“Armstrong, Armstrong?—no man of that name here at present. Ah, I fancy we had a man here of that name some years since.”
“Could you conveniently inform me how long it is since he left?”
The tutor referred to his lists.
“He left three years ago. I remember him now—well.”
“My friend would be extremely grateful for any information. He has lost sight of him since he was at Oxford.”
“Well, the fact is Armstrong was not a particular success here. He was a fairly good scholar, and athlete too, I believe, but his course here ended abruptly.”
“Dear, dear! Do you mean to say he was expelled?”
“Hardly so. But he left the place heavily in debt. At the end of his second year he wrote to the authorities to say that the source of supply on which he had depended for paying his college and other bills (which had accumulated to a very considerable extent) had suddenly ceased, and he was unable to meet his obligations. As he was in destitution, he could make no suggestion for meeting them, and requested us to accept an undertaking from him to discharge them if possible at a future time. Under the circumstances he was informed that he was not to come up again, and his name was struck off the books. I believe that since then a few of his debts have been reduced by small instalments.”
“I am very grieved to hear what you tell me. Could you very kindly tell me the address from which he last wrote?”
“If I remember, it was from a coffee-house in London, and he mentioned that he was hoping to obtain employment as a private tutor in a family.”