Fellows far below me in scholarship had got ahead of me by force of steady plodding, while I was wasting my time.

The good resolutions which I had brought up with me had one by one fallen overboard, and I had been content enough to take my place among the rowdies without an effort.
I had counted all through on Tempest's backing up.

If he had been keen on the credit of the house, I felt I could have been so too.

If he had been down on me for my neglect of work, I felt I should have stuck to it.

As it was, slackness reigned supreme.