The Freshman is led up near enough to see the fellow’s face covered with blood, and to hear his cries to his friends to put him out of his misery.  Intensely agitated, poor little Fresh is hurried by pretended friends into a carriage, and driven off; and it is not till a week afterwards that he learns he has been the victim of a hoax.

No! it would never answer for me to run the risk of being sold in any such way as this.  I must select a surer and more practical vengeance.  I thought the matter over intently, and finally resolved that I would put myself on a physical equality with my persecutor, and then meet him in a fair fight with such weapons as Nature had given us both.  I accordingly said to the friend and classmate who had played the part of intercessor, “Wait two years, and I promise you I will either make my tormentor apologize or give him such a thrashing as he will remember for the rest of his life.”

Thus was my resolve renewed to accomplish myself as a gymnast, and, above all, to develop my physical strength.  My previous attempts in the gymnasium had been spasmodic and irregular.  Having now a definite object in view, I set about my work in earnest, and went through a daily systematic practice of a little more than an hour’s duration.

The gymnasium was kept by a Mr. Law, and, though ordinary in its accommodations, had a good arrangement of apparatus, of which I faithfully availed myself.  The spring-board, horse, vaulting-apparatus, parallel bars, suspended rings, horizontal and inclined ladders, pulley-weights, pegs, climbing-rope, trapezoid, etc., were all put in frequent requisition.  My time for exercise was generally in the evening, when I would find myself almost alone,—­while the clicking of balls from the billiard-rooms and bowling-alleys down-stairs announced that a busy crowd—­if amusement may be called a business—­were there assembled.

Naturally indolent, it was not without a severe struggle that I overcame a besetting propensity to confine myself to sedentary pursuits.  The desire of retaliation soon became extinct.  My pledge to my friend and sympathizer, that in two years I would cry quittance to my foe, would occasionally act as a spur in the side of my intent; but my two best aids in supplying me with the motive power to keep up my gymnastic practice were habit and progress.  What will not habit make easy to us, whether it be for good or for evil?  And what an incentive we have to renewed effort in finding that we are making actual progress,—­that we can do with comparative facility to-day what we could do only with difficulty yesterday!

Two years, while we are yet on the sunny side of twenty, are no trifle; but for two years I persistently and methodically went through the exercises of the gymnasium.  At the end of that time I had quite lost sight of my original object in cultivating my athletic powers; for all annoyances towards me had long since been dropped by my old enemy.  But punctually on the day of expiration, the friend who had listened to my pledge came to me and claimed its fulfilment.  From some evidences which he had recently had of my strength he felt a soothing assurance that I should have no difficulty in making good my promise.