The Plastic Age by Percy Marks (best fiction books to read TXT) 📕

"We Aren'T So Much. Do You Remember,  George,  What Jimmie Henley Said To

Us When We Were Sophomores In english Thirty-Six? He Laid Us Out Cold,

Said That We Were As Standardized As Fords And That We Were Ashamed Of

Anything Intellectual. Well,  He Was Right. Do You Remember How He Ended

By Saying That If We Were The Cream Of The Earth,  He Felt Sorry For The

Skimmed Milk--Or Something Like That?"

"Sure,  _I_ Remember," Winsor Replied,  Running His Fingers Through His

Rusty Hair. "He Certainly Pulled A Heavy Line That Day. He Was Right,

Too."

"I'Ll Tell You What," Exclaimed Pudge Suddenly,  So Suddenly That His

Crossed Legs Parted Company And His Foot Fell Heavily To The Floor.

"Let'S Put It Up To Henley In class To-Morrow. Let'S Ask Him Straight

Out If He Thinks College Is Worth While."

"He'Ll Hedge," Objected Lawrence. "All The Profs Do If You Ask Them

Anything Like That." Winsor Laughed. "You Don'T Know Jimmie Henley. He

Won'T Hedge. You'Ve Never Had A Class With Him,  But Hugh And Pudge And

I Are All In english Fifty-Three,  And We'Ll Put It Up To Him. He'Ll Tell

Us What He Thinks All Right,  And I Hope To God That He Says It Is Worth

While. I'D Like To Have Somebody Convince Me That I'Ve Got Something Out

Of These Four Years Beside Lower Ideals. Hell,  Sometimes I Think That

We'Re All Damn Fools. We Worship Athletics--No Offense,  Hugh--Above

Everything Else; We Gamble And Drink And Talk Like Bums; And About Every

So Often Some Fellow Has To Go Home Because A Lovely Lady Has Left Him

With Bitter,  Bitter Memories. I'M With Henley. If We'Re The Cream Of The

Earth--Well,  Thank The Lord,  We'Re Not."

"Who Is," Lawrence Asked Earnestly.

"God Knows."

English 53 Had Only A Dozen Men In It; So Henley Conducted The Course In

A Very Informal Fashion. The Men Felt Free To Bring Up For Discussion

Any Topic That Interested Them.

Nobody Was Surprised,  Therefore,  When George Winsor Asked Henley To

Express His Opinion Of The Value Of A College Education. He Reminded

Henley Of What He Had Said Two Years Before,  And Rapidly Gave A Resume

Of The Discussion That Resulted In The Question He Was Asking. "We'D

Like To Know,  Too," He Concluded,  Grinning Wickedly,  "Just Whom You

Consider The Cream Of The Earth. You Remember You Said That If We Were

You Felt Sorry For The Skimmed Milk."

Henley Leaned Back In His Chair And Laughed. "Yes," He Said,  "I Remember

Saying That. I Didn'T Think,  Though,  That You Would Remember It For Two

Years. You Seem To Remember Most Of What I Said. I Am Truly Astonished."

He Grinned Back At Winsor. "The Swine Seem To Have Eaten The Pearls."

The Class Laughed,  But Winsor Was Not One To Refuse The Gambit. "They

Were Very Indigestible," He Said Quickly.

"Good!" Henley Exclaimed. "I Wanted Them To Give You A Belly-Ache,  And I

Am Delighted That You Still Suffer."

"We Do," Pudge Jamieson Admitted,  "But We'D Like To Have A Little Mercy

Shown To Us Now. We'Ve Spent Four Years Here,  And While We'Ve Enjoyed

Them,  We'Ve Just About Made Up Our Minds That They Have Been All In all

Wasted Years."

"No." Henley Was Decisive. His Playful Manner Entirely Disappeared. "No,

Not Wasted. You Have Enjoyed Them,  You Say. Splendid Justification. You

Will Continue To Enjoy Them As The Years Grow Between You And Your

College Days. All Men Are Sentimental About College,  And In That

Sentimentality There Is Continuous Pleasure."

"Your Doubt Delights Me. Your Feeling That You Haven'T Learned Anything

Delights Me,  Too. It Proves That You Have Learned A Great Deal. It Is

Only The Ignoramus Who Thinks He Is Wise; The Wise Man Knows That He Is

An Ignoramus. That'S A Platitude,  But It Is None The Less True. I Have

Cold Comfort For You: The More You Learn,  The Less Confident You Will Be

Of Your Own Learning,  The More Utterly Ignorant You Will Feel. I Have

Never Known So Much As,  The Day I Graduated From High School. I Held My

Diploma And The Knowledge Of The Ages In My Hand. I Had Never Heard Of

Socrates,  But I Would Have Challenged Him To A Debate Without The

Slightest Fear."

