Sentence:  ... Chips, like some old sea captain, still measured time by the signals of the past; and well he might, for he lived at Mrs. Wickett's, just across the road from the School. He had been there more than a decade, ever since he finally gave up his <WSD>mastership</WSD> ... 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  The state or office of a master.