Of all the reformations which have taken place during the past
thirty-five years in various establishments, none have been greater than
that which has occurred at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. In the
days of which we write fagging was an almost recognised institution, and
this so-called fagging in the majority of instances degenerated into
bullying. It may seem hard to say it, but we feel compelled to assert
our belief that, in the majority of cases, when boys of from fifteen to
eighteen have unlimited power entrusted to them they usually become
tyrants. What may be termed "the exercise of power" grows more and more
severe until it becomes a vice. Boys as a rule are unreflecting, and
they are not aware, and scarcely care if they are aware, of the misery
or pain they inflict. When, too, a boy in his younger days has been
bullied and ill-used, he considers it a point of duty to do unto others
as was done unto him, and often this retaliation was passed on with
interest. In those days it was considered, too, that fagging to a
certain extent aided discipline, and also tended to do away with brute
force; for the smallest cadet, if an old cadet, might fag or kick at
pleasure a last-joined giant. According to the nature of an old cadet,
so did his fag, or "neux," as he was termed, lead a miserable or a
tolerably comfortable life; and often the trial through which a
last-joined cadet had to pass was so severe that, rather than pass
through it, he left the institution. To such an extent did the bullying
extend in some institutions at the date to which we refer that it is
stated, and on good authority, that a boy was once roasted by his
seniors to such an extent that he died from his exposure to the fire,
whilst there are men now living who bear on their bodies the scars
received by them when fags. That such a system has been done away with
is a necessity of the age. That there were and are advantages in
teaching lads that brute force is not the only power, and that
discipline is an essential of society, is not to be denied; but the
disadvantages of entrusting to boys of from fifteen to seventeen such
power over their juniors as was given by the fagging system formerly,
either recognised or winked at by the authorities at Woolwich, is a
mistake, and it is a subject of congratulation that at the present time
even fagging is discountenanced with a strong hand.
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Having reached the Academy at an early hour, I ascertained that the
cadets were then in study, or, as it was termed, "in academy." I was
shown to the room to which I was posted, and was shown a bed, which was
to be mine. There were four beds in the room, these beds being turned
up so as to occupy little or no space. There was one window, which had
laced iron bars across it, like a prison window, whilst four cupboards
were opposite the fireplace. I was told that in half an hour the cadets
would come out of study, when I should see Holms, who was head of the
room, and a corporal.
I waited with considerable anxiety for this half-hour to pass, and
amused myself in the meantime in noting how scanty the furniture of the
room was, which consisted of a table, on which was a red cloth, and four
stools. The floor was sanded, and of course had no carpet, and no other
article of furniture except a small rectangular looking-glass was
visible.
I turned over in my mind how I should introduce myself to Holms when he
came in, and at length decided I would say, "Mr Holms, I believe! I am
Shepard, appointed to your room."
Having waited a period that seemed quite an hour, I heard a bell ring,
and saw about one hundred and fifty cadets run quickly out from the
centre building and form into four divisions. These four divisions
remained stationary until an officer went on parade, who, having read
out something from a paper, gave some word of command, and the four
divisions marched off, two in one direction, two in another.
One division passed the window where I was standing, but the other was
dismissed at the door by which I had entered, and instantly there was
the rush of feet as the whole party came into the building I was
occupying. The door of my room opened, and a dark, good-looking cadet
came in, and, seeing me, said,--
"Hullo! who are you?"
"Mr Holms, I believe?" I said in as polite a tone as I could. "I am
Shepard, appointed to your room."
The cadet I addressed looked at me very hard, and then burst out
laughing.
"You are rather green, I fancy," he said, "and you look deuced seedy.
What's the matter?"
"I have only just recovered from the hooping-cough," I replied; "that's
why I didn't join before."
"Well, you must take care of yourself," said Holms, "for you're not well
now."
Another cadet now rushed into the room, to whose appearance I at once
took a dislike. He had a conceited look about him, and a pale, drawn
face, very different from that of Holms.
"Hurrah!" he said, "the neux has come at last! Here, Timpson, come and
look at the last-joined neux! He doesn't look much of a fellow, does
he?"
