The extra subjects had exacted too much of him; there was a limit to his powers.

Within the College this would be well enough understood, but to explain a disagreeable fact is not to change it; his name was written in pitiful subordination.

And as for the public assembly--he would have sacrificed some years of his life to have stepped forward in facile supremacy, beneath the eyes of those clustered ladies.

Instead of that, they had looked upon his shame; they had interchanged glances of amusement at each repetition of his defeat; had murmured comments in their melodious speech; had ended by losing all interest in him--as intuition apprised him was the wont of women.
As soon as he had escaped from his uncle, he relapsed into musing upon the position to which he was condemned when the new session came round.
Again Chilvers would be in the same classes with him, and, as likely as not, with the same result.

In the meantime, they were both 'going in' for the First B.A.; he had no fear of failure, but it might easily happen that Chilvers would achieve higher distinction.