For a few nights there was a sneer or a laugh when he knelt
down, but this passed off soon, and one by one all the other boys but
three or four followed the lead. I fear that this was in some measure
owing to the fact that Tom could probably have thrashed any boy in the
room except the prepostor; at any rate, every boy knew that he would
try upon very slight provocation, and didn't choose to run the risk of a
hard fight because Tom Brown had taken a fancy to say his prayers. Some
of the small boys of Number 4 communicated the new state of things to
their chums, and in several other rooms the poor little fellows tried
it on--in one instance or so, where the prepostor heard of it and
interfered very decidedly, with partial success; but in the rest, after
a short struggle, the confessors were bullied or laughed down, and the
old state of things went on for some time longer. Before either Tom
Brown or Arthur left the School-house, there was no room in which it had
not become the regular custom. I trust it is so still, and that the old
heathen state of things has gone out for ever.
CHAPTER II--THE NEW BOY.
"And Heaven's rich instincts in him grew
As effortless as woodland nooks
Send violets up and paint them blue."--LOWELL.
I do not mean to recount all the little troubles and annoyances which
thronged upon Tom at the beginning of this half-year, in his new
character of bear-leader to a gentle little boy straight from home.
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