198 When we Old Fogeys were Boys. 



whole when outside College walls; whereas Commoner 

 prefects had no power over College boys. No anecdotes 

 about bullying. A bully was a bully ; and many a good 

 fellow who was not competent for the extraordinary power 

 entrusted to him in boyhood, in after life has expressed his 

 regret for hard things done in his youth. 



Fancy the following state of things for public school boys 

 of this present day ! — I am only speaking now of College. 



The discipline was Spartan. Imagine yourself a junior 

 in a chamber, and at six o'clock, on a winter morning, being 

 aroused by a shoeblack shouting your name into the 

 chamber, hearing which, you had to arise and let him in, 

 call all the chamber, put on a faggot and light the fire, go 

 into the quadrangle and fill all the prefects' washing basins 

 at the open conduit (for no one except prefects and seniors 

 in chambers were allowed to perform their ablutions in- 

 doors), and perform your own toilet there also with the 

 snow on the ground, with the thermometer anywhere ; see 

 that everybody got up ; watch for the master's coming at 

 *' bells down," and be in your place in chapel to answer 

 your name. After chapel, you had to run to every prefect 

 who called ''Junior!" and you had to do anything he 

 wanted — send for cofiee into the town, brush his clothes 

 (but never black his boots — that was menial work), and be 

 obliged generally to fag till school time ; your next duty 

 was to air your eye at a keyhole and watch for the second 

 master's arrival, and give the " hiss " to warn the school of 

 his approach ; then you went up to your lessons till break- 

 fast time, 8.30, probably never having had half time to 

 leain them. At breakfast time you were washing butter 

 and baking toast for your master, and waiting on him, and 

 possibly after breakfast would have to pick up balls at fives 

 until 9.30, having managed to get a mouthful of breakfast 

 yourself or not, as the case might be ; you then aii^ed your 



