^ UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. SAN DIEGO 3 1822 02129 1034 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO ^ 3 1822 02129 1034 iT LONDON BOOK CO. 224 West Broadway Glendale, Calif. 91204 244-0828 795 ANNALS OF AN ETON HOUSE First Edition . . . November, igoy Second Edition . . January, iqoS III Ihc l-rlSi:S.\i,noirs of Celebrated Etonians, Jesse ; Etoniana, Collins ; Memoirs of E?ni?tent Etonians, Sir E. Creasy; A History of Etott College, Lionel Cust; Seven Years at Eton, Brinsley Richards ; Eto?t in the Forties, A. D. Coleridge ; Fasti Etonenses, A. C. Benson ; Memories of Eton and Etoftians, Lubbock ; Memoirs of Rev. F. Hodgson; Re/niniscences of Williajn Rogers ; A Guide to the Buildi?tgs of Eto?t Colleoe, R. A. Austen- Leigh ; Etoniana, R. A. Austen- Leigh ; Report and Minutes of Evidc7ice taken before the Public School Commissioners, 1864; Regulations of the New Governing Body, 1872. 4 DAMES AND DAMES' HOUSES the whole country. It was not to be confined to the actual Foundationers : there were to be others besides these — Cormneiisalcs, they were called, * the sons of noblemen and of special friends of the College,' to the number of twenty, who were to be allowed to sleep and board in the College so long as no expense was incurred for them beyond that of their instruction in grammar, while there was also to be another class of Comraensales who were to be allowed to dine at the third table in Hall with the scholars and choristers. These last were Commoners, the former being Gentle- men-Commoners, having the right of dining at the table with the Chaplain, Usher, and Clerk. Such were the conditions, so to speak, within the walls. Outside there was something different, for Henry's scheme was a comprehensive one. The King bought up all the available ground in the immediate vicinity, together with the private houses, gardens, and fields, and made these over to the Provost and Fellows of the College by a series of grants. These properties were to form a portion of the endowment of the College ; the houses, which were none other than the forerunners of our Dames' houses, affording accommodation for those who should resort to Eton for the teaching that was offered. It is very difficult now to determine the extent of these original grants, and for this reason. The Manor of Eton never fell to the College, and so it is that the various Houses are in some cases held from the Crown, in others from the College, and in some, again, from the Lord of the Manor, the matter being further complicated by later transfers of property either by purchase or exchange. Mr. R. A. Austen-Leigh, than whom no better authority exists in such matters, points out in various letters to the writer that, as regards the Manor of Eton, there seems a strong probability that there were THE KING'S PURCHASES OF LAND 5 originally two Manors, if such is possible, in one place, viz., Eton Gildables and Eton Stockdales-cum-Cole- norton. The second of these is now the * Lord of the Manor ' property. It is probable, therefore, if the foregoing surmise is correct, that Henry bought up Eton Gildables. As regards the quarters from which the houses are * held,' the following deserves to be mentioned. The house at the bottom of Common Lane, which was built by John Hawtrey in 1862 and afterwards occupied by Mr. Warre, is Crown property ; while the houses now known as Williams', Stone's, and Broadbent's are all on Lord of the Manor property. Similarly, Godolphin and Holland House were only acquired by the College about the year 1870, and Tatham's, recently pulled down, was until 1905 Lord of the Manor property.* From this point the block of build- ings reaching South to Keate's Lane and West as far as Keate's House was Crown property until 1845, being known as Clock Close. Lastly, the house now known as Wells', at the South-East corner of Keate's Lane, was, until quite recently, freehold. It is unnecessary to give further examples ; but of the land now occupied by Boarding Houses, the only sites that may always have been in the hands of the College would be the ground round the Chapel grave- yard, that is, between that and Baldwin's Shore, and the site of Gulliver's, Jordley's, Hodgson House, and, lastly, Evans'. It remains to be said, to complete these somewhat dry but not unnecessary details, that the College does not appear often to have themselves built the houses that later on became Boarding Houses, but usually adopted the plan of letting the land on building leases, the Masters, or others, finding the money for building. Among the sites so let were those in Weston's Yard, * The site is being utilized for the South African War Memorial. 6 DAMES AND DAMES' HOUSES others on the right-hand side going down Common Lane, and the ground on which the New Schools now stand. The Scholars attending the School from outside and finding accommodation in the houses referred to were, with those attached to the Foundation, equally known as Commensales, or Oppidans, though the earliest mention of Oppidans, as such, does not occur until a century later, in an Eton audit-book of 1557 1558, Malim also using the word in his account of the daily life of the School, 1561. The earliest Oppidan of whom we know anything is one, William Paston, who was at Eton in 1478, and who, it appears, must have found lodging at a house kept by a lady whom he refers to as his * hostess.' Writing to his brother, he says, ' Furthermore, certify- ing you as to the 13s. 4d., which ye sent by a gentle- man's man for my board, called Thomas Newton, was delivered to mine hostess.' And he goes on, 'And as for the young gentlewoman, I will certify you how I first fell in acquaintance with her. Her father is dead ; there be two sisters of them : the elder is just wedded, at which the wedding I was with mine hostess.' We certainly seem to have here not only the words of one of the first Oppidans, but a suggestive reference to one of the first of the Dames. Henry had been long dead, and Eton had passed through many vicissitudes, notably its attempted sup- pression by Edward IV., ere the numbers attending the School increased to any very great extent. Never- theless, as early as the middle of the sixteenth Century, we hear of many of the greater families sending their sons there, while a few years later the numbers had so far increased thai it became the custom of the Provost and Fellows to take one or two boys as boarders in their houses. Again at the date of the Dissolution of the Monasteries a large inllux of students occurred, ORIGIN OF THE DAME SYSTEM 7 and early in the following century we hear of the School being * very much thronged by the young nobility,' The lodging, or boarding, houses were filling up, and they are spoken of as being kept by 'Dames' or 'Dominies,' the latter title being used when there was a male head of the establishment, though, later on, the term * Dame' was equally applied without reference to sex.* We learn, too, that the Head Master and the Usher had long been unable to cope with the work : assistant masters were appointed, and the building of the first Upper School was begun (1665) in order to find accommodation for the increasing number of Oppidans. At this same date the assistant masters were in some instances taking pupils in their houses, though such did not become general until many years later.! The province of the Master appears to have been regarded as lying in teaching only and not in keeping house, and it is in this fact that we have the real origin of the Dame system, a system which must not be supposed to have existed at Eton and nowhere else, for it certainly did so at Harrow and at Rugby, among other schools, while to this day it has its place in certain schools in America.t At Eton, as we know, the Dame system has now been swept away and the Tutor keeps the house, the diffi- culty of the housekeeping being got over by the insti- tution of that most useful body, the Matrons. Another century went by, and a considerable altera- tion had already taken place in the scheme of education. * The terms Boarding Masters and Boarding Dames occur in the Church Registers. t The assistant masters were not allowed to keep boarding-houses in 1766, and, while there is no record of when they first began to compete with the Dames in this respect, the fact of their doing so is mentioned as a recent innovation in 1824. X The Dame system may possibly have been imported from Eton ; in the case of Harrow by a succession of Etonian Head Masters, and in that of Rugby by Dr. James. Mr. R. A. Austen-Leigh informs the writer that he found the Dame system in existence at the Phillips Andover Academy, America, in 1903. 8 DAMES AND DAMES' HOUSES In 1766, for instance, French, drawing, and dancing were being taught — the foreshadowing, in fact, of a kind of ' Modern Side.' And then, again, in a docu- ment drawn up for Thomas James in 1768-1775 appear quite a number of terms linking us clearly with those days. Here is one which might have been written yesterday : * On finding any boys missing, the prae- posters enquire the reason of their absence at the Dames who keep the boarding Houses, and bring an excuse for it in the Dame's handwriting.* There is even a reference here to * staying-out,' though the writer seems to have thought better of it, for it is struck out in the original manuscript. At this same date (1766) there were already no less than thirteen boarding Houses, three of which were kept by Dominies and the rest by Dames of the other sex, while there were eight assistant masters employed in teaching. The boys are spoken of as preparing their lessons in the boarding Houses, and the school hours, on what we should call 'whole school days, were almost identical with those of our own time. These hours were, on the stricter working days, 8 to 9, II to 12, 3 to 4, and 5 to 6. Tuesday was a whole holiday, Thursday a half-holiday, and on Saturday there was * play at 4.' For all we know, Friday may have been reckoned ' black,' and in summer there was certainly Absence at 6 in the evenings on half and whole holidays. It is unnecessary to refer here to the condition of College, or to Long Chamber and its many scandals, save in so far as the Collegers were themselves con- nected with the Dames' Houses. In the early part of the last century the whole atmosphere of College was bad. For seventy Scholars there were only four dormitories. In Long Chamber, where fifty-two boys were supposed to be accommodated, there were neither chairs nor tables, only beds, these being made COLLEGERS AND DAMES' HOUSES 9 in the mornings by the Lower boys. Water had to be fetched from the pump in the yard, and tallow candles, from one or other of the Dames' Houses, were usually stuck on to the back of a book, as no candlesticks were provided. ' When,' writes a boy at this date, * I wished to obtain water for my own use, I was told that the Sixth Form and the Liberty only had this privilege in College, and that any ablutions of mine must take place at my Dame's. On arriving there, I found a room of the barest description, with a sanded floor, called the Collegers' room.' The food in Hall was of inferior quality, and varied little from day to day, further supplies being brought in from the Dames' Houses. A Dame's was looked upon at this date as a place of refuge, the holder of a House having to undertake 'for himself, his assigns, and undertenants, to admit a certain number of King's Scholars according to the direction of the Upper Master for the time being, and to take care that they were properly attended in his house in the time of sickness according to the ancient usage of the place, and if at any time he refused to comply with such directions, his lease was to be immediately void and of none effect.'* It was well that the Collegers had even this safe- guard, for they had little else. But the time was now approaching when many scandals were to be swept away, and when Eton was to be practically regenerated. There is no more important date in the history of Eton in modern times than the year 1840. That year saw the appointment of Provost Hodgson, and if Mr. Gladstone was wont to say that 'the three great reformers of Eton to whom she owed most were Hawtrey, G. A. Selwyn as private tutor, and the * From a note by William Evans regarding his original lease. A clause to the same efifect is to be found in the leases of Jordley's, Bearblock's, Woodward's, and Slingsby's. 10 DAMES AND DAMES' HOUSES Duke of Newcastle, who compelled the study of Divinity by his Scholarship,' to this trio must surely be added the name of Francis Hodgson. Certain reforms had already been introduced shortly before Hodgson's term of office began, but the Head Master, Hawtrey, had received little or no real support in attacking the many evils that he knew were crying for remedy. Hodgson's ejaculation as he drove over Fifteen arch bridge and surveyed the pile of buildings that then opened to his view, is said to have been, ' Please God, if I live, I will do something for those poor boys.' He was true to his word. But he did not stay his hand when he had swept out Long Chamber : he went further afield than that. There were abuses calling for correction outside College as well as within, and, ably seconded by Hawtrey, he turned his attention to these too, in his efforts for the general welfare and happiness of Eton. First and foremost came College itself. A com- mittee was formed, of which Lord Lyttelton was chairman, and subscriptions were collected for the purpose of building a new wing for the Collegers. So bad had been the reputation of Long Chamber, that in 1841 only two candidates had presented them- selves for thirty-five vacancies. But now all this was changed. The Prince Consort laid the foundation- stone in 1844, and when the new wing was opened two years later, separate rooms had been provided for the first forty-nine Collegers, and only twenty-one were left to occupy one half of Long Chamber. Such a change as this naturally affected Eton generally. A levelling up took place on all hands. The condition of the Dames' Houses called for attention no less than the interior of College. They were often at this date kept by persons of an inferior class, who looked far more to the interests of their own pockets than to the welfare of their boys, their CONDITION OF DAMES' HOUSES ii position being in many cases unassailable by reason of the vested interests they had in their houses. The very name of Dame at this date was regarded almost as a reproach, and in the minds of some a social stigma seems even to have attached to the office. Yet there were never wanting those who were ready at all times to buy out the holders of these houses, and at a considerable premium, either for the purpose of taking office themselves, or as a convenient place for a poor relation. The houses were, in fact, looked upon much as a boarding-house at the seaside is in these days — as simply a means of making money, and with the additional advantage that tenants were certain, security ample, and trouble confined to a limited portion of the year. Of order there was little, and the arrangements generally were regarded as a private matter between those who kept the houses and the parents of the boys, the authorities rarely interfering save in the case of a serious breach in the rules of the School. The accommodation was often of the poorest description, the food of the coarsest, the floor of the dining-room being usually sanded, and carpets in the bedrooms by no means general. Discipline in many cases scarcely existed, and was only upheld by a liberal use of the fist among the boys, or an equally liberal use of the birch in the hands of the Head Master. The spirit of emulation, as we know it, was almost non-existent, the days of cups and colours had not dawned, and there was an almost total absence of that spirit of rivalry in the field of athletics which has since become a part of the inner life of all our great schools, and which is so invaluable from whatever side we may regard it. As a beginning towards remedying this condition of things, a number of dilapidated buildings were acquired and pulled down, new houses for Masters taking their place. The Christopher Inn, standing in 12 DAMES AND DAMES' HOUSES the very heart of the School, and from which drink was regularly fetched for consumption in the Houses, was acquired from the Crown and closed, and with the disappearance of the well-known signboard there vanished a source of undeniable evil. To provide for the sick, in case of epidemics, a Sanatorium was built by subscription on the Eton Wick road. Previous to this there had been no provision for those seriously ill, and in the case of Collegers, as we have seen, their only refuge was at one or other of the Dames' Houses, as there was no accommodation whatever for them in College. The general health of the School was at the same time greatly improved by an entirely new system of drainage carried out at vast expense. On all hands there was a general awakening ; the old order of things was passing away : it had served its time ; it had sent out into the world scores of men destined to occupy the very highest places, and to win those places by the strength of their own arms, the force of their own intellects, the depth, the beauty, the man- fulness of their own individual characters. But now had come the time for Eton to be born anew. Old anomalies, old abuses, even old customs that had stood the test of centuries, were one and all to be abolished or reformed, and though the outcry against the reformers was loud and deep, we, who look at their work from these later days, can have nothing but admiration for what Hodgson and Hawtrey did for our School sixty and seventy years ago. The material welfare of the boys was not, however, the only point that engaged Hodgson's and Hawtrey's attention. The Chapel, previously somewhat un- sightly, was now entirely altered, and though the work was attended by a certain Vandalism that stripped the floor of its marble and its brasses, robbed pos- terity of some of the mural paintings that adorned the five western bays of the church and covered up the REFORMS IN THE SCHOOL 13 remainder, and narrowly escaped turning Lupton's Chapel into an organ loft, some improvements were certainly effected. Religious instruction, which a few years before had had no place at all, was now allotted a definite position ; the study of Mathematics was in- troduced, if still only as a voluntary subject, a stimulus having been given by the institution of the Tomline scholarship ; modern geography was taught in many of the Forms, and considerable alterations were made in the list of classical works in use throughout the School ; the entrance examination for the Foundation was entirely remodelled ; a library was opened for the use of all ; and the study of modern languages encouraged by prizes offered by the Prince Consort.* Nor must mention of one of the most drastic reforms of all be omitted. The private tutor system was now swept almost entirely away. These tutors had in some cases lived in the Dames' Houses, and occa- sionally taken part in the management ; others had lived together in the town. But now all this was altered, and all boys were placed under one or other of the Assistant Masters as their official Tutor. The stafT of Assistant Masters was at the same time greatly strengthened, and new houses were built for several of them.t Great changes were also made in the discipline of the School ; a wider trust was placed in the boys themselves, and appeals to the block became less frequent. In the playing fields games were en- couraged, and cricket was more widely patronized. On the river, boating was no longer ignored by the authorities in the way in which it had previously * French was introduced as part of the regular school-work by Dr. Balston. Physical science followed for Fifth Form in 1869, and in 1875 for Remove. f In 1833 there were only 9 masters, including the Head, for 570 boys in Upper School. Dr. Keate's division at one time is said to have numbered 1 70. 14 DAMES AND DAMES' HOUSES been. A test in swimming, called * Passing,' was in- stituted before a boy was allowed afloat, bathing- places were made, and Watermen were engaged to teach swimming and to watch the river. Lastly, Montem, which had been celebrated for centuries, was abolished, the year 1844 seeing the great festival celebrated for the last time, and 1847 its total ex- tinction. Several anomalies continued for a time unremedied, more especially as regards * bounds ' ; but if these, like many of the reforms just mentioned, are found to have a place in our story, there still remains one other point calling for reference here, and this is as to the title of * Dame ' and how it comes to be now extinct. We have seen how, at the outset, the Oppidans, or Town boys, were lodged in houses kept mostly by dames in the ordinary sense, and how the term * Dame ' came to be applied to boarding-house keepers of either sex. When, as time went on, the regular Assistant Masters, or Tutors, gradually supplanted these, and the College took to exercising a more direct authority over the boarding-houses than it had hitherto done, these Houses were one by one occupied by the Classical Tutors, as the great body of the Assistant Masters were called. But with the extension of the educational system there now sprung into existence another body of teachers who were termed non- Classical Tutors. These were the teachers of Mathe- matics, Modern Languages, Physical Science, and Drawing, and for a number of years this class of Masters laboured under very serious disabilities: they were not allowed to hold Houses at all, and when at last this restriction was removed, they were still styled * Dames.' The position of this body may perhaps be best exemplified by that of the Mathematical Masters at this period. Mathematics had had no definite place ABOLITION OF DAMES' HOUSES 15 assigned to them in the school curriculum previous to 1836.* At this date Stephen Hawtrey was allowed to give voluntary teaching, and was at first placed on the same footing as the Drawing Master, He built the Mathematical Schoolf at great expense, satisfied the vested interests of a previous teacher, and engaged a number of assistant masters to help him. It was not, however, until 185 1 that Mathematics became part of the regular school work, and that Hawtrey was placed, in some respects, on the same level as the Classical Masters, being given the title of Mathematical Assistant Master. His assistants had to wait long years for any similar recognition : they had no right in regard to School discipline out of school hours ; they were not allowed to wear the academical dress, and they could not send in ' complaints 'J unless these were first signed by Hawtrey. When, at last, the study of Mathematics came to be regarded with more import- ance, these disabilities were removed ; Hawtrey's assistants were then made Assistants to the Head Master, and were placed, by degrees, on the same footing as the Classical Masters, being allowed to exercise authority out of school, to hold Houses, and finally to be regarded as Tutors. Similar advantages were extended at the same time to the teachers ot French and Physical Science, and these have all now gradually supplanted the Dames in the boarding- houses, no new leases being granted to the latter by the College. Thus the Dames have one by one ceased to exist, till they now no longer have any place in Eton life. Whether the title has altogether vanished is a moot point. Eton is innately conservative in the way she * The rule now is that there shall be one Mathematical Master, at the least, for every loo boys in the School. t This was pulled down to make room for the Queen's Schools and Lower Chapel. J For summary punishment at the hands of the Head Master. i6 DAMES AND DAMES' HOUSES regards her own affairs, and things there die hard. The title is now confined, in the Tutors' Houses at all events, to the Matron ; but, in spite of the official title of House Tutor, a boy boarding in the House of a non-classical Master and having his Tutor outside, still often speaks of the latter as * m'Tutor ' and the former as ' m'Dame.' We come back, then, to the initial difficulty of Eton terms and Eton nomenclature. We all remember Six- penn}^ and can only conclude that it was so called because the price of entrance was a shilling ; we have all attended innumerable Absences, but it is a question whether our minds are not still a little hazy on the point — why, when there was no Absence, it was called * a call.' So, too, with the time-honoured title of Dame : we must leave posterity to decide how long it is to be retained, and turn, ourselves, to the last real Dame's in the old sense and weave such story of its past as may be possible. CHAPTER II THE EVANS FAMILY — WILLIAM EVANS — JANE EVANS' REMINISCENCES — WILLIAM EVANS FOUNDS THE HOUSE — HIS SYSTEM — HIS DESCRIPTION OF DAMES' HOUSES AT THIS TIME In the latter part of the eighteenth century there came to reside in Windsor one Samuel Evans. He had been living in Flintshire till that time, and was a man of good antecedents. His father, John Evans, had married into the Morton family of Sheffield, his grand- father had been in business in London, and his great- grandfather had taken for wife Mary Sidney, a direct descendant of Sir Philip Sidney of immortal memory. As a means of livelihood, Samuel Evans followed the profession of an artist and drawing master, and among his pupils at Windsor were the daughters of George III. To testify to this, there still stand in the studio of his descendant, Sidney Evans, the present Drawing Master at Eton, models of a bull and a cow, with this inscrip- tion by William Evans beneath them : Given to my father, Samuel Evans, in 1795, by H.R.H. Princess Elizabeth, daughter of George III., as a mark of esteem. The works by Samuel Evans that still remain in the possession of his descendants show him to have been an artist of some talent, and among them are portraits of himself and his wife, and especially, too, a picture of Old Windsor bridge that was once honoured by a 17 2 i8 WILLIAM EVANS place in an exhibition of the Works of Old Masters at Burlington House. From being a drawing master at Windsor, Samuel Evans, though at what date is uncertain, migrated to Eton and took up his abode in the old house on the North side of Keate's Lane, still used as the residence of the Drawing Master of the School, and exactly opposite to the one that was destined in after-years to be so intimately associated with his family. There is little need here to refer to the children of Samuel Evans and Ann his wife, a daughter of a Mr. Knight of Soberton, Hampshire. Of their two sons, one died at the age of sixteen as an Eton boy, and the other, William, the eldest, lived to become the founder of the Eton House that took his name, and thereby to confer no small benefit on the School. William Evans was born on December 4, 1798. At eleven years of age he joined the School as an Oppidan, remaining till 18 15, when his father decided to make him a doctor, though he already showed a leaning towards Art. His medical studies were not, however, destined to last long, for in 1818 his father's health began to fail, and it became evident that if he was to continue to hold the position of Drawing Master he must call in some one to help him. It is related that one day, at this period. Dr. Keate paid a visit to the house arrayed in all the glory of silk cassock, pudding- sleeved gown, and three-cornered hat. Mrs. Evans is said to have been delighted that so distinguished a man should deign to inquire after her husband's health ; but she soon found her mistake when Keate broke in with, ' Where's your son ?' Mrs. Evans replied that he was in London studying medicine. 'Send for him at once,' said Keate ; * he must come and take his father's place.' Such an order from such a man could claim only instant obedience. William Evans was started on a DR. KEATE AND WILLIAM EVANS 19 new course of studies, chiefly under the famous De Wint, and after a while returned to Eton as his father's Assistant. For several years the father and son worked together; but in 1823 Samuel Evans' health broke down altogether, and he retired to Droxford in Hampshire, where he died in 1837, in the seventy- fifth year of his age, his wife following him in the year 1852. There can be no doubt that Keate's choice was fully justified. Evans was possessed of just those qualities that were necessary for the post. He had been an Eton boy ; he was at all points essentially a man. He was of fine appearance, standing more than six foot ; he was a conscientious worker, and he became devoted to his art. Nor was he less likely to gain the affections of Eton boys by reason of other dominant traits of character. Endowed with immense strength, he gloried in all manly exercises ; he was a keen sportsman, and it was said of him in at least one Scottish home that he could catch a salmon when nobody else could. With the rifle and shot-gun he could equally hold his own ; he was a wonderful swimmer, and on the river he was a fine oar.* In looking back over these long years it almost seems that in appointing Evans Draw- ing Master, Keate was not thinking alone of art training, but of something of far greater importance where boys were concerned. He could hardly have made a happier choice. Evans was fully competent to teach ; he was also, at this period, competent to lead, and, in leading, * Evans' earlier diaries are chiefly devoted to his art work, to meetings with friends (such as Landseer, Dickens, Forster, Thackeray, and others), and to sport. Entries such as these are common: 'Dunkeld and Perth. Highland gathering.' 'Duchess of Kent arrived at Blair. Killed 2^^ brace of grouse.' ' Dunkeld. Duke killed 8 harts.' 'Thirty brace of grouse, shooting with Lord Shannon.' 'Upton Wood with Smith ; 13 brace of pheasants.' 'Killed 3 harts at Loch; 13 stone 3, 12.8, and 12.5.' 'One hart, 14 stone 7 lbs.' ' Killed 41 brace grouse ; Duke, 40.' 'On the moors near Bruar with Lord James Murray. 25 brace.' 'Dunkeld. 5 kelts ; 3 salmon, 18, 10, 5^,' and so on. 2 — 2 20 EVANS BECOMES DRAWING MASTER to influence for good both outside the doors of his studio as well as within.* And from the point of view of Art, Evans was no mere Drawing Master, possessed of the power or imparting pretty tricks ; he was something very dif- ferent. He might possibly have become a successful doctor ; he became something more than a successful artist. He had inherited to the full his father's talent; the feeling for Art ran strong in him. He had an eye for line ; he had the sense of colour, and composition came easily to him. These of themselves formed a fair equipment ; years of persevering study did the rest. The writer chances to have been familiar with William Evans' water-colour drawings all his life, and to possess several of them, and just as in all Arts the character of the Artist never fails to declare itself, so do these drawings show something of the character of the man behind the brush. There is strength and breadth of touch, an absence of all 'finicking,' often great brilliancy and freshness, and though, perhaps, even in his very best examples, the hand of the real genius is not present, his work is never- theless capable of giving us at all times exceeding pleasure.! Evans' work received its first tangible recognition in 1828, when he was made an Associate of the Old Water-Colour Society, being elected a full Member on June 7, 1839. ^^ the affairs of this Society he soon began to take an active part ; he regularly attended its meetings in London, and his best work was to be seen * Evans' actual appointment dates from 1823, when he definitely succeeded his father. He was Drawing Master till 1853, when he was succeeded by his son, Samuel T. G. Evans. t Two of William Evans' most widely known pictures are ' Montem in the School-yard' and 'The Playing-fields.' Many of the figures are portraits. The two pictures were painted for Mr. Pigot in 1844, being subsequently engraved by C. Lewis, and being now the property of Lord Braybrooke (see Loan Collection Catalogue, 450th anniversary of the Foundation). THE OLD WATER-COLOUR SOCIETY 21 upon its walls.* Many years later, Frederick Tayler, writing to him in reference to the work he had so long done for the Society, says : ' No member, no six members, I might say, have done so much that is practically valuable for it as you have, and God grant that you may live to do much more.' Reading through the whole correspondence of this date, one is struck by the way in which many of the Members turn to Evans for his opinion and advice. A large number of letters from many of the leading artists of that day have been preserved by Evans' family, and these all alike show that Evans' voice never failed to make itself heard on occasions of importance. The natural force of character that was behind the man compelled him to speak out and often to take the lead. But that he never did so in an overbearing way is shown by the great affection with which he was evidently re- garded by his fellows. Were it the difficult question of deciding upon the rival claims of candidates for Membership ; was it the condition of some artist in poor circumstances — and many were those he helped ; the erection of a memorial to another that was gone ; the collection of funds for the assistance of a widow left with a number of children ; or even answering the call of a comrade who had fallen by his own fault and his own folly, Evans appears to have been often entrusted to carry out what was necessary, and more often to have been the one who had initiated the whole matter. To the end of his days he continued to work for the Society, and he died one of its oldest Members. Meanwhile William Evans had taken to himself a wife. In 1822 he married Jane Mary, daughter of George Vernon Jackson, of Droxford, Hants. No less than six of Mrs. Evans' brothers served in the * The Society was founded in 1804, being known under the above title until 1881, when Queen Victoria conferred the prefix of 'Royal,' first signing its diplomas in the following year. It is now known as the Society of Painters in Water-Colours. 22 WILLIAM EVANS' FAMILY Royal Navy. Three of these lost their lives in the Service ; a fourth, George Vernon, completed a fine record ere he died as a Rear Admiral ; and another became a soldier. Her descendants could well claim, therefore, that they were of good fighting stock. On his father's retirement, Evans established himself in the Old House, as it was then called by the famil}^, in Keate's Lane, and here were born to him a numerous progeny.* Of these, two claim our especial attention as being intimately associated with our narrative — the two sisters, Annie and Jane. Their brother, Samuel, will also be often mentioned, and Mrs. Fenn, the sole survivor of them all, has contributed materially towards any interest these pages may possess.! Little has been preserved in connexion with these earlier years ; but one invaluable record remains in some * Recollections ' dictated by Jane Evans many years later and taken down by her sister, Mrs. Fenn. They are, however, very brief, being contained in a few pages of one small notebook. Here is the earliest of them : * Montem of 1835. A great day. We children were dressed in new frocks, of course. * William Vernon, b. 1823, d. in New Zealand, 1843. Ann Maria, b. 1824, d. at Eton, 1871. Jane Mary, b. 1826, d. at Eton, 1906. Samuel Thomas George, b. 1829 ; m. Susan, daughter of Mr. T. Bross, of Springfield, Clapton ; d. 1904. Mary Radcliffe, b. 1830 ; m. Rev. W. Wanklyn, Vicar of Deopham, Norfolk ; d. 1905. Fanny Elizabeth, b. 1833, d. in infancy. George Richard, b. 1832, d. a midshipman, Indian Navy, 1853. Fanny Elizabeth, b. 1834 ; m. Major A. Drury, Madras N.I. ; d. i860. Grace, b. 1836 ; m. Rev. W. M. Fenn, Rector of Tankersley, Yorkshire. /Edward Augustus, b. 1837, d. 1838. I John Sidney, b. 1837, d. 1838. f With Mrs. Fenn's name must be coupled, in this particular, those of Mrs. S. T. G. Evans and of her son, Sidney V. Evans, the present JANE EVANS' RECOLLECTIONS 23 * Montem had to be abolished on account of the trains bringing so many undesirable outsiders into the place. It was a day given up to hospitality and gathering money for the first Colleger who did not get the King's Scholarship. In those days the Houses had all to take care of Collegers, there being no accom- modation for sickness in College. Drake was one of those belonging to our House. He was a very good- looking boy, and I well remember the pleasure with which we heard he had received a sum sufficient to help him substantially at Cambridge. There was no idea that the money collected was in any way a charity, but that it was a gladly given gift to one who must have worked well to have become entitled to it. 'The Queen often came, and sat at the window over the archway in the Clock Tower to watch the pro- cession of boys passing below and waving the Montem flags. It was the custom for the boys to wear fancy dress, and many of them, being the sons of rich parents, spent large sums on their get-up. The rest of the School wore red coats and white trousers, with cocked hat and white plumes. After the last Montem, an order was issued for the boys to wear their red coats, and for many weeks they gladly took advantage of this. ' Some of my earliest recollections have to do with the time when we were still living in the Old House, and with scraps of conversation between my father and mother. At that time my father was getting on well in his profession, and often went to London to attend committees of the Old Water-Colour Society. Many of his brother artists would come and stay with him at Eton, and among these was Sir Edwin Land- seer, who was very fond of teasing my eldest sister. For some reason my mother and she both disliked the idea of the life of a Dame, and perhaps the reason may have been that so man}^ of those they came in contact with were there simply for the sake of providing for their families, without taking much interest in the work. At that time there were some twelve or thirteen Drawing Master at Eton. The writer feels very greatly indebted to them for the unwearying patience they have shown in assisting him by every means in their power. 24 JANE EVANS' RECOLLECTIONS Dames' Houses, presided over by women of various social degrees. In some cases the property was their own by inheritance — viz., Miss Langford, for instance, who lived in Keate's Lane and afterwards married Colonel Bulkeley. Miss Angelo was another. She had been a noted beauty, and to the end of her days used patch and powder and wore ringlets, and when no longer able to walk she was carried to church, with some state, in a sedan chair. Another was a Miss Bearblock. She was my sister's Godmother, and was very kind to her; but she was a Dame, which grieved my sister, as she was fond of her. Sir Edwin could not resist making fun of my sister over this by asking her continually who her Godmother was. ' Cattermole,* too, was a great friend, and when a bachelor spent many weeks at a time at Eton. He was full of practical jokes, and sometimes we children were the sufferers. At that time we had a governess who admired him very much. He did not appreciate her attentions, and occasionally revenged himself. She had a habit of watching him at work, and, one day, his room being on the first floor and a ladder having been left against his window by someone who was cleaning it, he heard a stealthy step cautiously ascending it. When he guessed the person's head would be above the window-sill, he carelessly threw his painting sponge at it, saying : " That serves you right, Master Sam." Sam was my brother, then aged about six, and his turn came next, poor little boy, for after bribing him with sixpence, Mr. Cattermole persuaded him to be put into a big hamper which was to be taken to Miss H., the governess. She, thinking it was something from home, opened it with great delight, when out popped Sam's chubby face, to be received with many smart slaps, for which the sixpence was poor comfort. ' In November, 1837, there came a terrible sorrow into my father's life. My mother died very shortly after giving birth to twin sons.f At the time my * George Cattermole, 1800-1868, was an artist of considerable repute. He worked in oils as well as water-colours, and received many distinctions from foreign Academies. His illustrations to the Waverley Novels are well known. t William Evans seems to have marked this day throughout his life, and in an entry in his diary on November 19, 1872, there is this : ' Twins born this day, 1837 ; died in infancy. To show their regard MRS. WILLIAM EVANS. From the portrait by Margaret Carpenter, 1830. [ To /ace p. 24. EVANS IS LEFT A WIDOWER 25 father was seriously ill with quinsey, and in those days, when good nurses were not easy to find, my poor mother was not looked after as she ought to have been. One morning when alone, and very weak, she slipped out of bed, and went to the other end of the house to see how my father was. This brought on a chill, and in a very short time fever and death. Mr. G. Selwyn was constantly by her side durmg the last few hours of her life, and he and Mr. Edward Coleridge acted as true friends to her and to my father, whose agony of mind can be understood. The sympathy of the whole place was stirred, and every one did what they could for him, though it was impossible for anyone to do more really than stand by his side and wait for time to soften the blow.' Evans was thus left a widower. His twin sons survived their mother only a few months, when they were laid by her side at the east end of the College Chapel burial-ground, beneath the flat grey stone that still marks their resting-place. Eight others, the eldest of whom was but fifteen years and the youngest eighteen months, remained with their father in the Old House. He himself was in his fortieth year ; he had worked hard, and it is pathetic to find his daughter writing : * Up to this time he had led a happy life, and he afterwards told us that that year he and our mother had for the first time been able to save and put by in the Bank the sum of ;^6o.' For the time Evans was a broken man, but he had the strength to realize that in sorrow work is the best remedy, and applied himself with greater vigour to his pupils and his pictures. He had the sympathy of those about him, he had won the affections of his brother artists ; above all, he had the love of his children, and at his elbow there stood those two stanch for me, the following became their sponsors — Dr. and Mrs. Keate, E. Willis, of Goodrest, Col. Augustus Liddell, Mrs. Carter, and Thomas Gambier Parry, of Highnam.' 26 THE SECRET OF A GOOD HOUSE friends, George Augustus Selwyn and Edward Coleridge.* We are justified in believing that had it not been for the influence of these last, Eton would certainly at this time have lost Evans, who had made up his mind to quit the scene of his sorrows, to go to London, and to establish himself there as an artist. He was most fortunately dissuaded from carrying this de- cision into effect. The condition of many of the Dames' houses has been already described, and Evans had long wished to see them improved. No less than twenty-one ladies' names appear in the Eton Register as having held houses at this period ; but the hand of the reformer was already making itself felt, and many of these houses were destined very shortly to be swept away. Here was Evans' opportunity, and his friends were not behindhand in pointing out that now was his chance of taking up fresh work, of doing something for the School, and of carrying into effect his ideas of what a Dame's house should be. Evans had always maintained that the secret of a good and successfully managed House would be found in this — the degree to which the boys were trusted to govern themselves. He considered that this govern- ment should be oligarchical in character; that there should be a Captain who possessed, first of all, the absolute confidence of the holder of the House, and who should be trusted under him to carry out the necessary orders and to maintain discipline ; that the Captain should have for his support a certain number of the senior boys immediately below him ; and that by this means the honour of the boys as a whole would be appealed to as well as their better instincts * George Augustus Selwyn was then a private tutor at Eton, and Edward Coleridge an Assistant Master, holding the house at the corner of Keate's Lane and the Eton Wick Road, now known as Keate's house. EVANS' PRINCIPLE 27 and that they would so come to learn that the credit of their House and the position it occupied in the School rested ultimately in their hands. The abso- lute authority would still remain, of course, in the hands of the holder of the House, but, save in cases of a serious nature, the executive would be largely vested in the Captain and his coadjutors. To attempt to carry on a House on these principles in the Eton of that day was no ordinary enterprise. It amounted to a revolution ; it was against all pre- cedent ; it threw a responsibility on boys for which many considered them quite unfitted ; not a few persons scouted the idea as chimerical ; and those who saw in Evans' scheme an attack upon their vested interests, endeavoured to hold it up to ridicule and contempt. But Evans had decided to follow the advice of his friends and, having done so, put his hand to the work at once. Underlying his scheme there was a great principle, though one which at that date had made little way in our leading schools. His may have been a high ideal, but it set a high ideal also before the boys of his House. They were to be trusted ; they were to be believed, and not doubted ; honour, truth, manfulness, were to be held up as things for which they must themselves strive, and without coercion, without the shadow of the master at their elbow, or the sudden advent of some one from outside to call Absence at unexpected moments. It happened that on the opposite side of Keate's Lane, and immediately facing the house in which Evans was living, there stood a somewhat dilapidated structure, housing some fourteen boys, and kept by a Mrs. Vallancey. It appears to have been a typical Dame's House, and as the holder was willing to negotiate, Evans and his friends decided that this should be the field of his future enterprise. 28 DAMES' HOUSES Writing, apparently, some twenty-five years later, Evans gives the following account of the Dames' houses at that time, and of the first steps he took in acquiring his own : ' The gradual transition from the Dames' to the Masters' Houses began with the present century. When Dr. Goodall was Head Master he had two or three boys in his House. In 1809, when I entered the School as a boy, Mr. Carter had a few boys of the class who afterwards came with Private Tutors. Dr. Keate also took boys for a time. Mr. Bethell and Mr. Yonge also had some few, their then superior accommodation justifying the enormously increased charge on that made by the Dames. For instance, the dinners were properly served ; boys dined in their Tutor's dining-room ; all boys but brothers had single rooms, and they lived as gentlemen's sons should live. On the other hand, in the Dames' Houses there were many instances of four-bedded rooms, with an extra charge of ten guineas for what was called a study, a closet about 4 feet square. The disorderly state of these Houses was such that they were constantly liable to be visited by the Head Master, who would come in at any hour and call " Absence." The whole system was so bad that those who had to struggle against it had a hard time of it. ' This state of things went on for some time. The Dames made large fortunes, for there was no induce- ment to the boys to eat at home, and their bills at the cooks' shops were consequently enormous. The dinners were served in the most uninviting way : the tablecloth changed once a week ; common knives, two- pronged forks, tin cups ; some boys allowed meat only once a day. Their supper was bread and cheese at 6.30; the dining-room floor, as that of their own rooms, sanded — in fact, they were worse provided for than their fathers' servants. A boy, afterwards in the Eifc Guards, told me that he never went to his Dame's dinner during his last two years at Eton. ' In course of time the younger masters adopted the plan of their seniors ; many houses were built, and gradually drew ofT a great many boys from the Dames. EVANS TAKES VALLANCEY'S 29 This went on till about 1838. At that time my friend George Selwyn, afterwards Bishop of New Zealand, was a private tutor at Eton. I was in great trouble, and had great inducements to follow my profession in London, but he and others induced me to purchase the goodwill of the house I now occupy from an Irish lady, Mrs. Vallancey. The terms were drawn up by him, and attested by Mr. Carter, the Vice-Provost, and Mr. Coleridge.* I was to pay her the sum of ;^3,ooo for the goodwill of the house, their belief being that if the treatment was more that of a Master's House it would be successful.! 'Provisions were then much cheaper; everything, in fact, 50 per cent, less than at present. It was usual to supply all the groceries from the Rolls and Butter shops. These things were brought to the rooms by women not always of the best character ; the supply was bad, and disagreement constantly occurring. I made up my mind at once to abandon these things, for which these people charged two guineas a term a boy, and without remuneration.! Mr. Dupuis was the first to follow the example. I * This agreement is before the writer. It is dated February ii, 1839, and this must therefore be taken as that of the founding of the House. Mrs. Vallancey had held the premises since 1812. t Reference to Evans' evidence before the Public School Com- missioners, 1 863- 1 864, shows that when the Dames' Houses changed hands a payment was always made for the so-called goodwill, but that there was no such payment in the case of the Tutors' Houses. The Dame holding the House might sell the goodwill to any person she liked, though the Head Master was considered to hold a veto. Dr. Goodford did his best in his day to put a stop to this payment for the goodwill of a House, but found himself quite unable to prevent it in the case of the Dames' Houses. This was one of the objections to this class of house, a complicated mass of varied interests due to these payments having grown up within the College, and which the Com- missioners speak of as ' being most injurious to the interests of the School.' When, in 1870, the New Governing Body for Eton was appointed, the whole question of the tenure of Houses was considered, and when, in 1872, they issued their Regulations, it was decreed that ' the terms of succession to all Boarding Houses, whether belonging to the College or not, shall, for the future, be subject to the approval of the Governing Body, but there shall be no charge for " goodwill/ directly or indirectly.' It is well to bear these points in mind in view of subsequent events. i These were what we used to call our ' Orders ' — i.e, three hot rolls in the morning, with a pat of butter, tea, milk, and sugar ; and a quarter of a loaf of bread, with the same other allowances, at tea-time. 30 THE PRIVATE TUTORS placed around the boys the best servants I could procure ; the Bishop ordered for me, of his own silversmith, ;^i2o worth of silver in forks and spoons, and I then built a proper dining-room. The effect of all this was soon apparent in the discipline and numbers of the House. It has continued to prosper. As to the statement that the ordinary charges of a Dame's were increased, I have only to say that, on examining the accounts, the single rooms, which were few, were charged at fancy prices, and by way of increasing the charge for the double-, three-, and four- bedded rooms, an extra sum of ten guineas was placed on the studies. Extra charges were made for every conceivable thing — for instance, glass, any luxuries supplied during sickness, repairs to rooms and furniture, every drop of wine consumed, so that the sum total was not increased, but the charges con- solidated. ' It should be remembered that, at the early part of this period, there were as many as twenty private tutors, who generally came to Eton with boys of rank and fortune. They formed a little world of their own, many living in private houses in the town and others in the Dames' Houses, dining at the family table. There was one at my House with Lord Dartmouth, my first Captain ; but he was quickly sent away. Lord Dartmouth kindly saying that I had amply filled his place. The Duke of Athole (who was here with Mr. Way) told me that his expenses when he was at Eton were ;^i,ooo a year, and that his son's never exceeded ^170. The one was under the private tutor system, the other showed the saving effected when a boy was thrown into the School.' It is fitting that some mention should be made here of the one who was so intimately associated with Evans in starting the House, George Augustus Selwyn. It speaks well for Evans' character that he could claim the friendship of such a man ; it was no less happy for the House that Selwyn was able to leave upon it the impress of his hand. He was no ordinary man and pcrhaj^s his life cannot be more happily described GEORGE AUGUSTUS SELWYN 31 than in a single sentence by Bishop Harold Browne : * He was always first in everything, and no one ever knew him without admiring and loving him.' His physical activity is said to have been prodigious ; he once walked from Cambridge to London in thirteen hours without stopping ; he rowed ' 7 ' in the first Oxford and Cambridge boat-race ; and he was one of the society, known as the Psychrolutic Society, to which Evans also belonged, whose members bathed nearly every day of the year.* He was ordained in 1833, was made Bishop of New Zealand in 1841, and of Lichfield in 1868, and when he died in 1878 Mr. Gladstone wrote of him, * He was attached to Eton with a love surpassing the love of Etonians.'! Many years later, as a testimony of what the Evans family owed to him, Jane Evans erected a brass in his memory and in that of his son and his grandson. It stands in one of the passages, close to the oak panels, known as ' the Boards,' on which the names of members * The Society of Philolutes and Psychrolutes (lovers of bathing, and of bathing in cold water) was an Eton Society founded in 1828. Sir Launcelot Shadwell was its first President, and among its sup- porters were T.R.H. the Prince Consort and George, Duke of Cam- bridge. G. A. Selwyn and William Evans were its leading spirits. A fine was levied against Psychrolutes who failed to bathe on more than seven days in the year. Several elaborately kept volumes of Proceedings have been entrusted to the writer by Canon W. Selwyn and the Evans family, but there is no space here to deal with these. The Society continued to exist for many years, but appears, from a note by William Evans, to have lost much of its vitality when G. A. Selwyn left England. The principal volume was presented by Evans to John R. Selwyn on his leaving Eton in July, 1862, and is now the property of Canon Selwyn. t See Life, by H. W. Tucker, 2 vols. For list of members of the Selwyn family who were at the House, see p. 415. It is worthy of being added here that the last link with these days was broken only quite recently. When G. A. Selwyn married in 1839, the year the House was founded, he and his wife went to live in the Old House ' over-the-way.' Mrs. Selwyn survived him for many years. She was the Bishop's companion in all his struggles and hardships during twenty-five years in the South Seas, and she died as recently as March 24, 1907, in the ninety-eighth year of her age. 32 MEMORIAL TO THE SELWYNS of the House were cut on their leaving the School, the wording running thus : In loving memory of George Augustus Selwyn, D.D., b. April 5, 1809 ; d. April II, 1878; 1st Bishop of New Zealand, and Bishop of Lichfield. Also John Richardson Selwyn, D.D., 2nd Bishop of Melanesia, and Master of Selwyn College, Cambridge, b. May 20, 1844 ; d. Feb. 12, 1898. Also William George Selwyn, Curate of Bishop's Auck- land, b. July 28, 1865 ; d. Oct. 5, 1893. ' Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honours, especially they who labour in the Word and Doctrine.' — i Tim. v. 17. Below this there follows on a wooden panel : The above brass is placed in this passage because Bishop G. A. Selwyn lived in these rooms during the time he was private tutor to Lord Powis' sons. The expense was defrayed (with the consent of the subscribers) by some of the surplus money from the Presentation Portrait Fund, 1898. CHAPTER III WILLIAM EVANS' FIRST YEARS AS A DAME — THE CON- STRUCTION OF THE HALL — MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE BOYS OF THE PERIOD — ANNIE AND JANE EVANS — THE INSTITUTION OF * PASSING ' That William Evans made a very bad bargain with the former holder of the House is sufficiently proved by the figures he has left. Into these it is unnecessary to go at any length. He had to pay for the so-called goodwill ; he had to buy the furniture, which proved ' utterly useless,' at a high price ; he had to rebuild a very large part of the house, besides enlarging and improving it;* and he had to purchase the unexpired portion of the lease. In doing these things he ex- pended a sum of over ^^"7,000, and brought himself within measurable distance of ruin. He speaks of the undertaking as * a great experiment ' : it was nothing less. The house had held from twelve to fourteen boys. Of these, four had slept in one room, three in another. The establishment consisted of a man- servant, a cook, a Boys' maid and a housemaid, the wages of these four totalling ;^38 a year. The house he describes as being 'unfit for the reception of boys,' and adds that he had ' to reconstruct it altogether.' That anything tangible remained, when he had done, * The last addition made to the house by William Evans was that of the upper floor, facing Keate's Lane. This was done in 1867, the upper floor at the east end of the house being added by Jane Evans in 1879. 33 3 34 EVANS' DESCRIPTION OF VALLANCEY'S of what had once been Vallancey's may well be doubted : the place was destined to wear quite another face under the title of ' Evans'.' Here is what he writes himself of the opening of his work : ' My House (Vallancey's) was formerly a miserable place built by Blenkinsop to last his time as Conduct* and Dame. It was badly built, out of all repair, and rented to Mrs. Vallancey for ^35 a year as a yearly tenant. I had had little opportunity of seeing it, and when I went over it at Easter I found it so unsuitable for a house of the kind that I was in despair. There was neither kitchen, larder, nor dining-room (sanded) fit for boys, nor, indeed, anything required for the work. The sanitary arrangements were disgraceful, and I had to spend ;^2oq at once in building a kitchen and offices of all kinds. During the summer parents came to see the house, and told me they could not allow their sons to occupy the rooms. I had nothing to do but to spend a further large sum, and I borrowed for this ;^i,8oo. The longer things went on, the greater reason had I to regret my bargain. I saw that I must either plunge deeper in or fail in my attempt to establish a House. I accordingly built nine more rooms and altered the whole interior arrangements. Then, as the demand for single rooms increased, I built six more, also the boys' library, altering, at the same time, many of the double rooms into single ones. Some years later, the demand still increasing, I built seven more, and lastly five more — the last straw on the camel's back, for the money I had borrowed will oppress my family to the day of my death. I have converted the premises from being of no value to a rental of at least ;^35o a year. * 1 ought to state that, in reference to the remunera- tion, Dr. Hawtrey gave me carte blanche. I was afraid to start on the Masters' charges, the feeling being so strong against the Dames. I named 80 guineas; he assented at oncc.f Then I thought, as provisions * One of the chaplains who conduct the daily services in Chapel, t This was subsequently increased. The authorized charge now THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE HALL 35 were reasonable, I could afford to give up the Rolls and Butter people (40 boys at 2 guineas a term, 240 guineas), and so suffered no extra charge to dis- grace my accounts, not even the legitimate pay for the staying-out Collegers.' And here it is time that mention was made of one momentous alteration that Evans effected in the structure of the house itself When the former dining-room, with a number of rooms above it, was being cleared away, an idea occurred to him that was destined to give his future house a character of its own, and at the same time to furnish its inmates with something that was in its way unique. 'While the workmen,' writes Jane Evans, 'were engaged on this portion of the alterations, my father and some of his artist friends were much struck with the appearance of this part of the building. The walls and beams and roof remained, but the whole of the inside had been cleared out. It was at once agreed that it ought not to be choked up with rooms for boys, but left as it was and formed into a dining- hall, additional rooms being built beyond it. 'The beams were accordingly covered with dark oak and the walls with tapestry, and, by degrees, with the help of many friends and visits to Wardour Street, the hall was furnished in harmony with the rest of the room. My father also had some long oak tables and forms made, and I have often seen him superin- tending the men, armed with green-baize rubbers and beeswax, polishing these. To this day they remain the same, and the grain unspoilt by stain or varnish.' This Hall became the pride and delight of the House. Old arms and pieces of armour and William Evans trophies of the chase, with others sent by former members of the House from distant lands, were hung upon its walls;* the ceiling was decorated by Evans' * Evans' diary records : ' August, '66 : Major Power gave Jennie the arms and armour from India, sabres and matchlocks. We have had them put up at the end of the Hall, arranging them round the shield.' 