FIGHTS AT WESTMINSTER SCHOOL. 
23S 
“ fifty years since.” Fights, it may be added, have since 
been discontinued, owing to the rule being made that they 
must take place before early morning school:— 
“ It was in 1847, a few weeks before I left Westminster, 
that the following incident occurred :—I was rowing up the 
river in one of the ‘ heavy fours ’ which went out daily 
during the rowing season, and as we were returning our 
boat had a race with one of the other ‘ fours, 5 during which 
a ‘ foul 5 occurred. The two boats drifted close together,, 
and our oars got mixed up. At this moment a tall youth 
in the other boat snatched some of the jackets out of ours 
and threw them into the water. On this, my crew at once 
called on me, as the biggest boy in the boat, to knock him 
over, which I promptly did, with an oar. Immediately on 
landing at the ‘ barges, 5 he came up and challenged me 
in the usual formal style to fight in the 1 Green, 5 and the 
news was quickly carried down College Street to Dean’s 
Yard that a fight would take place next day. With 
thoughts of the morrow in my head, I wended my way 
home to James Street, Buckingham Gate, where my father 
then lived. Should I inform my parents about it? I had 
often confided in my mother, who was quite a Spartan 
mother, and not likely to interfere in a fair fight; but my 
father was essentially, as he called himself, a man of peace ; 
and I decided that I must not let out a word at home. 
He had already been extremely put out on the occasion 
of a former fight I had with a boy called Stanton. I may 
mention here that fights in those days were conducted 
exactly like prize-fights, and were not interfered with by 
the authorities. I have heard it said that about 1843 some 
of the fights that took place in the Green actually appeared 
in Bell's Life ; but this was too much even for Williamson, 
who interfered and stopped the reports. After partaking 
of late dinner or supper at home, it suddenly occurred to 
me that my braces were worn out and shabby, and I was 
determined to get new ones, so as to make a good appear¬ 
ance when ‘ stripped 5 for the coming fight. I had consider- 