A third cadet here joined us, who was a hard-looking youth, who frowned
and looked crossly at me.
"He wants teaching manners," said the cadet called Timpson. "What do
you mean, sir, by looking at me like that? Take that!"
To my surprise and discomfiture, I received a heavy box on the ear which
nearly knocked me down. I turned round, and for an instant I thought of
returning the blow; but I recalled to mind that I had heard of a neux
being all but killed who had struck on old cadet, and, instantly
recollecting myself, I said,--
"I did nothing to deserve such a blow as that."
"You're cheeky, are you?" said Timpson. "Take that for your cheek!" and
another blow was given me as severe as the first.
"Come, Timpson," said Holms, "you are not going to bully my neux
already. He's seedy, and so let him alone. Brush your hair and wash
your face, for you must go on parade in ten minutes."
I was half-crying now, as I was considerably hurt by the blows Timpson
had given me, and stood hesitating what to do.
"Here, brush me!" said the cadet whose name I found was Snipson.
I took up a brush and brushed Snipson, but did this by no means to his
satisfaction.
"You've a deal to learn, sir," he said; "why, you don't even know how to
brush one! Give me the brush!"
I gave Snipson the brush, upon which he said, "Turn round!" I turned
round, thinking he was going to brush my back, and perhaps give me a
hint as to using the brush. Suddenly, however, he rubbed the brush over
my mouth and nose, whilst he seized me by the back of the neck, so as to
hold me firmly and prevent my escape. The pain of this proceeding was
so great that I called "Oh, don't!" which brought forth a shout of
laughter from Snipson. Holms, however, who was brushing his hair, here
interfered and said, "Snipson, I'll lick you if you don't let my neux
alone!"
"He's mine as much as yours!" replied Snipson.
"I'm head of the room, and I won't have this bullying," replied Holms;
"so look out!"
A bugle now sounded, which caused both Holms and Snipson to hurry on
their belts and prepare for parade, for this bugle was "the warning"
that was sounded five minutes before parade. On the second bugle
sounding the cadets rushed out of the "division," as it was termed, in
which we were quartered, and fell in in two ranks, in front of the
building, whilst I was told to "fall in" in rear, as I was in plain
clothes.
When the names of the cadets had been called by Holms, who was corporal
on duty, we were marched to the middle of the parade, where soon after
three other divisions were marched, and we there waited till an officer
came on parade. Whilst we were waiting I could not avoid noticing that
I was an object of general attention. I was the only cadet in plain
clothes, for the boys who had passed with me were already in uniform,
and were also well on with their drill. That I had not joined with the
others I soon learnt was a most unfortunate circumstance; amidst the
crowd I should then have shared with others the unpleasant notice that a
neux usually attracted, but now I was one only, and distinctly marked in
consequence of not being in uniform.
After being inspected by an officer, parties of cadets were sent to
various drills under soldiers who were corporals or sergeants. I had
the special attention of a bombardier devoted to me, who commenced by
instructing me in the mysteries of "Stand at ease!" and "Attention!"
These commands the man shouted at me as though I were deaf, or were half
a mile from him; and the commands were pronounced as "Stand at--
hease!"--"'Shon!"
An hour of this drill convinced me that it was not such an easy thing to
stand at ease as people imagined, and that a man taken from the plough
had a very difficult task before him to learn his drill.
Upon being dismissed from my drill, I was going to walk about the parade
a little, but I soon heard my name shouted by Snipson from the room I
was appointed to. Upon entering the room Snipson said, "You're a cool
kind of a fellow, swaggering about on parade! You just come here
instantly after you're dismissed your drill, every day! Now get my
basin filled with water?"
"Where is your basin?" I inquired.
"Where is my basin? Why, go and find it, and look sharp, or I will give
you a licking?"
I glanced all round the room, but saw no sign of a basin, so concluded
it must be outside. I opened the door, and saw opposite to me four
large tin basins. Rejoicing in my luck in finding the basins, I stooped
down and selected one, which I was about to take into my room, when I
heard a shout close beside me, and saw Timpson in a great rage glaring
at me. "You're the coolest young ruffian I ever saw!" said Timpson.
