n; Daubeny was a
firm believer in the principle of _La carriere ouverte aux talons_; he
was, under the circumstances, quite as happy to be second as to be
first; and among the many who congratulated Walter, none did so with a
heartier sincerity than this generous and single-minded boy.

People still retain the notion that boyish emulation is the almost
certain cause of hatreds and jealousies. Usually, the fact is the very
reverse. An _ungenerous_ rivalry is most unusual, and those
schoolfellows who dispute with a boy the prizes of a form are commonly
his most intimate associates and his best friends. Certainly, Daubeny
liked Walter none the less for his having wrested away from him with so
much ease a distinction which had caused himself such strenuous efforts
to win.

The pleasant excitement of contending for a weekly position made Daubeny
work harder than ever. Indeed, the whole form seemed to have received a
new stimulus lately. Henderson was astonishing everybody by a fit of
diligence, and even Howard Tracy seemed less totally indifferent to his
place than usual. So willingly did the boys work, that Mr Paton had
not half the number of punishments to set, and perhaps his late
misfortune had infused a little more tenderness and consideration into a
character always somewhat stern and unbending. But, instead of rising,
Daubeny only lost places by his increased work; he was making himself
ill with work. At the end of the next week, instead of being first or
second, he was only fifth; and when Mr Percival, who always had been
his friend, rallied him on this descent, he sighed deeply, and
complained that he had been suffering lately from headaches, and
supposed that they had prevented him from doing so well as usual.

This remark rather alarmed the master, and on the Sunday afternoon he
asked the boy to come a walk with him, for the express purpose of
endeavouring to persuade him to relax efforts which were obviously being
made to the injury of his health.

When they had once fairly reached the meadows by the riverside, Mr
Percival said to him--

"You are overdoing it, Daubeny. I can see myself that your mind is in a
tense, excited, nervous condition from work; you must lie fallow, my
dear boy."

"O! I'm very strong, sir," said Daubeny; "I've a cast-iron
constitution, as that amusing plague of mine, Henderson, always tells
me."

"Never mind, you must really work less. I won't have that getting up at
f