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"When a fellow like you, for instance, arrives first, if he has been at
a good private school, his tutor examines him. If he thinks well of him
he is placed in the Upper Fourth, or perhaps in the Remove at once. If
he is not above the average, he joins the Lower Fourth, with the rest of
the unplaced. He remains in it till `Trials,' which come off about a
month after the beginning of the half. According to his knowledge, he
is then placed finally in the Lower, Middle, or Upper Fourth. Now you
must understand that although Fourth Form is in the Upper School, yet
all below Fifth Form, that is, Upper and Lower Remove, and Fourth Form,
are called `Lower Boys.' All Lower Boys are liable to be fagged, so
that `Lower Boy' is equivalent to `Fag.' Lower Fourth is generally in
the hands of a young master, and, like puppies not yet broken in, they
are consequently very disorderly. There are also always a few fellows
at the top of the division who have come out of Lower School, and take
considerable delight in putting the new-comers up to mischief.
New-comers have a fortnight's `law' before they are liable to be fagged.
This is to give them time to look about them, and to learn the ways of
the school. At the end of that time the captain of their house allots
them to some master. As to fagging, I decidedly say in a large school
like this it is a very great advantage, and wonderfully assists the
governing powers by giving a number of fellows who would otherwise be
idle something to do. It teaches, also, fellows to take care of
themselves, as well as some accomplishments which they may find very
useful in after-life, when they come to knock about the world. After
all, too, what are the hardships? A fellow has to lay his master's
cloth for breakfast, get his muffins and eggs, make his tea and his
toast, and be ready to cook a mutton chop and anything else he may
require. He may also have to clean his shoes and brush his clothes, but
in that there is nothing very terrible. The only disagreeable part of
house fagging is being sent out at odd hours or in bad weather to get
things when a fellow would be rather sitting in his own room. There is
no cricket or football fagging here, but out of doors a Fourth Form boy
is liable to be fagged by any one in the Upper or Middle Fifth Form,
either to run on errands, to buy things for him, or to stand behind a
Five's court, and to pick up the balls, or to carry books for him. This
may be called miscellaneous fagging. The captain of Upper Remove is
excused fagging by custom. Lower Fifth neither fags nor can be fagged.
`Upper Lower' can fag miscellaneously, but cannot own private fags.
Middle Fifth seldom have fags `of their own,' as the captain of their
house probably appropriates three or four, and gives the second captain
two or three, and so on, and thus uses up the `Lower boys,' before they
come to the end of the Upper Fifth. The most unpleasant fagging
certainly is behind the `Five's walls.' The old ones, you will find,
are between the chapel buttresses in the school yard. You are fortunate
in having come up in the middle of the half, because you will have time
to become known to fellows, and will be saved a considerable amount of
annoyance. If you had come at the beginning of the half, you would have
found that the Fifth Form arrived two or three days after you. The next
day all the Lower boys are collected together, and are then allotted to
the Fifth Form, as I have described. The Fourth Form are made to do the
greater part of their lessons under their tutor's eye, but boys higher
up in the school do nearly all their work in their own rooms, and only
just go over it with their tutor when it is known. This, of course, is
a great advantage, as we can learn all our lessons when we like, and are
not tied down in any way.
"There are two examinations--one from Upper Fourth into Lower Remove;
and the second, which is the hardest, from Lower Fifth into Upper and
Lower Fifth. A boy takes a step upwards twice a year, unless he should
be plucked at one of these examinations; so that suppose he is placed in
the Middle Fourth--about the average place occupied by a new boy--it
will take him two years to get into Lower Fifth, the ambition of every
one, as he is then, as I have said, exempted from fagging.
"Every saint's day here is a whole holiday. Saturday is always a
half-holiday, and there is one other half-holiday every week; so that
the number of hours we are in school is very limited. Yet it is so
contrived that we have at no time but a little over two hours to
ourselves. On whole holidays there are two chapels--one at eleven
o'clock, and another at three o'clock. There is a roll-call at two
o'clock, just before dinner, and another at six o'clock.
"Generally speaking, we get up at half-past seven. There is school for
three-quarters of an hour. We have repetition usually for most days in
the week. Breakfast always at nine. School at eleven, as also at
three, and a quarter-past five. School lasts only about three-quarters
of an hour at a time. Dinner always at two. Lock-up at night varies
from five to a quarter to nine. We have supper at nine, and go to bed
at ten. So you see, in the natural order of events, we have no very
overpoweringly hard work. The time from morning school to breakfast is
known as `After Eight,' because, you see, we come out of school at
eight. From breakfast till school again, `After Ten,' because breakfast
is supposed to be over at ten; and for the same reason from school to
dinner is called `After Twelve,' from dinner to school `After Two,' from
school to school `After Four,' and in summer from school till lock-up
`After Six.' There is, I should have said, also every week one play
after four, which means three o'clock school, but none at five o'clock.
On half-holidays there is `absence,' that is, calling over names at two
o'clock, and in summer at six; and on half-holidays there is church at
three instead of school. On whole holidays there is `absence' at a
quarter-past nine, and church at eleven as well as at three.
