“Well，Iwon’tgoon。Thinkitoverforyourselves。You’llfind，Ibelieve，thathedon’tmeddlewithanyonethat’sworthkeeping。Andmindnow，Isayagain，lookoutforsquallsifyouwillgoyourownway，andthatwayain’ttheDoctor’s，forit’llleadtogrief。YouallknowthatI’mnotthefellowtobackamasterthroughthickandthin。IfIsawhimstoppingfootball，orcricket，orbathing，orsparring，I’dbeasreadyasanyfellowtostandupaboutit。Buthedon’t；heencouragesthem。
　　Didn’tyouseehimoutto-dayforhalfanhourwatchingus？“
　　loudcheersfortheDoctor；“andhe’sastrong，trueman，andawiseonetoo，andapublic-schoolmantoo“cheers，“andsolet’ssticktohim，andtalknomorerot，anddrinkhishealthastheheadofthehouse。“Loudcheers。“AndnowI’vedoneblowingup，andverygladIamtohavedone。Butit’sasolemnthingtobethinkingofleavingaplacewhichonehaslivedinandlovedforeightyears；andifonecansayawordforthegoodoftheoldhouseatsuchatime，why，itshouldbesaid，whetherbitterorsweet。IfIhadn’tbeenproudofthehouseandyou——ay，nooneknowshowproud——Ishouldn’tbeblowingyouup。Andnowlet’sgettosinging。ButbeforeIsitdownI
　　mustgiveyouatoasttobedrunkwiththree-times-threeandallthehonours。It’satoastwhichIhopeeveryoneofus，whereverhemaygohereafter，willneverfailtodrinkwhenhethinksofthebrave，brightdaysofhisboyhood。It’satoastwhichshouldbindusalltogether，andtothosewho’vegonebeforeandwho’llcomeafterushere。ItisthedearoldSchool-house——thebesthouseofthebestschoolinEngland！“
　　Mydearboys，oldandyoung，youwhohavebelonged，ordobelong，tootherschoolsandotherhouses，don’tbeginthrowingmypoorlittlebookabouttheroom，andabusingmeandit，andvowingyou’llreadnomorewhenyougettothispoint。Iallowyou’veprovocationforit。Butcomenow——wouldyou，anyofyou，giveafigforafellowwhodidn’tbelieveinandstandupforhisownhouseandhisownschool？Youknowyouwouldn’t。
　　Thendon’tobjecttomecrackinguptheoldSchoolhouse，Rugby。
　　Haven’tIarighttodoit，whenI’mtakingallthetroubleofwritingthistruehistoryforallofyourbenefits？Ifyouain’tsatisfied，goandwritethehistoryofyourownhousesinyourowntimes，andsayallyouknowforyourownschoolsandhouses，providedit’strue，andI’llreaditwithoutabusingyou。
　　Thelastfewwordshittheaudienceintheirweakestplace。
　　TheyhadbeennotaltogetherenthusiasticatseveralpartsofoldBrooke’sspeech；but“thebesthouseofthebestschoolinEngland“wastoomuchforthemall，andcarriedeventhesportinganddrinkinginterestsofftheirlegsintorapturousapplause，anditistobehoped}resolutionstoleadanewlifeandrememberoldBrooke’swords——which，however，theydidn’taltogetherdo，aswillappearhereafter。
　　ButitrequiredalloldBrooke’spopularitytocarrydownpartsofhisspeech——especiallythatrelatingtotheDoctor。Fortherearenosuchbigotedholdersbyestablishedformsandcustoms，betheyneversofoolishormeaningless，asEnglishschool-boys——atleast，astheschool-boysofourgeneration。
　　Wemagnifiedintoheroeseveryboywhohadleft，andlookeduponhimwithaweandreverencewhenherevisitedtheplaceayearorsoafterwards，onhiswaytoorfromOxfordorCambridge；andhappywastheboywhorememberedhim，andsureofanaudienceasheexpoundedwhatheusedtodoandsay，thoughitweresadenoughstufftomakeangels，nottosayhead-masters，weep。