36 THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE HALL own hand ; a great fireplace with ingle nooks was constructed in the West wall, with the following inscription over its archway : Patrice funuis igni alieno liiculentior ; and two flags from the last Montem ever celebrated were added to the rest. High up, too, under the old oak wall-plate at one end, and in ancient characters, there ran this verse : ' Whatever fare you hap to find, Take welcome for the best, That having this disdain thou not For wanting of the rest ' ; while in a similar position on the East side, as a reminder to youth to have done with humbug and to be no ' trimmer,' to be true to himself and to his inmost conscience, were these words : ' Who seeks to please all men each way, And not himself offend, He may begin his work to-day, But God knows where he'll end.' Thus, by a happy inspiration, was our old Hall constructed and made beautiful for us. As the years went by, generations of boys passed in and out here, taking a seat at first at the lowest table and working their way up, till at length they went out through the quaint door for the last time, to face the unknown world. Some rose, some fell, and some returned as men that all men knew and whose names were house- hold words. It was here that we met daily ; it was the scene of the earlier, famous Breakfasts. On its tables were ranged the Cups that the House won, and that showed the fluctuations in its prowess ; its walls resounded, times out of number, to the cheers that greeted every fresh success, and when a liberal hospi- tality was dispensed by the family that ruled there ; it witnessed the meetings of old friends on great holidays, and it was as the very centre of our Eton lives. We THE COTTAGE 37 dined, we supped here, and in the evenings we met here for prayers, read by one of our number — the Captain of the House. But the House itself was not the only thing Evans had to think of; he had also to provide accommodation for his family. Just outside the west wall of the Hall there stood a cottage of two rooms and a kitchen occupied by a carpenter and builder. The house across the Lane still remained in Evans' possession, together with the rooms there which he used for his drawing classes;* but he now decided to obtain pos- session as well of this cottage, to connect it with the House by a covered passage, and so to add to it that it could be turned into a home for his family, m a lease of this date the ground here is described as ' a large yard, part whereof was formerly used as the back passage to the Christopher Inn, part whereof is the site of a Malthouse and certain buildings now pulled down, and part whereof was formerly the Christopher garden, the whole having been in the occupation of William, George, and James Lane since deceased. 'f Of all this Jane Evans writes : * The Cottage in which we were all brought up was rented at the same time as the House. It had been occupied by a carpenter till then, and the ground near it was used as a timber-yard. My father turned this last into a very pretty garden, and at the same time added a number of rooms, and by degrees the Cottage became one of the prettiest features of the place. * This house was subsequently let to W. A. Nesfield, the artist, in 1837; then to the Rev. G. A. Selwyn, on his marriage; in 1850 to Rev. C. Wolley ; and, later, to Lady Young. When Samuel Evans married, in 1863, he took up his residence there, and the house became known then among the boys as ' Sam's.' t The site, including that of Hodgson House, was, for nearly 150 years, let to the Slatter family, who again sub-let it. The Slatters also rented Clock Close from the Crown ; and the small tenement or wash-house, afterwards Evans' pupil-room or studio, on the opposite side of Keate's Lane, seems always to have been let to the occupants of ' Evans'.' 38 NUMBER OF BOYS IN THE HOUSE ' There was a yard between the House and the Cottage which was once a public passage and led to the old Christopher Inn, a place well known in those days, and for some time after we came to live at the Cottage small boys used to run through here on their way to the Inn to fetch beer ! This yard was turned by my father into a miniature farm ; there were pig- styes and cowhouses (the latter still exist), a dairy, thatched and picturesque, and a pigeon-cote. The pigs were groomed and kept beautifully clean, and all the arrangements were of the best. Naturally, it was thought better, after a while, to move the pigs, so these were taken to a small cottage and buildings elsewhere.' Evans had his private studio in the Cottage, and lived there with his family ; but, as by degrees his sons left home and his daughters married, three of the rooms were used by the boys of the House, and were much sought after by some of us, for the Cottage was, in its way, an ideal little place. The House at this time contained not more than thirty boys, the number gradually increasing until, occasionally, the total exceeded fifty. Fifty may, how- ever, be taken as the normal figure, and at this it stood, with little fluctuation, throughout its history.* It was usual for a limited number of the new-comers to be placed two in a room. There were six of these double rooms, and if several of them were often occupied by pairs of brothers, right to a single room usually went by seniority. To look through the books of candidates for admission is to realize how much a place in the House was sought after, and if this is the normal condition at Eton in the case of all the best houses, at Evans' there were seldom less than two or * The aljove numlser, 50, is given as a fair average ; but the largest number of boys in tlie House appears at one time to have been 54, or even 56. This was, however, exceptional, and lasted for a short time only. It was Jane Kvans' habit to contrive to have fewer boys in the House in the Kaster half, sickness and epidemics being more likely to occur at that time of year. THE HOUSE LIST 39 three boys waiting to fill every vacancy that occurred. Thus, many who were anxious to come were in the end disappointed. For a great number of years, indeed, it was almost impossible to enter Evans' unless a boy's name had been down for a very long time, or his family had had some previous connexion with the House. Names w^ere entered on Evans' list when their possessors were in long clothes, and one father is spoken of who, when a son was born to him in India, galloped off at once to the telegraph office, and, as it was called, * put his name down.' For the last ten years of the House's existence, Jane Evans declined to keep any list at all, except for the sons of Old boys, and even then she characteristically advised them to * go elsewhere.' Nevertheless, her book shows that she had entered the names of these up to 1916, and probably because the applicants would not take ' No ' for an answer.* It must not be supposed that Evans accomplished all he had set himself with the wand of a magician, and that he merely walked in and said, ' Let this thing be.' Far from it. Apart altogether from the gradual enlargement of the house, he had, if it may be so ex- pressed, to civilize the boys. The whole tone of Eton was much rougher in those days than it became later, and if, in the main, the dominant characteristics of boy-nature are ineradicable, and he is destined to remain an enigma for all time, even to those who think they know him best, a vast change has taken * By the Regulations of the New Governing Body, 1872, the number of Boarders in a House was, without the special permission of the Governing Body, limited to 35, the maximum being 40. An exception was made in Jane Evans' case. A further Rule was laid down that each boy was to have a separate 100m, though two brothers were still allowed to share one together. Jane Evans always believed that her father knew best, and adhered, to the last, to the benefit she considered that small boys derived from being put two together on their first arrival. Several members have written saying what an advantage they found this, but others have equally condemned it. 40 JANE EVANS' RECOLLECTIONS place since the days of which we write. We may doubt whether it was possible, seventy years ago, to tell an Eton boy by qualities apart from the cut of his clothes. It is certainly not always possible to do so now, though many lay claim to such powers of dis- cernment. Nevertheless, it may well be questioned whether ' the Eton tone ' then really existed, and Evans' House at the outset, and for some years, was no better than its neighbours, remaining ' rough ' according to the testimony of the few survivors of those days. Here is Jane Evans' account of the manners and customs of the boys at the outset : 'When my father took over the House the discipline was nil^ and the following will explain what I mean. In those days the Captain of the House had no authority over the boys, and one day, hearing a noise, he found a big Lower boy had knocked down the Captain of the House, Lewisham, because he had told him to go on some errand for him. My father told him he must send for the Lower boy and box his ears. The Captain was physically the weaker of the two, and upon attempting to do this was promptly knocked down again. My eldest brother, a big Colleger, for whom my father had sent, surprised the Lower boy by walking in, seizing him by the collar, and march- ing him into College. There he received the severe punishment of a ' College hiding,' which I believe meant that he had to run up and down between a row of boys with knotted towels, with which they hit him as he passed. The Captain had no more trouble in maintaining the discipline of the House after that. 'Another instance I also remember. My father and Mr. Selwyn decided to have morning and evening prayers, an unheard-of thing at that time The bell was rung, after due notice had been given, and down came the whole House, but each boy marked with a black streak on one side of his face. No notice was taken of this, much to their surprise, and when the bell rang in the evening they all appeared again, but without the streaks, showing that they understood and EVANS' LIBERALITY 41 were ashamed of their former conduct. My father always felt that boys were easy to manage when they were justly and firmly dealt with. ' My father was very particular to have everything of the very best for the boys. Of course, there were difficulties sometimes. One of the old customs was to give the boys a glass of wine on Sundays,* and on one occasion the butler told my father there was not enough of the brown sherry to go round. He accord- ingly gave the butler orders to take the best, which was very pale. When the boys saw their glasses, they at once made up their minds it was wine and water, and left the wine untasted, much to my father's amusement, who simply had the wine put back into the bottles !' All these innovations on Evans' part, and the liberality with which he was treating his boys, soon became known throughout the School, and it dawned upon many that his doings certainly threatened their pockets, if not their existence. It is related that one of the Dames of this period, possessed, perhaps, of more spirit than the rest, used to watch for Evans at her window, and, when she saw him, never failed to call out, * Oh, William Evans, William Evans, you are ruining us all !' And here it is necessary to say that there was nothing of luxury in the way Evans was treating the boys of his House. The Hall, with its tapestry and furniture, the silver spoons and forks, the food supplied, and the glass of wine on Sundays, might give this im- pression ; but it would be a false one, and this will be borne out by boys of all the earlier dates. The House became known for the way in which its inmates were fed ; but this was in later days altogether, and applied more especially to the time when breakfast was pro- vided for the whole House. In all the earlier years the food was plain and plentiful, and the beer, perhaps * This was the custom at several Houses at this date, and down to '69. 42 LUXURY IN THE SCHOOL rightly, of the mildest. Even forty years ago there was, of course, grumbling — to that the schoolboy has apparently a prescriptive right — but it was not justified. The luxury that Evans' afforded, if, indeed, there could be said to be any, was at the outset relative only. In the Houses of those days carpets in the rooms were not general, and arm-chairs were un- known, while out of doors the use of umbrellas was denounced, and twenty years had to elapse before great-coats were permitted to be worn. Evans raised the standard of comfort, that was all. He was no panderer to luxury ; he did not believe in it. Such luxury as eventually crept in came from outside. Its advance was insidious ; it was the reflection of the outer world, and did not belong to his day at all. Neither had it a recognized place in the House at any time. Here and there, throughout the School, we hear of it in these later days ; but where, at Eton, a simple comfort has been ousted and a measure of luxury has taken its place is not in the house, but in the boys' room, and the wisdom of such worship may be doubted. To help him in carrying on the internal affairs of his House, Evans engaged one of that most useful class of persons at Eton, a Matron, who always slept in the boys' part of the House, and whose duty it was to attend to them in cases of slight illness. The Matron also had a room called the 'Staying-out Room,' where invalids were allowed to spend their time if they liked when unable to go into school. Evans' first Matron was a Miss Gilbert, who was followed by a Mrs. Hopgood, about whom many stories are told. She had been a companion to one of the Ladies-in-Waiting at the Castle, and was fond of relating how George III. had once ridden up to the carriage in which she was driving to speak to her Lady, and noticing Mrs. Hop- good, said: 'And who is that remarkably fine woman? EVANS' FIRST MATRONS 43 When Mrs. Hopgood left to become Matron of the Sanatorium, she was succeeded by the widow of a Captain Whifield, and then followed the reign for many years of Mrs. Kenyon, who was universally beloved by the boys, and of whom many still speak with the utmost affection. Evans was, of course, very greatly dependent upon his Matrons, and if he himself then took a far larger personal interest in all the details of his House than he did subsequently, he could look for real help only to those he employed. It was customary at that date, and for many subsequent years, for a Master from outside to come in and call Absence at Lock-up, and among those who did this were two who afterwards occupied the position of Lower Master in the School — F. E. Durnford and E. C. Austen-Leigh. They used to stand with their backs to the window of the bo^'^s' kitchen which looks on to the passage of the boys' entrance, cooking, with its customary exhalations, being in full swing behind them in the gas-lit den that was yet dignified by so august a title. A great sorrow fell on Evans not long after he had established himself in the House. This was the loss of his eldest son. William Vernon Evans had gone out to New Zealand with Bishop Selwyn in 1841 with the intention of taking Orders and working as a Missionary. But it was not to be. He was prostrated by fever shortly after landing, and died at Auckland, to the bitter grief of his father and the rest of the family. Of the two sisters, Annie* and Jane, at this date, Mrs. Fenn gives the following account : 'Annie was about thirteen when our mother died, and, having been the eldest girl, was more often with * Annie Evans, though christened Ann, was never called by this name, and had a great dislike to it. She was known always in the family as Annie, or Nancy. The boys of the House were accustomed to refer to her amongst themselves as Annie, and it is at the express wish of the family that she is so called in these pages. 44 ANNIE AND JANE EVANS her than the rest. She was tall, slight, with auburn hair and eyes of the same colour; not'jxactly pretty, but with a bright expression. She had a very sensitive mouth, which she could not control when annoyed about anything or with anybody. She had to come home earlier from school than the others, being very much out of health. The death of our mother and then, so soon afterwards, of her eldest brother, who was all in all to her, had preyed upon her mind, and she was never the same after his death. She was supposed to be consumptive, and for more than a year she lived in two rooms in the Cottage, and was never allowed to go out at all. Then she grew stronger, and enjoyed her life more. She was engaged to be married at one time, but this was broken off at her own wish. After some years given up to the ordinary routine of family life, without taking any part in the management of the boys, she, as I have mentioned elsewhere, eventually turned her attention to this. She was extremely affectionate, highly sensitive, strictly conscientious, and most truthful. The idea of deception was abhorrent to her, and this made her take to heart anything the boys did that she did not consider perfectly straightforward, and led her some- times to speak so strongly to them that they at first resented it, and occasionally hurt her feelings more than they knew or intended. It was here that the difference in the character of the two sisters showed itself. Jane spoke out freely to them without taking too much to heart what they said to her. She knew they would not intentionally wound her, and she took care to make them understand why she thought it right to speak when she had to find fault with them. 'Jane, as a child, was tall and big for her age, and so good-natured and sociable that she made more friends among the neighbouring children than the rest of us. She was always generous to a fault, and she could never hear of anyone in need of help to whom she would not have given her uttermost farthing. She could not do a mean thing, or understand mean- ness in others. She was devoted to our father and he to her, and always wondered at anyone being afraid of him. Her character was one of genuine sim- plicity, and being totally without jealousy, she took JANE EVANS 45 the greatest delight in the successes of others She was always a great hero-worshipper. No two people could have been more unlike each other than the two sisters. There was a very strong tie of affection between them always, and they would each have re- sented anyone speaking depreciatingly of the other, but, like many young people, they had many tussles, ending occasionally, as children, in a free fight !' To add to this, we have the following delightful piece of autobiography by Jane Evans herself: ' While we were children, my father had a suc- cession of matrons : some very good and helpful and others not so successful. No man could have done more for his family. We were sent first to a school at Turnham Green, where we were kindly treated and taught how to behave. This last was necessary, as we had been so used to playing with our brothers, and without a mother's gentle influence, that we had become somewhat rough and unmanageable. I re- member how I was called up once before the whole school, and made to empty my pockets and lay the contents on the table : the result yielded a top, a knife, a ball of string, and my Bible. No wonder the pocket bulged ! Another time the schoolmistress was heard to say, " Is that a chimney-sweep, or Miss Jane Evans whistling in the passage ?" We were decidedly happier at Bonn a few years later, where we stayed until we were old enough to come home altogether. In reading Villctfc, I have been often struck by the likeness of our school to the one Charlotte Bronte describes, and especially, too, in the case of the conduct of the English girls. But we were, I suppose, prepared for more civilized ways by our experiences at Turnham, and my father was always most particular about our trying to grow up thoughtful and considerate for others.' One of the most momentous changes Evans was largely instrumental in bringing about at this period was the institution of * Passing.' Amongst the anomalies still existing at this time, none was more strange than the way in which those in authority in 46 THE INSTITUTION OF 'PASSING' the School regarded boating. Previous to 1840 they had systematically ignored it, looking upon it indeed with a blind eye. The river itself was in Bounds, but the road to it was out of Bounds, a condition of things that was as demoralizing to the boys as it was to the Masters, for, in fact, every boy on the river had broken the rules of the School in order to get there.* It was not until i860 that this was remedied. Bounds, as a whole, not being finally abolished until five years later. With little or no kind of supervision exercised over the wet-bobs, cases of drowning were not in- frequent, and while Evans and Selwyn had long endeavoured to remedy this state of affairs, matters were not brought finally to a head until a boy named Charles Montagu was drowned in full sight of Windsor Bridge in May, 1840. It apparently fell to Evans to carry the news to the boy's parents, for in a paper headed ' Passing,' written just thirty years after, May, 1870, he says : * I left in a postchaise about 9 p.m., and got to Clapham soon after 12. There was some difficulty in finding the house. * I had been for some time endeavouring, with George Selwyn, to do something to lessen the danger of the river. He promised to remain in my study until my return, when we were to talk over our plan having this object. I got home about 3 a.m., and found him in my study with the scheme which has ever since been adopted in its entirety. The next morning we went together to the Head Master, and submitted the plan. He was only too thankful for the suggestion, and placed it in our hands to carry out! The first and great difficulty was with " The Boats," a large portion of the members being unable to swim. This was compromised by an arrangement that if they * Hence the recoj,mizecl system of ' Shirking ' — i.e., the duty of every boy proceeding to the Brocas to hide in the nearest shop if he saw a Master approaching. To such ridiculous lengths was this carried that it is said an intervening lamp-post was deemed sufficient cover on occasions. THE INSTITUTION OF 'PASSING' 47 desired to " pass," it should be done privately and leniently ; but that no fresh Oars should be accepted from the '^ noii-nants."* The second and enormous difficulty was with the Watermen who claimed ** Patent Appointments." However, we insisted on testing their powers of swimming and diving, dismissing some and appointing others, and insisting on fines for neglect of duty. For some years we had to carry out a kind of police duty to prepare the system for the reception of the School. Both boys and Watermen had some respect for Selwyn and myself as good swimmers, and the thing was completed. There has since been no alteration in the system, although the efficacy has been much increased by the vigilance of the committee. From that day to this, May 7, 1870, God has so blessed the plan that there has never been an accident.! There were three narrow escapes, and all good swimmers. Lord Tullamore, who desired to emulate the Bishop, etc., was nearly drowned at Bovney Weir; John Greenwood, some time after and a third case, in which Tremlett was engaged, also happened.' * Boys were classed as * Nants ' and ' non-Nants ' — those who could and those who could not swim. f It is believed that the only case of a boy being drowned at Eton since ' Passing' was instituted is that of S. J. L. Donaldson, who lost his life on May 24, 1882. CHAPTER IV REMINISCENCES OF THE EARLIER YEARS OF THE HOUSE — LETTERS FROM A. D. COLERIDGE, LORD COTTESLOE, AND THE DEAN OF RIPON Of all those who joined the House as its original members scarcely one remains, yet, fortunately, there are still some who belong to the earlier years, and who are able to give us many interesting facts about their day. To correspond with these has been a delightful experience. The response has been so ready ; the interest shown so eager ; the love for Eton and the House is evidently so strong. The tone of all the letters has been the same, and it has often not been difficult to read between the lines, and to trace in them something of the old spirit that, in years now long gone by, lay at the back of a sixer at Lord's, in the stroke that carried the boat to a win, or in the more silent struggle for the Newcastle or a place in the Select, one, two, three years running. Evans' was still in its youth, but foundations were being laid that were of supremest importance to its later life. And then, again, it is remarkable to notice what a number of the boys of this decade (i 840-1 850) rose to distinction, both in the School and in after-life. They took the lead as boys, and in the years to come many were destined to be leaders of men. Here are the names of some of these : Lord Justice Chitty, Lieu- tenant-General Sir Henry Newdigate, K.C.B., Lord 48 A. D. COLERIDGE'S REMINISCENCES 49 Cottesloe and his two brothers, the Dean of Ripon and Sir Charles Fremantle, K.C.B., Sir R. White Thomson, K.C.B., Sir A. Wollaston Franks, K.C.B., the two brothers F. J. and A. D. Coleridge, Sir William Eliott, who fought under Lord Gough in India, Lord Rendel, Lord Welby, Lord Redesdale, Lord Brougham and Vaux ; and a number of soldiers, such as Langhorne Thompson, C.B., one of the gallant defenders of Kars ; H. S. Adlington, who was with the Heavy Brigade at Balaklava ; Colonel Bagot Lane and Horace Cust, both of the Coldstream Guards, the latter falling at the Alma; Hely-Hutchinson of the 13th Light Dragoons, who died at Scutari; Henry Wyndham-Quinn of the Grenadiers ; John Colborne, who served in the Crimea, the Indian Mutiny, China, and Egypt; E. G. Waldy and F. N. Fiennes, of the Welch Fusiliers, who all went out to the wars, and did good service for their country. Evans' was ever a House that sent many of its boys into the Army, Among the earlier members of the House who have written of their Eton days are Arthur Duke Coleridge,* Lord Cottesloe, and the Dean of Ripon. The first of these was for some time at Evans' before he entered College, as was also his elder brother, F. J. Coleridge. Both were distinguished cricketers and athletes as well as scholars, and here is what the former writes of William Evans and of his contem- poraries at the House : * To aliens there seems to be an incongruity and enigma in such a title as "my Dame" when applied to a stately, well-built gentleman like William Evans. He was on terms of close intimacy with my uncle, Edward Coleridge, and George Augustus Selwyn, whose name is now a name to conjure with. I am proud to this day of having passed before Selwyn at * Went to Eton in '40 ; was a member of Chitty's famous Eleven in '47 ; late Fellow of King's College, Cambridge ; now Clerk of the Crown, Midland Circuit ; author of Eto?! in the Forties. 50 WILLIAM EVANS AND ROWING Cuckoo Weir. My brother, Fred Coleridge, a very popular boy at Evans', and ultimately Captain of the Eleven, w^as in his day quite the first swimmer in the School. His best performance was his swim from Athens round Rushes. Boating men will remember the force of the stream below that famous goal, and the relief when the ship rounded for the downward journey. * I think that Evans' reputation as an artist had some natural attraction for parents whose sons showed aptitude with pencil or brush. Certain it is that Clive, Forster, and my elder brother were all three at Evans' at the same time, and later on my dear friend, Herbert Herries. All four were Evans' pupils, and three out of the four became really good artists under their teacher's supervision. I should not class my brother as with an}^ of them, for his talent lay hid in a napkin. He shirked his lessons, and Evans, rather than take my father's cheque for teaching offered and not received, sent it back with a fine water-colour picture, which is still the property of my family. This was a generous act. * Except to do some kindness, Evans seldom inter- fered with us. Now and then he read prayers of an evening, but the duty of calling Absence of a night fell to Durnford. We believed, and probably cor- rectly, that the death of his eldest son had wounded him incurabl}^ If Evans left us pretty much to our- selves, he was invariably in evidence at boat races. Erect in a punt, with a long pole in his hands, he was an excited witness of the race, rather bewildering the rowers, scullers, and steerers with his loud and gratuitous advice so liberally bestowed on the con- tending parties. I believe he never missed a race between us and Westminster, and I well remember his dejected face when we were disgracefully beaten : Luttrell was Captain, and Adlington of the House one of the crew. We lost any chance we had by taking the advice of Billy Goodman instead of William Evans, and sticking to the old-fashioned tub, which lagged disgracefully in the rear of the Westminster outrigger.* 'The real government of my Dame's was centred * This was the race of '45. THEATRICALS IN THE HALL 51 in a small oligarchy of four or five boys. I record their names with pleasure — Lewisham, Clive, Wolley, Houstoun, Newdigate. They were large slave-owners, and they were really excellent masters. I think the door of their mess-room bore four, if not all five, of their names carefully cut or burned into the panel, and the late Lord Dartmouth told me that he had persuaded Miss Evans to let him carry away the door and keep it as a trophy at Patshull. My favourite ol this party was Wolley. The story was that he had changed his name from Hurt to Wolley, and that the boys, when he appeared at school under a different name, gave him a gentle kick, with " Are you hurt, Wolley ?" * We were a very sociable household, much addicted to theatricals and charades in the winter evenings. I was supposed to have a turn for stage management, and arranged for rehearsals of Julius Ccesar and Addison's Cato. Frank Rogers was the Cato ; I con- tented myself with Syphax ; I forget who acted Juba. After our Baronial hall was built we had plent}' of room for our play-acting, and foraged for actors out- side my Dame's. We had quite a gala performance of Bombastes Furioso, attended by John Hawtrey and two others of " the brave army." Sam Evans, as Bombastes, rode into the Hall on an imported Scotch pony. Dr. Hawtrey was an invited guest at more than one of our performances, and I still have Frank Tarver's picture of the scene. * Before I call up visions of old schoolfellows, I must say a word about our excellent Mrs. Hopgood, the lady who was responsible for the household in my early days, before the full sovereign t}^ of Miss Evans began. She mothered us small boys. Once, when I had fallen on my head in the School-yard as I fled from two tormentors, I was brought to my Dame's like the fleeing soldiers in Macbeth. Mrs. Hopgood, before applying leeches to my wounds, kissed me. I didn't mind it. ' Fourth Form speeches I never heard of at Eton except at m}^ Dame's. Our speeches consisted of doggerel poetry and satire not cloaked or veiled, for I remember plenty of ribaldr}^ The curious thing was that the libelled and slandered now and again 4—2 52 CRICKET IN '47 composed their own indictments. Wolley ma., in a poem of 900 lines in various metres, wrote my speech for me, and it was really witty and inoffensive. Still, the custom was a dangerous one, and when it fizzled out no harm was done. ' Far and away the first boating man at Evans' was poor dear Bagshawe, my friend at School and College, whose melancholy end I have described in Etoii in the Forties* The Fremantles won high honours in our time, and we Evans' boys can point with pride and satisfaction to their achievements. ' Chitty — athlete, scholar, lawyer, judge — should be "busted" in the old House and in tipper School, for he was famous in boyhood and manhood. In this connexion I must do myself an act of justice, as it has been denied me elsewhere. There were two Captains of the Eleven in those days, a College and an Oppidan Captain, and I was College Captain in '48, and Harry Aitken Oppidan Captain. This was the rule in my time, and I fancy it was favoured by the Authorities from the hope of softening the old enmity between Tugs and Oppidans. One year there was an impasse^ for, with only thirty-five boys in College, and no Colleger in the existing Eleven, a Colleger Captain had to be invented. His name was Hoskins, KS., a good fellow enough, though never actually in the Eleven, or sent to play at Lord's. * I was a member of Chitty's Eleven in '47, and glory in the fact. It was the best Eleven I ever saw at Eton, as the following year was the worst. Joe was no braggadocio. I remember saying to him before we went up to Lord's, "joe, what do you think of our chances ?" " My dear fellow, we can't be beaten," was his answer, and he was right, for we lowered the crests, on land and water, of Harrow, Winchester, and Westminster. Barnett (also at my Dame's) and I were the only two new choices in this Eleven. Detained in Election Chamber by an Examination, I had the ill-luck to miss the Winchester match ; Thompson, in the Eight and first choice out of the Plleven, played for me, and, oddly enough, Wiss fielded for Thompson a part of the time. 'William Coltman must not be omitted from my * Killed in a poaching affray in '54. THE FREMANTLES 53 list. Rather awkward and slovenly in appearance, he had within him what Kinglake ascribed to Keate — " the pluck of ten battalions." I remember to this day his slowly emerging from a dejected group of a beaten side in a football match, and charging desperately a Goliath of Gath, getting the ball from him, and saving the game. In early boyhood he had begged his parents to be allowed the chances of a naval career. He was a perfectly reliable authority on Blake, Duncan, and every famous seaman. We called him " Old Ships " and "Centaur." Coltman ripened into an able mathe- matician, Equity Draftsman, and a rare good officer in the " Devil's Own." He was distinctly an honour to my Dame's. Clissold became an adventurous traveller and Nimrod. Adlington was one of Scarlett's Brigade at Balaklava. A. W. Franks, a famous antiquarian and one of the Custodians of the British Museum, was knighted for his services and the splendid gifts he bestowed on the Nation. Dampier did good service as a Civil servant in India. Eliott fought under Lord Gough. Churchill, a scion of the famous Marlborough, is only a memory to me. My intimate friend in boy- hood, youth, and manhood was Edward Henry Rogers. A good scholar at Eton, he became a distinguished Hellenist at Cambridge. * I have gossiped enough about boys and men who belonged to my Dame's, but I believe the best influence and most abiding memory connected with the House will be that of a woman — 'dear Jane Evans.' Lord Cottesloe, better known in those days as Tom Fremantle, was at the House from '42 to '48.* Like * Sir Charles W. Fremantle has supplied the writer with the following list of the members of his family who were at the House : Thomas Francis F., now Lord Cottesloe ; William Henry F., now Dean of Ripon ; Charles William F., Deputy Master of the Mint, '68-'94 ; Stephen James F., Newcastle Scholar, d. '74 — all sons of the first Lord Cottesloe. Then come three sons of the above, second Lord C. : Thomas Francis, Cecil F., and Walter F. ; William Archibald Culling F., eldest son of the Dean of Ripon, and the eldest and second sons of Sir Charles Fremantle — Maurice Abel F., afterwards Coldstream Guards, d. 1892, and Ronald Aubrey F. These number ten in all. But, besides these, Sir Charles mentions that 'there have been no less than seven Fremantles at Eton (sons of my three brothers Cottesloe, the Dean and the Admiral), but they were all in College. Cottesloe's eldest son, T. F. F., has done much in Rifle-shooting, has 54 LORD COTTESLOE'S REMINISCENCES many another member, he distinguished himself at the desk as well as in the field of athletics, being in the Select for the Newcastle for two successive years and Medallist in a third, besides being at the same time in the Eleven and in the Field, and President of Pop before the old house, Mrs. Hatton's, the confectioner's shop [popina), was pulled down. He is able to tell us much of the gradual growth of the House as well as of the games in his day, and he and his three brothers must always remain amongst those who were of the greatest credit to the House in the days of their boy- hood, and who, by their subsequent careers, have earned a lasting place in its history and its annals. 'When I went to Eton in 1842,' he writes, 'Evans' House was a poor place to what it became afterwards. There was an untidy, square yard towards Keate's Lane on the East side, and an old malting at the back towards the old Christopher Yard. In a year or two Evans made great improvements. The dining-room, now turned into a nice drawing-room next the street, was superseded by the large Hall, contrived by Evans out of some old buildings. Evans lived in the Cottage opposite what was then Coleridge's House, and passed most of his time in the study across the road, and with which there was communication b}'- means of a speak- ing-tube or pipe under the road from the pantry. Through this the servant would call to him if he was wanted to stop any row going on in the House at night. We always had prayers at nine o'clock, and at Lock-up Durnford came in, and Absence was called by the Captain of the House. ' As a bigger boy I recollect the great kindness of Annie and Jane Evans to me when I was " staying out" for a long time. We used to play battledoor and shuttlecock in the Hall, and they took me to Burnham Beeches, where Evans had hired a labourer's cottage for sketching. I must not forget Dorothy Hopgood, the Matron, a good old soul and great been in the Eton and Enj^land shooting Eights, and was A.D.C. to Lord Wolseley when Commander - in -Cliief; he is now Lieutenant- Colonel 1st Volunteer Battalion of the Bucks' W. L. G. BAGSHAWE 55 character, but somewhat illiterate. She used to give us " Orders " for things, and among others to have our hair cut — thus, "Fremantle, H. C," and below, "Z>. //." She was a great admirer of the old Duke of Wellington, and called him her Duke. She left in a year or two to be Matron of the Sanatorium, built for boys who had scarlet fever, and after a severe outbreak had taken place in the School. She was always accused of calling it the "Sandytorium." ' We had each three rolls for breakfast and an order of tea and sugar each week. Breakfast was not ready or beds made till towards 9.30 often, and what with fagging for big boys and construing at one's Tutor's, there was often little or no time for small boys to get any breakfast at all. In those days we were fagged to go, or went on our own account, for sausages or kidneys to the Christopher, then close by. ' About games in my time — the great boating hero of that day at Evans' was Bagshawe. He made his mark first by winning the School Pulling sweepstakes (pair oars) with Sam Evans. They were both young boys and had a good start, being in the first row, the boats being handicapped and placed in rows. The race was round Rushes and back ; the boats were old funnies (skiffs), as outriggers were not invented till a year or two later. They gained great credit for winning from Ethelston and another — a pair of boys in the Eight who were favourites. There was a story of one of the Brocas cads being asked who was winning. The answer was : " Ivins' is fust, and the old un a bellowing like sin on the bank." Evans was, of course, at the Brocas to see the finish. Bagshawe in his last year won everything — the Pulling, the Sculling, the double sculling, the punting, and anything else there was to win,"* Besides Bagshawe, the House possessed another good oar in H. C. Herries, who rowed in the Eight in '48. J. W. Chitty,t who came to Eton the same year as Lord Cottesloe and those just mentioned, was * Bagshawe was also in the Eight in '46 and '47, and rowed for Cambridge in '48 and '49. He died in 1854. t Afterwards the Right Hon. Sir Joseph William Chitty (Lord Justice), P.C. 56 J. W. CHITTY not at that time an oar ; he was a dry-bob and gave himself wholly to cricket, and he certainly became one of the most famous men the House produced. He played in the Eleven from '44 to '47, being Captain in the latter year. In each of those years Harrow was beaten, and in three out of the four by an innings and many runs. Chitty was also Captain of Oppidan Wall and President of Pop. At Oxford he played in the Eleven in '48 and '49, rowing in the Eight the same years and as stroke in '51 and '52, besides taking a First Class in Lit. Hum. When called to the Bar in '56, he also tried his hand at soldiering, and was a Major in the Inns of Court Volunteers. Later on he repre- sented Oxford City in Parliament, and finally became a Lord Justice of the Court of Appeal, while for no less than twenty-three years he was umpire at the University Boat Race. The House had two other members of the famous Eleven of '47 besides Chitty and A. D. Coleridge* — W. E. Barnettf and E. W. Blore,t a famous bowler, who took thirty-five wickets in Winchester matches and thirty-three in the matches against Harrow in his three years, '45-'47, besides being at the same time Tomline prizeman and in the Select for the Newcastle. Lord Cottesloe became a member of the Eleven in '48, and of cricket at this date he writes : * We had House matches occasionally, but no regular system. The House held its own well latterly, with Chitty, a great wicket-keeper, Blore, a very good bowler, and Barnett. These three were all in the Eleven which beat Harrow for about three consecutive years, and generally in one innings. The three matches, Eton, Harrow, and Winchester, each against each, were played at Lord's in the first ten days of the summer * It will be seen, subsequently, that the House rightly claimed A. D. Coleridge as one of its members (see p. 113). t Played for Cambridge in '49 and '50. % Afterwards Dean of Trinity College, Cambridge. CRICKET IN THE FORTIES 57 holidays, Lord's being then in the state portrayed in a picture in Punch to illustrate Mr. Pip's Diary* — a small assembly of amateurs and members of the Club in the Pavilion, low benches put in a circle round the ground at a good distance, and on which sat a few spectators, and pot-boys coming round and calling out, "Give your orders, gents." There would be a few carriages with boys' relations and friends. That was all. You could hit and run out a sixer then, and if this was to leg or to the off, to the extreme corner, the ball went into an immense pile of half-made bats, piled there to get seasoned. 'We beat Winchester pretty well in '48, and then got beaten by Harrow by forty-one runs. Arthur Coleridge and Harry Aitken were the heads of the Eleven. I was long-stop, and did fairly well in each innings, though only getting some twenty-two runs. Almost all those composing the strong eleven of the year before had left, though Coleridge and Barnett of my Dame's were still in it. You ask about colours : there was no such thing in my day in the cricket or football field. No one but those in the Eleven wore flannels, and that was their distinguishing privilege. Most of us wore light blue waistbands and straw hats, but there was otherwise no uniformity of dress even in the Eleven. One put on old ordinary clothes to play football in, and such light clothes as one had, with a straw hat, to play cricket in.t * 'Manners and Customs of ye English in 1849: "A View of Mr. Lord hys Cryket Ground"' {Punchy vol. xvii., p. 12). t The actual date when the Eleven adopted the present cap is uncertain, but Sir J. F. F. Horner gives the following interesting particulars about colours generally : ' I don't know when the Eleven began to wear light blue. It was no new thing when I went to Eton in '55. I'robably the Eight began it ; but there must have been some sort of arrangement for the Eight to wear a blue coat and white cap, and the Eleven vice versa. Boating colours were older than cricket colours — eg.^ the Oxford Eight wore dark blue, and all the Colleges had colours before I went to Oxford in '61. The Oxford Eleven did not wear colours in '61, though Cambridge did, Oxford beginning to do so in '62 or '63. As bearing on School colours, there is a Winchester tradition, which possibly may not be true, that at one time there was a dispute between Winchester and Harrow as to which should wear the dark blue, and it was agreed that whoever won the match that year should be entitled to wear it. I think you will find that the last time Winchester beat Harrow was in '52 (they only played them twice more — in '53 and '54), and this, therefore, points to the fact that Eton 58 FOURTH FORM SPEECHES 'About football: We played in South Meadow, often joining in a mixed game with other Houses. There were House Matches creating great interest, but though there were no cups or colours in those days, it was generally decided and known which House was cock of the walk. The House held its own very well, and was sometimes also cock of the walk. I remember in one football half two boys breaking their collar-bones and one putting out his knee. Chitty was one of the three. ' I ought to say something about the curious in- stitution of Fourth Form Speeches that existed in the House when I came into it. The boys who had got out of fagging by getting into Fifth Form were each expected to write a set of doggerel verses chaffing and cutting up, each in turn, the whole of the fag- masters, who assembled on a certain night to hear the verses read. In my first year WoUey* (the elder brother of Wolley-Dod, the late master), a great boat- ing hero, then just leaving, "stayed out" for some days in order to write an elaborate Fifth Form speech to be recited by Dampier.f It had a great success. I had to write and read one of these speeches in my turn ; but the custom dropped soon after, and though, as Captain of the House, I revived it in '47 and '48, it finally fell through altogether. The chaff directed at the bigger boys was pretty free, but not ill-natured. It was, perhaps, useful as reminding the bigger boys of their real faults and failings, and amusing as show- ing the often entirely erroneous views which the smaller boys took of their characters. ' We wasted much time in talking nonsense, and we played football on winter nights in the passages. At one time we took greatly to singing songs. Evans, hearing of this, invited some of us to sing one night had monopolized the light blue before that date. Very likely it was earlier still, the Winchester and Harrow story being earlier also.' It may be added that the well-known story of the boys sending a large dog to the Head Master decked out with light blue ribbon points to the year 1831 as the date when light blue was adopted as the Eton colour, as it was immediately previous to the race with Westminster that year that this event occurred. * John Wolley, the distinguished naturalist. He rowed in the Eight in '41, and died in 1859. t Henry Lucius Dampier, C. I.E., I.C.S. W. H. FREMANTLE'S REMINISCENCES 59 after giving us supper. To his surprise, one of us immediately responded. It was afterwards explained that his idea was that all our songs would be of a character unfit for decent ears, and that therefore we should be put to shame and decline to sing. This illustrates the state of things very shortly before my day. Our better tone was very much due to Chitty, who would have nothing of that sort, and was said to have once got up and walked out of the tent when, at a supper after a cricket match, the Captain of the Eleven struck up an improper song. ' I think there was a very good tone in the House and a strong esprit dc corps. Evans certainly exerted himself greatly in this direction, and he was the pioneer of a general improvement, especially in the Dames' houses. He had a great love of neatness and order in all his arrangements, and the example and tone he set were of great value to the House and to Eton.' That two brothers should have been Newcastle Gold medallists in two succeeding years is somewhat remarkable ; but so it was with the Fremantles, and Lord Cottesloe's success in '48 was followed by that of his brother W. H. Fremantle in '49, Better known now as the Dean of Ripon, W. H. Fremantle sends the following notes about his Eton days : ' I was at Evans' from Easter '44 to the end of '49, and was Captain of the House in succession to my brother. This period included the last Montem, the time when the School reached the unprecedented number of TTJ,* and the latter days of Hawtrey's Headmastership. It was a time when Evans' con- tained a singular number of boys distinguished both in scholarship and athletics. ' I was happy in having a brother already at Evans', as I thus came to know the elders as well as my own contemporaries. The fine Hall had recently been completed, with its tapestries and mottoes and arms and ingle nooks. The oak tables shone * The number is now, Summer half, 1907, 1,024. 6o W. H. FREMANTLE'S REMINISCENCES like glass ; and the mottoes fixed themselves in my mind. 'The living was good, though not so luxurious as in later times, when, i am told, there was coffee before early school, a meat and marmalade breakfast in Hall afterwards, cake and milk served out at a sort of window-hatch at 12, dinner at 2, tea at 6, and supper at 9 ! In my time we had to get our own coffee at a shop, or, when near the top of the School, at ' Pop.' Breakfast was composed of three hot rolls and butter and tea, also supplied from a shop. In the evening a small ' order ' was given out, consisting of a hunch of bread and a pat of butter on a paper, on which one's name was written. ' I was assigned as fag to the Captain of the House, George Herbert, Lord Powis' son, a stately personage, afterwards Dean of Hereford. His mess-mates were his brother, Robert Herbert, and Norman Rogers, son of a well-known barrister. ' My eldest brother got the Newcastle Medal in '48, the Scholarship being won by Herbert Coleridge, wrongly as we thought, for though Coleridge had a great range of knowledge, he was by no means so elegant a classical scholar. They had both been elected scholars of Balliol in November, '47, amidst great enthusiasm. I, on the contrary, got the New- castle Medal the next year, '49, by a wonderful chance — namely, that all the Select but two of the previous year had left. One of these, Lewis, took the Scholar- ship, and the other fell out. My true rival was Robert Herbert,* afterwards Sir Robert, Under Secretary for the Colonies. He was far the better scholar, but very deficient in Divinity. The examiners went over the papers four times, and finally put me four marks above Herbert. He, however, beat me for the Balliol Scholar- ship of that year, and got the Hertford and Ireland Scholarship, and a first class in Moderations; while I caught him up and passed him by gaining a First Class in Greats and the English Essay Prize. We ended our rivalry by being elected the same day to Fellowships at All Souls. ' My brother. Lord Cottesloe, has given a good * lioarded at Colcridj^e's ; died 1005. He must not be confused with the above named Robert Herbert. ATHLETES AND SCHOLARS 6i account of the athletics, but has omitted himself from the list of those distinguished in them. He was an excellent behind at football. What made the set of boys of his standing so remarkable was that they were mostly as keen in scholarship as in athletics. Blore, besides being the best bowler in the Eleven, was high up in the Newcastle Select, and became eventu- ally a Fellow, Tutor and Dean of Trinity, Cambridge ; Chitty got a First Class in Greats at Balliol, and became a Fellow of Exeter College ; Herries was a good scholar, and also rowed in the Eight ; Arthur Coleridge, who was a College member of Evans', was a good scholar, and got King's and was in the Eleven. I missed being in the Eleven, after playing in several of the matches, by overbowling myself and becoming useless, so that I was first choice out. All whom I have mentioned were high up in the Football list, Chitty being one of the Keepers of the Field. The Aquatics were not much given to scholarship. Neither Bagshawe nor Duffield, a light weight who, I think, won the first heat of the Sculling, did more than passably. *One of the head boys when I was first at Evans', Adlington, was in the Eight at an unfortunate moment, '45, when we were beaten so terribly by Westminster. The fact is that the outrigger had just been invented, and a fine outrigger had been got by the Westminsters. Compared with this our boat, though the best of its kind, was a mere tub. I saw the race, the result of which may be seen in a picture kept in the College dormitory at Westminster, the Westminster boat coming in triumphantly in the foreground, while the Eton boat is represented by a mere speck in the extreme distance, * After my eldest brother left, our House team was weak the first year but strong the second. The house that had been "cocks of College " the previous year was supposed to hold the same position until challenged, and there were two houses that stood above us — Coleridge's and Goodford's — each of which contained one of the Keepers of the Field, Coltman and Ethel- ston.* We boldly challenged them in turn, and beat them both. Our success came, I think, partly from * These were Keepers in '49. 62 FOOTBALL AND FIVES IN '47 our understanding one another so well, having pla3^ed together in my Dame's ground in South Meadow assiduously. One feature of our side was the remark- able playing of Pemberton, who took the post of Long behind, which was supposed to be our weak point. He stopped the ball with his hands, which at that time was allowable, and never failed to kick it promptly, and with good aim, to places where our side could carry it forward. ' The game of Fives, when I went to Eton, could only be played in the space on the North side of Chapel, where the Head Master calls Absence. The game for two could be played in the other spaces between the buttresses, and an excellent game it was. I made an attempt to introduce it at Oxford, but it did not succeed. The courts at Eton on the Dorney road were built about '47, and were opened with some ceremony, and with various jeu d'esprit in Latin. These courts afforded an infinite pleasure in the dull time before Easter, and many were the races to secure them as we came out of Chapel, the Collegers having the best chance, as sitting near the West door. ' I have mentioned already a good many of my con- temporaries at Evans'. In many cases one might say of their careers, are these not written in the Eton lists? The Penrhyns, one of whom became Chairman of Quarter Sessions for Surrey, and the other Rector of Winwick in Lancashire and Honorar}^ Canon of Liverpool and a Proctor of Convocation ; Croft, after- wards Sir John, who, with his Kent neighbour Wykeham-Martin, won the first heat in the Pulling; the Coltmans, one of whom was at Evans' and the other at Coleridge's, who were noted for an extreme toughness that seemed to make them insensible to pain, so that they would not hesitate at football to stop the kick of an opponent by putting their own leg between him and the ball ; Thomson, afterwards Colonel Sir Robert, a special friend of my own ; the Mitfords, of whom the youngest is now Lord Redesdale ; Horace Cust, who was killed at the Alma; and W. Hely-Hutchinson, who died before Sevastopol. ' There are two others, however, to whom all lovers of Evans' and of Eton cannot but turn. One is Chitty. J. W. CHITTY AND R. L. PEMBERTON 6z He was the strongest character I ever knew, in whose presence meanness, falsehood, or any low feeling could not live. He came of a legal family, and seemed to have learnt prematurely the power of weighing things dispassionatel}', and of being absolutely just in such matters as the application of the rules of games. Yet there was nothing of arrogance about him. His splendid physique was impaired, as regards appear- ances, by a fever which had destroyed every hair upon his body, eyebrows and eyelashes included. To play football in a wig was not easy. He met with many accidents through his prowess in games. I always heard that before I came to Eton he broke his collar-bone in a football match, but, tying his hand to his side, continued to play till the end. Certainly, when wicket-keeping at Lord's, he broke one of his fingers, but got it spliced in a few minutes, and re- turned to his post. He became a first-rate lawyer, and for many years divided with the late Lord Davey the chief practice in the Rolls Court when Jessel was the Master, When made a Judge, he was somewhat too ready to make observations from the Bench, which caused him to be nicknamed Mr. Justice Chatty. But he became Lord Justice; and an incident in his career should be recalled as showing his calmness as well as his wit. A large part of the ceiling close above him fell in, and he was asked to adjourn the Court ; but he quietly ordered the debris to be removed, and resumed his seat, saying, ^^ Fiat Justitia, mat calum." The premature death of so strong a man caused a painful wonder to his friends. ' The other man I wish to mention was Richard Laurence Pemberton. He came of a wealthy family in Durham, of which he was the only survivor, and was under the care of a distant cousin. His pre-Eton days had not been happy, and Evans' became a true home to him, and his companions there his brothers. He was not distinguished in School work ; his prowess at football I have mentioned. But his whole life was bound up with Eton, and with my Dame's. He used regularly to entertain his friends on various anniver- saries in his beautiful home in the County of Durham, and in London on the days of the Eton and Harrow match. He was to be seen as soon as the sun rose on 64 EVANS AND HIS BOYS St. Andrew's Day at Eton, and was the friend of every one, from the Provost to the youngest sons of his old friends. He passed away some few years ago.* ' I ought to have said more about WiUiam Evans himself. He was a man of grand build, with a broad, healthy face, and a most kindly disposition. I was not brought closely into touch with him till I became Captain in '48, and I then learnt how much pains he gave himself for the welfare of his boys. He noticed little things in their behaviour as bearing on their characters, and he had a very just judgment as to matters which might be interpreted prejudicially against any of his boys. My brother has mentioned Evans' doubts about the songs we used to sing : I fancy they were suggested to him by Durnford, the Master. My brother's room had a window by which we could gain access to the roof, and in the hot summer nights some of us used to get upon the tiles and sing choruses. The negro minstrels had lately come over from America, and one of the most popular of their choruses ran : " ' High Ho ! the boatmen row, Floating down the river of the Ohio." Durnford had only heard the last line of the verse, and complained to Evans that " his boys could be heard all over College singing ribald songs, ending with "Go home with the girls in the morning." I doubt whether Evans suspected anything wrong, but he certainly had a judicious way of testing us. * Evans treated me, as his Captain, with great con- fidence, and would ask me to come over to the Cottage and talk over any difficulty that arose. If a boy was in danger of a flogging, and he thought there were extenuating circumstances, he would put himself to any inconvenience in interceding for him. There occurred while I was Captain a case of stealing money. Evans, by his inquiries, ascertained that a boy whom I suspected received a quite insufficient allowance from his father. He made inquiries what * R. L. Pemberton was at the House from '45 to '51 ; he rowed in the Eight in '51, and ran a dead-heat in the School Mile. He died June 21, 1901. EVANS AND HIS CAPTAINS 65 things of an expensive l8-'75. THE MASTER AND HIS HOUSE 95 The tone of his House is often enough the reflection of his own character, as his boys' successes are an index of those pursuits in which he has himself ex- celled. It was Warre's that won the House Fours again and again ; it was Mitchell's that kept the Cricket Cup for years in succession. It is unneces- sary to multiply instances. These men, and others like them, led their Houses ; their energy and man- fulness were felt by the lowest Lower-boy; their strength and example were as incentives to play the game, to go forward and win. At Evans' there was no such leading, there were no such incentives ; the boys there were thrown back upon themselves, and were dependent upon the leaders that the House threw up. Other Houses had their lines of famous brothers, and these left their mark upon both House and School; but while much here was due to family and to home, as must always be, there was yet at the back of these the strong hand, guiding, developing, stimulating, and the voice that called, and that had always the same manly ring, * Go, play the game ; go forward and win.' We may leave it at that. In later years than those yet reached there came to rule over Evans' a lady whose character was full of beauty, whom we all revered, and whose influence must live long; but yet if we look right through the whole history of the House we shall certainly find that the place of the House in the School was due primarily to the presence of boy- leaders, and these often boys of the same family, who influenced those about them, who built up the tone, who made others pause and think, and so guided them, unconsciously, to follow in their steps. At the date of the breaking up of Coleridge's in 1857, Evans' was passing through one of those periods of inertness which occur equally in the histories of schools and houses as of nations and families, and the 96 THE BOYS FROM COLERIDGE'S influx of new blood was not without its immediate effect upon the House's dormant activities. The boys hat came to it numbered very few, but there was not doubt about their quaHty ; and if Coleridge's was not remarkable in any way, though a good house, those that came from it to Evans' were destined to have a very material influence upon its immediate future. 