CHAPTER XV 



After Dinner with Jowett Nervous Apprehensions The 

 Dervorguilla Society Leave granted to attend the Wedding 

 Rats at Butler's Hunting a Badger Swinburne after 

 Lunch Drum Major and how he won at Haxby His 

 Defeat at Myton Buying Angram for Lindsay Smith 

 Drum Major and Angram at Oxford A Run with the Bicester 

 Henry S. King and the Fistula trix Drum Major dis- 

 appoints Attempt to raffle him A Serious Word or Two 



IT was a custom of the Master of Balliol to gain closer 

 knowledge of the individualities of youthful under- 

 graduates, by inviting this or that one to come to 

 his house after dinner and have a chat. This meant 

 sitting with him in solitary state in his dining-room with 

 a bottle of wine on the mahogany table, a dish of biscuits 

 and two plates. The anticipation of such a session was 

 in my case somewhat nerve-racking, and it was before 

 I got my leave to attend the Colling-Scott wedding that 

 I received an invitation to go to the Master's house after 

 dinner. All the serious papers, such as The Saturday 

 Review, The Athenceum, The Spectator and others were 

 read by me at the Union Club that afternoon. There 

 was an abiding fear of being tried and found wanting in 

 subjects that any reasonable being should understand. 



Most people will fail to realise what it means to have 

 " nerves " over the mere prospect of having to sit and 

 talk to a benevolent old gentleman of cherubic countenance, 

 but I know I suffered from nerves very badly when I was 

 ushered into his presence and sat down at the table side 

 on his left hand. Beyond saying "Good-evening," he 

 made no further observation but passed the wine, which, 

 to the best of my recollection, was indifferent sherry. 



I helped myself with shaking hand and tried to think 



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