ppose he will ever do
much good in the world, for this reason--his influence is so small. One
would like to know if he is really as unhappy as he would make every one
believe. I have a notion he is not, but is the victim of a habit which
he has allowed to grow on him till it is past shaking off. Moral, boys:
When you catch yourselves grumbling, make sure the grievance is a real
one. If it is, don't be content with grumbling, but follow it up till
the wrong is put right. But if you find yourself growling merely
because it sounds a fine thing to do, then let growl number one be not
only the first but the last performance of the kind; and no one then
will be able to growl at you.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.

THE BULLY.

There are bullies and bullies. There is the big brother, for instance,
who considers it as much part of his duty to administer an occasional
cuff to his youthful relative, as he does to stroke his own chin for the
first sign of a beard, or to wear his tall hat on Sundays. That is not
the sort of bullying any one complains of. Pretty sort of fellows some
of us would have turned out if we hadn't come in for a little wholesome
knocking about in our day! What's the use of big brothers, we should
like to know, if it's not to chastise youngsters! and what are younger
brothers made for, if they are not to be occasionally "whopped!"

When I first reached a "bullyable" age, I found myself number three of a
set of five boys. I had looked on in awe at the discipline inflicted by
my eldest brother on number two; I had been a trembling spectator of
scuffles and tears, and pulled ears and sore knuckles, and knew my turn
for the same hardships was coming. And so it did. Number one went to
college, and then number two was cock of the walk, and didn't I catch it
then? The ears that had recently smarted between another's finger and
thumb were now deaf to my lamentations, and the knuckles that I had seen
bruised and sore now played on my poor countenance as if it had been a
tambourine. It wasn't pleasant while it lasted, of course; but then it
was all in the regular course of things, and had to be grinned at and
borne; and besides it was a splendid training for me, when I came to be
left ruler of the roost with young number four at my mercy. Poor number
four! he had a hard time of it. He was a meek sort of fellow, and took
a lot of bullying. I've a broken-backed lexicon to this day which often
used to fly acro