'Van de Weyer, Jelf, J. Selwyn, A. V. Lyttelton, and myself,' writes Lord Cobham, ' were, I think, the boys who came to Evans' from Coleridge's in September, '57. I was in the Eleven, but not higher in the School than Middle Division, and I was not Captain of the House until my last year. When I came, Evans' was a respectable House, but rather dull and undistinguished. No doubt the advent of Van de Weyer, a good oar and runner, and of myself, in the Eleven, added to the "distinction" of the House at once; but I attribute the improvement of the House, which was gradual though marked, to the system of training and trusting the Captains, to good fortune in the matter of Captains, and in part to the athletic distinction achieved by the House from 1860 onwards. Of course, J. Selwyn and my brother, who would have naturally been at Coleridge's, largely contributed to this.' Of the five mentioned above, V. Van de Weyer was subsequently in the Eight in '58, and in the same year won the Pulling, was in the Field, was Keeper of both Oppidan and the Mixed Wall, and took the Prince Consort's French Prize ;* R. H. Jelf afterwards joined the Royal Engineers, and became a General and C.M.G., as well as Governor and Commandant of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich ; and J. R. Selwyn, then a younger boy, who remained on in the House for five years, was in the Eight in '62, * v. Van de Weyer writes : ' I was an oldish boy at the time, and therefore scarcely ^^ot to know many of my new House-mates before 1 left in the Football half of '58. I was then Sixth Form and Captain of the House.' THE HOUSE LIBRARY 97 and won many races, besides being Keeper of the Field in '61. He afterwards rowed for three years for Cambridge, and became, as already recorded, Bishop of Melanesia. A. V. Lyttelton was a good cricketer, and a fine field and catch, who would have won his colours for the Eleven had he not had to leave owing to ill-health ; and Lord Cobham, then C. G. Lyttelton, won and did most things that an Eton boy could either win or do, was already in the Eleven at fourteen, was captain of it for two years, and was very largely instrumental in reorganizing the Cricket of the School. Such was the new material : it looks very much as if Evans' friend of '38 had been anxious to send him some of his best. The new-comers found at Evans' something that differentiated it from their former house, as it did, indeed, from all other houses at Eton in those days, and this was the existence of a House library. The College library, accommodated in a beautiful room in Weston's Yard when the additions were made in 1844 that have been already referred to, was only accessible to boys above, and including, the Middle Division of Fifth Form. To most in the School it was therefore quite unknown, and many must have left Eton who had never been inside the doors. This room was swept away in 1887, when further additions were made to the College buildings, and the books were then removed to a room in the New Schools, now open to all. In the days of which we are writing, however, there was no place where a boy could have free and easy access to books if he were so inclined, and the establishment of a House library was therefore somewhat of an event. Our library was certainly not a beautiful room : it consisted of two little low rooms connected by an archway, looked out into a small yard or passage with a high whitewashed wall, and was situated in the 7 98 THE HOUSE LIBRARY FOUNDED north-east corner of the house, opposite to the door leading into the boys' kitchen. The walls were, in course of time, lined with books, the furniture of the rooms consisting of two tables covered with red baize and a number of ordinary wooden and Windsor chairs. Daily and illustrated papers were taken in, and paid for by a regular House subscription, and in winter there was always a fire kept up by a boy known as the library fag, whose duties extended to cutting the papers and keeping the rooms tidy. The library was lit by gas, and the heat on a winter's evening may, perhaps, best be described as surprising. That the rooms were a great boon to the whole House goes without saying, and if Lower-boys were, at a later period, not admitted, we all came to use the library in time, and to delight in it, so far as schoolboys delight in anything within doors, while the erudition displayed in the answers to our ' Sunday Questions ' was often due to the works there ready to our hands.* And now as to the actual founding of this library, so long apparently wrapped in mystery. To the honour of the boys of that day be it recorded, that the initiative came from themselves, and if Evans fell in with the idea and devoted the two little rooms to the exclusive use of the boys of his House, the library had its beginning elsewhere than within its walls. Here are three letters bearing upon the matter, and of interest in other ways. T. F. Halseyt was one of the original founders, and writes : ' I was at the House from Jan. '53 to Christmas '57. The library was started during that time, and in the following way : A few of us thought we should like * The exclusion of Lower-boys was quite contrary to Evans' orij,nnal intentions, and many members of the earlier periods have mentioned what a boon the Library was to them in their Lower- boy days. t Now the Right Hon. T. F. Halsey, P.C, M.P. THE HOUSE LIBRARY FOUNDED 99 to have a reading-room, got some money together, and took a room over Runnicles' shop, the picture- frame maker nearly opposite Tap. Evans heard of it, and said he did not Hke this, but would give us a room in the house, which he accordingly did, and issued a circular to parents and old boys asking for contribu- tions of books. This was well responded to, and in a short time we had a very decent library. 'Among those in the House with me were A. j. Robarts, who steered the Oxford Eight at Putney in '59 and '60, in which year I rowed; Butler-Johnstone, who was at one time a well-known M.P. ; Hopton,* who rose to be a General ; and Bircham, well known as the head of an important firm of Solicitors.' The actual date of the foundation of the library was undoubtedly 1855. J. F. F. Hornerf writes: * I was Captain of the House from Sept. '60 to Election '61. C. G. Lyttelton (Lord Cobham) was next before me, and Stephen Fremantle next after me. But I am quite certain that the library was started before I went to Eton in Sept. '55 — not very long before that date, however. I should think there were 1,000 volumes then ; parents used to be asked to give, and I know my father gave some books about the time I went there.' Then, again. Lord Medwayl writes : *I went to Evans' in '51, on the second day of the opening of the Great Exhibition. The House library was started about '55. There was certainly none in my early days. The Captain of the House when I went was Welby, now Lord Welby. Lord Rendel was second, Charles Fremantle third, and steered the Eight. Meade-King was second and Pemberton third captain of the Boats. Old Evans was one of the best and kindest of men. His daughters were young then, and had not begun to work the House. I was captain of Lower boats when I left in the summer of '57.' * Now Lieutenant-General Sir Edward Hopton, K.C.B. Served in the Crimea, Indian Mutiny, Kafifir and Zulu campaigns ; Lieutenant- Governor of Jersey, '95-' 1900. t Now K.C.V.O. I Since this was written, Earl Cranbrook. 7—2 loo THE HOUSE LIBRARY FOUNDED To confirm these recollections as to the actual date, the following extracts from William Evans' diaries may be given : January i6, 1855. — Looking over House. Boys' new Library in progress. February 3. — Bookshelves in boys' Library finished. Library finished on the 6th. February 24. — Mr. Balston and the Provost called. Explained about boys' Library. Had the boys together in the Hall and spoke to them on the subject of the new Library, its advantages, the liberality of old friends, and showed them how entirely its success depended on themselves. March 14. — Boys' Committee to dinner. An illuminated statement, pointing out that ' These valuable books were presented to Mr. Evans' House chiefly by former inmates for the use of the boys in the House,' and calling upon the senior boys to ' regard them as a Trust,' and the room as * a place for quiet reading,' was subsequently framed and glazed and let into one of the bookshelves, being signed on the part of the donors by William Evans, and on that of the boys in the House by J. F. F. Horner, J. Jenkyns, S. J. Fremantle, R. A. Kinglake, S. E. Hicks, and J. R. Selwyn. The contents of the library were well cared for, as the books still show ; but that it was always regarded as a place for quiet reading may be doubted. One trick played there of an evening on more than one unsuspecting boy was this : The heads of the windows were rounded, and were capable of being thrown open there, but not at the bottom. A boy was occasionally put out of the top of one of these into the yard below, amidst much noise and dust, and not a little broken glass, while, almost needless to say, a confederate on the fioor above emptied his water-jug on the victim of the joke. The books composing the library were of all classes CONTENTS OF THE LIBRARY loi — books of reference, classical and other dictionaries, standard historical works, biographies, poetical works, and those of the leading novelists, as well as a large number coming under the head of general literature. One of the most considerable contributors at the outset was the Rev. H. Jenkyns, D.D., Canon of Durham, who had four sons at the House — Henry, who became Parliamentary Secretary in succession to Lord Thring, and afterwards a K.C.B. (died 1899); Richard,* John,+ and Arthur. Many other parents and former members contributed in the same way ; but the library was also regularly added to for a great number of years by gifts of books from boys who were leaving. It was generally considered the right thing to do to make some present to the library in return for the ' leaving-books ' that a boy received from his friends on leaving the School, and when the system of giving leaving-books was abolished in 1868, boys still con- tinued to make these presents, the custom not having died out altogether when the House finally came to an end in 1906. The contents of the library had then reached a total of upwards of 1,500 volumes, and these have now found their home in the Old House ' over the way.' But the library came to occupy an important place in the eyes of the House for reasons quite other than the collection of books it contained. The * swells ' of the House sat there ; the Football, Boating, and Cricket-Books were kept there ; in after-years the House Debating Society held its meetings there, and it was, indeed, the centre of the boy-life of the House. But besides all this, it was the centre of Government. When the Committee of boys, known as ' The Library,' came into existence, is shrouded in mystery ; it is said * Afterwards Rector of Wallsend ; died 1 886. + Rector of Durley, Bishop's Waltham ; Rural Dean of Peter- borough, '90-'92. I02 'THE LIBRARY' to have been a gradual growth ; it was doubtless the outcome of that system of government which allowed the boys to manage their own affairs, though under a supervision that rarely made itself felt. ' The Library' consisted of the Captain and Second Captain of the House and the Captain of the Games, with certain other members of the House, to the number of not less than five or more than nine in all. The number was usually seven, and most of those composing this committee were those who breakfasted with the real head of the House every morning — in other words, with ' my Dame.' To * The Library ' was delegated the management of the affairs of the House generally, and it was the boys composing it who carried out everything to do with its discipline. That it was not a merely self- elected, unrecognized body, is shown by the fact that all through Jane Evans' time, her influence made itself felt directly or indirectly whenever fresh members were elected to its ranks. To her day, perhaps, the definite evolution of 'The Library' as a committee of management more particularly belongs ; she knew her boys and their individual characters far better than they knew themselves or each other ; a word or two thrown out, apparently almost at haphazard, a nod, a quick movement of the head, with a keen look that was replaced almost instantly by that wonderful smile, was a sufficient indication to those in authority among the boys whether she approved of this or that course, or of this or that proposed election, without her having often to add, * No, I don't think he will do; why don't you have ?'* Modifications were made, of course, from time to time in the rules of this committee of boys as well as in those of the library itself as a whole, and it is these very modifications that have made it almost impossible * Some further notes about ' The Library ' will be found at p. 265. 'THE LIBRARY' 103 to give a definite picture of the life or organization of the House at one period that will not appear grotesque, if not inaccurate, to a subsequent generation. But such, in broad outline, is the history of the founding of the first library in an Eton house, and of the develop- ment of that oligarchical form of government which was a part of the constitution of Evans' at the outset, and which distinguished it throughout the period of its existence. CHAPTER VII THE * BOARDS ' AND THE HOUSE BOOKS — AQUATICS IN THE 'forties — LETTER FROM R. H. DENNE — FOOTBALL We can all recall two things in the House — the ' Boards ' and the ' Books/ and reference must now be made to these before coming to our earlier athletic achievements. The passage on the first floor had many turnings, showing clearly that the house had not originally been constructed on any definite plan, and that addi- tions had been made to it, first here and then there, with remarkable ingenuity. The object had been to crowd as many small rooms as possible into a given space, and all conventions therefore, even to the ad- mission of light to some of the passages, had to go by the board. The result, under such limitations, was remarkably successful, though some have irreverently likened it to a rabbit warren. Boys are not wont to respect other people's property, and if the modern Eton boy has been brought to a higher degree of civilization by the attractive buildings in which he now often lives, to stroll through our old quarters to-day when they are quite empty and the boys are away is to realize that these narrow passages with their sides boarded five feet up as if against attack ; these quaint little rooms ; these turnings and twistings and lead-covered stairs, were well adapted to their purpose, and have even something to recommend them over their modern rivals. The imposing structures 104 THE BOARDS 105 of recent years look down upon the humble pile of whitewashed walls, tossed roofs, and cunning chimney- breasts in Keate's Lane ; but utterly insignificant though it be, the old house seems ever to claim from us some veneration by reason of its age, some love because of the memories that are there enshrined for most of us. Turning right-about at the top of the first flight and continuing straight on, one came to a point where this passage turned to the right again for a section. It was this section that had its walls lined with a series of oak panels ; it was these panels that were known as the ' Boards,' and it was upon them that a boy's name was cut on his leaving the House. Contrary to what is generally supposed, the name of every boy does not appear there, and the record, for the first twenty years especially, is very incomplete. More- over, the names of some boys were not deemed worthy of a place, and here Jane Evans used her discretion, as her father had done before her. It would, however, be a mistake to suppose that because a boy's name cannot be found he therefore left in disgrace ; the omissions seem rather to have been due to careless- ness in compiling the lists at the end of the halves, and thus many and many a name that one looks for is not there, and the Boards can only be taken as a trust- worthy guide to a limited extent. The date when it first became the custom to record the names of members of the House is not known ; but Lord Rendel says that the Boards were started two or three years after his time, and, as he left Eton in '52, this would bring us to about the date of the founding of the library, 1855. The names from the first were then roughly made out, the panels beginning with Coleridge in 1840, and closing with a list of all those who were in the House at the time of Jane Evans' death in 1906. Altogether no less than 752 names appear upon these io6 THE BOARDS panels, but there is ample reason for believing that the total number of those who passed through the House exceeded 800. To read down the columns is to meet with some of the most familiar names in the history of our country, and it is interesting to note how many families continued to be represented at the House from the beginning to the end.* And now as to one thing which demands a reference, whether we like it or not. It has been said that the name of every one of the 800 and more boys who passed through the House was not cut on these Boards. There were therefore bad ones amongst them ? Certainly there were. In this small army it could not have been otherwise. Eton boys are neither better nor worse than those of other schools ; Evans' House was no better than the best. And thus there undoubtedly crept in among us, though it may truly be said at wide intervals, evil influences, and harm resulted. A breath then passed through the place that was not the breath of life, and then, once again, the good, the manly, and the pure reasserted themselves ; those that had done evil shufQed out of sight, having be- smirched that which we held dear : the House shook itself free, and, having passed through the fire, came out the better for the ordeal. To ignore such things in this place would be to attempt to claim for Evans' what no house or school can claim ; but if we turn to the letters from former members that lie before the * A list of all the names on the Boards will be found in the Appendix. Every effort has been made to discover whether it would be possible to make good the omissions, but all hope of compiling a complete and trustworthy list has had to be given up. The House was ruled at different times by three of the Evans family, and no lists seem to have been kept, or if they were have certainly not been preserved. Many names might be added, and with accuracy. The list would, however, even then be lamentably incomplete ; and, as an instance, the writer may mention that, after making careful search through one period only, '43 to '49, he discovered the names of 22 boys who api)eared to have boarded at l-".vans', but who were not to be found on these Boards. THE HOUSE BOOKS 107 writer by the score, we shall find that, by general testimony, though there were bad characters among us, and we generally knew them to be bad, they numbered, in truth, very few ; they constituted but a mere fraction of the whole. There came at times to the doors of Evans' one who had better never have entered the School, and who, after a longer or shorter stay, went out into the world as he had come. Never- theless, we can assuredly claim that they were few indeed who passed under the influence of the House without its reaching them, and who left it in the end afraid to look into their own souls. Preserved in the House library from the earliest times, and carefully written up by the Captain of the House or of its Aquatics, and by the Captains of the Cricket and Football Elevens, were a number of volumes, gilt-edged and bound in black morocco leather, with the Arms of Eton emblazoned on the covers. These books were divided into Boating Books, Football Books, the Cricket Book, and, lastly, a volume known as the Book of Evans' Champions. In all they number seventeen volumes, and as con- temporary records of the athletic events of the day their value is considerable. The Boating Books in eight volumes are the most complete, and deal not only with the contests in which the House itself was engaged, but also with all the prominent aquatic events of the School for a great number of years. The full title of this work runs : 'Annals of the Aquatic World at Eton, from the year 1825. Kept by the Captain of Mr. Evans.' Agmine rcmonmi celeri' And on the fly-leaf there is this in- scription : ' This book was originally compiled by Charles Edward Pepys and John Wolley, assisted by Robert Clive, W. A. Houstoun, and others, 1841.'* * A list of those who kept the House Boating Books will be found in the Appendix. io8 THE HOUSE BOOKS The Football Books number seven volumes, and date from 1855. They are very full and very com- plete, containing a record of School matches to 1867, as well as an account of matches for the House Cup, and of some of those played in early days for ' Cocks of College.' To these volumes we shall have often to refer, for Evans' was essentially a football- loving House.* The Cricket Book is in one volume, dates only from i860, and, oddly enough, seeing that the House generally contained many more dry-bobs than wet- bobs, and was usually well represented in the Eleven, is the most incomplete of the whole number. No details are given for the fourteen years 1864-77, or for the four years 1885-88 ; and, except at intervals, when Upper Club choices are recorded, the book deals only with matches played by the House. Such omissions are all the more to be deplored, as it was during the first of these periods that the House was more successful at cricket than at any other time in its history. The first contest for the House Cricket Cup took place in i860, when Evans' won it, and it was secured again in '64, 'j'^^ '74, and '75. The lapse can only be attributed to the crowded hours of Summer halves, and to that period of our lives when, though summer is a twelve-month long, there is yet no time for anything. The credit of restarting the Cricket Book is due to C. A. Grenfell, who, in 1883, wrote up the results of the House Cup ties for the previous five years. The book entitled 'The Book of Evans' Champions' deals only with those members of the House who obtained their colours for the Field, the Mixed Wall, the Oppidan Wall, or the House Eleven after '64, and * A list will be found in tlic Appendix giving the names of those who kept these Books from the d;ite of their institution, as well as a table showing the results of the House matches, and the names of the Captains of the Eleven when the House Football Cup was started. THE HOUSE BOOKS 109 therefore with football only. It was started in 1877 by R. D. Anderson, who worked it all up from the year 1855. In later years a boy was as proud at having his name inscribed in this book as he was at getting his colours. Such are the volumes from which quotations will often be made in the course of our story. In their way these Books are as remarkable as the famous Boards. They tell of the leaders among us in the various epochs, and of the way we strove in this or that great match. In our school-days all contests are regarded as nothing less than Homeric, and, as some one has said, they are generally recorded with Virgilian piety. It is not less true that even in after-years, when joints are stiff and muscles have grown slack, distance still declines to give our doings the proportions they deserve ; we speak of our matches as contests that moved whole worlds, and of those who led us as gods among us all. Our leaders as bo3^s are still often our leaders as men ; and it may be doubted whether the enchantment of such leadership ever altogether flickers out, whether we do not try to spring as readily to the call when old men as we did in the days when the voice was the clear, ringing voice of a boy. And first as to the boating events. The greatest swell in the School in early days was undoubtedly the Captain of the Boats, and it wanted a certain bravery and independence on the part of a small boy to declare himself anything else but a wet-bob. Cricket was in fashion with the Collegers and with a small minority of the School, as will be related presently; but the real glory of existence centred in the life on the river, though the road to its banks was out of bounds and approach to it only to be had by 'Shirking.' These last details were of no importance at all. On the river honours were to be won in con- no THE BOATING BOOKS tests whose existence reached further back than any- one could relate. It was there that distinction was to be gained ; a place in the Boats, with all the glories of the Fourth of June and Election Saturday, all the fun of 'duck and green -pea nights,' with, possibly, a chance of being in the Eight and rowing against Westminster to crown the whole; while there was nothing to prevent anyone who still retained a fancy for cricket indulging in the game at the same time and playing in the Eleven against Winchester and Harrow. At Eton, then, in the 'forties boating held sway before everything, and if the practice of rowing lacked the system that came to distinguish it twenty years later, the School was already the mother of many a dis- tinguished oar, as the river at Eton came, in after- years, to be regarded as the cradle of the finest amateur oarsmen in England. Among the first entries in the Boating Book is a reference to the well-known incident of the King attending the Westminster race. It was rowed that year at Datchet (May 4, 1837), ^^^ the entry records that 'the defeat of the School was generally considered by the Eton boys to have been the immediate cause of the King's fatal illness.' The previous year, when Eton won after a severe struggle, 'the whole School was late for 6 o'clock Absence, so Dr. Hawtrey called at I o'clock for some time afterwards.' It is interesting to notice how strongly the House was often represented in the annual race — Dames v. Tutors. This race is first mentioned in 1834, when it was rowed in four-oars and when Tutors won. There was no race after that till '43, when it was rowed in sixes and when Dames won ; no race again the next year, the Dames winning once more in '45, this time in eights. In 1849 three members of the House were in the winning boat — Crosse, Fiennes, and Buller tnt. — ' the victory of the Dames being in a great measure EARLY AQUATIC EVENTS in due to the quick and dashing stroke of Crosse.' The Dames were beaten in '51, after a wonderful race, which was almost that of Evans' against the rest of the School ; Pemberton, Meade-King, Rendel, Fiennes, and Rolt rowing in the boat and Fremantle steering it. The account of this race runs as follows : Friday, May 23. — Tutors had the Victory and Eton side, and the Dames rowed in the Britannia. This was a very good race. The Tutors took the lead at starting, but the Dames, contrary to expectation, stuck close to them all the way, and at Lower Hope were quite close on them. The Tutors, however, avoided the bump, and got away, though the Dames kept close to them, and from opposite Dead-water Eyot gained considerably, going under the Bridge with barely a boat's length between them and their antagonists. Time 10 mts. 40 sees.* The following is also worth quoting : 1840, May 22. — Dr. Hawtrey had the whole School up in Upper School to tell them that Collegers were to go on our river and not below the weir as formerly ; also that boats were allowed, but our boating things are to be kept up at the river, and we are to go there by the fields. It would be impossible, within ordinary limits, to give an account of the annual House Sweepstakes, nor will any attempt be made to do so. The first event of the kind was in 1840, when the prizes were £1, los., and 3s.; the stakes being is. 6d., and those who did not start having to subscribe is, Newdigate and Morley won it on this occasion. There was much glorious fun, and the scene at the start would be * The race Dames v. Tutors was discontinued in 1869. The number of Tutors' houses was by that time in excess of the Dames', the latter falling more and more into a minority annually. Yet, in looking at the records of this event, it is curious to notice that, in the last nine years in which it was rowed, the Tutors only won three times, the Dames winning five years in success on, '61 -'65. 112 THE HOUSE SWEEPSTAKES difficult to describe. There were as many as seven- teen starters in some years — that is, boats — the various pairs being, of course, handicapped and arranged in rows. When the signal was given every one did his best without regard to his opponents ; a blow from an oar was not infrequent, some were swamped, others driven ashore, and when all was said and done and the winners declared, the fact that there was never any serious accident can only be attributable to that special providence that waits on all boyish under- takings. All the School races are recorded in these volumes, and if other works have dealt with these events, such as Blake Humfrey's Eton Boating Book and Austen Leigh's Eton Records* it is difficult to abstain from quoting such an entry as this : * Eton and Westminster. This match was not pulled, part of the Westminsters being locked up by their Head Master, we being all ready to start and in the boat when the messuage arrived. Floreat Etona.' Nor can this be passed over, a year or two later: ' There was no duck and green-pea night on Satur- day, Miller having forgotten to order the ducks. The Victory and Third Upper therefore retired to the Xtopher, where they dispatched a dinner at 5s. 6d. a head, at which every one was obliged either to favour the company with a song or a sentiment ; in default of these he was to drink salt water.' Bagshawe's prowess has been already referred to. In '47 he is recorded to have won every race he started for — five in all — while he was also stroke of the Eight that beat Westminster at Putney the same year. To show how boating was now recognized, the * These works give little more than the list of the crews and names of winners, Evans' lioating Books having been the source from which much of their information was gathered. EARLY AQUATIC EVENTS 113 following entry occurs regarding the final heat for the School Sculling, July 9, '47 : ' It is worthy of mention that this was the first Aquatic race at which Dr. Hawtrey has been present. He was sculled out in a wherry by Mr. H. Dupuis and Mr. Evans, and was extremely satisfied with the style and conduct both of the rowers and spectators,' In 1850 Fiennes* and Fremantle.f distinguished themselves by winning the School Double Sculling Sweepstakes, Fiennes also taking the medal in the School Sculling the same year. Several boys of the House were in the Eight during this decade, C. W. Fremantle steering it in 185 1, and many, of course, having places in the various boats, then numbering seven. That the wet-bobs were not above recording the successes of the dry-bobs, though they affected to look down upon them, is shown by the following entry in the Boating Book in 1847 • * It would be wrong to pass over the year without mentioning the two signal triumphs of Eton on land against Winchester and Harrow, both of which schools were beaten at Lord's ground with the greatest ease by an eleven whose Captain, Joseph Chitty, besides three other effective members, E. W. Blore, W. E. Barnett, and A. D. Coleridge, boarded at Evans'.' As belonging to the period before the Football Books open, the following notes from R. H. Dennet may be inserted here. Three brothers of the name were at the House, and were all good athletes, being known * Son of 1 6th Lord Saye and Sele ; afterwards joined the 7th Hussars, and subsequently commanded the 9th Lancers. Served in the Indian Mutiny. t Now the Hon. Sir Charles Fremantle, K.C.B. j Now Rev. R. H. D., his elder brother, Henry, being at the House from '45 to '49, and his younger from '49 to '54. 8 114 THE OPPIDAN WALL GAME as first-rate football players, and two of them subse- quently rowing in the Oxford Eight. * I was at Evans' from '46 to '51. When I first went, I think the present Dean of Ripon was Captain of it, and that the present General Newdigate succeeded him. ' As to games, I recollect most of all the Wall game, of which I was Captain. When Captain, I instituted the Oppidan Wall game, always played on Monda3^s. Before that time there had been a mixed game of Oppidans and Collegers on half-holidays. This new departure brought many more Oppidans to the game. 1 played in the match in '51 when we beat the Col- legers, and should have pla3^ed in '50, but had to make way for the Captain of the Boats, the late Lord Clinton, though we did not play in the same places ; I was one of the three at the wall, whereas he w^as 4, outside the bully. R. L. Pemberton told me this on the eve of the match. However, it made no difference, as I became Captain the following year. I was first choice in the Field game, but preferred the Captaincy of the Wall. ' There were no House Cups in m}" time. We used sometimes to get up House Cricket matches late in the Summer half, with mixed teams ; not all from one house, I think. ' My eldest brother and myself were both Captains of the University College Boat, and both rowed in the Oxford Varsity boat. We were not in the Boats at Eton, but both rowed and punted, and I played cricket in Upper Club. My youngest brother was in the Boats, the Victory, and first choice out of the Eight. He was also very good across country, and won the Steeplechase. I started "in the running" in the T20 yards, and ran third to Hayter who afterwards ran the late Sir J. D. Astley at Lord's and beat him. * I have few notes to refer to, and one's memory fails to carry one back more than fifty years.' CHAPTER VIII AQUATICS, 1852-69 — EARLIER RACES — THE CUP FOR HOUSE FOURS — CHECK NIGHTS — OPPIDAN DINNER — NEW RACES — THE VOLUNTEERS — THE HOUSE SHOOTING CUP The river held sway all through the 'fifties, and by far the larger number of boys in the School were wet- bobs. The revival of cricket did not take place till the end of the decade, and we must therefore pick up the thread where we dropped it in '51, and see what part the House was playing in the rowing world. The next ten years were marked by many changes and some very desirable reforms. The first outrigger was seen on the river in '52 ; the first race for the new Cup for House Fours was rowed in '57; and '60 saw the abolition of Check nights and Oppidan dinner, the revival for a time of the race with Westminster, the Eight allowed to row at Henle}^ High Street no longer out of bounds, and, lastly, the advent of one who was destined to exercise the greatest influence on rowing, and on wet-bobs generally, for the next twenty-four years — Edmond Warre.* The best evidence of the popularity of the river at this date is afforded by the extraordinary number of entries for the various races. Evans' Sweepstakes, an annual event, produced as many as seventeen starters, the dry-bobs, as always, taking part in the race ; but this was nothing compared with the numbers competing in many of the most time-honoured School * The Rev. Edmond Warre, D.D., afterwards Head Master. 115 8 — 2 ii6 POPULARITY OF THE RIVER races. It was no uncommon thing for 25 or 30 boats to start for the Double SculHng, and in '54 the number starting for this race reached 40. But this was again eclipsed by those engaged in the tub sculHng races, when the actual starters not infrequently numbered more than 100. When Edward Coleridge, in 1854, offered a prize of £s for tub sculling, 'about 130' are said to have started in two heats, and Blake-Humfrey records that for Carter's prize for a similar race in '59 the actual boats starting numbered 153. Even in the final heats the boats must have represented a con- siderable fleet, and, as an instance, here is the account of only two heats of this last race as given in the House Book : ' The first two heats for the Rev. T. Carter's prize for tub sculling took place on Wednesday, July 20. There were about 100 started altogether, and conse- quently about 50 started in each. In the first heat, for small boys, Lord Tyrone came in first, Hobson being a bad second. In the second, Neave ist, Burton 2nd. The final heat, when the first twenty in each of the preceding heats started, came off on Thursday. After the usual amount of confusion, but only two swamps, it was won by Buller, Humfrey being 2nd, Burton 3rd, Hoey 4th, and Wynne (Evans') 5th.' 'The more the merrier' was evidently the idea of the majority of the competitors, and skill in rowing occupied a second place altogether. The uproarious fun on the occasion of many of the races, and races then were very numerous, has left its echo to this day, and attempts to depict the scene, though often made in these Books, lie evidently beyond the powers of the most graphic pen. The following words, at the close of an account of a tub sculling race, perhaps sum it all up best in boy language: 'This race, owing to the numbers, is nearly as amusing as the Double Sculling, owing to the indescribable confusion at DAMES V. TUTORS 117 starting ; the bumps, swamps, broken boats, and lost sculls all adding to the fun, not forgetting the almost ludicrous exhibition of some not very well skilled in the art of sculling,' It was well that 'passing' had been instituted and that all the boys taking part in these proceedings were now excellent swimmers. Whether the number of races was considered ex- cessive by those in high places cannot be known, but the following entry looks like it : 'Easter half, 1852. This half began under bad auspices for the boating world. Dr. Hawtrey having sent for Cookesley, Captain of the Oppidans, and Trefusis ma., Captain of the Boats, entirely prohibited punts, so those exciting punt matches, alas ! are for ever at an end. All matches, too, stopped before the 4th of June, and at the same time more than one match a week is forbidden, except in case of two heats of Sculling and Pulling. By this rule the Six and Eight matches and the Double Sculling are lost.'* That Evans' were taking their part in all that was going on on the river is evident from these Books. The race between Dames and Tutors continued to be rowed regularly, the Tutors being successful more often than the Dames at this period. Rolt and Denne of Evans' were rowing for the Dames in '52, and in '55, when the crews for this race were chosen out of Lower Boats, the House was represented by five and the cox, Smith wa.,t Hopkinson, | Oliver, § Hardy, || Strahan,^ and Robarts,** the Dames winning the race. And once again, in '57, we find the crew for this same race was largely composed of boys from the House — * The Six and Eight races were discontinued in 1854 ; the Double Sculling was merely not rowed this year, f F. N. Smith, banker. X Charles C. H., banker. § Afterwards Devonshire Regiment. II Now Earl Cranbrook. 1[ Colonel G. S., Royal Engineers. ** Won Double Sculling, '55 ; Oxford Eight, '59-'6o. ii8 CUP FOR 'HOUSE FOURS' Hardy (stroke), Kinglake,* Wynne,t Halsey,! and Cadogan,§ all belonging to Evans', while Van de Weyer,|| who came to the House that year from Coleridge's, was also one of the crew. A curious cir- cumstance, not mentioned in the Book, is that the Tutors' Eight this year was the School Eight, being the one that beat Christ Church, Oxford, and that was beaten by an Oxford crew that came to row against them after Henley Regatta. The year 1857 is especially marked by the first race for House Fours, or * Upper Fours,' as it is here referred to. The Cup was provided by public sub- scription in the School, and was won on this occasion by Joynes'. Eight houses entered for the race, in three heats, Evans' losing their heat * owing to their being steered by a boy who had never steered before.' The crew were — Hardy (stroke), Halsey, Kinglake, and Cadogan. William Evans offered a prize to be rowed for by Lower-boys of the House in '56, which was won by Hall. Evans had formerly taken great interest in Aquatics, but was not now able any longer to do so. He still, however, sometimes attended the House Sweepstakes, and in '59, when there were seventeen entries and when the race was won by dry-bobs — Pocklington and Jelf — he is spoken of as being 'much amused at a swamp when witnessing the exertions of his House from the bank.' The House did not enter for the House Fours in either '58 or '59; but in '60 won their heat against Birch's and were beaten in the Final by Gulliver's, the crew on this occasion being, J. R. Selwyn, R. A. * R. F. K., afterwards Rev.; d. 1900. t Afterwards Scots Guards ; Lord-Lieutenant for Merioneth, and M.P. X Now Right Hon T. F. H., P.C, M.P. ; rowed in Oxford Eight, '60. i^ Now 5th Earl Cadogan, K.G. || See p. 96. THE HOUSE WINS 'HOUSE FOURS' 119 Kinglake, O. S. Wynne, and S. E. Hicks, with Jenkyns mi. (cox.), and the race being a very good one. The following year they were more fortunate. The House still had the services of two fine oars, Kinglake and Selwyn, and the only change in the boat was J. Trower in place of Wynne, who had left. The following is the account in the Book : * House Fours. Final Heat. On Monday, July 8th, 1861, Mr. Evans' and Miss Gulliver's contended for the honour of holding the Cup. The course was the same as on the three preceding nights, from Rushes to Windsor Bridge, the crews being — Evans' {Windsor side). Gulliver's [Eton side). 1. S. E. Hicks. I. H. D. Senhouse. 2. J. Trower.* 2. W. B. Gurney. 3. J. R, Selwyn. 3. Lord Kenlis. 4. R. A. Kinglake. 4. J. E. Parker. J. Jenkyns (cox.). A. E. Bertie (cox.). Miss Gulliver's, the holders of the Cup, were the favourites, although they had lost the services of their Captain, Humfrey, who was ill. Evans', however, had been practising steadily, and were regarded by some as likely to be by no means mean competitors, and so the result proved, for at the start, which was a capital one, Evans' got off best, and settling down to their work sooner than their opponents, soon rowed their boat's nose a little in advance. They then spurted and by Athens were about half a length ahead, which they increased to rather more than a length by Upper Hope, where, having the inside turn, they drew still further away, though, between the Hopes, Gulliver's spurted and reduced the gap between the two boats At Lower Hope Evans' again drew away, but Gulliver's were not to be shaken off, for they again spurted and began to come up with Evans'. But here Evans', who were still rowing within themselves, put on the steam, and having the inside turn at Bargeman's, again increased their lead. Although Gulliver's spurted * Afterwards Rev. Canon John Trower ; won Double Sculling, '62. I20 J. R. SELWYN AND R. A. KINGLAKE again and again very pluckily, they were unable to catch Evans' who eventually won by two lengths. Time 8 mts. 33 sees. The rowing of Evans' was much admired. They therefore hold the Cup and the crew hold silver medals,' Writing to the Chronicle at the time of Bishop Selwyn's death, the cox. of this Four mentions the coincidence that Selwyn and Trower died in '98 within a fortnight of one another. ' Both of them,' he adds, 'did good service in their respective spheres : they did their duty. Though of different mental calibre, neither Eton nor my Dame's need feel anything else but courage and grateful thanks that they have set such a good example to future generations, whether of Etonians in general or of my Dame's in particular. O si sic onines ! I write as one who knows, because I steered the crew.' Two boys in this crew were close and intimate friends — J. R. Selwyn, just mentioned, and R. A. Kinglake,* who is spoken of as * an ideal Evans' boy.' Their names were constantly coupled together, and their doings were referred to with awe even by a succeeding generation ; they were both distinguished athletes, and they both, by their characters, exercised the greatest influence for good upon the House. The first has been referred to elsewhere ; the other, in the following letter, gives an instance of how the credit of the House was considered before personal advantage or position : 'I was at J. W. Hawtrey's for two years, a house for boys in Lower School,! and I stayed there until I got into Fourth Form and came to my Dame's. John Selwyn, my intimate friend, was there too. He went to Coleridge's when he left Hawtrey's, and remained there until Coleridge was made a Fellow and he came * Second Captain of the Boats, '62; President C.U.B.C., '66. f Always known among us as * the baby House,' there being boys there of 7 and 8. THE WINNERS OF THE PUI.IJNG IN 1862. C. R. W. Tottenham (WoUey'.-). John Richardson Selwyn. Robert Alexander Kinj^lake. \Toface p. 120. J. R. SELWYN AND R. A. KINGLAKE 121 to Evans'. John Selwyn lived in Evans' cottage, the same side of the road, and Lord Pembroke * was also there for some years. Lord Tullibardine t was also in the House in those days, but left rather young. When I was at Evans', my Dame's won the Cricket Cup, the Football Cup and House Fours. I rowed in the two last Eton and Westminster races from Putney to Chiswick. Selwyn was a very good football player, and was the first choice left in, in September, for both Field and Wall, and so could have been keeper of either. I, on the other hand, was low down in Field choices, though next to Selwyn at the Wall. The Keepership of the Wall was considered the "swellest" in those days, but Selwyn chose the Field that we might have both Keepers at my Dame's, and by his so doing I became Keeper of the Wall with Witt, K.S. He did this for the honour of the House. * John Selwyn and I won the pairs t at Eton, and at Cambridge and Henley and elsewhere. One Easter we stayed at Ely with his aunt, sent our boat from Cambridge, and used to row not only on the river, but took the pair through narrow bridges and up back- waters where no outrigger has ever been before or since. Of course, now and then we got swamped, but that did not much matter.' Kinglake tells of ' , an amusing fellow, who used to get out of the librar}^ window at night and pay visits to the Windsor Fair'; but he does not mention one episode which comes from a contemporary, ' Kinglake was the bosom friend of Selwyn. They won the pairs together, and Kinglake told me that they fell out while training and tried each to pull the other into the bank, with the result that the boat kept straight /' Nor is mention made of this, that certainly deserves recording. One of Kinglake's contemporaries at Evans' was Duncan Pocklington. At Eton he was a dry-bob and in the Eleven in '60 ; but when he w^ent * George, 13th Earl. f Now 7th Duke of Atholl, K.T. J The School Pulling, 1862. 122 NEW RACES to Oxford he took up rowing, as Chitty had done before him, and got into the Eight, being stroke of it in '64, when Oxford won. That same year Kinglake and Selwyn were rowing in the Cambridge boat, the latter as Stroke. We thus have the curious coincidence of the Strokes of both the Eights on this occasion having been previously boys at Evans' together. Fourteen years were destined to elapse ere Evans' won the House Fours again, and the Cup was the one that graced the tables in the Hall less often than any other, the House succeeding in winning it on three occasions only. With the revival of cricket, Evans' became more a cricketing than a boating house, and while it produced more than one Captain and Second Captain of the Boats and many good oars, the large majority of its members were usually dry-bobs. The 'sixties were marked by many further changes and reforms in the wet-bob world, due largely to the influence and untiring energy of Edmond Warre. Several new races were started among the juniors, especially the Junior Pulling in '63, for which Warre presented two handsome goblets, and the Junior Sculling, for which Herbert Snow,* another master to whom the Eton rowing world owes much, also offered a prize. Rowing was evidently being taken more seriously, and that this was so is shown by the success of the Eight at Henley, where the Ladies' Plate was won six times in the seven years 1864-70. The House does not appear to have distinguished itself prominently in the principal School races at this time, and in several years of the decade did not enter for House Fours. It was, however, well repre- sented in the Eight, R, A. Kinglake rowing in it in '60, '61, and '62; J. R. Selwyn in the latter year; J. H. Ridley in %T, F. A. Currey in '68, '69, and '70, * Now Dr. H. Kynaston, Canon of Durham. ABOLITION OF 'CHECK NIGHTS' 123 being Captain of the Boats in '70, and winning the School Pulling in '68 ; and F. C. Ricardo in '69.* Mention must be made here of the abolition of Check nights and Oppidan dinner, as a boy at the House, C. G. Lyttelton, was one of those who helped to bring about the change. Check nights, or, as they are often called in these Books, ' duck and green-pea nights,' took place on alternate Saturdays after the 4th of June, the Upper Boats rowing to Surley on those days in their 4th of June dresses, and partaking there of a supper of ducks and green peas washed down with champagne. Some suppose the name of Check nights to have been associated with the cor- rection of mistakes in rowing on these occasions, and others with the coloured shirts of the crews ; but however this might be, there was no mistake about the supper and the champagne. The Upper Boats were met on their way back by the Lower Boats, who had meanwhile regaled themselves on champagne without the ducks, and the whole then returned to the Brocas in procession. Oppidan dinner was a convivial feast held at the White Hart Hotel, Windsor, on a half-holiday at the end of July, the Captain of the Boats in the Chair. It began in the afternoon, was interrupted by 6 o'clock Absence, and was continued afterwards till Lock-up. Those present at the dinner were chiefly wet-bobs, with the Captain of the Eleven and the Captain of the .School, together with the whole of the Upper Boats and a few other 'swells.' Both Check nights and Oppidan dinner were the cause of scandals that would have been put down in later times with scant ceremony. ' Shirking,' it must be remembered, still remained unremedied, and the road to the river, the High Street of Eton, was still out of bounds. To * Afterwards Colonel, Grenadier Guards ; also rowed in '70 and '71^ and was Captain of the Boats in '72, but was then at Snow's. 124 ABOLITION OF 'OPPIDAN DINNER' correct this strange anomaly, and put an end to the carousals, a compromise was arrived at in i860, when Blake-Humfrey, Captain of the Boats, and C. G. Lyttelton, Captain of the Eleven, approached Dr. Goodford on the subject. For many years the Eleven had possessed the privilege of being exempt from 6 o'clock Absence on Saturdays when School matches were played, and it was now decided that the wet-bobs should have a similar privilege, two eights or the ten-oar being excused in the same way. Check nights and Oppidan dinner being done away with, the Eight allowed to row at Henley Regatta, and High Street being placed within bounds during the Summer half. Thus a reform was introduced which had been long called for, and a state of things put an end to that reflected as little credit on the boys as it did upon those who ruled over them. Though quite unconnected with the subject of this chapter, room must nevertheless be found to record an event in the life of the School at this time in which the House played a somewhat prominent part. This was the founding, in i860, of the Rifle Volunteer Corps, the first Public School corps of its kind. Boys, after their manner, flocked in in numbers ; it was something new, and at the outset there was no dearth of recruits. The first assembly and attempt at drill took place on the 7th of F'ebruary, and several of the Masters donned the uniform of the corps. Among the first Captains Commandant were J. R. Selwyn and N. G. Lyttelton, and when, in a few years, interest declined, and the fun of manoeuvring in the playing-fields with obsolete cavalry carbines that could not be fired was no longer appreciated, the corps was reorganized, and the command of the regiment given in '6^ to Samuel Evans. The movement then by degrees came to have more reality about it, more boys were taught to shoot, and in '69 a House Cup for shooting was presented, THE VOLUNTEER CORPS 125 which did much to encourage the use of the rifle. The House always provided the corps with a good many recruits, as well as its share of the team competing for the Ashburton Shield at Wimbledon and Bisley. It also succeeded in winning the House Shooting Cup six times, four of these being in succession (1879-82), as will be afterwards related. CHAPTER IX FOOTBALL, 1 85 5 -68 — THE HOUSE FOOTBALL CUP — HOUSE COLOURS — THE STEEPLECHASE AND SCHOOL ATHLETICS — THE BEAGLES — LETTER FROM LORD KNARESBOROUGH The Football Books, as already related, were not begun till 1855. That the game, both in the Field and at the Wall, had been played with much vigour, if with little system, for certainly more than a hundred years before this is well known. The ' football fields ' are especiall}^ referred to in 1766, and the famous Wall was built as long ago as 1717. Nevertheless, the game, in the earlier days, only shared attention with many others, such as even hoops, marbles, and tops ; and there were, moreover, then no such incen- tives as cups and colours. The House was always a great football house, and many of its members had distinguished themselves at the game long before these records open. Of these A. D. Coleridge is the earliest, as he came to Eton in '40, and when he passed into College he was in College Wall as well as being College Keeper of Upper Club. J. W. Chitty was in Oppidan Wall in '46, Lord Cottesloe was in the Field in '47, Cross and Barnett the same year, W. H. Fremantle in '49, and Lord Welby in both Field and Wall in '50, among others. The first entry in the Football Book gives the House 126 THE HOUSE ELEVENS IN '55 127 elevens in 1855, and as the lists are the earliest recorded they are inserted here, _, Lower-Boy and Lower Division House Eleven. Eleven. Home ma, Capt. C. C. Parry, Capt. Bircham ma. Oliver mi. Smith ma. Rowley. Home mi. Kinglake mi. Oliver mi. Borrer mi. Jenkyns ma. Hardy mi. Hopkinson. Robarts ma. Kinglake. Burrell. Wynne. Beckford. Millett. Pocklington. Bircham mi. Allen. [Oliver mi. and C. C. Parry \ the first two choices I out. One of the first matches described in the Book has its amusing side. There was in the House at that date a group of seven boys who were styled the * Odd 'uns.' They were the leaders in the football eleven, and it was their custom to play the rest of the House annually for some years. Here is the account of the first match : * This match was very even. The ' Odd 'uns ' obtained their rouge, through Bircham mi., in the last quarter of an hour. Butler Johnstone played for Jenkyns and Le Marchant for Oliver /;//. The pla}^ on the part of the ' Odd 'uns ' was remarkable, and they bore up well against their opponents.' This account apparently did not conform to the ideas of some one playing for the rest of the House, for it was subsequently ruled out, the following note being appended : ' It is well that posterity should understand that this match consisted of the Firsts, minus Home ma., versus the rest of the House. We leave the reader to judge of the glory of such a victory. It W\\\ be seen that, in 1858, the first six contended successfully against the 128 EARLIER FOOTBALL MATCHES whole House, consisting of 26, The impartiality of the above account is remarkable !' The matches in those days were of every kind, the elevens being made up according to the taste of the leaders in the football world of the School, Now and then one House played another, and there were the matches for ' Cocks of College'; but while these last were not carried out on the regular system of the later contests for the House Cup, they also seem not to have been general throughout the School. At most, Evans' played not more than three matches in the half, more often two only, sometimes only one, and occa- sionally none. The best players were engaged in the Field matches, of which there were many, and in a number of miscellaneous contests of which the names afford the best description : * Light v. Dark,' ' Two sides of Chapel,' ' Tall v. Short,' ' Pop v. no Pop,' * Boats V. no Boats,' * Hs v. no Hs,' and one, too, that was an annual contest for many years, and is always described as 'Two sides of the Alphabet.' The House also had its divisions, and used to play a match called ' Two sides of Hall,' a diagram being given showing the Hall and a straight line drawn down the middle of the Tables. * Dames v. Tutors ' was also an annual contest, the honours over a number of years being apparently equally divided. In '57 five boys of the House played in this match, and as many sometimes in another known as * Christopher side v. Okes'* side,' and which subsequently became * Two sides of College,' and, later, * North v. South.' Both these contests were played at the Wall annually, as well as in the Field. In '57 the Lower-boy eleven was a very good one, and contained many who were destined to do great things for the House when they grew older — King- lake, Selwyn, and Neville Lyttelton. This eleven defeated the Lower-boys of a number of other houses, * After tlie Rev. R. Okes, D.D., Lower Master, 1838-50. THE HOUSE ELEVENS IN '60 129 but there was, of course, then no Cup for them to play for. Scoring in those days must have been on a different plane ; in one match recorded here no less than 22 goals and i rouge were obtained by the victors. At the close of '59 a curious entry occurs : * House matches : Joynes' retained their position as Cocks of College without a struggle. Balston's also maintained their supremacy over Durnford's after an exciting match. Evans' beat De Rosen's. No other House match occurred of importance ; in fact, interest in this branch of football appears to be on the wane.' Then follows a list of the Houses in order of merit, Evans' being eighth on the list out of eleven. So many well-known names appear in the House elevens for i860 that they are given here in full. There were at this period three elevens, the lower division of Fifth Form being placed with the Lower-boys, and it sometimes happened that a boy was in all three, as, for instance, Baker mi. in 1857, the boy mentioned elsewhere as winning the School Steeplechase while still in jackets. List of the House Elevens in i860. House Eleven. Selwyn.^ Kinglake.- Lyttelton ma} Hicks. Lyttelton ?;z?> Horner.^ Trower.^ Kennett.^ Fremantle.^ Jenkyns ma.^ Ward. Lower- Boy and Lower Division. Kennett.'' Ward. Drummond. Thompson max}^ Burnell. Gaussen. Lyttelton min}'^ Jenkyns mi. Carter. Bircham.^- Cole.i=^ Lower-Boy. Drummond. Lyttelton min.'^^ Thompson max.'^^ Jenk3ms ;;//. Carter. Elwes. Drummond ;;//. Thompson ;/m.^* Hamilton. ^^ Thompson mi. Greenwood. ^ Afterwards Bishop of Melanesia. ^ In the Eton and Cambridge C.U.B.C, 1866. ^ Now the Rev. the Hon. A. V. L. Eights, and President of the I30 THE HOUSE FOOTBALL CUP The decay of interest in House matches just referred to necessitated something being done, and in i860 one of the Assistant Masters, Rev. W. Wayte, presented a challenge cup to be competed for annually. No cup in the School, and they are now too numerous to mention, is played for with greater keenness. The House Football Cup occupies a place of its own ; in the winter half, football holds the field, and the House colours mark the House eleven and nobody else. All play, and, rightly, have to play the game, and there are no divisions, such as in the Summer half are caused by cricket and boating, or at other times b^^ racquets, fives, the beagles, or shooting. And then, again, no game has more to recommend it to a true boy's mind than the Eton game as played in the Field. The Wall, with all its time-honoured traditions, is for the few ; the Field is for all, and it is there that a boy has the best chance of showing what he is worth. Skill, self-control, quickness and pluck, are the characteristics required ; resource and a rapid decision ; the cultiva- tion of a good temper, the spirit of emulation and of self-forgetfulness, the playing for the side, is what it ^ Now General the Hon. Sir N. G. Lyttelton, G.C.B. •'' Commissioner of Woods and Forests and Land Revenue ; K.C.V.O. ^ Afterwards Hon. Canon of Ripon. " Afterwards Sir V. H. B. Kennett, Commissioner under the Geneva Convention of Sick and Wounded in the Franco-German, CarHst, Servian, Turco- Russian, and Servo -Bulgarian Wars, and in the Suakim Expedition of 1885. ** Afterwards the Rev. the Hon. S. J. F. " Rector of Durley ; sometime Rural Dean of Peterborough. '" Now Lord Knaresborough. " Now the Hon. G. VV. S. Lyttelton, C.B. '^ Afterwards Colonel, 60th Rifles. 1^ Now PLarl of Enniskillcn. i"* Now Colonel R. F. Meysey-Thompson, late Rifle Brigade. 