objecting.

As East had said, the regular master of the form was unwell, and they
were to be heard by one of the new masters, quite a young man, who had
only just left the university. Certainly it would be hard lines, if,
by dawdling as much as possible in coming in and taking their places,
entering into long-winded explanations of what was the usual course of
the regular master of the form, and others of the stock contrivances
of boys for wasting time in school, they could not spin out the lesson
so that he should not work them through more than the forty lines; as
to which quantity there was a perpetual fight going on between the
master and his form, the latter insisting, and enforcing by passive
resistance, that it was the prescribed quantity of Homer for a shell
lesson,[11] the former that there was no fixed quantity, but that they
must always be ready to go on to fifty or sixty lines if there were
time within the hour. However, notwithstanding all their efforts, the
new master got on horribly quick; he seemed to have the bad taste to
be really interested in the lesson, and to be trying to work them up
into something like appreciation of it, giving them good spirited
English words, instead of the wretched bald stuff into which they
rendered poor old Homer, and construing over each piece himself to
them, after each boy, to show them how it should be done.

[11] #Shell lesson#: a lesson for the shell, or lower fourth
form or class.

Now the clock strikes the three-quarters; there is only a quarter of
an hour more, but the forty lines are all but done. So the boys, one
after another, who are called up, stick more and more, and make balder
and even more bald work of it. The poor young master is pretty near
beat by this time, and feels ready to knock his head against the wall,
or his fingers against somebody else's head. So he gives up altogether
the lower and middle parts of the form, and looks around in despair at
the boys on the top bench, to see if there is one out of whom he can
strike a spark or two, and who will be too chivalrous[12] to murder
the most beautiful utterances of the most beautiful woman of the old
world. His eye rests on Arthur, and he calls him up to finish
construing Helen's speech. Whereupon all the other boys draw long
breaths, and begin to stare about and take it easy. They are all safe;
Arthur is at the head of the form, and sure to be able to construe,
and that will tide on safely t