RICHARD LISTENS TO A HOMILY ON FIGHTING, AND SPENDS THE NIGHT IN THE
GUARD HOUSE.
Richard, in obedience to the order of the principal, immediately
repaired to the office, where he was soon joined by Nevers, both of
them very much the worse for the encounter.
"You have been fighting--have you, young gentlemen?" demanded Colonel
Brockridge, as he entered the room.
"Yes, sir," replied both of the culprits, in the same breath.
"You know the rules of the Institute, Nevers," added the principal,
sternly.
"I do, sir; but I was struck, and was obliged to fight in
self-defence."
"And you, Grant, had common sense enough to know better than to engage
in a fight. You struck the first blow--did you?"
"I struck the first blow that was given with the fist, but Nevers
struck the heaviest blow with his tongue."
"Explain, Grant."
"At breakfast I was informed by Nevers that they found out what boys
were made of on drill."
"Did you make use of this remark, Nevers?" asked the principal.
"I did, sir."
"What did you mean by it?"
"Simply that we found out something about a boy's capacity."
"Ah, indeed!" added Colonel Brockridge, in a slightly satirical tone.
"What did you understand by the remark, Grant?"
"That a fellow who hadn't spunk enough to protect himself must submit
to be insulted, and to be bullied by those who were wiser than he in
military matters."
"I did not mean that, sir," protested Nevers.
"His looks and his tone indicated it," said Richard. "And when he was
directed to instruct me in the positions, his tone and manner were
haughty and domineering. I so understood it, sir; if I am wrong, I am
willing to apologize. In the course of the drill he called me a
dough-head."
"Is this true, Nevers?"
"It is; but I did not call him so till I was satisfied he did not mean
to observe the order. In teaching him the facings, he would not come
about till all the others had finished the movement."
"I wouldn't, if I had been in his place," added the colonel, very much
to the astonishment of Richard, and very much to the indignation of
Nevers. "You know very well that one boy is never permitted in this
school to domineer over another. You took pains beforehand to inform
Grant, by your words, and especially by your looks and actions, that
you meant to haze him, to bully him. As a decent boy, he could not
submit to it. Then you called him a dough-head; which, as Grant
suggests, was the heaviest blow that was struck, for it touches a spot
which the fist cannot reach. Nevers, you commenced the fight."
"I think not, sir."
"We don't argue the matter, sir," said the colonel, sharply. "One thing
more: no pupil is allowed to use ungentlemanly language to another
pupil. Obedience to officers who are merely students is purely
voluntary. If a boy refuses to obey the officers, he must leave the
company. No boy is compelled to go into the ranks. On drill the case is
still stronger, Nevers. If the recruit will not obey, it is the duty of
the drill officer to report him to the instructor. If you had done so,
it would have been Mr. Gault's duty to drill Grant himself."
Nevers made no reply to these remarks. He cast a savage glance at
Richard, who appeared to have conquered him in the forum as well as in
the field.
"Grant, you are also to blame," continued the principal. "We will not
permit you to be insulted, bullied, or domineered over. I will protect
you, but you must not take the law into your own hands. A blow is not
justifiable except in self-defence, or when all other means have
failed. You knew it was wrong to strike Nevers."
"I did not think so, at the time, sir," replied Richard. "What you have
said has changed my view of the matter."
Nevers sneered at this remark of his antagonist, and Richard saw and
felt that sneer. It was as much as to say that he, Richard, was making
his peace with the principal by pretending a penitence he did not feel.
It stung him where he was very sensitive, and he was angry.
While his wrath was boiling, and he was considering in what manner he
should punish his crestfallen rival for his savage look and his bitter
sneer, the parting admonition of Bertha came to his mind, with the
promise that he had made to obey the rules of the school. This
suggested his big resolutions to reform his life and character. A
brutal fight on the first day of his residence at Tunbrook was not
exactly redeeming his solemn promise to his sister; nor was the
conquest of Nevers a step towards the conquest of himself.
