More William eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 196 pages of information about More William.

More William eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 196 pages of information about More William.

“It’s a rotten world,” he said, gloomily.  “I’ve took a lot of trouble over her and she goes and makes me feel sick with chocolates.”

Jumble wagged his tail, sympathetically.

CHAPTER VIII

THE MAY KING

William was frankly bored.  School always bored him.  He disliked facts, and he disliked being tied down to detail, and he disliked answering questions.  As a politician a great future would have lain before him.  William attended a mixed school because his parents hoped that feminine influence might have a mellowing effect upon his character.  As yet the mellowing was not apparent.  He was roused from his day-dreams by a change in the voice of Miss Dewhurst, his form mistress.  It was evident that she was not talking about the exports of England (a subject in which William took little interest) any longer.

“Children,” she said brightly.  “I want to have a little May Queen for the first of May.  The rest of you must be her courtiers.  I want you all to vote to-morrow.  Put down on a piece of paper the name of the little girl you think would make the sweetest little Queen, and the rest of you shall be her swains and maidens.”

“We’re goin’ to have a May Queen,” remarked William to his family at dinner, “an’ I’m goin’ to be a swain.”

His interest died down considerably when he discovered the meaning of the word swain.

“Isn’t it no sort of animal at all?” he asked indignantly.

“Well, I’m not going to be in it, then,” he said when he heard that it was not.

The next morning Evangeline Fish began to canvass for votes methodically.  Evangeline Fish was very fair, and was dressed always in that shade of blue that shrieks aloud to the heavens and puts the skies to shame.  She was considered the beauty of the form.

“I’ll give you two bull’s eyes if you’ll vote for me,” she said to William.

Two!” said William with scorn.

“Six,” she bargained.

“All right,” he said, “you can give me six bull’s eyes if you want.  There’s nothing to stop you givin’ me six bull’s eyes if you want, is there?  Not that I know of.”

“But you’ll have to promise to put down my name on the paper if I give you six bull’s eyes,” she said suspiciously.

“All right,” said William.  “I can easy promise that.”

Whereupon she handed over the six bull’s eyes.  William returned one as being under regulation size, and waited frowning till she replaced it by a larger one.

“Now, you’ve promised,” said Evangeline Fish.  “They’ll make you ill an’ die if you break your promise on them.”

William kept his promise with true political address.  He wrote “E.  Fish—­I don’t think!” on his voting paper and his vote was disqualified.  But Evangeline Fish was elected May Queen by an overwhelming majority.  She was, after all, the beauty of the form and she always wore blue.  And now she was to be May Queen.  Her prestige was established for ever.  “Little angel,” murmured the elder girls.  The small boys fought for her favours.  William began to dislike her intensely.  Her voice, and her smile, and her ringlets, and her blue dress began to jar upon his nerves.  And when anything began to jar on William’s nerves something always happened.

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More William from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.