Sinister Street, vol. 2

ellectually varied than that in which he found himself; and all that first term became in retrospect merely a barren noisy time from which somehow after numberless tentative adjustments and developme

cided on the impulse of the moment to put down his name for Rugby football. He was fairly successful in the first match, and afterward Carben, the secretary of the college club, invited him to tea. This insignificant courtesy gave Michael a considerable amount of pleasure, inasmuch as it was the first occasio

ade a general observation on the row of Sunday night's celebration,

Carben asked in a tone

nch the note of exultation in deference to the

ugger. Jonah," he called to the captain of the Fifteen who was lolling in muscular grande

, with a toast-encumber

Michael who blus

nt on. "Lights bonfires and ge

at him. There had already been talk of ragging one or two freshmen whose raw and mediocre bearing had offended the modish perceptions of the majority

weren't you?" asked Jones

said Michael, "but-in fact-

," said Jones. "He was a frien

ved. "Jonah was never one for moving in the best society," he said with an impl

old dislike the constellated pimples on Carben's face. Meanwhile the

ching. 'Can't you keep your fat little paunch down? I don't want to look at it,' said Fitzroy. That's pretty thick from a

ht," a cho

is explosion of wrath at the insult offered to Gingold's dignity irritated Michael. He felt sure that Gingold had a fat little

ey've bought the college," so

ghtn't we?" Michael inquired with as much innoc

d'd good thing, if we dropped

e felt he must make some excuse to escape from this room whose atmosphere of

said Carben, "you'd better let me

ael asked, with

Uni

no intention of committing himself so early to the U

nk I'll join

n the dusk he saw St. Mary's tower and, refreshed by that image of an aspiration, he shook off the memory of C

een doing, and was greatly amused by his information, s

u know we've got a R

le murmured

u really been p

aimed Michael, "there's n

s are all very bad me

itted. "Still, it's a b

. Mary's plays Socke

posed of Etonians and Harrovians and Wykehamists and Carthusians. It was like schoolboys. And Michael abruptly realized that all of them sitting at this freshmen's table were really schoolboys.

on playing Rugger

a shot?" sugge

sh good game," Mich

ted, "I'm going to be

nsdale, if you make such a ro

u are a prize ass,"

spered to the

nced me?" Lon

of the ta

texts. Also for the plaster Venus of Milo he caused to be made a miniature chest-protector. It was all very foolish, but it afforded exquisite entertainment to Lonsdale and his

though on the "bad men" of his own year he was as hard as the rest of the social leaders. He was content in this first term to follow loyally, with other heedless ones, the trend of the moment. He made few attempts to enlarge the field of his outlook by cultivating acquaintanceship outside his own college. Even Alan he seldom visited, since in these early days of Oxford it seemed to h

t in such quantity?" Mich

must subject each other to-I mean-we haven't g

n't talk about anything but each other's schools and whether A is a better chap than B, or whether C is a gentleman and if it's true that D isn't really. I bought for my own pleasure some rather decent books; and every other evening about twelve people come and read them over each othe

rs to come he would remember. There was Wedderburn himself whose square-headed solidity of demeanor and episcopal voice masked a butterfly of a temperament

fe in a private school. One day in your fourth year you'll give a dinner party for about twelve bloods and I shall come too and remind you just when and how and where you picked them all up befor

deeply, "I have these people up

e," Michael argued. "There are lots of others just a

Wedderbur

e 'Varsity Eleven," said Michael. "But he

ass," Wedde

hat he isn't," Mi

seur," Wedde

o are you,"

ght, and he began to follow the course of Avery four years hence directed by Oxford to-to what? To some distinguished goal of art, but whether as writer or painter or sculptor he did not know, Avery was so very versatile. Michael mentally put him on one side to decorate a conspicuous portion of the ideal edifice he dreamed of creating from his Oxford society. There was Lonsdale. Lonsdale really possessed the serene perfection of a great work of art

Lonsdale. The Pro Milone was not

about?" Lonsdale wh

by Mr. Fane," added

lecturer's face that something was still wrong, he assumed a puzzled expression, a

rybody else laughed very loudly, Lonsdale sat down and leane

hael. "His eye gets very glassy when he looks a

list certain others for qualities of athletic renown that combined with charm of personality gave them the right to be set up in Michael's collection as types. There was Grainger, last year's Captain of the Boats at Eton, who would certainly row for the 'Varsity in the spring. Michael

e an odd chap," Grai

hy

t you, and you don't seem to do an

t would be rot if I talked it, but it would b

ous chap. I can

sofa. When you go down, you'll go into the Egyptian Civil Service and you'll sprawl across the Sahara in exactly the same way. I rather wish I were like you. It must

y you are," Grainger lazily announce

her watch you sprawling effectively and proclaiming yourself a supporter of Conservatism. I've really v

on was lent to the coming vacation by a le

NGTON

mber

st Mi

It has been a most worrying autumn because the people next door were continually complaining of Stella's piano, and really Carlington Road has become impossible. Such an air of living next door, and whenever I look out of the window the maid is shaking a mat and looking up to see if I'm interested. We must try to settle on a new house when you're back in to

r l

th

same time, Michael a

r old

nd talk about some society for dealing with Life with a capital letter. I think we're going to be rather well off, and Mother wants to live in a house she's seen in Park Street, but I want to take a house in Cheyne Walk. I hope you like Cheyne Walk, because this house has got a splendid studio in the garden and I thought with some mauve br

rs

el

erfection is all very well, but I don't think I shall appear in public again until I've liv

queerly shriveled after the spaciousness of Oxford. He was sufficiently far along in his first term to be able to feel the privilege of possessing the Hig

he company an opportunity of sailing homeward arm-in-arm along the whole length of the High. The guests should be Avery, Lonsdale, Wedderburn, Grainger, and Alan. Yet when Michael came to think about it, six all told seemed a beggarly number for his first terminal dinner. Already Michael began to think of his dinner as an established ceremony of undergraduate society. He would like to choose a number that should never vary every term. He knew that the guests would change, that the place of its celebration would alter, but he felt that some permanency must be kept, and Michael fixed upon eleven as the number, ten guests and himself. For this first dinner five more must be invited, and Michael without much further consideration selected five freshmen whose athletic prowess and social amiableness drew them into prominence. But when he had given all the invitations Michael was a little depressed by the conve

ed shirt marred the rigi

ie-frill?" whispered Alan s

im with an expression

ally all right. He always wears his trousers turned up, and if you saw him

il Lonsdale, who had met Alan several times at the

at the other end of the table to avoid the responsibility of listening to the loudly voiced opinions which he felt grated upon the others. He looked anxiously alon

rt of influence they both possessed, and jealousy, if jealousy could lurk in the deep-toned and immaculate Wedderburn, might be responsible for that opinion. Michael sometimes wondered what made Castleton so redoubtable, since he was no more apparently than an athlete of ordinary ability, but

resentative a gathering of St. Mary's freshmen as this one might be considered. But a representative gathering of this kind was not exactly what Michael had intended to achieve with his terminal dinner. He looked at Cuffe with distaste. Then, too, in the middle of the table were Cranborne, Sterne, and Sinclair, not one of

sat back and smiled benignly on the company he had collec

center is a jolly good fellow and a jolly good bowler and so say all of us. As for my friend Tommy Grainger-whom I will not call Mister, having known him since we were boys together-I will here say that I confidently anticipate he will get his bl

of linked arms and the bells of Oxford and a wet night were all indistinguishably