, 1881-03-11
TIE SHEEP TURNED LION

ed the light of Upper Division of the
Fifth Form without distinguishing him.
self in anv WAY He was a tall. tlaXen-
haired lad. with long arms and legs, and
an amiable but weak smile. He did
nothing well, and Yet nothing so Ill as to
attract remark. His place III trials, or
school examinations was always low,
hut he had never unified and as II
WAS with him in school work, so was 1t
in games. for he did not excel at cricket,
football or rowing. He could Just
swim; pull without catching crabs; bat
without knocking down his stumps
Though he was incapable of scOring,)
and at football he could play without APP
bearing to funk" though IN truth he
had respect for his shins, and would
never willingly charge into a bully
where there were good many loose
kicks living about. So, IN sum, poor
Simpkins was duffer; but, on the other
hand, lie possessed such an eXuberant i'm
agination that ne acutely felt the degra-
dation in which ne stood in reason of his
general inferiorities. A physiognOmist
studying hls countenance woald have
seen in it the signs of budding genius,
and might have prophesied that Simp-
kins would become poet, novelist. or
Il wit Meanwhile, the lads Imagination
served chiefly to his -glorifcatioa IN
private, for he was constantly picturing
for his own delectatiOn scenes in which
he played the part of boy hero. Now
he was captain of the Eleven, and made
such score at Lords as to win victory
against Harrow off his own hat; now he
was captain CT the boats and ''stroked"
the Eight at Henley, winning for his
school the Grand Challenge Cup and the
Ladies Plate; or, again, Simkins fancied
himself plunging into competitor for the
Newcastle scholarship, and defeating all
his rivals, as Il preliminary to going up
to Oxford and gaining double tirst-class
honors. There was not a vision of faith
that Simpkins did not conjure up; and
the worst of it was that these dreams
haunted him by night as well as by day,
so that now and then he would arise from
bed deeply mortified at facing the reali-
ties of his humble position, and making
the most valiant resolves that he would
try and do better for the future.
1t should be mentioned that Simpkins
had his one point of superiority over
most fellows in the school; he was
great authority on postage stamps. He
had amassed collection of nearly 5000
different sorts, and used to make himself
pleasant during the holidays by taking
It to young ladies. At Eaton he was
sometimes consulted by lower boys as to
the genuineness of stamps which they
had sought for their own collections; and
occasionally Masters would joke with
him about his supposed infalhbility in
relation to geography, and the dates
when divers sovereigns had ascended the
throne. AS matter of fact. Simpkins
was not infallible; but he passed for be-
ing so, which is much the same thing,
as His Holiness the Pope would say.
Thus, one evening at the beginning of
Michaelmas Term or Football Half,
Simpkins, returning from the holidays,
Was treated by his tutor with an invita-
tion to come to tea. and exhibit his col
lection of stamps. to young lady who
was connoisseur.
Its sister of my wife's," said Mr..
JaWe; "she's quite as eager about stamps
as you are; so you must mind and not
let her coax any out of your collection.
warn you she is most clever at bribery"
Bother the stamps" solilOquiZed
Simpkins, who, like all hobbledehoys,
thought it proof of manliness to affect
being Dored by female society; but he
went and pnt on his white tie, and pres
emily made his appearance in the draw
ing-room with folio album under his
arm.
He was affably received by Miss Nellie
Snubbin, his tutors sister-in- law, who
was q merry maid of seventeen. Her en-
thusiasm about stamps may have been
great, but it soon exhausted itself in con-
yersation; for, after tea, when Simpkins
and she sat down in a corner on the pre-
tense of having a good look at the album
she began to talk about everything ex-
cept stamps.
''How long have you been at Eton,
Mr.. Simpkins?"
"About-aw-ive years, I think"
''Been often sWished?"
''What at?"
Here Simpkins drew himself up a lit
tie, and, reddening, looked daggers.
''Oh, see, I'm alluding to a tender
subject. Never mind. You're in the
boats, 1 suppose? No? Then you are in
the eleven?"
YES" observed Simpkins, still
offended, land there are about nine
hundred of them in the school"
'Nine hundred elevens, do you mean?
Oh, you are talking of fellows. Why
don't you have the sense to call your
selves boys? We at our school used to
call ourselves girls; but I suppose you
go in for grand expression at EtOn. 1
say, Mr.. Simpkins, are you conceited?"
''What should be conceited about?"
CHATS what was going to ask. Can
you bat, boat, sing. dance, box. or tell q
story better than other fellows? I see
you think me an impertinent girl; but l
do like boy-or fellow; beg pardon
to be able to do something better than
anything else. Just think now; have
you ever thrashed a fellow twice your
size?'
moo; certainly not"
why not?"
''Why, what q question: Because I
couldn't, to be sure!" screamed Simpkins
who looked redder and more uncomfort-
able than ever.
Suppose You were to try?"
'Whatl try to thrash fellow twice
my size?"
''Yes. Just to please me and make me
think you u hero"
Nellie Snubbin gazed at him archly,
while his eyes, which had become gog-
giles, answered hers with helpless stare;
but Immediately afterwards she burst
out laughing, and Simpkins saw that he
had been roasted. He arose with dig
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