chin in
his hand, staring moodily at his adoring mongrel, Jumble.
‘It’s a rotten world,’ he said, gloomily. ‘I’ve took a lot of trouble over her and she goes and makes me feel sick with chocolates.’
Jumbled wagged his tail, sympathetically.
CHAPTER 8
THE MAY KING
W illiam was frankly bored. School always bored him. He disliked facts, and he disliked being tied down to detail, and he disliked answering
questions. As a politician a great future would have lain before him. William attended a mixed school because his parents hoped that feminine influence might have a mellowing effect upon his
character. As yet the mellowing was not apparent. He was roused from his daydreams by a change in the voice of Miss Dewhurst, his form mistress. It was evident that she was not talking about the
exports of England (a subject in which William took little interest) any longer.
‘Children,’ she said brightly. ‘I want you to have a little May Queen for the first of May. The rest of you must be her courtiers. I want you all to vote tomorrow. Put down on
a piece of paper the name of the little girl you think would make the sweetest little Queen, and the rest of you shall be her swains and maidens.’
‘We’re goin’ to have a May Queen,’ remarked William to his family at dinner, ‘an’ I’m goin’ to be a swain.’
His interested died down considerably when he discovered the meaning of the word swain.
‘Isn’t it no sort of animal at all?’ he asked indignantly.
‘Well, I’m not going to be in it, then,’ he said when he heard that it was not.
The next morning Evangeline Fish began to canvass for votes methodically. Evangeline Fish was very fair, and was dressed always in that shade of blue that shrieks aloud to the heavens and puts
the skies to shame. She was considered the beauty of the form.
‘I’ll give you two bull’s eyes if you’ll vote for me,’ she said to William.
‘ Two! ’ said William with scorn.
‘Six,’ she bargained.
‘All right,’ he said, ‘you can give me six bull’s eyes if you want. There’s nothing to stop you givin’ me six bull’s eyes if you want, is there? Not
that I know of.’
‘But you’ll have to promise to put down my name on the paper if I give you six bull’s eyes,’ she said suspiciously.
‘All right,’ said William. ‘I can easy promise that.’
Whereupon she handed over the six bull’s eyes. William returned one as being under regulation size, and waited frowning till she replaced it by a larger one.
‘Now, you’ve promised,’ said Evangeline Fish. ‘They’ll make you ill an’ die if you break your promise on them.’
William kept his promise with true political address. He wrote ‘E. Fish – I don’t think!’ on his voting paper and his vote was disqualified. But Evangeline Fish
was elected May Queen by an overwhelming majority. She was, after all, the beauty of the form and she always wore blue. And now she was to be May Queen. Her prestige was established for ever.
‘Little angel,’ murmured the elder girls. The small boys fought for her favours. William began to dislike her intensely. Her voice, and her smile, and her ringlets, and her blue dress
began to jar upon his nerves. And when anything began to jar on William’s nerves something always happened.
It was not till about a week later that he noticed Bettine Franklin. Bettine was small and dark. There was nothing ‘angelic’ about her. William had noticed her vaguely in school
before and had hardly looked upon her as a distinct personality. But one recreation in the playground he stood leaning against the wall by himself, scowling at Evangeline Fish. She was surrounded
by a crowd of admirers, and was prattling to them artlessly in her angelic voice.
‘I’m going to be dressed in white muslin with a blue sash. Blue suits me, you know. I’m so fair.’ She tossed back a ringlet. ‘One of you will have to hold my train
and the rest must dance round
his hand, staring moodily at his adoring mongrel, Jumble.
‘It’s a rotten world,’ he said, gloomily. ‘I’ve took a lot of trouble over her and she goes and makes me feel sick with chocolates.’
Jumbled wagged his tail, sympathetically.
CHAPTER 8
THE MAY KING
W illiam was frankly bored. School always bored him. He disliked facts, and he disliked being tied down to detail, and he disliked answering
questions. As a politician a great future would have lain before him. William attended a mixed school because his parents hoped that feminine influence might have a mellowing effect upon his
character. As yet the mellowing was not apparent. He was roused from his daydreams by a change in the voice of Miss Dewhurst, his form mistress. It was evident that she was not talking about the
exports of England (a subject in which William took little interest) any longer.
‘Children,’ she said brightly. ‘I want you to have a little May Queen for the first of May. The rest of you must be her courtiers. I want you all to vote tomorrow. Put down on
a piece of paper the name of the little girl you think would make the sweetest little Queen, and the rest of you shall be her swains and maidens.’
‘We’re goin’ to have a May Queen,’ remarked William to his family at dinner, ‘an’ I’m goin’ to be a swain.’
His interested died down considerably when he discovered the meaning of the word swain.
‘Isn’t it no sort of animal at all?’ he asked indignantly.
‘Well, I’m not going to be in it, then,’ he said when he heard that it was not.
The next morning Evangeline Fish began to canvass for votes methodically. Evangeline Fish was very fair, and was dressed always in that shade of blue that shrieks aloud to the heavens and puts
the skies to shame. She was considered the beauty of the form.
‘I’ll give you two bull’s eyes if you’ll vote for me,’ she said to William.
‘ Two! ’ said William with scorn.
‘Six,’ she bargained.
‘All right,’ he said, ‘you can give me six bull’s eyes if you want. There’s nothing to stop you givin’ me six bull’s eyes if you want, is there? Not
that I know of.’
‘But you’ll have to promise to put down my name on the paper if I give you six bull’s eyes,’ she said suspiciously.
‘All right,’ said William. ‘I can easy promise that.’
Whereupon she handed over the six bull’s eyes. William returned one as being under regulation size, and waited frowning till she replaced it by a larger one.
‘Now, you’ve promised,’ said Evangeline Fish. ‘They’ll make you ill an’ die if you break your promise on them.’
William kept his promise with true political address. He wrote ‘E. Fish – I don’t think!’ on his voting paper and his vote was disqualified. But Evangeline Fish
was elected May Queen by an overwhelming majority. She was, after all, the beauty of the form and she always wore blue. And now she was to be May Queen. Her prestige was established for ever.
‘Little angel,’ murmured the elder girls. The small boys fought for her favours. William began to dislike her intensely. Her voice, and her smile, and her ringlets, and her blue dress
began to jar upon his nerves. And when anything began to jar on William’s nerves something always happened.
It was not till about a week later that he noticed Bettine Franklin. Bettine was small and dark. There was nothing ‘angelic’ about her. William had noticed her vaguely in school
before and had hardly looked upon her as a distinct personality. But one recreation in the playground he stood leaning against the wall by himself, scowling at Evangeline Fish. She was surrounded
by a crowd of admirers, and was prattling to them artlessly in her angelic voice.
‘I’m going to be dressed in white muslin with a blue sash. Blue suits me, you know. I’m so fair.’ She tossed back a ringlet. ‘One of you will have to hold my train
and the rest must dance round
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