MARLBOROUGH COLLEGE. 13 



lying on the banks of the sacred Ganges ; and although night-mares 

 seldom trouble me, that sound, or an examination paper, of which 

 I cannot answer a single word, take the place of other terrors which 

 troubled sleepers see. 



There was a boy who was only seven when he arrived at school ; 

 he sat near me, and one day he whispered that he thought he could 

 eat a house, meaning that he was very hungry. It was resurrection- 

 day, on which a rechauffe was served up, surmounted by such a 

 formidable crust, that a very limited portion would have made even 

 sturdy Friar Tuck cry, " Hold, enough." But hunger had made my 

 neighbour reckless, and he demanded a second slice ; and then the 

 dreaded Inspector stood before him. Perhaps terror checked his 

 appetite ; for, although he crammed the delicate morsels into his 

 mouth, he found how true the saying is : Naturam non expellas furca, 

 or, " You can't drive out nature with a fork." The master eyed 

 his victim for some moments, which, though they may have been 

 pleasant enough to him, were agony to the wretched boy ; and at 

 length, pulling out the well-known pocket book, he said, " Come 

 to my desk when the school bell rings, and I will cane you." 



How gladly the entire school would have hailed the sudden 

 appearance of the Editor of ''Truth,'" or the Secretary of the Society 

 for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children on the scene, to stay the 

 reverend arm. 



There was a tradition in the Lower School, that if any master 

 raised his arm above his head whilst in the act of caning, he was 

 liable to be fined a bottle of the best champagne. Whether this 

 penalty was ever enforced in my case, I don't pretend to say, but, 

 if it was, I certainly never received my share. Perhaps it was 

 enforced in the " Common room," where, of course, the masters 

 drank my health, hoping, at the same time, that the dose would be 

 repeated soon. 



When our first scanty meal at school was ended, as the days 

 were long, we were all let loose into the large courtyard which is 

 bounded by the iron railings, and there we had to make acquaintance 



