Читать книгу Tom Brown at Rugby - Hughes Thomas - Страница 62

East was great in the character of cicerone;321 he carried Tom through the great gates, where were only two or three boys. These satisfied 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 form322 are you in?" – and so they passed on through the quadrangle and a small court-yard, upon which looked down a lot of little windows (belonging, as his guide informed him, to some of the School-house studies),323 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 their lessons together.