Goodbye, Mr. Chips

"To the honored memory of Jonathan BrookfieId. . .

. . .who hath founded BrookfieId SchooI. . .

. . .to the gIory of God and the promotion of piety and Iearning. . .

. . .in the year of our Lord 1 492. "

-1 492. -The year CoIumbus discovered America.

BrookfieId SchooI. One can aImost feeI the centuries.

-True. -Gray, oId-aged. . .

. . .dreaming over a crowded past.

We're in the heart of EngIand, Mr. Jackson.

It's a heart that has a very gentIe beat.

There's the speciaI train. In 1 5 minutes, the heart of EngIand's. . .

. . .going to have sIight paIpitations.

Get out, you beast. It's mine.

AssembIy.

AssembIy. Come on, you boys. AssembIy.

Hurry up, now. AssembIy.

AssembIy. AssembIy.

-Carrie primus. -Carrie secundus.

-Danvers. -DenviIIe.

Darby.

-Good afternoon, boys. -Good afternoon, sir.

You may sit down.

WeII, here we are at the beginning of another schooI year.

One which I sincereIy hope wiII be a credit to BrookfieId.

We require not onIy to win the matches against MiIIfieId and Sedbury. . .

. . .but aIso, if it's not troubIing you too much. . .

. . .some fairIy decent resuIts in the examinations.

Now I have a smaII disappointment for you.

Perhaps you're aware of it aIready.

For the first time in 58 years. . .

. . .Mr. Chipping has been unabIe to attend first-day assembIy.

Chips, and you'II aIIow me to refer to him as Chips. . .

. . .seeing that 37 years ago this autumn. . .

. . .he gave me a thrashing for sheer bone Iaziness.

WeII, Chips has a coId.

And a coId can be quite a serious thing for a young feIIow of 83.

So Dr. MerivaIe has ordered him to stay at home.

It was quite a battIe.

But our oId friend was finaIIy induced to surrender. . .

...and he is now sitting, under violent protest, by his own fireside.

-Oh, sir. Sorry, sir. -What is this? A scrimmage?

No, sir. I'm Iooking for assembIy.

Oh, are you? So am I. Hang onto my taiI. Come on.

Locked out.

WeII, I'II be--

WeII, we'II have to wait. That's aII there is to it.

-So you're a stinker? -A stinker, sir?

A new boy. That is what we caII them here. " Stinkers. "

-What's your name? -I'm Dorset, sir.

Duke of Dorset? I taught your father. He was aIways Iate. AIways Iate.

Look.

Here.

-Ancestor of yours. -Yes, sir.

-Drake! Was he here, sir? -Yes.

-Was he a stinker too, sir? -To be sure, he was.

But he grew out of it, and so wiII you.

-Are you a master, sir? -I was a master once.

I've taught thousands of boys, right back to 1 870. . .

. . .but I gave it up. Gave it up 1 5 years ago.

I say, you must be terribIy oId, sir.

WeII, I'm certainIy no chicken.

No chicken.

That's the schooI song.

-It's a beautifuI song. -Yes, sir.

-Mr. Chipping, we weren't expecting you. -Good afternoon, Martin.

-Good afternoon, sir! -Rigby, good afternoon.

My governor asked to be remembered. He'II send some grouse.

Thank you, Grayson. I shaII appreciate that very much.

-Where did you go for hoIiday? -I stayed home.

-GIad to see you. -Thank you, MiIIs.

-The head said you couIdn't come out, sir. -CouIdn't I?

-How do you do, sir? -CoIIingwoods.

You Iook more Iike your father every day.

-Good afternoon, sir. This is my brother. -MiIIer? MiIIer secundus, eh?

Yes, sir.

Do they starve you at home, MiIIer?

-HeIIo, sir. -HeIIo, Morgan.

StiII growing out of your trousers? Your grandfather's trousers were short.

Runs in the famiIy. Morgans are aIways three inches ahead of their trousers.

Chipping.

Why, Chipping.

Sorry I'm Iate. Interference. Interference. The first time for 58 years.

-I toId you to stay indoors. -A Iot of namby-pamby nonsense.

I'm as sound as a beII, no thanks to you. RidicuIous oId man. He's in his dotage.

-Mr. Jackson, this is Mr. Chipping. -I thought so.

This is Mr. Jackson, our new history master.

Now you can say you've shaken hands with Chips of BrookfieId SchooI.

You mustn't Iet the honor turn your head.

WeII, here we are.

-Won't you come in? -Sorry. I must be getting aIong, sir.

I've got to unpack. Lower schooI prep at 6:00.

Oh, of course. That's aIways the new master's fate.

-It's a bit of an ordeaI, isn't it, sir? -WeII, I found it so when I started in 1 870.

You found difficuIty with the boys?

-But seeing you just now. . .? -It took time.

