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Literary Lapses
·
Stephen Leacock
61
"When
I
first
knew
him,"
Ah-Yen
went
on,
"Fifty-Six
was
a
student
at
the
university.
This,
of
course,
I
did
not
know
for
some
time.
I
inferred
it,
however,
in
the
course
of
time,
from
his
absence
from
town
during
the
four
summer
months,
and
from
the
fact
that
during
the
time
of
the
university
examinations
the
cuffs
of
his
shirts
came
to
me
covered
with
dates,
formulas,
and
propositions
in
geometry.
I
followed
him
with
no
little
interest
through
his
university
career.
During
the
four
years
which
it
lasted,
I
washed
for
him
every
week;
my
regular
connection
with
him
and
the
insight
which
my
observation
gave
me
into
the
lovable
character
of
the
man,
deepened
my
first
esteem
into
a
profound
affection
and
I
became
most
anxious
for
his
success.
I
helped
him
at
each
succeeding
examination,
as
far
as
lay
in
my
power,
by
starching
his
shirts
half-way
to
the
elbow,
so
as
to
leave
him
as
much
room
as
possible
for
annotations.
My
anxiety
during
the
strain
of
his
final
examination
I
will
not
attempt
to
describe.
That
Fifty-Six
was
undergoing
the
great
crisis
of
his
academic
career,
I
could
infer
from
the
state
of
his
handkerchiefs
which,
in
apparent
unconsciousness,
he
used
as
pen-wipers
during
the
final
test.
His
conduct
throughout
the
examination
bore
witness
to
the
moral
development
which
had
taken
place
in
his
character
during
his
career
as
an
undergraduate;
for
the
notes
upon
his
cuffs
which
had
been
so
copious
at
his
earlier
examinations
were
limited
now
to
a
few
hints,
and
these
upon
topics
so
intricate
as
to
defy
an
ordinary
memory.
It
was
with
a
thrill
of
joy
that
I
at
last
received
in
his
laundry
bundle
one
Saturday
early
in
June,
a
ruffled
dress
shirt,
the
bosom
of
which
was
thickly
spattered
with
the
spillings
of
the
wine-cup,
and
realized
that
Fifty-Six
had
banqueted
as
a
Bachelor
of
Arts.
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