absurdities, that usually necessitated withdrawal to the landing
outside the door with a giggling schoolgirl, and collaboration with
her in a code of complicated signals. And, blackest feature of all,
mistakes in any of these arduous matters entailed "forfeits," and the
process entitled "paying the forfeits," meant a concentration of
attention upon a young gentleman, conscious to agony of the fact that
his trousers left his ankle-bones unshielded from the public gaze.

It was sufficiently distressing to lie at full length on the carpet,
and declare oneself to be the length of a looby, and the breadth of a
booby, but what was that as compared with sitting, blindfolded, on a
chair, and guessing, among many kisses, which had been bestowed by
"the girl he loved best?" As if he loved any of them! These pert and
blowsy schoolgirls, with hideous voices, and arrogant curls, or
crimped lion-manes of aggressive hair! He, with "his heart set all
upon a snowy coif!" (as he chose to wrest Mr. Yeats' line to his own
purposes).

It was singular in how many of these exercises, of which the greater
number included kissing, he found himself involved with Tishy Mangan.
Tishy was in a bad temper. The red-headed medical student had not been
honoured with an invitation. Dr. Mangan had struck his name from the
list of guests saying that they had enough without him, and Tishy knew
her father too well to protest. Dr. Mangan was in the habit of saying
that he always left all household affairs "in the hands of the
ladies." He did not add, as he might have done, that these hands lay
within his, and that their owners had long since realised that it was
advisable to respond to any indication of pressure. His daughter,
however, while she submitted to the inevitable, saw no reason why she
should deny herself the solace of sulking, nor of avenging herself of