RALPH'S FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL
"He is a fine young fellow, but his past life has been spent amidst
very different scenes, and he is far from having a fitting education.
But he is very intellectual and will acquire knowledge quickly. His
father must have been a gentleman, and he has taught his son to be one
also."
It was Mr. St. Clive who spoke, and his words were addressed to Dr.
Beverly, the principal of Marlthorpe College--the best school in all
the county.
A fine-looking man was the doctor, tall, erect, dignified, with firm
face and piercing eyes--eyes which could look terribly severe when
their owner was angry, but which otherwise were gentle, and even
mirthful.
Dr. Beverly was proud of his school, but prouder still of his work. He
did not labour to make scholars only, but also to build up men--good,
noble men--who should be a credit to the old school, and a blessing to
their country. Work or play, the doctor believed in everything being
done as well as it could be, for his watchword was "Whatever you do, do
it to the glory of God," and nothing can be done to God's glory that
is not done as well as it possibly can be.
Mr. St. Clive had explained how Ralph came to be under his care,
and had told the doctor how much he owed to him; and he finished by
mentioning the cruel statement which Lord Elgert had made, and the
angry way in which Ralph had answered it.
"I tell you this," he said, "that you may know everything. I attach no
weight to Elgert's statement myself--it is too absurd, but you must
exercise your own discretion," and the doctor smiled slightly.
"Lord Elgert is rather prone to make rash statements," he said. "I
shall be quite willing to receive your young friend, and I will do my
best to turn him into a good man."
"That I am sure of," was the hearty reply, "and I am also sure that you
will have good material to work upon. Then I will bring Ralph over."
"And do you propose that he shall board here entirely, or return to you
every Saturday, as most of the lads do?"
"Oh, come home. That is how I did in my day--you know I want to watch
the boy. Good-day, doctor," and Mr. St. Clive came away.
Marlthorpe College was a splendid old building, with large playing
fields at the back, and a great quadrangle in front, to which entrance
was gained through a pair of great iron gates, against which the
porter's lodge was built.
The school itself was at the other side of the quadrangle, directly
facing the gates--a two storey building, with the hall, in which the
whole school assembled upon special occasions, below, and with the
classrooms above. It had two wings; the one to the right being the
doctor's own residence, and that on the left the undermaster's quarters.
At the back there were again buildings on the right and left--on the
left junior dormitories, the dining-hall, and matron's rooms; and on
the right senior dormitories and studies.
Mr. St. Clive drove home and told Ralph the result of his visit.
"I am sure that you will like the doctor," he said, "and you will find
your companions a nice lot of fellows. Of course there will be some
unpleasant ones; and Ralph, if things are as they used to be, you
will find that there are two sets of fellows--those who mean to work
honestly, and those who never intend to take pains. I need not ask
which set you will belong to," and Mr. St. Clive smiled. "But now,"
he added, "I want you to try and be brave. You have a very terrible
sorrow, I know; and it is hard to put it from my mind----"
"It is never from my mind, sir," interrupted Ralph sadly. "I am always
thinking of it."
"But you must not brood over it. To do that, will unfit you for all
else. Leave it with God, Ralph, and do not let even so great a grief
interfere with life's duties. Will you promise me to try and remember
this?"
"I will indeed, sir," answered Ralph. "If I have lost father, I mean to
try and think that he knows, and just do that which would please him."
"That is good; but still better is it to remember that we have to
try and do that which shall please our Heavenly Father. Now, Ralph,
I suppose that out where you made your home, blows often were the
only way of settling troubles. I do not say that blows are never
justifiable, for sometimes we are placed in such circumstances as
warrant fighting, but do not be too ready to quarrel, or to avenge
every fancied insult with your fist. But there, I am sure that I can
leave that to you. Now come to lunch, and then we must see about
starting."
"I am so glad that you are coming home every week, Ralph," so said
Irene St. Clive, when she heard of the arrangements which her father
had made. "My own lessons are finished on Friday, and we can have all
Saturday to ourselves. I shall count all the days until each Saturday
comes."
So with kindly words to cheer him on his way, Ralph started off with
Mr. St. Clive, and was introduced to Dr. Beverly; and Ralph felt that
he liked the doctor from the very first moment that he saw him; and he
determined that he would do all that he could to get on and prove to
Mr. St. Clive that he meant to keep his word.
Then when his friend had gone, the doctor questioned Ralph to see just
what he knew; and at the conclusion of the examination he laid his hand
on his shoulder.
"My boy," he said, "it is my desire always to have the fullest
confidence in my scholars, and also to enjoy their confidence. I want
you to remember that I desire to be your friend as well as your master,
and that out of school hours I am always glad to see any of my boys who
want to talk with me. I do not mean who want to come tale-bearing," he
added, and Ralph smiled as he answered--
"Thank you, sir. I think I understand."
"You will have to be in the Fourth Form at first, that is the lowest
Form in the Senior House," the doctor continued. "But if you work well,
you will soon be in the Fifth. Now, if you will come with me I will
introduce you to your master, Mr. Delermain, and I think you will find
him ever ready to help you in any way he can."
Ralph thanked the Head again, and followed him, with more of curiosity
than of nervousness, to make the acquaintance of the boys with whom he
was to study; and twenty pairs of eyes glanced up as the Head opened
the door, and then dropped as quickly when they saw who had entered.
