76 " MY KINGDOM FOR A HORSE ! " 



'Tis forty years, my old friend John, 

 Since you and I were b'ys, 



When we were b'ys, 



Merry, merry b'ys ; 

 When we were b'ys together 

 Methinks it seems but yesterday 

 Since we were b'ys together ! 



This used always to be applauded to the echo and 

 " Mindar " sang it with a most benevolent and self- 

 satisfied smile. 



That first term I got thoroughly initiated into Rugby 

 football, though I was then no novice at it. The game 

 was compulsory unless you had a medical certificate to 

 exempt you ; and, after dinner, on half-holida}^, it was 

 customary to repair to the notice-board on the outer door, 

 where, as often as not, you would find yourself posted up 

 to play on one side or the other of a " pick up " match 

 among your own house, with the footnote : "All must 

 come." That was good business, and I never heard of a 

 conscientious objector. 



Then there were the House runs over long distances of 

 country, and here the compulsion was in the alternative : 

 " All fags must run or carry coats," which meant that if 

 you did not run you had to attend at the start and receive 

 coats from those who took them off, and carry these coats 

 to the " come in " so as to be ready to hand them to the 

 runners. During that first term of mine I was always 

 one of the runners. 



Another pastime was described as " House washing," 

 and this is how I wrote about it to my sister at the period 

 under notice : 



There was what is called a " house washing " yesterday. That 

 is, the house went down to the brook and commenced jumping 

 the same in certain selected spots. Of course some of these spots 

 are selected because no one can jump them, and the small boys 

 can seldom get over any at all. The biggest go first and stand 

 by to haul the others out as they go in ; this is sometimes a 

 difficult operation, as they occasionally go above the knees in 



