rs there hold their row," interposed Bloomfield, "I
shall have them turned out of the meeting." Whereat the little breeze
calmed down.

The President then called upon Mr Ashley to move the resolution
standing in his name, which he did in a rather feeble speech.

"I really don't think it necessary to say much to prove that the school
is degenerate. Look at the clubs! They aren't nearly as good as they
were in old Wyndham's time. Parrett's clubs, thanks to Mr Bloomfield,
keep up; but where are the others? Then the rows. (Hear, hear.) I'm
sure there have been more rows in the school this term than all the rest
of the year put together. The juniors seem to do what they
like,"--("Hear, hear," from Telson, Parson, and Co.)--"and no one seems
to know who has a right to keep any one else in order. Now, why is all
this? (Loud cheers from Bosher.) You know as well as I do. The
captain of the school always used to be a fellow the boys could look up
to. Old Wyndham and the captain before him were something like fellows.
(Loud Parrett's cheers.) _They_ weren't afraid to look any one in the
face--(cheers)--and _they_ didn't, when they got tired of one
house--(cheers)--ask the doctor to move them to another. (Terrific
applause from the Parrett's and Welchers.) Why, if this boat-race
affair had happened in old Wyndham's time, do you suppose he wouldn't
have made it right, and found out the fellow, even if it was his own
brother? (Loud cheers, amidst which young Wyndham blushed a great deal
at this unexpected piece of notoriety.) I'm not going to say any more."
("Hear, hear," from Fairbairn.)

Mr Porter rose to open the debate on the other side. He wasn't going
to give in that Willoughby was going down. It was unpatriotic.
(Cheers.) He meant to say if the school did go down it was the fellows'
own fault, and not all to be blamed on one boy. Mr Riddell would
probably answer for himself--(laughter)--but he (Mr Porter) was pretty
sure the school would not degenerate under him. The fellows seemed to
think the only thing in the world was brute strength. He had no
objection to brute strength--(cheers and laughter)--in fact he fancied
he had a little of his own--("Hear, hear," from Telson whose ears Porter
had boxed only that morning)--but Willoughby wanted something better
than that; and he meant to say there were plenty of fellows in the
school who didn't make much noise, but who did as much to keep up the
school as