Fate Cannot Harm Me (30 page)

Again I was walking down Piccadilly. Could it be only a few hours since I had started, full of bright and eager hopes? A prostitute sidled towards me; I saw her lips shaping themselves into a smile, then, as she caught sight of my face, she turned aside and hurried away
.

“My God, poor devil,” I heard her mutter
.

So I looked like that, did I! I quickened my pace, for I wanted no useless pity. And to my mind there came a vision of the frozen south, and I saw again Christiansen with his deft fingers meticulously opening those interminable tins
.

THE END

¹
For the history of this man, and others in St. Thomas's, see
An Oxford Tragedy
.

²
See
An Oxford Tragedy
.

³
Of whom more later in this book.

⁴
See
An Oxford Tragedy
.

Sir John Cecil Masterman, (1891–1977), was a son of Captain John Masterman and he was originally destined to follow his father's footsteps. Masterman spent five years as a naval cadet but dropped out as he felt unsuited for a military career. Instead he pursued academic interests and in 1909 was elected for a scholarship in modern history at Worcester College, Oxford; academic life became his lifelong devotion.

Masterman was a dedicated sportsman and played cricket, lawn tennis and hockey for England in international matches.

His literary works were often inspired by his Oxford life and historical pursuits.

Discover books by J. C. Masterman published by Bloomsbury Reader at
www.bloomsbury.com/JCMasterman

An Oxford Tragedy
Fate Cannot Harm Me
The Case of the Four Friends

For copyright reasons, any images not belonging to the original author have been removed from this book. The text has not been changed, and may still contain references to missing images.

This electronic edition published in 2014 by Bloomsbury Reader

Bloomsbury Reader is a division of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc,
50 Bedford Square, London WC1B 3DP

First published in Great Britain in 1940 by Penguin

Copyright © 1940 J. C. Masterman

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eISBN: 9781448214273

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