The Politeness of Princes, and Other School StoriesWodehouse, P. G. (Pelham Grenville)
General
The Politeness of Princes, and Other School Stories
Wodehouse, P. G. (Pelham Grenville)
Schools -- Fiction
This scientific plan might have worked. In fact, to a certain extent
it did work. It woke Chapple in the morning, as Brodie had predicted;
but it woke him at the wrong hour. It is no good springing out of bed
when there are still three hours to breakfast. When Chapple woke at
five the next morning, after a series of dreams, the scenes of which
were laid mainly in the Arctic regions, he first sneezed, then he
piled upon the bed everything he could find, including his boots, and
then went to sleep again. The genial warmth oozed through his form, and
continued to ooze until he woke once more, this time at eight-fifteen.
Breakfast being at eight, it occurred to him that his position with
Mr. Seymour was not improved. While he was devoting a few moments'
profound meditation to this point the genial warmth got in its fell
work once again. When he next woke, the bell was ringing for school.
He lowered the world's record for rapid dressing, and was just in time
to accompany the tail of the procession into the form-room.
"You were late again this morning," said Mr. Seymour, after dinner.
"Yes, sir. I overslebbed myselb, sir," replied Chapple, who was
suffering from a cold in the head.
"Two hundred lines."
"Yes, sir."
Things had now become serious. It was no good going to Brodie again
for counsel. Brodie had done for himself, proved himself a fraud, an
idiot. In fine, a rotter. He must try somebody else. Happy thought.
Spenlow. It was a cold day, when Spenlow got left behind. He would
know what to do. _There_ was a chap for you, if you liked! Young,
mind you, but what a brain! Colossal!
"What _I_ should do," said Spenlow, "is this. I should put my
watch on half an hour."
"What 'ud be the good of that?"
"Why, don't you see? You'd wake up and find it was ten to eight, say,
by your watch, so you'd shove on the pace dressing, and nip
downstairs, and then find that you'd really got tons of time. What
price that?"
"But I should remember I'd put my watch on," objected Chapple.
"Oh, no, probably not. You'd be half asleep, and you'd shoot out of
bed before you remembered, and that's all you'd want. It's the getting
out of bed that's so difficult. If you were once out, you wouldn't
want to get back again."
"Oh, shouldn't I?" said Chapple.
"Well, you might want to, but you'd have the sense not to do it."
"It's not a bad idea," said Chapple. "Thanks."
That night he took his Waterbury, prised open the face with a
pocket-knife as if he were opening an oyster, put the minute hand
on exactly half an hour, and retired to bed satisfied. There was
going to be no nonsense about it this time.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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