George Cheek was the head boy at Mr. Latherington's classical and
commercial academy, at Flagellation Hall (late the Crown and Sceptre Hotel
and Posting House, on the Bankstone road), where, for forty pounds a year,
eighty young gentlemen were fitted for the pulpit, the senate, the bar, the
counting-house, or anything else their fond parents fancied them fit for.
George was a tall stripling, out at the elbows, in at the knees, with his
red knuckled hands thrust a long way through his tight coat. He was just of
that awkward age when boys fancy themselves men, and men are not prepared
to lower themselves to their level. Ladies get on better with them than
men: either the ladies are more tolerant of twaddle, or their discerning
eyes see in the gawky youth the germ of future usefulness. George was on
capital terms with himself. He was the oracle of Mr. Latherington's school,
where he was not only head boy and head swell, but a considerable authority
on sporting matters. He took in _Bell's Life_, which he read from beginning
to end, and 'noted its contents,' as they say in the city.
Pages:
839
840
841
842
843
844
845
846
847
848
849
850
851
852
853
854
855
856
857
858
859
860
861
862
863