"Of late years, mathematics, which used to be neglected entirely, have,
with great advantage, been introduced at Eton. There are several
mathematical masters, who have their different schools. Each division
goes to the mathematical school three times a week. At first the
fellows set their faces very much against the system, and even the
classical masters didn't seem much to approve of the innovation; but
they now all see the importance of it, and mathematical studies are now
as popular as any other. The Reverend Stephen Hawtrey is the principal.
Donkeys may sneer and bray at him, which donkeys always find it very
easy to do; but a more philanthropical, kind-hearted, sensible, and
religious man is not to be found. I remember when the mathematical
schools were first opened, the fellows tried to cough down the masters
when they began to lecture. They got also cat-calls, penny-trumpets,
and all sorts of things to make a noise, and then had strings made fast
to them, which they carried up their sleeves. Scarcely had the masters
begun to speak than they commenced their row. Now one of the masters
was an old naval officer who had been to Cambridge, and not at all a
sort of person to play tricks with. They tried it on once or twice with
him, and he seemed not to take much notice of their proceedings. His
eye, however, was marking those who were making most noise, and in the
midst of the greatest row down he pounced upon them, and, feeling for
the strings inside their waistcoats, made a grand seizure of
penny-trumpets, whistles, cat-calls, and similar musical instruments.
He told them quietly that he did not wish to have any of them flogged,
but that if it occurred again he should desire the praepositor to put
them `in the bill.' This is, as you will find, for a fellow to have his
name written on a slip of paper, and sent up to the Head Master. The
fellow whose name is in the bill is told `to wait,' which means that he
is to go to the Head Master's room after school to be flogged. It is an
unpleasant operation, and a fellow looks thoroughly foolish when he
comes down after it, and his friends kindly ask him how he likes it--
what he thinks of it--how he feels? On the occasion I am speaking of,
the fellows did try it on again the very next day of attendance, and
half a dozen of them got a good flogging for their pains. After that
they behaved with much more quietness."
While they were talking, Anson came in.
"There is one more point I have to tell you about," said he, "and very
important too: it is as to the rules of `shirking.' You must know that
everywhere except just in college,--that is, about the school, and in
the playing-fields, or on the way to your dame's or tutor's,--is `out of
bounds.' Therefore, if you meet a master, you have to get out of his
way into some hiding-place. In the country you get under a hedge or
behind a wall. In the town you run into a shop, and if you do this at
once, so as to show respect to the master, very few will say anything to
you, though they see you as clearly as possible, and know perfectly well
who you are. The Sixth Form need not shirk, as they may go anywhere.
Of course, there are certain places if a fellow is seen in, a master
will follow him, otherwise he never attempts to do so.
"There is a small house just outside the bounds, where the people are
licensed to sell beer. It is called the Tap. It is used almost
exclusively by us. If a fellow is caught going in or out, he is pretty
severely punished, and yet no master ever thinks of coming in to look
for us. Not long, ago a number of our fellows were in the passage, when
who should walk in but one of the masters to order some beer for
himself. He couldn't with a very good conscience punish us, so he took
not the slightest notice of us, though we made sure he would. To our
great satisfaction, away he walked again as if we had not been there.
They keep there a long glass, which is brought out and emptied on
important occasions by certain fellows, such as the winners of the
pulling or sculling races--the eleven who have gained a well-contested
match. It is a long tube with a bulb at the bottom, and holds about a
pint and a half. Its contents must be drunk off without stopping to
take breath, and the difficulty is when one gets down to the bulb to
prevent it all rushing out at once, and running over one: a fellow
stands by and marks the time one takes to drink the contents. I must
take you there some day. There are several places of the sort up the
river, where we are pretty well known. I must introduce you also to our
favourite liquor, and I think that you will agree with me that it is
first-rate. We call it `Shandy Gaff.' It's a mixture of beer and
ginger-beer in equal portions, and on a hot day I know nothing more
refreshing."
"I feel as if I knew all about Eton already," said Reginald; "you have
told me so much."
His friends laughed. "There are a good many more things which you will
have to learn not yet dreamed of in your philosophy," answered Power.
"I haven't told you anything yet about our games--football, cricket,
running, jumping, steeple-chasing. They are very different from those
at most private schools. It will take you the best part of a year to
learn all the rules of football alone. It will take you nearly as long
before you know all the regulations about boating. However, now, when
Eton is in its glory, is the time of the year to pick up all that sort
of information. We think more of play than lessons, and even the
masters never expect to get more than the regular schoolwork out of the
boys. You'll probably stay on till you have worked your way up to Sixth
Form, which just now perhaps looks at a very unapproachable distance. I
forgot to tell you that the Sixth Form have the power of setting
`poenas;' Collegers sometimes do it, and are thought great `brutes' for
so doing. Oppidans rarely ever use their power. It assists them
somewhat in keeping the Lower boys in order. You'll observe, too, how
particular we are about our costume. Those who wear jackets always keep
to black ties, and those who have taken to tail-coats invariably appear
in white ties. These sorts of customs may appear trifles, but they all
contribute to keep up discipline and order in the school. I, at first,
thought them very nonsensical; I now see their use."
Reginald, when he went to his snug little room that night, thought that
he knew a great deal more about Eton than he did in the morning; and
though he was glad to be there, he felt altogether thankful that he had
not come at an earlier age.