MARLBOROUGH COLLEGE. 91 



said, " Oh ! that's all right ! it will give me much pleasure meeting 

 him ; for although, unfortunately, I was not under him at school, I 

 am sure I never heard his name mentioned except in praise." 



But if the masters made guys of themselves, the boys were often 

 not far behind in that respect. I was forced into a shilling grey 

 Scotch-cap, from which the ribbons, put for ornament behind, soon 

 disappeared, and upon this I sat when I was in school. My trousers 

 also usually had one, and sometimes two, frayed lines where tucks 

 had been let out as my legs grew longer ; and upon Sundays the 

 prefects and fifth-form boys appeared at Church in the full ball 

 costume worn by the "mashers" of that time. A long-tail coat, and 

 waistcoat which had one button only, in order to display a white 

 shirt-front kept together by three large jewelled studs like unripe 

 blackberries, and over these was an enormous Joinville tie, such as 

 Lord Scamperdale wore at Jawlyford Court, making him appear 

 " like a goose with an apparatus round its neck to prevent it creeping 

 through gaps and gates." The hair of these " awful swells," as they 

 were called, was plastered down with bear's grease, which gave 

 them a very oily look ; and thus adorned, with a blue or red 

 cricketing cap surmounting all, they would promenade the Bath or 

 Pewsey roads, much to the amusement of strangers passing by. 



Everyone did his best to look smart on Sundays, even if smartness 

 consisted merely in getting an extra polish to his Blucher boots. 

 But it was a hungry day, no notice being taken of Festivals, though 

 Fast-days were rigidly observed. 



Lent was a much dreaded time at school, and certainly there 

 was enough tyranny and humbug mixed up with it to last one for a 

 lifetime. It made me break the tenth commandment, for I envied 

 the lucky fellows who had money and who could lay in a store of 

 food. Two brothers, who sat near me and whose features betrayed 

 their Hebrew origin, would bring out, about Shrove Tuesday, a 

 well-lined purse, and tell us in exasperating detail, the precautions 

 they were taking to drive off the wolf of hunger, whilst the others 

 sitting near longed, of course, to follow their example. On 