　　WelookeduponeverytrumperylittlecustomandhabitwhichhadobtainedintheSchoolasthoughithadbeenalawoftheMedesandPersians，andregardedtheinfringementorvariationofitasasortofsacrilege。AndtheDoctor，thanwhomnomanorboyhadastrongerlikingforoldschoolcustomswhichweregoodandsensible，had，ashasalreadybeenhinted，comeintomostdecidedcollisionwithseveralwhichwereneithertheonenortheother。AndasoldBrookehadsaid，whenhecameintocollisionwithboysorcustoms，therewasnothingforthembuttogiveinortakethemselvesoff；becausewhathesaidhadtobedone，andnomistakeaboutit。Andthiswasbeginningtobeprettyclearlyunderstood。Theboysfeltthattherewasastrongmanoverthem，whowouldhavethingshisownway，andhadn’tyetlearntthathewasawiseandlovingmanalso。Hispersonalcharacterandinfluencehadnothadtimetomakeitselffelt，exceptbyaveryfewofthebiggerboyswithwhomhecamemoredirectlyintocontact；andhewaslookeduponwithgreatfearanddislikebythegreatmajorityevenofhisownhouse。
　　ForhehadfoundSchoolandSchool-houseinastateofmonstrouslicenseandmisrule，andwasstillemployedinthenecessarybutunpopularworkofsettinguporderwithastronghand。
　　However，ashasbeensaid，oldBrooketriumphed，andtheboyscheeredhimandthentheDoctor。Andthenmoresongscame，andthehealthsoftheotherboysabouttoleave，whoeachmadeaspeech，oneflowery，anothermaudlin，athirdprosy，andsoon，whicharenotnecessarytobehererecorded。
　　Half-pastninestruckinthemiddleoftheperformanceof“AuldLangSyne，“amostobstreperousproceeding，duringwhichtherewasanimmenseamountofstandingwithonefootonthetable，knockingmugstogetherandshakinghands，withoutwhichaccompanimentsitseemsimpossiblefortheyouthsofBritaintotakepartinthatfamousoldsong。Theunder-porteroftheSchool-houseenteredduringtheperformance，bearingfiveorsixlongwoodencandlestickswithlighteddipsinthem，whichheproceededtostickintotheirholesinsuchpartofthegreattablesashecouldgetat；andthenstoodoutsidetheringtilltheendofthesong，whenhewashailedwithshouts。
　　“Billyouoldmuff，thehalf-hourhasn’tstruck。““Here，Bill，drinksomecocktail。““Singusasong，oldboy。““Don’tyouwishyoumaygetthetable？“Billdranktheprofferedcocktailnotunwillingly，andputtingdowntheemptyglass，remonstrated。
　　“Nowgentlemen，there’sonlytenminutestoprayers，andwemustgetthehallstraight。“
　　Shoutsof“No，no！“andaviolentefforttostrikeup“BillyTaylor“forthethirdtime。BilllookedappealinglytooldBrooke，whogotupandstoppedthenoise。“Nowthen，lendahand，youyoungsters，andgetthetablesback；clearawaythejugsandglasses。Bill’sright。Openthewindows，Warner。“
　　Theboyaddressed，whosatbythelongropes，proceededtopullupthegreatwindows，andletinaclear，freshrushofnightair，whichmadethecandlesflickerandgutter，andthefiresroar。Thecirclebrokeup，eachcollaringhisownjug，glass，andsong-book；Billpouncedonthebigtable，andbegantorattleitawaytoitsplaceoutsidethebutterydoor。Thelower-passageboyscarriedofftheirsmalltables，aidedbytheirfriends；whileaboveall，standingonthegreathall-
　　table，aknotofuntiringsonsofharmonymadenightdolefulbyaprolongedperformanceof“GodSavetheKing。“HisMajestyKingWilliamtheFourththenreignedoverus，amonarchdeservedlypopularamongsttheboysaddictedtomelody，towhomhewaschieflyknownfromthebeginningofthatexcellentifslightlyvulgarsonginwhichtheymuchdelighted，-
