Barry Pain

“ It's equivalent to saying that you can't manage your own business. Boys have no mercy on a master who reports; they regard him as a weakling and a sneak. I would never report a chap myself—except, of course, in the case of one of those offences which mean immediate expulsion, and we've never had any of those."
"I wish to goodness you'd told me all this before, Whitcombe," said Ernest dolefully. ”

“ Boys, as a rule, treat the new master kindly for the first day or two; they regard him as being on probation, and wish to see what can be done with him. Therefore, on the first day Ernest Willis had an opportunity of studying the methods of Mr. Millen and of Mr. Whitcombe, in order to ascertain how discipline might be maintained. Mr. Millen was quiet and incisive in his manner, and was occasionally satirical. Discipline was perfect in his class, and Ernest decided that he had now got the secret. However, the next hour brought Whitcombe into the class-room. ”

“ As a matter of fact, Whitcombe was merely reaping the excellent crop which he had previously sown. He could afford now to be quite passive.
But Ernest was staggered, and came rather rashly to the conclusion that there was nothing in it—anybody could manage boys.
II.
Three days later, the boys were in the habit of speaking of Mr. Willis as Ernest. When boys speak of a master by his first name, it is either a very good sign or a very bad sign; if the name is Ernest, it is a very bad sign. Nicknames are another matter; some of the most effective masters have uncomplimentary nicknames. ”

“ Do you think I'd better resign? It's no good waiting to be fired out."
"No. Give it a chance. You've made a bad start, but you may pull round yet. Millen's bound to make some allowance for want of experience; I'll bet he did when he fixed your salary."
III.
Millen did not like so much reporting, and he told Willis so. He had heard the noise in preparation the previous evening, and proposed later in the week to pay the class-room a surprise visit. "That may help you," he said with a sigh, "but it all depends on you in the end, Willis." ”

“ There was nothing princely about the dinner we've just eaten, and our rooms are not palaces. But we're fairly comfortable, and better treated than half the assistant masters in private schools. This place was my third attempt, so I know something about it. ”