“He punished me when I did not deserve it; and he praised me when I did not deserve it. I was cheated and injured that Saturday; and, instead of seeing me righted, Mr Tooke ordered me to be punished. And to-day, when my theme was so badly done that I made sure of being blamed, he praised me.”
“This might be injustice at home,” replied Firth, “because parents know, or ought to know, all that is in their children’s minds, and exactly what their children can do. A schoolmaster can judge only by what he sees. Mr Tooke does not know yet that you could have done your theme better than you did—as your mother would have known. When he finds you can do better, he will not praise such a theme again. Meantime, how you can boast of his praise, if you think it unjust, is the wonder to me.”
“So it is to me now. I wish I had never asked to do that theme at all,” cried Hugh, again stretching himself to get rid of his shame. “But why did Mr Tooke order me to be caned? Why did he not make Lamb and Holt pay me what they owe? I was injured before: and he injured me more.”
“You were to be caned because you left the heath and entered a house without leave—not because you had been cheated of your money.”
“But I did not know where I was going. I never meant to enter a house.”
“But you did both; and what you suffered will prevent your letting yourself be led into such a scrape again. As for the money part of the matter—a school is to boys what the world is when they become men. They must manage their own affairs among themselves. The difference is, that here is the master to be applied to, if we choose. He will advise you about your money, if you choose to ask him: but, for my part, I would rather put up with the loss, if I were you.”
“Nobody will ever understand what I mean about justice,” muttered Hugh.
“Suppose,” said Firth, “while you are complaining of injustice in this way, somebody else should be complaining in the same way of your injustice.”
“Nobody can—fairly,” replied Hugh.
“Do you see that poor fellow, skulking there under the orchard-wall?”