Yet, in spite of his promise, and in spite of his resolutions, he could
not believe that he had been altogether in the wrong. He thought
Colonel Brockridge's views of the case were very sensible: and while he
wished he had not been so hasty in hitting Nevers, he felt, as the
principal had suggested, that his conduct was greatly palliated by the
provocation he had received.
Nevers cast looks of hatred and contempt at him, which stirred his
blood deeper than even the words of insults he had received. He came to
the conclusion that the bully had not got enough yet, and impulsively
he determined to give him some more at the first convenient
opportunity. But when he thought of the promise he had made to Bertha,
when he thought of his resolution to conquer himself, he struggled with
the temptation, and finally had the strength to say to the malignant
demon of hatred and revenge, "Get thee behind me, Satan." The victory
was won; the heart of Richard was at peace; he had actually conquered
himself this time.
"You have both done wrong," said the principal, after a few moments'
consideration, during which time Richard had won a greater and nobler
victory than that he had gained in the grove.
"I am sorry for it," said Richard, and it was almost the first time in
his life that he had acknowledged himself in the wrong.
Nevers cast a look full of contempt at him when he uttered these words;
but Richard, under the influence of the good angel which had taken
possession of his soul, did not permit the look to ruffle him.
"I will do right, and feel right, this time, if I never did before,"
said he to himself.
"Nevers," added the principal, "your warrant as orderly sergeant is
withdrawn; you are reduced to the ranks. You can go, now. Remove those
stripes from your arms."
The sentence was a heavy blow to the bully. For a year he had been
trying to obtain promotion. He wanted a commission. The company
officers were elected from the sergeants, and he was confident that he
should be chosen captain of Company D at the next election. He had been
a sergeant for a year and a half, and would have been a captain if he
had not been a bully; for there were enough who disliked him on this
account to prevent his election. As the first sergeant of the company,
he was almost sure that he should be chosen the next time. But his
sentence removed all hope of such preferment.
"Grant, I believe you are sincerely sorry for what has happened; but
you have done wrong, and you must be punished."
Richard's anger rose at these words, and he was disposed to resent the
idea of being punished for what he had done, especially after the judge
had ruled so decidedly in his favor.
"I shall order you to be placed under arrest, and to spend the night in
the guard house. You will report to me at dress parade. You can go."
The culprit's lips were compressed, and his teeth were tightly closed.
He was angry, for he had expected to be fully justified before the boys
for his conduct. An impudent remark trembled on the end of his tongue,
but the memory of the conquest he had achieved over himself prevented
him from uttering it.
"I have done wrong, and I have owned that I was in the wrong. I will
submit," said Richard to himself, as he left the office.
When he went out upon the play ground, he found the boys assembled in
groups discussing the exciting event of the day. They gathered around
him to learn the result of the trial.
"Nevers has lost his office, and I am under arrest, to spend the night
in the guard house," replied Richard, in answer to their inquiries.
"You got off easy," said Bailey.
"I suppose I did; at any rate, I am satisfied."
"Nevers has lost his warrant," exclaimed the boys, who were
particularly technical in speaking of military events. "Let's give
three cheers."
"Don't do it," said Richard. "It's a hard case for him."
"I am glad of it. The bully is down," added one."
"You licked him well," said another.
"I am sorry I did," replied Richard. "I didn't understand the matter so
well then as I do now. Colonel Brockridge is a trump!"
If any of Richard's friends at Woodville had heard this remark, they
would have been ready to canonize him at once, for it was so utterly at
variance with his style, that his acquaintances would not have
recognized it as coming from him. But Richard was engaged in the
conquest of himself, and had won two or three important victories.
