nal
trifle. His youthful _proteges_ were glad to be able to repay in the
country many kind offices at Oxford, and to become patronizers in their
turn; and the seniors redoubled, in the case of their son's friend, the
hospitality and courtesy they would have readily shown to a stranger,
and were not eager to scrutinize the motives which might have induced
him to be civil to the hopeful stripling, whom, in their partial view,
the whole university might well have delighted to honour.

In the eyes of such a man, John Brown was not likely, at first starting,
to find much favour. Had he been a rich man, and sported the velvet cap
and silk gown, the unhappy fact of his father's being in trade might
have been winked at. If not in the front rank of the dean's friends he
might have filled a vacant seat occasionally at his dinner-table, and
been honoured with a friendly recognition in the quadrangle. At it was,
he did not condescend to remember that such a man was on the college
books. Happy ignorance, if only it could have lasted. But one unlucky
morning a late supper party had decidedly thinned the attendance at the
hall lecture; and Mr Hodgett, having been disappointed of an invitation
to a very select dinner at the principal's, was in no very benignant
humour, and "hauled up" the defaulters. Among them was one of the dean's
pets--who, having done the same thing a dozen times before, was rather
astonished at the summons--and the usually regular John Brown. What
excuses the rest of the party made is immaterial. John, I believe, said
nothing, beyond a remark as to his having been rarely absent. The
result, however, was, that he and the rest got an imposition, which cost
them half-a-guinea each to get done by the under-cook, (it was Greek
_with_ the accents, which comes expensive,) while the Honourable Lumley
Skeffington was dismissed with a jocular reproof, and an invitation to
breakfast. Now, if Mr Skeffington had had the sense to have kept his own
and his friend's counsel, this might have been all very well. But being
a somewhat shallow-pated youth, and a freshman to boot, he thought it a
very fine thing to talk about at his next wine-party, and boast that he
could cut lecture and chapel when he pleased--the dean and he understood
each other. Brown happened to be present; (for though not good company
enough for the dean, he was for his betters; your _parvenu_ is far more
exclusive in his society than your born gentleman;) he qui