30 The Course, the Camp, the Chase. 



and then there was pupil-room again till nearly dinner 

 time. Whilst keeping me waiting, " X " would amuse 

 himself by " spanking " us with hair brushes, generally 

 using the bristles side, or with a cane, and varied the 

 performance by making us do the same to each other, 

 till we could not help bursting into tears from pain, 

 hard as we tried not to do so. When, however, 

 " P " was present, he would not allow this bullying 

 to go on, and frequently spoke to the others about it. 

 One day, however, " X's " ingenuity devised a new 

 torture, that very nearly put an end to my career alto- 

 gether. This was to pour boiling tea down our throats, 

 because there happened to be " blacks " in his cup. We 

 were told to stand together, and he commenced with me. 

 To this day I remember the shock that seemed to strike 

 me as I swallowed a mouthful of the boiling liquid, for 

 the water had only just been poured into the teapot. 

 Something seemed to be pressing me into the ground from 

 the crown of my head. I felt perfectly dazed, and 

 turning, staggered out of the room with only one idea — to 

 get to my own room, if possible, and lie down. Before I 

 had gone three or four steps " X " ran after me and 

 carried me back, and then got thoroughly frightened, for 

 I could only gasp, and was utterly unable to answer, or 

 even grasp the questions that he asked me one after the 

 other. I did not feel any pain after the first acute 

 sensation, but only felt thoroughly stunned, as if I could 

 do nothing but lie down and be quiet ; and the only words 

 that I really distinguished, and which fixed themselves 

 into my memory, was " P " saying, " What an infernal 

 shame. What a d — d bully you are. Poor little 

 chap." Finally, I got downstairs, and even managed 



