Tom Brown at Rugby Part 15

"They're well enough," answered East, patronizingly, "only uncommon cold at nights sometimes. Gower--that's my chum--and I make a fire with paper on the floor after supper generally, only that makes it so smoky."

"But there's a big fire out in the pa.s.sage," said Tom.

"Precious little we get out of that though," said East; "Jones the praepostor[22] has the study at the fire end, and he has rigged up an iron rod and green baize curtains across the pa.s.sage, which he draws at night, and sits there with his door open, so he gets all the fire, and hears if we come out of our studies after eight, or make a noise.

However, he's taken to sitting in the fifth-form room lately, so we do get a bit of fire now sometimes; only keep a sharp look-out that he don't catch you behind his curtain when he comes down,--that's all."

[22] #Praepostors#: the members of the sixth form, the highest cla.s.s in the school. They were charged with the duty of looking after the other boys.

TOM'S FIRST RUGBY DINNER.

A quarter past one now struck, and the bell began tolling for dinner, so they went into the hall and took their places, Tom at the very bottom of the second table, next to the praepostor (who sat at the end to keep order there), and East a few paces higher. And now Tom for the first time saw his future school-fellows in a body. In they came, some hot and ruddy from foot-ball or long walks, some pale and chilly from hard reading[23] in their studies, some from loitering over the fire at the pastry-cook's, dainty mortals, bringing with them pickles and sauce-bottles to help them with their dinners. And a great big-bearded man, whom Tom took for a master, began calling over the names, while the great joints were being rapidly carved on the third table in the corner by the old verger[24] and the housekeeper. Tom's turn came last, and meanwhile he was all eyes, looking first with awe at the great man who sat close to him, and was helped first, and who read a hard-looking book all the time he was eating: and when he got up and walked off to the fire, at the small boys round him, some of whom were reading, and the rest talking in whispers to one another, or stealing one another's bread, or shooting pellets,[25] or digging their forks through the table-cloth. However, notwithstanding his curiosity, he managed to make a capital dinner by the time the big man called "Stand up!" and said grace.

[23] #Reading#: studying.

[24] #Verger#: here, the porter.

[25] #Pellets#: wads of paper.

As soon as dinner was over, and Tom had been questioned by such neighbors as were curious as to his birth, parentage, education, and other like matters, East, who evidently enjoyed his new dignity of patron and Mentor, proposed having a look at the close,[26] which Tom, athirst for knowledge, gladly a.s.sented to, and they went out through the quadrangle and pa.s.sed the fives' court,[27] into the great play-ground.

[26] #Close#: this close or play-ground contains something over thirteen acres.

[27] #Fives' court#: the s.p.a.ce set apart for playing fives, a game resembling tennis.

"That's the chapel you see," said East, "and there just behind it is the place for fights; you see it's most out of the way of the masters, who all live on the other side and don't come by here after the first lesson or callings-over. That's when the fights come off. And all this part where we are is the little side-ground, right up to the trees, and on the other side of the trees is the big side-ground, where the great matches are played. And there's the island[28] in the farthest corner; you'll know that well enough next half, when there's island f.a.gging.[29] I say, it's horrid cold! let's have a run across;" and away went East, Tom close behind him. East was evidently putting his best foot foremost, and Tom, who was mighty proud of his running, and not a little anxious to show his friend that although a new boy he was no milk-sop, laid himself down to the work in his very best style.

Right across the close they went, each doing all he knew, and there wasn't a yard between them, when they pulled up at the island-moat.

[28] #Island#: the island no longer exists.

[29] #f.a.gging#: the power given the sixth form, by authority and the custom of the school, to require the boys of the lower forms or cla.s.ses to do errands, and act as servants generally.

The system still has its defenders who regard it as a means of discipline.

"I say," said East, as soon as he got his wind, looking with much increased respect at Tom, "you aren't a bad scud, not by no means.

Well, I'm warm as toast now."

WHITE TROUSERS IN NOVEMBER.

"But why do you wear white trousers in November?" said Tom. He had been struck by this peculiarity in the costume of almost all the School-house boys.

"Why, bless us, don't you know?--No, I forgot. Why, to-day's the School-house match. Our house plays the whole of the School at foot-ball.[30] And we all wear white trousers to show 'em we don't care for hacks.[31] You're in luck to come to-day. You just will see a match; and Brooke's going to let me play in quarters. That's more than he'll do for any other lower-school boy, except James, and he is fourteen."

[30] #Foot-ball#: foot-ball is the great game at Rugby. It first became popular in America under the Rugby rules, which, though modified, are still the basis of the game as now played.

[31] #Hacks#: kicks on the shins.

"Who is Brooke?"

"Why, that big fellow who called over at dinner, to be sure. He's c.o.c.k of the school, and head of the School-house side, and the best kick and charger in Rugby."

