of his very own, of course; wanted a pony of his very own; wanted
a dog of his very own. He hadn't anything of his very own.

I said I supposed he thought his eldest brother very lucky.

"Because of the trousers?" he asked.

I said, "Well, yes, I suppose he has the new ones."

"Well," he said, "you see he doesn't. That's the chowse of the
whole thing. He is the eldest, but you see Dick's the biggest, so
he gets the new trousers. It is hard, isn't it?"

I said it was indeed.

"The best of it is," he said, "I am catching jackup. He is in an
awful wax. I shouldn't be surprised if I were bigger than him
next holidays. Do you like dancing? I simply loathe it -- not
with you, I don't mean I."

He told me many other confidences, and I was really sorry when he
remembered, with an evident pang, that he had to dance with that
"rum little kid over there."

I was quite certain that he would never break a promise. I could
picture him going through life always keeping promises, rashly
made, no doubt. I wondered what he would talk to girls about at
dances years hence -- trousers? Hardly. By that time he would
have trousers of his very own, and they would cease, in
consequence, to be things of interest.