as his bond; he will be a good physician, for his eye is quick to see
suffering, and his hand ready to relieve it; little children with
feverish cheeks and tired eyes will love to clasp his cool, strong
sand; he will be gentle as a woman, yet thoroughly manly, as he is
now, for he has made the most of his golden youth, and every lad who
does that will have a golden manhood and a glorious old age.

As for Philip Noble, he was a dear, good, trustworthy lad too;
kindly, generous, practical, and industrious; a trifle slow and
reserved, perhaps, but full of common sense,--the kind of sense
which, after all, is most uncommon.

Bell once said: 'This is the difference between Philip and
Geoffrey,--one does, and the other is. Geoff is the real Simon-pure
ideal which we praise Philip for trying to be,'--a very good
description for a little maiden whose bright eyes had only looked
into life for sixteen summers.

And now we come to Jack Howard, who never kept still long enough for
any one to write a description of him. To explain how he differed
from Philip or Geoffrey would be like bringing the Equator and the
Tropic of Cancer together for purposes of comparison.

If there were a horseback ride, Jack rode the wildest colt, was
oftenest thrown and least often hurt; if a fishing-party, Jack it was
who caught all the fish, though he made more noise than any one else,
and followed no rules laid down in The Complete Angler.

He was very often in trouble; but his misdemeanours were those of
pure mischief, and were generally atoned for when it was possible.