The master sniffed and the class began to titter ; soon his nose directed him to the culprit .sx He was ordered off to the bathroom , accompanied by another boy who was told to assist in the complete removal of this misguided aid to beauty .sx If you , dear Reader , are a hair-oil addict , ask yourself whether you would like constantly to have the smell of the stuff next to you .sx It may become frightfully " niffy .sx " And besides it may turn your hair into a fly-trap .sx While a little oil of the best quality may be a good thing , you should remember that your scalp has its own oil glands ; and if you encourage these by moving your scalp with your hands you may find that the oil will come naturally , so that you need not spend your pocket-money on bottles which contain oil far inferior to your own .sx Neither Borrow nor Lend .sx Brushing and combing is also excellent for your hair , and you should regard your brush and comb as your own personal property .sx Take Shakespeare's advice so far as these are concerned , and neither a borrower nor a lender be .sx In no circumstances will you ever , I hope , play the goat in another fellow's cap .sx One master suspected that one of his boys used to wear his mortar-board for fun .sx So one day the master put a little seccotine inside his hat and waited for events .sx The boy thought to amuse both himself and his class-mates by sporting the mortar-board .sx When it was time to whip it off , however , he found that it had stuck to his head , and the laugh was turned against him when his master entered the class-room and caught him red-handed , so to speak .sx There was a bit of a bother over the business , and the joker learned a severe lesson to the effect that he should let other people's property rest in peace .sx Some people keep hats for too long a time , and that makes them unsafe for tricks .sx One Irishman had worn his one and only bowler for close on twenty years .sx At last he felt he must buy another .sx This decision was arrived at with great reluctance ; but he walked jauntily into his original hat shop and called out :sx " Well , boys , here I am again !sx " Hair-Raising .sx You have no doubt heard of hair-raising experiences .sx I expect that you have noticed when a dog is very angry his hair stands on end .sx And you yourself must surely have felt your hair rise when you have been frightened out of your wits .sx When driving my car on one occasion the front tyre burst .sx and the car nearly swerved over the edge of a precipice .sx Fortunately I was able to wrench the wheel back on to the road ; but at the time I felt my hair rise on end .sx This feeling is , due to the movement of .sx the little muscles at the hair roots .sx It is here that your hair obtains nourishment and grows .sx Strange as the idea may appear to you , the hair is really a part of the skin .sx The foregoing remark applies also to the nails .sx These have a horny appearance , and if kept in good condition add to the neatness of the hands .sx One of the disadvantages of nails is that they trap dirt so easily .sx For this reason it is desirable that as part of your toilet outfit you should have a good nail brush and a nail file .sx With these you can keep your nails delightfully clean .sx At the same time it would be wise to keep them short , not by biting them ( this is a disgusting habit ) , but by the use of a file or a pair of nail scissors or clippers .sx Your nails must not be regarded as weapons with which to attack , or even to defend yourself against , such enemies as you may have .sx Scratching is best left to the Gentler Sex .sx I think , however , I had better be careful in my remarks here lest some of the Women's Brigade of Equality .sx should march on my citadel .sx I know that my young readers would , if they could , come to the rescue !sx There are Skins and Skins .sx One point about skins you must have noticed .sx It concerns colour .sx The Indians .sx of America are red , the Chinese .sx are yellow , the Negroes are , as .sx the name indicates , black .sx The .sx majority of Indians are brown .sx We Europeans are white .sx Why is there this difference in colour ?sx It is due to certain colouring cells which lie in the skin .sx Especially in the case of the negro they act as a protection from the sun which is very powerful .sx in Africa , which is the home of the negro .sx Clothes .sx In all civilised countries people must wear clothes .sx In cold weather these are absolutely necessary as they help us to remain warm .sx Clothes also often indicate what kind of people we are .sx Let us consider these two points .sx 1 .sx Warmth .sx I have already said that the .sx skin acts like the radiator of a motor-car .sx It allows heat to escape from the body .sx This is all very well in summer .sx But in winter we must keep some of this heat in .sx Woolly clothes are .sx very good for preventing the escape .sx of too much of our heat .sx But it is .sx important to see that we do not .sx wear clothes which are either too .sx heavy or too light , as these would .sx interfere with such exercises as walking and running , which help us to keep warm .sx Clothing should be light and wide .sx enough to enable us to move in all .sx directions and in perfect comfort .sx This applies most particularly to .sx collars .sx You should be able to put .sx the breadth of two fingers between .sx your neck and your collar , otherwise .sx the growth of your neck will be interfered with .sx When you are a man I am sure that you would not like to have a scraggy neck .sx One of the Public Schools where clothes are very sensible is Loretto .sx Apart from foot-gear , in summer they consist simply of a shirt , shorts , and stockings , with