inst me. Mr. Edwardes took the trouble to tell me
that I was mistaken in thinking that the reputation of St. Cuthbert's
depended upon athletics, and I answered that I had never supposed
anything of the kind, but that I thought a college which was slack
about other things would end by being slack in the schools. This reply
of mine surprised him so much that he told me that any campaign to be
successful must be managed by the right people, and I agreed with him
cordially, for although I knew that plenty of men would have worried
everybody out of their slackness much more successfully than I could, I
was not going to tell him so.

The Bursar supported me soundly, and we had a new don at the beginning
of my second year who took a most invigorating interest in the college.
He was known to us as "The Bradder," and though his real name was
Bradfield it was seldom used, and as far as we were concerned he could
have done quite well without it. I had become so accustomed to aged
dons that I could not understand him at first, he was so very young.
He was also reported to be very clever, but I was so impressed by his
youthfulness that it took me some time to believe that he would ever
count for much. I ought, however, to have known that The Bradder was
not the kind of man who would allow himself to become a nonentity, for
he was full of energy and determination.

I was never able to find out how the dons heard of my scheme, but they
find out most things by some extraordinary means, and The Bradder spoke
to me very encouragingly about it, though he looked at me as if I
amused him in some odd sort of way. He also asked me to breakfast,
which I thought was carrying kindness a little too far. I anticipated
the usual thing--a crowd of men with large appetites, and a host who
abstained from food in his efforts to provide conversation; but when I
went to The Bradder's rooms I found that I was in for a _tete-a-tete_,
and my opinion of the other kind of breakfast rose considerably. As a
don I was not in the least nervous of him, but as a host I thought he
might be overwhelming.

That he ever lived through this meal without laughing was a marvel, for
when I was sitting opposite to him my nervousness vanished, and I told
him exactly what I thought about every subject he suggested, and it was
not until I had left him that it occurred to me that I had been talking
nearly all the time, and that he had said very little. I determined
th