74 "MY KINGDOM FOR A HORSE!" 



placed in his form, but nothing could be done to alter 

 this until the end of term, and in the meanwhile quite 

 early in the term I was summoned home, for my father 

 died on 8th September 1865. 



Mr Jex-Blake told me this bad news with inimitably 

 gentle kindness, but it was a crushing blow, and I remember 

 seeing an all-black railway engine at Rugby station as 

 I departed. This seemed exactly suited to the occasion. 

 I was met at Thirsk Station by Mr Arrowsmith, the Rev. 

 T. Walker, of Sleights, and Mr John Hodgson, of North- 

 allerton, the executors of my father's will, and with them 

 went to Kilvington. It was a house of gloom indeed, 

 but there is no need to dwell on that. I attended the 

 funeral at Thirsk, and to me the most memorable incident 

 in connection with it is that an old, deaf watchmaker, 

 named Dicky Scurr, went up to the grave-side after the 

 service and threw a rose down on the coffin. I never knew 

 what was the cause of this kindly tribute, but it must 

 have been a good one. 



Well, then, I had to set off back to school, with a heavy 

 heart, and I sometimes think that I got better through 

 that first term of mine than new fellows do as a rule, 

 because boys, though ruthless by nature, are yet awed 

 and softened by the news of such a catastrophe as had 

 befallen me. 



Trouble, however, when you are young, is evanescent, 

 and I think I began to enjoy life at school before the end 

 of that term. Perusal of my various letters home shows 

 that I was constantly asking for creature comforts in 

 the shape of hampers of food, but here it should be 

 explained that in those days we were in a great measure 

 dependent on our own resources both for breakfast and 

 tea, nothing but bread and butter being given you in the 

 ordinary routine. A large table was set apart in the hall, 

 on which all the private viands, such as hams, pigeon 

 pies, etc., were placed, and it was the custom, at the begin- 

 ning of each term, to form ourselves into sets otherwise 

 messes subscribing so much, and appointing one of us 