But the master rose from his seat and came forward to meet the doctor,
who said, patting Ralph on the shoulder--
"I have brought you a new scholar, Mr. Delermain. This is Ralph
Rexworth, and he is the young gentleman of whom you have heard--the one
who saved Mr. St. Clive's daughter." Hereat the eyes were stealthily
raised, and glances of something like respectful awe followed. Of
course every one there had heard of the incident about the bull, and of
the disappearance of Mr. Rexworth.
"Rexworth is rather backward," the Head continued. "His life has been
spent abroad, and he has not had the opportunities for study; but I
believe that he will soon pick up." And with this Dr. Beverly went, and
Mr. Delermain, having spoken a few words of welcome, beckoned to a boy
to come forward.
"Warren, let Rexworth sit beside you this afternoon, and give him a set
of the sums we are doing. If you find them too difficult," he added to
Ralph, "do not hesitate to come to me."
But Ralph did not need to ask for aid, he could do the sums and the
exercises that followed. Indeed, he did better than some who had been
there longer, notably one big lad with a sickly flabby face, who was
seated at the bottom of the class, and who received a reprimand from
his master for his indolence.
"It is shameful, Dobson! Here, a new boy has done better than you have.
Your idleness is disgraceful."
A writing exercise followed; and Ralph was bending over his book, when
flop!--a wad of wet blotting-paper hit him in the cheek. He looked up,
but every one seemed busy with their work, so wiping his cheek he put
the wet mass on one side, and went on with his task. Flop! A second
wad came. Ralph noted the direction, and saw that at the end of the
form Dobson was seated, and Ralph had his suspicions. Pretending to
be absorbed in his work, he kept a covert watch; and presently he was
rewarded by seeing Dobson extract a third wad from his mouth, where he
had been chewing it into a convenient pellet, and under cover of the
boy in front of him prepare to fire it by a flick of his thumb. Ralph
raised his eyes and looked him full in the face, and, somehow, Dobson
seemed confused. He turned red, and bent over his work hastily; and no
more pellets were fired at Ralph that afternoon.
It seemed rather a wearisome afternoon to the boy, used as he was to
his open-air life, but he worked away with all his might; and presently
the bell rang and work was over; and then Warren, the boy beside whom
he had sat, came to him and held out his hand.
"I am first monitor of our form," he said, "and I hope that we shall be
friends. If you come with me I will take you round the school."
"Rexworth."
Ralph turned as his name was called; his master stood there.
"I want you a few minutes. Warren, you can take him round afterwards.
I want to arrange about his study."
"We have only got one vacant, sir," the monitor said. "Charlton has
that."
"I know," was the quiet answer; and then, when Warren ran off, the
master turned to Ralph.
"Rexworth," he said, "I must explain that in our form every two boys
have one study between them, and as you heard Warren say, we have only
one study that is not fully occupied. A lad named Charlton has it, and
you must chum with him. It is about him I want to speak to you."
"Yes, sir," said Ralph, wondering why his master spoke so gravely.
"Rexworth, I am sorry to say that Charlton is not quite in favour
with his schoolmates. His father got into some trouble and has
disappeared--it is supposed that he is dead--and the boy managed to
gain a scholarship at another and poorer school, and has come here.
He is a real nice lad, but very weakly and timid, and the others put
upon him, partly on that account, partly because of his father's
disappearance, and partly because he is poor--a sad crime in the eyes
of many. It would have been wiser, I think, if he had not come here,
but Dr. Beverly wished him to do so. I wish, Rexworth, that you would
try to be his friend, for he needs one; some of the lads are nice
enough to him, but he seems so very much alone."
"I would like to help him, sir," was the ready answer. And the master
smiled.
"I thought that I was not mistaken in you," he said. "Look, there the
lad is. Charlton, come here."
The lad came up. He was a pale boy, very delicate in appearance, and
with a sad, wistful face.
"Yes, sir," he said.
"Charlton, there is only one vacancy in our studies, and that is with
you. Rexworth will have to chum with you." The boy cast a startled
glance at Ralph. "Take him and show him where it is, and try to make
him feel at home."
"Yes, sir." The boy beckoned to Ralph. "Please come with me," he said,
in troubled tones, as if he doubted whether Ralph would care about
sharing the study with him.
"Have we got to be chums?" asked Ralph; and the other boy nodded.
"Yes. That is what we call it. It means sharing studies; but you need
not speak to me if you don't want to, and I will not be in the study
much. I am not as it is, for they are always disturbing me and spoiling
my things."
"They! Who?" demanded Ralph; and the lad answered--
"The other chaps and the Fifths. Dobson, in ours, and Elgert of the
Fifth, are the worst. They go in and spoil my things."
"They have no business to, of course?"
"Go in? No, of course not--only the two who chum have any right in it.
Here we are, and--there, they are in now!"--as a scuffling and burst
of laughter came from the inside of the study before which the boy had
halted. "Oh, what are they doing! Will you stop until they have gone?"
"Not I," answered Ralph grimly. "That study is mine as well as yours,
and I mean to see that we have it to ourselves, Charlton. Come on, and
we will see what is up." And saying this, Ralph threw open the door and
walked into the little room, followed by his companion.