Tom Brown at Rugby Part 36

"You just come down to my study, then, and I'll show you five sorts,"

said Martin.

"Ay, the old Madman has got the best collection in the house, out and out," said Tom; and then Martin, warming with unaccustomed good cheer and the chance of a convert, launched out into a proposed birds'-nesting campaign, betraying all manner of important secrets; a golden-crested wren's nest near Butlins's Mound, a moor-hen that was sitting on nine eggs in a pond down the Barby road, and a kingfisher's nest in a corner of the old ca.n.a.l above Brownsover Mill. He had heard, he said, that no one had ever got a kingfisher's nest out perfect, and that the British Museum or the Government, or somebody had offered 100 to any one who could bring them a nest and eggs not damaged. In the middle of which astounding announcement, to which the others were listening with open ears, and already considering the application of the 100, a knock came at the door, and East's voice was heard craving admittance.

"There's Harry," said Tom; "we'll let him in--I'll keep him steady, Martin. I thought the old boy would smell out the supper."

The fact was that Tom's heart had already smitten him for not asking his "fidus Achates"[19] to the feast, although only an extempore[20]

affair; and, though prudence and the desire to get Martin and Arthur together alone at first had overcome his scruples, he was now heartily glad to open the door, broach another bottle of beer, and hand over the old ham-knuckle to the searching of his friend's pocket-knife.

[19] #Fidus Achates#: faithful friend.

[20] #Extempore#: off-hand.

"Ah, you greedy vagabonds!" said East, with his mouth full, "I knew there was something going on when I saw you cut off out of the Hall so quick with your suppers."

"Well, old Madman, and how goes the birds'-nesting campaign? How's Howlett? I expect the young rooks'll be out in another fortnight, and then my turn comes."

"There'll be no young rooks fit for pies for a month yet; shows how much you know about it," rejoined Martin, who, though very good friends with East, regarded him with considerable suspicion for his propensity to practical jokes.

"Scud knows nothing and cares for nothing but grub and mischief," said Tom; "but young rook-pie, specially when you've had to climb for the rooks, is very pretty eating. However, I say, Scud, we're all going after a hawk's nest to-morrow, in Caldecott's Spinney; and if you'll come and behave yourself, we'll have a stunning climb."

"And a bathe in Aganippe.[21] Hooray! I'm your man."

[21] #Ag'a-nip'pe#: a famous Grecian fountain; here, the name is applied to some stream or pool.

"No; no bathing in Aganippe; that's where our betters go."

"Well, well, never mind. I'm for the hawk's nest and anything that turns up."

And, his hunger appeased, East departed to his study; "that sneak Jones," as he informed them, who had just got into the sixth, and occupied the next study, having inst.i.tuted a nightly visitation upon East and his chum, to their no small discomfort.

When he was gone, Martin rose to follow, but Tom stopped him. "No one goes near New Row," said he, "so you may just as well stop here and do your verses, and then we'll have some more talk. We'll be no end quiet; besides, no praepostor comes here now--we havn't been visited once this half."

So the table was cleared, the cloth restored, and the three fell to work with Gradus and dictionary upon the morning's Vulgus.

They were three very fair examples of the way in which such tasks were done at Rugby, "in the consulship of Plancus."[22] And doubtless the method is little changed, for there is nothing new under the sun, especially at schools.

[22] #In the consulship of Plancus#: here, meaning in the time of Dr. Arnold.

VULGUSES.

Now be it known unto all you boys who are at schools which do not rejoice in the time-honored inst.i.tution of the Vulgus (commonly supposed to have been established by William of Wykeham[23] at Winchester, and imported to Rugby by Arnold, more for the sake of the lines which were learnt by heart with it, than for its own intrinsic[24] value, as I've always understood), that it is a short exercise, in Greek or Latin verse, on a given subject, the minimum[25]

number of lines being fixed for each form. The master of the form gave out at fourth lesson on the previous day the subject for next morning's Vulgus, and at first lesson each boy had to bring his Vulgus ready to be looked over; and with the Vulgus, a certain number of lines from one of the Latin or Greek poets then being construed in the form had to be got by heart. The master at first lesson called up each boy in the form in order, and put him on in the lines. If he couldn't say them, or seem to say them, by reading them off the master's or some other boy's book who stood near, he was sent back, and went below all the boys who did so say or seem to say them; but in either case his Vulgus was looked over by the master, who gave and entered in his book, to the credit or discredit of the boy, so many marks as the composition merited. At Rugby, Vulgus and lines were the first lesson every other day in the week, or Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sat.u.r.days; and as there were thirty-eight weeks in the school year, it is obvious to the meanest capacity that the master of each form had to set one hundred and fourteen subjects every year, two hundred and twenty-eight every two years, and so on. Now to persons of moderate invention this was a considerable task, and human nature being p.r.o.ne to repeat itself, it will not be wondered that the master gave the same subjects sometimes over again after a certain lapse of time. To meet and rebuke this bad habit of the masters, the schoolboy mind, with its accustomed ingenuity, had invented an elaborate[26] system of tradition. Almost every boy kept his own Vulgus, written out in a book, and these books were duly handed down from boy to boy, till (if the tradition has gone on till now) I suppose the popular boys, in whose hands bequeathed Vulgus-books have acc.u.mulated, are prepared with three or four Vulguses on any subject in heaven or earth, or in "more worlds than one," which an unfortunate master can pitch upon. At any rate, such lucky fellows had generally one for themselves and one for a friend in my time. The only objection to the traditionary method of doing your Vulguses was, the risk that the successions might have become confused, and so that you and another follower of traditions should show up the same identical Vulgus some fine morning; in which case, when it happened, considerable grief was the result--but when did such risk hinder boys or men from short cuts and pleasant paths?

