feelings, and who have at the same time calculated upon receiving a public
reward; at any rate, they have expected to be saved harmless in their
pockets; that the expence of any public exertion would at least be repaid
by those who surrounded them, and who cheered and applauded their every
exertion.--But, no! so sure as a man entertains any notion or expectation
of this sort, so sure is he to meet with cruel disappointment, the very
first time he places himself in a situation to try the experiment. Thus,
otherwise a very good man, he feels at once disgusted with public
ingratitude, and not having calculated upon such conduct, and not perhaps
ever having tried the experiment, _as I did_ while at school, he retires
with scorn and indignation from public life, or he turns over to some new
faction in place or power, who have both the means and inclination to
reward him for his apostacy.

To proceed with the narrative, Griffith did every thing he could to
prevent my getting on in my studies; but I always contrived to say my
lesson, even to him, so as to escape punishment; and, out of all the
floggings I got at this school, I was never once punished for not learning
my task. Indeed, when I had to say my lesson to Mr. Stevens, I did it with
ease, and frequently left off at the head of the class, having worked my
way up during _his_ examination. In fact, when I said my lesson to Mr.
Stevens, I _generally_ left off at the head or top of the class; but when
I said it to Griffith, I was sure _always_ to finish at the _bottom_.

After having endured this sort of discipline nearly two years and a half,
Griffith, one evening, came into the school, after having had _bad sport
in shooting_, as if to wreak that vengeance upon the boys which the
partridges had escaped. He walked up the school, throwing his eyes to the
right and to the left, to seek for some proper objects; at length he fixed
upon a boy of the name of Ludlow, and, having ordered him to prepare for a