The early call for dress parade sounded, and the boys all hasted to the
armories to prepare for it. As Richard had no uniform yet, he was
excused from serving, and reported himself to the colonel, as he had
been ordered. When the parade was finished, the principal delivered a
homily on fighting, stating the facts connected with the combat of that
day, and commenting upon them. He condemned fighting in round terms,
declaring it was never necessary, except in self-defence. The civil and
the social law would protect every member of the community, and there
could be no need of resorting to the barbarous custom of settling
differences by single combat. He applied the principles he laid down
to the case before him so clearly, that Richard lost much of his
admiration of the "noble art of self-defence"--as pugilists stupidly
style the act of fighting, to ascertain who is the better man.
Lest our boy friends should not fully understand us, we must add, that
the colonel's views are ours. A boy ought to fight in self-defence;
never to find out which is "the better man." He should use no more
violence than is necessary to defend himself. A boy is bound to protect
his weak friend--not from words, but from blows--to the best of his
ability, by using blows, when they are necessary. We can excuse, but we
cannot justify, the boy who strikes another for insulting his mother or
his sister. We believe in a "kiss for a blow," but we also believe that
cannon are often the best peacemakers. "Blessed are the peacemakers,"
but he who permits himself to be unjustly scourged is more truly a
fomenter of strife than he who conquers a peace in a good cause by the
might of his strong arm.
At the conclusion of his remarks, Colonel Brockridge ordered Richard to
be conducted to the guard house, where he was to spend the night. Mr.
Gault was directed to see the order executed, and the culprit was
marched to the apartment which served as a place of confinement for
offenders. He submitted to the punishment with the best grace he could
command, but he was mortified and humiliated.
The guard house was a bugbear to the boys of the Institute. It was a
small room, with the mockery of iron bars at the window, placed there
more for effect than for any thing else. It contained a bed and a
stool, with no other furniture. But it was regarded as a terrible place
by the boys; not that it was a very great hardship to spend a night
there, but because of the disgrace which the popular sentiment of the
establishment had attached to the prison.
Richard entered, and the door was locked upon him. The room was dark,
but he was not permitted to have a light. He seated himself upon the
stool, and it was literally the stool of repentance to him. His supper
was brought to him, and the servant stood by with a lamp till he had
eaten it. He was then left alone for the night, to meditate upon the
folly and wickedness of engaging in a fight without justifiable cause.
One of the first questions which the hero of the fight asked himself
was, whether he had not too tamely submitted to the authority which had
humiliated and punished him. That he had done so was the most
surprising thing he had ever known himself to do. And when he came to
ask himself why he had submitted, he could very clearly trace the
reason to the good resolution he had made to reform his life and
character--to conquer himself. It was hard for him to give in, but he
was satisfied with himself, and began to feel that he had really made
some progress in the great work.
He wanted to write a letter to Bertha, and tell her all about the
events of the day--how patiently he had submitted to reproof and
punishment; and record his solemn determination to conquer himself. He
had no light, and no materials for writing; so, at an early hour, he
went to bed; and fatigued with the labors and excitement of the day, he
forgot in sleep that he was a prisoner.
At reveille, in the morning, he was discharged from arrest, and ordered
to report for duty in the school room. He was still strong in his good
resolutions, and the sneers and frowns of Nevers and his clique did not
disturb him--did not even tempt him to indulge in the cheap retaliation
of sneers and frowns in return.
In the course of the day Richard found that he was a lion. He had
thrashed the bully of the school, and won the enviable position of
champion of the Institute. But even this glory did not seem to be worth
much; for since the fight, he realized that he had whipped a bigger
fellow than Nevers.
For a week, in school and out, Richard was true to himself, and behaved
nobly. More times than we have room to record, during this period, he
got the better of his ever-familiar foe, and every new victory improved
his _morale_ and added to his _prestige_.
At this point in his school career, the students were ordered to
perform the usual round of camp duty; and at eight o'clock in the
morning, the battalion took up the line of march for the appointed
place, at the other end of Tunbrook Lake, distant ten miles by the
road.