or without a jacket .sx The boys change for games , of course , but how much easier is this when there is no need to trouble about braces , a stiff collar , and a tie !sx For .sx Chapel on Sundays smartness is insisted on , and kilts , morning coats , and Eton jackets .sx are worn .sx Throughout the year .sx they walk or run across the links .sx before breakfast , for which the .sx bracing air from the Firth of Forth .sx gives a splendid appetite .sx In winter an undervest and pants , .sx flannel shirt , sweater , and jacket .sx are worn ; but even then some boys prefer to go without the sweater and underpants .sx By the way , Cardinal Wolsey was not , as one fellow imagined , the originator of winter woollies .sx He did , however , lament his fall ( " O , what a " ) .sx Had he sat on the Wool- .sx sack , perhaps things might have been different .sx 2 .sx " Clothes make the .sx Man .sx " A wise man once .sx made that remark ; he .sx meant that the way in .sx which a man dresses goes .sx far to help him in Life .sx For example , if I saw .sx a man untidily dressed , .sx I would immediately feel .sx that he was untidy and careless in other respects .sx A chap who is neat in his clothes indicates that his mind is also neat .sx A friend of mine who is a high bank official tells me that when he is considering applications for jobs or for promotion he takes particular note of the way in which the people are dressed .sx So see that you keep your trousers neatly pressed .sx This reminds me of the story of a Scotsman who had taken a job in a market-town in Kent .sx On the day after his arrival he was seen wandering all .sx over the place with a .sx pair of trousers over his .sx arm .sx He was at length .sx stopped by a policeman , .sx who asked him suspiciously where he was going .sx with the trousers .sx " Oh , " he replied , " I am looking for the Kentish Free Press .sx " The School's Honour .sx Of course each school has its own particular kind of dress , and this the boy must wear .sx For example , Harrow still retains the straw hat and elastic band , while Eton has clung to the topper .sx But everyone will agree that , so far as circumstances will permit , it is better to wear no cap at all .sx Yet when you are wearing the clothes which tell the world that you belong to a particular school you , I know , will be careful as to your behaviour ; for if you were to indulge in some prank , such as riding on the back of a sheep ( which happened recently , to my personal knowledge ) , your school's good name as well as your own would suffer .sx Boys will be boys , of course ; but no farmer likes to see his sheep tormented .sx CHAPTER VIII .sx FILL UP WITH AIR .sx Taking the Air .sx JUST as there are skins and skins , as we have already noted , so there is air and air .sx Many cities have so many factories whose chimneys belch forth smoke that the air people breathe is often laden with soot .sx In this respect Sheffield , which was first made famous by Wilfred of Ivanhoe , is one of the dirtiest cities in England .sx Those who are responsible for the health of schools are keenly aware of the importance of fresh air .sx Schools , such as St Paul's and Charterhouse , have moved from the City of London into the country , where the boys can play games in fine bracing air .sx Westminster , however , remains in London .sx Some day this school may also move ; but if this is ever done I hope that it will be possible to remove some of the splendid stones and beams which are part of the buildings .sx If America can take some of our delightful cottages across the Atlantic and put them up there , I think that Westminster would have no difficulty in re-building part of her school in the country .sx However , this is hardly my affair !sx Every fellow is proud of his chest , at least he should be .sx You all know from your work in the gymnasium what it is to expand your chest .sx This is done by taking in a deep breath ; but really it is the muscles of the trunk which by contracting make a space in the lungs .sx There is a saying that Nature abhors a vacuum ; this means that she hates any space which is unoccupied .sx Air therefore pours into the lungs in order to fill up the space created by the action of the muscles .sx If you want a fine big chest you must practise breathing every day .sx I do not propose to advise you as to how this should de done , for you each have your gymnastic instructor , and if you ask him specially he will show you exactly how to practise deep breathing .sx You will find this most useful during the playing of games and also afterwards .sx So ask your instructor ; he will be delighted .sx Breathing benefits the whole body and makes one cheerful .sx This fact was known to two of the most famous men in the world of song ( and dance) .sx Accordingly they put their heads together they were always doing this and wrote that delightful ditty :sx " Take fresh air :sx get sparkling eyes .sx " Therefore be sure that you know how to breathe correctly .sx Is it not a queer thing , when you come to think of it , that although you sleep during the night your breathing goes on all the time , sometimes more regularly than when you are awake ?sx Occasionally breathing during the night may take the form of snoring , and many a chap has had a pillow thrown at him because he had been disturbing his fellows .sx There is a story told concerning one school dormitory .sx A number of aeroplanes had just passed over the school , flying low and making a terrific noise .sx There was great excitement in the building ; but one dormitory remained unmoved .sx The house-master switched on the light and looked in .sx He asked one of his boys if they hadn't heard the aeroplanes .sx