"Oh, but do show me where they play. And tell me about it. I love foot-ball so, and have played all my life. Won't Brooke let me play?"

"Not he," said East, with some indignation; "why, you don't know the rules,--you'll be a month learning them. And then it's no joke playing-up, in a match, I can tell you. Quite another thing from your private school games. Why, there's been two collar-bones broken this half, and a dozen fellows lamed. And last year a fellow had his leg broken."

Tom listened with the profoundest respect to this chapter of accidents, and followed East across the level ground till they came to a sort of gigantic gallows of two poles eighteen feet high, fixed upright in the ground some fourteen feet apart, with a cross-bar running from one to the other at the height of ten feet or thereabouts.

EAST DISCOURSETH ON FOOT-BALL.

"This is one of the goals," said East, "and you see the other across there, right opposite, under the Doctor's wall. Well, the match is for the best of three goals; whichever side kicks two goals wins: and it won't do, you see, just to kick the ball through these posts, it must go over the cross-bar; any height'll do, so long as it's between the posts. You'll have to stay in goal to touch the ball when it rolls behind the posts, because if the other side touch it they have a try at goal. Then we fellows in quarters, we play just about in front of goal here, and have to turn the ball and kick it back before the big fellows on the other side can follow it up. And in front of us all the big fellows play, and that's where the scrummages are mostly."

Tom's respect increased as he struggled to make out his friend's technicalities,[32] and the other set to work to explain the mysteries of "off your side," "drop-kicks," "punts," "places," and the other intricacies of the great science of foot-ball.

[32] #Technicalities#: here, phrases peculiar to foot-ball.

"But how do you keep the ball between the goals?" said he; "I can't see why it mightn't go right down to the chapel."

"Why, that's out of play," answered East. "You see this gravel walk running down all along this side of the playing-ground, and the line of elms opposite on the other? Well, they're the bounds. As soon as the ball gets past them, it's in touch, and out of play. And then whoever first touches it, has to knock it straight out amongst the players-up, who make two lines with a s.p.a.ce between them, every fellow going on his own side. Aren't there just fine scrummages then! and the three trees you see there which come out into the play, that's a tremendous place when the ball hangs there, for you get thrown against the trees, and that's worse than any hack."

Tom wondered within himself, as they strolled back again towards the fives' court, whether the matches were really such break-neck affairs as East represented, and whether, if they were, he should ever get to like them and play-up well.

CALLING-OVER.

He hadn't long to wonder, however, for the next minute East cried out: "Hurra; here's the punt-about--come along and try your hand at a kick." The punt-about is the practice-ball, which is just brought out and kicked about anyhow from one boy to another before callings-over and dinner, and at other odd times. They joined the boys who had brought it out, all small School-house fellows, friends of East; and Tom had the pleasure of trying his skill, and performed very creditably, after first driving his foot three inches into the ground, and then nearly kicking his leg into the air, in vigorous efforts to accomplish a drop-kick after the manner of East.

Presently more boys and bigger came out, and boys from other houses on their way to callings-over, and more b.a.l.l.s were sent for. The crowd thickened as three o'clock approached; and when the hour struck, one hundred and fifty boys were hard at work. Then the b.a.l.l.s were held, the master of the week came down in cap and gown[33] to calling-over, and the whole school of three hundred boys swept into the Big School[34] to answer to their names.

[33] #Cap and gown#: It is customary in England for holders of academic degrees to wear at times the appropriate cap and gown indicating their grade and college.

[34] #The Big School#: the name of one of the school buildings at Rugby.

"I may come in, mayn't I?" said Tom, catching East by the arm and longing to feel one of them.

"Yes, come along, n.o.body'll say anything. You won't be so eager to get into calling-over after a month," replied his friend; and they marched into the Big School together, and up to the further end, where that ill.u.s.trious form, the lower fourth, which had the honor of East's patronage for the time-being, stood.

The master mounted into the high desk by the door, and one of the praepostors of the week stood by him on the steps, the other three marching up and down the middle of the school with their canes,[35]

calling out "Silence, silence!" The sixth form stood close by the door on the left, some thirty in number, mostly great, big, grown men, as Tom thought, surveying them from a distance with awe. The fifth form behind them, twice their number, and not quite so big. These on the left; and on the right the lower fifth, sh.e.l.l,[36] and all the junior forms in order; while up the middle marched the three praepostors.

[35] #Canes#: light, limber rattans used as rods.

[36] #Sh.e.l.l#: the lower fourth form or cla.s.s.

Then the praepostor who stands by the master calls out the names, beginning with the sixth form; and as he calls, each boy answers "here" to his name, and walks out. Some of the sixth stop at the door to turn the whole string of boys into the close; it is a great match day, and every boy in the school will-he, nill-he,[37] must be there.

The rest of the sixth go forward into the close, to see that no one escapes by any of the side gates.

[37] #Will-he, nill-he#: willing or not.