A Day of Punishment 



rubbing It out with the sleeve of his jacket, 

 while he thrust out his tongue at me ; and 

 then I saw a peppermint bull's-eye bartered 

 for permission to copy the working of the 

 sum figure for figure. I saw all this and 

 more, and the thought came into my head 

 that my bird's-eye view must be very similar 

 to that which Providence has of this naughty 

 world, myself included. 



'' Please sir," suddenly shrilled the 

 master's son, and he made me jump, for I 

 was following up the train of thought ; he 

 was a shifty, feeble-minded boy who never 

 looked you in the face, for all he was so 

 keen to detect a mote in your eye — " Please 

 sir, here's Master Giles catching our flies," 

 he said. 



Mr. Blocker looked a litde foolish and 

 none too pleased, and addressing himself 

 apparently to the furthest form of all, 

 whereas his son sat immediately beneath 

 his father's desk, said sharply, " No talking 

 in class if you please," and then sought 

 sanctuary from the score of grinning faces 

 behind the leaves of his Herald, 



I was too miserable to feel much interest 

 in any of the doings and soon gave up 

 noticing them, fixing my eyes sometimes 

 on the old brown Mercator's Projection 

 hanging on the opposite wall, or tracing 

 149 



