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being happy, he was able to work, and during the remain-
ing weeks of the term set himself to make up for his long
neglect. His brain worked easily, and he took a keen plea-
sure in the activity of his intellect. He did very well in the
examinations that closed the term. Mr. Perkins made only
one remark: he was talking to him about an essay he had
written, and, after the usual criticisms, said:
‘So you’ve made up your mind to stop playing the fool for
a bit, have you?’
He smiled at him with his shining teeth, and Philip,
looking down, gave an embarrassed smile.
The half dozen boys who expected to divide between
them the various prizes which were given at the end of the
summer term had ceased to look upon Philip as a serious
rival, but now they began to regard him with some uneasi-
ness. He told no one that he was leaving at Easter and so was
in no sense a competitor, but left them to their anxieties. He
knew that Rose flattered himself on his French, for he had
spent two or three holidays in France; and he expected to
get the Dean’s Prize for English essay; Philip got a good deal
of satisfaction in watching his dismay when he saw how
much better Philip was doing in these subjects than him-
self. Another fellow, Norton, could not go to Oxford unless
he got one of the scholarships at the disposal of the school.
He asked Philip if he was going in for them.
‘Have you any objection?’ asked Philip.
It entertained him to think that he held someone else’s
future in his hand. There was something romantic in get-
ting these various rewards actually in his grasp, and then

1 0 Of Human Bondage