"What do you mean by taking my basin?" No sooner had he uttered these
words than he lifted his leg and gave me a kick, in much the same manner
as though I had been a football.
"Drop that basin?" shouted Timpson; "and if I ever catch you touching it
again I'll half kill you!"
"What! in trouble again?" said Snipson, who had now come to the door.
"Serve you right! what a donkey you are! Don't you see our basins are
round here?"
I now saw that there were three basins on the left-hand side of the door
of our room, which I had overlooked when I first went out. I lifted one
of these, and, taking it into the room, placed it on the table--the only
place that it seemed possible to wash on.
"Fat the basin in the proper place!" said Snipson. "You're the greatest
idiot I ever saw."
I looked round, and, seeing only a stool, was about to put the basin
there, but was warned I was wrong by the whiz of a clothes-brush close
beside my head.
"You don't mean to tell me you can't see where the basin is to go?" said
Snipson. "Don't try to make yourself out a fool, for that won't do."
I now saw under the window a hanging-shelf, which I raised and propped
up with two iron legs. On this I placed the basin, and then went
outside for a can of water I had seen beside our door.
"That's not my basin!" said Snipson, on my entering. "You don't think
I'm such a dirty brute as to wash in another man's basin? That's
Holms'--bring mine!"
"How am I to know your basin?" I inquired.
"Why, find out, to be sure!"
I was at a loss to find out, but, thinking it better to bring both in, I
did so, and placed them on the shelf.
"That's mine!" said Snipson, pointing to one of the basins; "now mind
you never make a mistake again!"
I looked carefully at the basin, but could see no difference between
this and either of the others, and I concluded that Snipson was joking,
as they all appeared similar.
Holms now came in, and, thinking I would at once make myself useful, I
placed a basin for him near Snipson's.
"That's not my basin?" said Holms. "Give me the other!"
I was now certain there must be some distinguishing mark, but I could
see none, and was much puzzled how I should again distinguish one from
the other. A bugle again sounded, and I ascertained this was the
warning-bugle for dinner-parade. Our division fell in in front of the
building as before, the names of the cadets were called, and we were
then marched into the inner square, where an officer came, and, having
heard the cadets were all present, gave the word, "Right face! quick
march!"
I was in the rear of the division, and dressed in plain clothes; my hat
was what modern slang would term "a top hat," and what in those days we
called "a beaver." This beaver I was rather proud of; it was only the
second one I had possessed, a cap having previously done duty for the
covering of my head. As I approached the dining-hall, a cadet who was a
neux in my division whispered to me, "Look out for your hat!" Thinking
that this meant that my hat might be spoilt if I let it rest on the
floor instead of hanging it up, I said, "All right!" and marched on in
the crowd of cadets, who now broke their ranks as they entered the
portico leading to the hall.
Suddenly, and without any warning, a heavy blow was given on the top of
my hat, which sent it down over my ears and eyes, and at once prevented
me from seeing anything. As I raised my hands to force the hat up,
half-a-dozen more blows were showered on my head with no light hand. I
succeeded in pushing off my hat, the crown of which was knocked in, but
could not see who had struck me--all the cadets looking much amused, but
no one appearing to have been the guilty party.
Every cadet at once sat down at a table, there being about twenty tables
in the hall; but, being uncertain where I ought to go, I stood in the
middle of the hall, a mark for compressed balls of bread, a shower of
which quickly rained around and on me.
The officer on duty, who had been detained outside to speak to a cadet,
now came into the hall, and each cadet stood as rigid as a statue till
the officer, calling to the senior cadet, said, "Say grace?"
The senior cadet in a loud voice shouted, "For what we're going to
receive may we all be thankful!" and the cadets then sat down.
I had remained standing all this time, and the officer, now remembering
me, came up and said, "You take a seat at this squad."
