Page:Cuthbert Bede--Little Mr Bouncer and Tales of College Life.djvu/221

Rh as a present to his sister, and would not in any way supplant them in his own affections.

The Great Western carried him quickly by Reading and on to Swindon; and, as he journeyed, and thought of the brace of barbers under whose hands he had placed himself, Mr. Bouncer was not only reminded of the incident of his half-clipped horse, but also of an other circumstance that had recently come within his knowledge. It was this:

One of the Brazenfacemen, Kelly by name, but usually known either by the sobriquet of "The Wild Irishman" or the shorter name of "Paddy," had driven over to Woodstock, and had there met with a "Maudlin" Hall man named Blatherwyck, who was in a very maudlin state, and far from sober. Now, this Blatherwyck was not a very popular man in his College, being far from agreeable in his manners and distinguished for nothing in particular, unless it was for a pair of large bushy whiskers of which he was exceedingly vain, and to the curling of which he was believed to devote much of his mind and leisure hours. His whiskers, moreover, had earned for him the cognomen of "Esau." When Paddy found that Esau was not able to take due care of himself, he put him in his own cart, and drove him back to Oxford. With the assistance of men of his own College, Blatherwyck was put to bed; when it suddenly occurred to one of the party that it would be a great lark to shave off one of Esau's pet whiskers. This was accordingly done, and the slumberer was left to sleep off the effect of his potations.

Meanwhile, his father, who was a country rector, had come up to Oxford for the Commemoration, and had called, late in the evening, at his son's rooms; but, not