ring
physical defect.

In the autumn of 1913 he was offered a house scholarship, which would
have meant residence in one of the boarding-houses. Without
hesitation he declined what was at once an honour and a privilege,
preferring to remain a day-boy. He dearly loved his home, and his
opinion was that the advantages of public-school training were much
enhanced when combined with home life. His custom was to ride to the
College on his bicycle in the morning, stay there for dinner and
return home in the evening between 6 and 7 o'clock, the hours
following afternoon school being devoted to games, the gymnasium, or
some other form of physical training.

In 1914 he was elected Captain of the 1st XV. No distinction he ever
won--and there were many--gratified him more. In a great public school
the duties that devolve on a captain of football are laborious and
responsible. They entail many hours of work weekly, the careful
compilation of lists of players for the numerous school teams, a
vigilant oversight of training and a watchful eye for budding talent.
But Paul loved the work, and love lightens labour. He threw himself
into the duties with all the enthusiasm of his nature. The amount of
time he was devoting to football in September and October made me
doubtful of his ability to carry off a Balliol scholarship in
December. Accordingly I suggested that he might relinquish the
captaincy temporarily, say for a month, so as to allow him freedom to
concentrate on his history reading before the examination. He would
not listen to the suggestion. He said he meant to fulfil the duties of
captain to the uttermost. If this jeopardised his chances for a
scholarship he would be sorry, but whatever the cost he was not going
to fall short in his work as captain of football. In the result he
brought off the double event, winning the scholarship and leading his
team with shining success.

[Illustration: Winning the Mile, March 27, 1915.]

His athletic career culminated at the school sports on March 27,
1915, when he won the mile flat race, the half-mile, and the
steeplechase, and was awarded the silver cup for the best forward in
the 1st XV. He tied for the "Victor Ludorum" shield with his friend
S. J. Hannaford (a versatile athlete reported missing in France,
September, 1917). These successes at the sports were a dazzling
finish to Paul's school days. He bore them, like his scholastic
triumphs, very modestly, but in his heart he was p