第17章

类别:其他 作者:Thomas Hughes字数:4432更新时间:18/12/27 08:52:32
Theyweresoon,however,allturnedoutoftheschool;andEastconductedTomuptohisbedroom,thathemightgetoncleanthings,andwashhimselfbeforesinging。 “What’ssinging?“saidTom,takinghisheadoutofhisbasin,wherehehadbeenplungingitincoldwater。 “Well,youarejollygreen,“answeredhisfriend,fromaneighbouringbasin。“Why,thelastsixSaturdaysofeveryhalfwesingofcourse;andthisisthefirstofthem。Nofirstlessontodo,youknow,andlieinbedto-morrowmorning。“ “Butwhosings?“ “Why,everybody,ofcourse;you’llseesoonenough。Webegindirectlyaftersupper,andsingtillbed-time。Itain’tsuchgoodfunnow,though,asinthesummerhalf;’causethenwesinginthelittlefivescourt,underthelibrary,youknow。Wetakeouttables,andthebigboyssitroundanddrinkbeer——doubleallowanceonSaturdaynights;andwecutaboutthequadranglebetweenthesongs,anditlookslikealotofrobbersinacave。 Andtheloutscomeandpoundatthegreatgates,andwepoundbackagain,andshoutatthem。Butthishalfweonlysinginthehall。Comealongdowntomystudy。“ TheirprincipalemploymentinthestudywastoclearoutEast’stable;removingthedrawersandornamentsandtablecloth;forhelivedinthebottompassage,andhistablewasinrequisitionforthesinging。 Suppercameinduecourseatseveno’clock,consistingofbreadandcheeseandbeer,whichwasallsavedforthesinging;anddirectlyafterwardsthefagswenttoworktopreparethehall。 TheSchool-househall,ashasbeensaid,isagreatlonghighroom,withtwolargefiresononeside,andtwolargeiron-boundtables,onerunningdownthemiddle,andtheotheralongthewalloppositethefireplaces。Aroundtheupperfirethefagsplacedthetablesintheformofahorse-shoe,anduponthemthejugswiththeSaturdaynight’sallowanceofbeer。Thenthebigboysusedtodropinandtaketheirseats,bringingwiththembottledbeerandsongbooks;foralthoughtheyallknewthesongsbyheart,itwasthethingtohaveanoldmanuscriptbookdescendedfromsomedepartedhero,inwhichtheywereallcarefullywrittenout。 Thesixth-formboyshadnotyetappeared;so,tofillupthegap,aninterestingandtime-honouredceremonywasgonethrough。 Eachnewboywasplacedonthetableinturn,andmadetosingasolo,underthepenaltyofdrinkingalargemugofsaltandwaterifheresistedorbrokedown。However,thenewboysallsinglikenightingalesto-night,andthesaltwaterisnotinrequisition——Tom,ashispart,performingtheoldwest-countrysongof“TheLeatherBottel“withconsiderableapplause。Andatthehalf-hourdowncomethesixthandfifthformboys,andtaketheirplacesatthetables,whicharefilledupbythenextbiggestboys,therest,forwhomthereisnoroomatthetable,standingroundoutside。 Theglassesandmugsarefilled,andthenthefuglemanstrikesuptheoldsea-song,“Awetsheetandaflowingsea,Andawindthatfollowsfast,“etc。,whichistheinvariablefirstsongintheSchool-house;andalltheseventyvoicesjoinin,notmindfulofharmony,butbentonnoise,whichtheyattaindecidedly,butthegeneraleffectisn’tbad。Andthenfollow“TheBritishGrenadiers,““BillyTaylor,“ “TheSiegeofSeringapatam,““ThreeJollyPostboys,“andothervociferoussongsinrapidsuccession,including“TheChesapeakeandShannon,“asonglatelyintroducedinhonourofoldBrooke; andwhentheycometothewords,“BraveBrokehewavedhissword,crying,Now,mylads,aboard,Andwe’llstoptheirplayingYankee-doodle-dandyoh!“ youexpecttherooftocomedown。Thesixthandfifthknowthat“braveBroke“oftheShannonwasnosortofrelationtoouroldBrooke。Thefourthformareuncertainintheirbelief,butforthemostpartholdthatoldBrookewasamidshipmanthenonboardhisuncle’sship。AndthelowerschoolneverdoubtforamomentthatitwasouroldBrookewholedtheboarders,inwhatcapacitytheycarenotastraw。Duringthepausesthebottled- beercorksflyrapidly,andthetalkisfastandmerry,andthebigboys——atleastallofthemwhohaveafellow-feelingfordrythroats——handtheirmugsovertheirshoulderstobeemptiedbythesmalloneswhostandroundbehind。 ThenWarner,theheadofthehouse,getsupandwantstospeak; buthecan’t,foreveryboyknowswhat’scoming。Andthebigboyswhositatthetablespoundthemandcheer;andthesmallboyswhostandbehindpoundoneanother,andcheer,andrushaboutthehallcheering。Thensilencebeingmade,WarnerremindsthemoftheoldSchool-housecustomofdrinkingthehealths,onthefirstnightofsinging,ofthosewhoaregoingtoleaveattheendofthehalf。“Heseesthattheyknowwhatheisgoingtosayalready“(loudcheers),“andsowon’tkeepthem,butonlyaskthemtotreatthetoastasitdeserves。Itistheheadoftheeleven,theheadofbig-sidefootball,theirleaderonthisgloriousday——PaterBrooke!