'f* Now Sir Edward Hamilton, G.C.B., K.C.V.O., LS.O., Permanent Financial Secretary to the Treasur)'. Among the remainder, the following also became soldiers : Ward, of the 60th Rifles ; Drummond, of the i6th Lancers; Burnell, of the Rifle Brigade ; and Drummond, afterwards Colonel Home Drummond Moray, of the Scots Guards, and M.P. for Perth. HOUSE COLOURS 131 teaches ; and if football, played under no matter what rules, does this more than any other of our English games, so the Eton game is not only essentially a boy's game, and a beautiful one, but is the one calcu- lated above all others to test his character, to fit him for the rough and tumbles of the world, and to teach him how to meet these with the pluck and the deter- mination that win through somehow in the end. But there was another thing besides the House Cup that tended to put new life into House football at this period, and this was the starting of House colours. Like the cups, the colours are now so numerous that a liberal education and the assistance of a coloured sheet is requisite if one is to be versed in them at all. The Field first appeared in colours in i860, wearing the present red and blue shirt, white flannel trousers with a scarlet and light blue stripe down them, and a pork-pie cap. The Wall, at the same time, assumed the colours they still wear. The white flannels were shortly afterwards discontinued, such a distinction being reserved for members of the Eleven and the Eight. There was no uniformity in the matter of nether garments until many 3'ears later, and, at foot- ball, players in the Field, or out of it, wore any old pair of trousers that might be reserved for the purpose. The parti-coloured garments of the Field soon set the fashion to the houses, if, indeed, the House Cup did not necessitate that the competing elevens should be easily distinguishable. The result was that by 1862 almost all the Houses had chosen the colours by which their elevens were to be henceforth known, and it was in this year that Evans' came out in the well-known red shirt and cap, the latter having a skull and cross- bones embroidered on the front. The definite origin of the badge, or, indeed, of the colours, is not known ; but, as the House steadily supplied a ver}^ considerable number of officers to the Army, the military spirit may 9—2 132 HOUSE COLOURS perhaps account for the choice, and more especially as the originator was none other than Sir Neville Lyttelton. Here is what he writes : ' House colours were started in my time, I fancy in '62. As regards the skull and crossbones, which is some- thing like the 17th Lancers, I fancy I was responsible for it as well as for the red shirt. I can't remember any special reason for either, unless there was, as you suggest, a military touch about it. But with so many houses choosing colours there was, of course, a danger of clashing, and perhaps I took red because nobody else had got it. There was an idea that a red shirt was the privilege of the second captain of the Eleven, but it was only shadowy.' Five years were to elapse before Evans' won the House Cup for the first time, though they were in the Final in '64. At no period did the House excel more at football or produce a greater number of the best players than between '65 and '75. During those years they held the House Cup no less than six times, in- cluding '66, when they retained it after three ties with Warre's, besides being in the Final on three other occasions. Such a record speaks for itself* Those who took part in the famous contests of this period will certainly look for some account of their prowess and so be able to fight their battles o'er again, and while it would be impossible to do more than refer in passing to many of the matches, those for the Final ties for the House Cup may well be treated at greater length. The accounts of these matches are taken from the House Football Books, having been written at the time by the captains of the elevens. The match for what may be called the semi-final in '64 still lingers in the minds of those who took * A table will be found in the Appendix showing the position of the House in the annual contests for this Cup, and the names of the Captains of the eleven. EVANS' V. DRURY'S IN '64 133 part in it. The result gave rise to very strong feeling, and the outcome was certainly unsatisfactory. Three Houses, all of them Dames', were left in in the Ties — Drury's, Gulliver's, and Evans'. The first two had already tied twice, so it was decided to draw the three together, the result being that Drury's drew Evans'. * Drury's were the favourites,' runs the account, * but the match was soon seen to be in Evans' favour, and before the first half-hour Ady and Ridley had both obtained a rouge. Of course, Evans' very light eleven had little or no chance of obtaining a goal owing to the superior bulk of their opponents, and the ball v/as soon out, but close on the line again, another rouge being touched by Carr-Lloyd, but dis- allowed, as the umpire could not see. After change Drury's brought it nearer to Evans' line, but after a long, loose bully a splendid run down by Hamilton resulted in another rouge for Evans', and this was no sooner broken than Kenyon-Slaney took the ball towards the fine, when it was kicked against him, and another rouge was scored. After this Drury's got the ball past the middle. Phipps had the ball, but when several of Evans' were charging him they were stopped by being told a bully had been allowed further up for cornering. This turned out to be false, and Phipps got the ball to the line, where, after a bully had been given, a rouge was called and allowed. . . . Drury's, owing to their weight, were now very likel}^ to force the goal, while, if fortune only favoured Evans', a lucky kick would secure to them the victory they had so fairly won. But, alas ! this was not to be, for Drury's, after twenty-seven minutes of the most decided crawling, brought the ball close on to the goal-line. They strenuously claimed a goal, which Evans' as strenuously denied. While this was going on the ball came out of the bully, and was kicked behind by Sargent, and touched by Ady.' At this point it is as well to quote no further. The position was one requiring a firm and immediate 134 THE FINAL IN '65 decision on the part of the umpire, the question being whether the goal was to be allowed or the rouge. To allow the rouge was to discard the previous claim of the goal, and to declare the goal was, in the circum- stances, to decide one of the most difficult things in the Eton game of football. The excitement on the ground was intense, and feeling ran very high, and to add to it there was, unfortunately, much vacillation. In the end the goal was given, and therefore the match, and all chance of Evans' winning the Cup was at an end. It remains to be recorded that when Gulliver's and Drury's met in the Final the result was a draw. At the conclusion of the Ties the following year ('65) Evans' and Drury's were left in in the Final, and the contest was looked forward to by the whole School. The result of the match of the previous year had not been forgotten, and when the two elevens appeared in the Field it was generally hoped that Evans' might win. 'On Monday, December nth, Evans' encountered their old antagonists in the Field to try whether they could at last secure the much-desired Cup. The day was everything that could be desired, and the crowd of spectators therefore immense. The first bully was joined shortly after the half-hour, and, as is generally the case with them, Evans' champions seemed quite bewildered and unable to play for the first ten minutes. The consequence was that Drur3''s shortly joined a bully about ten yards from their line. The danger they were now in gave Evans' the needed stimulus ; they played up well on all sides, and the ball was carried to the further end of the field, where it stayed with variations of kick-off for Drury's for the next ten minutes, Evans' having the ball several times on the line, but failing to score against the combined strength of E. Norman and T. H. Phipps. At length one of the kicks-off fell near Kenyon-Slaney, who took the ball across the field for the line on the pjX J THE HOUSE WINS THE CUP 135 other side of the goals. When about ten yards from the line he was charged by Norman, who, however, failed in his purpose, for Kenyon-Slaney, kicking the ball behind at the right moment, and being fortunately able to touch it first, obtained a most undoubted rouge. Evans' were unfortunately unable to force the goal owing to the opposing bulk and strength of Mr. Phipps, but when the rouge broke, Hamilton and Phipps rushed together at the ball, Phipps kicked it, and it went behind; Hamilton touched it, and claimed the rouge. But as all this had gone on amidst the receding mass of spectators, who had of course formed a dense ring round the rouge, the umpire was unable to see, and the only result was therefore a bully on the line, which added nothing to Evans' score. Change was now called, and Evans' faced College. The change of sides brought no alteration to the game, and the ball was soon near Drury's line again ; indeed, so decided a partiality did it evince for that particular place, that it was only by the greatest efforts Drury's could overcome the undesired affection, and then only for a very short time. Hamilton again claimed a rouge, but again was it absolutely impossible for even an Argus of an umpire to see through the opposing darkness of Buckland's body, and the claim was disallowed. In this way time wore on : Evans' unable to score more ; Drury's unable to get the dangerous visitors from their line. " Last bully" was called, formed, broken, and terminated ; and amidst, we are happy to say, the most enthusiastic and universal cheers and congratulations, Evans' eleven left the field, having accomplished that which they had never done before, and brought to their House a trophy well worth the struggle that had earned it. Good as the eleven which Evans' produced last year, it was eclipsed by that of '65, than which, we may say with truth, a finer eleven both as regards individual and collective play has never before belonged to one House. That Evans' ought to have got more cannot be denied, and indeed we cannot finish this without paying our tribute of respect to the plucky and gallant play of our opponents, who, by placing so small a house second on the list, reflect the greatest credit on themselves.' 136 HUBERT PARRY Evans^ Eleven. W. S. Kenyon-Slaney. C. H. H. Parry. R. Thompson. J. H. Ridley. E. W. Hamilton. C. W. Greenwood. W. H. Ady. M. Horner. J. R. Sturgis. J. M. Carr-Lloyd. A. C. Thompson. In '66 Hubert Parry was Captain of the House eleven, being that year Keeper of the Field and Second Keeper of the Wall. There have been few better short-behinds than he was in his day, and it was unfortunate, therefore, that his remarkable facility for getting damaged at games should have robbed the House of his services just at the moment, as will be seen, when it wanted him most.* His spare hours during this half were occupied in composing his Exercise and preparing for the examination for the degree of Bachelor of Music at Oxford, and he was then only eighteen. With this undertaking before him, and wdth all his duties in connexion with School football, it is not surprising that there is no full account in the Books of the three famous meetings between Evans' and Warre's in the Final for the House Cup this year. On each of these occasions the match resulted in a tie. The writer recalls meetings in his brother's room — the one next to the library — between the representatives ot the two houses, at which Warre's advanced the argument that, as Evans' had held the Cup for the previous year, they might as well be generous and hand it over to their opponents; while the rejoinder on the part of Evans' was, that if Warre's wanted it they must first win it. * It may be added that he was once carried off the field on a sheep- hurdle in an unconscious condition, straw being- subsequently laid down in Keate's Lane. In '66 he played in Collegers and Oppidans at great risk to himself, the invincible pluck that belonged to him leading him to take his place in the Field when he would ha\e been better elsewhere. EVANS' V. WARRE'S IN '66 137 The last of the three matches was played on the morning of the day on which the School broke up, so onlookers were very few. A tie again resulted, and in the end a rule was proposed by G. R. Dupuis, and sanctioned by the two Keepers of the Field and the Captain of Warre's eleven, in accordance with which Evans' kept the Cup. The following comment on these matches appears in the Book, and is a good instance of the fair-mindedness with which the contests were regarded : ' These three matches were a remarkable illustration of the truth of the great principle that in the Eton game of football individual play is of less importance than combination in a side. Evans' eleven, though one of the strongest that ever competed for the Cup, was unable to obtain anything on three successive days because Warre's eleven played together and they did not. The three matches differed very little from each other in their main features. In the first the play of Evans' eleven was very slipshod, and owing to the injuries sustained by Parry, who could not play in the other matches, and Thompson, which left them with only one man behind the bully, they were very nearly beaten. In the second match Evans' eleven individually played very well indeed, though each one for himself, and almost obtained several rouges. Currey played instead of Parry. Thompson behind, M. Horner post, and Ridley and Carr-Lloyd outside the bully, played particularly well. In the third match, which was played early on the last day, the individual play of Evans' eleven was very fair, and the ball usually in the vicinity of Warre's line, but nothing was obtained. In all three matches Warre's owed their success in a great measure to the play of Bunbury, who never missed a kick ; of Calvert, who, though Flying-man, kept very much on the defensive, and was always in the way ; and of Farrer, who played with equal certainty as long-long and short-behind. But these three could never have defended their goals against the attacks of such an eleven as Evans' if their bully, though overweighted 138 EVANS' AND DRURY'S IN '68 and outpaced, had not played with such admirable combination and pertinacity as to keep the enemy constantly employed. The loss of Parry, the Captain of their eleven, was of course a great blow to Evans', and the state of the ground prevented them from taking advantage of their superior pace ; but this should not diminish the honours due to Warre's eleven, not only for the pluck and pertinacity which they displayed against a stronger eleven, but for showing the School how the game of football ought to be played,'* IV. Evans\ C. H. H. Parry. A. Thompson. J. R. Sturgis. F. E. Ady. M. Horner. G. W. Horner. J. M. Carr-Lloyd. A. Rickards. J. H. Ridley. G. Greenwood. H. Ricardo. The following year {16'j') Evans' lost the Cup to Warre's, the house with which they were destined to have many a combat in time to come. The matches between the two houses were always distinguished by fair play and good temper ; but in those with Drury's Evans' were ever destined to meet with untoward circumstances. Just as in '64 the House had been judged defeated, so again in '6Z^ and owing to the same causes, victory was given to their opponents. Twice already the matches between them had resulted in a tie, and there were then three houses left in in the ante-Final. The third was Warre's, and so it was decided, as usual, to draw the three together. The result was that Evans' had to play Warre's, whom they beat, and then had to meet Drury's once again in the Final. To quote the account of this match would serve no good purpose. Evans' were defeated by a goal. The names of those who played in the House eleven this ^-ear are given, as several deserve * The writer of the above comment appears to have been Julian Sturgis, afterwards well known as a writer and novelist. SCHOOL ATHLETICS 139 more than passing mention, owing to their subsequent career and the credit they were to the House. G. G. Greenwood.^ H. N. Gladstone.^ F. A. Currey.^ W. R. Ruggles-BriseJ W. R. Kenyon-Slaney.3 R. B. Brett.^ Arthur Lyttelton.* C. C, Lacaita.^ E. F. Alexander.^ T. A. Hamilton. H. J. Gladstone.!*^ It will be seen from this list that the House was still providing the School with many of its best foot- ball players, as well as winning some of the foremost places in the principal scholarships, and that others mentioned here won high honours in after-life. To continue the history of the football successes of the House would be to break into a period we have not yet reached regarding other events, and this chapter must close, therefore, with a reference to what Evans' v/ere doing in another branch of athletics. The oldest of the School races is the Steeplechase, which seems to have been run first in '47. The races known as the School mile, Quarter mile, Hundred yards, and Hurdles were inaugurated in '56, and the Walking race in '66, this last being discontinued in '96 and the Half mile substituted. The High jump, the Long jump, Throwing the cricket-ball, the Weight, ^ In the Field in '68, and in the Select for the Newcastle, '69 ; M.P. for Peterborough. '^ Captain of the Boats ; won the Pulling ; President of the Eton Society ; and was in all three of the School football elevens. 3 Afterwards Colonel in the Rifle Brigade; Brigadier-Gen., S.Africa. * Afterwards Bishop of Southampton. ^ Was in all three School football elevens, and Keeper of the Field, '69 (see p. 174). ^ Son of Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone (see p. 216). '' Keeper of the Field, '71 ; President of the Eton Society. 8 Now Viscount Esher, K.C.B., G.C.V.O. ^ Newcastle Medallist, '72, and g-reatly distinguished himself both as a scholar and athlete at Eton ; afterwards M.P. for Dundee (see p. 220). '^^ Son of Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone ; was in Field and Wall elevens ; now Secretary of State for the Home Department (see p. 218). I40 THE STEEPLECHASE and the Hammer, are all first recorded in '65, and if it is not proposed to give complete lists of those in the House who won these various events at different periods, the more prominent athletes certainly deserve mention. The Steeplechase has always been regarded as the blue ribbon of the athletic sports of the School, and in '59 this was won by quite a small boy at the House, who still lives and still holds his place as one of the finest riders to hounds in the West of England, Henry Lloyd Baker. The event remains a record, and the following is his account of the race : 'On February 26, 1859, 1 won the School Steeple- chase, being then still in jackets and in lower Lower- Fifth. C. B. Lawes was second. He was first the next year, and by degrees I believe he won every- thing that way there was to be won at Eton. Grosvenor was third ; Rhodes, Stanley, Wheatly, and Chambers also ran. We started near Ditton Park, and ran by Upton and Agar's field, by Chalvey, finishing over the School Jump. There was a delay at starting because a farmer made an objection. The ploughs were very heavy, but I was in good condition, having some beagles at hom^e which we used to run with. The race was reduced to Lavv'es, Grosvenor, and self all across the field before the School Jump. Lawes and I were close together, a crowd of boys all round us and very much in the way. But there was a clear passage at the School Jump, which I jumped into (it was far too wide to clear) just in front of Lawes. As I scrambled out, I heard him plunge in ; then I reeled along for the next 15 yards, which was the winning-post. That night the boys of the House hoisted me up and down the back 3^ard. I won a quart pewter, a ring, a pin, and £4 in money. I was much the smallest boy, and BclFs Life dubbed me " Little Baker." It is bad form writing up one's own doings, but nearly all my old friends are dead, and most of my new ones have " no education," as we used to call it.'* * Henry Baker's elder Ijrotlier, Granville Lloyd ]5aker, was also at the House, the latter's eldest son, Michael Lloyd Baker, being a member later. THE BEAGLES 141 Five years later ('64) H. Meysey- Thompson, now Lord Knaresborough, also won the Steeplechase, having won the Hurdles the year before. The train- ing of running with a pack of beagles may have had something to do with it, as in Baker's case, for Meysey- Thompson was at this time Master of the Beagles. In those days there were two packs, the College Beagles and the Oppidan Beagles, and Lord Knaresborough sends the following account of how things were managed during his Mastership of the latter :* ' I was Whip in '62 and '6^ and Master in '64. I had about 120 subscribers, Upper boys paying a pound and Lower-boys ten shillings. The subscriptions amounted to about ^^98 altogether. There was no permanent pack ; we brought our own beagles. I had some, and other boys brought their own, so, of course, it was difficult to hunt them at first, as they were all strange to each other. The kennels were hired, and we paid a considerable sum for the use of them. ' We hunted between Eton, Burnham Beeches, and Maidenhead. I believe the road to Slough was the boundary between the Oppidan and the College country, as there were two separate packs at that time ' I was the first Master of the Beagles recognized by the Head Master. Before '64 the Beagles were not recognized, and if you met a Master, being " out of bounds," you were supposed to "shirk" him. After a short time the Head Master, Dr. Balston, sent for me, and said that, since he had recognized the Beagles, boys late for Absence gave as an excuse that they had been out with them and had been unable to get back in time : he could not allow this, and asked me what was to be done. I M-ent the next da}^, and told him that I had 120 subscribers, that I could not call Absence in the field, and could not possibly know who was out and who was not. My suggestion, therefore, was that, if the Master and Whips were home in time for Absence, he should not take being * The two packs were continued till '66, when they were amalgamated. 142 SCHOOL ATHLETICS out with the Beagles an excuse from anyone else. To this he agreed, and there was no further difficulty ' We had no coverts to draw, but hunted hares we found lying out in the fields, and bought foxes, which we turned out. I found a bill a short time ago for two foxes, one costing two guineas and the other two pounds. We also occasionally turned out a badger, and sometimes ran a drag. I had a considerable surplus at the end of the season, some of which was spent on a breakfast for the subscribers to the hunt, and the remainder, according to my notes, on "wine for the Boats." This was, 1 imagine, for the 4th of June.'* The House never greatly distinguished itself in the School Athletic Sports, except on one occasion. The finest runner that it produced was J. H. Ridley, who .was also a distinguished oar. He was in the Eton and Cambridge Eights, and won many races for his University. At Eton he won the School mile, the Quarter mile, and the Walking race, besides Throw- ing the Hammer. In '^y, when he won these two last events, the House took four out of five prizes offered in the Sports, Maures Horner winning Putting the Weight and the High Jump, and Julian Sturgis the Long Jump. * Lord Knaresborough's various successes as an athlete will be found recorded at p. 168. CHAPTER X THE REVIVAL OF CRICKET AT ETON — THE HOUSE CRICKET CUP, 1860-71 It is an old saying that men are divided into three classes : those who think for themselves, those who think as others think, and those who never think at all. So, too, there can be no doubt that at Eton there are bo37S, and always were boys, who play the game, who play because others play, and who never play at all. That Evans' possessed boys of all these categories goes without saying. There was nothing in its system to ensure to it a house full of boys of the first category, any more than there was that in its spirit which would lead a boy to think that all he had to do was to travel with the mediocre folk for all to be well. But there was something very definite in its traditions, and fully operative at its best period — namely, a feeling that to do nothing at all was a crime, that to loaf was a disgrace, that to idle away the day was to play no game in life whatever, to bring no credit on the House, to walk the world as a poor creature. Thus for the idle and the loafers there was coercion. There was nothing of a bullying spirit in this ; it was more the existence of an uncompromising public opinion that made itself felt rather than expressed itself in words or actions. And it was efficacious. To teach boys to play games for which they were not 143 144 THE CHARACTER OF THE HOUSE fitted, and for which they had no taste, it did not pre- tend : there are plenty of boys who seem as naturally disqualified for cricket as they would be for horse- racing. Success in life does not depend upon such things ; but it does very largely depend upon the culti- vation of a manly spirit, and this is what the traditions of the House tended to foster. For those who were physically unable to join with their fellows the feeling was one of regret, and it went no further ; to the rest it said, * No matter if you can play or not ; no matter if you never touch the ball the whole of the time you are in South Meadow, or get bowled out as soon as you reach the wicket ; join in with the rest of us and be a good comrade, and don't fall out before you need, or because the march is not to your liking. Play the game and play the man, and you'll do! That such influences as these were always con- spicuous is not to be supposed. There were periods in the House's history when they lay dormant, and others when they were in full vigour; but the whole character of the House, inside and out, ebbed and flowed exactly in accordance with the degree in which this healthy public opinion w^as prevalent, and that it depended upon the leaders at the time goes without saying. Just as born leaders of men have the faculty of bringing out the very best in their subordinates, so do leaders among boys set the standard unconsciously for their fellows. The House was about to come once more under the influence of such leadership. A new spirit had already made itself felt among the wet- bobs ; the dry-bobs were to be subjected to similar influences, and it is to cricket, therefore, that we must now turn. The view taken of cricket by the great majority of the School in the later 'fifties is summed up in a single sentence by A. V. Lyttelton :* 'The dry-bobs were * Now the Rev. the Hon. A. V. L. THE REVIVAL OF CRICKET AT ETON 14S chaffed, and were in some low water before i860.' The constant defeat of the School by Harrow, and often by Winchester as well, had brought about a general slackening of interest in the game. In the twelve years, '48- 59, Eton had only beaten Harrow once (in 1850), and on six occasions had also lost to Winchester. The popularity of the game is said always to have varied according to the successes of the Eleven, and the number of dry-bobs had conse- quently fallen to a mere fraction of the School. It is computed that out of a total of 800 boys, not more than some 200 really played cricket. But, in truth, the accommodation for dry-bobs was limited ; there were but three real clubs, Upper Club, Lower Club, and Sixpenny, with Lower College and Aquatics. There was no professional training, and there were few regular games. The wet-bobs joined in when they liked, and it was no unusual thing for a boy in the Eight to be also in the Eleven. These wet-bobs played in a free, rollicking style, whether in Aquatics or the sacred precincts of Upper Club, and now and then even beat Lower Club in their annual match. The Captain of the Boats, whether a cricketer or not, played, by right of place, in the annual cricket match between Collegers and Oppidans, and only a minority took cricket at all seriously. But some did so, and, with the help of former players, set about remedying a state of things not at all in accordance with the spirit of the place. A professional bowser was permanently engaged for Upper Club ; G. R. Dupuis, who had played in the Eleven in '51, and who had now returned as a Master, devoted himself to coaching in cricket in the same way that Edmond Warre coached in rowing ; and two of the boys especially, C. G. Lyttelton and R. A. H. Mitchell, threw themselves heart and soul into the game. It is to these two last that Eton is largely in- debted for the revival of cricket at this date. Their 10 146 THE REVIVAL OF CRICKET AT ETON names occupy too high a place in the annals of the game to need a reference here ; ' they were two as fine bats as Eton has ever produced/* and it is a happy circumstance that one of them was at the time a member of Evans'. To deal further with the history of Eton cricket would be to go far beyond our present subject. Every match, every innings, is known, almost every ball has been recorded, and a small library of books is available for those who wish to look up old scores, or to trace the achievements of this or that bat or bowler. The revival of cricket at Eton marks also the dawn of the present popularity of our greatest national game — a popularity which seems to know no limits, unless a certain element of professionalism and the growth of professional football, may be judged to threaten it. Athletics occupy a larger place in the national life than they ever did before, and cricket especially is taken very seriously. Some of us may regret that whole lives should apparently be devoted to the playing of a game, however grand ; but so far as our Schools are concerned, prominent though the place be that is given to the playing of games, there is nothing to show that to be a successful athlete is to be an inferior scholar. The history of Eton dis- proves this in innumerable instances ; the history of the House, a mere fraction of the whole, goes to show that scholarship and athleticism often there went hand in hand. Games, properly organized, are the safety- valves of our schools, as our manly sports are of younger England ; and to turn to the small doings of Evans' in the cricket-field is to realize that the leaders in the game were often enough the leaders in school, and that the prosecution of cricket had a very healthy influence upon the House. * Memories of Eton and FJonians; Alfred Lubbock. THE CRICKET CUP 147 The revival of interest in cricket at Eton is marked by the institution of regular contests between the houses for the Cricket Cup presented in i860 by a well-known Assistant Master, William Johnson. Evans' possessed many good cricketers that year. Besides the Captain of the Eleven, C. G. Lyttelton, D. Pocklington also played for the School, and is said to have saved the match against Harrow this same year by his play at a critical moment. Ten houses entered for the House Cup on its institu- tion, and after beating Gulliver's, Marriott's, and De Rosen's, Evans' were declared the winners. In the match against Marriott's the two great cricketers of the School, C. G. Lyttelton and R. A. H. Mitchell, were the captains of the opposing elevens, and the contest was a very close one. Under the rules for the House Cup professional umpires were necessary, and Joby and an equally well - known character, Picky Powell, were therefore engaged for the occa- sion.* Party feeling, as usual, ran very high, and the decisions of the umpires are said not to have been altogether free from suspicion. Lord Cobham writes : ' Both Mitchell and I were supposed to have been " chisselled " out by the umpires, and both of them were ** ducked " accordingly. Old Joby was one of them. Picky Powell probably the other. The ducking- did not come to much.' The scores certainly look as if the umpires had taken an active part in the match, for both Lyttelton and Mitchell were given out 1. b. w. in their second innings. In spite of such untoward proceedings, however, ■* Some amusing notes of these worthies, as well as a portrait of Picky Powell, will be found in Etojt in the Forties ; A. D. Cole- ridge. ID — 2 148 EVANS' V. MARRIOTT'S, i860 Evans' succeeded in winning by six runs, and here is the score : W. EVANS'. First Innings. C. G. Lyttelton, b Mitchell i6 N. G. Lyttelton, c Hulton, b A. Teape 14 D. Pocklington, b Mitchell 31 A. V. Lyttelton, b H. Teape 4 J. R. Selwyn, b A. Teape 2 S. G. Lyttelton, c Lee, b Mitchell... o J. F. F. Horner, b Mitchell o S. J. Fremantle, not out 18 A. W. Grant, b Mitchell o H. M. Thompson, b Mitchell ... o A. P. Burnell, b Mitchell 3 W 5, Lb. I 6 94 Second Innings. Lb. w., b Mitchell ... 10 1. b. w., b A. Teape ... 8 run out 23 not out 41 b Mitchell i b Mitchell i b A. Teape 5 run out 2 b Mitchell i (H. Ward) b Mitchell 2 b Mitchell o W 2, b 2, 1. b. I ... 5 99 MARRIOTT'S. First Innings. R. A. H. Mitchell, b Pocklington... 96 A. Whittuck, b C. G. Lyttelton ... o R. Peel, b C. G. Lyttelton o R. P. Wethered, run out 2 A. S. Teape, b Pocklington i H. B. McCall, b C. G. Lyttelton ... i J. Trelawny, b C. G. Lyttelton ... 2 Y. Lee, b Pocklington o C. A. Teape, b Pocklington i W. Hulton, run out 10 W. R. Griffiths, not out 10 L. b. 2, b 4, w 5 II 134 Second Innings. 1. b. w., b Pocklington c N. Lyttelton, b Pock- lington c Fremantle, b Pock- lington b Pocklington c N. G. Lyttelton, b C. G. Lyttelton ... b Pocklington b C. G. Lyttelton not out b C. G. Lyttelton c N. G. Lyttelton, b C. G. Lyttelton ... b Pocklington B I, w I, l.b. 5 ... 2; 3 I o 10 3 o o o o 7 Only the bare scores of the matches are given at this date in the Cricket Book, and there are therefore no details of the final match between the House and De Rosen's. The game was a poor one, and in the middle of the second innings De Rosen's retired, leaving Evans' the winners of the Cup. EVANS' WIN THE CUP 149 FINAL TIE, i860. W. EVANS'. C. G. Lyttelton, run out D. Pocklington, b Ba?ge N. G. Lyttelton, b Bagge A. V. Lyttelton, b Bagge S. G. Lyttelton, run out J. R. Selwyn, b Bagge J. F. F. Horner, c Bagge, b Norman S. J. Fremantle, b Bagge A. W. Grant, stumped Bagge, b Norman H. Ward, b Bagge H. M. Thompson, not out W9, h 3 22 o 43 2 15 5 6 20 24 10 DE ROSEN'S. F't'rsi Innings. P. Norman, b Pocklington 9 P. Bagge, c Pocklington, b C. G. Lyttelton 4 H. Garnett, b C. G. Lyttelton ... 7 P. Montague, run out 5 H.Tollemache, c Pocklington, b C. G. Lyttelton o A. Bury, b Pocklington 5 N. Rolfe, b C. G. Lyttelton o E. W. Chapman, b C. G. Lyttelton o Clarke, b C G. Lyttelton o D. Frazer, not out o E. Garnett, b Pocklington o W6, b4. Lb. I II 21 i6i Second Innittgs. c A. V. Lyttelton, b Pocklington b C. G. Lyttelton not out b Pocklington not out 4 10 I W 3, b I, l.b. I 41 30 In '61 Evans' were beaten in the first Ties by Joynes' by 18 runs, Joynes' scoring 75 and 52, and Evans' 59 and 50. N. G. Lyttelton was apparently unable to pla}^ The Cup was secured that year by Marriott's, R. A. H. Mitchell being still at Eton and Captain of the Eleven, and C. G. Lyttelton having left. The House did not succeed in winning the Cup again until '64. In the first Ties in '62 the House defeated Birch's by an innings and 69 runs. This is the only match chronicled, the Book containing merely this laconic note : * The rest of the scores have been lost, but Joynes' won the Cup, beating Gulliver's by 50 runs: the fate of Evans' eleven is therefore wrapped 150 EVANS' V. WAYTE'S IN '64 in obscurity.' The busy summer half was beginning to tell its tale. After recording in '63 that the House beat Joynes' by an innings and 58 runs, and Wayte's by an innings and 83 runs, Spencer Lj^ttelton making 60 in the latter match, the Cricket Book was not kept for twenty years. C. A. Grenfell, a member of the Eleven in '8^, then manfully took the Book in hand again, as already related, and wrote up the matches from '78 from such sources as were open to him. Fortu- nately for us, The Eton College Chronicle* published its first number on May 14, 1863, and we are therefore able to turn to its invaluable pages for at least some of the information the House Book so entirely fails to give. The House went very near winning the Cup in '6^, being defeated in the Final by Gulliver's by only 15 runs. Of this match Sir Neville Lyttelton writes: 'We lost the match somewhat unluckily, having already beaten the holders, Joynes', who had the two best bats in the School, Alfred Lubbock and Tritton, in one innings. In '64 we won the Cup again, 1 getting 99 in the last innings I played at Eton.' The match referred to was against Wa3^te's, and was unfinished, the Chronicle recording that ' Wayte's, thinking the match hopeless, gave up ; and Evans' remained holders of the Cup.' WAYTE'S. Des Voeux, c Thompson, b Lyttelton AUcard, c K.-Slaney, b Drummond Ponsonby ma., b Drummond Gibbs, St N. Lyttelton, b Drummond Jackson, c Owen, b H. Thompson Ponsonby ;«/., c Parry, b Thompson Ferguson, c Owen, b H. Thompson Twining, b Drummond Furlong, b Drummond Courthope, 1. 1). w., b Hamilton ... Campbell, not out Byes, etc o 3 13 o 7 o o 3 43 * Throughout this volume The Eton College Chronicle is referred to as the Chronicle., the name by which it is always locally known. • EVANS' V. VIDAL'S IN '65 151 EVANS . N. G. Lyttelton, b Ferguson 99 Hamilton, c Ponsonby, 7 S. G. Lyttelton, c Ponsonby ma,, b Ponsonby mi. 20 H. Thompson, not out 39 Drummond, b Ferguson 2 Ady ma., c & b Ferguson 4 Kenyon-Slaney, not out i Parry \ R.Thompson Lid not go in Owen ^ A. Thompson J Byes, etc 8 180 From this date onwards, and for many years, we are dependent on the Chronicle for all data to do with House Cricket matches, and while the periodical does not often fail us, occasions occur when the scores are not given. Every effort has been made to fill the blanks, by obtaining particulars of the more im- portant matches from those who played in them, but there is now no chance of recovering the scores themselves. Very high scoring marked a match in '65, when Evans' beat Vidal's by an innings and 86 runs. Vidal's put together 51 and 136 in their two innings, Evans' making 273. Of this heavy total, Spencer Lyttelton, who was Captain of the School Eleven that year, having been also a member of it in 'G'l and '64, made no less than 127. Centuries then were not so common as they have since become, and this score remains among the highest ever made in a House match. He writes of it himself: ' It was my first century in cricket, but it was made against bad bowling. My best performance was in '63, when we beat Joynes', and I bowled out the great Alfred Lubbock and E. W. Tritton twice for very small scores. F. " Bones " Drummond was an ex- cellent bowler in those days, though never in the Eton Eleven 152 CRICKET, '66 TO '72 Of the cricket of this period, Robert H. Lyttelton, now a recognized authority on the game, writes : ' When I went to Eton in '66 the House was not famous for cricket. So far as I can remember, Maures Horner was the only member who played in Upper Club. He got his colours for the Eleven in '6y, and though he was not famous as a batsman, he was a good bowler and an excellent field. We had nobody in the Eleven in '68 and '69 ; but in '70 my brother Arthur got in, mainly on account of his fielding. In '71 1 was the sole representative ; but in '72 the tide turned, and my two younger brothers and myself all secured places. We were, I believe, the largest House in Eton, but in the seven summer halves that I was at the School, not once did we win the Cup. In '72, by common consent, we had the best eleven, but by one of those curious freaks of fortune we did not win, being, moreover, beaten by a house that had nobody in the Eleven. Warre's were our great rivals both at cricket and football, and while I was at Eton they were far superior to my Dame's at cricket. Other pens must take up the tale after I left ; the good days at cricket began when I had gone.' The pages of the Chronicle certainly confirm the above remarks as to the place of the House in cricket. In '66 it was beaten by Gulliver's in the second Ties, the highest score in either innings being a modest 23 by Hubert Parry,* and the next three years were equally uneventful. In '6"/ the House met defeat in the first Ties, and again at the hands of Gulliver's. There are no records of their having even entered for the Cup in '68 ; and in '69 they were defeated once more in the first Ties. The match on this last occasion was against De Rosen's, and was an exciting one, Evans' * It is a fact well known to his contemporaries that, by rights Hubert Parry should h ive had his colours for the Eleven this year. He had been looked upon by some as the safest of the new choices he was a good bat and fair bowler, and in the match between the Eleven (for which he played) and the Twenty-two he took three wickets. CUP TIES, '70 TO '72 153 scores being 45 and 71, and De Rosen's 37 and 82. They thus lost by 3 runs only. For the following year, 1870, there is an entry in the Chronicle that one is tempted to suppress. The House succeeded in winning their first Ties, and in the second their opponents were joynes'. Evans' were practically de- feated in an innings, making 34 and 64 against Joynes' 91, the Chronicle adding : ' Mr. Evans' first innings was a curiosity. Four wickets fell for o, and 7 for 4 : but then Currey and Ruggles-Brise, by very plucky hitting, brought it up to 28, and saved their side from a single-figure innings.' The next year was no better than its predecessors. Nothing is recorded of the first Ties in '71, and in the second the House apparently succumbed to Vidal's. A very diflferent story has then to be told, for though the House, with three members in the Eleven, was again defeated in '72, as already related, that year marks the dawn of a famous period, and this must be given a place to itself. CHAPTER XI REMINISCENCES, 1 853-68 — LETTERS FROM EARL CADOGAN, SIR NEVILLE LYTTELTON, A. E. GATHORNE- HARDY, COLONEL W. S. KENYON-SLANEY, SPENCER LYTTELTON, SIR EDWARD HAMILTON, SIR HUBERT PARRY, LORD KNARESBOROUGH, COLONEL R. F. MEYSEY-THOMPSON, VISCOUNT ESHER, AND G. G. GREENWOOD — THE MUSICAL SOCIETY — STEPHEN J. FREMANTLE — EVELYN F. ALEXANDER Among those who belong to the later 'fifties and the early 'sixties, the period we are here entering, were many boys who were destined to win very high distinc- tions in after-life, as well as others who were to succeed to great famil}' names. Some, who overlap into this period, have been already mentioned ; among the rest were the following : G. H. Cadogan, now Earl Cadogan, K.G. ; N. G. Lyttelton, now General Sir Neville L3^ttelton, G.C.B., Chief of the General Staff; Reginald Dickinson, Principal Clerk of Committees, House of Commons ; G, W. Spencer Lyttelton, now a C.B. ; E. W. Hamilton, now Sir Edward Hamilton, G.C.B., G.C.V.O. ; Viscount Cole, now Earl of Enniskillen ; S. j. Fremantle;* J. R. Selvvyn, afterwards Bishop of Melanesia ;t W. S. Kenyon-Slaney, now a Privy Councillor ; Julian Sturgis, writer and novelist;! C. H. H. Parry, now Sir Hubert Parry, Bart., C.V.O. ; H. M. Meysey- * Died September 16, 1874. t Died February 12, i8q8. * PLditor of TAc E/on Collei^e Chronicle, 1867; died April 13, 1904. 154 LETTER FROM LORD CADOGAN 155 Thompson, now Lord Knaresborough ; the Earl ot Pembroke;* Earl Waldegrave ; Evelyn Alexander;! R. B. Brett, now Viscount Esher, K.C.B., G.C.V.O. ; A. T. Lyttelton, afterwards Bishop of Southampton ;t and G. G. Greenwood, now M.P. for Peterborough. Some of these are no longer with us, and if this is no place in which to refer to the public services of the remainder, their recollections of their Eton days and of the House will certainly be of interest to those who were there with them, and who have watched their careers with a feeling of delight, not always unmixed with a distinct sense of pride. The following are extracts from some of their letters. Lord Cadogan was known at Eton as a good foot- ball player, and was in the Field and Oppidan Wall elevens in '58 with Lord Cobham and A. S. B. Van de Weyer, the House being then as strong as it always was in the football field. * I wish I could help you,' he writes. ' I have thought anxiously over the happy days I spent at Evans', without being able to remember anything which could be of any real use to you. My residence at Eton, 1853-59, was, I think, uneventful. There were no conflagrations or Royal Progresses to disturb our daily routine. There were no House Cups in those days, and we had no colours for football to re- ward our efforts in " Collegers and Oppidans." There were only four fives-courts, and no racquet-courts. As to our school work. Mathematics had only just been made compulsory. French and Foreign languages were entirely voluntary, with the natural results. The Collegers almost monopolized the Newcastle and other intellectual contests, as I believe they do now. I fear 1 cannot recollect anything worth troubling you about in connexion with the House. "Old Evans" was a dear old man, but in declining health and powers at that time, when Miss Evans was beginning her be- * Died May 3, 18Q5. t Died February, 1887. X Died February 19, 1903. 156 LETTER FROM SIR N. LYTTELTON neficient and really remarkable career. I trust that her name will appear often, for Evans' owed almost all its success and good name to her.' No one connected with the House is better known than Sir Neville Lyttelton, and few, indeed, did more for both School and House than he did in his Eton days. ' I went to Evans' in '58, and remained till August, '64,' he writes. ' Evans had had a bad fall in the Highlands a year or two before '58, which rather in- capacitated him from looking after the House properly, and the matrons were not much help. It was not till Annie Evans superseded them that the great im- provement began. Evans was still nominally the master, but his health got worse, and late in '63 gave way altogether, and he went away to the Isle of Wight, where he must have been for two years or so. He resented the idea of a young Master being brought in to look after the House, and so Annie Evans was allowed to run it. * The Captains in my time were Gawne, Van de Weyer, C. F. Johnstone, C. G. Lyttelton, J. F. Horner,* S. J. Fremantle and myself, as near as I can remember ; but it was not till my time that the Captains took a real share in ruling the House, and that was mainly the idea of Annie Evans. ' It is due to Annie Evans' memory to record what she did for the House. The standard was im- measurably improved, a bath-room and baths were introduced, and boys were properly looked after. She had a wonderful and extraordinary instinct in finding out if there was anything wrong going on, but she was not of sufficiently stern stuff to deal with rough boys. Though she managed us wonderfull)^ she broke down under the strain, and died compara- tively young. She may, indeed, be said to have given her life for the boys. She went on some years after my time, and when I went down, as I often did, she always told me all about the House, and how things were going on. Jane, who succeeded her, was quite as capable and far less sensitive. * Was also Captain of the Oppidans. Now K.C.V.O. STEPHEN JAMES FREMANTLE 157 ' 1 don't think Evans used his Captains much till Fremantle's time. There was no better fellow in every way than he was, but he was not a great per- former at games, though very far, indeed, from bad, and though I say it, 1 think I was the real Captain in his time as well as my own. I was Captain of the House cricket eleven for four years and of the football eleven for two, which, of course, gave me a considerable status. There was no House cricket or football cup until '60; the matches up till then were of a desultory character, and there was no order of merit. We never won the Football Cup in my time, though often very near it. One match in particular, lost by bad um- piring, keeps me awake now when I think of it. ' The House was, I think, rather rough from a foot- ball point of view. There was a mistaken idea that small boys could be made into good players by being shinned by the bigger boys. I put a stop to this, and trained a lot of good players — your brother, Sturgis, Hamilton, Ady, A. C. Thompson, Ridley, and others.' It may be noted that the two first of these, Hubert Parry and Julian Sturgis, became Keepers of the Field, and that three of the others won their colours for the Field or Wall elevens. Nor can we pass on without a further reference to S. J. Fremantle, mentioned in this letter. He was one of those distinguished brothers who did so much for the House. He was Captain of the Oppidans, and won the Newcastle Scholarship in '61, an event which has since been only four times achieved by an Oppidan — that is, in a period of forty-three years — one of these being again a boy at Evans', W. Hobhouse, Newcastle Scholar in '80.* Numerous other honours fell to him both at Eton and Oxford, and in Memories of Eton ^ Alfred Lubbock writes : * Stevey, as I always call him, was the son of Lord Cottesloe, and a more gentlemanly, delightful boy * The names and dates are : S. J. Fremantle, 1863 ; Lord F. Hervey, '65 ; W. H. Forbes, '68 ; \V. Hobhouse, '80; and G. Morris, 1906. 158 LETTER FROM A. E. GATHORNE-HARDY never existed ; he was not only clever, gaining the blue ribbon of Eton scholarship, "the Newcastle," but was good at games. He was third in choices out of the Field eleven, well up in the Wall choices, and not far out of the Eleven, generally playing with " the next nine with others" out of the Eleven. He died in 1874 of typhoid fever, caught while on a reading-party visit to Cornwall.' A. E. Gathorne-Hardy,* one of Fremantle's contem- poraries, also writes of him : * I shared a room at one time with Stephen James Fremantle, and at another with Vincent Barrington Kennett.t Young as I was, I remember being struck by the extraordinary purity of character and mind of Fremantle, who was, I think, the very best boy of my acquaintance. Without a trace of the prig or the " goody-goody " boy of the story-books, he had an instinctive shrinking from anything coarse, which was the best of lessons and examples. He was not the least gifted member of the first Lord Cottesloe's brilliant group of sons, who all attained the highest distinctions at the School and the University. He was my contemporary at Balliol as well as at Eton, and his great popularity at school and college was a proof that both boys and men, even when themselves far from what they ought to be, appreciate and admire sterling character and instinctive purity. His memor}'^ is still green in the recollections of those who loved him.' Another well-known name, mentioned above, is that of Colonel W. S. Kenyon-Slaney. * My time,' he writes, * was from i860 to the end of '65, and my chief claim to fame was as a football-player, for I was lucky enough, though a small boy, to get into the House eleven my first football half, and so to stay to be its captain in '65, when, for the first time, we won * Youngest son of the late Earl Cranbrook, now Commissioner under the Railway and Canal Traffic Act. f Alierwards Sir \'. Kenntlt Harrington (see note, p. 130). LETTER FROM COL. KENYON-SLANEY 159 the Cup, beating Drury's by a rouge to nothing, which rouge I got myself off " Slack " Norman. * 1 recall William Evans as a big, kindly man, with whom, however, we small boys had not much personally to do. He lived in the Cottage, where he painted and also smoked a great deal ; but he came in always to dinner. The Captain and leading boys of the House saw more of him, and by his tact and frankness with them he created the S3^stem of responsible and honour- able government which gave its special tone and repu- tation to the House. He, however, soon fell into ill- health. His daughter, Annie, then became our acting Dame. She was always most kind and well inten- tioned in her dealings with the boys, but lacked the powerful character of her sister. Under " Miss Jane," who succeeded her, the House maintained to the full its position as the best House in Eton. Hers was a splendid character ; an unusual compound of the best of feminine and the best of masculine characteristics. A thorough judge of boy nature, she knew unerringly who to trust and how to trust, and she was seldom, if ever, deceived. She loved her boys with her whole heart, she gave them her entire confidence, she was unflinchingly loyal to them in their difficulties and their scrapes, so long as they were frank and honest with her, although she never hesitated in her approval of a flogging when a flogging was deserved ; and so she set up in the House an atmosphere of truth and honour which pervaded it throughout. 'You will probably have a note of the happy selection of scarlet for our colours when house colours were started. I remember having a part in the discus- sion, and as to whether on the cap should be a boar s head — the Evans crest — or the skull and crossbones which were adopted. 'Amongst the boys of my time who have become prominent in after-life may be named, N. G. Lyttelton, the late Arthur Lyttelton, Julian Sturgis, J. R. Selwyn, E. W. Hamilton, Hubert Parry, and the late Lord Pembroke.' The names of Spencer Lyttelton, E. W. Hamilton^ and Hubert Parry have been linked together in man}' ways ever since the close of their Eton days, now i6o THE MUSICAL SOCIETY more than forty years ago. As Eton boys they had the love of games in common, and if in these they one and all excelled, there was j^et another bond of union between them that has caused them to keep close touch since — the love of music. The last two both took their degrees as Bachelors of Music — Hubert Parry, as we all know, as an Eton boy ; and Spencer Lyttelton has long been known as an enthusiastic amateur and no mean critic. With such a taste in common it is not surprising that they were the principal movers in bringing forward the claims of their favourite Art, and of finally establishing the Eton Musical Society. ' The Musical Society,' writes Spencer Lyttelton, 'may be said to have originated in the House, it having been set on foot by E. W. Hamilton, Hubert Parry, and myself, with Gosselin* as the one outsider.' This statement needs further reference, as it would appear to apply more to the reconstruction of the original Society, Truth to tell, the so-called Society passed through many vicissitudes ere it was finally established on a sound basis and could be called a Musical Society at all. In the first instance — that is, in '6i — it was little more than a singing-class got up by the boys themselves, the principal movers being S. J. Fremantle, C. B. Lawes, L. Garnett, and V. S. S. Coles. The expenses were supposed to be met by the sub- scriptions of the members, but Mr. Marshall the sing- ing-master's fees very largely exceeded the amount collected and bankruptcy more than once appeared imminent. The boys also did not take the matter seriously : attendance was irregular, there were often disturbances, and finally the singing-master declined * Sir Martin Le M. Gosselin, K.C.M.G., a man of many delightful characteristics and great charm of manner. His pianoforte-playing, even as a boy, was a thing that many of us are never likely to forget. He died in February, 1905, to the grief of his many friends. THE MUSICAL SOCIETY i6i any longer to attend. Then, in '62, two Masters came forward to help the boys, William Johnson and C. C. James ; an organ was purchased by subscription and placed in one of the large rooms of the New Schools; and this room was at the same time secured for the Society's practices.* A new master was also engaged, and under him the Society began, in '62, to take form. This master was John Foster, one of the lay clerks at Westminster Abbey and the famous alto of his day,t and to him the ultimate success of the undertaking was largely due. It was at this date, apparently, that the three boys at Evans' set to work, and, as Spencer Lyttelton writes, ' the want of such a thing was great, and it was not difficult to organize.' Sir E. W. Hamilton became President in '6^, and in his and Sir Hubert Parry's letters, to be presently quoted, further reference to the early days of the Society will be found. The first Concert was given on December 9, '63, the Society then con- sisting of less than forty members, and while this is spoken of as a success, the following year again saw the Society in jeopardy. However, it once again weathered its difficulties, and the programme of the Concert in December '64 shows that the House was responsible for most of the performers ; Spencer Lyttelton and Hubert Parry, besides providing solos, sang a duet together, and E. W. Hamilton and Hubert Parry also played a piano duet. After that, the * This room was at one time used for Service. When the writer went to Eton in '66, the boys in Lower School attended Service at the Cemetery Chapel, as there was no room for them in the School Chapel. Later, the room above mentioned came into use for the daily Services, the Lower School and, possibly, part of Fourth Form attending there. Dr. Wane very often conducted these Services, and the writer recalls that he was frequently allowed to choose the hymns. t Mr. John Foster still survives, and speaks of the invitation to take ch irge of the Society as having come to him from the Captain of the School or of the Oppidans. Mr. Foster was for some years conductor of the Choral Class at the Royal College of Music, and was also organist at St. Andrew's, Wells Street, W. II i62 MUSIC AT ETON IN THE 'SIXTIES Society became firmly established, and its difficulties were over. The standard at that date was not, of course, very high, and as showing the poverty of affairs, the following ma}^ perhaps be referred to : Noticing a Concert given in December '66, the Chronicle contains this : ' Mr. Parry mi. was received with loud applause as introducing a new feature at these concerts. He played very well, and being encored, played Gounod's Meditation.' The 'new feature ' was a violin and piano duet, played by the writer and his brother, Hubert, who also contributed two songs and a pianoforte solo. There were, in those days, but two fiddles in Eton, and there can be no doubt that the performance was beneath contempt. But it was a new development, and perhaps marked the dawn of the more advanced cultivation of the Art in the School. That the occasion here recorded was not looked upon by the performers as a momentous one is shown by the fact that the writer recalls being one day accosted by his big brother with, ' Here, what are you going to play at this Concert ?' The answer was, probably, ' 1 don't know.' Something was, how- ever, chosen and an encore provided for; but, with the usual inconsequence of boyhood, there was no rehearsal.* Spencer Lyttelton goes on to speak of the two sisters and their father : ' In Annie Evans' time she always said she was helped by the knowledge that her mther was ready in the background to come forward in any crisis, and she regarded him as the oracle to settle all House * As showing the position of Music in the School at the present day, it may be mentioned that the Musical Society now ('07) averages about I 30 members ; that there is a small Orchestral Society composed of boys and Masters; and that besides these the Volunteers have a brass hand. The Musical .Society gives two concerts yearly, and the Volunteer Band another. The musical instruments played by the hoys include jiiano, organ, violin, violoncello, flute, and cornet, besidei) (he various insliumcnts (jf the brass band. LETTER FROM SPENCER LYTTELTON 163 problems. He lived a peculiar existence in the Cottage, and gradually became almost a myth to the House. Still, the fact of his being there did help Annie. Annie was always painfully over-anxious and somewhat devoid of her sister's robust conmon sense and keenness of humour. She nevertheless had a curious insight into boys' characters, which was rarel^^ at fault, and occasionally led to unexpected results. She died prematurely, worn out, a pathetic victim to over-anxiety for the good of the House. ' The House Library was the only thing of the kind then in existence, and was an immense boon. The choice of books was by no means bad. I remember specially, Scott's Bible Commentary — greatly in request for Sunday Questions; Wordsworth's Greek Testament; the many volumes of Percy's Anecdotes; the Aldine Poets ; and the complete editions of Scott and Dickens, to say nothing of Fiennes- Clinton's Fasti Hellenici. The Library was used by the entire House, being utilized also for games, such as chess, knuckle-bones, etc' At Eton Sir Edward Hamilton, now Permanent Financial Secretary to the Treasury, was well known as a good all-round athlete, and as one keenly in- terested in most things. He was in the Field as well as in both Wall elevens, and the following notes from him speak for themselves : ' I can well remember W^illiam Evans when I went to Eton in i860: he was a burly, kind-hearted man. Annie Evans became nominal mistress, but some time before she died, Jane assumed the control, practically. When I was head of the House (I was only nominal head, as there was a boy really above me), 1 certainly looked more to Jane Evans than to her sister.* ' The two boys who have most distinguished them- selves in after-life, and who were at the House with me, are Neville Lyttelton, now Chief of the General Staff, and Hubert [Parry], who was the first boy who ever took his musical degree when still at school. * At this time (65) Annie Evans was in bad health, and her sister came Irom the huuse ' over the way ' to help her. II — 2 i64 LETTER FROM SIR E. HAMILTON ' When I was at Eton there was considerable jealousy of Evans', and I well remember the great delight of the School at our failing to win the Football Cup in '63 and '64. We did win it in '65. Hubert and I were both in the eleven, and our Captain was Kenyon- Slaney, afterwards in the Guards, and now a well- known M.P. who has attained the dignity of a Privy Councillorship, and with whom, in company with Drummond Moray, I messed for some time. The boy with whom 1 was on the most intimate terms at my Dame's was PVancis Drummond. We did everything together for some years. He went into a cavalry regiment afterwards. 'The supervision of my Dame's could not have been very strict in m^^ day, as we used to be able to get out easily at night by dint of a key. 1 remember taking a long moonlight walk once. ' In my day the Musical Society was first started. The inauguration took place in '62, when two boys, by name Walpole and Amcot!:s, played. I became President of the Society in '63, and it flourished much at that time. Besides Hubert, we had Gosselin, who died last year, our Minister at Lisbon, and Primrose, a brother of Rosebery, and W. Compton, the present Lord Northampton, to sing. We started an annual Concert : the first was held in the Mathematical School, and was, I believe, the first Concert ever held at Eton. ' Perhaps the most notable events that took place during my time were (i) the introduction of Colours, and (2) the introduction of great-coats. When I first went, the only Colours were those of the Eleven and the Eight. The Football Eleven afterwards took to them, as did nearly all the Houses. We chose scarlet at my Dame's, with skull and crossbones. * As regards the great-coats, I well remember a very cold Sunday in 1865, when the Thames was frozen over. A few of us big boys determined to walk into Chapel with great-coats ; nothing was said, and from that day forth great -coats were universally worn. ' Among the boys at my Dame's who subsequently more or less distinguished themselves, I ought perhaps to have mentioned Julian Sturgis, who went to Eton LETTER FROM SIR E. HAMILTON 165 with me, and became well known as a novel-writer. He died suddenly in 1904. 