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end of the holidays. He laughed to himself as he thought of
his uncle’s astonishment when he ran down the stairs three
at a time; and after breakfast he and Aunt Louisa would
have to hurry out and buy a new pair of boots. At school
they would be astounded.
‘Hulloa, Carey, what have you done with your foot?’
‘Oh, it’s all right now,’ he would answer casually, as
though it were the most natural thing in the world.
He would be able to play football. His heart leaped as he
saw himself running, running, faster than any of the other
boys. At the end of the Easter term there were the sports,
and he would be able to go in for the races; he rather fan-
cied himself over the hurdles. It would be splendid to be
like everyone else, not to be stared at curiously by new boys
who did not know about his deformity, nor at the baths in
summer to need incredible precautions, while he was un-
dressing, before he could hide his foot in the water.
He prayed with all the power of his soul. No doubts as-
sailed him. He was confident in the word of God. And the
night before he was to go back to school he went up to bed
tremulous with excitement. There was snow on the ground,
and Aunt Louisa had allowed herself the unaccustomed
luxury of a fire in her bed-room; but in Philip’s little room it
was so cold that his fingers were numb, and he had great dif-
ficulty in undoing his collar. His teeth chattered. The idea
came to him that he must do something more than usual
to attract the attention of God, and he turned back the rug
which was in front of his bed so that he could kneel on the
bare boards; and then it struck him that his nightshirt was

0 Of Human Bondage