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Автор Anonymous
Anonymous
PART I
PART II
PART III. Comings and Goings
PART IV.
Anonymous
The Secret Chronicles of Henry Dashwood, Vol. 1
PART I
Wednesday, November 7th, 1895
'My dear Henry, memory is the diary we all carry with us,' advised my favourite uncle, Sir Robert Bacon, when he presented me with this large day-by-day diary today – my sixteenth birthday.
'But it can often play strange tricks,' he went on, 'and if in later years you would like to remember with complete accuracy the important happenings in your life, the only way to do so is to write down your recollections of these events as soon as possible after they have occurred. 'Yes, Uncle, and it would also be useful to be able to take photographs to complement one's recollections,' I said, hoping that this might trigger the thought to buy me a camera for Christmas.
Unfortunately, Uncle Robert saw through this shameless ploy immediately and grunted: 'H'rmph, well I cannot deny that photography is a fine hobby for any boy, and indeed, you may assume that if I were presented with the proof that you have kept a full and frank account of important incidents in your life from today onwards until I see you on Christmas Eve at Lower Tarlowe (my parents have invited Aunt Lucinda and my uncle to stay over the holidays) you will be far from disappointed with the gift you will receive from me to celebrate the festive season. ' 'You may take this as a promise,' I replied.
Uncle Robert is a decent old stick who can always be relied on to slip a florin in my jacket pocket whenever he visits me, either at home or here at my school, the Albion Academy for the Sons of Gentlefolk. Visits by relatives are normally frowned upon by Dr Muttley, our headmaster, but my birthday has fortunately chanced to coincide with a half holiday, so Uncle was allowed to take afternoon tea with me in the refectory. So, here begins this chronicle of my schooldays and whilst I am composing this narrative, it strikes me that in future years it is quite possible that this record might be seen by eyes other than my own. I should therefore sketch in some background details about myself and some of the other chaps in the Upper Fifth. False modesty is as foolish and vulgar as overweening pride, so the first entry in my diary will be about myself, Henry Edward Ludlow Dash wood.
I am sixteen years old and, at just an inch under six feet, am considered tall for my age. I am reasonably proficient at most academic subjects and am right back and captain of the Academy Colts football team. However, I would be the first to admit that I am somewhat of a duffer on the cricket field, being an indifferent middle-order batsman, a below-average leg spin bowler and an inattentive fieldsman. I share my study with two good friends, Johnny Bridges, who celebrated his sixteenth birthday just two weeks before mine, and George Nugent-Bull who will reach the age of sixteen next Monday. Johnny is slightly shorter than me but has a stockier frame and more hair on his chest – and round his cock! Like myself, Johnny has dark brown hair and similarly coloured eyes, unlike George, the third inhabitant of our study, who has inherited his blond hair and light blue eyes from his Swedish mother. Some fellows think that George has girlish features and he was cruelly teased when he first arrived here. However, whilst he is by nature a mild-mannered sort, who in normal circumstances wouldn't hurt a fly, George's undoubted prowess with his fists soon sends bullies flying. Unlike some other pretty boys, he is very able to fight off the unwanted attentions of predatory prefects in the dormitory, who often try to share his bed after lights out. We're much of a muchness as far as our studies go, though it should be noted that Johnny came top in history in last summer's examinations. Both my friends are in the Colts football team, Johnny at centre forward and George at outside left. Funnily enough, both chaps are also pretty useless on the cricket field, though Johnny did knock up thirty-seven in the traditional match against the Masters who play a team drawn from the Lower Sixth and Upper Fifth during the first week of the Autumn Term.