'One thing at the House ought to be mentioned, as it distinguished it from the other Houses : it was the first House, and the only one in my day, that had a library, and this was certainly greatly appreciated. If 1 recollect rightly, the books most in demand were those by Harrison Ainsworth, of whom probably no schoolboy nowadays has heard. Dickens' and Thackeray's works were also much in request, and also Lytton's. ' I must have got, early in life, into Evans' good books, because, after the first few months, he put me into the Cottage, where 1 think I remained until I assumed the responsibility of Captain of the House in '65. I was privileged in another respect. I used to breakfast with my Dame, partly because I was then living in the Cottage. When I first went, John Selwyn was one of the big boys of the House. He dis- tinguished himself in the Boats and at football, and afterwards became Bishop of Melanesia. He ended his days a few years ago at Selwyn College, Cam- bridge. I also remember, as the first Captain of the House, Jack Horner, now one of the Commissioners of Woods ; and I was at my Dame's with five Lyttel- tons, beginning with Albert.' The last of this trio, Hubert Parry, was at the House from '61 to '66, and was one of those who kept an Eton diary. This he has looked through, and tells of its containing ' nothing but records of the prowess of individuals in various matches and daily games of Fives, with debates in " Pop," and accounts of wildly foolish boyish escapades.' * My absolutely first recollection,' he continues, * was going by myself to my Tutor's* to hear the result of the first examination ; and having been to call with whoever took me to Eton, and having then approached that alarming functionary by the front door, I also, poor little lonely brat, thought that was the way in, * Russell Day. i66 LETTER FROM SIR HUBERT PARRY and rang the bell, and was treated with contumely by the servant, and told promptly that I was in Lower School. This was probably the only way the servant took his change out of me, as I got at least into Fourth Form. * My next recollection is fagging. Kinglake and Selw}^ were both in the Eight, and messed together, and 1 had the luck to be Kinglake's fag. They were a splendid couple, and I just loved old Kinglake. He seemed to me the impersonation of everything that was heroic — a sort of bluff, kindly old god. It was owing to boys of that sort, and the Lytteltons and Sturgises, and Fremantle and old Jack Horner, and Eddie [Hamilton] and some of the Thompsons, that there was such a clear, wholesome tone in the House all the time I can remember. There were two or three bad ones, but they did not seem to infect the rest a bit. The boys just thought them a bad lot, and, without actually cutting them, had as little to do with them in the matter of friendship as was possible. * 1 remember " Beeves," as we used to call William Evans, very well, and he was especially kind to me on account of his having known our father for many years, being somewhat of a personalit}^ in the artistic world. He used to have a big, comfortable room looking out into the garden, Vv^here he used to lounge in a sort of Olympic grandeur. I used to visit him there occasion- ally, and 1 think he must have been of a very kindly disposition. I was too small and too much impressed by the immense world of Eton to get into the sort of mischief that would bring me into collision with him. ' I can't remember what was the origin of the Musical Society. There were a lot of boys who liked music heartily, and Masters like Cornish and Browning and Snow encouraged them. My diary shows that there was a lot of it going on, and boys used to come and sit in my room for me to play to them, and really preferred Bach and Handel and Mendelssohn and such. The Musical Society was a singularly casual sort of affair at first. They were allowed to meet in some room or other under the supervision of a master, but it consisted in little more than spending an evening in an irregular manner. Some boys played the pianoforte and sang, and we LETTER FROM SIR HUBERT PARRY 167 had a tr}' at a simple part-song or two. Then, by some one's advice, "Johnnie" Foster, as we used to call him, was appointed to get things into some sort of order, but the order didn't amount to much. I find an entry on February 16, '64: " Foster came down in the afternoon, and pby^ed on the organ in the New Schools. I blew for him, and he afterwards blew for me. In the evening — the Musical Society's meeting — only Lyttelton, Riddell, Master, and myself, came at G, and Foster didn't come till 7. So we set up a grand steeplechase, and put up chairs and tables and forms in the Music-room to jump over. We afterwards sang Handel's * M}^ heart is inditing.'" ' However, by degrees, the Society got plenty of members, and we worked away at part-songs and Madrigals and Handel Choruses and Mendelssohn's psalms, and gave Concerts, which we looked upon as great larks, and in which most of the items were encored.* But boys were always inclined to be up to larks at the practices, and the whole affair was near being shut up b}^ the '* Head " several times. As time went on they took things more seriously, and our Concerts were quite decent, and nearly always made up of quite good things. Gosselin was our great pianist, and was always encored furiously. I and Eddie Hamilton used to plays duets, and Spencer sang, and at my last Concert you played the fiddle, and were vociferously encored. ' We must have been a bit difficult to handle at my Dame's sometimes, and there was a good deal of harmless mischief. We used to rebel considerably about the food and the quality of the beer. One boy who used to sit at the end of the long table, and who shall be nameless, used to shoot the contents of his glass along under the table, some of it between the legs of the boys on either side, and a tidy drop on them. But I don't think the food was at all bad really. My chief recollection of the supper was the row of plates down the middle of the table, containing slices * Among the things performed later on in this way was Hubert Parry's Exercise for his Degree, O Lord, Thou hast cast us out The writer also recalls playing at the first violin desk with Sir George Elvey, when a large part of the Messiah was given in the Mathematical School. i68 THE MEYSEY-THOMPSONS of beetroot and celery swimming in vinegar, wliich gave me a distaste for that species of viands for a Jong while after. The breakfasts of Eton rolls and butter, eked out with anchovy paste and marmalade and various strange edibles, and eggs, when we could afford them, were gorgeous. And the smell of frizzling sausages, which came up from the boys' kitchen, is a memory that still delights me. We were rather great at eggs. I find one entry : " Eddie and I had tea together, and ate 8 eggs." One boy at Joynes' backed himself to eat twenty at a sitting. The nine- teenth was bad, so he lost the match ! 'The Masters used to give musical parties, and I have plenty of records of them — Browning, the Provost, Balston, etc. They don't concern my Dame's much, except that I find my Dame gave us good suppers when we came back late. Pretty nearly the only amusing things in my diary are the accounts of snowballing fights, skating on ice that let us in, house- matches, several exhilarating water-parties, 4th of Junes, and such ; and they don't any of them concern the House.' Of all the families connected with the House, few were so strongly represented there during a number of years as the Meysey-Thompsons. Between 1864, when H. M. Meysey-Thompson, the present Lord Knaresborough, left, and 1904, nine of the family found their Eton home there, and if the sons of sisters are included, the number reaches twelve.* Of the older generation, nearly all excelled as athletes, and several of the family became Captain of the House. Lord Knaresborough played for the School against Harrow, and until disabled by an accident at football, he also played in the Field and Wall elevens. He was Master * The names are as follows : Lord Knaresborough ; Colonel R. F. Meysey-Thompson, of the Rifle Brigade ; A. C. M.-T,, afterwards Q.C., d. '94; C. .VI. M -T., afterwards Rev., d. 83; A. H. M.-T.; E. C. M.-T., now M.P. for Handsworth. Then come Claude M.-T., eldest son of Lord Knaresborough, now Rifle Brigade ; Algar M.-T., son of Colonel R. F. M.-T.; H. M.-T., son of C. M. M -T., now Rifle Brigade ; and Lord St. Cyres, and Algernon and Ralph Bond, the sons of sisters (see p. 377). LETTER FROM LORD KNARESBOROUGH 169 of the Beagles in '64, won the Steeplechase and the Hurdle race, was second for the Mile, and was in Pop. Colonel R. F. Meysey-Thompson won the 200 yards race and the Fencing, made the highest score at Wimbledon, and therefore shot for the Spencer Cup ; was Whip to the Beagles, and in Pop. Both these also won the House Sweepstakes. A portion of a letter from Lord Knaresborough has been already quoted ; but he also makes the following interesting reference to the discipline maintained in the House at the time of William Evans' illness : ' It may possibly interest some of those who were at Evans' in '63 and '64 to hear what Dr. Balston said when 1 went to take leave of him. As far as I recol- lect them, his words were : " I wish, as Head Master, to thank you for the way Mr. Evans' House has been carried on by Lyttelton as Captain and you as Second Captain under circumstances of considerable diffi- culty." The difficulty was, of course, the breakdown of William Evans' health, and his disinclination, after many years of successful rule, to admit any outside interference. I have no doubt Dr. Balston said much more to Lyttelton (now Sir Neville), whose respon- sibility was so mucn greater than mine. * As a matter of fact, the tone of the House was so good, and our authority so unquestioned, that every- thing worked smoothly. 1 imagine, however, that seldom in the history of Eton has a house of some fifty-two boys been left so entirely, in the matter of discipline and order, in the hands of the boys them- selves. Colonel R. F. Meysey-Thompson also writes : * 1 was not allowed to get into the Eight, which Tinne tried hard to carry, because my father would not allow me to go into the Boats. Ridley was put in in my place. Tinne started the race for our Sweep- stakes, when I won it after starting in the fourth row. As we took the first strokes he yelled out, " I'll back Thompson." He ran with us during the race (Ridley was in the first row), and kept shouting at me all the 170 COLONEL R. F. MEYSEY-THOMPSON time. We gradually worked our way through the crush, caught Ridley about Brocas Clump on the way down, and eventually won easily, Tinne shouting, as we came back to the raft, " And that's the boy you've kicked out of the Eight !" My bow, Trower, had only just passed, and knew nothing about rowing till I took him in hand. * My brother Albert, afterwards the well-known Q.C., won the fencing and single-stick in '66. He became a famous football-player, and played twice for England. Another brother, Charles, afterwards won the Varsity Hammer-throwing. * My brother A. C. was Captain of the House, also my son, and my nephew, Lord St. Cyres.; ' I won W. Johnson's Prize for Poetry in '64, open to the whole School. I merely went in for it to escape an II o'clock school. A great many entered, I imagine, for the same reason, for there were about 120 of us in Upper School. We were given a subject (I forget what it was), and had to finish by 12, and mine was judged the best.' Other successes of the same writer will be found recorded in his book, The Course, the Camp, the Chase ; but one event in his life will never be forgotten, and this is his gallantry in endeavouring to save life at the Newby Ferry accident on February 4, '69, when Sir Charles Slingsby, Master of the York and Ainsty. his huntsman, Orvis, and four others were drowned. For his actions on that day R. F. Meysey-Thompson received the Royal Humane Society's medal. Lord Esher's name and his great public services are too well and widely known to call for any special reference here. He was at the House for five years ('65-'7o), and kept touch with it for many more. ' I was in pretty close touch with my Dame's,* he writes, 'from '64 to '74, a period which includes a number of boys who are not inconspicuous now, and some others who might have been equally conspicuous if they had lived. ' First conies your own brother, Hubert, whom I LETTER EROM LORD ESHER 171 remember as a very heroic personage when I first went to Eton. He has remained a hero to multitudes ever since. His courage and animal spirits were splendid at football, and we looked upon him as a marvel for having taken his "musical degree "while still an Eton boy. ' Neville Lyttelton, the present Chief of the General Staff, had only just left ; but the House still held Sir Edward Hamilton, the present Secretary to the Treasury. Among the younger boys were the late Arthur Lyttelton, afterwards Bishop of Southampton ; Edward Lyttelton, the present Head Master of Eton ; Alfred Lyttelton, late Secretary of State for the Colonies ; Herbert Gladstone, the present Home Secretary ; Lord Windsor, late First Commissioner of Works ; and for a short time Herbert Ryle (a most charming little boy), now Bishop of Winchester. 'There were also the two Sturgis's, Julian and Howard, both distinguished in literature. Apart from others whom T may have forgotten, that decade at my Dame's produced a fairl}^ distinguished lot of boys. Some of very attractive personality, among them Eustace Vesey,* Charlie Tytler,t and Ernest Bickersteth,+ passed too early from the scene, leaving only very gentle memories behind them, and closely followed by one who stood nearer to me than any of them.§ There are others I could mention, such as F. A. Currey, Captain of the Boats, || John Oswald,1[ George Greenwood,** who was in the Field, who were mainstays of the House at different periods, and who, in later life, have not betrayed the promise of their boyhood. ' What struck me most about my Dame's in those days, and has struck me ever since during all the suc- ceeding years whenever I have been brought into contact with the House, is its curious individuality. * Son of 3rd Viscount de Vesci, Captain and Adjutant 9th Lancers, d. November 18, '86. t Died September 24, '■]']. X Son of the Bishop of Ripon, d. July 30, '72. ^ Lord EsheHs brother, Eugene L. S. Brett, of the Scots Guards, d. December 8, '82. II In 1870; now a solicitor. \ Winner of the Double Racquets, with Alfred Lyttelton, in '75. ** M.P. for Peterborough. 172 LETTER FROM LORD ESHER To put what I mean in a sentence, my Dame's appeared to me then as distinct from other Eton Houses as Scotland is from the other countries of the earth. We were very clannish, very successful, and inordinately proud of ourselves. This was largely attributable to what was then a unique possession — our House library. Since that time a House library has become the common attribute of all Eton Houses ; but in those days we stood alone, and the House library was the microcosm of my Dame's. In that comfortable room on the ground floor, lined throughout with excellent books, boys of all ages, from " Swells " to Lower-boys, could congregate round the huge fire in the evening, and not only gossip, but talk. That there was a good deal of gossip, chiefly athletic, but flavoured with per- sonalities that boys love, I fully admit. But there was also very excellent talk ; and I recollect now the endless discussions on the political and literary topics of the day, sometimes not untinged with heat, in which we all indulged. This habit can be traced to the presence among us of the Lyttelton family, who had been bred in an atmosphere of fireside dialectics. The results were excellent, and I doubt whether any boys ever left Eton with minds better sharpened for the everyday work of the world than my Dame's fellows during the ten years of which I am speaking. ' Every one of the boys I have mentioned I meet frequently to-day, and although it will be put down to the traditional conceit of my Dame's, I must candidly say that the sum of knowledge to-day is not so im- measurably superior to what I remember it to have been during those Library discussions in the dark ages. ' We were very full of our athletic prowess in the football-field, on the river, and in the rlaying Fields, and the old House Books, as their records show, will justify all that we felt. We were also proud of our beautiful dining Hall, with which no other house, then or now, could compete, ' In my time, William Evans was a sort of fetish. We never saw him, but he was held over us as a lurid personality, looming grimly behind his extraordinarily capable daughters. 'Of these, the eldest was impetuous but very dis- THE GREENWOODS 173 cerning, and her instinct about boys and their ways was rarely wrong. Her nervous temperament would always have prevented her from exercising that luminous control over the House which was the marked feature of the long dominion of her very gifted sister. " My Dame " will always be associated in the minds of her boys, from the earliest days to the latest, with the name of jane Evans. * There must be many others who are much better c}ualified to pour out reminiscences which will be of interest to you ; at the same time there is no one who, looking back over a long series of years, can say that he owes more to my Dame's than I do.' G. G. Greenwood, who was Captain of the House in '68 and of the House football eleven, speaks of the famous match with Drury's, when Evans', after pre- viously playing other severe matches, met that house for the third time and were beaten ; * a thing,' he says, ' which, as I was Captain, has always been an abiding- grief to me.' He goes on to refer to Julian Sturgis, and says : ' I have two volumes of a School Magazine he started in '68, called The Adventurer, and in which he wrote a great deal ; but it did not last long or contain any- thing very remarkable. I always remember the names of the best-known Masters of those days by the couplet — '" Nix, Juvenis, Bellum, Pondus, cum Grandine, Jungit; Laniger atque Lapis, tu quoque parva Dies." ' I went to Eton in '62, and left in '69, when I was second Oppidan. I was in the Field in '62), and re- member speaking in Upper School on the 4th of June that year. My brother, C. W. Greenwood, now at the Chancery Bar, was also at the House from '60 to '66^ and was Captain of it.'* * G. G. Greenwood and his elder brother, the above, both attained the distinction of being in the Select for the Newcastle, the elder in '65 and '66, and the younger in '69. And in this connexion it may be well to place on record some facts relating to two prizes that belonged to these days— the Oppidan 174 EVELYN ALEXANDER Want of space forbids quotations from further letters. Many other members have written, and among these are Reginald Dickinson, who particularly mentions the Strahans at the House, and tells of George Strahan being promised half a crown by his mother for every place he took in trials, and rather surprising her by taking fifty-six ; E. H. Ward, afterwards a Major in the 6oth Rifles, who had a brother (H. A, H. W., also in the 6oth), and three cousins of the name at the House, and who records the interesting fact that his arrival at Eton coincided with the appearance of Dr. Goodford as Head Master, and that the first boy that he swished belonged to Evans' ; C. J. and E. T. Liddell, the latter being now honorary Canon of Durham ; W. E. King- King, who also had a son (E. K.-K.) at the House ; E. A. Burnell-Milnes, afterwards a Major in the Rifle Brigade; and James F. Daly, now Lord Dunsandle. For one, however, a special place must be found. Evelyn F. Alexander, known amongst us as ' Fish,' was in the Field and both Wall elevens, and became Captain of the House in '69. At Brazenose he was universally beloved, and on taking his degree in '73, Exhibition, or Prizes, and the Newcastle-under-line. Both were open to Oppidans only, and in '68 G. G. Greenwood came out ist in the first named, the Earl of Elgin being 2nd, and Lord Clifton 3rd. The Oppidan Exhibition (in money) was awarded on the result of a separate examination. By some it was deemed to emphasize the fact— not by any means always the case — that the Collegers were the better scholars; but others valued it greatly, and continued to support it. It was finally disallowed by the Governing Body when the Certificate Examinations came in in '75 ; but Oppidan Prizes (in books; continued to be given for some years, by the generosity of E. C. Austen-Leigh, on the July examinations for the First Hundred. They were subsequently restored by the Governing Body. It is worthy of note that, in '71, two boys of Evans', C. C. Lacaita and H. Hobhouse, came out ist and 2nd in the above Exhibition. The examination for the First Hundred was insti- tuted by Dr. Hornby at the beginning of his Head Mastership. The Newcastle-under-line, on the other hand, was a jocose name given to a private classical examination held by some three or four Masters, whose pupils were selected, and competed against one another in set books. This examination was begun by William Johnson, and continuc'fl by F. W, Cornish, the present Vice-Provost, and E. C. Austen- Leigh. It was not, apparently, held after '78 or '79- EVELYN ALEXANDER 175 ne became Curate of St. Pancras, and, in 1880, Vicar of St. Paul's, Walworth. In that vast parish he lived and worked, and, worn out, died, holding on unflag- gingly in spite of a complete breakdown in health. His life, as a man, had been one of devotion, and his character was marked by a beautiful unselfishness. * My love to all Walworth ' were almost his last words, and his last acts were for his parish and his people. The roughest, the most outcast, loved him, and, after his death, more than 3,000 of those among whom he had worked, many of them the very poorest, filled with stained glass the large west window of their church in his memory. But more than this, his heart's desire, the Institute for j^oung men, was carried out shortly after his death, and ' The Alexander Institute ' now stands a conspicuous building, in the very centre of the parish. His memory, too, is still cherished, and annually, on the anniversary of his death, which took place as long ago as February, 1887, a service has been held by successive Vicars, and is still well attended, not only by his friends, but by many of those who were once his poor. CHAPTER XII ANNIE EVANS — THE TWO SISTERS IN WILLIAM EVANS' ABSENCE — ANNIE EVANS' ILLNESS AND DEATH, 1 8/ 1 — HER CHARACTER AND WORK — A LETTER FROM A BOY TO HIS SISTER — JANE EVANS ASSUMES CHIEF CONTROL OF THE HOUSE We must come away for a time from the sound of bat and ball, the ring of young voices, the matches in the old familiar fields in the long-drawn summer days : we must come away from these things and the hum of the happy, busy Eton life, and look elsewhere. Reference has been already made to Annie Evans' early life ; to her mother's death when she was but thirteen years of age ; to her efforts to act the part ot a mother to her younger brothers and sisters ; to her frail health ; and, lastly, as to how she came to her father's assistance at a critical moment in the history of the House, and by degrees assumed direct control and management. William Evans' health did not wholly give way at the time of his accident, but as the years went by his sufferings slowly and surely under- mined his splendid constitution, and reduced him in the end to the condition of a chronic invalid. There can be no question that the management of the House in the later 'fifties was not what it should have been. At first, Annie Evans was not allowed to have much to do with the boys, but by degrees her father was content to leave the general control of affairs in her hands, subject to his advice, and with the help of Mrs 1/6 SAMUEL T. G. EVANS 177 Barns, as Matron, and the co-operation of the older boys, great reforms were effected. Meanwhile, in 1854, Samuel T. G. Evans had suc- ceeded his father as Drawing Master of the School. Sam Evans had not the genius of his father, but he had been carefully trained by j. O. Harding, at Picot's atelier in Paris and at The Royal Academy Schools. He often turned out delightful work and became a first-rate teacher, among his private pupils being Prince Leopold and Princess Beatrice.* Soon after his appointment, he took up his abode in the Old house over-the-way, his sister, Jane, living there with him. About the year '58 they began to take in a few boys, and the house was then known among us as * Sam's.' The number of boys was usually six, and if these generally came over to the House in a half or two, Sam's was also made use of by Masters who wanted a boy ' held ' until they had a vacancy for him.t Sir J. Buchanan-Riddell writes thus of this house : * I was at Sam Evans' in the autumn half of '61. Both he and Jane Evans were most kind, made every- thing for a new boy delightfully easy, and always took special interest, through life, in the few boys who had been there. Of those I remember. Roper went to Dupuis', and Fox Strangways (afterwards, Ilchester) to Joynes'.' In '62, Samuel Evans married ;t but two years before this, Jane Evans had been called over to the House to help her sister, as their father's health grew steadily * S. E. was the first Drawing Master to the R.I.E. College at Cooper's Hill, and this appointment he held for many years. He was elected an .Associate of the Royal Water Colour Society in '59, and a full Member in '07. His best-known works are ' The Thames at Old Windsor.' ' Europa Point,' and 'Gibraltar from the Spanish Lines.' He always felt that his duties at Eton prevented him from competing as he would have liked with his fellow-artists, but he often sold his pictures well. t The boys at Sam's did their fagyfing in the House, and joined in the House games; otherwise they lived 'over-the-way' entirely. X See p. 22. 12 1/8 THE TASK OF THE TWO SISTERS worse and his periods of enforced absence longer For some years the sisters worked together, Annie Evans always taking the lead and Jane working more in the background. The task the two sisters had to face was far graver than was generally supposed. In '64, or soon after, William Evans was ordered away for a long period, and was at San Remo"^ and elsewhere for nearly two years. His affairs had fallen into some confusion, and here again Annie and Jane had a task before them that the outside world knew nothing of. Meanwhile, everything that went on was reported to William Evans, the Captain of the House also frequently writing to him to tell him what the boys were doing on their side. Only one of these letters from the boys of the House to their Dame has been preserved, but this one is from Sir Neville Lyttelton and is of some interest. It is dated April 28, 1864, and runs thus : 'Dear Sir, ' I must apologize for not writing before, but what with cricket and working for the army ex- amination, for which I am just going up, I have not had much spare time. I was glad to hear from Miss Evans that you are coming back soon, as I am quite sure it will be a relief to her to have the responsibility off her shoulders. We had some table-turning last night, and a hat and a basin nearly ran round. We debated in Pop on Tuesday whether the Report of the Commission was satisfactory or not, and decided by fifteen to eight that it was not. One result of it is that there is a weekly meeting of the under-Masters, classical and mathematical, at the Head Master's house. They have made some alterations in the school work, but nothing very important. 'Great indignation is felt at James' assertion that * W. E. records in his diary that while at San Remo he offered to lay out the gardens of the Capucines, to be used as Public (hardens, and received (January 2, '68) the formal thanks of the Syndic and also of the Town Council for his work. WILLIAM EVANS' ABSENCE 179 the Tutors' boys felt themselves superior to the Dames'. ** Dames and Tutors " is rowed to-morrow night, and it is considered a tolerable certainty for the former, though Corkran, the Captain of the Boats, is not rowing.* ' We have a chance of having five of the Eleven in the House, as Hamilton and Drummond and Thompson are all pla3nngwell. If we do, I think I shall challenge the School, which will be almost unheard of, and a refutation of the James scandal. 'Believe me, Sir, yours truly, ' Neville G. Lyttelton.' It was now that the system Evans had inaugurated was first put to a real test ; it says something for its soundness that it came out of the ordeal so well. A strange picture is presented : on one side was the broken-down father, striving now to make two ends meet, and rejoicing, as his letters and diaries show, that he was able to cover at least his own heavy expenses by the sale of his drawings ; in charge of the House were the two sisters, one of them being very far from strong; and in the background were the boys, * doing their level best,' the older ones among them carr^nng out the wishes of Annie or of Jane as occasion arose. That those of us of this period realized the position of affairs must not be supposed : we merely saw before us the two sisters, managing the House in their own bright manner in their father's absence : w^e knew that our Dame was often awa}^, and that when he was there few of us saw anything of him : of the rest, the large majority knew nothing at all. It was during this period that Annie Evans developed those powers of intuition which some have likened almost to an instinct. She seemed to have the faculty of estimating a boy's character at once, and many are the stories told of the certainty with which she would * The Dames won this year, as they had for the previous three years, and as they did again in "65. 12 — 2 i8o ANNIE EVANS pronounce upon the culprit when anything went wrong. In her quick, impulsive way she would some- times jump to a conclusion that those about her would almost resent. Such a tendency necessarily had its dangers ; but while she was occasionally, though rarely, wrong, those who had doubted her had, and sometimes more than a year afterwards, to own with astonishment that she had been right. Jane Evans, as we all know, possessed the same faculty ; but she was ever the first to own that her powers in this respect were not on a par with her sister's, and this is cor- roborated by those of the family who lived in the House during the management of both, and had the best opportunities of judging. For some years, then, the domestic history of the House ran an uneventful course. We were treated very liberally, and Evans' became known for the excellence of its food. But in spite of this last, there were nevertheless occasional attempts at bringing about a state of bankruptcy in the family larder. Our name for it was * broziering,' and it was no doubt indulged in more for fun than in any spirit of discon- tent. The proceedings consisted in this : By mutual arrangement the whole House assembled at 9-0'clock supper, attendance at which was voluntary. We then set to work to consume everything, and when more was sent for consumed that. But, in the end, we were never successful, and the proceedings generally ter- minated in the advent of the butler with a cheese of gigantic proportions and the immediate exit from the Hall of the lot of us. As the 'sixties drew to a close, Annie Evans' health once again gave rise to anxiety. She remained at her post and worked on with characteristic brightness, pluck, and enthusiasm, but it became obvious to those about her that her strength, always frail, was now altogether giving way. Still, she continued at her Vl<4\' A ANNIE EVANS. From a photograph taken in 1S65. {To face p. iS ANNIE EVANS' DEATH i8i accustomed duties, and if Jane had sometimes to bear the larger share of the work, Annie steadfastly refused to leave home or to relinquish the control of the House. Their father had meanwhile returned, and now spent more time at Eton, especially in the summer, and though he was not often seen by us, being usually bedridden, he was yet able to help his daughters in many ways, and was undoubtedly a support to them. The serious nature of Annie's condition became known at last in '69, when an old friend of the family pronounced that she had not more than two years of life left to her. He was right. We, in the House, knew nothing of this. We only knew that when we wanted to stay-out, we sometimes had to ask Jane, with the result that we occasionally wished it had been Annie. Probably we did not even remark that she looked ill. She went about among us, and would appear sometimes when, though we had already played football twice in the day, we started a kind of Wall game in the passages in the winter evenings. Amidst the noise and dust and heat she would remark that we should certainly knock the house down, and sometimes would stop the games proceeding on three floors at once, in defence of those who wished to work in the adjoining rooms. On more peaceful occasions she would come in now and again and sit and talk with one or other of us ; but we never knew that all this time Annie Evans' days were numbered, and that her life among us was drawing to a close. She was not laid by for long. The Football half of '71 opened in the usual way, and found Annie Evans still at her post. Then, one day early in October, she took to her bed. A ver}' few days passed. Jane Evans sat with her all through the last night, the sisters talk- ing together quietly as of yore. ' She would take care of herself when she got over this,' she said. The i82 ANNIE EVANS morning of the 6th dawned and light was spreading over the sky, when she raised herself and looked out of the window, a radiant smile on her face, as though she saw something she had long expected. And then she lay back : she was gone. Annie Evans' sixteen years of strenuous endeavour were over, and at the early age of 47 she had found the rest she had so richly earned. It may be doubted whether many of us really under- stood Annie. Some of us misjudged her. Her temper was quick, but her heart was warm and generous ; she could find fault, but she could also admit readily when she was wrong. In sickness there was no limit to her kindness, for she possessed a full share of those qualities that belong essentially to woman, that men stand and admire in silence, knowing well that the world without them would be so infinitely poor. Boys can be very cruel to a woman of Annie Evans' sensitive nature, and there can be no doubt that by thoughtlessness and that inconsequent disregard of others' feelings that is to be found in most boys, some hurt her more than they knew or would care to know Her nervousness and excitability raised a combative spirit in certain natures that led almost to rudeness; but even those who understood her least, came in the end to have the highest regard for her, and to admire at its true worth the pluck and the spirit that carried her through so many difficult days. Her influence upon the House had been great. She had good abilities and great powers of organization, and her keen perceptions often led her to the true remed}^ at times of difficulty. She introduced many improvements tending to better order in the House as well as to the boys' comfort, and she is said to have been the first to make real use of the Captains. Her manner was often very attractive : fair and with hair ANNIE EVANS 183 of a reddish tinge and with dark eyes, she had in her younger days been good-looking, and about all her movements there was considerable grace. Of slight build, differing greatly from her sister in this respect, she was also of middle height, and if she had not the same power of winning the affections of the boys that her sister had, many of us were, without doubt, very much attached to her. Annie Evans may, in truth, be said to have left the House a great deal better than she found it, and under her it grew to be less rough, more manageable, better from every point of view. She had saved it once from dissolution, and if her doings were subsequently eclipsed by those of her more powerful sister, Annie's part in its history should never be forgotten. A pile of letters lies before the writer, all testifying to Annie's sterling worth. They are from all classes, and bear such names as Gladstone, Lyttelton, Northcote, Atholl, Bishop Abraham, Balston, as well as those of others quite unknown to fame. * She may be said to have given her life for the boys,' writes one of her first Captains, one of the greatest that the House produced, ' 1 have once said to you,' writes another, as though his heart smote him, ' that I was no favourite with your sister, and I cannot refrain from regretting that I ever said or thought unkindly of her. For six years 1 w^as in your father's house, and shall always associate those years with happiness and kindness. Whenever 1 was in trouble with my tutor, she tried to help me out ; and whenever I was ill, her attention and sympathy and her gentleness in nursing were most motherly and affectionate. If ever she spoke hastil}^, she was as quick to forgive. To me she was especially forbearing and considerate, and with man}^ kind, thoughtful offices I shall always remember her.' The boys of the House all mourned her, and so did those in authority in the School. i84 ANNIE EVANS To her father, Dr. Balston* wrote : ' Never was there a truer child of duty and affec- tionate regard for all. True also, most true, in the brave courageous spirit with which she undertook and discharged the work which devolved upon her during 3^our illness in the management of your House.' And, to her brother, the same writer adds : ' She was one whose energy and sterling worth have been, and will continue to be, the most encouraging thoughts of my life, as her example has often nerved me to action when I felt my courage tried.' Such testimony as that speaks for itself, yet among all this pile of letters none equals one from a brother to a sister at this time. It was not intended for the eyes it ultimately reached ; but perhaps the parents found it, and knowing that it must convey far more than they could hope to write themselves, sent it back to the family ruling over the House, as something very true and pure and of rarest beauty in its way. Thus it was tied up with the best of all, these long years back, and now once more sees the light here, to show how those in the House at the time felt the death of one who had toiled for it so long. 'Dearest M., * Many thanks for your dear letter which I got this morning ; it comes as a pleasant consolation for all our trouble here, to know that you are getting stronger and better; indeed, I cannot help feeling that I must be very selfish to care so very much about these reports of you at a time when the people among whom I am are in such deep grief, especially when I think how good and kind our dear Miss Evans was to me. Oh, M., I have lost a true, kind friend, and one whom I feel I never appreciated as I should have done. She never had a thought for herself, every minute of her time was devoted to the service of others and to making others happy; though her health was never very strong, she never relaxed her care and attention. * Assistant Master 1840-1860; Head Master 1862-1867. JANE EVANS ASSUMES CONTROL 185 Truly she was faithful unto death in that sphere (and it was wide in its power of doing good) in which God had placed her, and He has given her a crown of life. The funeral is to be early to-morrow morning. Please thank for her letter and for the hamper and the tea, and the doves, and give her my very best love, as also to the rest of your party, keeping a large share for your darling self. When 1 think of what you are to me, I can feel for poor Miss jane. Good-bye, darling, ' Your loving Brother.' The funeral was a very quiet one. As early as eight in the morning they laid Annie Evans to rest in the little enclosure on the Eton Wick road. Those among the Fellows and Masters that could attend did so, and all the boys of the House followed her to her grave. Then Jane Evans returned to the father of whom she was so passionately fond, and, still aided in a way by him, and in the background by her brother Sam, took up the management of the House and carried on the work as before. The Captain of the House at this date was C. C. Lacaita, and he sends some extracts from letters written by him at the time : *On October 8, '71, I wrote to my father: "Miss Evans was taken suddenly ill on Friday and died early on Saturday morning. She had been so well before, quite busy in the House. . . . Miss Jane will not come into the House at all till after the funeral, so we are left very much alone. . . . With a few excep- tions, the boys have had the sense to behave well and quietly : they are all so fond of my Dame in their hearts." 'October 12. — Miss Evans' funeral took place this morning. It seems probable that another sister and her husband will come to live in the House. He is a clergyman. . . . He is very nice indeed, and has been staying here the last week to help Miss Jane.' The sister and her husband were Mrs. and the Rev. W. M. Fenn, then Rector ot Tankersley, Yorkshire, 186 JANE EVANS the Rectory there being in course of rebuilding at this time.'* 'We liked Mr, and Mrs. Fenn very much,' writes Lacaita ' Mr. Fenn came to the boys' rooms and talked a good deal to them, at any rate to the older ones of us. He was very pleasant and tactful, and I attribute the smoothness oi the change from the rule of Annie Evans to that of her sister, Jane, in great part to his presence and influence with us. For during those months Jane Evans had not begun to take the full position she afterwards occupied. Her father was alive, and the House was still W. Evans'. ' During Annie's life, Jane had kept relatively in the background, as far as intercourse with the boys was concerned. I do not think any of us had at that time discovered that she possessed those magnificent quali- fications for the head of a house full of Eton boys that she afterwards displayed. I reall}^ did not know much of Jane Evans whilst at Eton. It was during the years after I left, when I often came down from Oxford, sta3^ed in the House or with my Tutor, and had long confi- dential talks with her about the House and the bo3''s, that I learnt how great and wise and good a woman she was. And to the very last she always talked as to one of her Old boys. The different engrossing interests of later life — business, society, politics — never inter- fered. In her presence they all drew back into the shadow, and left the boy and his Dame face to face, older, but the same.' Jane Evans at this date was a woman of forty-five, tall, dark, and strongly built. Those who might meet her for the first time would have said she looked ex- tremely capable, and that behind the fun that sparkled in her eyes and played about the corners of her mouth there was immense strength of character, a deep seriousness, an unlimited power of loving. An in- finite charm lies in the pitch and inflexions of a voice, and Jane Evans' possessed this to the full; her voice * The Rev. W. M. Fenn died in 1886, and lies buried in the Eton Cemetery. JANE EVANS 187 changed with the play and extreme mobility of her countenance. It was deep and serious ; it accentuated the distress that showed itself on occasions just above her eyes ; it rose and bubbled over in her chuckles of amusement ; and it fell to the exact note when her sympathy was called for and given out of hand, with her whole, large, generous heart. A certain bright- ness of character distinguished all the Evanses, and this none of the trials and anxieties inseparable from their work could ever wholly quench. Ups and downs there were ; but their work in their House was to them very largely a labour of love, and here lay not only the source of their happiness but the secret of their success. To read through Jane Evans' diaries, volume by volume, is to find many an occasion referred to when she felt herself almost overcome ; but over and over again on the very page where the outlook is described as at its worst, there comes in a little sparkle of fun, a little flash of wit, a determination to draw up the blinds and let the sun in, to look for the bright side and to hope on. She was never down-hearted for long. Thus, though Jane Evans was often serious, her smile was a thing to remember ; and if some of us stood in a certain awe of her, there was one thing that the youngest amongst us never hesitated about — we trusted her absolutely. She could see through a boy as if he were a pane of glass, and to stand up to her was assuredly to go to the wall. Her anger, if there ever was any in her, had no trace of temper. She said what she had to say in a few, quiet, strong sentences, and with an inclination of the head and a deep, serious, almost distressed look in her eyes that one has never forgotten, and then she would go away leaving one ashamed. ' I was very rude to him, and he was very rude to me ; but we parted the best of friends,' was her subsequent account of the matter. The story of her being, as a schoolgirl, told to i88 JANE EVANS empty her pocket, and her laying a Bible amongst other things on the table to account for its bulging in the way it was doing, denotes one characteristic that was ever a part of her. This was her faith, her deep religious feeling. It was never paraded for a moment ; it never thrust itself forward, yet it made itself felt, was as much a part of her as any of her senses, and went to the very depth of her being. What in others might have been misunderstood was in her case absolutely natural, and the writer recalls her saying on one occasion, when she was sorely tried and puzzled, as she ever was by sin, ' You know, I don't think we pray enough ; I don't think we pray enough ' ; and then she would remain silent, with a look in her eyes that showed one what she felt, subse- quently adding, ' I am sure boys would not do the things they do if they thought ; they don't think' Her faith in ' her boys' was without limits, and she always liked to believe that there was far more good than bad in even the poorest specimen. Such were the dominant characteristics of her who was now called upon to stand almost alone, and which were to grow more mellow, more striking, as the years ran by. She was not to stand wholly alone as yet, and some years were to elapse ere the House came to bear her name. In the Report of the Public Schools Commission there occurs this sentence : 'Apart from the fitness of individuals, we cannot think that, speaking generally, a woman is as well able to take charge of the dis- cipline of a large number of boys of the age and class that are to be found at Eton as a man is.' The sentence was written in 1864. The qualifications were fortunate, for long before 1906 the Eton world had come to realize that a woman was, at least in one instance, capable of doing such things in a way that no man could, or would ever attempt. CHAPTER XIII ANNI MIRABILES, 1 872-76 — FOOTBALL — CRICKET — AQUATICS — RACQUETS — FIVES We must come back again to the full vigorous stream of Eton life, to the round of happy contests that never cease, spring, summer, winter, the year through. The players change ; they come and they go, and they come and go very quickly. The boys of yesterday are men to-day ; the golden years have slid away, and the names on the Cups grow many, spreading to the shields that surround them. A famous period in the history of the House, from an athletic point of view, 1872-76, has now to be recorded, and we must take the various events from their context. Football, Cricket, Rowing, and deal with them by themselves. But before doing so, the names of the more prominent boys in the House must be set down. The earlier ones in the list were com- pleting their Eton days as this period opened, for there is the usual overlapping ; but many of the others took a conspicuous part in the achievements about to be recorded. First comes C. C. Lacaita, afterwards M.P. for Dundee,* who combined scholarship with consider- able proficiency in games; Henry Hobhouse, since dis- * Gold Medallist for the Newcastle ; winner of the Russell and Prince Consort's Frizes, and in the Tomline Select : was also in the Oppidan and Mixed Wall elevens, and won the Double Racquets in '72 ; Captain of the House (see p. 220). I90 A GOOD LIST tinguished in many ways and now a Privy Councillor;* Herbert Gladstone, now Home Secretary ; Robert H. Lyttelton ; Herbert Edward Ryle,t the present Bishop of Winchester; A. W. Ruggles-Brise ;t Howard O. Sturgis, writer and novelist ; F. C. Ark- wright;§ Edward Lyttelton, now Head Master of Eton ; Lord Windsor, now Earl of Plymouth ; Alfred Lyttelton, the most prominent athlete of his day, P.C., M.P., and late Colonial Secretary ; E. W. Denison, now Lord Grimthorpe ; and Bernard H. Holland,! now of the Colonial Office and a C.B. Then come a number of athletes and others, slightly junior to the above : The four brothers Croft — J. R. Croft, after- wards Sir John Croft, who was in the Eight in '74 and '75, and won the Sculling and the Pulling; F, L. Croft, now Sir F. Croft, who stroked the Eight in '78 ; F. E. Croft ; and W. G. Croft, who was in the Eight later; C. T. Abraham, now Canon of Southwell Minster ; T. C. Farrer, the present Lord Farrer ; T. Courtenay- Warner ;f H. Whitfeld, who was in the Eleven for three years, and Captain of it in 'jj ; and W. Hobhouse,** the Newcastle Scholar of 1880. Letters from many of these will be found in the next chapter ; for the moment we must turn to other things. If success in athletics be regarded as an index of the * Newcastle Select and Tomline Select ; a Charity Commissioner ; for twenty years M.P. for East Somerset; Recorder of Wells. t Entered College, 1869. X Keeper of the Field and President of I^op, '71 ; now J. P. and D.L., Essex. § Captain of the House and House Eleven, '72 ; had two sons at the House, R. A. and F. G. A , 1898-1903. I! Author of Tmperiu7n et Libertas and other works : had two brothers at the House — F. C. H., Clerk in the House of Commons ; and R. I. H , a manager, Telegraph Concessions. Congo State. 1[ MP. for the Lichfield Division of Staffordshire ; sat for North Somerset, '02-'05. ** .Afterwards Head Master of Durham School, and now Hon. Canon of Birmingham. Two others of the name were also at the House— Charles iC. Hobhouse, formerly in the 60th Rifles, and now M.P. for East Bristol ; and E. Hobhouse, who will be noticed later. #ll^ l>*^fl^ H^y^^ ei*'^^ «»^ S-l m 1^ P ^ l«^ ^ THE SUCCESSES OF THE 'SEVENTIES 191 quality of a house, Evans' certainly touched the zenith of its fame in the five years just mentioned. Once, in '69, Warre's had swept the board, winning every one of the House Cups, six in all, then instituted, and establishing a record that has not again been reached. But if Evans' never did this, the successes of the House in these years were more continuous : it won the Cricket, Racquets, and Fives Cups three years in succession, the Football Cup three times, being in the Final and ante-Final in the two other years ;* the House Fours twice, two years in succession ; and the Shoot- ing Cup once, besides many minor events in School Athletics and School Aquatics. Never again in its history did it approach such achievements, nor has any House rivalled it since. Its subsequent history was different. Again and again victory was denied it when almost within its grasp, and continued ill- fortune attended it in a very remarkable wa}^ ; but the fact remains that the name of the House figures after this comparatively rarely in the list of winners of the greater events in the athletic life of the School, and that, for long years in succession, the House Cups were not seen on the Hall tables. It is in no vaunting spirit that its successes are here recorded. To be guilty of anything of the kind would be contrary to the traditions of the House. But if, on the one hand, these successes are set down, as they deserve to be, it will be seen that the House also knew how to accept defeat. That this last was the case is proved by the testimony of independent onlookers whose letters will be presently quoted. In the midst of its victories the House was frequently overtaken by reverses that were hard to bear. It bore them well, and such a fact is more eloquent of the tone and quality of a House than any number of ' wins ' could * It will be noticed that if 1871-75 are taken, the House succeeded in winning this Cup four times in five years 192 FOOTBALL IN THE 'SEVENTIES ever be. Thus, all through these books, written by scores of different boyish hands, we find the same characteristic showing itself, and the pen of the boy writing, after many a bitter defeat, Floreat Evans\ et hcec nostra domtis csto perpetua. A few arrears, so far as football is concerned, have to be cleared off before we come to 1872. We carried the matches for the Cup to the year '6^. In '69 the House found itself once again in the Final with Warre's. The match was a very even one, but Warre's won by a rouge, and, as the Book records, 'won fairly on their merits.' The House was beaten by Durnford's the following year, and then came five years in which they won the Cup four times and narrowly escaped winning it a fifth. In '71 the Final was again with Warre's; the House eleven and account of the match being as follows : A. W. Ruggles-Brise. E. Lyttelton. C. C. Lacaita. R. Lyttelton. H. J. Gladstone. G. R. Townley. F. C. Arkwright. A. Lyttelton. E. E. Bickersteth.* G. G. Kirklinton-Saul, E. W. B. Denison. ' Warre's won the toss, and for the first few minutes appeared to have the advantage, but were soon driven back again, Evans' getting the ball down to their line, but failing to secure anything, and Warre's having frequent "kicks-off." After change, however, Evans' eleven, playing beautifully together, secured a goal in fine style. Warre's now seemed to lose heart, and only once got the ball past the middle. A rouge was obtained by Ruggles-Brise in the last bully, but this was not turned into a goal. Thus we won by a goal and a rouge. There was no doubt that Evans' eleven was the stronger of the two, and a great amount of * Son of the Bishop of Ripon, a boy of great promise and endowed with wonderlully good looks ; was a brilliant football-player and excellent scholar ; died of fever at Baden at seventeen years of age EVANS' V. WARRE'S IN '72 193 praise is due to Warre's for the plucky way in which they played. The behind play of Evans' was splendid, especially that of Gladstone. Arkwright and Bicker- steth did most for victory in the bully. The Rev. G. R. Dupuis and R. A. H. Mitchell, Esq., were the umpires.' Two exciting matches with De Rosen's, the first having resulted in a tie, preceded the Final with the House's old antagonists, Warre's, in 1872. The fresh members of the eleven this year were A. W. Pulteney, W. A. Wigram, J. E. Gladstone, A. Busby, J. R. Croft, and D. Lawrie. C. W. Selwyn, who was in the eleven, was unable to play in the Final, and Alfred Lyttelton was suffering from previous encounters and had to play ' Goals ' for the first half-hour. The following is a part of a very long account of the match : ' We had the good fortune to win the toss, and elected to kick against the wind. In the very first bully a superior kick by C. N. Miles, backed up by a smart charge by his kinsman, forced the ball into close proximity to our line. Previous experience had taught us that a defensive game was expedient against the wind, and the stubbornness of our play kept the ball at a tolerably safe distance from our quarters. In a short time T. Miles, getting past short- and long- behind, would certainly have secured a goal, but a well-timed charge on the part of our bulky goal- keeper succeeded in felling the aggressor and placing the ball out of danger. Twice after this did their ponderous bully, playing well together, give rise to a decision from the umpire that happily proved favour- able to us. The game continued without variation till three minutes before the end of the hour. At this juncture it seemed to occur to Arkwright* and Kirklinton-Saul that a rouge for my Dame's would in no way be out of place. A fine piece of dodging by the former and a charge by the latter, and an un- * ' One of the most perfect things ever seen in House matches,' writes Edward Lyttelton now, thirty -five years later, 'was Fred Arkwright's play against Warre's in '72.' 13 194 THE HOUSE DEFEATS COLLEGE doubted rouge was obtained, the efforts of our adver- saries in the remaining minute being futile. Thus the Cup will not, this year at any rate, leave our old Baronial Hall. Our victory was not owing to the superiority of one or two, but to the spirit of energy pervading the whole, the result of careful training, unflagging labour, and fair play.' The opening pages of the third volume of the Foot- ball Books record the following remarkable event : ' On a beautiful morning, October i6, 1873, the Eton world was rather astonished to hear that an entirely new match was going to be played after 12. This new match was a single house against the Collegers, who then had six members of their eleven who played in the Field games, the remaining five forming almost the strongest part of their team. The house that undertook this ambitious enterprise was no other than my Dame's, and not only undertook it, but carried it through to a triumphant issue.' Then follow some four pages about this match, the House winning by a rouge. Such a match was quite unprecedented, and the next year the Collegers sent a challenge to the House, hoping to wipe out their defeat. But the House again beat them, this time easily, scoring four goals and two rouges against one goal and one rouge. The House eleven this year (1873) was thus com- posed : E. Lyttelton. C. W. Selwyn. A. Lyttelton. j. R. Croft. E. W. Denison. A. D, Lawrie. A. W. Pulteney. S. G. Parry. J, E. Gladstone. j. Oswald. G. S. Douglas. Having v^^on their matches in the draws, two houses besides themselves were still left in — Warre's and De Rosen's. Warre's drew a blank, and Evans' had there- fore to play De Rosen's. 7^he first match between them ^ fcfj = 'n ^ O c w •^ w-S '-C ha5 s d -7, i''-^" ^ ,W! ^ . ^ ^ s :- O w <;-5 —1 O t" c.;J.= A DRAMATIC INCIDENT 195 resulted in a tie, and, as it was marked by a very dramatic incident, may well be further referred to, * In '73,' writes Edward Lyttelton, 'we had an eleven which was thought to be irresistible. We thought no small beer of ourselves, defeated the powerful eleven of College, and dunly thought we mignt challenge the School. But we reckoned without the clerk of the weather. When the struggle came, we had to face another dame's house called De Rosen's on a field frozen hard. I am afraid we despised them, not knowing the admirable pluck of their captain. Hunts- man, or the grand powers, on occasions, of Jim Judd, their long-behind. Of course, the frost-bound ground equalized the teams. My Dame's being the biggest house in Eton always furnished a rather heavy team, and we couldn't stand or keep together. The ball was difficult to lift, and I felt the stars in their courses were against us. However, the enemy only crossed the centre of the ground once in each of the two matches, and on each occasion got a goal. It was early in the first match that this happened, and we struggled in vain to get together, but scored nothing till the very last bully of the match, when we formed down only 30 yards from our line at the far end of the field towards Chalvey. ' It was an awful moment, because nine-tenths of the School were dead against us, and eager to see us go under. I was long-behind and Denison short : my brother Alfred the inside corner. I told Denison to change places with me ; and what I hoped for happened exactly. The ball came to short-behind ; I dropped it in front of Alfred, who set off at a grand speed, pursued, loitgo intervallo, by Jim Judd, and by 'fisherman' Lawrie trying to back him up, and, in spite of frost and the hostile spectators, fran down three-quarters of the entire field, and got a goal on the stroke of the clock. Seldom has anything more dramatic occurred in the Timbralls.' The match thus ended in a tie, which was played off a day or two later. The first match had certainly been dramatic in its conclusion ; the result of the second was tragic, for it ^^nded in a way that makes those 13—2 196 EVANS' V. DE ROSEN'S IN '73 who played speak of it to this day 'as among those things that can never be forgotten.* The account must be summarized, as it is of great length. Ill-fortune awaited the House. In the first fifteen minutes a kick by their opponents' long-behind fell into the hands of a boy named Kaye, who made a chance shot through goals. Evans' eleven, thinking the goal would certainly be disallowed, remained in- active. But it chanced that, just at the critical moment, Alfred Lyttelton had been between the umpire and the place where the ball was handled, and the actual in- cident was not seen. The umpire therefore felt him- self in duty bound to allow the goal, and gave it a fair goal accordingly. This untoward incident disturbed Evans' very little at the moment, as plenty of time remained for play ; the eleven merely went at their task with renewed vigour, and soon obtained a rouge, though they failed to convert this into a goal. Three more rouges followed with a similar result, the tactics of the enemy preventing the House from forcing a goal, though at one moment the ball is said to have been but three inches from the goal line. Ten minutes even now remained ; but all this while the ball was repeatedly kicked out. ' Time ' was called, and the House was beaten. The account concludes with these remarks : 'Thus we have experienced the bitterness of defeat, which Fortune brings back to us after two years of victory, and which, though undeserved, we are able to bear, while speaking of the fickle deity in the words of the poet of old : ' " Laudo manentem : si celeres quatit Pennas, resigno quae dedit, et mea Virtute me involve, probamque Pauperiem sine dote quaero."