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behind him.
‘He got off because he’s a cripple,’ he said angrily.
Philip stood silent and flushed. He felt that they looked
at him with contempt.
‘How many did you get?’ one boy asked Singer.
But he did not answer. He was angry because he had
been hurt
‘Don’t ask me to play Nibs with you again,’ he said to
Philip. ‘It’s jolly nice for you. You don’t risk anything.’
‘I didn’t ask you.’
‘Didn’t you!’
He quickly put out his foot and tripped Philip up. Philip
was always rather unsteady on his feet, and he fell heavily
to the ground.
‘Cripple,’ said Singer.
For the rest of the term he tormented Philip cruelly, and,
though Philip tried to keep out of his way, the school was so
small that it was impossible; he tried being friendly and jol-
ly with him; he abased himself, so far as to buy him a knife;
but though Singer took the knife he was not placated. Once
or twice, driven beyond endurance, he hit and kicked the
bigger boy, but Singer was so much stronger that Philip was
helpless, and he was always forced after more or less torture
to beg his pardon. It was that which rankled with Philip:
he could not bear the humiliation of apologies, which were
wrung from him by pain greater than he could bear. And
what made it worse was that there seemed no end to his
wretchedness; Singer was only eleven and would not go to
the upper school till he was thirteen. Philip realised that he

0 Of Human Bondage