[23] #William of Wykeham#: the founder of Winchester College, the oldest of the great public schools of England. Here Dr.

Arnold fitted for Oxford.

[24] #Intrinsic#: inward, real, true.

[25] #Minimum#: least.

[26] #Elaborate#: prepared or thought out with great care.

THE SCIENCE OF VERSE-MAKING.

Now in the study that night, Tom was the upholder of the traditionary method of Vulgus doing. He carefully produced two large Vulgus books, and began diving into them, and picking out a line here, and an ending there (tags, as they were vulgarly called), till he had gotten all that he thought he could make fit. He then proceeded to patch his tags together with the help of his Gradus, producing an incongruous[27] and feeble result of eight elegiac[28] lines, the minimum quant.i.ty for his form, and finishing up with two highly moral lines extra, making ten in all, which he cribbed[29] entire from one of his books, beginning, "O genus humanum,"[30] and which he himself must have used a dozen times before, whenever an unfortunate or wicked hero, of whatever nation or language under the sun, was the subject. Indeed, he began to have great doubts whether the master wouldn't remember them, and so only threw them in as extra lines, because in any case they would call off attention from the other tags, and if detected, being extra lines, he wouldn't be sent back to do two more in their place, while if they pa.s.sed muster again he would get marks for them.

[27] #Incongruous#: ill-fitting.

[28] #Elegiac#: a kind of verse generally used in expressing sorrow and lamentation.

[29] #Cribbed#: stole, copied.

[30] #O genus humanum#: O human race.

The second method pursued by Martin may be called the dogged, or prosaic, method. He, no more than Tom, took any pleasure in the task, but having no old Vulgus books of his own, or any one's else, could not follow the traditionary method, for which, too, as Tom remarked, he hadn't the genius. Martin then proceeded to write down eight lines in English, of the most matter-of-fact kind, the first that came into his head; and to convert these, line by line, by main force of Gradus and dictionary, into Latin that would scan.[31] This was all he cared for, to produce eight lines with no false quant.i.ties[32] or concords;[33] whether the words were apt, or what the sense was, mattered nothing; and, as the article was all new, not a line beyond the minimum did the followers of the dogged method ever produce.

[31] #Scan#: contain the right number of syllables with the accents in the proper places.

[32] #False quant.i.ties#: long syllables placed where short ones should be used or the reverse.

[33] #Concord#: the agreement of words in construction, as adjectives with nouns in gender, number, and case.

The third, or artistic method, was Arthur's. He considered first what point in the character or event which was the subject could most neatly be brought out within the limits of a Vulgus; trying always to get his idea into the eight lines, but not binding himself to ten or even twelve lines if he couldn't do this. He then set to work, as much as possible without Gradus or other help, to clothe his idea in appropriate Latin or Greek, and would not be satisfied till he had polished it well up with the aptest and most poetic words and phrases he could get at.

A fourth method indeed was used in the school, but of too simple a kind to require comment. It may be called the vicarious[34] method, obtained amongst big boys of lazy or bullying habits, and consisted simply in making clever boys whom they could thrash do their whole Vulgus for them, and construe it to them afterward; which latter is a method not to be encouraged, and which I strongly advise you all not to practise. Of the others, you will find the traditionary most troublesome, unless you can steal the Vulguses whole (_experto crede_),[35] and that the artistic method pays the best, both in marks and other ways.

[34] #Vicarious#: acting for another. Here it means, having it done for em by another.

[35] #Experto crede#: believe one who has had experience.

MARTIN'S DEN.

The Vulguses being finished by nine o'clock, and Martin having rejoiced above measure in the abundance of light, and of Gradus and dictionary, and other conveniences almost unknown to him for getting through the work, and having been pressed by Arthur to come and do his verses there whenever he liked, the three boys went down to Martin's den, and Arthur was initiated into the lore of birds' eggs, to his great delight. The exquisite coloring and forms astonished and charmed him who had scarcely even seen any but a hen's egg or an ostrich's, and by the time he was lugged away to bed he had learned the names of at least twenty sorts, and dreamed of the glorious perils of tree climbing, and that he had found a roc's[36] egg in the island as big as Sindbad's[37] and clouded like a t.i.tlark's, in blowing[38] which, Martin and he had nearly been drowned in the yolk.

[36] #Roc#: a monstrous, imaginary bird.

[37] #Sindbad#: a sailor in the "Arabian Nights' Tales," who had many wonderful adventures.

[38] #Blowing#: two small holes are made at opposite ends of an egg, and the contents are then blown out by the breath.

CHAPTER IV.