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Updated: May 22, 2025
Before I could recover from the surprise and disappointment I felt he had seen me, and advanced with all his old noisy frankness. "Hullo! here he is. How are you, Batchelor? Here we are again, eh? Rather better than the Henniker's parlour, eh?" I forgot all my disappointment for a moment in the pleasure of meeting him. In voice and manner at least he was the Flanagan of old days.
"Oh!" said I, starting up, "I was talking " "A bad mark to you, Batchelor, for interrupting me, and another for talking. Hawkesbury, a bad mark for talking in class." We were all astonished. We had hitherto looked upon Hawkesbury as a privileged person who might do as he liked, and upon Mr Hashford as a person who had not a soul of his own.
The Henniker put down her book. "Batchelor," said she, "you shall be punished. Stand on the form and read aloud." And so saying, she handed me the book and pointed to the place. This was the very refinement of torture, and I draw a veil over the sad spectacle which followed.
As I expected, his face clouded. "I can't agree with you there, Batchelor. But don't let us talk of that. I hope you will choose the time you would like best. I can easily arrange for any time." "I don't know what makes you so wonderfully civil," said I, losing patience at all this soft soap.
I made up my mind, come what would, I would speak to the new boy and let him see I was not against him. Some one will smile, of course, and say, sarcastically, "What a treat for the new boy!" But if he only knew with what fear and trembling I made that resolution, he would acquit Fred Batchelor of any very great self-importance in the matter.
"Who are you? What's your name?" he said. "Fred Batchelor," I replied, deferentially. "Batchelor, eh? Are you a backward or a troublesome, eh?" This was a poser. I had never put the question to myself, and was wholly at a loss how to answer. I told Flanagan so. "Oh, but you're bound to know!" he exclaimed. "What did they send you here for, eh?"
I was perfectly amazed at my own hardihood in thus addressing him. But now I had paid him I was afraid of him no more. He was too much put out to keep up his chronic smile as he said. "I hardly expected to be spoken to in this way by you, Batchelor, after all that has happened.
He is an old masher, that's what's the matter with him, and he was going to play himself for a batchelor. O, thunder, I got on to his racket in a minute. He was introduced to some of the girls and Saturday evening he danced till the cows come home.
Now I tell you what, Batchelor shall be umpire, and we'll each put five shillings on it, eh? What do you say to that?" "I'd rather not bet," replied Hawkesbury, "but I'd like to know what Batchelor says it is." "I'll go half-sovs. with you on it," said Whipcord. "Done with you!" said Masham; "but Hawkesbury must go too, for if it's brandy we both lose."
"They seem as cheerful and merry as ever," said Jack, solemnly, to me, looking round him. "I say, Jones," cried Horncastle, in an audible voice to a friend, "wonderful how Batchelor turns up here now the other's come home! Got to stop going out every night now, and coming home drunk at two in the morning, eh? Going to behave now, eh?
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