　　“Come，neighboursall，bothgreatandsmall，Performyourdutieshere，Andloudlysing，’LiveBilly，ourking，’
　　Forbatingthetaxuponveer。“
　　Othersofthemorelearnedinsongsalsocelebratedhispraisesinasortofballad，whichItaketohavebeenwrittenbysomeIrishloyalist。Ihaveforgottenallbutthechorus，whichran，-
　　“GodsaveourgoodKingWilliam，behisnameforeverblest；
　　He’sthefatherofallhispeople，andtheguardianofalltherest。“
　　Introthwewereloyalsubjectsinthosedays，inaroughway。
　　ItrustthatoursuccessorsmakeasmuchofherpresentMajesty，and，havingregardtothegreaterrefinementofthetimes，haveadoptedorwrittenothersongsequallyhearty，butmorecivilized，inherhonour。
　　Thenthequartertotenstruck，andtheprayer-bellrang。Thesixthandfifthformboysrangedthemselvesintheirschoolorderalongthewall，oneithersideofthegreatfires，themiddle-fifthandupper-schoolboysroundthelongtableinthemiddleofthehall，andthelower-schoolboysroundtheupperpartofthesecondlongtable，whichrandownthesideofthehallfarthestfromthefires。HereTomfoundhimselfatthebottomofall，inastateofmindandbodynotatallfitforprayers，ashethought；andsotriedhardtomakehimselfserious，butcouldn’t，forthelifeofhim，doanythingbutrepeatinhisheadthechorusesofsomeofthesongs，andstareatalltheboysopposite，wonderingatthebrilliancyoftheirwaistcoats，andspeculatingwhatsortoffellowstheywere。Thestepsofthehead-porterareheardonthestairs，andalightgleamsatthedoor。“Hush！“fromthefifth-formboyswhostandthere，andtheninstridestheDoctor，caponhead，bookinonehand，andgatheringuphisgownintheother。Hewalksupthemiddle，andtakeshispostbyWarner，whobeginscallingoverthenames。TheDoctortakesnonoticeofanything，butquietlyturnsoverhisbookandfindstheplace，andthenstands，capinhandandfingerinbook，lookingstraightbeforehisnose。Heknowsbetterthananyonewhentolook，andwhentoseenothing。
　　To-nightissingingnight，andthere’sbeenlotsofnoiseandnoharmdone——nothingbutbeerdrunk，andnobodytheworseforit，thoughsomeofthemdolookhotandexcited。SotheDoctorseesnothing，butfascinatesTominahorriblemannerashestandsthere，andreadsoutthepsalm，inthatdeep，ringing，searchingvoiceofhis。Prayersareover，andTomstillstaresopen-
　　mouthedaftertheDoctor’sretiringfigure，whenhefeelsapullathissleeve，andturninground，seesEast。
　　“Isay，wereyouevertossedinablanket？“
　　“No，“saidTom；“why？“
　　“’Causethere’llbetossingto-night，mostlikely，beforethesixthcomeuptobed。Soifyoufunk，youjustcomealongandhide，orelsethey’llcatchyouandtossyou。“
　　“Wereyouevertossed？Doesithurt？“inquiredTom。
　　“Ohyes，blessyou，adozentimes，“saidEast，ashehobbledalongbyTom’ssideupstairs。“Itdon’thurtunlessyoufallonthefloor。Butmostfellowsdon’tlikeit。“
　　Theystoppedatthefireplaceinthetoppassage，wherewereacrowdofsmallboyswhisperingtogether，andevidentlyunwillingtogoupintothebedrooms。Inaminute，however，astudydooropened，andasixth-formboycameout，andofftheyallscuttledupthestairs，andthennoiselesslydispersedtotheirdifferentrooms。Tom’sheartbeatratherquickasheandEastreachedtheirroom，buthehadmadeuphismind。“Ishan’thide，East，“
　　saidhe。