Tom, as a new boy, was of right excused fagging for the first month, but
in his enthusiasm for his new life this privilege hardly pleased him;
and East and others of his young friends, discovering this, kindly
allowed him to indulge his fancy, and take their turns at night fagging
and cleaning studies. These were the principal duties of the fags in the
house. From supper until nine o'clock three fags taken in order stood in
the passages, and answered any prepostor who called "Fag," racing to the
door, the last comer having to do the work. This consisted generally of
going to the buttery for beer and bread and cheese (for the great men
did not sup with the rest, but had each his own allowance in his study
or the fifth-form room), cleaning candlesticks and putting in new
candles, toasting cheese, bottling beer, and carrying messages about the
house; and Tom, in the first blush of his hero-worship, felt it a high
privilege to receive orders from and be the bearer of the supper of old
Brooke. And besides this night-work, each prepostor had three or four
fags specially allotted to him, of whom he was supposed to be the guide,
philosopher, and friend, and who in return for these good offices had to
clean out his study every morning by turns, directly after first lesson
and before he returned from breakfast. And the pleasure of seeing the
great men's studies, and looking at their pictures, and peeping into
their books, made Tom a ready substitute for any boy who was too lazy to
do his own work.
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