ended to be an affirmative ahem, in doing which a crumb of
bread chose to go the wrong way, producing a violent fit of coughing,
in the agonies of which I seized and drank off Dr. Mildman's tumbler of
ale, mistaking it for my own small beer. The effect of this, my crowning
_gaucherie_, was to call forth a languid smile on the countenance of the
senior pupil, a tall young man, with dark hair, and a rather forbidding
expression of face, which struggled only too successfully with an
attempt to look exceedingly amiable; which smile was repeated with
variations by all the others.

"I'm afraid you do not distinctly perceive the difference between those
important pronouns, _meum_ and _tuum_, Fairlegh? Thomas, a clean glass!"
said Dr. Mildman, with a forced attempt at drollery; but Thomas had
evaporated suddenly, leaving no clue to his whereabouts, unless sundry
faint sounds of suppressed laughter outside the door, indicating, as I
fancied, his extreme appreciation of my unfortunate mistake, proceeded
from him.

It is, I believe, a generally received axiom that all mortal affairs
must sooner or later come to an end; at all events, the dinner I have
been describing did not form an exception to the rule. In due time Mrs.
Mildman disappeared, after which Dr. Mildman addressed a remark or two
about Greek tragedy to the tall pupil, which led to a ~8~~dissertation
on the merits of a gentleman named Prometheus, who, it seemed, was bound
in some peculiar way, but whether this referred to his apprenticeship to
any trade, or to the cover of the book containing his history, did not
appear. This conversation lasted about ten minutes, at the expiration of
which the senior pupil "grinned horribly a ghastly smile" at the others,
who instantly rose, and conveyed themselves out of the room with such
rapidity that I, being quite unprepared for such a proceeding, sat for a
moment in silent amazement, and then, becoming suddenly alive to a sense
of my situation, rushed frantically after them. My speed was checked
somewhat abruptly by a door at the end of the passage being violently
slammed in my face, for which polite attention I was indebted to the
philanthropy of the hindmost pupil, who thereby imposed upon me the
agreeable task of feeling in the dark for a door-handle in an unknown
locality. After fumbling for some time, in a state of the greatest
bewilderment I at length opened the door, and beheld the interior of
the "pupils' room," which, f