The Gods and Mr. Perrin: A Tragi-ComedyWalpole, Hugh
General
The Gods and Mr. Perrin: A Tragi-Comedy
Walpole, Hugh
Endowed public schools (Great Britain) -- Fiction; Teachers -- Fiction
Semi-Chorus b—One had one's things—here she was sure Mrs. Comber would
agree—and if one didn't keep a tight hold of them in these days, one
simply did n 't know where one would be. Of course one umbrella was a
small thing; but, after all, it was aggravating on a wet morning not to
find it and then to have no excuse whatever offered to one—anyone would
be cross about it. And, after all, with some people if you gave them
an inch they took an ell, as the saying was, and if one didn't show
firmness over a small thing like this, it would only lead to people
taking other things without asking until one really did n't know where
one was. Of course, it was a pity that Mr. Perrin should have lost his
self-control as completely as he appeared to have done, but nevertheless
one could quite understand how aggravating it was.
Semi-Chorus a—Mrs. Dormer, continued, keeping order was no light matter,
and if those masters who had been in a school for twenty years were
to be openly derided before boys and masters, if umbrellas were to
be indiscriminately stolen, and if in fact anything was to be done by
anybody at any time whatever without by your leave or for your leave,
then one might just as well pack up one's boxes and go home; and then
what would happen, one would like to know, to our schools, our boys, and
finally, with an emphatic rattle of cup and saucer, to our country?
Semi-Chorus b—Enlarged the original issue. It was really rather
difficult when a young man had been behaving in this way to congratulate
the young lady to whom he had just engaged himself. She was of course
perfectly charming, but it was a pity that she should, whilst still so
young, be forced to countenance disorder and tumult, because with
that kind of beginning there was no telling what married life mightn't
develop into.
Semi-Chorus a—Enlarged yet again on this subject and, without mentioning
names or being in any way specific, drew a dreadful picture of married
lives that had been ruined simply through this question of discipline,
and that if the husband were the kind of man who believed in blows and
riot and general disturbance, then the wife was in for an exceedingly
poor time.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account