"I hadn't intended
to examine you to-day; but, from something I heard one of you say, I
felt rather anxious to know how some of you are doing in your studies.
These half-dozen boys I was particularly anxious to know of, because I
heard them talking to-day as if they were the most important boys in the
whole school. They _are_ the most important; for they are the most
ignorant, and require, and in future will receive, the closest looking
after. You, little boys," said the Doctor, turning to the row of
abashed culprits, "take a word of warning from me. Do not be silly as
well as dunces. Do not think, as long as you know least of any one in
the school you can pretend to rule the school. I hope some of you have
been led to see to-day you are not as clever as you would like to be.
If you try, and work hard, and stick like men to your lessons, you will
know more than you do now; and when you do know more you will see that
the best way for little boys to get on is not by giving themselves
ridiculous airs, but by doing their duty steadily in class, and living
at peace with one another, and submitting quietly to the discipline of
the school. Don't let me hear any more of this recent nonsense. You'll
be going off in a day or two for the holidays. Take my advice, and
think over what I have said; and next term let me see you in your right
minds, determined to work hard and do your part honestly for the credit
of the good old school. Go to your places, boys."

And so the Doctor's visitation came to an end. It made a very deep
impression on the youthful members of the Fourth Junior. Most of them
felt very much ashamed of themselves; and nearly every one felt his
veneration and admiration for the Doctor greatly heightened. Only a few
incorrigibles like Bramble professed to make light of the scene through
which they had just passed, and even he, it was evident, was
considerably chastened by his experience.

That evening, after the first bed-bell, Dr Senior requested some of the
masters to meet with him for a few minutes in his study.

"Do any of you know," asked the head master, "anything about this
newspaper, the _Dominican_, which I see hanging outside the Fifth door?"

"I hear a great many boys talking about it," said Mr Jellicott of the
Fifth. "It is the joint production of several of the boys in my form."

"Indeed! A Fifth form paper!" said the Doctor. "Has any one perused
it?"

"I have," said Mr Rastle. "It