e school kept boarding-houses (such as
Potky's, Chip's, Wickens's, Pinney's, and so on), and the playground, or
"green" as it was called, although the only thing green about the place
was the broken glass on the walls that separate Slaughter House from
Wilderness Row and Goswell Street--(many a time have I seen Mr. Pickwick
look out of his window in that street, though we did not know him
then)--the playground, or green, was common to all. But if any stray
boy from Potky's was found, for instance, in, or entering into, Chip's
house, the most dreadful tortures were practised upon him: as I can
answer in my own case.

Fancy, then, our astonishment at seeing a little three-foot wretch, of
the name of Wills, one of Hawkins's fags (they were both in Potky's),
walk undismayed amongst us lions at Chip's house, as the "rich and rare"
young lady did in Ireland. We were going to set upon him and devour or
otherwise maltreat him, when he cried out in a little shrill impertinent
voice, "TELL BERRY I WANT HIM!"

We all roared with laughter. Berry was in the sixth form, and Wills or
any under-boy would as soon have thought of "wanting" him, as I should
of wanting the Duke of Wellington.

Little Wills looked round in an imperious kind of way. "Well," says he,
stamping his foot, "do you hear? TELL BERRY THAT HAWKINS WANTS HIM!"

As for resisting the law of Hawkins, you might as soon think of
resisting immortal Jove. Berry and Tolmash, who was to be his
bottle-holder, made their appearance immediately, and walked out into
the green where Hawkins was waiting, and, with an irresistible audacity
that only belonged to himself, in the face of nature and all the
regulations of the place, was smoking a cigar. When Berry and Tolmash
found him, the three began slowly pacing up and down in the sunshine,
and we little boys watched them.

Hawkins moved his arms and hands every now and then, and was evidently
laying down the law about boxing. We saw his fists darting out every now
and then with mysterious swiftness, hitting one, two, quick as thought,
as if in the face of an adversary; now his left hand went up, as if
guarding his own head, now his immense right fist dreadfully flapped
the air, as if punishing his imaginary opponent's miserable ribs. The
conversation lasted for some ten minutes, about which time gown-boys'
dinner was over, and we saw these youths, in their black horned-button
jackets and knee-breeches, issuing from their door i