"That was the schoolmaster's doings," said Tom. "I thought myself it was almost too difficult a piece; but he told us to get something good while we were at it, and something it would pay us to remember, so we chose 'Hamlet.' We give something almost every year, you see. Last year we gave the trial scene from 'Pickwick Papers,' but the folks here didn't seem to see the fun in it. They took it all in sober earnest, and never laughed from the beginning to the end. So this year we thought we'd try something in the tragedy line."