Early School Days 



having run away from school, travelling all night, after climb- 

 ing down a water-pipe out of their dormitory, walking four 

 miles from the station at the home-end, and I forget how 

 many miles at the school end. That these two forlorn little 

 specimens of the genus boy expected to be welcomed with 

 open arms, caressed and cuddled to their hearts' content, is 

 quite certain ! That the wicked headmaster who had treated 

 them so cruelly and driven them to the extremity of running 

 away from school would be execrated and punished by the 

 Genial Powers that watch over little boys in general they never 

 doubted for a moment ! 



What Mother, worshipping Maunsell as she did, would 

 have done had she been left to her own devices, or for the 

 matter of that Grandmother, either, Heaven only knows ! 

 But I shrewdly suspect the exact reverse of what did happen. 

 Luckily, however, for my brother and his absconding com- 

 panion,— it appeared that my brother had persuaded this 

 little person to run away with him — Mr. Southwell, as in duty 

 bound, intervened, and after both the runaways had been 

 washed and fed, which ministrations they badly needed, he 

 took them back to the school they had deserted. 



History has never revealed, at least not to me, what 

 happened to the two truants when they arrived at Elstree in 

 the charge of Mr. Southwell. It is to be hoped that Maun- 

 sell's stepfather, who proved himself at that time to be the 

 boys' stern "grey angel of duty," was able to represent to the 

 irascible but conscientious Dr. Bernays that by their uncomfort- 

 able journey, by their anything but joyous reception at home, 

 and by the bitter experience that instead of being welcomed 

 and petted they were " expressed " back to their hated school 

 bondage, they had been sufficiently punished. It is certain, 

 at any rate, that Maunsell was not only reinstated in the 



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