the history and uniform of Dragoons,
Hussars and Lancers, the history and uniform of the religious
orders--Benedictines, Cistercians, Franciscans, Dominicans (how he loved
the last in their black and white habit, _Domini canes_, watchdogs of
the Lord), Carmelites, Praemonstratensians, Augustinians, Servites,
Gilbertines, Carthusians, Redemptorists, Capuchins, Passionists,
Jesuits, Oblates of St. Charles Borromeo and the Congregation of St.
Philip Neri. Michael outvied Mr. Prout in ecclesiastical possessions,
and his bedroom was nearly as full as the repository from which it was
stocked. There were images of St. Michael (his own patron), St. Hugh of
Lincoln (patron of schoolboys) and St. James of Compostella (patron of
the school), together with Our Lady of Seven Dolours, Our Lady Star of
the Sea and Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, Our Lady
of Victories; there were eikons, scapulars, crucifixes, candlesticks,
the Holy Child of Prague, rosaries, and indeed every variety of sacred
bric-a-brac. Michael slept in an oriental atmosphere, because he had
formed the habit of burning during his prayers cone-shaped pastilles in
a saucer. The tenuous spiral of perfumed smoke carried up his emotional
apostrophes through the prosaic ceiling of the old night-nursery past
the stars, beyond the Thrones and Dominations and Seraphim to God.
Michael's contest with the sins of youth had become much more thrilling
since he had accepted the existence of a personal fiend, and in an
ecstasy of temptation he would lie in bed and defy the Devil, calling
upon his patron the Archangel to descend from heaven and battle with the
powers of evil in that airy arena above the coal-wharf beyond the
railway lines. But the Father of Lies had many tricks with which to
circumvent Michael; he would conjure up sensuous images before his
antagonist; succubi materialized as pretty housemaids, feminine devils
put on tights and openwork stockings to encounter him from the pages of
pink weekly papers, and sometimes Satan himself would sit at the foot of
his bed in the darkness and tell him tales of how other boys enjoyed
themselves, arguing that it was a pity to waste his opportunities and
filling his thoughts with dissolute memories. Michael would leap from
his bed and pray before his crucifix, and through the darkness angels
and saints would rally to his aid, until Satan slunk off with his tail
between his legs, personally humiliated.

At school