ed
themselves with the Stock questions,--"You fellow, what's your name?
Where do you come from? How old are you? Where do you board? and, What
form are you in?"--and so they passed on through the quadrangle and a
small courtyard, upon which looked down a lot of little windows
(belonging, as his guide informed him, to some of the School-house
studies), into the matron's room, where East introduced Tom to that
dignitary; made him give up the key of his trunk that the matron might
unpack his linen, and told the story of the hat and of his own presence
of mind: upon the relation whereof the matron laughingly scolded him,
for the coolest new boy in the house; and East, indignant at the
accusation of newness, marched Tom off into the quadrangle, and began
showing him the schools, and examining him as to his literary
attainments; the result of which was a prophecy that they would be in
the same form, and could do then lessons together.

"And now come in and see my study; we shall have just time before
dinner; and afterwards, before calling over, we'll do the close."

Tom followed his guide through the School-house hall, which opens into
the quadrangle. It is a great room thirty feet long and eighteen high,
or thereabouts, with two great tables running the whole length, and two
large fireplaces at the side, with blazing fires in them, at one of
which some dozen boys were standing and lounging, some of whom shouted
to East to stop; but he shot through with his convoy, and landed him in
the long dark passages, with a large fire at the end of each upon which
the studies opened. Into one of these, in the bottom passage, East
bolted with our hero, slamming and bolting the door behind them, in case
of pursuit from the hall, and Tom was for the first time in a Rugby
boy's citadel.

He hadn't been prepared for separate studies, and was not a little
astonished and delighted with the palace in question.

It wasn't very large certainly, being about six feet long by four broad.
It couldn't be called light, as there were bars and a grating to the
window; which little precautions were necessary in the studies on the
ground floor looking out into the close, to prevent the exit of small
boys after locking-up, and the entrance of contraband articles. But it
was uncommonly comfortable to look at, Tom thought. The space under the
window at the further end was occupied by a square table covered with a
reasonably clean and whole red and blue ch