ind, for the first time assumed a distinct shape. Suppose he happened
to come to an open outbreak with Crawley, and it ended in a fight, what
an opportunity it would be to gratify his ambition and his hatred at the
same time! He did not actually plan anything of the kind, or say to
himself that he would pick a quarrel. The idea was merely a fancy, a
daydream. Man or boy must be bold as well as bad deliberately to form a
scheme for bringing about an encounter with a formidable enemy, and
Saurin was not particularly bold, certainly not rashly so, and Crawley
would be likely to prove a very awkward customer. Instructors of any
sort, whether they are professors of mathematics, or Hebrew, or of
dancing, or boxing, have this in common, that they are sure to take a
special interest in apt pupils; and so Mr Wobbler paid more attention
to Saurin than to the others, and showed him certain tricks, feints, and
devices which he did not favour everybody with. He also gave him some
hints in wrestling, and taught him the throw called the cross-buttock.
Saurin used likewise to go to the highroad along which the professor
took his daily walks in preparation for his match, and sometimes held
the stop-watch for him, and learned how to walk or run in a way to
attain the maximum of speed with a minimum of exertion. The mere
learning to box, and the necessary association with a man like Wobbler,
would not have done the boys much harm of itself. The deception
practised in order to obtain the money to pay him with, and the skulking
and dodging necessary for approaching and leaving Slam's premises
without being seen, were far more injurious to them, especially since
the great freedom allowed to the boys at Weston was granted on the
assumption that they would not take advantage of it to frequent places
which were distinctly forbidden. And to do them justice, the great
majority felt that they were on honour, and did not abuse the trust.
But for Saurin, and for Edwards and a few others who followed Saurin's
lead, the mischief did not end here. Mr Wobbler sometimes unbended--
Mr Saurin was such a "haffable gent" there was no resisting him--and
told anecdotes of his past experiences, which were the reverse of
edifying. It was a curious fact that every action upon which he prided
himself, or which he admired in his friends, was of a more or less
fraudulent nature; and Mr Slam, who was always present on these
occasions, shared these sentiments