passed."

"I am glad to hear that," said the Doctor, more briskly, "very glad; it
relieves me from a very painful responsibility. It may not impossibly
induce me to take a more lenient view of your case."

"Oh!" gasped Mr. Bultitude, feeling very uncomfortable all at once.

"Yes; it is a serious step to ruin a boy's career at its outset by
unnecessary harshness. Nothing, of course, can palliate the extreme
baseness of your behaviour. Still from certain faint indications in your
character of better things, I do not despair even yet (after you have
received a public lesson at my hands, which you will never forget) of
rearing you to become in time an ornament to the society in which it
will be your lot to move. I will not give up in despair--I will
persevere a little longer."

"Thank you!" Paul faltered, with a sudden sinking sensation.

"Mrs. Grimstone, too," said the Doctor, "has been interceding for you;
she has represented to me that a public expression of my view of your
conduct, together with a sharp, severe dose of physical pain, would be
more likely to effect a radical improvement in your character, and to
soften your perverted heart, than if I sent you away in hopeless
disgrace, without giving you an opportunity of showing a desire to
amend."

"It's--very kind of Mrs. Grimstone," said Paul faintly.

"Then I hope you will show your appreciation of her kindness. Yes, I
will not expel you. I will give you one more chance to retrieve your
lost reputation. But, for your own sake, and as a public warning, I
shall take notice of your offence in public. I shall visit it upon you
by a sound flogging before the whole school at eleven o'clock. You need
not come down till then--your breakfast will be sent up to you."

Paul made a frantic attempt to dissuade him from his terrible
determination. "Dr. Grimstone," he said, "I--I should much prefer being
expelled, if it is all the same to you."

"It is not all the same to me," said the Doctor. "This is mere pride and
obstinacy, Bultitude; I should do wrong to take any notice of it."

"I--I tell you I have great objection to--to being flogged," said Paul
eagerly; "it wouldn't improve me at all; it would harden me,
sir,--harden me. I--I cannot allow you to flog me, Dr. Grimstone. I have
strong prejudices against the system of corporal punishment. I object to
it on principle. Expulsion would make me quite a different being, I
assure you; it would reform me--save me--it wou