It was drawing toward the close of Arthur's first half-year, and the May evenings were lengthening out. Locking-up was not till eight o'clock, and everybody was beginning to talk about what he would do in the holidays. The sh.e.l.l, in which form all our _dramatis personae_[5]

now are, were reading amongst other things the last book of Homer's "Iliad,"[6] and had worked through it as far as the speeches of the women over Hector's[7] body. It is a whole school-day, and four or five of the School-house boys (amongst whom are Arthur, Tom, and East) are preparing third lesson together. They have finished the regulation forty lines, and are for the most part getting very tired, notwithstanding the exquisite pathos of Helen's[8] lamentation. And now several long four-syllable words come together, and the boy with the dictionary strikes work.

[5] #Dramatis personae#: persons represented in a drama or in a story.

[6] #Homer's Iliad#: a Greek epic poem relating the siege of Ilium or Troy.

[7] #Hector#: a Trojan hero slain in the siege of Troy.

[8] #Helen#: a beautiful Grecian princess whose abduction by Paris of Troy caused the Trojan war.

"I am not going to look out any more words," says he; "we've done the quant.i.ty. Ten to one we sha'n't get so far. Let's go out into the close."

"Come along, boys," cries East, always ready to leave "the grind," as he called it; "our old coach[9] is laid up, you know, and we shall have one of the new masters, who's sure to go slow and let us down easy."

[9] #Coach#: teacher or tutor.

So an adjournment to the close was carried _nem con._,[10] little Arthur not daring to uplift his voice; but, being deeply interested in what they were reading, stayed quietly behind, and learned on for his own pleasure.

[10] #Nem. con.#: no one objecting.

As East had said, the regular master of the form was unwell, and they were to be heard by one of the new masters, quite a young man, who had only just left the university. Certainly it would be hard lines, if, by dawdling as much as possible in coming in and taking their places, entering into long-winded explanations of what was the usual course of the regular master of the form, and others of the stock contrivances of boys for wasting time in school, they could not spin out the lesson so that he should not work them through more than the forty lines; as to which quant.i.ty there was a perpetual fight going on between the master and his form, the latter insisting, and enforcing by pa.s.sive resistance, that it was the prescribed quant.i.ty of Homer for a sh.e.l.l lesson,[11] the former that there was no fixed quant.i.ty, but that they must always be ready to go on to fifty or sixty lines if there were time within the hour. However, notwithstanding all their efforts, the new master got on horribly quick; he seemed to have the bad taste to be really interested in the lesson, and to be trying to work them up into something like appreciation of it, giving them good spirited English words, instead of the wretched bald stuff into which they rendered poor old Homer, and construing over each piece himself to them, after each boy, to show them how it should be done.

[11] #Sh.e.l.l lesson#: a lesson for the sh.e.l.l, or lower fourth form or cla.s.s.

Now the clock strikes the three-quarters; there is only a quarter of an hour more, but the forty lines are all but done. So the boys, one after another, who are called up, stick more and more, and make balder and even more bald work of it. The poor young master is pretty near beat by this time, and feels ready to knock his head against the wall, or his fingers against somebody else's head. So he gives up altogether the lower and middle parts of the form, and looks around in despair at the boys on the top bench, to see if there is one out of whom he can strike a spark or two, and who will be too chivalrous[12] to murder the most beautiful utterances of the most beautiful woman of the old world. His eye rests on Arthur, and he calls him up to finish construing Helen's speech. Whereupon all the other boys draw long breaths, and begin to stare about and take it easy. They are all safe; Arthur is at the head of the form, and sure to be able to construe, and that will tide on safely till the hour strikes.

[12] #Chivalrous#: here, gallant, polite.

Arthur proceeds to read out the pa.s.sage in Greek before construing it, as the custom is. Tom, who isn't paying much attention, is suddenly caught by the falter in his voice as he reads the two lines:--

[Greek: "alla su ton g' epeessi paraiphamenos katerukes, se t' aganophrosune kai sois aganois epeessin."][13]

He looks up at Arthur. "Why, bless us," thinks he, "what can be the matter with the young un? He's never going to get floored! He's sure to have learnt to the end!" Next moment he is rea.s.sured by the spirited tone in which Arthur begins construing, and betakes himself to drawing dogs' heads in his note-book, while the master, evidently enjoying the change, turns his back on the middle bench, and stands before Arthur, beating a sort of time with his hand and foot, and saying: "Yes, yes," "Very well," as Arthur goes on.

