enge of these latest aspirants.

The match of Railsford's against the School did not come off; for the
Athletic Union, of which Railsford had been chosen president by
acclamation, decided to limit the contests to house matches only. But
though deprived of an opportunity of asserting themselves against all
Grandcourt--which might have been of doubtful benefit--the house beat
successively the School-house, Roe's and Grover's houses, and, as
everyone had foreseen, ended the term as the crack cricket house of the
school.

How they would fulfil their other and more ambitious scheme of becoming
the "cock house" for studies, remained much longer a doubtful question.
No one of course supposed for a moment they would carry off all the
prizes they entered for; and, after the removal of the ban upon the
house, it was pretty generally calculated they they would do a great
deal less than they would have done under the old order of things.

But Railsford was not the man to allow the house to rest on their oars
because of a single success. Surely, he represented, it was not to go
out to all the school that Railsford's fellows could only work when they
were in a bad temper? Glorious as it would have been to clear the prize
list when they were isolated and sulky, it would be still more glorious
to show that not less could they do it when they were in good cheer and
shoulder to shoulder with the rest of the school. Besides, if they won
all the athletic events and none of the scholastic, people would be sure
to say any fools can excel in sports if they let all their books go by
the board.

Thus Railsford whipped up his house to their great effort, and the
result was that to-day's prize list showed that nearly half the honours
of the examinations had fallen to Railsford's boys. Not a few there
were who looked gloomy that the result was no better. They grudged the
school the other half. But there was no gloom on the master's face as
he read the list down and saw the reward of his labours.

He was proud, but his pride was not on account of Mark Railsford, as six
months ago it might have been, but of every boy, senior and junior, who
had put his back gallantly into the work and made a name for the good
old house.

But this is a tedious digression to make, while Arthur and the baronet
are putting on their Sunday "togs" and brushing up their Sunday "tiles"
preparatory to going down to meet the 9.40 train from London.

They were u