I sat down at the squad where there were four cadets on each side, and
one old cadet at the head of the table; they were all strangers to me,
and I looked all round the hall to find Fraser or the others of Mr
Hostler's who had come up for examination, but I could see none of them.
"Now then, sir," said the head of the dinner-squad, "how much longer are
you going to stare about before you peel the potatoes?"
I was surprised at this request, but the cadet opposite me pushed a
plate of potatoes towards me that had been boiled with their jackets on,
and signed to me that I was to peel these for the head of the squad. I
commenced the operation, but was very clumsy at it, never having
attempted such a performance before. I finished, however, after a
fashion, and passed the plate up the table, and received in exchange a
plate of meat which the cadet at the head of the table had cut for me.
"Snooker! beer!" said the cadet.
I saw a large jug of beer and a small mug near it, so I tilted up the
jug and poured out a mugful of beer and passed this up the table.
When the cadet saw this he said, "What do you mean, sir, by pouring out
my beer like that! Put it back and froth it! By Jove! if ever you pour
out beer like that again I'll have you over to my room and give you an
angle of forty-five!"
I poured back the beer into the jug, and again filled the mug, this time
taking care to froth it.
The meat that we had for our dinner was hard and tasteless, and was of a
most inferior description. Our meal consisted only of meat, potatoes,
bread, and the thinnest of beer, termed "swipes." In those days the
food of the cadets was scarcely fit to eat, the tea and coffee were most
inferior, and the ration of bread and butter allowed us scarcely
sufficient for half the number. That an alteration in this particular
was much needed was not long after discovered, but, at the time of which
we write, the cadets could scarcely have lived had it not been for the
additional food they obtained from pastrycooks in the neighbourhood, or
that was smuggled into barracks at various times.
After our dinner a quarter of an hour elapsed before we "fell in" for
academy. Luckily I found Jenkins, a boy from Hostler's, who had gone to
the Academy a half-year before, who told me that I joined the last squad
or division which was now termed "a class," otherwise I should have made
a mistake.
The class I joined was called the fourth class, and on a cadet, who was
a corporal, reporting "all present," we were marched into the class-room
where we were to study.
On looking round at my companions I now found that I recognised several
cadets as the candidates who came up for examination with me, and one or
two nodded to me, but as we were ordered by the corporal who was in
charge of the room to take our seats, I had no opportunity of talking to
them. I looked round the room to find some of my companions at
Hostler's; I thought it would be great fun to see their surprise at my
having passed. I expected to see Fraser high up in the class, and also
Fuller and Hunt, and one or two others who at Hostler's were in the
first class, and were always held up to me as examples of learning. Low
down in the class I saw a cadet who had been at Hostler's; he was called
Smart, and was considered rather a dull boy; but, seeing none of the
others, I concluded they must be in some other room.
As I was re-examining my companions, the cadet in charge called out,
"Shepard, look to your front! If I see you locking round again I'll put
you in arrest?"
I now sat looking straight before me, until called by the mathematical
master to the octagon, where I was given some work to do, and again took
my place at my desk.
On coming out of academy I met Smart, who hook hands with me and
congratulated me on passing. "It's quite wonderful," he said; "and
Hostler, I hear, is tearing his hair with rage at it, for he laughed at
the idea of your having a chance."
"Where is Fraser," I inquired, "and Fuller, and all those fellows that
came up?"
"They are all spun, and I'm the only one from Hostler's who has passed
this time. Fraser now is too old, even if he could get another trial,
which he can't. I often thought I could beat Fraser and Hunt at exams,
for they used to cram fearfully--but how you must have worked!"
"Well, I didn't seem to work so much," I replied, "though I got on very
fast. It was Mr Rouse's style of teaching that was so good."
"Hostler says you are certain to be spun at your probationary, as you
must have been crammed just for this examination."
"What is a probationary?"
"It's the exam, you have to pass at the end of a year. If you don't
pass that satisfactorily, you are sent away from here."
I then inquired of Smart whether, on his joining, he had met with the
same rough treatment that I had, and he informed me he had experienced
much the same. The head of his room was a very good fellow, and not at
all a bully; but that two cadets who had been smashed from corporals
were in his division, and were "awful bullies." He also informed me
that Timpson and Snipson had the reputation of being the greatest
bullies in the Academy.
