f the apartments which the lad was
about to occupy. Mr. Spicer's china and glass was in a dreadfully
dismantled condition, his lamps smashed, and his bookcases by no means
so spacious as those shelves which would be requisite to receive the
contents of the boxes which were lying in the hall at Fairoaks, and
which were addressed to Arthur in the hand of poor Helen.

The boxes arrived in a few days, that his mother had packed with so
much care. Pen was touched as he read the superscriptions in the dear
well-known hand, and he arranged in their proper places all the books,
his old friends, and all the linen and table-cloths which Helen had
selected from the family stock, and all the jam-pots which little
Laura had bound in straw, and the hundred simple gifts of home. Pen
had another Alma Mater now. But it is not all children who take to her
kindly.

CHAPTER XIX. Pendennis of Boniface

Our friend Pen was not sorry when his Mentor took leave of the young
gentleman on the second day after the arrival of the pair in Oxbridge,
and we may be sure that the Major on his part was very glad to have
discharged his duty, and to have the duty over. More than three months
of precious time had that martyr of a Major given up to his nephew--Was
ever selfish man called upon to make a greater sacrifice? Do you know
many men or Majors who would do as much? A man will lay down his head,
or peril his life for his honour, but let us be shy how we ask him to
give up his ease or his heart's desire. Very few of us can bear that
trial. Say, worthy reader, if thou hast peradventure a beard, wouldst
thou do as much? I will not say that a woman will not. They are used to
it: we take care to accustom them to sacrifices but, my good sir, the
amount of self-denial which you have probably exerted through life, when
put down to your account elsewhere, will not probably swell the balance
on the credit side much. Well, well, there is no use in speaking of such
ugly matters, and you are too polite to use a vulgar to quoque. But
I wish to state once for all that I greatly admire the Major for his
conduct during the past quarter, and think that he has quite a right to
be pleased at getting a holiday. Foker and Pen saw him off in the coach,
and the former young gentleman gave particular orders to the coachman
to take care of that gentleman inside. It pleased the elder Pendennis to
have his nephew in the company of a young fellow who would introduce him