MARLBOROUGH COLLEGE. i^ 



restrained, for casting all decorum to the winds, they made a sudden 

 rush, which sent me flying over and over, till at last I landed on 

 my back upon the floor. And by the time I had regained my legs 

 every tart was gone. 



If any of those robbers are living now, and have those tarts upon 

 their conscience, perhaps they will be glad to hear that I give them 

 absolution ; for, on mature reflection, I admit that our life at school 

 was one continued struggle for existence, with a survival of the 

 fittest. Probably their consciences give them very little trouble; 

 for many years after, whilst shooting in the Himalayas, I suddenly 

 appeared before one of those very knaves of tarts sitting quite 

 unconcernedly beneath a Tamarind tree, and after mutual recog- 

 nition, the incident I have mentioned was recalled ; but so far from 

 producing expressions of sorrow or regret, it caused such peals of 

 laughter, in which I was fain to join, that all the game in the vicinity 

 was scared away, and the woods, which subsequently we beat 

 together, were drawn blank. 



This knave and I joined camps, and after dinner, before a roaring 

 tire of logs outside, old Marlborough stories vexed the drowsy ear 

 of night to such a scandalous extent, that our Jemadar at last, with 

 folded supplicating hands, heading a deputation, said, " Hiizour ! 

 Iskoul kl kahdni mi bollye, kiswaste tamam rat banda log ku nind nahin 

 ata,'" which, after compliments, means that our Marlborough stories 

 kept the entire camp awake. 



This tart incident showed very clearly that, notwithstanding 

 my companions' studies in Latin grammar, they had still very hazy 

 ideas regarding the correct translation of meum and tuum ; so that 

 any property I had, or might hereafter acquire, would never be safe 

 unless properly secured under lock and key. 



An order had lately been promulgated to the effect that any lad 

 who wanted a " playbox " could have one, with the consent of his 

 people at home, given by letter to the writing and ciphering master. 

 So I scrawled a letter home, evidently under the impression that 

 because I knew the writing master's name myself, everybody else, 



