out.

[109] #"Holus bolus"#: all at once.

CHAPTER II.

THE "VEAST."

"And the King commandeth and forbiddeth, that from henceforth
neither fairs nor markets be kept in church-yards, for the
honor of the church."--_Statutes_: 13 Edw. I. Stat. II. Chap.
VI.

As that venerable and learned poet[1] (whose voluminous works we
all think it the correct thing to admire and talk about, but don't
read often) most truly says, "The child is father to the man;" _a
fortiori_,[2] therefore he must be father to the boy." So, as we are
going at any rate to see Tom Brown through his boyhood, supposing we
never get any farther (which, if you show a proper sense of the value
of this history, there is no knowing but what we may), let us have a
look at the life and environments[3] of the child, in the quiet
country village to which we were introduced in the last chapter.

[1] #Learned poet#: Wordsworth; the quotation, which follows,
is from "My heart leaps up."

[2] #A fortiori#: for a stronger reason.

[3] #Environments#: surroundings.

TOM BROWN'S NURSE.

Tom, as has been already said, was a robust and combative urchin, and
at the age of four began to struggle against the yoke and authority
of his nurse. That functionary[4] was a good-hearted, tearful,
scatter-brain[5] girl, lately taken by Tom's mother, Madam Brown, as
she was called, from the village school to be trained as nursery-maid.
Madam Brown was a rare trainer of servants, and spent herself freely
in the profession; for profession it was, and gave her more trouble by
half than many people take to earn a good income. Her servants were
known and sought after for miles round. Almost all the girls who
attained a certain place in the village school were taken by her, one
or two at a time, as house-maids, laundry-maids, nursery-maids, or
kitchen-maids, and, after a year or two's drilling, were started in
life amongst the neighboring families, with good principles and
wardrobes. One of the results of this system was the perpetual despair
of Mrs. Brown's cook and own maid, who no sooner had a notable[6] girl
made to their hands, than missus was sure to find a good place for her
and send her off, taking in fresh importations from the school.
Another was, that the house was always full of young girls with clean,
shining faces; who broke plates and scorched linen, but made an
atmosphere of cheerful homely life about the place, goo