MARLBOROUGH COLLEGE. 37 



scene, and one well calculated to strike terror in the pseudo-French- 

 man's heart, for after giving the Beadle one long drunken stare, he 

 turned and fled down the Bath road, followed by such a scream of 

 derisive jeers and laughter as never was heard near Marlborough 

 town before. 



The Beadle, after making a succession of bows with great dignit}^ 

 then withdrew, amid great cheering from us all, so long as he and 

 his tag-rag and bob-tail train remained in sight. 



When all was over, Sergeant Bompas, somewhat crestfallen, 

 reappeared upon the scene ; and then a rumour flew from mouth to 

 mouth that the tramp would certainly reappear, and, under cover of 

 the night, murder Bompas while he slept. Personally, I feared that 

 such a tragedy would occur, and I could not rest until I had the 

 assurance of the Sergeant that, armed to the teeth, he intended 

 to sit up all night, and be upon his guard. 



But although, much to my relief, poor old Bompas survived that 

 night, he did not long remain as my protector at the school. He 

 was not quite up to the required standard as a detective, and he had 

 a soul above the petty tyranny expected of him. He also closed his 

 eyes to many youthful escapades, such as climbing trees, and going 

 out of bounds. When the half-year ended, he would go into the 

 town and buy cigars and medicine-bottles full of rum, which, we 

 had heard, would keep us warm during the terrible cold journey 

 home by coach. 



I and another boy — but that must have been later on — subscribed 

 from our journey-money, and got some of these supposed caloric 

 generators, but as I did not relish either, my companion took my 

 share, and got so drunk that he was obliged to be left behind. 

 The meerschaum pipe which I had bought, however, was in my 

 pocket on my arrival home. Our butler found it when he took 

 down my clothes to brush, and it was the first thing which met my 

 father's eyes on the dining-room table, when he came down to 

 breakfast next morning. I was rather taken aback when I heard 

 what had occurred, for in my joy at getting home, I had forgotten 



