he generally
has the best of a situation; and though there is little that is
pastoral about him, yet he is obviously a wholesome-minded, manly sort
of person, who whips the right person at the right time, and generally
scores in the end. But he is a Roman father, at best. He has little
compassion and no tenderness; he is acute, brisk, and sensible; but he
has (at least to me) neither grace nor wisdom; or, if he has, he keeps
them under a polished metallic dish-cover, and only lifts it in
private. I do not feel that the Headmaster has any religion, except the
religion of all sensible men. In seeming to despise all sentiment,
Kipling seems to me to throw aside several beautiful flowers, tied
carelessly up in the same bundle. There should be a treasure in the
heart of a wise schoolmaster; not to be publicly displayed nor drearily
recounted; but at the right moment, and in the right way, he ought to
be able to show a boy that there are sacred and beautiful things which
rule or ought to rule the heart. If the Head has such a treasure he
keeps it at the bank and only visits it in the holidays.

The "Padre" is a very human figure--to me the most attractive in the
book; he has some wisdom and tenderness, and his little vanities are
very gently touched. But (I daresay I am a very pedantic person) I
don't really like his lounging about and smoking in the boys' studies.
I think that what he would have called tolerance is rather a deplorable
indolence, a desire to be above all things acceptable. He earns his
influence by giving his colleagues away, and he seems to me to think
more of the honour of the boys than of the honour of the place.

But King and Prout, the two principal masters--it is they who spoil the
taste of my food and mingle my drink with ashes. They are, in their
way, well-meaning and conscientious men. But is it not possible to love
discipline without being a pedant, and to be vigilant without being a
sneak? I fear in the back of my heart that Kipling thinks that the
trade of a schoolmaster is one which no generous or self-respecting man
can adopt. And yet it is a useful and necessary trade; and we should be
in a poor way if it came to be regarded as a detestable one. I wish
with all my heart that Kipling had used his genius to make our path
smoother instead of rougher. The path of the schoolmaster is indeed set
round with pitfalls. A man who is an egotist and a bully finds rich
pasturage among boys who are bound t