RETURN TO SCHOOL 127 



This letter was written after my prolonged absence from 

 the school, but it serves to indicate my feeling towards 

 the junior masters, and gives the reason, though, of course, 

 no justification, for my staying away so long, under the 

 aegis of Doctor Ryott and his automatic medical certificates. 



During all that period I never looked at a book or in 

 any way troubled myself with school work. Tom Scott 

 and I had commenced dog-showing at Darlington and 

 elsewhere in the north. There was hunting, shooting 

 and racing. I had a nice little blood mare called Miss 

 Miggs; my sister had one by Flatcatcher called Brunette. 

 There were seaside visits, and altogether there was a gay, 

 thoughtless and irresponsible time, until suddenly, a 

 fortnight after the winter term had begun, I resolved to go 

 back to school, and did so. 



I was welcomed and commiserated with for having 

 been so long ill, and some allusion to this appears in all 

 my later school certificates ; but there had never really 

 been any ill-health at all, and it seemed rather appalling 

 that my place in the school had by this time risen so that 

 I was second, Warner being head. This surely would 

 prove the absurdity of rising by mere seniority; but, 

 strange to say, it did nothing of the sort, for I could never 

 gather that the other fellows, who had been grinding away 

 while I was playing the fool, had made any progress what- 

 ever. Indeed it is certain that they had not, for in the 

 yearly examination at the end of that term I came out 

 second, which was my exact place by seniority. 



It is clear, however, that on my return to school I 

 thought far more of football than anything else. Thus, 

 in one of the first letters of that term, I wrote ; 



I shall get my Cap all right, I've no doubt. I got my flannels 

 yesterday ; that is, I am permanently fixed in the House Twenty 

 and allowed to discard the old Ducks. This is, of course, the first 

 step, and I could not possibly have ascended it sooner than I did, 

 as Caps and flannels are only given after House Matches, and we 

 have only had one as yet. I have played five times during the 

 last week and twice on the Saturday before, but feel much better 



