I have less sympathy for little Tadpole Phelps than some. Watson says that they were all aware of Phelps important relations, despite their young age, and I have the feeling that maybe that was because Phelps himself went on about it. That, together with the fact that he was two classes above the others of his age, which he may well also have gloated about, might well encourage the other boys to show him exactly what they thought of him.