“Nothe，“saidEast，withsomeindignation。“Why，youdon’tknowtherules；you’llbeamonthlearningthem。Andthenit’snojokeplaying-upinamatch，Icantellyou——quiteanotherthingfromyourprivateschoolgames。Why，there’sbeentwocollar-bonesbrokenthishalf，andadozenfellowslamed。Andlastyearafellowhadhislegbroken。“
Tomlistenedwiththeprofoundestrespecttothischapterofaccidents，andfollowedEastacrossthelevelgroundtilltheycametoasortofgiganticgallowsoftwopoles，eighteenfeethigh，fixeduprightinthegroundsomefourteenfeetapart，withacross-barrunningfromonetotheotherattheheightoftenfeetorthereabouts。
“Thisisoneofthegoals，“saidEast，“andyouseetheother，acrossthere，rightopposite，undertheDoctor’swall。Well，thematchisforthebestofthreegoals；whicheversidekickstwogoalswins:anditwon’tdo，yousee，justtokicktheballthroughtheseposts——itmustgooverthecross-bar；anyheight’lldo，solongasit’sbetweentheposts。You’llhavetostayingoaltotouchtheballwhenitrollsbehindtheposts，becauseiftheothersidetouchittheyhaveatryatgoal。
Thenwefellowsinquarters，weplayjustaboutinfrontofgoalhere，andhavetoturntheballandkickitbackbeforethebigfellowsontheothersidecanfollowitup。Andinfrontofusallthebigfellowsplay，andthat’swherethescrummagesaremostly。“
Tom’srespectincreasedashestruggledtomakeouthisfriend’stechnicalities，andtheothersettoworktoexplainthemysteriesof“offyourside，““drop-kicks，““punts，““places，“
andtheotherintricaciesofthegreatscienceoffootball。
“Buthowdoyoukeeptheballbetweenthegoals？“saidhe；“I
can’tseewhyitmightn’tgorightdowntothechapel。“
“Why；that’soutofplay，“answeredEast。“Youseethisgravel-
walkrunningdownallalongthissideoftheplaying-ground，andthelineofelmsoppositeontheother？Well，they’rethebounds。Assoonastheballgetspastthem，it’sintouch，andoutofplay。Andthenwhoeverfirsttouchesithastoknockitstraightoutamongsttheplayers-up，whomaketwolineswithaspacebetweenthem，everyfellowgoingonhisownside。Ain’ttherejustfinescrummagesthen！Andthethreetreesyouseetherewhichcomeoutintotheplay，that’satremendousplacewhentheballhangsthere，foryougetthrownagainstthetrees，andthat’sworsethananyhack。“
Tomwonderedwithinhimself，astheystrolledbackagaintowardsthefivescourt，whetherthematcheswerereallysuchbreak-neckaffairsasEastrepresented，andwhether，iftheywere，heshouldevergettolikethemandplayupwell，Hehadn’tlongtowonder，however，fornextminuteEastcriedout，“Hurrah！here’sthepunt-about；comealongandtryyourhandatakick。“Thepunt-aboutisthepractice-ball，whichisjustbroughtoutandkickedaboutanyhowfromoneboytoanotherbeforecallings-overanddinner，andatotheroddtimes。Theyjoinedtheboyswhohadbroughtitout，allsmallSchool-housefellows，friendsofEast；andTomhadthepleasureoftryinghisskill，andperformedverycreditably，afterfirstdrivinghisfootthreeinchesintotheground，andthennearlykickinghislegintotheair，invigorouseffortstoaccomplishadrop-kickafterthemannerofEast。
Presentlymoreboysandbiggercameout，andboysfromotherhousesontheirwaytocalling-over，andmoreballsweresentfor。Thecrowdthickenedasthreeo’clockapproached；andwhenthehourstruck，onehundredandfiftyboyswerehardatwork。
Thentheballswereheld，themasteroftheweekcamedownincapandgowntocalling-over，andthewholeschoolofthreehundredboyssweptintothebigschooltoanswertotheirnames。
“Imaycomein，mayn’tI？“saidTom，catchingEastbythearm，andlongingtofeeloneofthem。
“Yes，comealong；nobody’llsayanything。Youwon’tbesoeagertogetintocalling-overafteramonth，“repliedhisfriend；andtheymarchedintothebigschooltogether，anduptothefartherend，wherethatillustriousform，thelowerfourth，whichhadthehonourofEast’spatronageforthetimebeing，stood。
Themastermountedintothehighdeskbythedoor，andoneoftheprepostorsoftheweekstoodbyhimonthesteps，theotherthreemarchingupanddownthemiddleoftheschoolwiththeircanes，callingout，“Silence，silence！“Thesixthformstoodclosebythedoorontheleft，somethirtyinnumber，mostlygreatbiggrownmen，asTomthought，surveyingthemfromadistancewithawe；thefifthformbehindthem，twicetheirnumber，andnotquitesobig。Theseontheleft；andontherightthelowerfifth，shell，andallthejuniorformsinorder；
whileupthemiddlemarchedthethreeprepostors。
Thentheprepostorwhostandsbythemastercallsoutthenames，beginningwiththesixthform；andashecallseachboyanswers“here“tohisname，andwalksout。Someofthesixthstopatthedoortoturnthewholestringofboysintotheclose。Itisagreatmatch-day，andeveryboyintheschool，willhe，nillhe，mustbethere。Therestofthesixthgoforwardsintotheclose，toseethatnooneescapesbyanyofthesidegates。