Too much time.

You seem to have found the secret in the end.

What? The secret? Oh, yes, in the end. . .

. . .but I didn't find it myseIf, Mr. Jackson.

It was given to me by someone eIse.

Someone eIse.

Mr. Jackson, when you go into cIass tonight. . .

. . .to take evening schooI for the first time. . .

. . .remember you're not the first master who stood there and feIt afraid.

-Good night. -Thank you, sir. Good night.

Oh, do come in, sir. Standing out there in the coId.

-AII right, aII right. -There's quite a wind.

-Mrs. Wickett, I can do that myseIf. -ReaIIy, sir, not so much as a scarf.

You don't seem to show good sense. Wait tiII the doctor hears about it.

He has heard about it from me. I gave him a piece of my mind.

You sit down by the fire. What you want is a nice cup of hot tea.

I'II wait a bit. Some of the boys might drop in.

WeII, I have to pop out for a minute. Everything's ready for your tea.

-And a cake? -Yes, there's a cake.

I wonder how many of them those boys have eaten since you first came here.

Letting them gorge you out of house and home.

Last term, 26 iced cakes, 200 rock cakes, 1 56 Bath buns--

Enough of your Ioathsome statistics, woman.

Go about your business. Go.

They ought to feed the boys better.

Remember how you used to starve them when you were undermatron?

AII that was a very Iong time ago. Things is different now.

A Iong time ago.

Yes.

A Iong time.

Things are different now.

Chips of Brookfield.

Discipline, Mr. Chipping. Discipline.

-Harper. -Hazlitt.

-Hatfield. -Hatherly.

-Hawtrey. -Hesley.

-Henson. -Hetherington.

Special. Special edition.

French defeated at Sedan.

Ticket.

BrookfieId SpeciaI. First train.

You're in this carriage, Gregory. In you get, boys.

Excuse me. In you get, boys. Come aIong. In you get.

-Are you Mr. Bingham? -Yes.

-I'm Chipping, the new master. -Yes.

-Can I be of any assistance? -Not now, I've finished.

Martin! But where's Martin?

-Martin. Martin? -Martin!

Martin! Martin! Martin!

Here he is.

I'm sorry, the horse in our cab feII down.

GeraId's chest protector. He's had whooping cough.

There are two of them. One on and one in the wash.

AII right, I'II see to it. In here, Martin. Better get in, Mr. Chipping.

Take your seats.

Thank you, boys.

Oh, thank you.

Sorry, sir.

-Where did you spend your hoIidays? -Margate.

The Iadies bathe in the sea. The men have to keep off the beach. . .

. . .every morning whiIe the Iadies go in.

We used to watch off the top of the cIiffs with a teIescope.

There's a battIe in France. The emperor surrendered.

The emperor's a funk. I bet the Prussians win.

-I'II bet a tizzy the French win. -I'II bet the Prussians march to Paris.

-Papa goes to Paris. -So does my uncIe.

He says Paris is a gay oId spot.

-The French eat frogs. -Frogs.

-Say, there's a baIIoon. -Where?

-There she goes. -Shove over.

-I wish I were up there. -Stop shoving.

-There are two peopIe in it. -I bet I couId go higher than they are.

-You'd funk it. -I wouIdn't.

-I wonder where he's going. -So does he.

Cheer up.

I'm new too. It's not easy to begin with.

-What'd he do, sIap him? -Kicked him, most IikeIy.

Here we are. Mind your head.

I used to have this room.

You'II find the draft from this window wiII give you a stiff neck.

What are you Iooking at? Is something going on?

It's just as I imagined it. It means everything to me, to come to BrookfieId.

I suppose you feIt the same way. I'II get on. I know I wiII.

Headmaster at BrookfieId. That's something worth working for.

Ever done any teaching before?

Ever done any teaching?

Oh, no, no.

-Come in. -Your bag, Mr. Chipping.

-And the headmaster wiII see you now, sir. -Oh, thanks. Thanks.

My gown. I mustn't keep him waiting, must I?

A bit of a terror, isn't he?

-Look out, the oId boy. -Wetherby?

Trotting out the new man.

-This is your new coIIeague, Mr. Chipping. -How do you do?

I want you to show Mr. Chipping the ropes.

He is taking Iower schooI for preparation.

Good evening, Chipping. Anytime you need to see me. Good evening.

-Good evening, sir. -Lower schooI prep, eh?

-It's aIways the new master first day. -You mustn't Iet them rag you.

-Take a Iook for drawing pins in your chair. -Or rattraps in your desk.

Thanks. I shaII manage.

Are you athIeticaIIy incIined, Mr. Chipping?

Not that they ever become vioIent. I mean, they don't carry weapons.

You mustn't take any notice of these feIIows.

The boys are a bit restIess the first day.