firm, and he would write to him. More than
that, he did write and I got an appointment in their London office in
Victoria Street. Good old Belvoir! Remember Spion Kop? That was the last
of Belvoir. Lord's, Riviera, clubs--Spion Kop....

"I settled down into that berth in Victoria Street as a cat settles into
a cushion. I was warm, comfortable, well-paid, well-dressed and had all
I wanted in reason. I lived at home and commuted to the city every day,
travelling first class, living first class. I settled down. I was on the
way to what my mother and father had in view, a comfortable position.

"My brother was at school, of course, down near Maldon. I never really
got hold of my mother's private opinion of her second son. It was a
mystery to me why she gave him so much pocket-money, I came to the
conclusion afterwards that since she considered it her duty to give me a
good start and put by all she could for my capital in business, there
would be very little later on for my brother, so she was giving him tips
now instead. She was able to say, 'I never stinted you at school,
Francis,' It might have been better for him if she had. And yet, I don't
know. I've come to think that men like my brother go their own road
anyhow. Their hereditary nature is so strong that environment makes no
difference, you might say.

"The main difference between us, when I was twenty-two and he was
fifteen, was the subject of women. That sounds strange, I suppose. But
go back. What did you know about women at fifteen? Or about yourself? My
brother knew no more, but he _acted_ on the little he did know, we were
afraid. Especially we who grow up in such a social life as I have been
talking of; we are afraid. My brother was never afraid of anything. If
he wants a thing he makes one bound and grabs it. If he hates a thing he
makes another bound and hits it. I've seen a man flinch just because my
brother looked at him. As for women, humph! He had only to hold up his
hand.

"Now I don't offer it as a proof of virtue, but at twenty-one I had not
bothered with girls much. I will explain in a minute why this was the
case. For the same reason I did not smoke or play cards. Let me get back
to my brother.

"One mid-term my mother got a letter from the head-master saying he
regretted that he had been under the painful necessity of expelling
Francis Carville from the school. He had been caught _flagrante
delicto_, as the old chap said, and one of the maids