To-day，however，beingtheSchool-housematch，noneoftheSchool-houseprepostorsstaybythedoortowatchfortruantsoftheirside；thereiscarteblanchetotheSchool-housefagstogowheretheylike。“Theytrusttoourhonour，“asEastproudlyinformsTom；“theyknowverywellthatnoSchool-houseboywouldcutthematch。Ifhedid，we’dverysooncuthim，Icantellyou。“
Themasteroftheweekbeingshort-sighted，andtheprepostorsoftheweeksmallandnotwelluptotheirwork，thelower-
schoolboysemploythetenminuteswhichelapsebeforetheirnamesarecalledinpeltingoneanothervigorouslywithacorns，whichflyaboutinalldirections。Thesmallprepostorsdashineverynowandthen，andgenerallychastisesomequiet，timidboywhoisequallyafraidofacornsandcanes，whiletheprincipalperformersgetdexterouslyoutoftheway。Andsocalling-overrollsonsomehow，muchlikethebigworld，punishmentslightingonwrongshoulders，andmattersgoinggenerallyinaqueer，cross-grainedway，buttheendcomingsomehow，whichis，afterall，thegreatpoint。Andnowthemasteroftheweekhasfinished，andlockedupthebigschool；andtheprepostorsoftheweekcomeout，sweepingthelastremnantoftheschoolfags，whohadbeenloafingaboutthecornersbythefivescourt，inhopesofachanceofbolting，beforethemintotheclose。
“Holdthepunt-about！““Tothegoals！“arethecries；andallstrayballsareimpoundedbytheauthorities，andthewholemassofboysmovesuptowardsthetwogoals，dividingastheygointothreebodies。Thatlittlebandontheleft，consistingoffromfifteentotwentyboys，Tomamongstthem，whoaremakingforthegoalundertheSchool-housewall，aretheSchool-houseboyswhoarenottoplayup，andhavetostayingoal。ThelargerbodymovingtotheislandgoalaretheSchoolboysinalikepredicament。Thegreatmassinthemiddlearetheplayers-up，bothsidesmingledtogether；theyarehangingtheirjackets(andallwhomeanrealwork)，theirhats，waistcoats，neck-
handkerchiefs，andbraces，ontherailingsroundthesmalltrees；andtheretheygobytwosandthreesuptotheirrespectivegrounds。Thereisnoneofthecolourandtastinessofget-up，youwillperceive，whichlendssuchalifetothepresentgameatRugby，makingthedullestandworst-foughtmatchaprettysight。Noweachhousehasitsownuniformofcapandjersey，ofsomelivelycolour；butatthetimewearespeakingofplushcapshavenotyetcomein，oruniformsofanysort，excepttheSchool-housewhitetrousers，whichareabominablycoldto-day。Letusgettowork，bare-headed，andgirdedwithourplainleatherstraps。Butwemeanbusiness，gentlemen。
Andnowthatthetwosideshavefairlysundered，andeachoccupiesitsownground，andwegetagoodlookatthem，whatabsurdityisthis？Youdon’tmeantosaythatthosefiftyorsixtyboysinwhitetrousers，manyofthemquitesmall，aregoingtoplaythathugemassopposite？IndeedIdo，gentlemen。
They’regoingtotry，atanyrate，andwon’tmakesuchabadfightofiteither，markmyword；forhasn’toldBrookewonthetoss，withhisluckyhalfpenny，andgotchoiceofgoalsandkick-off？Thenewballyoumayseelietherequitebyitself，inthemiddle，pointingtowardstheSchoolorislandgoal；inanotherminuteitwillbewellonitswaythere。UsethatminuteinremarkinghowtheSchoolhousesideisdrilled。Youwillsee，inthefirstplace，thatthesixth-formboy，whohasthechargeofgoal，hasspreadhisforce(thegoalkeepers)soastooccupythewholespacebehindthegoal-posts，atdistancesofaboutfiveyardsapart。Asafeandwell-keptgoalisthefoundationofallgoodplay。OldBrookeistalkingtothecaptainofquarters，andnowhemovesaway。Seehowthatyoungsterspreadshismen(thelightbrigade)carefullyovertheground，half-waybetweentheirowngoalandthebodyoftheirownplayers-up(theheavybrigade)。Theseagainplayinseveralbodies。ThereisyoungBrookeandthebull-dogs。Markthemwell。Theyarethe“fightingbrigade，“the“die-hards，“larkingaboutatleap-frogtokeepthemselveswarm，andplayingtricksononeanother。AndoneachsideofoldBrooke，whoisnowstandinginthemiddleofthegroundandjustgoingtokickoff，youseeaseparatewingofplayers-up，eachwithaboyofacknowledgedprowesstolookto——hereWarner，andthereHedge；
butoverallisoldBrooke，absoluteasheofRussia，butwiselyandbravelyrulingoverwillingandworshippingsubjects，atruefootballking。Hisfaceisearnestandcarefulasheglancesalasttimeoverhisarray，butfullofpluckandhope——thesortoflookIhopetoseeinmygeneralwhenIgoouttofight。
TheSchoolsideisnotorganizedinthesameway。Thegoal-
keepersareallinlumps，anyhowandnohow；youcan’tdistinguishbetweentheplayers-upandtheboysinquarters，andthereisdividedleadership。Butwithsuchoddsinstrengthandweightitmusttakemorethanthattohinderthemfromwinning；
andsotheirleadersseemtothink，fortheylettheplayers-upmanagethemselves。
Butnowlook！thereisaslightmoveforwardoftheSchool-housewings，ashoutof“Areyouready？“andloudaffirmativereply。
OldBrooketakeshalfadozenquicksteps，andawaygoestheballspinningtowardstheSchoolgoal，seventyyardsbeforeittouchesground，andatnopointabovetwelveorfifteenfeethigh，amodelkick-off；andtheSchool-housecheerandrushon。
