TosaythatRickiewasacat’s—pawistoputittoostrongly。
Herbertwasstrictlyhonourable，andneverpushedhimintoanillegalorreallydangerousposition;butthereisnodoubtthatonthisandonmanyotheroccasionshehadtodothingsthathewouldnototherwisehavedone。Therewasalwayssomediplomaticcornerthathadtobeturned，alwayssomethingthathehadtosayornottosay。Asthetermworeonhelosthisindependence——
almostwithoutknowingit。Hehadmuchtolearnaboutboys，andhelearntnotbydirectobservation——forwhichhebelievedhewasunfitted——butbysedulousimitationofthemoreexperiencedmasters。Originallyhehadintendedtobefriendswithhispupils，andMr。Pembrokecommendedtheintentionhighly;butyoucannotbefriendseitherwithboyormanunlessyougiveyourselfawayintheprocess，andMr。Pembrokedidnotcommendthis。He，for\"personalintercourse，\"substitutedthesafer\"personalinfluence，\"andgavehisjuniorhintsonthesettingofkindlytraps，inwhichtheboydoesgivehimselfawayandrevealshisshydelicatethoughts，whilethemaster，intact，commendsorcorrectsthem。OriginallyRickiehadmeanttohelpboysintheanxietiesthattheyundergowhenchangingintomen:atCambridgehehadnumberedthisamonglife’sduties。Buthereisasubjectinwhichwemustinevitablyspeakasonehumanbeingtoanother，notasonewhohasauthorityortheshadowofauthority，andforthisreasontheelderschool—mastercouldsuggestnothingbutafewformulae。Formulae，likekindlytraps，werenotinRickie’sline，soheabandonedthesesubjectsaltogetherandconfinedhimselftoworkinghardatwhatwaseasy。InthehousehedidasHerbertdid，andreferredalldoubtfulsubjectstohim。Inhisform，oddlyenough，hebecameamartinet。Itissomuchsimplertobesevere。Hegraspedtheschoolregulations，andinsistedonpromptobediencetothem。Headoptedthedoctrineofcollectiveresponsibility。Whenoneboywaslate，hepunishedthewholeform。\"Ican’thelpit，\"hewouldsay，asifhewasapowerofnature。Asateacherhewasratherdull。Hecurbedhisownenthusiasms，findingthattheydistractedhisattention，andthatwhilehethrobbedtothemusicofVirgiltheboysinthebackrowweregettingunruly。Butonthewholehelikedhisformwork:heknewwhyhewasthere，andHerbertdidnotovershadowhimsocompletely。
WhatwasamisswithHerbert？Hehadknownthatsomethingwasamiss，andhadenteredintopartnershipwithopeneyes。Themanwaskindandunselfish;morethanthathewastrulycharitable，anditwasarealpleasuretohimtogive——pleasuretoothers。
Certainlyhemighttalktoomuchaboutitafterwards;butitwasthedoing，notthetalking，thathereallyvalued，andbenefactorsofthissortarenottoocommon。Hewas，moreover，diligentandconscientious:hisheartwasinhiswork，andhisadherencetotheChurchofEnglandnomerematterofform。Hewascapableofaffection:hewasusuallycourteousandtolerant。Thenwhatwasamiss？Why，inspiteofallthesequalities，shouldRickiefeelthattherewassomethingwrongwithhim——nay，thathewaswrongasawhole，andthatiftheSpiritofHumanityshouldeverholdajudgmenthewouldassuredlybeclassedamongthegoats？Theansweratfirstsightappearedagracelessone——itwasthatHerbertwasstupid。Notstupidintheordinarysense——hehadabusiness—likebrain，andacquiredknowledgeeasily——butstupidintheimportantsense:hiswholelifewascolouredbyacontemptoftheintellect。Thathehadatolerableintellectofhisownwasnotthepoint:itisinwhatwevalue，notinwhatwehave，thatthetestofusresides。Now，Rickie’sintellectwasnotremarkable。Hecametohisworthierresultsratherbyimaginationandinstinctthanbylogic。Anargumentconfusedhim，andhecouldwithdifficultyfollowitevenonpaper。Buthesawinthisnoreasonforsatisfaction，andtriedtomakesuchuseofhisbrainashecould，justasaweakathletemightlovinglyexercisehisbody。Likeaweakathlete，too，helovedtowatchtheexploits，orrathertheefforts，ofothers——theireffortsnotsomuchtoacquireknowledgeastodispelalittleofthedarknessbywhichweandallouracquisitionsaresurrounded。Cambridgehadtaughthimthis，andheknew，iffornootherreason，thathistimetherehadnotbeeninvain。AndHerbert’scontemptforsucheffortsrevoltedhim。Hesawthatforallhisfinetalkaboutaspirituallifehehadbutonetestforthings——success: