Percival Keene | Page 9

never was at school myself."
"What do you learn, and why are you flogged?"
"You learn to read, and to write, and to count; I can't do either-- more's
the pity; and you are flogged, because without flogging, little boys can't
learn anything."
This was not a very satisfactory explanation. I made no further
inquiries, and we continued our way in silence until we arrived at the
school door; there was a terrible buzz inside. Ben tapped, the door
opened, and a volume of hot air burst forth, all the fresh air having been
consumed in repeating the fresh lessons for the day. Ben walked up
between the forms, and introduced me to the schoolmaster, whose
name was Mr Thadeus O'Gallagher, a poor scholar from Ireland, who
had set up an establishment at half-a-guinea a quarter for day scholars;
he was reckoned a very severe master, and the children were kept in
better order in his school than in any other establishment of the kind in
the town; and I presume that my granny had made inquiries to that
effect, as there were one or two schools of the same kind much nearer
to my mother's house. Ben, who probably had a great respect for
learning, in consequence of his having none himself, gave a military
salute to Mr O'Gallagher, saying, with his hand still to his hat, "A new
boy, sir, come to school."
"Oh, by the powers! don't I know him?" cried Mr O'Gallagher; "it's the
young gentleman who bit a hole in his grandmother; Master Keene, as

they call him. Keen teeth, at all events. Lave him with me; and that's
his dinner in the basket I presume; lave that too. He'll soon be a good
boy, or it will end in a blow-up."
Ben put down the basket, turned on his heel, and left the schoolroom,
and me standing by the throne of my future pedagogue--I say throne,
because he had not a desk, as schoolmasters generally have, but a sort
of square dais, about eighteen inches high, on which was placed
another oblong superstructure of the same height, serving him for a seat;
both parts were covered with some patched and torn old drugget, and
upon subsequent examination I found them to consist of three old claret
cases without covers, which he had probably picked up very cheap; two
of them turned upside down, so as to form the lower square, and the
third placed in the same way upside down, upon the two lower. Mr
O'Gallagher sat in great dignity upon the upper one, with his feet on the
lower, being thus sufficiently raised upon an eminence to command a
view of the whole of his pupils in every part of the school. He was not
a tall man, but very square built, with carroty hair and very bushy red
whiskers; to me he appeared a most formidable person, especially when
he opened his large mouth and displayed his teeth, when I was
reminded of the sign of the Red Lion close to my mother's house. I
certainly never had been before so much awed during my short
existence as I was with the appearance of my pedagogue, who sat
before me somewhat in the fashion of a Roman tribune, holding in his
hand a short round ruler, as if it were his truncheon of authority. I had
not been a minute in the school before I observed him to raise his arm;
away went the ruler whizzing through the air, until it hit the skull of the
lad for whom it was intended at the other end of the schoolroom. The
boy, who had been talking to his neighbour, rubbed his poll, and
whined.
"Why don't you bring back my ruler, you spalpeen?" said Mr
O'Gallagher. "Be quick, Johnny Target, or it will end in a blow-up."
The boy, who was not a little confused with the blow, sufficiently
recovered his senses to obey the order, and whimpering as he came up,
returned the ruler to the hands of Mr O'Gallagher.

"That tongue of yours will get you into more trouble than it will
business, I expect, Johnny Target; it's an unruly member, and requires a
constant ruler over it." Johnny Target rubbed his head and said nothing.
"Master Keene," said he, after a short pause, "did you see what a
tundering tump on the head that boy got just now, and do you know
what it was for?"
"No," replied I.
"Where's your manners, you animal? No `If you plase.' For the future,
you must not forget to say, `No, sir,' or, `No, Mr O'Gallagher.' D'ye
mind me--now say yes--what?"
"Yes, what!"
"Yes, what! you little ignoramus; say `yes, Mr O'Gallagher,' and
recollect, as the parish clerk says, `this is the last time of