[13] "Thou didst take my part with kindly admonitions, and restrain their tongues with soft address and gentle words."--_Bryant's translation._

But as he nears the fatal two lines, Tom catches that falter, and again looks up. He sees that there is something the matter: Arthur can hardly get on at all. What can it be?

Suddenly at this point Arthur breaks down altogether, and fairly bursts out crying, and dashes the cuff of his jacket across his eyes, blushing up to the roots of his hair, and feeling as if he should like to go down suddenly through the floor. The whole form are taken aback; most of them stare stupidly at him, while those who are gifted with presence of mind find their places, and look steadily at their books, in hopes of not catching the master's eye, and getting called up in Arthur's place.

The master looked puzzled for a moment, and then seeing, as the fact is, that the boy is really affected to tears by the most touching thing in Homer, perhaps in all profane[14] poetry put together, steps up to him and lays his hand kindly on his shoulder, saying: "Never mind, my little man, you've construed very well. Stop a minute, there's no hurry."

[14] #Profane#: here, not sacred.

Now, as luck would have it, there sat next above Tom on that day, in the middle bench of the form, a big boy, by name Williams, generally supposed to be the c.o.c.k of the sh.e.l.l, therefore of all the schools below the fifths. The small boys, who are great speculators on the prowess of their elders, used to hold forth to one another about Williams's great strength, and to discuss whether East or Brown would take a licking from him. He was called Slogger[15] Williams, from the force with which it was supposed he could hit. In the main, he was a rough, good-natured fellow enough, but very much alive to his own dignity. He reckoned himself the king of the form, and kept up his position with the strong hand, especially in the matter of forcing boys not to construe more than the legitimate forty lines. He had already grunted and grumbled to himself, when Arthur went on reading beyond the forty lines. But now that he had broken down just in the middle of all the long words, the Slogger's wrath was fairly aroused.

[15] #Slogger#: a "slugger," a hard hitter.

"Sneaking little brute," muttered he, regardless of prudence, "clapping on the water-works just in the hardest place; see if I don't punch his head after fourth lesson."

"Whose?" said Tom, to whom the remark seemed addressed.

"Why, that little sneak Arthur's," replied Williams.

"No, you sha'n't," said Tom.

"Hullo!" exclaimed Williams, looking at Tom with great surprise for a moment, and then giving him a sudden dig in the ribs with his elbow, which sent Tom's book flying on to the floor, and called the attention of the master, who turned suddenly round, and seeing the state of things, said:--

"Williams, go down three places, and then go on."

The Slogger found his legs very slowly, and proceeded to go below Tom and two other boys with great disgust, and then, turning round and facing the master, said: "I haven't learnt any more, sir; our lesson is only forty lines."

"Is that so?" said the master, appealing generally to the top bench.

No answer.

"Who is the head boy of the form?" said he, waxing wroth.

"Arthur, sir," answered three or four boys, indicating our friend.

"Oh, your name's Arthur. Well, now, what is the length of your regular lesson?"

Arthur hesitated a moment, and then said: "We call it only forty lines, sir."

"How do you mean, you call it?"

"Well, sir, Mr. Graham says we aren't to stop there, when there's time to construe more."

"I understand," said the master. "Williams, go down three more places, and write me out the lesson in Greek and English. And now, Arthur, finish construing."

"Oh, would I be in Arthur's shoes after fourth lesson?" said the little boys to one another: but Arthur finished Helen's speech without any further catastrophe, and the clock struck four, which ended third lesson.

Another hour was occupied in preparing and saying fourth lesson, during which Williams was bottling up his wrath; and when five struck, and the lessons for the day were over, he prepared to take summary[16]

vengeance on the innocent cause of his misfortune.

[16] #Summary#: quick, short.

THE CHALLENGE.

Tom was detained in school a few minutes after the rest, and on coming out into the quadrangle, the first thing he saw was a small ring of boys, applauding Williams, who was holding Arthur by the collar.

"There, you young sneak," said he, giving Arthur a cuff on the head with his other hand, "what made you say that--"

"Hullo!" said Tom, shouldering into the crowd, "you drop that, Williams; you sha'n't touch him."

"Who'll stop me?" said the Slogger, raising his hand again.

"I," said Tom; and suiting the action to the word, he struck the arm which held Arthur's arm so sharply that the Slogger dropped it with a start, and turned the full current of his wrath on Tom.