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Frank, who had spent half an hour in the kitchen treating Mrs. Tory and the old parlourmaid Freeman to the first line of Caesar adsum jam, with a promise of the rest when his schoolmaster could remember it, was bursting to try it upon a more widely educated audience. So as soon as the Admiral had begun his dinner Frank, pushing a large mouthful of biscuit into one cheek with his tongue, said, rather thickly:

"Grandpapa, did you do Caesar at school?"

"I did," said the Admiral. "And if I didn't do my work properly I was caned."

"Mr. Dale doesn't cane people much," said Frank apologetically, "but when one of the boys threw the ink at Tom and it went on the wall instead, he gave him three good ones."

"I'm glad to hear it," said the Admiral. "Have you been caned yet, young man?"

"Not quite," said Frank, feeling that he was wanting in the manlier qualities. "But Mr. Dale said if I gave him the vocative of filius as filie again he'd kill me."

He looked hopefully at his grandfather.

"And are you doing Caesar?" said the Admiral.