Chapter 10 chapter Ten

The Careys decided to send Philip to the Royal College of Canterbury.All the pastors in the neighborhood sent their sons there.According to long-standing habits, the school has long been associated with Canterbury Cathedral: the headmaster of the school is an honorary member of the church church; one of the former headmasters is also the vicar of the cathedral.The school encourages children to aspire to receive the priesthood and become a priest; and the school's teaching arrangements also focus on enabling honest and reliable teenagers to serve God for life in the future.There was a preparatory school attached to the Royal College, and it was to this that Philip was now going to be sent.One Thursday afternoon near the end of September, Mr. Carey took Philip to Canterbury.Philip had been excited and uneasy all day.As for school life, he only learned a little bit from the stories in the "Boys' News".In addition, he also read the book (Eric - Little Progress).

When they got off the train at Canterbury Philip was almost fainting with nervous tension; and on the way to the city he sat very pale in the carriage.The high brick wall in front of the school made the school look like a prison.There was a little door in the wall, and when they rang the bell it opened.A clumsy and disheveled workman came out and helped Philip with iron leather trunks and utility boxes.They were ushered into the drawing room.The drawing-room was filled with clumsy, ugly furniture, and a ring of armchairs ran along the wall, giving the impression of solemnity.They waited for the headmaster to come.

"What's Mr. Watson like?" asked Philip after a while. "See for yourself later." There was another silence.Mr. Carey secretly wondered: Why did the principal not show up for so long?Then Philip took courage and said again: "Tell him there's something wrong with my foot." Before Mr. Carey could answer, the door was pushed open, and Mr. Watson walked in swaggeringly.He seemed to Philip a giant: he was six feet tall, with broad shoulders, enormous hands, and a great red beard.He spoke very loudly and lightly, but Philip was terrified by his aggressive gaiety.He shook hands with Mr. Carey, and took Philip's little hand in his.

"Hey, little one, come to school, feeling excited?" he said loudly. Philip blushed and was too embarrassed to know what to answer. "How old are you?" "Nine," said Philip. "You should call me Mr., that's right," his uncle reminded him. "It seems that you still have a lot to learn," the headmaster shouted enthusiastically. To encourage the boy, Mr. Watson tickled Philip with his thick fingers.Philip writhed at the tickling, embarrassed and itchy. "I'll put him in the little dormitory for the time being... you'll like living there, won't you?" he added to Philip. "There are only eight of you there. You won't feel too strange."

At this moment the door opened and Mrs. Watson entered.She is a dark-skinned woman.The black hair is clearly parted in the middle of the head.The lips are surprisingly thick, the nose is quite small, the tip of the nose is round, and the eyes are big and black.The lady's expression was as cold as ice.It was rare for her to speak, and the smile on her face was even harder to see.Mr. Watson introduced Mr. Carey to his wife, and pushed Philip affectionately beside her. "Here's a new kid, Helen. His name is Carey." Mrs. Watson shook Philip's hand silently, and sat down without saying a word.The Headmaster asked Mr. Carey what Philip was reading, and to what extent.The vicar of Blackstable was a little overwhelmed by Mr. Watson's cheerfulness; and after a while Mr. Carey rose hastily to take his leave.

"I think Philip will take care of you now." "Nothing," said Mr. Watson. "I have no problem keeping the baby here. He'll be used to life here in a day or two. What do you say, little one?" Before Philip could answer, the big headmaster burst out laughing.Mr. Carey kissed Philip on the forehead, and went away. "Come with me, boy," said Mr. Watson loudly, "and I'll show you the classroom." Mr. Watson swaggered out of the drawing-room with long strides, and Philip limped after him.He was led into a long room, which was empty, except for two tables as long as a room, with a row of long benches on each side of the table.

"There aren't many students in the school at the moment," said Mr. Watson. "I'll show you the playground, and then I'll leave you alone." Mr. Watson led the way.Philip found himself in a large playground surrounded on three sides by high brick walls, and on the other side by an iron grating, through which he could see a large lawn, beyond which lay some of the Royal College's gardens. school building.A young boy slouches around the playground, kicking the gravel under his feet as he goes. "Hello, Wenning," called Mr. Watson, "when did you come?"

The little boy came forward and shook Mr. Watson's hand. "This is a new classmate, older and taller than you, don't bully him." The headmaster stared at the two children with wide eyes, his bell-like voice was enough to frighten the children, and then he laughed and walked away. "What's your name?" "Kerry." "What does your father do?" "Dad passed away." "Oh! Does your mother do laundry?" "My mother died too." Philip thought his answer would embarrass the boy, but Wenning didn't take it seriously, and continued to joke around with a playful face.

"Oh, did she do laundry while she was alive?" "Washed," Philip answered gruffly. "Then she's a washerwoman?" "No, she's not a washerwoman." "Then she hasn't done laundry for anyone." The little boy felt that he had the upper hand because of his eloquence, and he was very proud.Then he caught sight of Philip's feet. "What's wrong with your feet?" Instinctively Philip drew back the lame foot and hid it behind the good foot so that he would not see it. "My foot is a bit deformed," he replied.

"What happened?" "It's born like this." "let me see." "No." "If you don't look, don't look." The child said so, but suddenly kicked Philip's calf.Philip was caught off guard and was kicked right on the ground, causing him to gasp in pain.However, the pain in the body was not equal to the astonishment in the heart in terms of degree.Philip didn't understand why Wen Ning did such a trick to him.He was still in shock and didn't care to fight back, besides, the child was younger than him.He had read in the Boy's Paper that it was disgraceful to beat a younger opponent.While Philip was rubbing his calf, a third child appeared on the playground, and the tormentor ran away from him.After a while Philip noticed that they were talking to each other and looking at his feet.Philip's cheeks were hot and his body was hairy.

At this time, another group of children came, a total of ten or so, and a few more came in a while, and they chattered: what did they do during the vacation, where did they go, how many wonderful games did they play? cricket.Some new schoolmates appeared, and in a second Philip was talking to them somehow.He looked shy and embarrassed.Philip was anxious to make a pleasant impression, but for a moment he could find nothing to say.The other children asked him this and that, a whole host of questions, and he answered them all with pleasure.A little boy also asked him if he knew how to play cricket. "No," said Philip, "I have trouble with my feet." The boy glanced down at his lower body, flushing.Philip could see that the boy, feeling that he had asked an inappropriate question, was too ashamed to say an apology, but stared at Philip in embarrassment.