“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，and(itistobehoped}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。
