IV] HERTFORD: MY SCHOOL LIFE 53 



of many of our common English words. If the remaining 

 time had been spent in learning German, the result would 

 have been far more useful, but I do not think this language 

 was taught in the school. 



The second master, or head usher, was named Hill. He 

 had the end desk opposite to Mr. Crutwell's, and was a rather 

 hard man, who knocked the boys' knuckles with his ruler very 

 severely. On one occasion I remember seeing a boy whose 

 hand was not only black and swollen from blows, but had the 

 skin cut, and was covered with blood. In this case I think 

 a complaint was made by the boy's parents, and Mr. H. 

 was informed privately that he must be more moderate in 

 the future. I do not think I ever had any lessons with this 

 master. 



The youngest of the ushers was named Godwin, and was 

 a nephew of Mr. Crutwell. He was rather a large-limbed, 

 dark young man of eighteen or twenty. He was very good 

 natured, and was much liked by the boys, in whose games he 

 often took part. He was, I believe, studying the higher classics 

 with his uncle with the idea of going to the University, but 

 I never heard what became of him afterwards. He taught 

 generally in the school, but the only recollection I have of 

 him as a teacher was in one special case. Shortly before I 

 left the school, I and a few others were put to translate one 

 of the works of Cicero, and we were to be heard the lesson by 

 Godwin. We had none of us any experience of this author 

 before, having translated only Ovid and Virgil. We sat 

 down and worked away with our dictionaries till we knew 

 the meanings, or some of the meanings, of most of the words, 

 but, somehow, could not fit them together to make sense. 

 However, at last we thought we had got something of the 

 meaning. We were called up, and the boy at the head of 

 the class began his translation. When he got stuck Godwin 

 asked the others if they could help him, and when we could 

 not, he would tell us the meaning of some difficult word, and 

 then tell the translator to go on. He went on bit by bit till 

 we got to the end of a long sentence. Then Godwin asked 

 us if we thought we had got it right. We said we didn't know. 