Smart had to leave me, as he had to go down town for the head of his
room, and, on leaving, recommended me to get my uniform as soon as I
could, for as long as I was in plain clothes I was a mark to be bullied.
Nothing remarkable happened during the remainder of the day. At
half-past nine an officer came round the rooms, and received from the
senior cadet a report to the effect that all were present, that no
lights were concealed in the room, and that he had no intention of
procuring a light.
The fire was then raked out and the candles carried off by a servant who
accompanied the officer, and we were left to get into bed in the dark.
I now missed the luxury I had enjoyed at Rouse's, viz, of a room to
myself, for my two companions were talking so that I could not go to
sleep; and tired as I was, and bruised with the blows I had received, I
longed to get to sleep.
As I lay thinking over all the strange events of the day, and what a
world of itself the Academy was, Snipson shouted out, "Shepard! call me
at five to-morrow morning--not a minute later, mind, or I'll break your
head for you!"
I was wondering how I was possibly to wake at five, when I heard a knock
at the door, and on Holms calling, "Come in!" a cadet said, "The fourth
of the room is to go to No. 16."
I did not at first realise that this had anything to do with me, till
Snipson shouted, "Shepard, you'd better look sharp, or Foxey will half
kill you?"
"What am I to do?" I inquired. "Do, you donkey? why, dress--and sharp
too--and go to No. 16! Foxey will soon show you what to do!"
I got up and groped for my clothes, and dressed as well as I could in
the dark. I then inquired of Snipson which was No. 16.
"Why, you've been here all day, and do you mean to say you don't know
which 16 is yet? You must go and find out; and I'd advise you to be
sharp, for Foxey isn't to be trifled with!"
I went out of the room, and tried to remember whether I had noticed 16
on any particular door. I could not recall that I had done so, and,
hearing some talking at the end of the passage, I went to a door and
knocked. I was told to "Come in!" and, on entering, was asked who I
was.
I replied, "Shepard; and I was told to come to Foxey in No. 16." There
was a shout of laughter from two cadets in the room as I said this,
whilst the cadet I first spoke to said,--
"Come here, sir! Who told you to come to Foxey?"
"Snipson, the second in my room."
"Take that for your impertinence, now; and, when you go back, tell
Snipson I will kick him to-morrow!"
The article which I was to take was a boot that was hurled at me by this
cadet, whose nickname I afterwards ascertained was Foxey--a title that
gave him great offence.
After having served as a target for a pair of boots, which I had after
each shot to bring back to the cadet, I was asked if I could sing. Now
it happened that one of our men-servants had been a sailor, and had
learnt some of the popular sea-songs of the times. These I had heard
him sing when I was quite a boy, and soon learnt the words, and also to
sing them. Among these were "The Bay of Biscay," "Tom Bowline," "The
Admiral," "The Arethusa," "'Twas in Trafalgar's Bay," etc. In answer to
the inquiry whether I could sing, I replied that I thought I knew a
song.
"Then we'll have it presently," said the cadet. "Now, snooker of No.
10!" he continued, "have you made out that ode to the moon yet? I'll
give you another licking if you tell me again you can't!"
I now found there were several other cadets in the room, all
last-joined, like myself; and, from the remarks made, I found that they
had some task set them. The cadet addressed replied in a
half-blubbering manner, "I'll try to say something now."
"Get onto the table, then," said the cadet, "so that I may have a fair
shot at you if you break down! And now go on, sir! You can't sing, so
you must make an ode to the moon! Now then, sir, commence!"
The cadet, who had now mounted on the table, had evidently had a rough
time of it. He was a little fellow, whom I had seen belonged to our
division, and who was very fat, and looked very stupid. As he stood on
the table he was crying, either from fear or from the punishment he had
received, or from both combined.
"Now, sir, will you commence?" said the cadet who was the head of the
room.
