6 WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA 



honourable character of the schoolmaster, and 

 the simple, adventurous disposition of his pupil, 

 are vividly depicted in this account. The follow- 

 ing quotations from it show that preparatory 

 schools were less luxurious in the last century 

 than they commonly are at the present day: — 



"But now let me enter into the minutiae of Tud- 

 hoe School. Mr. Storey had two wigs, one of 

 which was of a flaxen colour, without powder, and 

 had only one lower row of curls. The other had 

 two rows, and was exceedingly well powdered. 

 AVhen he appeared in the schoolroom with this 

 last wig on, I knew that I was safe from the birch, 

 as he invariably went to Durham and spent the 

 day there. But when I saw that he had his flaxen 

 wig on, my countenance fell. He was in the 

 schoolroom all day, and I was too often placed in 

 a very uncomfortable position at nightfall. But 

 sometimes I had to come in contact with the birch- 

 rod for various frolics independent of school eru- 

 dition. I once smarted severely for an act of 

 kindness. We had a boy named Bryan Salvin, 

 from Croxdale Hall. He was a dull, sluggish, and 

 unwieldy lad, quite incapable of climbing exer- 

 tions. Being dissatisfied with the regulations of 

 the establishment, he came to me one Palm Sun- 

 day, and entreated me to get into the schoolroom 

 through the window, and write a letter of com- 

 plaint to his sister Eliza in York. I did so, having 

 insinuated myself with vast exertion through the 

 iron stanchions which secured the window; ^sed 

 revocare gradum.' Whilst I was thrusting might 

 and main through the stanchions, on my way out 

 — suddenly, oh, horrible ! the schoolroom door flew 



