HERTFORD: MY SCHOOL LIFE 49 



of many generations of schoolboys. In the central space were 

 two rows of desks with forms on each side. There was a 

 master's desk at each end, and two others on the sides, and 

 two open fireplaces equidistant from the ends. Every boy 

 had a desk, the sloping lid of which opened, to keep his school- 

 books and anything else he liked, and between each pair of 

 desks at the top was a leaden ink-pot, sunk in a hole in the 

 middle rail of the desks. As we went to school even in win- 

 ter at seven in the morning, and three days a week remained 

 till five in the afternoon, some artificial light was necessary, 

 and this was effected by the primitive method of every boy 

 bringing his own candles or candle-ends with any kind of 

 candlestick he liked. An empty ink-bottle was often used, 

 or the candle was even stuck on to the desk with a little of 

 its own grease. So that it enabled us to learn our lessons 

 or do our sums, no one seemed to trouble about how we pro- 

 vided the light. 



The school was reached by a path along the bottom of All 

 Saints' Churchyard, and entered by a door in the wall which 

 entirely surrounded the school playground and master's gar- 

 den. Over this door was a Latin motto — ■ 



" Inter umbras Academi studere delectat." 



This was appropriate, as the grounds were surrounded by 

 trees, and at the north end of the main playground there were 

 two very fine old elms, shown in the old engraving of the 

 school here reproduced. 



The headmaster in my time was a rather irascible little 

 man named Clement Henry Crutwell. He limped very much 

 owing to one leg being shorter than the other, and the foot, I 

 think, permanently drawn up at the instep, but he was very 

 active, used no stick, and could walk along as quickly and 

 apparently as easily as most people. He was usually called 

 by the boys Old Cruttle or Old Clemmy, and when he over- 

 heard these names used, which was not often, he would give 

 us a short lecture on the impropriety and impoliteness of 

 miscalling those in authority over us. He was a good master, 



