bearer of a letter from my mother asking for you to be so kind as to—to excuse my not havin' done all my home work, 'cos I forgot— [Pg 31] Mr. Pocklington. Beatrice! The R. B. L. V. I mean 'cos I neglected [there was no such word as "forget" in Mr. Pocklington's curriculum] to take the book home. And, please, mum—my mother would have written to you by post last night, only she forg—neglected to do it till it was too late. And Beatrice, having unburdened herself of a task which has been clouding her small horizon ever since breakfast, sits down with a sigh of intense relief. On the first morning after their arrival, Mr. Pocklington, having called out the last name and registered the last glass of milk, drew the attention of the school to Pip and Pipette. "You have to welcome two fresh companions this morning," he said. "I will enter their names on the register, and will then read them aloud to you, in order that you may know how to address your new friends." Turning to Pip, Mr. Pocklington asked his name. "Pip." "No, no," said Mr. Pocklington testily. "Your first baptismal name, boy!" Pip, to whom the existence of baptismal names [Pg 32] was now revealed for the first time, merely turned extremely red and shook his head. [Pg 32] "We do not countenance childish nicknames here," said Mr. Pocklington grandly. "What is your Christian name, boy?" Pip, to whom Christian and baptismal names were an equal mystery, continued to sit mute, glaring the while in a most disconcerting fashion at poor Miss Arabella, who happened to sit opposite to him. Mr. Pocklington turned impatiently to Pipette. "What is your brother's name?" "Please, it's just Pip," replied Pipette plaintively, groping for Pip's hand under the desk. "He hasn't got any other name, I don't fink." "Perhaps it is Philip," suggested pretty Miss Amelia. "I believe"—with a little blush—"that
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