and one or two, so
people said, were doing well.
But among these _the_ lions of the day were two friends who strolled
about arm-in-arm, and appeared far more at home in Saint Dominic's even
than the boys themselves. One of them was the big brother of the
captain--a terrible fellow by all accounts. He rowed in the boat of his
'Varsity the last year he was at Cambridge, and since then he has been
called to the bar, and no one knows what else! People say Oliver
Greenfield is a rising man; if so, we may hear of him again. At any
rate in the eyes of the admiring youngsters of Saint Dominic's he was a
great man already.
So was his friend Wraysford, a fellow of his college, and a "coach" for
industrious undergraduates. He does not look like a tutor, certainly,
to judge by his jovial face and the capers he persisted in cutting with
some of his old comrades of years ago. But he is one, and Saint
Dominic's Junior eyed him askance shyly, and thought him rather more
learned and formidable a person than the old Doctor himself.
No one enjoyed themselves on that day more than these two, who prowled
about and visited every nook and cranny of the old place--studies,
passages, class-rooms, Fourth Junior and all.
The match is over, the jubilations of victory have subsided, and one by
one the visitors depart. Among the last to leave are Oliver and
Wraysford; they have stayed to dine with the Doctor, and when at last
they do turn their backs on the old school it is getting late.
Stephen accompanies them down to the station. On the way they pass the
well-known Cockchafer. The old board is still there, but a new name is
upon it.
"Hullo! what's become of Cripps?" asked Wraysford.
"Oh! he's gone," said Stephen. "Didn't you know?"
"No! When was that?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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