Straight On; A Story for Young and Old

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1891 edition. Excerpt: ...relationship in that direction, somehow; as to the little girl, he thought about her a good deal, too! She would be something quite new to him, he had scarcely seen--certainly, never talked to a girl of that age--and it must be confessed to his shame that he was not at all anxious to become better acquainted with little girls. One of the greatest insults that a boy at school could receive, was to be compared to ' a girl, and this Philip knew. If a boy was nervous, cowardly, fond of amusements that were not considered manly, or greedy, or fond of talking, his companions would express their contempt for him by saying, He's just like a girl; and Philip made up his mind that if they united all the different faults he had heard imputed to them, they must be very disagreeable, in fact, quite a disgraceful sort of beings! He saw that Robert and Pierre, however, were very glad to be able to go back and spend their Sundays at their Aunt Marie's, and, as he knew that up to that time their pleasures had never been his, he thought that he should spend his time in the Ermele household much as he did at school, and all he hoped was that he might find two large trees where he might hide himself between their trunks as he didin the playground. He was thinking of these things all the way to the house, while exchanging unmeaning remarks with his cousins of whom he did not care to ask any questions about the place. He knew what value was to be placed upon Pierre's account of people and things, and he instinctively distrusted Robert even more, so he made up his mind that he would form his own unbiassed opinion of the people he was going to see for the first time, without being influenced by anyone. The first sight of the house, standing in its pretty garden, ...