MARLBOROUGH COLLEGE. 25 



afar, and in less time than it takes me to record the fact, every apple 

 had disappeared, and m}' box was smashed to atoms. 



My friend, when he could extricate himself, was a truly piteous 

 sight. Newly-made cider poured down his hair and face from the 

 over-ripe fruit crushed up against him ; first, in his endeavour to 

 protect his property and mine, and then in his frantic efforts to 

 escape. He very generously offered to recompense me for my loss — 

 at some future time. But I made no claim, particularly as he had 

 no assets of any kind ; and, after all, it was no great loss to me, for 

 I don't remember that I ever had any property which I could have 

 put in my playbox had it remained intact. 



Whilst these scenes of rapine were being enacted out of doors, 

 there was not much inside the school which seemed likely to fulfil 

 the forecast which had been made at home, that my school days 

 would be full of joy. I was placed in the lowest class, and left 

 to learn the Latin grammar by myself; for no one ever took the 

 slightest trouble to teach me anything. 



My master eyed me askance when I went up to class, and 

 murmured that a certain pricking, or itching in his thumbs, led him 

 to suppose that he must use his cane. A forecast which I found 

 was much more likely to come true than those which had been 

 made at home. The lessons appeared to him so easy, that he failed 

 to comprehend why I should find any difficulty at all, and so, 

 obeying the aphorism of Solomon, if I declined learning the three 

 concords or agreements in Latin, he would endeavour to beat them 

 into me with his cane. 



The knoutings which I received from my master's reverend arm, 

 turned my back all the colours of the rainbow; and when I screamed 

 from the fearful torture they produced, the head-master would 

 send a prefect down to say, that if I made such a horrid noise, 

 he also would have a go-in at me, when my master had done his 

 worst. 



Occasionally two masters would be caning at the same time, with 

 the rhythm of blacksmiths hammering on an anvil. 