* ' The allusion in these lines is the more remarkable when it is considered that the hideous provocation we * Horace, Od., HI., xxix. 54. EVANS' V. DE ROSEN'S IN '73 197 had received had tempted us to show the very worst passions in human nature. We had sustained a really mortifying blow, but the temper we showed through- out will be best understood by the following letter.' The letter alluded to is one from G. R. Dupuis to William Evans, and the original is stuck into the Book as a lasting memorial of the conduct of the House on the occasion. Here it is: ' December 14, ^^i- ' Dear Mr. Evans, * Knowing the great interest you take in all your boys' doings, I take the liberty of writing you a line about their match yesterday. As regards the game itself they were unlucky in not being able to turn one of their rouges into a goal, and certainly had the best of the game ; but they would probably admit that they had the worst of it the previous day, and were fortunate in averting defeat. But it is not about the game that I write this. It is to tell you how much I appreciate (and there were others who did besides) the fairness, the good spirit and temper with which they played both da3^s, and the way in which they bore what was naturally a mortifying disappointment. I don't mean that their opponents acted differently ; not at all. Both sides played, though smartly, in such good temper and style that it was a treat to see it, whereas in more than one match latel}^ the bad spirit and ferocity displayed made it painful to look on. * I consider their behaviour reflects the highest credit on them, particularly their Captain. These are things which in my opinion test a boy's character. He bore the test well. * And it not only reflects credit on them and their house, but sets an example to the School looking on which cannot fail to do good. As I acted as umpire (the duties of whose position were unusually^onerous), and therefore had an opportunity of noticing the play very closely, I thought it would be some satisfaction to you and them if you all knew that the boys' conduct was very much appreciated by me. ' Yours truly, 'G. R. DuPUis.' 198 OLD BOYS' MATCHES Referring to this match now, Edward Lyttelton writes : ' The governing fact of the situation was that in those days no number of rouges wiped out one goal. The rule was soon afterwards altered in consequence of this very match. Four rouges we got ; but the Fates were against us, and the best house eleven that I can remember lost the Cup. It was taken out of my Dame's late on a dark evening, wrapped in crape ; and on the following day we received a black-edged post- card from my old friend Charles Lacaita, containing the well-known words of Herodotus on the defeat of the Persians, and ending with otototototol all across the card. Our only consolation was that, if we had won the match, there was a talk of the House being divided into two, and it is certain that five successive wins of this Cup would have brought about some catastrophe.' There is little need to dwell further upon this event. Many years later another Master at Eton, C. H, K. Marten, reviewing the whole history of house football, was able to say that Evans' ' had always shown splendid keenness and spirit in its games, yet, whether in success or failure, had never shown any resentment or ill-feeling.' The House may well be proud of that. It was the custom of the House to play a number of matches against scratch elevens during the football half, and one of these was for many years composed of its former members. It is also worthy of note that a match between the School and an eleven made up of Old boys of Evans' was for some years one of the regular annual fixtures in the Field. The House seems to have won more often than it lost in these contests. Each is recorded in these volumes, but it is obviously impossible to mention even a tithe of them here. They serve, nevertheless, to show the keenness the House always displayed at the game, and also that this spirit 5h 1. p:vans' v. dalton'S in '74 199 survived long after its members had ceased to be Eton boys. In 1874 Alfred Lyttelton was Keeper of the Field, the House also possessing another member of the same eleven in E. W. Denison. With six other old choices left from the previous year, the eleven was a very strong one, and the Book records * that they never lost a match, though they played against perhaps the strongest scratch elevens ever brought into the field, as well as against the Collegers.' When it came to the Final for the House Cup, Dalton's were their opponents. The match is described 'as uninteresting enough,' and the victory gained, by two goals and two rouges to nothing, *as the heaviest defeat ever ad- ministered in a Final for the House Cup.' The eleven was thus made up : Alfred Lyttelton. A. D. Lawrie. E. W. Denison. S. G. Parry. W. A. Wigram. J. Oswald. C. W. Selw}^. C. Abraham. J. Croft. F. Kenyon-Slaney. J. Ellison. A large number of boys had left the House ere the Football half came round again, and in September, '75, but three old choices remained of the victorious eleven of the year before. But there was plenty of good material to fill the gaps, and as if to show they were to be entrusted with the destinies of the House, all set to work to keep up its traditions. Playing the usual number of matches against scratch elevens, the House again won its way to the Final for the House Cup. Their antagonists were, on this occasion, Austen- Leigh's; but neither this match nor its predecessor, against Tarver's, was played until the Easter half, owing to heavy falls of snow and to floods. ' This match,' runs the account, ' played on Feb- ruary 9, resulted in a victory for my Dame's by one 200 HOUSE FOOTBALL IN THE 'SEVENTIES goal and one rouge to nothing. It is but fair to state that our opponents played at a disadvantage, having lost Bright, a good house-match player and an old member of the Field eleven. Thus for the fourth time in five years the Cup remains in our " Baronial Hall.'" The eleven was composed of the following : C. W. Selwyn. E. Christian. C. T. Abraham. S. Whitbread. J. Ellison. E. Devas. C. Warner. F. Croft. H. Whitfeld. J. Anderson. J. Chitty. This was the last occasion on which the House was destined to win the Cup for many a long year, though they were once again in the Final in '"jS. Three houses were then left in — Hale's, Mozley's, and Evans'. Mozeley's drew a blank, and in their match against Hale's the House was defeated by two rouges to nothing. Floods once again nearly put a stop to foot- ball, and this last match had to be played on the Aldin House ground at Slough. Such, then, is the account, so far as House football is concerned, of the famous years 1872-76. At no time were the contests for the Cup keener ; at no time did party feeling run so high. That we carried the spirit of rivalry to excess cannot be doubted ; nearly every boy in the School was present to witness the final ties, to add his voice to the babel of sound, or to mark by a sullen silence, a silence that was sometimes almost general even in the face of a brilliant perform- ance, when an unpopular house were winning by the fairest play. 'The house matches,' writes A. W, Ruggles-Brise, ' were the finest and most exciting sport in the world.' So they were ; but, at the same time, in those da3^s they occasionall37 gave rise to HOUSE FOOTBALL IN THE 'SEVENTIES 201 actions that one hopes have long since passed out of fashion. ' I should say,' writes Edward Lyttelton, * that not even the modern school novel has exaggerated the excitement that prevailed. It was certainly exces- sive, and prejudicial to the unity of the School.' He goes on to give an instance of the lengths to which this was carried, and he ends : * In the whole course of my life I have never known any public appearance so severe to the nerves as the big house matches in '71-2-3, for anyone playing in a really important place in the team.' Writing of this period, R. D. Anderson, a member of the Field and Wall elevens,"says : * I saw many Cups won and lost, and the football matches that dwell most in my memory are, I am sorry to say, defeats, though they were only lost after desperate contests. The first of these was in '73 against De Rosen's. The shouts of encouragement to our opponents would have surprised the present generation;!pf Etonians. They consisted of a kind of positive, comparative, and -superlative of the name De Rosen — "Well played, ,De Rosen's"; "Well pla3^ed, Madam De Rosen's "; " Well played. Baroness De Rosen's." ' The second match was a Lower-boy one in '74. Your brother, S. Gambier Parry, was our Captain, and one from whom 1 received, as a Lower-boy, many kindnesses. We played two ties in the Field, and then were told we must play the third match in College field. In it we were beaten by a decidedly doubtful rouge. The match was against Frank Tarver's, and Arthur Dunn, who in after-years became such a cele- brated International Player, and Schoolmaster, was included in the eleven, although, while at Eton, he never gave an}'^ promise of the success he was to achieve later on as an athlete. * The third match I have referred to was against Hale's, for the Final in '']']. We played a tie first, and in the second attempt were just beaten by one rouge. As a^result of this match, I remember a little personal incident that may be worth recording. I was up to a 202 CRICKET IN '72 Master who was considered to be particularly strict and stony-hearted. The match had been played "after 12," and at 3 o'clock school we had "saying- lesson." 1 knew next to nothing about mine, and, when 1 went up, was soon hopelessly out of it. The Master, who had evidently seen and appreciated the toughness of the fight in the morning, looked at me for a moment, and then said: "You can go. Most boys would have stayed-out." ' The Chronicle contains no records showing what Evans' did in the Cricket ties in 'yi. As already related by R. H. Lyttelton, the House held three members of the Eleven, and should have made a good fight for the Cup. They were, however, defeated in one of the ties by Cornish's, the Cup being won that year by Warre's. ' We were defeated in a deplorable fashion,' writes Edward Lyttelton, * in spite of our having three in the Eleven, and they, I think, none. Everything went against us, and nobody knew why. All our best balls shaved the stumps, and failed to dislodge the bails. The one or two that hit the stumps were no-balls. I remember Alfred going on to bowl. He was one of those bowlers who have three good overs and no more. One Cockburn was batting. Literally every ball of those three overs shot pretty dead and hummed past the wickets, not once quite hitting. Cockburn's style of defence was aerial, and his bat quite a foot above every ball. But the enemy played most credit- ably. Reeves, Lort-Phillips, and the late Arnold de Grey being among the number.' We now come to the years 'y^^, '74, and '75, in each of which the House secured the Cup. Evans' never had finer elevens than in these three 3''ears. In two the}'^ had the Captain of the School Eleven — Edward Lyttelton in '74, and Alfred Lyttelton in '75. E. W. B. Denison also played in the Eleven in each THE CRICKET CUP 203 of these years; J. Bayly in '74> ^^^ H. Whitfeld* in '75. Thus there were, in the House, three in the Eleven in the first year, four in '74, and three in '75, and added to these there were also several who had their colours for the Twenty-two. It is to be re- gretted that we have to turn elsewhere than to the House Books for a record of their performances, and that, in a large measure, the Chronicle should also fail us. The only extant copy of a score of these Finals for the House Cup is for the single year 1873, and for this and for the account of the match we are once again indebted to the files of the Chronicle. A few notes, collected from those who took part in these matches, have been added, and it says something for the intense interest the contests must have evoked, when we find a player, who subsequently took part in scores of matches of the very first rank, recalling that a particular ball that took a particular wicket pitched on a bit of scraped ground in a House match more than thirty years ago ! The following is what the Chronicle tells us of the Final in '73 between Evans' and Warre's : EVANS'. A. Lyttelton, c A. C. Miles, b Lubbock ... . •• 47 E. W. Denison, b Brodrick •• 13 Oswald ma., c A. E. Miles, b Lambton ... 5 Pulteney, b Lubbock •• 13 Whitfeld, b Lambton E. Lyttelton, run out •• 43 Marjoribanks, b Lubbock .. 18 Bayly, c & b Lambton Oswald mi., c Ed wards -Moss, b Lubbock Selwyn, not out •• 3 Master, b Lubbock Extras ... 11 153 * Was in the Eleven '75-'77, being Captain in the latter year. Thus, in the space of five years, a member of the House was Captain of the Eleveu in three. 204 EVANS' V. WARRE'S IN '73 WARRE'S. First Innings. Second Innings. F. J. Bruce, c A. Lyttelton, b E. Lyttelton 5 b Denison 7 J. Lubbock, c A. Lyttelton, b Denison o b Denison 7 A. C. Miles, b Denison 11 c A. Lyttelton, b Bayly 28 A. E. Miles, b E. Lyttelton 8 b E. Lyttelton ... ..'. 2 Foljambe, b E. Lyttelton o c Selwyn, b Denison ... 12 Lord Lambton, b E. Lyttelton ... 9 cE. Lyttelton, b Denison 4 Baskerville-Mynors, c E. Lyttelton, b Bayley 6 st A. Lyttelton, b Deni- T. E. Edwards -Moss, c Selwyn, son i b Bayley 11 not out 7 C. Lambton, c Pulteney, b Denison 2 cA.Lyttelton,bDenison o Brodrick, b E. Lyttelton o b Denison o F. J. Lambton, not out 10 b Denison o Extras 7 Extras 13 69 81 ' This match took place in Upper Club on wickets, strange to say, far from good. The first representa- tives were F. J. Bruce and Lubbock. The bowlers were E. Lyttelton and Denison, both fast round hand. Bruce made one fine drive for four off Lyttelton, but off the next ball was caught at the wicket. Lubbock next succumbed, also falling a victim to the wicket- keeper. The cousins Miles then made a short stand, but nothing else noticeable occurred in Mr. Warre's innings except the fine powerful driving of the Captain of the Boats. Mr. Evans' sent in A. Lyttelton and Denison to the bowling of Lord Lambton and Lubbock. Lyttelton opened his account with a fine piece of forward play for five, his partner following suit off Lubbock. Some very merry hitting was displayed, when, after making a rapid and characteristic 13, Denison succumbed to the somewhat erratic bowling of Brodrick. Oswald came next, and showed very pretty defence, being in a very long time for his 5, during which time his partner had made his score up to 38. E. Lyttelton came next, but the union of the brotherhood was short-lived, as A. L. hit one of Lubbock's hard and straight to A. C. Miles, from whose cayjacious hands few balls, having once entered, are ever suffered to escape. A. Lyttelton's 47 was a useful and hard-hit innings, and had contributed in no small degree to the demoralization of the bowling. E. Lyttelton played a fine slashing innings of 43, but NOTE BY EDWARD LYTTELTON 205 was then run out, jumping up to avoid being hit by the ball. Pulteney made 13, and Marjoribanks 18, both playing well. ' In Mr. Warre's second innings nothing remarkable occurred except a well-played 28 of A. C. Miles. Bruce was very unfortunately bowled off his legs, hitting at a half-volley which shot. It was in a great measure owing to this event that Mr. Evans' won with such ease. We do not mean to say that Mr. Warre's would have won, but that they would have saved a single inning's defeat with something to spare, we do most confidently assert. The bowling of Denison was admirable,' Edward Lyttelton writes of this match : * The only things I can remember about the play are some little incidents that occurred to myself. The ball that bowled Lord Lambton in the first innings pitched on a bit of scraped ground and broke a foot from leg. I got the same batsman in the next innings, knowing his peculiar left-hand stroke to the on, by standing in a place between mid-on and deep square-leg, a place without a name : the catch came quite straight into my hands. I was run out in a curious way, jumping over the ball as it was thrown smartly in, and while I was off the ground but over the crease the ball hit the wicket, and out I had to go. J. Lubbock, eldest son of Lord Avebury ; Lambton, now Lord Durham ; T. C. Edwards-Moss, the great oar, who died young ; and Brodrick, the late Cabinet Minister, were among the number.' The match for the Final in '74 was against Vidal's. 'The House Cup was throughout tolerably evenly contested,' says the Chronicle. Owing to the great press of time caused by the examinations, the matches were only just finished, although Evans', in order that the ties might be completed, availed themselves of the rule permitting the holders of the Cup to stand out till the Final. Public opinion declared itself almost universally for Evans'. This opinion was justified by the result, and was not surprising in that, besides the two Captains of the Eleven, Evans' team contained 2o6 EVANS' V. VIDAL'S IN '74 Denison and Bayley, also in the School Eleven, and Pulteney, Whitfeld, and Oswald in the Twenty-two. Thus, in the Final between Evans' and Vidal's, although neither Mr. Lyttelton contributed anything, Denison and Oswald by really admirable defence and hitting raised 113 runs. Vidal's score being doubled with the loss of only two wickets, they retired from the contest.' No further particulars are given, and the score is not printed ; but on inquiring how it came to pass that ' neither Mr. Lyttelton contributed anything,' Edward Lyttelton sends the following to explain, and to make up for the blank pages in the House Book : ' I must give a brief account of our winning the Cricket Cup in '74. We had four members of the School Eleven, including the first and second Captains, and three in the Twenty-two. So it was arranged we should only play in the Final. This match came oiT, and Vidal's were our opponents. We bowled them out after 12 on Thursday for 54. The innings closed at 1.30, and at that juncture two or three of Vidal's talked loud of their havmg to go to Scotland by the evening mail, and being unable to play after 6.* This would have left the match unfinished. However, we began our innings before dinner, there being only time for one over. E. Ralli began their bowhng, very wild and fast. There was some sportiveness in the Upper Club wickets in those days, and Ralli's first ball shot dead and banged out Alfred's leg stump. I for o. I followed, and my second ball was well away to leg. It bumped, my bat went under it ; the ball just touched the back of the bat and lodged in long- stop's hands. The Scotchmen said they would put off their train. And so we continued after 6 : Oswald and Denison went in and scored 113 without a wicket falling. Stumps were drawn, and the Cup was won. * For the benefit of the uninitiated, it may be stated that the School always broke up then on a Friday, and that Scotch boys, to make up for the length of their journey, were allowed to leave on the Thursday even in j^. Thursday, the last day, was always a whole- school-day, and the only time for play was therefore ' after I2 ' and ' after 6.' EVANS' AGAIN WIN IN '75 207 I should mention that our fourth man in the School team was Bayly (always called "oily Bayly," no one knew why), who developed a real talent for bowling-, which only lasted eight weeks. He was the only one on our side who puzzled A. J. Webbe at Lord's. But, I believe, that after that half he never bowled a good over again.' In '75 the Final was between Evans' and Warre's. The Chronicle gives no particulars of the match, and the score is said to have been mislaid. All that is known is, that, after leading by half a century on the First innings, the House only wanted seventeen runs to win in the Second, and this it obtained for the loss of one wicket. As if to show they were not to be left behind in all these doings, the wet-bobs set to work to see what they also could achieve for the credit of the House. Evans' had won the House Fours last in '61, and since then had often not entered for the race or even possessed a Four. But this was now to be changed, and the exploits of the House on the river were to be more on a par with the rest. In '74 they were in the Final, ' the first time for many years,' as the Book records. That year, J. R. Croft stroked the Eight, the House crew being made up of himself at 3, O. J. Ellison, stroke, S. H. Whit- bread, 2, and Warner, bow. Their opponents were James', and Warre's, the holders of the Cup, and once again the winners on this occasion. In '75 the House had the same crew, and were, besides, exceptionally strong in wet-bobs, for they entered two Fours for the Cup, a thing unprece- dented in the history of the race.* In the second heat these two crews had to row against one another. * This was repeated in 1901, when Williams eniered two crews in the same way. 2o8 HOUSE FOURS IN '75 'A good race ensued to Upper Hope, where Evans' ist ran into their 2nd and fouled. After this they rowed away, as the 2nd only paddled, not wishing to tire their ist crew for the next day. The rowing in Evans' 2nd on this occasion was good, and they made the ist row for it as far as Upper Hope.' The following were the crews : Evans' ist. Bow S. H. Whitbread. 2 C. Warner. 3 J. R. Croft. Str. O. J. Ellison. Cox. F. L. Croft. Evans 2nd. Bow C. Abraham. 2 B. Holland. 3 C. Selwyn. Str. H. R. Wigram. Cox. Drummond. In the Final heat for the Cup, three houses were rowing, the account of the race running thus : Windsor [Evans). Bow S. H. Whit- bread. 2 C. Warner. 3 J. R. Croft. Mid-stream (C. C. James) Barton. Hall. Cunard, Wilson. Str. O.J.Ellison. Cox. Pease. Cox- Davidson. Cox. F. L. Croft. Eton (F. Durnford s). Pinckney. Sir S. Crossley. C. Carr. S. Sandbach. * Evans' started off with the lead, rowing very fast, and at Upper Hope were a length to the good, Durn- ford's leading James'. This order was maintained the whole way, the distance being increased between the boats. Evans' won by about three lengths, James' being the same behind Durnford's. Time, 8 minutes 49 seconds. This is the first time we have won the House Fours for a very longtime; it has been done at last by the energy and union of the whole House.' The following year J. R. Croft had left; but his place was taken by his brother, F. L. Croft, yet another brother being cox. O. J. Ellison was this year in the Eight, and the House once again secured the Cup. HOUSE FOURS IN '^6 209 There were six other competitors, but in those daj^s the holders of the Cup had not to row until the Final, so Evans' were not drawn in the heats.* The race is thus described in the Book, — Windsot ( W. Evan^). Bow F. L. Croft. 2 S. H.Whitbread. 3 C. T. Warner. Str. O. J. Ellison. Cox. F. E. Croft. Mid- stream (Cornis/i's). Bow A. Thomson. 2 A. R. Pitman. 3 E. V. Wheeler. Str. P. C. NoveUi. Cox. Christian. Eton (Cameron^ s) Bow J. F. Burn-Mur- doch. 2 A. E. Staniland. 3 R. E. Philips. Str. A. B. Rathborne. Cox. Combe. * At the word '* Off" Cameron's, aided by the stream, shot ahead, closely followed by Cornish's, Evans' starting rather raggedly and bringing up the rear. But the latter soon got well together, and by Athens had headed Cornish's, and by the time Upper Hope was reached, being capitally steered, had taken the lead. This they increased by a spurt which enabled them to take Cornish's water at Sandbank and caused a hot pursuit on the part of the latter. Owing to the cool judgment of Evans' steerer, they got well round the corner in front of Cornish's, who, in their endeavours to bump the leading boat, rowed them- selves into the Windsor shore. This placed the two other boats on more even terms, though Cornish's managed to row away from Cameron's and eventually to come in two lengths ahead of them, being in their turn about a length behind Evans', who thus won the Cup. Time, 8 minutes 53 seconds. Thus it will be seen that the union and energy reasserted themselves.' t The boy at the back of all this had been John Croft. But he is no longer living, and the only member of these successful crews who tells us now about the races is O. J. Ellison. * This rule was altered the foUowino^ year. t Courtenay Warner, who rowed for the House in both of these years, says, — ' I believe the House four this year was the lightest that ever won this race, as we averaged 9 st. 3 lbs.' 14 2IO JOHN CROFT ' I stroked the House Four,' he writes, *in the races of 1874, '75, and '^6, and we won in the last two years. Jack Croft, who was the moving spirit in the matter, had insisted on the Four practising from the earHest times in '74, on the ground that he intended to win the Cup for the House before he left. To the rest of us — mere nobodies in Lower Boats — the idea seemed absurd ; but, as a result of his energy, we got beauti- fully together and made a very respectable show in the race in '74, and in '75 we won nicely. Jack Croft left in ]\Ay '75, but in '"j^ we succeeded in winning again. 'Jack Croft went out to a business in India directly he left, and from there he wrote to one or other of the crew by almost every mail, in order to keep us up to the mark after he had gone. He also sent us a cheque for two or three pounds, to pay for a telegram to him in India announcing the result. It was quite the proudest moment of my life when I was hoisted back to my Dame's after the race. Would that I could achieve some such triumph again ! * I should like to add that Miss Evans was a school friend of my mother's in Germany, and it was through this early friendship that my father was induced to take up his practice as a Doctor at Windsor and Eton ; she was ever afterwards a dear and faithful friend of our family.' In view of such achievements as these, it is a sad fact to have to record that the House never won this Cup again : it became more and more a dry-bob house, and the Books show that, in the course of nearly thirty years, Evans' rarely entered for this race, and never even reached the Final. Of the three remaining House Cups of those days, two of which the House won three years in succession, not so much is to be said. Contests at Fives and Racquets naturally resolve themselves into the prowess of indi- viduals, and the honour to the House lies more in the fact of possessing the players than in the part it can itself take as a whole. SCHOOL ATHLETICS 211 The House Fives was won in '72 by Robert and Edward Lyttelton, and in '73 and '74 by Edward Lyttelton and his brother Alfred. For the House Racquets, the same players represented the House in each of these three years — viz., J. Oswald and Alfred Lyttelton, and in each they were successful. The House Shooting Cup was not in those days regarded as of the same importance as the others, though it is as old as the Fives Cup, having been started in '69, and only one year junior to the Racquets. The Cup was won by Evans' in '73, the House being represented by Edward Lyttelton, J. E. Gladstone, and J. R. Croft. Various School contests, in which members of the House also made their mark in these years, remain to be recorded. In School Fives, Edward and Alfred Lyttelton were the winners in '^i ; Edward Lyttelton and W. F. Forbes* in '74; and j. Oswald and J. Wakefield* in '75. In the Double Racquets, C. C. Lacaita and E. O. H. Wilkinson* were the winners in '72 ; Alfred Lyttelton and F. M. Buckland* in '73 ; and Alfred Lyttelton and J. Oswald in '75. Alfred Lyttelton also won the Single Racquets in '74. On the river, the School Pulling and the School Sculling remain as two of the oldest races, both dating from the year 1830. In '75 J. R. Croft won the Pulling with G. Cunard,* and also carried off the Sculling, thus securing two of the greatest aquatic events of the Summer half The successes of members of the House in the Races were not numerous. Alfred Lyttelton won the 100 yards in '74; and in 'yj, H. Whitfeld won the School Mile and was Second in the Steeplechase. In the Sports in '74, Alfred Lyttelton won the Hammer * Boys' names so marked were not members of Evans'. 14 — 2 212 SCHOOL ATHLETICS with a throw of 84 feet 7 inches, and the Cricket Ball with one of 106 yards 4 inches. With these, the successes of the House and of its members come, for the present, to an end. Just before the opening of this period, Edward Lyttelton remarks that 'there was not an ounce of silver on the Hall tables.' There was assuredly no want of it now. CHAPTER XIV REMINISCENCES, 1865 - 77 — LETTERS FROM HENRY N. GLADSTONE, HERBERT GLADSTONE, C. C. LACAITA, EDWARD LYTTELTON, ALFRED LYTTELTON, HERBERT EDWARD RYLE (bISHOP OF WINCHESTER), C. T. ABRA- HAM, BERNARD HOLLAND AND LORD F^ARRER ROBERT BUCHANAN RIDDELL Such an abnormal number of successes as those just described did not, as may be supposed, add to the popularity of the House in the School. Evans' had passed through periods of unpopularity before, but at this time there was a feeling against it for which it is difficult to account. Some have set it down as due to jealous^'', others to our having swaggered, and some, again, to the fact of the House exceeding other Houses in numbers and having thus a better chance of winning the House Cups. But it is doubtful whether the feel- ing against us can really be attributed to any of these. If it was due to jealousy, our unpopularity would not have extended as widely as it did, for many of the houses could not be regarded as rivals, and these equally disliked us. The Englishman is not by nature a modest person, and the successful Eton boy does not vary from his prototype. Some no doubt swaggered ; but this weakness concerned individuals and was as prominent elsewhere. We were not collectively given to swagger about our House, and we were equally unpopular when we had nothing to swagger about, when the silver on the Hall tables was confined to 214 THE CHARACTER OF THE HOUSE William Evans' spoons. And then as regards numbers. If numbers were the passport to success, and we appear to have exceeded those of the larger houses by not more than ten at most, and sometimes by not more than four, then we ought to have continued to secure the Cups. But victory does not lie with the big battalions as often as is supposed, and we did nothing of the kind. In '"jj we were left with the Shooting Cup, in the following year we could boast no Cups at all, and a large number of years were to run by ere long- without our winning a single one. Yet our numbers remained all that time constant. How, then, is the matter to be explained ? It seems as if the real causes lay far more in this direction : we were guilty of a National weakness ; we were some- what exclusive, and this is an unpopular characteristic the world over. In other words, we hung together very much. The large majority of the boys of the House had their intimate friends in the House more than outside. We had been in existence nearly forty years, and our record was a remarkable one. That record was very precious to most of us. From the earliest days the House had been distinguished b}'^ a strong esprit de corpSy and to take part in any of the great contests, to do something to help in keeping up the House's record, and to be enrolled in the Book of Champions, was deemed the highest honour. Thus we were extremely proud of our House; but in this there was no empty swagger or feeling of contempt for other houses. We were Eton boys first and before all, and those who can look back upon more than half a century of the House's history, and have kept in touch with it throughout that period, say that Evans was the quintessence of Etonianism. Others have said that the House was a thing apart, while still always holding a distinct place in a greater whole and here we touch again that exclusiveness already THE CHARACTER OF THE HOUSE 215 referred to. There was, in truth, about Evans' a certain individuality, and this characteristic stamped itself upon its members very strongly. Many old Etonians, who were not themselves members of the House, confirm this, and admit readily that there appeared to be a kind of freemasonry amongst us that seemed to bind us together. Other Houses had the same spirit in varying degrees, just as we may find it in the leading Colleges at Oxford and Cambridge. But, dimly recog- nized though it be, such a characteristic is never a popular one outside. It is the boast of Etonians that they hold together in a way that members of other schools have not the power of doing in quite the same way, and those of us who have travelled furthest and receive the hardest knocks know the truth of this. Evans' was merely the counterpart of such a spirit ; and, if other evidence were wanting, it lies in the letters quoted in these pages and in many another for which there has been no space. There are few better tests of friendship than that which is experienced when two meet after a long interval and find themselves able to begin where they left off; and nothing has been more striking in the preparation of this volume than the evidence it has afforded the writer that if the chain uniting Etonians is strong, the links between members of Evans' are not to be broken easily. Those of the House who have risen highest by their own efforts have responded to the call in a spirit which has been remarkable indeed, and if a large number of these were absolute strangers to the writer, there have been others with whom there has been no spoken word or written line for thirty or forty years, but who have yet sprung forward with the grip of the hand of a friend. Why ? For the love of the old House, and the sake of the links that bind us. Jane Evans by her infinite tact and judgment was 2i6 HENRY GLADSTONE'S LETTER able later on to correct the feeling against the House very largely, and until, indeed, it disappeared almost entirely. She set about this by bringing boys and Masters from outside more into touch with the inner life of the House, and by allowing the seven boys who breakfasted with her every morning to ask two friends, she herself at the same time asking many of the younger Masters at intervals. In this way the wall was broken down, and the House by degrees became as popular as it had formerly been the reverse. The letters of this period are extremely numerous, and it is difficult to make a selection. All that can be done is to pick out those by the most representative men, and that give a description of the House from various points of view. The first on the list is from Henry N. Gladstone, who tells of Annie Evans' period and mentions an interesting visit his father paid him : ' When I went to my Dame's in September '64 the House stood so high, and the pressure for admittance was so great, that even boys who were not related were doubled up. I shared the cellar-like room next the Library with Arthur Lyttelton, and we were both quite satisfied with it. What impressed me most about the management of the House was my Dame's reliance upon the Captain for good order and discipline, and her aversion to calling in outside help from any Master. I refer more to Annie Evans, who controlled the House in my day. There were, of course, breaches of rules, sometimes somewhat serious ; but my Dame was always able to deal successfully with them herself. Protest and appeal from her were more effective than pccnas. She had great faith in her bo3^s and would not easily believe charges against them. ' One night the door into Keate's Lane from the Library area was left open, and some half-dozen of us thought we would take a short walk. We went towards South Meadow, found it cold and dull, and returned to the House by the way we had left. No sooner were we safely in than we met the Captain going round taking the names of all the boys inside HENRY GLADSTONE'S LETTER 217 the House. We were duly enrolled, and then heard that Sam Evans having, from his house opposite, seen us emerge from my Dame's, promptly crossed over and gave information that some of the beloved boys had gone out after Lock-up intent upon some serious mischief. My Dame was disinclined to believe such a charge and declared her brother was mistaken, and the list, then and there taken by the Captain, of course fully justified her confidence in her boys, to the dis- comfiture of her brother. ' On one occasion I was seized with an uncontrollable desire to travel b}^ the night Irish mail, in those days a famous express train. That this necessitated a breach of School rules was nothing to me, and I left Eton for home after the last 5 o'clock school instead of early in the morning, and so got the night express from Euston. Soon after reaching Hawarden early the next morning, a telegram arrived from my Dame by mounted mes- senger from Chester, asking if I was at home, and with the permission of my mother I replied that I zvas safely at home and that explanations would follow. Needless to add that my Dame was satisfied with the fact that my parents knew of my escapade, and made no further reference to the matter when I returned to Eton. 'Jane Evans visited Hawarden Castle from the 7th to the nth August, 1879, and her name duly appears in the Visitors' book there. 1 was in India at the time, but my brother recollects the visit.* 'In December, 1868, my father was summoned to Windsor by the Queen for the first time to form a Government. I well recollect his leaving the train at Slough and calling at my Dame's to see me. I walked up to Windsor Castle with him, and the extract from the diary, which I enclose, proves my recollection to be right.t It is a notable fact under the circumstances * ' I remember well Jane Evans' visit to Hawarden in '79. She was delighted to meet my father, who held her in great esteem, and appreciated fully her excellent qualities.' — H. J. G. t ' Hawarden, December 3/-^', 1868. — Off with General Grey soon after 8. At Chester we received H M.'s communication, and we reached Slough before 3.30. H.M. being on her drive, I saw Harry, and went to the Castle. My audience was over at 6. Full conversa- tion with Sir G. Grey. Off to London at 6.18. Saw Clarendon on the great matter, then Lord Granville.' 2i8 HERBERT GLADSTONE'S LETTER that he should have thought of coming to Eton to call for me at my Dame's.' Henry Gladstone's younger brother, Herbert J. Gladstone, the present Home Secretary, sends the following interesting notes : * I went to Evans' in the summer of '65, and left in the summer of '72. Seven very happy years. In a fatherh^ way, William Evans — ** Old Beves," as we always called him — still exercised some control, but the management was virtually in the hands of Annie and Jane Evans, Nothing could exceed the care and kindness which, like every other boy, I received from first to last. M}^ first fag-master was Hubert Parry. We small boys worshipped him, for not only had he the best deserved reputation for kindness, but he was a beautiful football-player, and the sound of his voice and piano, in the dawning days of his musical fame, was something to remember. We did not understand what a Bachelor of Music was, but we knew it was a great honour in the House. Subsequently I fagged for Kenyon-Slaney, Julian Sturgis, and George Green- wood, all of them friends in after-life, so that as a fag I was very fortunate. But I still remember Greenwood's intricate coffee-pot, which gave me much trouble. It is interesting to look back on the code of ethics which then governed the general practice of " bagging " the belongings of other boys. When ordered to get butter, bread, tea, and such things, there was nothing for it but to execute the order by rapid action or guile. All food, except, perhaps, cooked food, was fair plunder, and also all school books. It was not good form to take bound books or clothes, excepting caps or comforters. Only necessity was held to justify the seizure of hats and umbrellas. Pictures and ornaments were safe. Theft, even of stamps, was held to justify expulsion. The system worked quite well, though sometimes it was annoying to lose one's breakfast. * The order kept in the House was wonderful. It was due to the genial kindness and trustfulness of my Dame, which was generally held to impose corre- sponding obligations on the boys. Even serious THE MATCH WITH DRURY'S IN '68 219 breaches of discipline were overlooked. My brother Harry bolted to Hawardcn one night before the House broke up for the holida^^s. I was particeps crimims, for I had to get into his bed to make it appear that it had been occupied, and to cook up some explanation in the morning — an explanation which entirely broke down on cross-examination. It was a harmless esca- pade and was treated as such, the surest way under the circumstances of preventing its recurrence. * During my seven years, perhaps the most memorable experiences were the House football matches. We were generally in the Final, and I played for the House for four years. To this day I cannot forgive what we all thought the mistaken award of a rouge to Drury's. We had tied twice in fiercely contested semi-Final matches. Then we drew lots to decide which of us should p\a.y Warre's, who had drawn a bye and were the favourites. We played, and won after a great match. Then in our third match against Drury's, a rouge was given against us and we lost the Cup. It was a bitter experience, and I am sure that all the surviving members of our eleven share my feelings to this day. The umpire in question has long been a friend of mine, but I have never since ventured tcr mention the subject to him for fear of losing my temper, ' One rather famous incident which happened in or about '68 I remember very clearly. It was what was called the " Swagger row." Four or five men were reading with an Army Coach, and they used to pass down Keate's Lane on their way towards Dorney Common. Their st3de of dress and demeanour, though harmless enough, gave great offence, and at last boys standing at the entrances to the Houses in Keate's Lane began to chaff them, and call out " swagger." One day I happened to be staying-out when these young men passed, and from one of Evans' upper windows saw what occurred. They had passed the door of our House, where Carr-Lloyd was standing alone. There was a group of boys at the entrance to Thackeray's. The usual cries were raised, and this time one or two fives-balls were thrown. The men turned, and one of them, going up to Carr-Llo3^d, who, if I remember right, had his hands in his pockets, hit him straightway in the eye, knocking him into the 220 THE 'SWAGGER ROWS' gutter. The other men then attacked the group at Thackeray's, where blows were exchanged, i here was nothing decisive, and meanwhile many boys appeared, and the men retired down Keate's Lane amid a shower of fives-balls. So much resentment was caused by the attack on Carr-Lloyd, who, as it happened, had been innocent of offence, that an elaborate plan was concocted to avenge the assault. It was arranged that a number of boys should lie in wait by the old Fives Courts, and that a number of others should follow the " Swaggers," as they were called, at a discreet distance, till they had nearly reached the Fives Courts. The boys in ambush were then to come out, and, caught in this trap, the Swaggers were to be put into the ditch, where there was an ample depth of muddy water. The Masters, however, got wind of the plot, and patrolling the road in force put an end to it. But after that the Swaggers never passed through Keate's Lane. ' An old Evans' practice was given up the year I went to Eton. New boys had to undergo a sort of " crossing the line " ordeal. They were made to sit on what looked liked a seat, but which was a bath full of water. There were other pranks. One of them was to make the boy sit on a table with a hole in it concealed by a table-cloth. Underneath was a boy with a pin. ' I look back with pride on my long association with the old House. Annie Evans, who died early, though of a nervous and excitable nature, was kindness itself. Of the lady known to all Etonians as "Miss Evans," her rare qualities have made her famous, and her name is enshrined in the memory of all the boys.' C. C. Lacaita, whose name has been often mentioned, was Captain of the House at an important period ('71), and as he kept a diary during a part of his Eton days, he has been able to refresh his memory concerning various events. * I went to Eton,' he writes, ' in January '^y. For some time I shared a room with A. M. Blake.* Thompson * Afterwards in ihe Grenadier Guards. JULIAN STURGIS 221 (Albert, fl-Zms 'Pip') was Captain. I don't remember anything approaching- bullying in the House. Julian Sturgis, who was in Sixth Form, Pop, and the Field, was asked by a lady who knew my father to be kind to me. I have before me his answer, and copy the greater part of it, as it illustrates the kind of boy whose presence at the top makes a good House ; and of such, I think, mv Dame's had a fair share whilst I was there : ' " Eton Society, ' '•'■January 24, 1867. ' " My dear Miss P., ' " I am sure that I need not tell you how flattered I am that you should think me likely to be benevolent to a new boy, and how happy I am that I have it in my power to fulfil any request of yours. I was very much amused by your letter, as it happens, oddly enough, that I have already done my best to make Lacaita at home here, as I thought that, as the only new boy this half at my Dame's, he was rather solitar3^ I had quite a long talk with him the other evening. I can assure you that you need be in no uneasiness as to his comfort, for bullying is now a thing quite un- known at my Dame's, and though he told me he was rather lonel}'- at first and knew no one, yet by this time he must be shaking into the ways of the place and of his schoolfellows. I have told him to come to me if he is in want of the experience of an old boy in the manners and customs of the place. I have also engaged him as my fag." * Now, I recollect that, a few days after that letter was written, an older boy than myself, who had dis- covered that 1 was a bit of a sap, and saw his way to profit by the discovery, came into my room and per- suaded me, quite gently, to do his verses for him. I had hardly set to work when Julian Sturgis, who, I suppose, had happened to notice a bigger boy enter my room and not come out again, soon wondered what he was up to, so came in himself, and finding out what was going on, administered such a kicking, in the literal sense, to the "sweater" that I was never again asked to do verses or other work for any boy. The fagging was not such a sinecure as Sturgis 222 C. C. LACAITA'S REMINISCENCES intended. He messed with those admirable twin brothers George and Maures Horner, and they liked things done as they ought to be done. Coffee-making and milk-boiling were my duties, and Maures in par- ticular used to be sceptical about the alleged impossi- bility of boiling milk that had turned sour. * I recollect that the only real nuisance of fagging was being sent up to Bargent's to fetch raw chops and steaks. I remember being so fagged after my Fifth Form Trials had been read out, the last day of the half, and feeling a very Hampden. Whether I went or not, I cannot recollect ; but probabl}^ discretion overcame indignation, and the illegality was submitted to, ' I don't think the food was quite as good then as it became later, and I find several grumbles about the tea. Of the dinner nobod}^ could justly complain. It was part of the unwritten law that we could not be constrained to eat pork, however much we might really like it. On one occasion, after Annie's death, by some mistake of the butcher there was nothing but pork for dinner. We soon discovered it, rose, and every one of us, as one boy, marched off to " Tap." Later in the day Jane Evans said to me, quite un- perturbed : " Oh ! wasn't it unfortunate. I knew exactly what would happen. I suppose you all went to Tap." This was an instance of the calm common sense which endeared her to us. She never made a fuss about trifles. Now, had Annie been there, there must have been a scene. She was, I believe, quite as shrewd an observer of boys' characters as her sister, but being more suspicious, she saw things that Jane would not have perceived. She was unequal, and sometimes rather touchy. As an illustration of this, I find recorded, October 3, '70, how she spoke to me twice over in one evening, with some resentment, about the trick boys had got into of rising after prayers without saying "Amen." ' Reading prayers as Captain was rather nervous work the first time or two; then one got as calm as a Conduct in Chapel. But I cannot forget how, one evening, the gas went out when I was reading " Lighten our darkness." Wonderful to say, the boys behaved admirably till they got outside, so I managed somehow to conclude without spluttering. THE LIBRARY 223 ' Annie Evans was a cleverish, nervous woman, hut without the traits that characterized her admirable sister — absolute fairness, unwavering confidence in the victory of good over evil, and that natural sympathy with boy nature, understanding their diffi- culties and dangers, and helping not scolding them when they got wrong. ' Yet I remember, at a time when I was Captain, working very hard for a Balliol Scholarship, sitting up at night and at the same time playing football nme times a week, as well as racquets, mostly " after 10" and "after 2," and consequently having really no time for sitting in the Librar}' or talking much to other boys of the House, how Annie Evans came into my room one evening to tell me 1 was living a selfish life, not doing my duty to the House or to my neigh- bours, and that I ought to read and play less and give my fellows more of my company. What she said was perfectly true, and I think showed a great deal of knowledge of character. I rather resented her inter- ference, which only proved how right she was, ' The Library was, in my days, a real Library and newspaper room for the whole House, and not, as it afterwards became, for a small and exclusive circle. 1 don't mean that small boys would venture to sit there when big fellows were talking there — even at the Athenaeum Club the more modest or obscure members don't sit down next a Cabinet Minister whom they don't know — but we would run in at any time to take out a book we wanted. During '69 and '70 especially, the Library used to be devoted to much "hustling" among the bigger boys. This chiefly consisted in getting some fellow on the floor and piling as many boys on the top of him as the room would hold, till the topmost reached the ceiling. I don't think the "hustling" or the passage football could have been continuously practised in any good Tutor's house. But there was no real harm in them, and, though noisier, they were not more pernicious than other idle ways of whiling away the evenings. I never knew cards played in the Library, but during my last two years there was generally a rubber of whist for very low points — a penny, or at most threepence — often in Brise's room. I suppose I ought to have 224 C. C. LACAITA'S REMINISCENCES interfered when Captain, but I knew that no real harm was being done, though it was a breach of the laws. ' Another of our games, more skilful than passage football, was passage cricket, played with a stump. Many a valuable hour was wasted over this, without fresh air or healthy exercise, or any practice worth mentioning, for the real game. Aubrey Harcourt was king of passage cricket, and scored more centuries there than units in Upper Club. 'The manners of the House towards outsiders ot every description were open to criticism. They were much better in later years. During the last five years I have often watched the door for a long time and never noticed any of the little scenes that made it a disagreeable place for outsiders to pass in our day. 1 have a letter before me from William Evans of June 28, '71 : "We have had several complaints lately (one through the Head Master) affecting the character of our House. The former complaints refer to the throwing of water on passers-by. To-day a note has reached me from Mr. C., stating that a piece of cake was thrown at him. This is quite a new feature in the conduct of our House, which formerly considered such manners imgentlemanly ^ and I must confess that they annoy me very much." 'The little diary which I kept at Eton from the beginning of '69 breaks off in March, '71. I was Captain for, I think, just a year — from Easter '71 till Easter ''J2 — and that is just the time when the diary might have been of a less trumpery kind.' Writing of the House as it was in the period with which we have just been dealing, Edward Lyttelton* says : ' From '68 to '74, when I knew my Dame's from the inside, was the close of a somewhat turbulent period of Eton life. Homes were very much rougher than they are now; boys much more neglected ; and, above all, the modern preparatory school had hardly come into existence. Thus it must not be supposed that * Now Head Master. E. LYTTELTON'S REMINISCENCES 225 the management of a large house (sometimes 54 in number) was a simple matter. William Evans was alive during this time. Jane Evans, from loyalty to him, magnified his influence to the last, but we saw and knew very little of him. He was practically an invalid all this time. Annie was the responsible manager of the House, and Jane was the subordinate figure of the two. Both sisters possessed a genius of insight into a boy's character ; but the elder fretted herself terribly when things went wrong. 1 remember dimly feeling that she understood us, while we hardly felt that we understood her. But no boy ever mis- understood Jane Evans. She had the greatness of simplicity, a transparent high-mindedness, and a deep belief in the better instincts of boyhood. By the year '72 she was governing the House through the top boys, without any effort or fuss or friction. No man in her position could have dispensed with rules. There may have been one, not more, and that one was not quoted, but acted on nearly always. For certain small breaches of discipline we were con- signed to "brother Sam." Grave offences did not occur in the House, or if they did not even the mass of the boys themselves knew of them. To anyone who remembers the general tone of the School this is an astonishing fact, and it was the result of Jane Evans' singular gift of governing without scolding or making boys lose faith in themselves. Her methods were simplicity itself. She would mark, unobserved, the younger boys who were destined to be influential in the House, and, as they became old enough to understand, she would imbue them with the con- viction that things really did depend on them ; that they must rise above their inclinations to selfishness and folly, or they would be false to a great trust. And if she discerned rottenness of character in any boy who was likely to be a leader, he somehow — nobody knew how — disappeared. She discerned this by instinct, and never spoke of what she knew. This was one signal way of turning our attention to things lovely and of good report. * The House was not unfrequently noisy, and it cannot be said that the industry of the boys was better than in other houses. But I doubt if it was 15 226 MAKING VERSES worse. The classical curriculum was very severe for any boy whose tastes lay elsewhere. Mathematics and French were very inadequately taught ; but, on the other hand, if anyone was fond of reading he had time to read. And there were a few boys of unusual literary taste— Arthur Lyttelton,* R. B. Brett, C. C. Lacaita, Henry Hobhouse, and Bernard Holland among others. ' Perhaps it can hardly be called a part oi the in- tellectual life of Eton, but the scene inside my Dame's on Tuesday evenings deserves a passing mention. The inmates had somehow to struggle through a copy of verses. Plagiarism was the rule. One boy, now a prosperous banker, gifted with a fatal fluency in the art of verse-making, used to reel off about i6o lines every week, including his own copy. Some of the lamer ducks would rely on sporadic help from those in whom indiscriminate charity stirred no qualms. Their method was to tear off ragged morsels from the paper on which bald fragments of English were written, so as to give two to one friend and two to another, and after a few minutes revisit the rooms, gather up the fragments, and copy out the most hideous piece of mosaic work ever seen. This they would show up to their Tutor, with their names, and a pretentious motto on the top. Nor is this to be wondered at. The copies were absurdly hard. I was in Remove when just thirteen, and remember being set an original copy of Alcaics, to be done without a word of help, never having touched an Alcaic before. Next morning it was a positive relief to find that an attack of mumps had set in. This was in October '68. ' Passage football was not uncommon. Many of us used to play twice in the day and for an hour and a half in the evening ; a sort of embryonic Wall game, amazingly hot and dusty. Nor can I recall that this was thought to be an undesirable expenditure of energy. Those, however, who wished to work con- trived to do so amid the noisiest racket. The conscientious boys in Remove — among whom I may mention the late H. P. Currie, afterwards Principal of * See Memoir by the Rev. the Hon. G. S. Talbot, Bishop of Rochester, in " Modern Poets of Faith, Uoubt and Paganism," by A. T. Lyttelton. ETON STORIES 227 Wells Theological College — would spend two and a half hours over one Ode of Horace which the ordinar}'' boy learnt with a crib in one-fifth of the time. There was little dishonest work except in verses, but I cannot say public opinion was very robust on the subject. In another department of social life petty larceny was rampant. No boy's order of butter was safe in his room unless he hid it away in his wardro be among his clean shirts. Books and umbrellas were "lifted" remorselessly, and lost without the least dis- quiet. On the somewhat rare occasions when things were fairly quiet after tea, the one unfailing pastime was to gather together and tell stories about the Masters for a good two hours at a stretch. * A peculiarity of our social life at my Dame's was the practice of the Lower-boys going out into the fields and commons in the dead of winter and wading through big stretches of flood-water, often up to their waists in a lake nearly freezing. Warmth was recovered by a brisk fight with country "cads," when- ever met, the commonest scenes of these encounters being the end of Brocas Lane or the environs of Slough. Vigorous stone-throwing was the mode of assault, and as one result there were five members of the '74 eleven who could throw over 100 yards with the cricket-ball. The Lower-boys were driven to these pastimes by the utter lack of Fives courts, there being only twelve altogether besides the Chapel walls.' The writer recalls one of the most famous of these fights in which he took part with two who now stand very high in the Country's service. The affair was premeditated, the scene was the neighbourhood of Upton, and the day was a Sunday. Having com- menced proceedings in the usual way, we shortly found ourselves engaged with a body who out- numbered us b}^ ten to one, many of our opponents being grown men. A great deal of animus was shown by the enemy, and after a while we suddenly became aware that we were being surrounded. There was then nothing to be done but to run the gauntlet, and hope to escape by fleetness of foot. Pursued b}- a 15—2 228 THE SWAN'S EGG yelling mob, we made across the ploughing, now the level turf of Agar's Plough. It was a heavy run, and our foes were close upon us as we cleared the fence by the kennels, and fortunately landed into the friendly arms of the local policeman, who at once lent us protection and escorted us safely into College. These escapades were ver}^ foolish, doubtless ; but they possessed all the excitement of a general action, with a fair share of its dangers. There was something very considerate in the way those about us invariably took our part, right or wrong. Here is another instance. A certain boy had abstracted a swan's egg from a nest at Ditton which the parent birds had deserted. The egg was, of course, addled. Having kept it for some weeks in his room, the egg at last began to betray its character, and had to be made away with. An inoffending wayfarer chanced, at the moment, to be passing down Keate's Lane on the opposite side of the road, and with unerring aim that egg found its billet. In justifiable indignation, the unfortunate victim immediately crossed the road and rang the bell. The summons was answered by the butler, a man who had served in the Greys in Scarlett's famous charge at Balaklava, and who was known by us as ' Corporal.' * I wish to see Miss Evans at once,' was the agitated request. ' Oh, but my good man,' was Corporal's solemn reply, ' it is impossible for you to see Miss Evans like t/iafJ The door was forthwith closed, and further appeal denied — at least, for the time. To refer here in detail to Alfred Lyttelton's successes is unnecessary: his name figures ver}^ prominently in these Annals as well as in the letters of his con- temporaries, and his career as an Eton boy was as brilliant as that of any who can claim to have belonged to the House.