Heart/The Examinations
THE EXAMINATIONS
Here are the examinations at last! Nothing else is to be heard, in the streets in the vicinity of the school, from boys, fathers, mothers, and even tutors; examinations, points, themes, averages, dismissals, promotions: all utter the same words. Yesterday morning there was composition; this morning there is arithmetic. It was touching to see all the parents, as they took their sons to school, giving them their last advice in the street, and many mothers went with their sons to their seats, to see whether the inkstand was filled, and to try their pens, and they still continued to hover round the entrance, and to say:—
“Courage! Attention! I entreat you.”
Our assistant master was Coatti, the one with the black beard, who mimics the voice of a lion, and never punishes any one. There were boys who were white with fear. When the teacher broke the seal of the letter from the town-hall, and drew out the problem, not a breath was audible. He read it loudly, staring now at one, now at another, with terrible eyes; but we knew that had he been able to announce the answer also, so that we might all get promoted, he would have been delighted.
After an hour of work many began to grow weary, for the problem was difficult. One cried. Crossi dealt himself blows on the head. And many of them are not to blame, poor boys, for not knowing, for they have not had much time to study, and have been neglected by their parents.
Stardi remained motionless for more than an hour, with his eyes on the problem, and his fists on his temples, and then he finished the whole thing in five minutes. The master made his round among the benches, saying:—
“Be calm! Be calm! I advise you to be calm!”
And when he saw that any one was discouraged, he opened his mouth, as though about to devour him, like a lion, in order to make him laugh and inspire him with courage. Towards eleven o'clock, peeping down through the blinds, I saw many parents pacing the street in their impatience. There was Precossi's father, in his blue blouse, who had deserted his shop, with his face still quite black. There was Crossi's mother, the vegetable-vendor; and Nelli's mother, dressed in black, who could not stand still.
A little before midday, my father arrived and raised his eyes to my window; my dear father! At noon we had all finished. And it was a sight at the close of school! Every one ran to meet the boys, to ask questions, to turn over the leaves of the copy-books to compare them with the work of their comrades.
“How many sums? What is the total? And subtraction? And the answer? And the marking off of decimals?”
All the masters were running about, summoned in a hundred directions.
My father took from my hand the rough copy, looked at it, and said, “Very well, indeed.”
Beside us was the blacksmith, Precossi, who was also inspecting his son's work, but rather uneasily, and not comprehending it. He turned to my father:—
“Will you do me the favor to tell me the total?”
My father read the number. The other gazed and reckoned. “Brave little one!” he exclaimed, in perfect content. And my father and he looked at each other for a moment with a kindly smile, like two friends. My father offered his hand, and the other shook it; and they parted, saying, “Until the oral examination.” “Until the oral examination.”
After walking a few paces, we heard a falsetto voice which made us turn our heads. It was the blacksmith singing.