"Since Then I Have Grown More Humble,  So Humble That There Are Times

When I Am Ashamed To Come Into The Class-Room. What Right Have I To

Teach Anybody Anything? I Mean That Quite Sincerely. Then I Remember

That,  Ignorant As I Am,  The Undergraduates Are More Ignorant. I Take

Heart And Mount The Rostrum Ready To Speak With The Authority Of A

Pundit."

He Realized That He Was Sliding Off On A Tangent And Paused To Find A

New Attack. Pudge Jamieson Helped Him.

"I Suppose That'S All True," He Said,  "But It Doesn'T Explain Why

College Is Really Worth While. The Fact Remains That Most Of Us Don'T

Learn Anything,  That We Are Coarsened By College,  And That We--Well,  We

Worship False Gods."

Henley Nodded In agreement. "It Would Be Hard To Deny Your Asts Consequences Criminal,  And There

Is No Dependence Upon Any One Man Breathing,  Who Pursues It With The

Chaleur Which I Have Done. How Can I Expect Another Man To Trust Me,

If I Cannot Trust Myself?

Therefore,  Although March Has Dissolved The Tie,(129) I Beg That You

Will Lay Me Under Some Sort Of Restriction About It. I Do Not Speak

This From Having Now Suffered,  For I Have Not,  As I Told You Before,

Since March Last; That Is,  By The Event. But I Have Been Susceptible

(Since?) Then More Than Once,  And It Has Been My Good Fortune And

Not My Prudence Which Has Kept Me Above Water.

What I Propose Is,  To Receive A Guinea,  Or Two Guineas,  And To Pay

Twenty,  For Every Ten Which I Shall Lose In The Same Day,  Above 50,

At Any Game Of Chance. I Reserve The 50 For An Unexpected Necessity

Of Playing In The Country,  Or Elsewhere,  With Women. All Things

Considered,  It Is The Best Tie,  And The Tax The Easiest Paid,  And

Restrictive Enough,  And Twenty Guineas You Will Take; And If You Tie

Me Up,  I Beg My Forfeitures May Go To The Children,  And Then Perhaps

I May Forfeit For Their Sake,  You'Ll Say. I Really Think It Will Be

A Wise Measure For Me,  And A Safe One; And Let This Tie Be For This

Year Only,  And Then,  If It Is Demonstrable That My Fortune Is

Impaired By Not Playing,  The Tie Will Be Over,  And Not Renewed The

Next. In The Mean Time,  And Till I Shall Hear Your Sentiments Upon

This,  I Must Avoid Going To Almack'S,  And So I Will. . . .

I Dine To-Day At Harry St. John'S,  And To-Morrow At Eden'S(130); And

On Monday All The St. Johns In The World,  Old And Young,  Dine Here.

Lord Northington(131) Brought Me Home Two Nights In His Coach,  And

In One Of Them The Conversation Turned Upon You. He Said There Was

Nobody Had A Better Idea Of What A Gentleman Should Be Than

Carlisle; That You Was So Throughout. There Is A Singularity And

Frankness In Some People'S Manner Of Delivering Their Sentiments,  By

Which They Receive Great Advantage. You Remember Sir R. Payne'S Way

Of Describing You,  Which Was Still More Odd; He Said If Anybody

Looked Through The Keyhole At Any Time To See How You Behaved When

You Was Alone,  That He Was Sure There Would Be No More Impropriety

In It Than If You Had A Hundred Eyes Upon You. I Don'T Like

Commending You Myself,  But I Like To Hear Others Do So,  And

Especially When They Speak About What They Think,  And When What They

Think Has The Air Of Verite In It.

I Hope You Make My Compliments To Ekins,  And That He Has By This

Time Read Atterbury Quite Through. I Do Not Propose The Bishop As A

Pattern For Anything But For Eloquence; And For Argument,  On N'En

Trouve Pas,  Chez Lui.

I Think That Storer,  John St. John,(132) And I,  Shall Set Out In

About Ten Days. My Coach,  Cloak,  And Muff Are Ready. Adieu Most

Affectionately. My Respects To Lady C(Arlisle) And My Love To The

Children,  And Last Of All Do Not Despair Of Me About Hazard,  For It

Being What I Love So Much,  Is Precisely The Reason Why I Shall Be

More Upon Guard In Respect To It. I Do Not Mean By This To Limit,

But The Ense Recidendum; Every Other Parti Is Delusive And Childish.

(129) See Ante,  Note 105.

(130) William Eden,  Lord Auckland (1744-1814). He Was Educated At

Eton And Oxford; Called To The Bar In 1769. In 1778 Was One Of The

Peace Commissioners To America With Lord Carlisle,  Accompanying Him

Later To Ireland As Secretary. Between 1785 And 1789 He Filled

Appointments As Ambassador Successively To France,  Spain,  And The

United Provinces. In 1789 He Was Created Baron Auckland In Ireland,

And In 1793 Raised To The English Peerage. He Married Eleanor,

Daughter Of Sir Gilbert Elliot And Sister Of The First Earl Of

Minto.

(131) Robert Henley,  Second Earl