nothing but the fight, and how Williams would have given in after another fall (which he didn’t in the least believe), and how on earth the doctor could have gotten to know of it—­such bad luck!  He couldn’t help thinking to himself that he was glad he hadn’t won; he liked it better as it was, and felt very friendly to the slogger.  And then poor little Arthur crept in and sat down quietly near him, and kept looking at him and the raw beef with such plaintive looks, that Tom at last burst out laughing.

“Don’t make such eyes, young ’un,” said he, “there’s nothing the matter.”

“Oh, but Tom, are you much hurt?  I can’t bear thinking it was all for me.”

“Not a bit of it, don’t flatter yourself.  We were sure to have had it out sooner or later.”

“Well, but you won’t go on, will you?  You’ll promise me you won’t go on.”

“Can’t tell about that—­all depends on the houses.  We’re in the hands of our countrymen, you know.  Must fight for the school-house flag, if so be.”

And now, boys all, three words before we quit the subject.  I have put in this chapter on fighting of malice prepense, partly because I want to give you a true picture of what every-day school life was in my time and partly because of the cant and twaddle that’s talked of boxing and fighting with fists now-a-days.  Even Thackeray has given in to it; and only a few weeks ago there was some rampant stuff in the Times on the subject.

Boys will quarrel, and when they quarrel will sometimes fight.  Fighting with fists is the natural English way for English boys to settle their quarrels.  What substitute for it is there, or ever was there, among any nation under the sun?  What would you like to see take its place?

Learn to box, then, as you learn to play cricket and football.  Not one of you will be the worse, but very much the better for learning to box well.  Should you never have to use it in earnest, there’s no exercise in the world so good for the temper, and for the muscles of the back and legs.

As to fighting, keep out of it if you can, by all means.  When the time comes, if it ever should, that you have to say “Yes” or “No” to a challenge to fight, say “No” if you can—­only take care you make it clear to yourselves why you say “No.”  It’s a proof of the highest courage, if done from true Christian motives.  It’s quite right and justifiable, if done from a simple aversion to physical pain and danger.  But don’t say “No” because you fear a licking, and say or think it’s because you fear God, for that’s neither Christian nor honest.  And if you do fight, fight it out; and don’t give in while you can stand and see.

PRONUNCIATION OF PROPER NAMES

NOTE.—­The pronunciation of difficult words is indicated by respelling them phonetically. N is used to indicate the French nasal sound; K the sound of ch in German; ue the sound of the German ue, and French u; oe the sound of oe in foreign languages.