A door opened, and I stood in the blaze of forty-two pairs of upturned eyes.
I was a cool hand for my age, but I lacked the boldness to face this battery without wincing.

In a sort of dazed way I stumbled after Mr.
Grimshaw down a narrow aisle between two rows of desks, and shyly took the seat pointed out to me.
The faint buzz that had floated over the school-room at our entrance died away, and the interrupted lessons were resumed.

By degrees I recovered my coolness, and ventured to look around me.
The owners of the forty-two caps were seated at small green desks like the one assigned to me.

The desks were arranged in six rows, with spaces between just wide enough to prevent the boys' whispering.

A blackboard set into the wall extended clear across the end of the room; on a raised platform near the door stood the master's table; and directly in front of this was a recitation-bench capable of seating fifteen or twenty pupils.