med to know him.

"Ah, I thought so; you know my old aunt, Miss East; she lives
somewhere down your way in Berkshire. She wrote to me that you were
coming to-day, and asked me to give you a lift."[2]

[2] #Lift#: assistance of any kind.

Tom was somewhat inclined to resent the patronizing air of his new
friend, a boy of just about his own height and age, but gifted with
the most transcendent coolness and assurance, which Tom felt to be
aggravating and hard to bear, but couldn't for the life of him help
admiring and envying,--especially when young my lord begins hectoring
two or three long, loafing fellows, half porter, half stableman, with
a strong touch of the blackguard, and in the end arranges with one of
them, nicknamed Cooey, to carry Tom's luggage up to the School-house
for sixpence.

"And heark'ee, Cooey, it must be up in ten minutes, or no more jobs
from me. Come along, Brown." And away swaggers the young potentate,
with his hands in his pockets, and Tom at his side.

"All right, sir," says Cooey, touching his hat, with a leer and a wink
at his companions.

"Hullo, though!" says East, pulling up, and taking another look at
Tom, "this'll never do. Haven't you got a hat? We never wear caps
here. Only the louts wear caps. Bless you, if you were to go into the
quadrangle[3] with that thing on, I--don't know what'd happen." The
very idea was quite beyond young Master East, and he looked
unutterable things.

[3] #Quadrangle#: a square piece of ground inclosed by
buildings. English schools and colleges are quite generally
built round a quadrangle or "quod" as it is commonly called.

Tom thought his cap a very knowing affair, but confessed that he had a
hat in his hat-box; which was accordingly at once extracted from the
hind-boot, and Tom equipped in his go-to-meeting roof, as his new
friend called it. But this didn't quite suit his fastidious taste in
another minute, being too shiny; so, as they walk up the town, they
dive into Nixon's, the hatter's, and Tom is arrayed, to his utter
astonishment, and without paying for it, in a regulation cat-skin[4]
at seven and sixpence; Nixon undertaking to send the best hat up to
the matron's room, School-house, in half an hour.

[4] #Regulation cat-skin#: the hat prescribed by custom or
school law.

"You can send in a note for a tile[5] on Monday, and make it
all right, you know," said the Mentor.[6] "We're allowed two
seven-and-sixers a half