He had never been at a great English school before; he was conscientious to the last degree, but inexperienced.

And I, being only an old woman, and never having been at school at all, do not feel myself able to give an opinion upon this or many other matters of which I, like poor Mr.Sawyer, have no experience.
I can only, children, 'tell the tale as 'twas told to me,' and not even that, for the telling to me was by an actor in the little drama, and I cannot feel, therefore, that in this case the 'tale will gain by the telling,' but very decidedly the other way.
"To return, however, to the bar-jumping--of all the boys who made a practice of it, no one did so more regularly than Carlo, 'Berkeley minor.' He was not a lazy boy in the morning; many and many a time he would have been quite soon enough in the chapel had he gone round the proper way; but it became almost a habit with him to take the nominally forbidden short cut--so much a habit that Mr.Wyngate, who was perfectly aware of it, said to him jokingly one day, that he would take it as a personal favour, if, _for once_, Carlo would gratify him by coming to chapel by the regular entrance.

As for being _blamed_ for his bar-jumping, such an idea never entered Carlo's head; he would almost as soon have expected to be blamed for eating his breakfast, and, naturally enough, when Mr.Sawyer's reign began, it never occurred to him to alter his conduct.

For some time things went on as usual, Mr.Sawyer either never happening to see Carlo's daily piece of gymnastics, or not understanding that it was prohibited.

But something occurred at last, some joke on the subject, or some little remark from one of the other masters, which suddenly drew the new 'junior's' attention to the fact.
And two or three mornings afterwards, coming upon Carlo in the very act of bar-jumping, Mr.Sawyer ventured mildly, but in reality firmly, to remonstrate.
"'Berkeley,' he said, in his nervous, jerky fashion, 'that is not the _proper_ way from your schoolroom to chapel, is it ?' "Carlo took this remark as a good joke, after the manner of Mr.Wyngate's on the same subject.
"'No, sir,' he replied mischievously, 'I don't suppose it is.' "'Then,' said Mr.Sawyer, stammering a very little, as he sometimes did when more nervous than usual, 'then will you oblige me for the future by coming the proper way ?' "He turned away before Carlo had time to reply, if indeed he had an answer ready, which is doubtful, for he could not make up his mind if Mr.
Sawyer was in earnest or not.