In a tremulous voice that made the words uttered sound more ridiculous
than they otherwise would, the cadet on the table said, "O moon, how
splendid you are! How beautiful you look! And you light up the night!
You are full sometimes, and then you shine bright!"
"Any fool knows that," interrupted the head of the room, whom I had
called Foxey. "Don't tell us what we know; tell us something original!"
"O moon?" continued the cadet in the same tremulous voice; "with a face
in you, you are not made of green cheese! And you shine by night, and
are not seen by day!"
"That's a lie!" said Foxey. "The moon can be seen by day, and you are
trying to deceive us poor mortals! I'm not going to remain quiet, and
hear the moon slandered in that way! You must have a boot at your head
for that!"
A boot was here hurled at the cadet by Foxey, which seemed by the sound
to have struck the mark, and also, from certain sniffling sounds, to
have added to the grief of the orator. "Go on!" said Foxey. "O
moon!--"
"If you commence `O moon!' again, I'll hurl another boot at you!" said
Foxey.
"Lovely moon!" continued the cadet. "Lovely moon!--I don't know what
more to say, please."
"You're an idiot!" said Foxey; "and if you don't write out an ode for
to-morrow night, I'll give you another licking! Now where's the
last-joined neux, Shepard? Now then, up on the table and sing a song!"
I climbed onto the table, and hesitated a moment as to which song I
should sing.
"Look sharp, sir," said Foxey, "or you'll have a boot at you! I'm going
to teach you manners."
At this warning I at once commenced the "Bay of Biscay," and sang it
through without a mistake.
"Very well sung," said Foxey; "now give us another!"
I now sang the "Arethusa," when Foxey exclaimed, "That's a stunning
song! You must write me out the words of that by to-morrow night. Now,
as you've sung so well, you may go, but mind, I must have some more
songs from you."
I thanked Foxey for letting me go, and crept into my room, and went to
bed as quietly as I could.
Before going to sleep I thought over the events of the day; it seemed to
me an age since the morning, and not a few hours only. I had passed
through so many different scenes, and had experienced so much anxiety,
that each event seemed to have occurred a very long time after its
predecessor. The thought uppermost in my mind was, how little the
general world knew what a neux had to go through on joining the Academy,
and how trying an ordeal it was for a sensitive and delicate boy.
I remembered my father saying to me on one occasion, that on joining the
Academy I should be fag to an old cadet, and should have to run messages
for him, and fag at cricket, but that I was not to mind this, as it was
almost a recognised system at all the large public schools, and was
supposed to teach a boy the respect due to his seniors.
I little imagined at the time, and my father would not have believed,
the extent to which fagging had degenerated into bullying, in
consequence of its being left in the hands of those totally unfitted to
exercise it.
That some boys are benefited by being brought under a rigid discipline,
and "kept down," as we may term it, by a system of fagging, and thus
brought to respect their seniors in a school, there is no doubt; for an
"unlicked cub" is undoubtedly a most obnoxious youth, and grows into a
disagreeable man. But where fagging is now only winked at by the
authorities, it ought to be recognised, and to a great extent be under
their surveillance. If such power is left entirely to boys or youths
from fifteen to eighteen, it not unusually becomes a system of tyranny,
that damages alike the exerciser of the power and the victim of it.
At the time of which we write, bullying was at its height at the
Woolwich Academy. It was winked at by the authorities, for it was known
to exist, and no endeavour was made to put it down. If, however, a case
of bullying came so prominently before the officers that they could not
avoid taking notice of it, then a rigid inquiry was made, and the cadet
found guilty of the offence was severely punished.
These examples, however, had little or no effect in checking those who
delighted in exercising the power they possessed, and so for several
years the same system prevailed, until an entire reorganisation of the
establishment occurred.
On awaking, on the following morning, there was a feeling of anxiety
came over me that something was wrong. I did not at first realise where
I was, but soon the events of the preceding day were recalled, and I
anticipated with dread what might happen to me on this day. Any feeling
of pride or satisfaction at having passed my examination so well had
been entirely knocked out of me, and occasionally I believe I regretted
that I had passed, for I knew that there were many months of fagging
before me, and if each day was like the last, I doubted whether I could
endure it.
