It is a case which actually occurred as here narrated.
In a school where nearly all the pupils were faithful and docile, there were one or two boys who were determined to find amusement in those mischievous tricks so common in schools and colleges.

There was one boy, in particular, who was the life and soul of all these plans.

Devoid of principle, idle as a scholar, morose and sullen in his manners, he was, in every respect, a true specimen of the whole class of mischief-makers, wherever they are to be found.

His mischief consisted, as usual, in such exploits as stopping up the keyhole of the door, upsetting the teacher's inkstand, or fixing something to his desk to make a noise and interrupt the school.
It so happened that there was a standing feud between the boys of his neighborhood and those of another situated a mile or two from it.

By his malicious activity he had stimulated this quarrel to a high pitch, and was very obnoxious to the boys of the other party.