STATUKS OX WILDIXC.S. 



2OI 



A MODKRX ST.VH K AT KARNKT. 



wished to emphasise the work ol the Wrilin 

 rather than ol the Matron, whose duty it was to see that 

 they learnt to knit and use their needles. Samuel Taylor 

 Coleridge spent a year at Hertford before lie was moved 

 to London, and wrote of it, &quot; I was very happy on the 

 whole, for 1 had plenty to eat and drink, and we had 

 pudding and vegetables almost every day &quot; : an Klysian 

 state ot things which did not always obtain in the 

 historic home of the Blues in London. It is odd that 

 Charles Lamb never went to the Hertford school, because 

 lie was only seven years old when he was entered. 

 Odder still, that with all his passion for Hertfordshire 

 in general, and for Blakesware in particular, lie never 

 referred to the schools at Ware or Hertford, though 

 Hlakesware was so near the former. One almost 

 nourishes a grudge against that gentle spirit for ignoring 

 the little statue at Ware that he mast have seen so 

 often. Xeither in his &quot; Recollections of Christ s 

 Hospital&quot; nor in &quot;Christ s Hospital Five and Thirty 

 Year Ago &quot; does he as much as mention the existence 

 of the Hertfordshire schools, and we are left to 

 Coleridge, &quot; the inspired charity boy &quot; of the latter 

 essay for some of the little knowledge \ve have of them. 

 In the example of a modern statue in a modern 

 niche the architect of the house which they adorn 

 has designed the niche in a simple vein, and very 

 charming is the little sportsman, evidently bent on very 



is lar more usual ; but despite the more perishable 

 nature of oak, the girl and boy which appear in the 

 accompanying picture are in admirable repair. Though 

 all three are rather minutely carved, their surface- 

 have Miffercd but little with age. The characteri-ti 

 garb of the boy. in Charles Lamb s words. &quot; a&amp;lt; it i&amp;gt; 

 antique and venerable, feeds his self-respect,&quot; while 

 the little cap and dress of the t;irls giv&amp;lt; them a dcnmiv 

 aspect altogether delightful. 1 he sculptor, whoe\v; 

 he was, cvideutlv saw no signs of &quot; the unruly and 

 d i s o r - 

 d e r 1 y 

 carriage! 

 and be- 

 hav i our 

 of the 

 ( , i r 1 s 

 w h i c h 

 so vexed 

 t h e 

 T i e a - 

 surer on 

 his visit 

 in 1715. 

 F r o in 

 the little 

 roll 

 w h i c h 

 the child 

 h O I d s 

 i n h e r 

 h a n d , 

 it is clear 

 that he 

 Master 



228. AT CHRIST S HOSPITAL, HERTFORD. 



