"But he couldn't blame us
for not wanting to have him."
Other members of the Society came to the same conclusion, and it was
generally said that Fletcher had done himself no good by his
undignified resentment. His parting taunt levelled at Harry was
regarded as mean and ungenerous, and only strengthened the sentiment
in favor of our hero who bore his honors modestly. In fact Tom
Carver, who was fond of fun, conceived a project for mortifying
Fletcher, and readily obtained the co-operation of his classmates.
It must be premised that Fitz was vain of his reading and
declamation. He had a secret suspicion that, if he should choose to
devote his talents to the stage, he would make a second Booth. This
self-conceit of his made it the more easy to play off the following
joke upon him.
A fortnight later, the young ladies of the village proposed to hold a
Fair to raise funds for some public object. At the head of the
committee of arrangements was a sister of the doctor's wife, named
Pauline Clinton. This will explain the following letter which,
Fletcher received the succeeding day:--
"FITZGERALD FLETCHER, ESQ.--Dear Sir: Understanding that you are a
superior reader, we should be glad of your assistance in lending
_eclat_ to the Fair which we propose to hold on the evening of the
29th. Will you be kind enough to occupy twenty minutes by reading
such selections as in your opinion will be of popular interest? It
is desirable that you should let me know as soon as possible what
pieces you have selected, that they may be printed on the programme.
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