"Have you seen my cousin at Queens"?"
Dizzy had, and acknowledged that the inferences were not encouraging.
"Still there"s no telling," he said. "She may be a regular topper."
"Her father"s a country parson," said Lucius, "and she has never been anywhere. I don"t see the fun of tramping out to Girton to see a fat girl with spectacles."
"And a s.p.a.ce between her belt and the top of her skirt with hooks and eyes showing," added Dizzy. "No, I agree with you it isn"t good enough, although, of course, she may be a topper, you can"t tell."
Lucius did bicycle out to Girton before the end of the term along a straight and appallingly hideous road, only to find Miss Jermyn "not at home" at the end of it, and then dismissed his cousin Elizabeth and Girton College from his mind, and indulged himself in roseate dreams of the Newnham girl instead. Although he was constantly plunged in shame at the behaviour of his father, and was gradually growing poorer and poorer as time went on, owing to Mr. Binney"s relentless views on the subject of filial conduct, his first term at Cambridge in the companionship of his father was not altogether an unhappy one.
At the end of it Mr. Binney went in for the first part of his Little-go and failed ignominiously, for his work had greatly deteriorated since he had been admitted to the friendship of Howden and the rest. But the disquieting news did not reach him until he had left Cambridge at the beginning of the Christmas vacation, and that blow was not added to the one caused by his failure at the Union, and another which befel him at the end of term in the shape of an interview with his Tutor. Mr.
Rimington looked grave as Mr. Binney entered his presence, and shook hands with him without his usual smile.
"Sit down, please, Mr. Binney," he said. "I didn"t send for you when I heard about that foolish affair in Mr. Miniken"s rooms, because I thought you must have taken part in it against your will, and I couldn"t but believe that nothing of the sort would happen again. But I learn, to my surprise, that you seem to have made a--a specialty of that sort of behaviour, and however unpleasant the duty may be, I must remonstrate seriously with you on the course you have adopted here."
Mr. Binney"s mouth was dry. Mr. Rimington"s tone was more conciliatory than that of the Junior Dean, but the latter, after his first few words, had treated him just like any other undergraduate, while Mr.
Rimington addressed him as a middle-aged gentleman who had been making a fool of himself; and Mr. Binney disliked this above all things.
Mr. Rimington paused, and Mr. Binney felt he was expected to speak.
"I was gated for that affair of Miniken"s, sir," he said with a gulp, "and the subject ought to be at an end. It was foolish, perhaps, but it was all done in good part, and I had no idea the man would make such a fuss about it. Since then I am not aware of having done anything to bring my conduct under the notice of the officials of the college."
Mr. Rimington heard him out in grave silence. "You have done nothing that has actually had to be punished," he said, "but if you imagine, Mr. Binney, that your conduct has not come very seriously under the notice of the officials of the college, you are mistaken. Behaviour that would not call for much remark from a boy of eighteen or nineteen is a different matter in a man of your age. For one thing it is demoralising in the extreme to the undergraduates with whom you a.s.sociate. It is a very disagreeable task to have to point this out to you, and I must say that it surprises me exceedingly that there should be any necessity for my having to do so." He paused so as to give Mr.
Binney a chance of speaking, who, however, took no advantage of his opportunity, but sat gazing on the carpet. His att.i.tude seemed to show that he was taking his Tutor"s remonstrances to heart, but a slight frown on his brow and the set of his mouth belied that a.s.sumption.
"Have you anything to say, Mr. Binney?" asked the Tutor.
"I should like to hear what _you_ have got to say first, sir," said Mr.
Binney. "Then I will give utterance to my opinions."
"Very well," said Mr. Rimington. "Then I had better say what I have got to say in as few words and as strongly as possible. When we talked over your coming up here as an undergraduate in the spring, I pointed out that it would hardly be fair to your son to be under your constant supervision, and I pointed out other reasons why I thought you should reconsider your decision. You did not agree with me, and the objections were not strong enough to induce the college to refuse your application when you persisted in making it. No man in his senses could have foreseen that at the end of your first term, your son, who has been here over a year, should bear a high character in the college, while you, his father, should be giving us a great deal of trouble in matters of conduct. If that could have been foreseen I need scarcely say that we should not have admitted you.
"Now, look here, Mr. Rimington," said Mr. Binney, with his most uncompromising air. "I take great objection to your manner of speaking to me. My son I refuse to discuss. As far as I myself am concerned, you have acknowledged that with one exception, for which I have paid the appointed penalty, my conduct has not been such as to have called for any special remark, supposing I had been of the age of the ordinary undergraduate with whom you have to deal. I take my stand on that statement. These references to my age are offensive to me. I am here in the position of an ordinary undergraduate, and I demand fair treatment as such. That puts the matter in a nutsh.e.l.l."
Mr. Rimington kept his temper. "You seem to forget, Mr. Binney," he said quietly, "that no ordinary undergraduate would be permitted to speak to me in those terms. You take advantage of your age, which I think is about the same as mine, to address me as an equal, but wish it to be ignored entirely in my estimation of your behaviour. That, of course, is an unreasonable demand, and one that I cannot entertain. I sent for you to remonstrate with you on the course that you have seen fit to adopt. But as you have taken my remonstrance so badly, I must point out to you that my powers go far beyond a mere remonstrance, and if you are incapable of seeing yourself in the wrong and mending your ways, the college will have to think very seriously of asking you to take your name off the books."