* Of his own doings he, naturally * Among many other things, not mentioned elsewhere, Alfred Lyttelton was President of Pop and Editor of the Cfvonicle in '74-'75. ALFRED LYTTELTON'S LETTER 229 perhaps, writes nothing, but of Jane Evans he sends the following interesting sketch : 'The earliest facts to which my memory attaches gather round sundry adventures of myself and the present Head Master, whom I accompanied to Eton at the age of ten. But of these 1 must not speak, though, with sorrow, I leave unrecorded a notable battle against some colliers in Windsor which ter- minated in a very warm quarter of an hour on the Cobler below Bridge, to which we had beei/ driven by a storm of coal and stones. ' I have a clear recollection of Annie Evans ; but she died while I was still a small boy, and Jane Evans, who in her sister's lifetime had purposely kept in the background, and who reigned for five of the eight years of my Eton life, will always be to me "my Dame." Jane Evans' qualities were essentially those which are generally ascribed to the best and most truly English characters. Profound in her affections (I can never forget her agonies of grief at her sister's death), anything like display of them she regarded as not altogether wholesome. She held reticence in high esteem, and had a healthy distrust of gush, and this combination in her of deep feelings and reserve was very congenial to boys who unconsciously admired the former and most consciously appreciated the latter. She possessed, though in her later years it was very rarely employed, a power of sarcasm which we greatly feared. But we recognized that this formidable weapon was never used without real cause. In general, her humour was of the sunniest and most genial quality, being sometimes with difficulty suppressed on occa- sions of lighter breaches of discipline, as, e.g., when indignant wayfarers (sometimes magisterial) had Eassed under fire from the lower windows of the louse, and had made complaint against the outrage. For no one ever discerned more plainly than she did where mischief ended and where wrongdoing began, or who, for that reason, w^as more impres- sive in displeasure when real occasion for its mani- festation arose. Thus, throughout all her relations with us, a true sense of proportion guided her thought and action, and fussiness never invaded the 230 JANE EVANS spacious and serene balance and good sense ol her rule. ' During the period before we attained a position in the House, she watched us with comprehensive vigilance, and made few claims on us, though, once the Rubicon was passed, when we became members of her breakfast-parties, we were expected to be her Cabinet in the Administration of the 50 boys over whom, igMoring Governing Body and their regula- tions, sh(.. held swa}'. In general, her demands on us were sl.g-ht, but now and again formidable difficulties arose, and these, professing herself as a woman, un- able to manage, she sometimes cast upon the chivalry and good-will of her Captain and his compeers. I have a vivid and painful recollection of one incident where, having failed to convince a parent that his son should be quietly withdrawn as he was doing no good to himself at Eton and much harm to others, she referred him to me for a corroboration of her instinct, which, in such matters, was almost infallible. I must admit that, although convinced of the justice of her opinion, I cannot recollect to have ever since passed a worse quarter of an hour than that which I spent in obeying her request on this occasion. 'Jane Evans' influence permeated everywhere and in all spheres of activity in the House. She did not pretend to learning, but she upheld its promoters, and gloried in the scholarly successes of her boys ; she watched our football matches in the worst weather, stimulated us by her mild valour, and displayed a quiet but strong pride when our efforts brought the old House to the front. In time of disaster her tact was of the finest, and nothing could be more healing than the robust sympathy with which, like a good nurse who purposely infuses a little humdrum into her consolations, she minimized, though she never ignored, the poignancy of defeat. 'The bovs librarv re boys library reflected the broad and tolerant aspects of her influence. There, no doubt, much athletic shop was discussed, but not a little talk of books and politics was encouraged, and boys whose interests were not mainly in games were there re- ceived with respect and recognition. 'The power, dignity, and humour of Jane Evans' BISHOP OF WINCHESTER'S LETTER 231 character are perpetuated in Mr. Sargent's splendid picture, which will interpret her personality to the descendants of those who were enriched by her influence. The office of which she was the last tenant, and whose opportunities she grasped with such singleness and nobility of spirit, will never again be filled by a lady; but the dynasty of Dames closed indeed with honour. Unless I misread the signs of the times, Jane Evans' original and instinctive sagacity created an example from which two of the happiest features of modern Eton have been evolved. Firstly, the large share in and responsibility for the well- being of the House, the unit of administration at Eton, now, under vigilant and enlightened guidance, accorded to the boys. Secondly, the cheerful and wholesome intimacy of boy and Master which has replaced the conventional hostilities of more acri- monious days.' The next letter is from the Bishop of Winchester, the sole survivor of the three Bishops the House may claim. It tells of many whom it has been impossible to mention elsewhere in these pages; and, above all, it refers to a touching incident at the time when Jane Evans' life was drawing to a close : ' When I went to Eton in September '68, at the age of twelve, I was first of all at Sam Evans', there being no room for me in the larger House. There were seven of us at Sam's, all Lower-boys — Abraham, Sam Rogers, Cust, Michell, Lord Alwyn Compton, and Furnell Watson ;* and I was in the disagreeable posi- tion of Captain of the small house my first term. I shared a room with Abraham ; and we all went across the road to fag in the big House morning and evening. * I fagged for " Fish " Alexander, who messed with Lyttelton max. and F. A. Currey. Alexander was a particLilarly nice fellow : he was afterwards Captain of the House, had his colours for the Twenty-two, and * Of these, only C. T. Abraham and H. E. Ryle (the Bishop) became members of the House. 232 BISHOP OF WINCHESTER'S LETTER was, later on, Keeper of Mixed Wall. He went to Oxford, and was subsequently ordained. He did splendid work at Walworth in South London, under Bishop Thorold, and his premature death cut off a life of great influence as well as of great promise. ' Lyttelton, nicknamed " Buttons," because he had been a page at Court, is well-known as having become the first Master of Selwyn College, Cambridge, and afterwards Bishop of Southampton. The " mess " used to have their meals in his room. The sword he had worn as a page hung on the wall ; and I can remember a photograph of the large Lyttelton clan, whose names and ages we fags debated. ' F. A. Currey was in the Eight, and was afterwards Captain of the Boats ; and he is the sole survivor of the mess. Each member had three fags, and during the three halves I fagged, it was either for Alexander or for Lyttelton. The duties were distributed. There was tea to be made, and also large quantities of toast ; nearly always cooking to be done, either steak or sausages or eggs ; and the tablecloth had to be neatly laid. I spent many hours in the small, dark, redolent boys' kitchen : often I went down town to purchase the highly coloured portion of raw steak, to be cooked for Currey's breakfast when he was in training ; the solemnity of the duty quite compensated for the draw- backs of the paper parcel and its contents. All three fag-masters were quite excellent fellows. ' We boys were supremely happy, and were, of course, very proud of the House. I was supposed to be working very hard for College, and remember trying to read the beginning of Sophocles' Ajax with Edward Lyttelton. But it was the cricket half and very hot, and our efforts did not come to much. I was conscious, however, of the value of his sympathy in a praiseworthy endeavour to "sap"; not many Lower-boys in the House would own to it. * Of other Lower-boys at that time, I recall Peter (now Colonel) Clowes,* a strong, square-shouldered wet-bob, and one of the most good-natured. There was also W. A. Ellison, the son of Dr. Ellison : I used to help him with his Latin verses, and he used to help * Colonel 1'. L. Clowes, C.B., afterwards commanded the 8th Hussars ; served in the Afghan War and in South Africa. BISHOP OF WINCHESTER'S LETTER 233 me with difficult sums. There was also E. V. L. Brett,* Lord Esher's younger brother, who died after- wards as a soldier ; and Pulteney, who took Remove, and was always capable and level-headed. * Among senior boys in the House, I recollect Alfred Farquhar, nicknamed "the Rat." He was reputed to be one of the cleverest boys in the House. There were also Bob Lyttelton, Drummondf and Ruggles- Brise, and Hobhouse, who was a good scholar. These are names I recall because they were kind to me as a small boy in one way or another. * The library at my Dame's was an excellent institu- tion, and, though I was one of the smaller boys, I was constantly in it, and read a great many books there ; the bigger boys either ignored or tolerated good- naturedly my continual use of the room. ' Later on, after I got into College, I used to come very frequently to breakfast on Sunday mornings with the small party over which Jane Evans presided with thoughtful and genial tact. * Among other names that occur to me, as I look back more than forty years ago, are those of Borrer,t with whom I shared many fagging duties, and who was very musical, and always keen to discuss the merits of the Anthem in Chapel. There was also poor dear Currie,§ late Principal of Wells Theological Col- lege, who was in the same Form with me. He wrote nearly the "worst hand I ever saw, and his hair bristled upright on his head. But for sheer goodness of character and resoluteness of high purpose, he was simply splendid. The present Lord Esher was also conspicuous in the House at that time. I can recollect being struck by a Classical bas-relief hanging on the wall of his room. It was a piece of tasteful adornment not very common in a boy's room. F. C. Arkwright,! now of Willersly, Derbyshire, attained a high reputa- * Afterwards Scots Guards, d. December 8, '82. t W. A. Home - Drummond- Moray, afterwards Captain Scots Guards ; served in the Sudan in '85. X A. H. Borrer, now in the Civil Service ; had two elder brothers at the House— C. H B. and C. F. B., both afterwards in the 60th Rifles. § H. P. Currie, d. March 20, '03. II F. C. Arkwright, Captain of the House and 2nd Captain of the Oppidans ; Sergeant- Major and Ensign E.V.R.C. ; won the Drawing Prize. 234 BISHOP OF WINCHESTER'S LETTER tion among us for his ability as a water-colour painter, as well as for his powers in the football field. Two fellows, Bickersteth* and Kirklinton-Saul,t who were in the Form above me, were very close friends, and I have a lively recollection of small acts of kindness on their part. There were also Townley,t nicknamed " Cub," and Howard Sturgis, who was a friend of mine and is now a man of letters. * When I came over to the big House in the Spring of '69, 1 shared a room with a boy named Danby.§ The next room, on one side, was occupied by G. G. Greenwood, the Captain. Beyond our room was another occupied by Edward and Alfred Lyttelton ; and beyond that, a double-room occupied by the two Gladstones. The two brothers Childersil were in a double-room, facing the road ; and there were also the two Nevills, Lord Nevillli and his brother Henr}^,** but they had separate rooms. ' William Evans was very infirm. I recollect his coming into the Hall while we were dining, and patting our heads in a mild paternal manner, as he passed with a slow and feeble step between the tables. His delightful water-colours covered the walls of the sitting-rooms. 'Jane Evans was the mainstay of the House. We relied upon her common sense and her force of character. She was always ready to talk with the smallest boy, and to be interested in his affairs. She was most kind to me in insisting that my connexion with the House should not be severed when 1 became a Colleger in '69; and I always felt I owed a great deal to the maintenance of this close tie with the House, which she never allowed to slacken. ' I may mention that I saw her the last Summer of her life, one Sunday. Her drawing-room was full of * Died July 30, '72. t J. P. and D.L., Cumberland ; High Sheriff, '98. X R- G. Townley, afterwards in H.M. Diplomatic Service ; d. at Pekin, November 30, '80. § W. B. Danby, a solicitor. il C. E. E. Childers, afterwards a barrister; and E. S. E. Childers, Colonel Royal Engineers and C.B. : served in the Afghan War and in Egypt m '82 and '85. H Now Earl of Lewes. ** Now Lord Menry Nevill. THE BISHOP AND JANE EVANS 235 people ; but she came out and took me into another room. She struck me as very failing in strength, but extraordinarily happy in mind. She talked a good deal about her brother Sam, who had died very sud- denly. * As we were parting, she took my hands and said : "You are my one English Bishop; you will give me your blessing." And she knelt down and I gave her my blessing. Our eyes were full of tears. But it was not sadness. My recollections went back to the same room, where I had, as a small boy, first seen her and her sister, and been drawn, from the very first, to her quiet, strong sympathy. We were all her boys to the very last.' Charles T. Abraham was at the House from '68 to '^6^ and is now Vicar of Bakewell in Derbyshire, and Canon of Southwell Minster. A letter from him gives the following amusing account of life in the House in his day : ' I had eight years at my Dame's, and began life as a small brat of eleven years old at Sam's house over-the- way, where I shared a room with Ryle, the present Bishop of Winchester, before he went into College ; had my first fight with Sam Rogers before he went to Drury's; was initiated into the mysteries of fagging by " Hoppy " Morland ;* and was jolly glad to get across to the big House and a room in the cottage there, where most of the furniture had to be put in the passage when the bed came down. Kindl}^ Hugh Currie let me mess with him till I settled down with " Lucy " Brett in the big double room over "Beeves'" head, where peace had to reign. ' My first half was that of the last general election at open hustings in Windsor. Days before the poll it was a fearful joy to get up Windsor to Batchelor's Acre for a sight of the rows. My Dame's was then a strong Liberal House — Gladstones, Lytteltons, Chil- derses, etc., and when the shouts were heard in Keate's Lane for Gardner, windows were flung up and defiant heads thrust out, 3^elling for Roger Eykyn hoarsely * H. C. Morland, afterwards of the 5th and 9th Lancers. 236 C. T. ABRAHAM'S REMINISCENCES and fiercely. The passages at night were impassable for Lower-boys, owing to the politicals who thronged them. 'Greenwood was Captain of the House; but "the mess " was " Fish " Alexander, Currey, and " Buttons " Lyttelton. I never fagged for them, but I remember when Alfred Lyttelton was first fag he caught his foot in the lead on the top step of the stairs and sent a smoking steak and gravy flymg on to the passage floor. Without more ado he settled it in the dish with the dusty side down, made some good rich gravy in the fag's kitchen, got it on to the table in F. A. Currey's room, and fled incontinently for his life to the furthest room in the Cottage. I think the hue and cry found him. * I was Lacaita's first fag when he got into Middle Division, and had an easy time with his meals, being chiefly struck by the forbidding nature of the books he cut and read at tea-time. I passed from him to the genial sway of Bob Lyttelton and " Rat " Farquhar, who saw me through fagging. It wasn't a bad time. The worst was the breakfast fagging, for if you were late returning from early school, all your commons of butter and milk had gone before you could lock them up, and you were left with the option of milkless tea and dry bread, or an egg and buttered bun at Brown's while the Chapel bell was ringing. The other fagging iniquity was bagging coals of an evening to keep the swells' fires going — dangerous, stealthy raids on other Lower-boys' rooms, or "roking" with a stick for chance lumps under the coal-cellar door in the yard. Making savoury messes and toast in that reeking kitchen and red-hot blaze was rather fun than otherwise, and one got to know some of the good-natured Fifth Form, who used to hang about in the passage outside and talk to the fags while their teas were getting ready. ' Then, as we got bigger, there were the joys of passage football. How one could change and play again I don't know; but it went on night after night, and 1 can see Pulteney's beaming face emerging from a bully which had lasted an unconscionable time and during the whole of which he had been under an appalling mass of struggling humanity. "Dibs" (knuckle-bones), too, were a great feature of winter C. T. ABRAHAM'S REMINISCENCES 237 evenings, and Kirklinton-Saul a fine exponent ot the art. * I used to see a good deal of William Evans. He had known my father and the Selwyns well, and when he talked it was always of old Eton days. Whenever there was a row or anything had gone wrong, he used to express his sorrow that it so happened that he was just writing home to my father, and was concerned that he should have to mention my delinquencies. The letter never arrived. His health was far too broken for him to take any part in the House all my time, * A. D. Lawrie was the centre of much humour, conscious and unconscious, during a considerable number of years at my Dame's, connected with his volunteering, fishing prowess, vigorous energy at foot- ball, and a knack of giving nicknames all round. He led and inspirited a nondescript band — J. E. Gladstone, " The Old," was grim pantaloon who played up to Lawrie's clown ; John Croft, " The Little Boy," was delighted audience, and Sholto-Douglas the never- failing butt of the party. Certain parts of the House quaked with terror when this gang sauntered in on a winter's evening, Lawrie leading, with a suspicious assumption of grave innocence, followed by " The Old " as his shadow. The three little rooms by them- selves at the top of the house were a happy hunting- ground of this gang for some time, and the leads out- side were the scene of hours of ragging.' Bernard Holland, well known for his work at the Colonial Office, and also as a writer, sends the follow- ing notes : * I was for a half or two " over-the-way," at Sam Evans', before being admitted to my Dame's. My father sent me there on the strong advice of my tutor, the distinguished and original-minded William Johnson, who had several pupils there, the Gladstones, Lytteltons, Charles Abraham, and others. Herbert Gladstone was then in the House, usually called " Twopence " Gladstone. There were also in the House four of his Lyttelton cousins : Arthur, the late Bishop of Southampton, who left in July '70, Robert, Edward, and Alfred, so that I lived altogether under a 238 BERNARD HOLLAND'S REMINISCENCES Lyttelton dispensation. Lacaita and Reginald Brett, now Viscount Esher, were among the rnajora sidera of the House at the time of my start there. * In the general life of the House at that date there was a great deal of freedom and very little order, at least among the younger boys. One had to hold one's own as best one could. I remember that one had to conceal one's scant}'' rations of butter and milk at tea time among one's shirts, or elsewhere, on account of the incessant raids. Fags were sent out to procure butter and milk for the more extensive cooking opera- tions of their masters, and no questions were asked as to how the additions were raised. There was a good deal of rough life and active collision. I remember one Homeric encounter, in the room next the Library, between John Croft and Charles Selwyn, who have both since died, boys of great weight, muscle and toughness. This took place after tea, before as large an assembly as the arena would allow. The Lytteltons themselves, from windows commanding Keate's Lane, were fond of fusillading the passing bourgeoisie, with shells skilfully compounded of rolls of jam, and directed with exact aim. * All this undisciplined vigour was probably a mani- festation of the energy which, in '74 and '75, raised my Dame's to the height of athletic power and glory. In '75 all the great Cups, football, cricket, rowing, adorned the tables in our Baronial Hall, and some of the lesser ones, as racquets and fives. We rose in this way as Warre's declined, with whom the hegemony of the Eton world had previously rested. In 'j^ we had not, I think, a boat on the river, although we had been in the football and cricket Finals. But our maritime power rose under the energetic captaincy of John Croft, who was Second Captain of the Boats in '75. In that year we had two boats in for House Fours, and these unfortunately drew each other in the First Heat. I was in the second boat, and remember Croft's injunc- tion at the starting-post : " On no account beat us by any accident." The football eleven in '74 was perhaps the best ever put by the House into the field. * Intellectual pursuits were not altogether neglected. Lacaita achieved the rare success for an Oppidan of winning the Newcastle Medal, a success that was sur- BERNARD HOLLAND'S REMINISCENCES 239 passed not long afterwards by one of the Hobhouses, who was a small boy in the House when I left. Alfred Lyttelton won the History Prize in '75, and I was second. We continued to study history together at Cambridge, and there the parts were reversed, as 1 secured the first place in the History Tripos of '78. No wonder, for L^^ttelton's numerous social and athletic engagements left him small time for study. ' In 1900 I went to the Transvaal Concessions Com- mission, of which Alfred Lyttelton was Chairman, and from 1903 to '05 acted as his Private Secretary at the Colonial Office when he was Secretary of State for the Colonies ; so that I did not cease to follow his banner when I left Eton. In 1901 I dedicated my book, Imperium ct Libertas, to him, in memory of the days when ' we read history together at Eton and at Cambridge. ' The elder Miss Evans died when I had been a year at Eton, and we all followed her body to the grave. I never saw William Evans but once, I think. Jane Evans maintained the constitutional fiction that her father continued to govern the House, and' that all difficult questions were referred to him behind the scenes for his decision. ' In my time the company at my Dame's breakfast- table was excellent, Alfred Lyttelton, of course, the central figure, with the charm that has accompanied him through life then united with the freshness of a splendid boyhood, jane Evans always conveyed the impression of one who put perfect confidence in the honour of those under her, and this made boys who were worth anything extremely loyal to her. She had a beneficent, if erroneous, belief that boys were over- worked in school, and was always ready to grant a staying-out certificate in the case of the smallest illness, perhaps understanding that the real malady'was often an inability to meet one's engagements with the Division Master. ' A friend of mine at Evans' was John Oswald, after- wards of the Foreign Office, with whom I used to play innumerable games of chess, not a bad part of educa- tion. Chess was, for a while, much in vogue at Evans' in '74 and '75. We had large entries for chess tourna- ments. Other members of our society were Lord 240 BERNARD HOLLAND'S REMINISCENCES Windsor, now Earl of Plymouth ; Beckett-Denison, now Lord Grimthorpe ; Charles Abraham, now Rector of Bakewell, Derbyshire ; Howard Whitbread, now in Parliament and a noted traveller-sportsman; Charles Selwyn, a nephew of the famous Bishop of Lichfield ; and A. Lawrie, the foremost exponent of the eccentric sport of fishing in the Thames. ' We founded amongst us in '74, the House Debating Society, of which I was the first Secretary. It was, I believe, the first house debating society in Eton, and was substituted by us for a dramatic society of which we were tired. We had excellent debates on historical and political topics. Three or four of our members were afterwards in the House of Commons. 'I was not myself much of an athlete, though I rowed in the Boats, the Monarch, my last year, and was, in '73, in the Final Heat for the Junior Sculling. But I was very fond of reading, and found immense advantage in the well - chosen little library at my Dame's. This room was the assembly-place, as, I suppose it always has been, of the^ older boys^in the evening. * I really believe that Evans' in my time, and I hope ever after, as certainly before, possessed a good deal of intellectual as well as athletic life. Alfred Lyttelton used to say that we were like Athens as described in the Funeral Oration of Pericles, combining intellectual interest with active life. The tradition of the House in this respect was good, and the library room did much to maintain it. This was the more remarkable because we had no resident master to endeavour to raise our intellectual tone, and to instil respect for this side of life ; and Jane Evans, with all her great virtues, was, I imagine, indifferent to literature as learning, in fact as possibly overstraining the heads of boys slightly opposed to reading. ' I suppose the feeling at Evans' was alwa3^s the same ; but certainly in my time we were very patriotic, and had no doubt at all that we were far and away the most illustrious house at Eton. The different kinds of patriotism that a boy at Eton has for his house and his school are very distinct ; that for the house being perhaps the most ardent and intense, especially in the football season. These two feelings illustrate the LORD FARRER'S REMINISCENCES 241 possibility of combining Canadian, or English, with Imperial Patriotism, to the detriment of neither.' The following letter from Lord Farrer deals very largely with Jane Evans, and is therefore of excep- tional interest : ' You ask me to give you any facts that I can recollect bearing on the history of my Dame's. It is somewhat difficult, after a period of more than thirty years, to be quite certain about dates and facts, but I do what I can to give you my recollections of my time. * I went to Eton in September '71, when I was eleven years old, and left in December '77, during which years, as you know, there were great changes in the House as well as in the customs of the School. When I first went, Jane Evans was but little seen amongst us Lower-boys. Annie Evans was the guiding spirit, of the smaller boys, at any rate, and William Evans had long since retired. ' The strong character always seemed to me to be Jane Evans, and she used to amuse us with stories of her early times when she took over the House from her father. I recollect one of these was, more or less, as follows : She told us that her father was ill, and the servant came to her to say that she was wanted upstairs in the Captain's room. She went up and found the boy stretched on the floor. ''And, I assure you," said she, "that there were empty bottles rolling about the floor. Although I was young, I lost no time in dosing him, and within two hours he was in a cab starting for London." " Thereafter," she added, with a twinkle in her eye, " I was never afraid of any boy." This last statement was certainly true. Not only was Jane Evans never afraid of any boy, but I do not believe that fear entered into her nature at all. ' I wish I could recollect her exact words when she told us the story of how she dealt with the Governing Body when they ordered her to reduce the number of the boys in her House. She began b}^ what is known as passive resistance, saying it was too ridiculous that the Governing Body, some of whom had been boys in her House, should issue such an absurd order. The Secretary, after a time, wrote to her to state that it 16 242 LORD FARRER'S REMINISCENCES did not appear that the Official instructions had been carried out ; and, no notice having been taken, is said to have repeated the letter. Thereupon Jane Evans wrote to say that she was perfectly prepared to inter- view the Governing Body in person, but absolutely declined further correspondence. It was reported that the Governing Body took no further steps, and certainly it was a long time before the numbers were reduced to the prescribed limits. 'Again, I remember, as an instance of her courage, that when she was very ill in the year '^6, 1 was Captain of the House, and Absence was called by myself only at prayers, she having a great dislike to any Master coming into the House. After this had gone on for a long period, the Head Master sent for me and said that he thought it most necessar}^ that a Master should come in to superintend the House. I said that, of course, in that case it must be done ; but I hoped he would allow me to mention it to her before the step was finally decided upon. I went back and sent in to her the best message I could, and her answer was that I was to go back and tell the Head Master that, sooner than have a Master in her House, she would get up herself to superintend calling-over. This was a some- what difficult message for a boy to convey ; but I did my best, and the Head was extremely kind in post- poning action. From that very day Jane Evans began to recover, and lived, I am glad to say, for many years, though her life had been despaired of. ' I think she disliked more than anything else the growing tendency to luxury and displa}^ which she always maintained would be destructive of the best Eton tradition, and every one knows that she exercised a process of the most careful selection for the boys in her House, shipping off undesirables with complete ruthlessness. The tradition of Eton was more to her than any aristocratic prejudices. Just a small instance of this. I recollect that, when I first went to Eton, it was the custom for boys to pla^^ games, football especially, in their old, ordinary clothes, and she lamenteci the disappearance of this habit and the introduction of clothes for every separate form of athletic exercise as an inducement to needless expense. However, fashion was too strong for her, and I under- LORD FARRER'S REMINISCENCES 243 stand that boys have now arrived at lounge suits for evening wear. I recollect her coming in one night in extreme anger, with a telegram from one of the greatest ladies in the land, saying that as her boy ought to be at a big function at home on the morrow, she proposed not to send him back to Eton at the appointed time ; and she showed me her answer, which was : " Either your boy comes back to-day or not at all." ' She also had that saving sense of humour that gave her enormous influence with the boys. She would ahvays hold up to us her brother as the alarming figure in the background, knowing perfectly well, as we did, that her own displeasure was a far more terrible thing. And yet how she laughed when, one 5th of November, boys were all letting off rockets on the roof, and her brother, at the instance of a Master living next door, came over to stop it. Finding the only exit to the roof was a small hole through which he could not get, he obtained a chair to watch this hole, and then sent down word for call-over at prayers to be especially exact. Every boy was present at that call-over, and I always thought J ane Evans knew there was a convenient water-pipe down which they could swarm, instead of coming in through the well-watched skylight under which her brother sat freezing, a wild north wind blowing from the sky upon him. At any rate, she came round that night and said in a marked way of the Master next door, who had sent in to tell her her boys were letting off rockets, " I do believe Mr goes and watches my house out of his back yard, with an umbrella up for fear of the rocket-sticks. How abominable it is of him to give my poor brother all this needless trouble because of his stories." 'Then she used to amuse boys by her apparent participation in their interests and her violent parti- sanship in their football matches, especially if they happened to be against other Dames. I remember her saying she believed those wretched boys at De Rosen's always sharpened their boots before they played us. 'She could say things with slight sharpness, too. I recollect her description of a lady singer as having- a voice "just like tearing calico.' And she had a sardonic humour when necessary. The extraordinary 16 — 2 244 LORD FARRER'S REMINISCENCES Eton custom of a brozier (of eating out house and home), which by the by was a monstrous thing, since she always fed her boys lavishly, was tried one night at supper. The boys began eating up everything and asking for more. Dish after dish was cleared, and at last we thought the fort would have to surrender, and she would have to declare herself defeated. Little did we know my Dame ! She whispered to the butler, who went out to the kitchen and returned in triumph, bearing two huge half-cooked joints of salt beef which had been at that moment stewing in two enormous pots in the kitchen. The Dame said nothing, but, looking as black as thunder, went on carving them, till the boys trickled out, one by one, thoroughly beaten. ' Yet her dignity was amusingly shown at times, especially when it related to Eton tradition. Certain new Mathematical Masters objected to the words " Dame's signature," as applied to them, on printed Leave tickets which they had to sign, and the printing was therefore altered to " House Master's signature." When the first of these was brought to my Dame, she refused absolutely to sign it, and no boy went for leave until the printers had supplied a fresh form with " Dame's signature " reinstated, which, as far as I recollect, was a matter of two or three days, if not more. I shall never forget her going down to break- fast the day after, and saying of these Masters, "Silly young fellows ; I shall have to give them a piece of my mind !" * Such are a few of the stories that have remained in my memory; but these do not give an idea of her constant watchfulness over character, or of the intui- tion with which she saw whether a boy was doing well or not. She had, I think, very little sympathy with the modern idea of education being a purely intellectual affair, and probably would have agreed at heart with Jowett's dictum, "I like the Eton boys; they are so ignorant," meaning by that, that they retained some freshness of mind, and, above all, individuality of character. I know, from her conver- sation, that she thought modern life at Eton was becoming too stereotyped, and when a new Head Master was appointed, she told me she was going to ROBERT BUCHANAN-RIDDELL 245 have a good talk to him about showing more all-round sympathy with the boys. That sympathy, in her own case, was no doubt the secret of her enormous success, and it is a quality to which all those who had the advantage of being in her house must look back with profound respect. She liked, above all things, to meet boys from other houses who were friends of her boys, and the breakfasts she instituted, to which Masters and other boys were invited, were an enormous success.' So end the letters of this period for which space can be found. And yet, even now, a corner must be secured for one who was a very finished type of what an Eton boy may be. Robert Buchanan-Riddell was one of those who win their position at Eton among their fellows by reason of their character rather than by skill in games. He was true, fearless, ' straight,' and his friends of the House loved and honoured him. As a boy he had a high standard of his own, and if he never spoke of the principles that seemed to govern his every action, those who knew him best recognized something of an inner self about him that aimed at a high ideal, and strove alwa3^s to live up to it. It was the same all through his life. As a man and a soldier the characteristics of the boy became more marked : always self-forgetful, he often did things from which others would have shrunk, partly out of a natural gentleness and kindness of heart, partly from the nobility of spirit that was in him. What seemed to him to be a duty, that he did, without flinching, with- out counting the cost, in the by-paths of existence as in the day of the fight. In the supreme hour of his life, when he led his Battalion of the 60th Rifles in action, the old traits shone out in their full strength. It fell to another, once also of the House, to give him an order that he carried out in a way that must remain a bright spot in a disastrous day — the day of Spion 246 ROBERT BUCHANAN-RIDDELL Kop — and that has claimed the admiration and official recognition of greater critics than ourselves.* It was a gallant fight, a fine piece of work, and some tell that they could hear his clear voice right across the valley as he went higher and higher up the steep to the very crest. He had carried the Twin Peaks by storm. Then he fell. And if, in giving his life, he left others who can never cease to mourn, he yet died a death that many envy — fearless, honourable, true to the very end. ' Of all who loved him, I, perhaps the one Least worthy, fain would kneel beside his tomb — Fain kneeling, carve on the memorial stone, Gentle and brave.' * See the German Official Account of the War in South Africa, vol. i., p. i6i et seq. Sir Neville Lyttelton also wrote : 'A finer bit of skirmishing, a finer bit of climbing, and a finer bit of fighting, I have never seen.' CHAPTER XV THE HOUSE IN 1 877 — WILLIAM EVANS — HIS ILLNESS AND DEATH — HIS CHARACTER AND WORK — JANE EVANS DECIDES TO CARRY ON THE HOUSE, AND BECOMES DAME The close of the year 1877 found Evans' the possessors of only one of the House Cups. They lost the House Fours this summer, being beaten in their heat with Tarver's, a new rule having been introduced by which the holders of the Cup had to row in the heats instead of only in the Final as heretofore. The Cricket Cup had been lost in ''j^, the House being defeated, and by the narrow margin of only two wickets, by Vidal's, the winners of the Cup. No records remain of what the House did in cricket in 'tj^ and the Chronicle makes no mention of Evans* performances this year. For the Football Cup in '']6 the House was one of three left in for the Final, but they were beaten by Hale's by two rouges to nothing, Hale's winning the Cup. In ''J'] they were again in for the Final. The first match resulted in a draw, neither side making anything; and in the second the House was defeated by a goal to a goal and a rouge, Hale's once again winning this Cup. R. D. Anderson was the Captain of the House eleven on the occasion, being supported by A. J. Chitty, F. L. Croft, W. Pulteney, C Good, T. C. Farrer, W. J. Anderson, P. St, L. Grenfell, F. E. Croft, H, Whitbread, and Sir G. Sitwell. Thus, when the year '']'] closed, the House could only boast 247 248 WILLIAM EVANS the Shooting Cup, which was won by E. C. Meysey- Thompson, E. Devas, and A. W. Drury. But if 'tj was an uneventful year so far as the life of the boys of the House was concerned, it was marked by an occurrence that very nearly brought with it the final break up of the establishment. William Evans had led a life of often acute suffering for man}' 3'^ears. As far back as the early 'fifties such entries as these appear in his diaries : ' In great agony with my face. Pain caused by another piece of bone coming away.' * Andrews recommends arsenic, and Ellison aconite. It is strange that there are no other remedies than these two, and laudanum, of which 1 have taken quarts, and cannot now sleep without it.' * This pain will drive me mad. I am never to forget this frightful accident.' Again and again there are mentions of operations; but still, between these periods he continued his painting and his care for the House, and especially for the members of his family. The sole survivor, Mrs. Fenn, refers in touching terms to his goodness to them all through his life, and Jane Evans is never tired of recording it in her letters and diaries. Of his thoughts for his Eton House, and interest in its doings, of the improvements he was constantly making, and of his anxiety for the welfare of the boys, his diaries afford ample evidence. Many of the boys are mentioned by name : he rejoices in the possession of a good Captain, laments the loss of another ' who will be difficult to replace,' records the successes of the House, or writes of his anxiety for its welfare when his days should be over. Another time he expresses his thankfulness, after a scandal has been discovered in the School, ' that his House is free,' or tells with evident amusement of a visit of The Zawc^/ Commissioners, adding 'that Jennie, who took them round, began to laugh, which nettled them rather, as one of them said it was no laughing matter. WILLIAM EVANS 249 I suppose the Authorities know these things are looked after in my House, as they generally send such visitors here first.' The conduct and well-being of the House seems never to have been long absent from his mind. He does not appear to have often left home for any length of time after Annie's death. Now and again he sells a drawing, and tells of his delight in getting as far as Burnham to look at the autumn tints, and at a grand old tree that has fallen and of which he wishes to make a study, or refers to the joy to him of some cloud effect, or to the brilliancy of a sunset. Reading, as always, engages much of his time, and he speaks of his intense interest in Carlyle's French Revolution. Many of his days now are spent in a chair in the veranda of the Cottage. His family come and go, and now and then one or other of his few surviving friends pays him a visit in his bedroom, for the periods when he is confined to his bed have become gradually more frequent. And all this time Jane Evans continues to carry on the work of the House, though often herself in bad health. So ill was she in '"jG that her life was at one moment despaired of, and Evans records in his diary : ^ May 25. — To-day, very nearly a week after a very serious operation, Jennie had a ver}'' serious relapse. Had it not been for our dear friend, Dr. Ellison, who happily was in the place, she must have died. He said afterwards she was so nearly gone that he had feared the worst.' And then again, later, he tells of her returning to her work : ' October 29. — ^^lennie's first appearance at the Boys' dinner. Farrer, the Captain, in a speech in the Hall, made a very kind allusion to her recover}^, congratu- lating her in the name of the House on again presiding at her most hospitable table.' 250 LAST DAYS Jane Evans was managing the House; the table is spoken of as her table ; there are not many entries in the diary after that. ' The year ^yy^ writes Mrs. Fenn, ' began happily for my father in consequence of Jennie's recovery from her severe illness. He knew his own life would be only a short one now, as the symptoms of weak- ness became rapidly more serious. But this did not trouble him. His only anxiety was for the future of the House on account of Jennie's health. The family took it by turns to be with him, and Mr. Joynes, one of his oldest friends, would constantly come and read with him. The family were anxious to have his portrait painted to hang with our mother's, and Cotman, the son of the famous artist, came and spent some time with him. He, as indeed many others, could not believe that he was in his eightieth year, his hair was scarcely grey. His condition at this time made it necessary for him to have day and night nursing, and though we knew how much he must be suffering, he never complained, and was always so grateful for the least help given him.' The old man was going home, and he knew it. All through his diaries there is evidence of con- siderable religious feeling, and now it is recorded of him that he would repeat daily the 143rd Psalm always leaving out the last verse : * And of Thy good- ness slay mine enemies, and destroy all them that vex my soul.' He found in that psalm something peculiarly suited to his case. He had been a strong man, and had gloried in his strength. We have seen what he was when he founded the House. But for many years he had been a mere wreck of his former self, 'his life had been smitten to the ground, he had lain in the darkness as men that had been long dead.' The time had now come when 'his soul was to be brought out of trouble,' and in that he rested content. His last days were often spent at the window of the Cottage opening into the garden. WILLIAM EVANS' DEATH 251 * He liked to watch the effects in the western sky, and to point out the beauties of the sunsets, that were peculiarly brilliant that year. It seemed to us all as if a great peace was given him, and that after a long life of sorrow, success, and great suffering, those few last bright months were granted for the sake of all who loved him.' Thus did William Evans slowly go to his rest, falling asleep at length on the 31st day of December, 1877, in the eightieth year of his age. The funeral was a very quiet one. The boys were away, and his surviving friends were few. On one of the first days of the new year they carried him across the Cottage garden and out of the double doors opening towards the Eton Wick Road, and in the grounds of the little cemetery they laid him to rest, in the grave that already held all that was mortal of his dausfhter Annie. William Evans was a man of no ordinary character. He had strength of will and strength of purpose; his abilities were above the average. He combined in a peculiar degree the refinement of the artist with the outdoor, breezy nature of the sportsman. He was open-handed and generous to a fault, and the instances are many where he went out of his way, unknown to others, to help to his utmost those he knew to be in trouble. No sacrifices were ever too great for him to make for the sake of his family, and his children loved him very deeply. William Evans had lived to a great age ; he had experienced a full share of the troubles that a long tale of years never fails to bring ; and if he had sustained many bereavements and suffered much, happiness had also come his way, not only in his Art, but in the character of his House, and in the un- 252 WILLIAM EVANS' CHARACTER flagging devotion of his family, especially of his daughter Jane. In his earlier years he had worked very hard. It is recorded of him that when he first took up the work of Drawing Master at Eton, he for many years allowed himself no more than four hours' sleep at night, devoting the rest of his time to perfect- ing himself as an artist. In his later days he had gradually lapsed into an invalidism through sufferings that required no ordinary stoicism to conquer and to overcome, and it was due to these, and to the com- plete breakdown in his health, that many boys passed through his house knowing little or nothing of him. In the earlier years of the House's history, the boys had both admired and respected him ; in the middle period some had been puzzled by him ; in his later days, and for many years, few either saw him or knew him. Yet those who did know him and were in the habit of visiting him can speak of him as a kind- hearted, generous man, with whom it was a pleasure to talk ; with these the writer joins whole-heartedly. There were others who judged him hardly, and, it is honestly believed, somewhat unjustly. Evans was no hero ; in some ways he may have been weak. No man is without his faults ; neither was William Evans, and we have no wish either to exalt his virtues or to set out instances where his actions have led some to traduce him. It is at all times impossible to judge earlier deeds by present-day standards, and if school management and school discipline were lax in the early part of Evans' first period, so assuredly the School authorities were often lax, too, and the educa- tion ostensibly offered fell far short of what in these days parents would demand. The House was started in the days of the transition from a period that was full of faults, of abuses, and anomalies, to one when the ethical standards of some of those who taught, no less than those who came to learn, were to be im- EVANS' TITLE TO FAME 253 measurably heightened. We have seen what the condition of College was ; we have all heard of the abuses of Long Chamber. Outside College we have seen what the condition of many of the Dames' houses must have been. But all the Dames' houses of that date cannot be dismissed as bad : there were houses, like Angelo's, Ward's, Rishton's, and others, that had great reputations, and that had held their full share of the heroes of the day. To claim for what William Evans did more than is his due would be far indeed from the object of these pages ; to attempt to place the fame of Evans' above that of many of Eton's famous Houses would be as idle as it would be absurd. All that we are entitled to claim for Evans in the founding: of the House is this, that he assuredly did well by Eton ; all we can claim for the House itself is that it played a conspicuous part in the Eton life of its day, and did something to raise the standard of the School we love. Many years before his death, when he was still in the prime of life and was working hard, Evans had written these words : 'The starting of my House has been a great ex- periment. It has brought into existence a class of Houses unknown in former days, for no one in my position had previously attempted to exercise any- thing like control or social influence over the boys. I think I may without presumption claim that I have been the means of changing altogether the status and position of the houses yet styled Dames'.' His modest title to fame must rest on that. The system he inaugurated proved sound. It fell to other hands than his to perfect that system, and if the boys of the House also played their part in carrying out his ideas, and on the whole played it well, the credit in the first place belongs to him. Thus we must admit his claim : William Evans did well by Eton, and the School owes something to his memory. 254 TESTIMONIES TO CHARACTER Once again there lies before the writer a pile of letters written by many different hands, this time at Evans' death. From these it is impossible to take many ; but to show how the large majority of the boys of his House, and those who really knew him, regarded him, the following may be quoted. The late Earl of Dartmouth, his first Captain, then Lord Lewisham, writing to Jane Evans, says : ' I cannot tell you how much I was indebted to him whose memory 1 shall always respect and regard, and who befriended me in a way I shall never forget. At the time when I wanted the friendly encouragement and advice of a gentleman, I received these from him.' ' To speak only of his moral qualities,' writes Robert Nairnes, ' a more high-minded, upright, and straight- forward gentleman I have not met in the course of my life. To have a talk with him was always a great delight to me, and I shall continue to feel that I have lost one who for more than twenty-seven years evinced the most friendly feelings towards me.' ' No man,' wrote Stuart Rendel, now Lord Rendel, ' ever made his mark on me more than your father. Of none shall I hold a more vivid recollection. How many will feel the same. But he had lived his life, and now I don't so much condole with you as con- gratulate you on the stock from which you and yours are sprung. May your father live over again in you and yours. The world wants plenty of such healthy- mindedness and such bodily nobleness.' Shortly after William Evans' death, a movement was set on foot by former members of the House and other friends to perpetuate his memory. Lord Dart- mouth took the initiative, and a marble memorial, representing a kneeling figure of an angel holding a torch, the work of the sculptor Belt, was erected just above the North door of the ante-chapel. The inscription beneath the figure runs thus : MEMORIAL TO WILLIAM EVANS 255 In Honorem Dei Et in dulcem memoriam Gulielmi Evans Viri si quis alius probi honesti diligentis Hoc marmor ponendum curaverunt amici Etonenses morte abreptum desideiantes Is pingendi artifex peritissimus juventutem vere suam per annos XXXV magister excoluit Idem piieros domum receptos Suavitate morum ac virtute non minus quam insigni liberalitate Ex animo devinctos sibi adstrinxit Etonic natus piid: non: Dec: A.s. MDCCXCVlll. Eton;c Vixit annos Ixxix dies xxviii Etonje in Christo obdormivit prid: kal: Jan: A.s. MDCCCLXXVill.* And what of the House that had now lost its founder ? To be the holder of a house at Eton is supposed by some to be upon the high road to a fortune, whereas, in truth, it leads too seldom to even a modest competency. In the case of Evans', with the heavy initial outlay and the liberality with which it was always conducted, this modest competency was far from being even approached. William Evans had been a good organizer ; he was methodical, and he was businesslike in many ways ; but he was no financier, and it seems as if he had often spent money in attempting to realize conditions that had been better left alone. At his death the family soon found that, so far from there being any savings, matters were just the other way, and that after holding the house for nearly forty 3^ears, William Evans had died with- out a penny. For the moment it looked as if nothing could be * To the glory of God and to the dear memory of William Evans, the most upright, honourable, and hard-working of men, this tablet has been placed by Eton friends who mourn his loss. A most skilful artist and for thirty-five years a master, he imparted a high culture to the young whom he truly loved, and by his pleasant disposition and manly character, no less than by his conspicuous liberality, he drew the boys of his House close to himself by bonds of true affection. Born at Eton on the 4th of December, a.d. 1798, at Eton he lived for 79 years and 28 days. At Eton he fell asleep in Christ on the 31st of December, 1877. 256 THE HOUSE IN JEOPARDY done to save the House. There was no money, and, worse still, heavy charges had to be met. Many years before, Evans had pointed out in his letters to the Commissioners that his original outlay, together with his payments for the goodwill, would make a poor man of him for the rest of his life, and cripple his family after him. He had subsequently to face the further fact that he would be unable to claim com- pensation from the College should he at any time retire. The question of the abuses that had crept in regarding the payments for goodwill, the way in which the Dames had trafficked in their houses, and the compensation sought to be recovered from the College when leases expired, are matters of too involved and technical a nature to be here dealt with ; but Evans' diaries show how much they had exercised his mind, and how anxious he had been concerning the future of his family. He had taken the precaution to obtain a new lease of the house in 1865 for twenty-one years, and upon his death this became Jane Evans' property as his executrix and legatee.* On this side she was therefore safe. But there were the charges, to say nothing of the current expenditure of the House. Affairs looked bad indeed, but just as, once before, Annie Evans had come to the rescue, so now a stronger character than Annie was at the door, and * As the question of Evans' and Jane Evans' various leases is of rather a complicated nature, the following facts may be appended, the information having been obtained from the family's solicitors, one of whom, Rowland H. U. Pickering, was a member of the House. Evans' original agreement with Mrs. Vallancey was dated February 11, 1839. He held the house under this until 1844, when the Provost and the College granted him a lease for 21 years. This lease was surrendered by Evans to the College in '51, a new one being then granted for a further 21 years. Evans determined this lease in '58, when a fresh one was given, but again surrendered seven years later, a further lease being then granted for 21 years as from April 6, 1865. Evans was holding under this lease at the time of his death. Jane Evans was subsequently granted a new lease, 'after much demur,' on July 21, 1887, for a further 21 years, and this lasted out her life. A TIMELY LEGACY 257 decided that the House should not close. Jane Evans was not a woman to be daunted by circumstances ; rather was she one of those who are unable to realize that things are what they appear to others indubitably to be. She was ever a confirmed optimist, and carried her optimism to lengths that reduced others to silence. And thus, so far from the House being closed, it was, on the contrary, about to take a new lease of life from this date, and Eton was, moreover, about to witness an extraordinary example of what a woman could do in the way of managing a houseful of boys, and what a Dame might be when all the other Dames had vanished from the scene or been improved away. By one of those fortuitous circumstances that savour almost of romance, an event occurred at this time that put a different complexion upon affairs in the twinkling of an eye. An uncle of Jane Evans' died, and by his will left her some ;^4,ooo. By a stroke of the pen she paid off all liabilities. The House would not be closed ; it would be carried on as before — better than it had ever been before. It would be known as 'Miss Evans" now instead of 'William Evans',' that was all. And so Jane Evans faced the task before her, relying on the boys to help her, as she had always done since her sister's death, and on the system that had been the safeguard of the House for so many years. On a stained scrap of paper, jotted down in pencil in Jane Evans' handwriting, are the following notes, made by her, possibly, at this moment : ' 15^ Set. ' My duty to let them know — reasons for continu- ing ; not so much to keep the House together as to continue congenial work with their co-operation ; to ask for their assistance, not so much by talk as by example. 17 258 JANE EVANS BECOMES DAME * 2iid Set. 'To try and remember that so long as they do their best, and try to grow up like the best fellows, so long I am willing to stay and help them. * yd Set. * All reforms must begin with them, not in talking and being shocked and surprised at what they see and hear, but to be determined not to do the same ; and to begin at once.' Then follows a very characteristic aside: * New boys are ready to denounce and to be very much surprised and shocked at the laxities that are very fashionable, such as taking each other's books, etc., but after a little while they are very ready to do the same.' At the time of Evans' death there had been many who thought that Jane Evans would now necessarily retire. The Dames' houses were all disappearing, being occupied one by one, if not by the Classical Tutors, by the Mathematical Masters in turn. Thus, one of the Fellows, an old friend of the Evans family, thinking he would be doing a kindness, came to Keate's Lane and told Jane Evans that he had persuaded Mr. Stone to take over the House. One can picture the amused smile on our Dame's face as she thanked him, and told him that it was very kind of him but she meant to take it over herself. She had been wholly devoted to her father and had felt his death acutely, and she realized that she would be acting more loyally in his memory if she now took the reins into her own hands and simply continued the work he had begun just forty years before. It was a happy day for Eton when Jane Evans came to this conclusion. CHAPTER XVI SAMUEL EVANS' POSITION — JANE EVANS MAKES VARIOUS CHANGES IN THE HOUSE — ' THE LIBRARY' — THE CONDUCT OF THE HOUSE IN JANE EVANS* ABSENCE THE BREAKFASTS — THE LIBERALITY OF THE EVANS' The death of William Evans did not carry with it any immediate consequences to the boys of the House, for they had seen little of him, and had long come to look upon Jane Evans as their Dame. Thus, when they returned for the Easter half of '78, there were no ostensible changes, and affairs appeared to go on as before. The only change apparent to the bo3^s was that the title of the House was now 'Miss Evans"; and under this it was destined to exist for the next twenty-eight years, till Jane Evans' name stood alone in the School Lists as the last remaining Dame in the old sense. To support her, and to help in the heavy work that lay before her, Jane Evans had still the services of Mrs. Barns as Matron ; but in the Summer half, and to give her additional support, Sam Evans, with his wife and family, moved over to the Cottage. No boys had been taken in by Sam Evans for the previous three years or more, so the change was easy. The boys who had been in the Cottage, six in number, were sent over-the-way in charge of Mrs. Barns, and Sam Evans, though taking no more active part in the management of the House than he had previously done, was at his sister's elbow if he was wanted. 