"
Miss Pontifex died many a long year before the above passage was
written, but she had arrived independently at much the same
conclusion.
She first, therefore, squared the boys. Dr. Skinner was even more
easily dealt with. He and Mrs. Skinner called, as a matter of
course, as soon as Miss Pontifex was settled. She fooled him to the
top of his bent, and obtained the promise of a MS. copy of one of
his minor poems (for Dr. Skinner had the reputation of being quite one
of our most facile and elegant minor poets) on the occasion of his
first visit. The other masters and masters' wives were not
forgotten. Alethea laid herself out to please, as indeed she did
whereever she went, and if any woman lays herself out to do this,
she generally succeeds.
CHAPTER XXXIV
MISS PONTIFEX soon found out that Ernest did not like games, but
also that he could hardly be expected to like them. He was perfectly
well shaped but unusually devoid of physical strength. He got a fair
share of this in after life, but it came much later with him than with
other boys, and at the time of which I am writing he was a mere little
skeleton. He wanted something to develop his arms and chest without
knocking him about as much as the school games did.
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