"Then, sir," said Mr. Binney, now very angry, "I have to inform you that I shall not comply with the request of the college. I am here, and here I shall remain. The treatment I have received I consider infamous. I demand to be let alone. I shall keep on the right side of the law in the future, as I have done in the past, and I challenge--I _dare_ the college to touch me. Let me remind you, Mr. Rimington, that this University has been thrown open--yes, _open_, sir. The old iniquitous Test Acts have been done away. One man has as much right here as another. If I am interfered with further, I will raise such a storm throughout the country, that not only Trinity College but Cambridge University shall tremble in its shoes. I will wish you good-morning, sir; and let me advise you to take my words to heart,"
and with this Mr. Binney took himself out of his Tutor"s rooms, and went straight round to the Union to write a fiery letter of indignation to the _Daily Chronicle_, unmasking the unwarrantable interference with the liberties of the subject practised by the authorities of a "well-known college in a well-known University." His letter was not inserted. So the storm he had threatened to raise delayed its raging for the present.
After his departure, Mr. Rimington pondered for some time on his course of action, and then wrote the following letter:--
"DEAR MR. BINNEY,--I enclose the _exeat_ which you will require in order to enable you to leave Cambridge for the Christmas vacation. I have dated it for to-morrow. You will, I think, on consideration regret your manner towards me in our conversation of this morning, and I shall be glad to receive any expressions of regret you may feel inclined to make. I must also repeat my statement that it is subversive of all discipline in the college that a gentleman in your peculiar position should const.i.tute himself a leader in disorderly behaviour, and warn you that if such behaviour is persisted in you will not be allowed to remain here.--Yours sincerely,
"ROBERT RIMINGTON."
"Let "em try to remove me, that"s all," said Mr. Binney, when he received this very moderate communication. "They"ll be sorry for it all their lives. _Exeat_ dated for to-morrow! What does he mean? I don"t want to go down to-morrow. A piece of impertinence! I shan"t go."
But on consideration Mr. Binney did go down on the appointed day, and having arrived at a more reasonable frame of mind after a few days"
residence in Russell Square, wrote to Mr. Rimington that he regretted that he had been led in the heat of the moment to express himself in a way he could not justify, and that, while he still stood his stand on a position which, he thought, would prove to be una.s.sailable, there was no reason why he and Mr. Rimington should not agree to differ in a perfectly friendly and gentlemanly way.
CHAPTER IX
ME. BINNEY GIVES A DINNER AND RECEIVES A REBUFF
Mr. Binney took advantage of his unexpectedly early arrival in town for the Christmas vacation to pay a surprise visit to Mrs. Higginbotham.
He found that good lady seated by her drawing-room fire as on the occasion of that momentous visit with the account of which this history opens. With the glad cry "Peter!" "Martha!" these two ardent souls were locked in a close embrace, which afforded great gratification to themselves, and not a little to the parlour-maid, who had delayed her exit in order to satisfy herself as to the warmth of their greeting.
"My dear Peter," said Mrs. Higginbotham, "I did not expect to see you for another two days at least. How is it you have managed to come home for your holidays so early?"
"We don"t have holidays at Cambridge, Martha," said Mr. Binney; "we call them vacations. And of course we can come away when we like--that is if the dons will let us."
"Well, it is a very agreeable surprise to see you, Peter," said Mrs.
Higginbotham. "But how you have altered! Why, you have cut off your beautiful whiskers!"
"Yes," said Mr. Binney. "Fellows don"t wear whiskers at Cambridge. It is considered old-fashioned. How do you like the change, Martha?"
"I don"t know," said Mrs. Higginbotham, doubtfully. "But you should have asked _my_ leave first, you know, Peter, before taking a step like that," she added, archly.
Mr. Binney enjoyed this. He became facetious, affected to dig Mrs.
Higginbotham in the ribs, and jocularly cried, "Oh! you saucy little skipper!"
Mrs. Higginbotham was scandalised.
"Peter!" she exclaimed, "surely you forget yourself."
"Pooh! Martha," said Mr. Binney, "don"t be old-fashioned. That"s the way young men go on now-a-days."
"Is it?" said Mrs. Higginbotham, only half rea.s.sured. "I don"t think I much like it. It isn"t respectful. But I"m so pleased to see you back, Peter, that I don"t mind _how_ you go on. And you certainly do look younger, somehow--I suppose it is from cutting off your whiskers.
But do you know I think it makes you look _smaller_ too."
"Ah!" said Peter, "I used to be sorry I was rather short. I"m not now.
It"s a distinct score. I"ve got a great piece of news for you, Martha.
I"m going to steer the first Lent boat next term, if all goes well.
The first boat captain told me the other day that I was the most useful man they"d got, if I didn"t play the fool and kept my head; he said if I steered well in the Lents I should probably steer the first boat in the Mays; and that means, Martha, that next year I shall very likely be c.o.x of the "Varsity and get my Blue. Think of that, now!"
"Lor!" said Mrs. Higginbotham, "And very nice too, I"m sure. But why are you wearing a tie with the Oxford colours instead of the Cambridge?"
"Oh dear! Martha!" exclaimed Peter with some irritation. "Will you _never_ understand these things? These are the First Trinity colours.
n.o.body can wear the Cambridge colours unless he"s a Blue. And I"m not a Blue yet."
"Aren"t you?" said Mrs. Higginbotham. "Well, never mind, I"m sure you will be some day if you do your lessons--I mean your work well, and satisfy the Professors. And now, Peter, there is one little thing that I wish to speak to you about. That time you got into trouble. I was very grieved to hear about that. My poor dear father always used to say----"