The rule established by the old cadets at that time was that a cadet
remained a neux or fag for three half years, and on the fourth became an
old cadet, when he could exercise the power of fagging others. It was
considered that a third-half cadet should not be fagged except under
exceptional circumstances, such as being very unpopular or there being
no first or second-half cadet available. Those who had the hardest time
of it were of coarse the last-joined, but second-half cadets were often
as much bullied as the last-joined. To give an idea of the bad spirit
that sometimes was shown by certain individuals at that time, the
following fact may be related:--A cadet, whose father was a
distinguished officer, but who was considered a Tartar in discipline,
was fagged to the end of his third half, because the elder brothers of
some of the old cadets had suffered at the hands of the disciplinarian.
Another similar case was where a young cadet had had a brother at the
Academy, who, as an old cadet, had fagged an individual who now happened
to be an old cadet, and who used to boast that he had paid back on the
younger brother the thrashings he had received from the elder, with one
hundred per cent, interest.
My meditations were interrupted by the sound of a bugle which sounded in
front of the Academy, and at the same time Snipson called out, "Hullo!
what's that? Why, that's _reveille_! Shepard?" he shouted, "I'll lick
you to within an inch of your life! Didn't I order you to call me at
five o'clock? and now it's half-past six! Now come here!"
I got up and was going to put on some clothes, but Snipson made me come
to him as I was, when, taking down a racket that was on the wall, he
belaboured me with this till I howled. Holms here interfered, and
threatened Snipson with a thrashing if he did not desist--a threat that
seemed to produce its effect on Snipson, who, warning me never to forget
to call him again, told me to get up and dress so as to be ready to hand
him the various things he required whilst performing his toilet.
I now began my regular duties as fag, and as these, with but slight
variations, continued during nearly a year, I can here describe them.
About twice a week I had to call Snipson at five o'clock in the morning
and light a candle for him, in order that he might work, for he was very
much behind in his mathematics and feared he would not qualify for a
commission, so he was now working hard to make up leeway. Very often I
had to stand beside Snipson's bed for an hour to hold the ink and a
candle, because he could see better than if the candle rested on the
bed, and could get at his ink more easily. Snipson, I found, had been
longer at the Academy than Holms, and had been reduced from the rank of
corporal on account of keeping up lights in his room after hours. This,
it was said, had made him very savage, and caused him to be one of the
greatest bullies at the "shop," as the Academy was termed.
Half an hour before Snipson got up I had to be washed and dressed, in
order to hand Snipson his sponge, towel, soap, tooth-brush, etc, and to
have his coat brushed and held ready to be put on. I then had to
inspect him to see if there was a speck of dust on him, and to brush
this off if there was.
Holms exacted very little fagging from me; he merely required to be
brushed and his things kept tidy in his cupboard, so I was mainly
occupied with Snipson.
One of my most difficult duties was at breakfast parade. For our
breakfast we were allowed only bread and butter to eat, and Snipson had
a great fancy for jam, hot rolls, and marmalade. It was strictly
against orders to take any such things into the dining-hall, and as we
were all assembled on parade and inspected by an officer previous to
going into breakfast, it required considerable dexterity to convey a pot
of jam or a roll into the hall without being discovered. The method in
which this was managed was the following--
I, being a small boy, was in the rear rank whilst Snipson was in the
front rank. I carried the pot of jam in my tail-pocket until the
officer on duty had inspected the front rank and the faces of the rear
rank. Just as he reached the end of the line and before he inspected
the rear of the rear rank, Snipson used to turn round whilst I,
extracting the pot of jam from my tail-pocket, tossed it over to him; he
caught it and put it in his tail-pocket.
We became quite dexterous at this performance, and accomplished it like
a sleight-of-hand trick, till one morning Snipson missed catching it,
and the pot fell on parade, broke, and the jam was discovered by the
officer on duty.
"Fall out, the gentleman who brought that jam on parade!" said the
officer.
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