“ Andawaygoesthepoundingandcheeringagain,becomingdeafeningwhenoldBrookegetsonhislegs;till,atablehavingbrokendown,andagallonorsoofbeerbeenupset,andallthroatsgettingdry,silenceensues,andtheherospeaks,leaninghishandsonthetable,andbendingalittleforwards。 Noaction,notricksoforatory——plain,strong,andstraight,likehisplay。 “GentlemenoftheSchool-house!Iamveryproudofthewayinwhichyouhavereceivedmyname,andIwishIcouldsayallI shouldlikeinreturn。ButIknowIshan’t。However,I’lldothebestIcantosaywhatseemstomeoughttobesaidbyafellowwho’sjustgoingtoleave,andwhohasspentagoodsliceofhislifehere。Eightyearsitis,andeightsuchyearsasI canneverhopetohaveagain。SonowIhopeyou’llalllistentome“(loudcheersof“Thatwewill“),“forI’mgoingtotalkseriously。You’reboundtolistentomeforwhat’stheuseofcallingme’pater,’andallthat,ifyoudon’tmindwhatIsay? AndI’mgoingtotalkseriously,becauseIfeelso。It’sajollytime,too,gettingtotheendofthehalf,andagoalkickedbyusfirstday“(tremendousapplause),“afteroneofthehardestandfiercestday’splayIcanrememberineightyears。“ (Franticshoutings。)“TheSchoolplayedsplendidly,too,Iwillsay,andkeptituptothelast。Thatlastchargeoftheirswouldhavecarriedawayahouse。IneverthoughttoseeanythingagainofoldCrabthere,exceptlittlepieces,whenI sawhimtumbledoverbyit。“(Laughterandshouting,andgreatslappingonthebackofJonesbytheboysnearesthim。)“Well,butwebeat’em。“(Cheers。)“Ay,butwhydidwebeat’em? Answermethat。“(Shoutsof“Yourplay。“)“Nonsense!’Twasn’tthewindandkick-offeither——thatwouldn’tdoit。’Twasn’tbecausewe’vehalfadozenofthebestplayersintheschool,aswehave。Iwouldn’tchangeWarner,andHedge,andCrab,andtheyoungun,foranysixontheirside。“(Violentcheers。)“Buthalfadozenfellowscan’tkeepitupfortwohoursagainsttwohundred。Whyisit,then?I’lltellyouwhatIthink。It’sbecausewe’vemorerelianceononeanother,moreofahousefeeling,morefellowshipthantheSchoolcanhave。Eachofusknowsandcandependonhisnext-handmanbetter。That’swhywebeat’emto-day。We’veunion,they’vedivision——there’sthesecret。“(Cheers。)“Buthow’sthistobekeptup?How’sittobeimproved?That’sthequestion。ForItakeitwe’reallinearnestaboutbeatingtheSchool,whateverelsewecareabout。 IknowI’dsoonerwintwoSchool-housematchesrunningthangettheBalliolscholarshipanyday。“(Franticcheers。) “Now,I’masproudofthehouseasanyone。Ibelieveit’sthebesthouseintheschool,outandout。“(Cheers。)“Butit’salongwayfromwhatIwanttoseeit。First,there’sadealofbullyinggoingon。Iknowitwell。Idon’tpryaboutandinterfere;thatonlymakesitmoreunderhand,andencouragesthesmallboystocometouswiththeirfingersintheireyestellingtales,andsoweshouldbeworseoffthanever。It’sverylittlekindnessforthesixthtomeddlegenerally——youyoungstersmindthat。You’llbeallthebetterfootballplayersforlearningtostandit,andtotakeyourownparts,andfightitthrough。Butdependonit,there’snothingbreaksupahouselikebullying。Bulliesarecowards,andonecowardmakesmany; sogood-byetotheSchool-housematchifbullyinggetsaheadhere。“(Loudapplausefromthesmallboys,wholookmeaninglyatFlashmanandotherboysatthetables。)“Thenthere’sfuddlingaboutinthepublic-house,anddrinkingbadspirits,andpunch,andsuchrot-gutstuff。Thatwon’tmakegooddrop- kicksorchargersofyou,takemywordforit。Yougetplentyofgoodbeerhere,andthat’senoughforyou;anddrinkingisn’tfineormanly,whateversomeofyoumaythinkofit。 “OneotherthingImusthaveawordabout。Alotofyouthinkandsay,forI’veheardyou,’There’sthisnewDoctorhasn’tbeenheresolongassomeofus,andhe’schangingalltheoldcustoms。Rugby,andtheSchoolhouseespecially,aregoingtothedogs。Standupforthegoodoldways,anddownwiththeDoctor!’NowI’masfondofoldRugbycustomsandwaysasanyofyou,andI’vebeenherelongerthananyofyou,andI’llgiveyouawordofadviceintime,forIshouldn’tliketoseeanyofyougettingsacked。’DownwiththeDoctor’s’easiersaidthandone。You’llfindhimprettytightonhisperch,Itakeit,andanawkwardishcustomertohandleinthatline。Besidesnow,whatcustomshasheputdown?Therewasthegoodoldcustomoftakingthelinchpinsoutofthefarmers’andbagmen’sgigsatthefairs,andacowardly,blackguardcustomitwas。Weallknowwhatcameofit,andnowondertheDoctorobjectedtoit。 Butcomenow,anyofyou,nameacustomthathehasputdown。“ “Thehounds,“callsoutafifth-formboy,cladinagreencutawaywithbrassbuttonsandcordtrousers,theleaderofthesportinginterest,andreputedagreatriderandkeenhandgenerally。 “Well,wehadsixorsevenmangyharriersandbeaglesbelongingtothehouse,I’llallow,andhadhadthemforyears,andthattheDoctorputthemdown。Butwhatgoodevercameofthem? Onlyrowswithallthekeepersfortenmilesround;andbig-sidehare-and-houndsisbetterfuntentimesover。Whatelse?“ Noanswer。