That is to say, they knew that Georgie
Bassett was a boy set apart; but they did not know that they knew
it. Georgie's air and manner at all times demonstrated to them
that the thing was so, and, moreover, their mothers absorbed
appreciation of Georgie's wonderfulness from the very fount of
it, for Mrs. Bassett's conversation was of little else. Thus, the
radiance of his character became the topic of envious parental
comment during moments of strained patience in many homes, so
that altogether the most remarkable fact to be stated of Georgie
Bassett is that he escaped the consequences as long as he did.
Strange as it may seem, no actual violence was done him, except
upon the incidental occasion of a tar-fight into which he was
drawn by an obvious eccentricity on the part of destiny.
Naturally, he was not popular with his comrades; in all games he
was pushed aside, and disregarded, being invariably the
tail-ender in every pastime in which leaders "chose sides"; his
counsels were slighted as worse than weightless, and all his
opinions instantly hooted. Still, considering the circumstances
fairly and thoughtfully, it is difficult to deny that his boy
companions showed creditable moderation in their treatment of
him.
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