The Young Cumbrian, and Other Stories of Schoolboys (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: IX. THE WRITING PRIZE. James and Eobert were very great friends. They were of nearly the same age; they went to the same school; they were both very good scholars for their years; which was the better of the two even their master found it hard to say. " If there is any difference," he said, " it is this?James is a little more attentive than Eobert; and Eobert is rather quicker in learning than James." About a month before the school broke up for the holidays, Mr. Deacon, the master, brought into the dining-room a parcel, which he opened on the table round which his scholars were sitting, looking over their lessons for the next day. Among other things, this parcel contained a very pretty little writing-desk. It was made of rose-wood; the corners of it were secured by brass ornaments; and there was a plate of brass let into the wood just in the middle of the top of the desk. What this plate was for, we shall have to tell by-and-by. The little desk was nicely polished, and the brasswork on it made it look very pretty indeed; and the boys, no doubt, took off their eyes from their books, to fix them upon the desk. Mr. Deacon next took a key from his pocket, and unlocked the desk: and then the boys saw that it was lined with red leather, and had a great many contrivances, so as to make it as complete and useful for its purpose as so small a writing-desk could well be. There was a case for writing-paper within; and the lid, when opened, formed a sloping board for writing upon. There was a space parted off for pens, and another for sealing-wax, another for an ink-glass, and another for a sand-glass. There was a little place also for a pen-knife, and another for a paper-knife, and another for a small round ruler. Nor were any of these places empty. The paper-case was f...