P. G. Wodehouse

Name: The Man Upstairs and Other Stories — Out of School
Author: P. G. Wodehouse

The Man Upstairs and Other Stories… (1914)

Summary

“The Man Upstairs and Other Stories — Out of School”, published in 1914, is a work by P. G. Wodehouse. It explores elements such as Blatherwick, Adolf and James.

Quotes from The Man Upstairs and Other Stories… (P. G. Wodehouse)

P. G. Wodehouse, The Man Upstairs and Other Stories… (1914)

“ Mr Blatherwick had been a gold-mine to him for years. As a rule, the proprietor of Harrow House unbelted without complaint, for Bertie, as every good borrower should, had that knack of making his victim feel during the actual moment of paying over, as if he had just made a rather good investment. But released from the spell of his brother-in-law's personal magnetism, Mr Blatherwick was apt to brood. He was brooding now. Why, he was asking himself morosely, should he be harassed by this Bertie? It was not as if Bertie was penniless. He had a little income of his own. ”

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Source: Wikisource

P. G. Wodehouse, The Man Upstairs and Other Stories… (1914)

“ James, for his part, was all against the Colonies. As a setting for his career, that is to say. He was no Little Englander. He had no earthly objection to Great Britain having Colonies. By all means have Colonies. They could rely on him for moral support. But when it came to legging it out to West Australia to act as a sort of valet to Uncle Frederick's beastly sheep—no. Not for James. For him the literary life. Yes, that was James's dream—to have a stab at the literary life. ”

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Source: Wikisource

P. G. Wodehouse, The Man Upstairs and Other Stories… (1914)

“ James's impressions of that portion of his life were made up almost entirely of chalk. Chalk in the school-room, chalk all over the country-side, chalk in the milk. In this universe of chalk he taught bored boys the rudiments of Latin, geography, and arithmetic, and in the evenings, after a stately cup of coffee with Mr Blatherwick in his study, went to his room and wrote stories. The life had the advantage of offering few distractions. ”

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Source: Wikisource

P. G. Wodehouse, The Man Upstairs and Other Stories… (1914)

“ Mr Blatherwick held the view that for a private school a male front-door opener was superior to a female, arguing that the parents of prospective pupils would be impressed by the sight of a man in livery. He would have liked something a bit more imposing than Adolf, but the latter was the showiest thing that could be got for the money, so he made the best of it, and engaged him. After all, an astigmatic parent, seeing Adolf in a dim light, might be impressed by him. You never could tell.
'Well?' said James, glaring. ”

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Source: Wikisource

P. G. Wodehouse, The Man Upstairs and Other Stories… (1914)

“ Whenever they came to the back door of Harrow House they all kissed Violet.
'I've had a story accepted by the Universal Magazine,' said James, casually.
'Have you, sir?' said Violet.
'It's a pretty good magazine. I shall probably do a great deal for it from time to time. The editor seems a decent chap.'
'Does he, sir?'
'I shan't tie myself up in any way, of course, unless I get very good terms. But I shall certainly let him see a good lot of my stuff. ”

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Source: Wikisource

P. G. Wodehouse, The Man Upstairs and Other Stories… (1914)

“ But if he fell short in any way as a handler of small boys he was to descend a step in the animal kingdom and be matched against the West Australian sheep. There was to be no second chance in the event of failure. From the way Uncle Frederick talked James almost got the idea that he attached a spiritual importance to a connexion with sheep. He seemed to strive with a sort of religious frenzy to convert James to West Australia. So James went to Harrow House with much the same emotions that the Old Guard must have felt on their way up the hill at Waterloo. ”

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Source: Wikisource

P. G. Wodehouse, The Man Upstairs and Other Stories… (1914)

“ Five minutes later James, back in the atmosphere of chalk, was writing on the blackboard certain sentences for his class to turn into Latin prose. A somewhat topical note ran through them. As thus:
'The uncle of Balbus wished him to tend sheep in the Colonies (Provincia) .'
'Balbus said that England was good enough for him (placeo) .'
'Balbus sent a story (versus) to Maecenas, who replied that he hoped to use it in due course.'
His mind floated away from the classroom when a shrill voice brought him back. ”

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Source: Wikisource

P. G. Wodehouse, The Man Upstairs and Other Stories… (1914)

“ They were men of widely differing views on most points. On religion, politics, and the prospects of the entrants for the three o'clock race their opinions clashed. But in one respect they were unanimous. ”

P. G. Wodehouse

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Quotes from The Man Upstairs and Other Stories… (P. G. Wodehouse)

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