259 17 — 2 26o SAMUEL T. G. EVANS Sam Evans at this time was in his fiftieth year, and had held the post of Drav/ing Master since '54. The position he was now called upon to occupy was one of some difficulty. He was to live in a portion of the house, but take no active part in its management. He was to help his sister in controlling the boys, but without any real authority over them. He was to carry on his duties in the School, but so far as the discipline of the House was concerned he was to be merely a kind of referee in cases where mild posnas were reckoned the proper remedy. It speaks well for his tact and judgment that he filled this difficult position with infinite success, and that throughout a period of twenty -six years he, with a merely nominal authority to back him, never once acted in such a way as to cause any resentment on the part of the boys of the House, or led them to defy his authority when he exercised it. That he felt his position, often somewhat keenly, is well known. He was a man of a sensitive, diffident nature, and he would say that 'the boys were never likely to like him, as they only saw him when he had to inflict a popna.' Yet we all liked him greatly, and those of us who were able to realize the difficulties of his position honoured him for the way he plaj^ed his part and for his unflagging devotion to his sister. In his earlier days he had been a successful athlete, a good oar and football player, and one who was ready to take his part in most things, and when he returned to Eton in an official capacity he interested himself in the Volunteers and in every way that was open to him. Two stories of his early life may find a place here. It was the custom of the Collegers to have theatrical performances in Long Chamber before that well-known quarter was swept out and reformed. One day, a play was in course of preparation which demanded the presence of a baby in one of its scenes. The afternoon TWO STORIES 261 of the performance arrived and the gap in the cast remained unfilled ; but on one of the Collegers looking out of the window, a perambulator was espied at the entrance to the Head Master's house, with a baby lying asleep but unattended, the nurse having gone in to leave a note. There was cause for instant action if such a chance as this was to be taken advantage of, and in a few moments the sleeping baby was safely transferred to a bed in Long Chamber. Meanwhile, the nurse had returned, a hue and cry was raised throughout Eton, and it is said that the river was dragged. However this may have been, one thing is very certain, and this is that the baby played its part that night in the piece, was fed and cared for by its hosts, two taking it in turn to rock an extemporary cradle throughout the night, and was safely returned to its home in the morning. That baby was Sam Evans. As quite a little boy, Sam Evans had been trained to the river and taught to swim by his father, William Evans not infrequently jumping into the river with his child on his back. Sam thus grew up an expert swimmer and an efficient waterman. His success in winning the School Pulling has been already recorded. It was that year that the silver oar was first given for this race, and Sam Evans' oar, as well as the blade of the one he rowed with, are still treasured by his family His skill as a swimmer caused him to be instrumental in saving several lives, though we must content our- selves with recounting one of these incidents only. On a 4th of June, while the fireworks were proceeding, screams were heard in the darkness that a woman had fallen into the river. Sam at once went overboard, and swimming to the spot, dived and reappeared with a woman. The woman struggled so violently that Sam had to let go his hold, and the woman once more went to the bottom. Again Sam dived, and this time brought up a woman with a baby in her arms, the 262 ALTERATIONS IN THE HOUSE struggles being thus accounted for, and Sam Evans thus saving two lives at once. A number of structural and other alterations in the house were made from time to time by Jane Evans, among them being the addition of several more boys rooms and a new set of servants' rooms. By this means the number of double-rooms was reduced in accordance with the views of the Governing Body, but without increasing the number of boys in the House. Bath-rooms were also added, and the sanitary arrange- ments were twice entirely remodelled. Precautions in case of fire had not been lost sight of when the new rooms had been built, but after the terrible disaster in 1903, when a house in Eton was destroyed by fire and two boys lost their lives, a complete system of ladders and outside staircases was added.* Additional pro- vision in case of sickness was also one of Jane Evans' earlier improvements. A bedroom, besides the Stay- ing-out room that we all remember, had from the first been set aside for any case of ordinary illness, and the Matron always had her own special maid to assist her here when required. Jane Evans now made further provision by adding another room, in the Cottage, and by subsequently engaging, for her own satisfaction, a resident trained nurse. Up to this, Mrs. Barns, who was highly skilled in nursing, had combined the duties of Matron and nurse ; but when she at length died in 1891, honestly mourned by all the boys, it was not easy to fill her place. She was, however, eventually succeeded in turn by Mrs. Cox, Miss Harrison, Miss Morley, and Miss Tute, the nurses being, first. Nurse Gibberd, and then Nurse Cunnington, who remained till the end. The accommodation in the Cottage was merely for such cases as measles, chicken-pox, and * The improvements carried out by Jane Evans are estimated to have cost approximately ^3,000. PROVISION IN CASE OF SICKNESS 263 similar ailments, the Sanatorium being of course avail- able for more serious infectious cases such as scarlet- fever. The health of the House was, however, usually very good, and cases of serious illness were rare. Nevertheless, there were some such cases, and in the course of the House's history three boys died there. Of these last it is difficult to speak. To do so at all would be to tread on hallowed ground, to touch upon sorrows as acute as any a parent may have to bear. We are all apt to build castles about our sons, and, where Eton is concerned, we recall our own lives, we people this or that eleven, this or that eight, and we look to live over again in those we send from home the sunny da3's of our own boyhood. And then there sometimes comes the sudden withering of all hopes, and these lie at our feet as the dead leaves. Our ambition seemed pure enough, seemed simple enough, and was realized all round us. But for us it was not to be. That young voice was not to ring along the old walls ; that young life was cut short ; and we ourselves went out into the darkness, where the silence was broken only by one sound, and where answer there was none. From the year 1878 to 1900 Jane Evans kept a diary, and these volumes are dealt with, as a whole, else- where.* No mention is made of her father's death at the opening of the period, tor the volume for '78 does not seem to have been begun at once. At this time Jane Evans' health was far from being what her out- ward appearance would have led anyone to imagine. She had been very seriously ill once, as we have already seen ; she was now taken as seriously ill again. In March she moved to London to undergo treatment, and it was at this time that Dr. Nairn, an old friend, assured the family that unless Jane Evans took up regular work she would, in his opinion, become a confirmed invalid. * See Chapters XIX. and XXII. 264 AN OUTBREAK OF SCARLET FEVER The Summer half of '78 had begun some weeks before our Dame was able to return to her post. She had been absent three months, the House meanwhile having been in charge of Mrs. Samuel Evans and Mrs. Barns. For the rest of that year she was very far from strong, and few would have supposed then that she had before her eight-and-twenty years of exacting work. The diar}^ is blank for that Summer half, but with the advent of the Football half came the regular round of labours, met, as ever, with that indomitable spirit of cheerfulness that was one of her most remark- able characteristics. This first year of Jane Evans' rule was uneventful, especially from the point of view of athletics ; but it was not destined to close without one of those outbreaks of scarlet-fever that were commoner then than they are now. Just as the half was about to end a boy fell ill, and the following extracts from the Diaries give a picture of the condition of things that ensued : ' December 7. — A most exciting day altogether. Dr. Ellison pronounced Hildyard to have scarlatina, and so had at once to arrange about moving him to the Sanatorium. Very sorry for poor Hildyard. Had to send circulars to all parents. Staying-out boys very kind and helped me to write them.' Then, as usual, telegrams began to pour in, and ' the anxious parent ' was much in evidence, some of the boys ' making capital out of the matter.' One mother arrives ' in a very excited state '; another ' could not make up her mind what to do,' and, meanwhile, the boys were plying their parents with letters and telegrams daily. Quantities of letters pour in in reply, and the boys begin to leave. Chicken-pox breaks out at the same time, and mysterious spots appear on another boy. More surreptitious telegrams are dispatched, and further boys leave for home ; ' the House very un- settled : boys going away, frightening their parents. THE LIBRARY 265 the young wretches. Quiet evening; game of chess with Sue and beat her.' ^December 13. — Boys quite demoralized and deter- mined to get away. The Crofts went off early, afraid of being kept back by telegrams.' ' December 14. — News of the death of the Princess Alice. Caused quite a shock to everybody. Happily, the Duchess is with the Queen. Very strange all these troubles should come at once.' * A disgraceful table, only 28 boys left.' Then, to complete the picture, one of the maids ' goes into hysterics, from the nervousness she felt at the bells tolling for Princess Alice'; and 'at the same moment the Duchess* came to see us, and was, as usual, most kind.' But there was an end to it all at last, and by day- light on the 2oth all the boys had gone, * except poor Hildyard, who has to remain where he is for another month.' Jane Evans was then able to sit down to her account books, ' working away famously with Mr. Crasket till 7 o'clock.' Constant reference is made in these Diaries to 'The Library ' and the Breakfasts, and it may therefore be well to refer further to these here, though one of the following letters belongs to a period when Jane Evans herself had become one of the most striking personali- ties in Eton, and when her system of conducting her House was generally regarded as unique. Her instinct in estimating correctly the character of a boy has been already spoken of, but there was something further than this : all unconsciously to the boys themselves she was ever inculcating a spirit of loyalty to herself and to the House. She recognized among the boys of any particular period those who would be, in course * The Duchess of AthoU, then Lady-in- Waiting to Queen Victoria, to whom Jane Evans, by the many letters that have been preserved, was always ' My dear Jennie.' t See p. 371. 266 THE LIBRARY of time, the leaders, and when these, as must always happen in a school, found themselves suddenly charged with responsibility, they not only knew where to look for guidance with absolute trustfulness, but rose to the occasion largely by reason of the principles they had unconsciously imbibed. Thus Jane Evans was ever engaged in strengthening and developing character, and the efifect of her training and influence has re- mained with many of her boys for life. The Captains of the House came to have, under her, an authority greater, it is said, than the Captain of the School in College, and if the leadership and responsi- bility lay largely with them, they yet had behind them that Committee of boys called ' the Library,' who shared it in a measure, and who were themselves being all the while trained to occupy a similar position in turn. The part played by this Committee of boys is well shown in the following letter from W. Buchanan- Riddell, who was Captain of the House in '97 : ' " The Library " was a really unique affair, unlike any other House. Anyone not a Lower-boy might take books out of the Library, but that was nothing. Being in " the Library " meant that you were one of six or seven who practically ran the House. The Captain of the football eleven and the Captain of the House were ex-officio members, and they invited anyone else they liked to use the Library as a sitting-room, papers, books, etc. ; practically, we lived there. People became members simply from their personal characters and influence — i.e., a fellow might be high up in the School, even in Sixth Form, and yet not asked to join "the Library " if he was not otherwise influential ; or, again, he might have his colours and be a great athlete, and yet not in " the Library " if he was unpopular. It was really quite informal, and yet there was never much doubt as to who were naturally asked to join. We were highl}^ privileged, and it was very luxurious, having a sort of private club-room to live in. Moreover, my Dame treated us with great respect ; we breakfasted with her every day in her JANE EVANS AND HER HOUSE 267 own sitting-room, apart from the rest of the House, and she consulted us, and especially the Captain of the House and of the Football eleven, about every matter to do with the House. We were, in fact, a sort of informal Governing Body, with no theo- retical but immense practical power, acknowledged and encouraged by my Dame in every way. And 1 am bound to say I think it answered. "The Library" were, as a rule, awake to their responsibility and the power they exercised, and the House did not, I fancy, resent our position (except individuals here and there), though it was despotic and unconstitutional. It was the most exceptional thing about my Dame's, and made it different from other houses. It was, of course, the highest honour to be a member, for it was through " the Library " that my Dame very largely influenced the House.' It was part of Jane Evans' plan never to appeal to the authorities of the School if she could avoid it, and if the rules of the House were broken and she could not influence the particular boy by other means, she would appeal to his parents. This had been her father's plan, and we used to say that if we had to appear before him, he would begin his remarks with, * I was just writing to your father.' In cases of many delinquencies, the Captain was sent for by Jane Evans, and justice administered by him. Thus : * Had a very naughty boy ; one bullying another. Told Hobhouse, and had B examined. He was caned after prayers, and made to feel ashamed of himself, I hope. Put him downstairs into A's room and the other into the Cottage.' Bullying of any sort was an almost unheard of thing in the House at any time, being always promptly quelled by the boys themselves. It is supposed by some Masters in these da3'^s that to limit the authority of the senior boys and to take the initiative upon themselves in all cases is the surest way to secure a good House. But this is very doubtful. To limit responsibility is to deaden interest 268 A MASTER AND HIS HOUSE in those very directions where a Master is most likely to receive the truest help. Interest is the handmaid of a genuine responsibility, and a senior boy will often pass matters by as no concern of his, when, had he been conscious of authority, he would have dealt with them out of hand and effectually. There is no better security than that which comes from a true sense of responsibility ; and those houses will be the best where a happy partnership exists between the ruler and the ruled ; where the senior boys are imbued with this sense of responsibilit}^, and trained, almost un- consciously, to the duties of after-life. There are many Captains in Eton to-day who realize the truth of this, and who are quick to note any such tendency as that remarked upon. Boys 'hit-off' their Masters very quickly, just as soldiers in the ranks know their officers with amazing exactness. Their estimates are formed, in both cases, by constant interchange of opinion, and are often wonderfully true. The Master may lead his boys and train and mould their characters ; he will do this most effectually by sharing with them some of his responsibilities, and by making them feel that the honour of his House is largely in their keeping, indoors as well as out. Such principles were the very bed-rock of the success of Evans' as a House, and no better example of their soundness could have been furnished than during that period of Jane Evans' enforced absence to w^hich we havejust referred. Writing of this, R. D, Anderson says : ' I was at my Dame's from Easter 'yT^ to Easter 'y^. For the first part of that time the House was called W. Evans,' although William Evans never took any active part in the management in m}^ day. During the last year of his life I was, however, one of the few boys who ever saw him, as my room was in the Cottage, and from time to time he used to send for me to show me various things in the garden in which he was interested. Looking back at the five years spent in DISCIPLINE IN THE HOUSE 269 the House, there seems to be one episode that would be worth recording. Jane Evans had a very serious illness at one time, that debarred her absolutely for several months from taking any part in the manage- ment of the House. What happened at that time afforded a very striking illustration of the system upon which the discipline of the House rested, and the abso- lute lack of knowledge of the system by all outsiders. 'All sorts of atrocities were prophesied by these outsiders, especially by the junior Masters. It was suggested that one of them should be sent to reside in the house during Jane Evans' illness ; but by degrees it began to dawn upon the astonished onlookers that the savage inmates did not burn the house down, that all the boys did not stay out for early school, and that the conduct of the House was very good indeed. During these months there was practically no one in authority in the House but the boys themselves. The smaller boys knew that if any disorder occurred it would be promptly dealt with by the older ones, but any display of authority by the latter was rarely needed. 'Jealous critics asserted that the monitorial system existed in the House, and said all sorts of disagreeable things about it ; but the system, whatever it was, worked admirably, and I could mention a good many of the Masters who would, in their hearts, have been delighted if they could have fathomed its mysteries for application to their notoriously unruly houses. This they could not, in any case, have done all at once, as it was a system which began to be instilled into a boy from the moment he arrived in the House, and he unknowingly absorbed the infection as he worked his way up in the School. * I never arrived at being Captain of the House, but was about 5th or 6th, and being Captain of the Foot- ball eleven, a member of the Field and the Mixed and Oppidan Wall elevens, and first whip to the Beagles, I had a certain amount of influence, and when the boys above me happened to be out, I was occasionally called upon to act for them. On one occasion the butler came to my room, which was in the Cottage, and asked me to go over to the House. I was busy, and demurred somewhat, and asked him what I was 270 THE BREAKFASTS wanted for. He would not tell me, but promised me that 1 should not grudge the trouble if I went. ' He took me to a room occupied by G S , where I found an astonishing sight. S had evidently been collecting candles for weeks. These he had cut up into pieces about two inches long, and they were placed on tables, chairs, bed-boxes, mantel- piece, and all over the floor, where there was scarcely room to stand. It was the finest illumination I have ever seen. Although I at once realized the danger of the display, I could not help being intensely amused at the originality of it. Of course, I had to order "lights out," but it took some time for the order to be complied with, and it had to be done with considerable care. I feel sure the author of this display will re- member it, and be amused that I should do so.' William Evans is said to have cautioned his daughter Jane, to ' be sure to carry on the Breakfasts ; they are most important.' Among members of the House of later days there has been an idea that the Breakfasts of Jane Evans' period were an institution in the House dating from the earliest times, but they were not so. At different periods William Evans was in the habit of having one or other of the senior boys to breakfast with him, and Sir Edward Hamilton, for instance, refers to his having breakfasted with his Dame regu- larly. But the Breakfasts, as the}' came to be known, attended by a fixed number of the leading boys of the House, did not become an established custom until after Annie Evans' death.* Now and then a boy would be asked to breakfast, just as in an}'- other House ; and in the early 'seventies the Captain and Second Captain usually breakfasted with the family every morning, the meal being then held in the Hall. But for the rest of the House there was no regular breakfast, each boy having his 'orders' of three Eton rolls, butter, tea, milk and sugar, in his own room or his joint mess. * The probable date is the Easter half of '72. LOWER-BOYS IN THE 'SIXTIES 271 It might be supposed that we Lower-boys of the 'sixties would have welcomed a free breakfast such as our sons enjoyed in later times, for our lot was not an easy one. We came out of early school at 8.30. At 9. 10 we had to be in Chapel. In those forty minutes we had to get back from school, do our fagging, get what breakfast we could, and run to Chapel. Needless to say, our breakfast was always gobbled in a few minutes, and the occasions were by no means rare when we went without altogether, or bolted a hot bun with butter in it and a cup of coffee at Brown's on our way to Chapel, had we the sum of fourpence to pay for it. Dinners were then at 2. To remedy this state of affairs, Annie Evans, in the early part of '^j^ started a Lower-boy breakfast under the supervision of the Matron, then Mrs. Barton, in a room on the ground floor ; but such was the dislike of us boys to being coddled or mothered in any way, that, though the breakfast offered us was sumptuous and well served, we scouted it and the plan together. On the first occasion we attended in a sort of stand-off, critical silence ; the next morning we began to throw the things about ; and before the week was ended, we had wrecked the whole undertaking, started at an obvious loss to the Evanses and for our sole benefit. The room was then closed, and many years were to elapse before any such enterprise was again attempted. The best evidence that there was, at this date, no * Breakfast/ such as became customary in later times, is afforded by the following remarks by C. C. Lacaita, and which the writer can confirm, as he was also fag to Julian Sturgis and this same mess : * In those days,' writes Lacaita, * it was the breakfast fagging that interfered with the comfort of small boys, as time was short, and the provision for their own breakfasts was apt to dwindle during their attendance on the great. For there was no general breakfast for 272 THE BREAKFASTS any of the boys. It has been erroneously stated of late that from the time William Evans took the House, and continuously, till it ceased to exist, the 6 or 7 boys at the top used to breakfast with their Dame, This is certainly not the case. George Horner was Second Captain, Sturgis was also in Sixth Form, and Maures Horner must also have been among the first 7 or 8 boys. Yet these boys breakfasted in their room daily, and not with my Dame, during the whole of '6"], the period when I was one of the fags. I have recently asked my neighbour Archdeacon Elwes, who belongs to the next previous generation, and he remembers no such thing as " my Dame's Breakfast," Alfred Lyttelton bears out my memory as to there having been no Break- fast for the first six during his earlier years ; but he thinks it began in '72, either just before or just after the death of Annie Evans, I find that in a letter to my father in the Michaelmas half of '70, I wrote, " Being now Second Captain and two out of Sixth Form, I breakfast with my Dame." ' There is no reason to labour the point further; but the ' Breakfasts' became such a well-known institution, not only in the House but in the School, that their definite evolution should be fixed and the credit for their institution, as well as for the general breakfast for the whole House, attributed to the right quarter. To Jane Evans that credit belongs, for it was she who not only gave to her Breakfasts the charm and the atmosphere that belonged to them, but who also, with that innate cleverness that was a part of her, seized the precise ps3'^chological moment to break finally with tradition and to start a breakfast for the whole House. Nor was she less clever in another point. Instead of continuing to use the Hall herself, she gave up having her Breakfasts there, and handed it over for the general breakfast supervised by the Matron, taking the 6 or 7 leading boys to breakfast with her and her almost daily guests in another room,* * This was the room facing the Lane, and known as the staying- out room. LOWER-BOY BREAKFAST 273 But the general breakfast for the whole House was not carried out in its entirety and all at once. A few years after her own Breakfasts were definitely established, Jane Evans started a Lower-boy break- fast. This was the thin edge of the wedge, and the Lower-boys fell in with the plan because they saw their seniors breakfasting with their Dame, and fancied therefore it was the right thing to do. One can picture how Jane Evans must have chuckled when she was thus able to benefit the Lower-boys in such a way. There was also one thing further about the movement that was a great boon, and this was that when once a Lower-boy had reached the room where this break- fast was given he could not be fagged ; for the time, he was his Dame's guest and could eat without fear of interruption. When, and later still, Jane Evans tried the experi- ment of a general breakfast for the whole House, she had, no doubt, not forgotten our unruly and ungrateful proceedings in the 'sixties, for she once again showed her cleverness by choosing a time when the numbers in the House were few owing to a scare of scarlet- fever. We have only to turn to the Diaries for the date, and here are one or two extracts : ^January 27, 1883. — Spoke to the boys about break- fasting together: all willing.' 'My mind full of the boys' breakfast; hope it will go.' 'Went up town to buy spoons.' ''January 28. — Breakfasted in the Hall for the last time. Holland, Grenfell ma., Fremantle max., Gorst, Northcote, Frazer, and Horsfall breakfasted with us.' ^January 31. — Breakfast going on capitally. Boys pleased, and all quite comfortable : so glad.'* * As various changes were made from time to time, both in the constitution of ' the Library ' and the oarticular boys attending our Dame's Breakfast, it is well to state here that, whereas 'the Library' was not, apparently, an elected body until the 'eighties, there was, previous to this date, a certain exclusiveness about those who habitually 18 274 THE BREAKFASTS Referring to Jane Evans' own Breakfast, a writer in the Chronicle* once a member of the House and now a Master, says : ' These breakfasts were famous ; and guests from Mr. Gladstone and the Provost downwards were always welcome. The boys invited whom they liked, and my Dame was always disappointed when none came. She was on these occasions always bright and humorous and full of stories about Eton and the House. When boys were guests, she delighted in horrifying those present by asking some person like the Captain of the Boats whether he was in the Eleven, or some gorgeously dressed individual why he had got into Pop. She liked boys to be natural, and even, if they could — which was seldom — to chaff her. One old Evansite remembers a breakfast which began with a tirade from Miss Evans against betting, and ended by a rather sporting Etonian telling her how to back a winner. It was the ambition of every boy to belong to the Breakfasts, and every one who has remembers them not only because of the pleasure they afforded him, but also because of the influence exerted upon him by such constant and intimate contact with a personality at once so great and so good.' It may be added that at these breakfasts matters relating to the House were often informally discussed, and that they thus afforded an invaluable opportunity of friendly intercourse between Jane Evans and the leading boys. They were also the means of her used the room. Jane Evans exercised her right more than once, and insisted on some particular boy being elected to ' the Library'; but this is spoken of as ' not much fun for either party.' Then, as to the Breakfast, while those who attended it were, in many cases, members of 'the Library,' it was, in reality, confined to the first six or seven in School order. Here, again, Jane Evans often made an exception ; she always retained the right of asking the last boy, so that if a prominent member of the H' use was comparatively low down in the School, he might yet not be denied the honour of belonging to the party. * See No. 1126, 'A Tribute to J. M. E., by Old Etonians': a special number, issued after Jane Evans' death, February 9, 1906. THE LIBERALITY OF THE FAMILY 275 getting to know the younger Masters, many of whom had their regular days for attending. On many occa- sions when no guests were present, and when, as often happened, the chief part of the conversation fell to her, Jane Evans would tell stories of former days, these being now and then carefully worked up with the object of showing how a particular Captain had done his duty, or some other kindred subject. Thus, in the Diary, this occurs: 'Took the opportunity at break- fast of chatting about fags, a continuation of yesterday.' It is said that some of those whom she held up as the finest examples would not have been able to recognize themselves in their disguise. The boys were, of course, quick to see her object, and sometimes showed their impatience to be off; but they had to wait till she had done, and when they were gone she would often laugh quietly to herself. There was nothing the boys at the head of the House dreaded more than to hear, immediately after breakfast, ' So-and-so, I want a word with you.' That meant home-truths in the drawing- room, and from this all alike shrank. The Evans family, throughout the history of their House, were anxious to be liberal in all that they did, and this free breakfast is but an index of the principle that made itself felt in many other directions. Whether it was William Evans or Annie or Jane, whether in a case of sickness or some merely trifling accident, they were all alike open-handed and generous to a fault. Thus the feeling in the House was more that of a large family party at many periods of its existence, and, if a vulgarism may be permitted, there was never the slightest indication that the establishment was being run on the cheap and for profit. In Jane Evans' time the liberality with which the boys were treated became even more evident. With her one ruling principle governed all her actions in this direction, 18—2 276 JANE EVANS AND HER FATHER and this was what she conceived her father would have wished under any particular circumstance. Her father's ideas, her father's opinions, and his principles of conducting a house, were the dominant factors in all that she did, for he was always to her the embodiment of a great tradition, and for his memory she ever had the deepest reverence. CHAPTER XVII THE HOUSE DEBATING SOCIETY Evans', as a House, had been the pioneer in more than one direction at Eton, as we have seen. It was now to take another step, and in course of time to find its example followed generally throughout the School. A tattered volume lies before the writer ; the single cover that alone remains shows it to have been once bound in leather, and on the unprotected fly-leaf is this mute appeal : * It is requested that this book be kept tidy and in decent order.' But time and much usage have told their tale, and the outward appearance of the volume is now somewhat wanting in distinction. Yet it deserves to be treated with honour, for its pages record the proceedings of the first debating society ever founded in an Eton house.* The inauguration ot this Society was not ushered in with any pomp and circumstance, nor were its proceedings listened to by a large and eager audience. On the contrary, its birth took place in a corner, in one of those diminutive rooms that form an Eton boy's sanctum, and its members, numbering, at first, six,t besides the three Officers, had an oath of secrecy administered to them lest what was proceeding should reach the ears of the * It deserves to be mentioned here that, previous to this, some efforts had certainly been made in other Houses to hold debates. There does not, however, appear to have been any Debating Soicety of the nature of that established at Evans'. In one instance, the meetings were held in Pupil Room, the Tutor being in the chair. Debates had also been held at Cornish's and Browning's. t The number fixed upon in the first instance was eleven, including the Officers, and to this the Society was raised after its first meeting. 277 278 THE SOCIETY'S EARLY DAYS real leaders of the House and * Pop ' be called upon to frown it down.* There was nothing flippant about this parent of House Debates. The members often prepared their speeches with great care, and they were in the habit of judging one another by nothing less than what they conceived to be *a House of Commons manner.' Now and then, as might be expected, boy nature declared itself, and outbreaks occurred that were at once a violation of the rules and an offence to those who presided at the weekly meetings ; but if, in this way, the future of the Society was occasionally endangered, the robustness of its constitution is attested by the dozen bulk}- volumes of upwards of 4,000 pages wherein its proceedings, during the thirty-four years of existence, now lie recorded. To deal adequately here with this mass of material is obviously im- possible. Some have written suggesting the fullest treatment, on the score of psychological interest and the evidence these debates would afford of the de- velopment of boy-character ; others still evidently look back upon the proceedings in their day with the utmost gravity ; while a few, now occupying somewhat prominent places in the world, approach the subject with hesitation, if not with a certain nervousness, lest the opinions they held when in their teens should be publicly contrasted with those at which they have arrived in the days of their maturer wisdom. All that can be done here, how- ever, is to tell of how the Society came into existence, to record something of its subsequent history, to pick out, here and there, a subject of debate, the opinion of a speaker, the result of a division, and to do this with becoming solemnity, however much we may be occasionally reminded of the immortal Court presided * Jane Evans was wisely taken into the confidence of the Society, and supported it from the first. LETTER FROM LORD GRIMTHORPE 279 over by Mr. Justice Stareleigh and the proceedings of the Pickwick Club. First, then, who was the founder of the Society ? Possibly more than one boy had a hand in the matter; but the prime mover was undoubtedly E. W. Beckett- Denison, better known now as Lord Grimthorpe. The Society was founded in the Summer half of 1872, and writing of it, Lord Grimthorpe says : •As to the House Debating Society, which I started,. 1 am afraid that the details have more or less faded from my memory ; but I confess that the fact that I was the originator* of house debating societies, which are now, 1 understand, a permanent institution at Eton, gives me more satisfaction to recall than any of the cricket or football successes I was fortunate enough to obtain while I was at the School. All the information 1 am able to give you is this: that I remember summoning a meeting of those boys to my room whom I thought would be interested in a de- bating societ}', I found the idea was very readily taken up, and we drew up a set of provisionary rules, among which it was laid down that all members should preserve the utmost secrecy as to our proceedings, as, until the thing was formally established, we did not want to have it talked about, being afraid that obstacles from one quarter or another might be put in our way. I remember that 1 received great assistance from Bernard Holland, now of the Colonial Office, and also that in our debates he displayed shrewd sense and a keen and lucid style. f We soon got on so well that we found it no longer necessary to keep our proceed- ings secret, and we sometimes asked people who were not members of our Society to take part in our debates. It finally got to be talked about in Eton, and other houses proceeded to form debating societies on our lines and were supplied with copies of our rules. I cannot say when the regular House Debating Society * See note. p. 277. t Canon Abraham, one of the original members, also recalls that ' Sam and Tom Farrer were the best debaters ; Sam had a very good House of Commons manner. Young Somers- Cocks, too, was a brilliant and reckless speaker who came in before I left.' 28o THE FIRST MEETING was developed out of our early meetings, but I should say it must have been in '74.' The first entry in the book before us runs thus : 'At the first meeting of Evans' Debating Society the rules* were fixed upon, and it was settled that the club should consist of eleven members, and that the Officers should be three — viz., President, Secretary, and Chairman. Mr. Percy R. Brewis was elected to the post of President, Mr. John H. Lonsdale to the office of Secretary, and Mr. Ernest W. Denison to the post of Chairman. t The members who formed the club at first were six besides the officers — Mr. John Oswald, Mr. C. E. Pigott, Mr. C. T. Abraham, Mr. C. Selwyn, Mr. C. Fraser-Tytler, and Mr. A. Busby.' The office of Chairman was after a while abolished, and an Auditor substituted. As the President always took the chair — on one occasion he is referred to as 'making a speech from the throne' — the duties of the Chairman are not apparent, though one of them con- sisted in 'having to provide at least three chairs at every meeting and the same number of candles.' The first meeting for debate was fixed for Sunday, May 5, 1872, the subject being 'Is the allowal of "Tap" desirable or not ?' 'The President took the chair at 8 p.m. punctually, and opened the meeting by thanking the members for electing him President. The House then proceeded to private business, and Lord Windsor and Mr. John Croft were elected as the two additional members, the former unanimously, the latter by 7 votes to 2, The Secretary then proceeded to read the rules of the Society, most ot which were agreed to b}^ show of hands. The oath of secrecy was administered to Lord Windsor, who then took his seat as a member. The debate then followed. Mr. Brewis opened it, and argued that the old way of not allowing " Tap " was * The revised rules will be found in the Appendix. f E. W. Denison became President at Michaelmas '72, and remained head of the Society for two years, till he left in '75. 'DAMES' HOUSES' 281 better than the new one. He was answered by the Secretary, who took the opposite view of the question. Several good speeches followed for either side; but, on a show of hands, it was found that Mr. Brewis was defeated by 6 to 4. The rules were then modified in some respects, and the meeting was closed by the President rising at 9.5.' Such was the first meeting of the Society. On the next occasion it was decided by 7 to 4 that ' the Volun- teers were beneficial to the School,' Mr. Denison, the mover, making 'an eloquent speech, full of powerful arguments.' 'The oath was then administered to Mr. Croft,' who was destined to bring much life into the meetings, and on one occasion even to hazard the Society's existence b}^ his exuberant spirits and his boyish love of fun. He eventually, however, became the first Auditor, and an account is given of where 'a vote of thanks was unanimously accorded him for his meritorious conduct in snubbing Mr. Lawrie.' In the heat of debate feeling often ran very high, as, for instance, when the Tichborne case was under dis- cussion. On this occasion one member forgot him- self altogether, and concluded his spirited remarks by saying that 'all who did not agree with him must be beastly fools.' Such language could not, of course, be permitted, and a threat was held out that *a repe- tition would probably involve his being dismissed the Society.' This particular debate, which is mentioned as one of the best that had been held, terminated in the decision, by 5 to 4, that the claimant to the Tich- borne estates was not the rightful heir. The reports of the debates were originally sum- marized by the Secretary; but after the first year a suggestion was made that each member should enter in the book a report of his own speech. To this no opposition was raised at the moment, and until one member covered thirteen pages with a report of what 282 'ATHLETICS AND STUDY' he had said concerning the character of Charles I. ; then the Society took alarm, high talking was heard, and the rule, as will be seen, was subsequently modified. Among the first subjects of debate was one, the result of which comes as a surprise. The question was ' Whether Dames' houses ought to be abolished,' and the summary runs thus : * Mr. Abraham, in opening the second debate, said he thought Dames' ought not to be abolished, as they were much more comfortable than Tutors', as a rule. He was opposed by Mr. Busby, the Secretary, and the Chairman, who said they thought Tutors' were the best, as the Tutors deserved houses more than the Dames, because they worked so much harder. On a division it was found that 6 thought Dames' houses ought to be abolished, and 3 thought not.' Many were the subjects that came before these earlier meetings, ranging from ' Are yellow-backed novels beneficial?' (No, 6 to i) to 'Ought the Atha- nasian Creed to be abolished or not ?' (No, 5 to 3}. Now and then more than one subject was tried and disposed of in a few minutes, such as the one upon the Dames' houses. The Society was in its infancy, and its proceedings lacked the solemnit}" that dis- tinguished them in later years. Here, for instance, are two entries belonging to '^2) '• ' Two or three debates were essayed in vain, till one was opened by Mr. Abraham on "whether too much attention was paid to athletics at the present day, to the detriment of study." l^he opener held that this was the case. Mr. Denison replied in an elaborate speech, and was followed by Messrs. Oswald, Marjori- banks, and Holland on the side of the opener, Mr. Wigram and Lord Windsor leaning to the opinion of the President. Mr. Croft also, as he adjourned for supper, addressed the assembly in a short but pithy speech to the eft'ect that '^ he wouldn't vote for them oafs.'" UNRULY PROCEEDINGS 283 But a more serious state of affairs arose later, when the subject was * Whether the Masters were justified in demanding an additional ;^i2.' The report runs : ' Mr. Croft proceeded to open the question, and read some statistics from a paper which he had prepared, followmg them up by a few general remarks.' The demand of the Masters was unanimously con- demned, though they were adjudged to be entitled to a pension. * This debate was varied l:)y a discussion which arose on a certain word, which ended in the following painful scene. Mr. Croft tendered his resignation to the Society in consequence of the E.D.S.* unanimousl}' objecting to his juvenile propensity of saying "Z)«w" whenever he opened his mouth. His resignation was duly accepted b}'- the Society.' A stormy meeting followed on the next occasion, ' during which was heard, more than once, the ominous cry of " Dissolution." ' But order was at length re- stored, and it is gratifying to notice that ' Mr. Croft rejoined the Society, matters having been made right.' More than once there is mention of disorder, and heated discussion was not uncommon among these boys in Denison's bedroom ; but the Society, as a whole, generally gained the day, either by the President's ruling or the expulsion of some member until he thought fit to offer an apology, when 'matters were made right.' In looking through the debates, one is struck by the breadth of view that is often shown by these boys, and the manner in which subjects that still occup}^ the public mind were dealt with. In politics the Society, for the most part, leant to Conservatism, and found itself 'unable to agree with Mr. Gladstone, however much they admired him as a man.' But when we * I.e., Evans' Debating Society, the title by which it was always known. 284 MISCELLANEOUS DEBATES turn to the question, 'Ought women to have a vote?' we find this decided in the affirmative by 6 to 5, and 5 to 3 were in favour of ' the Government buying up the railways.' The Society declined to accept uni- versal suffrage and reform of the House of Lords by heavy majorities ; a strong opinion was held that Bishops should always have a seat in the Upper House; and it was thought that the Government ought certainly to support emigration. The question ' whether Dissenters should be buried in church- yards ' was carried by the narrow majority of i, and ' Cremation ' was thrown out by 7 to 2. When the subjects have to deal with history, the characters of Elizabeth and William III. are judged to be worthy of approval without dissent ; but those of Charles I. and Cromwell cause lively debates, with the result that Cromwell is not considered worthy of admiration by 5 to 4, and Charles I. finds 6 to support him and 3 against him. In general subjects, the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland was approved by 8 to 2 ; competitive examinations for the Army were thought to be a mistake by 7 to 2 ; and the Bar as a profession found more supporters than either the Army, the Navy, or the Church. By the beginning of '74 the Society had found its feet, and its existence had become generally known. One or two of the more prominent leaders of the House were admitted to membership, among them Alfred Lyttelton, and Edward Lyttelton is made an honorary member when on a visit from Cambridge, and upholds Mr. Gladstone's decision to retire from political life, though he finds himself in the minority when the division is taken. In '75 new rules are made, the number of members is increased, it is looked upon as an honour to be elected, and the meetings are now held in the Library. Sundays are given up as the day for the debates, and Saturdays, THE SPEECHES 285 after 9 o'clock prayers, become the recognized time. Jane Evans enters heart and soul into the whole thing, and though she makes it a rule never to inter- fere with the proceedings, or even to enter the Library when debates are being held, her Diaries record many occasions when she has to go and knock at the door to remind those inside that, ere long, it will be .Sunday morning. Often, too, she makes mention of the subject in debate : ' Temperance : all a little shy, so it did not last long'; or, 'Spiritualism: nobody knew anything about it, so all to bed by 11.' * " Phrenology" was not a success.' As the years go by more and more interest is evinced in the Society, and great care is often taken in the preparation of speeches. Here and there the debates are of considerable interest, and a level is attained that is somewhat surprising. The subjects range over a wide field, and in one of these volumes of transactions alone as many as forty-eight different topics are dealt with. Some of the speeches are extremely long: one member is mentioned as deliver- ing 'an eloquent oration that occupied 35 minutes in delivery.' When it came to writing it down, however, it is compressed into a few lines, 'for reasons that will be apparent.' The system of each speaker recording his own speech is modified, and speeches are now only entered in the books by invitation, though a member may be compelled to write out what he had said. Before passing the book to the next who took part in the debate, it is also the custom to introduce him in a few words. Most of these introductions are of a complimentary order, and some are amusing. Thus, after one speaker has written in his speech, he adds : 'Mr. S. followed in a speech of transcendent ability, marked by the firmest grasp of the subject, and an eloquence that surpasses anything we remember to have heard.' 286 POLITICAL VIEWS Whether such a comphment had the effect of rendering Mr. S.'s mind a blank as to what he did or did not say is not apparent, but we often look in vain for the able and eloquent periods that we had been led to expect. Most of the debates are con- ducted with the utmost decorum, members are referred to as 'Hon. gentlemen,' and at the end of the half the House is said to adjourn for the Christmas or Easter recess. Now and then there are groans, laughter, and cheers, and dissent is sometimes loudl}'^ expressed at the conclusion of a speech ; but, as a rule, the question before the Society is treated very seriously, and the President is not often called upon to preserve order. With the constant influx of new members taking the places of those who have left, the opinions of the Society often also undergo a change. At one period the political debates are marked by advanced Radi- calism, and Conservatives are voted as ' being always behind.' But then comes a reaction, and we find a speaker declaring with emphasis, and amidst applause, that 'the Conservatives have often succeeded where the Liberals have entirely failed.' The same topics are also often discussed over again and with opposite conclusions. Female suffrage comes up again at intervals, and on one occasion is vetoed by ii to i. The opener of this particular debate is 'strongly opposed to the motion, though aware of the anomalies surrounding the subject.' 'Women,' he says, 'in this respect are placed on an equal footing with minors, idiots, lunatics, and criminals. But anomalies have existed ever since the country possessed a Government at all. Let us try, then, to consider (i) what are the arguments advanced by the Society for women's suffrage ; and (2) how far they hold good when subjected to a vigorous and impartial inquiry. And before proceeding, let me ask the Hon. members to remember that this question is 'FEMALE SUFFRAGE' 287 a very grave and serious one, and implore them to give it the attention and appHcation its merits demand. Whatever be their feeling of gallantry and devotion for the fair sex, or whatever women-hating ideas they may profess, let me demand from them a careful and earnest consideration, such as may be found in all our previous debates, and at the close of the discussion an impartial and enthusiastic vote, which the E.D.S. may not be ashamed to publish to the v/orld.' The speaker goes on to develop his argument, and quotes Mill in his support, adding: * Before conferring a privilege we should like to know whether it will conduce to the welfare of the community, and until that question is satisfactorily answered a mere demand on the ground of abstract right has no weight with us.' Touching on the question of how far the granting of the vote would tend towards the higher education of women, he remarks * That the true reforms of the female sex and of their position are those which multiply the means for their superior education. The effect of Female Suffrage would, in my opinion, be disastrous ; but the education of women can have but one result, and that a most favourable one. When this education is on the same footing as that of men, when our ladies take the same interest, and have the same experience of political questions as ourselves — when all this is achieved, we may safely go up to the Ladies' Gallery and request its fair occupants to take their seats in the body of the House. Till then the demand for female suffrage seems to me to be a remarkable illustration of the old proverb, "The cart before the horse."' The Seconder, who is bound by the Rules to oppose the opener, and who now chances to occupy a place in the present Administration, remarks : ' I consider the arguments on the two sides of the question to be about equally balanced. There are some people who look upon the extension of suffrage 288 'FEMALE SUBTRAGE' to women with horror, as not only a political innova- tion, but as contrary to the laws and intentions of Nature. But there can be no doubt that such women as George Eliot and the Baroness Burdett-Coutts are a great deal better able to exercise the suffrage than a drunken coal-heaver or an inebriated crossing- sweeper.' He then divides his argument into three heads : ' (i) A total extension of the suffrage would not, I think, be beneficial : it seems to me there are too many ignorant voters in England already. . . . (2) Partial extension could not but be regarded with jealousy by those excluded from it. . . . And (3) as regards the intention of Nature, women will, and do, take a part in politics, whether they have the franchise or not. . . . But, after all, when the question is asked, "Why should not women have the vote?" it is very difficult to meet the plain question with a plain answer. The objection that women are not as yet sufficiently educated will soon be done away with : great strides are being made in this direction. But, I believe, that the women who agitate for the suffrage and tramp the country making speeches in favour of it are not the best specimens of their sex by any means. ... If the suffrage would be a step towards women being admitted to Parliament, I think that alone would be a sufficient argument against it. Altogether, then, I conceive the arguments to be tolerably well balanced, and shall go behind the Chair, iDelieving, as I do, that the moderate and partial extension of the franchise would be fair in theory but impracticable in reality.' The next speaker is more decided, and considers that 'women might as well be put in trousers at once as admitted to the franchise. As it is, women have too much influence, and the result of giving them more would be to increase very greatly the amount of sensational legislation.' The rest of the speeches are summarized, the Presi- dent winding up the debate by saying : POLITICAL DEBATES 289 ' It is a woman's business to stay at home and keep house : if she did this thoroughly it would occupy her time quite fully. There was no objection to women improving themselves, provided this was made sub- ordinate to the great duties of womankind. It was only the Radical women of the most dangerous and republican type who wished for the extension of the sufifrage, anS, personally, he thought these a most objectionable class and not at all fit to govern.' On a division, 4 went behind the Chair, 11 supported the opener, and the member who found himself in a minority of i is now well known in the House of Lords. The debate took place twenty-five years or more ago, but as several of those who spoke are now in the House of Commons, it is not improbable that they may find themselves, ere long, going over old ground, while casting their minds back to this Satur- day evening in the House Library. Looking at the political debates, one is naturally interested to see how far the opinions of the boy con- tinued to be held in after-life. It must be remembered that a great number of the members of this Society were destined to occupy seats in both Houses of Parliament, and not only this, but to find places in various Administrations. Thus, if we take the late and the present Governments, no less than five former members of Evans' occupied places in Mr. Balfour's Administration, while in that of Sir H, Campbell- Bannerman, in which there are very few Etonians, two Old boys of the House are nevertheless to be found. It is only necessary to glance at the Boards to see at once that many of the boys at Evans' belonged to families whose names are inseparably associated with one or other of the two great political parties. With such, there does not appear to have been any marked departure from family tradition, if adherence to the Unionist party be excepted. Nor is the result very 19 290 OPINIONS OF BOY AND MAN different in the case of others, though it is difficult to arrive at a really definite conclusion. All we have to go by is either personal knowledge of individuals, or the position that the members of this Society ultimately occupied in the political arena and the side of the House on which they sat or still to continue to sit. With these as a guide, the changes of opinion — that is, of a fundamental nature — appear to have been rare. Eton, as a whole, is composed, for the most part, of those who by position, by up-bringing, and by family tradition, are strongly opposed to the so-called advanced school of the present day ; but there can be no doubt that Evans' Debating Society always con- tained a strong Liberal element and often a Radical one, and that Conservatism there by no means always ruled the roost. Thus, on looking through the debates that took place during a great number of years, we find that if the Conservatives were generally in the ascendant, the Liberals not infrequently won the day. For instance, the Society upheld Mr. Gladstone's policy both in Ireland and in Eg3^pt in '82 by 10 to 3, and considered that Arabi ought to have been hanged by 7 to 2 ; but in '85 they judged the Government to be deserving of a vote of censure by 15 to o. On the question of Home Rule for Ireland, the majority was only 3 in '86, and this majorit}', as we shall see, was subsequently wiped out. On the proposal 'that the Church in Wales be disestablished,' the voting was even, one member going behind the Chair and one being absent. Turning to the question of Fair as against Free Trade, which was often debated, the voting shows that the members were apparently always in favour of Free Trade, though sometimes only by such narrow majorities as 7 to 6 ; and that when the subject was changed to * Free Trade versus Protection,' the Society still adhered to Free Trade, the majorities being larger, on one occasion as much POLITICAL DEBATES 291 as 12 to 2. In '96 and '97 there were two debates on ' Old Age Pensions,' the motion being thrown out on each occasion, though by small majorities. Then again, •the Reform of the House of Lords' was often before the Society. On one night the question took the form of whether it should be 'mended or ended,' the Upper House escaping total abolition by the narrow majority of I. On another, 7 voted for its being 'not ended,' as against 6 for its being ' mended.' The Finance Act of '94 and the Death Duties also came under review, Sir William Harcourt's measure finding only two sup- porters. On the question of the Disestablishment of the Church, the Society invariably voted against such a measure, though the division on one occasion showed a lessened majority of 8 to 5. With the opening of the war in South Africa a number of fresh subjects offer them- selves, and feeling becomes more acute. In January, 1900, there is a debate on ' Whether the Government is to blame in the present crisis,' the Government only escaping censure by a single vote. When, however * The new proposals for the Army' are under discussion in the following month, they are unanimously sup- ported ; though, in the end, Mr. Balfour's Administra- tion is discredited in the eyes of the Society, and the question ' that the Government ought to be called upon to resign ' is carried, and for the reason that * the Country is obviously Liberal.' The last debate held by the Society was on March 31, 1906, the subject being 'Whether Ireland should be given the privilege of a separate Parliament.' The opener considered that it would be ' a good way out of the difficulty,' and though the seconder is reported to have made * a convincing speech,' the vote went against him, and Ireland was granted its Parliament by 6 votes to 4. The eloquence of the opener is said to have secured this result, his speech ' having done much to persuade the House of the necessity of Home Rule.' 19 — 2 292 'THE ETON VOLUNTEERS' Turning to matters of lesser importance, the Society, which, in its earlier days, had pronounced unanimously against Trade- Unions, now often votes in their favour, on one occasion by 5 to i. A debate on the * Deceased Wife's Sister's Bill' shows a majority in favour of it of I only. Two divisions on ' The Channel Tunnel' give majorities against it of 6 to 4 and 7 to 5 ; and in the case of ' Chinese Labour,' the majority in its favour is 6 to 2. On questions of sport, the divisions often come as a surprise when we remember the families from which many of these boys are sprung. They consider that hunting is generally beneficial, and they are strongly opposed to the abolition of the Royal Buck Hounds; but, turning to shooting, they vote that * battues on a large scale should be put down' by 11 to 2, and, mira- bile dictu, they are in favour of the Hares and Rabbits Bill. On the turf, they are of opinion (6 to i) 'that more good is done by improving the breed of horses than harm by betting.' They support the Blue Ribbon Army by 13 to i ; and they decide, by 9 to 6, that Public Houses should be open on Sundays. The divisions on * Smoking ' show that they considered that there was nothing injurious in the use of tobacco by 9 to 3 and 9 to 4 ; but they are against smoking being allowed at Eton. On all occasions they vote against * Conscription '; and one measure of a Radical order is brought in, and they vote for the total aboli- tion of the Eton Volunteers by 6 to 4 ; they allow that * some advantage is to be got from the Butts in acquiring knowledge of the use of the rifle, though even this is not very great, as the majority of the rifles do not shoot straight.' The opener of this debate is so strongly against the E.C.R.V. that 'the brilliant eloquence of his speech nearly brought the House unanimously to his side.' * I have heard,' he says, ' that it is the fashion to rag the Officers, and that the Officers themselves are FORMAL DEBATES 293 absolutely unable to suppress this owing to their own thorough incompetence. The Field days are an absolute farce. People go out, not because they desire to learn anything about tactics — which they couldn't if they wished to — but because they can smoke and tear to pieces the carriages of the L. and S.W.R. Co., and, to use a slang term, "have a good rag." When the actual fight begins, people rush wildly about, and umpires put out of action the first persons they meet.' The debates on subjects of a miscellaneous order afford the most amusing reading. Those on the political questions of the day, or on stock debating subjects, are more grave, and are approached in quite another vein. In preparation for these last, the opener and seconder have often evidently taken pains to study their subject, to look up authorities, to decide upon their line of argument, and to collect and marshal their facts and statistics ; many of the speeches thus bear evidence of the most careful preparation, and if their delivery was on a par with the way in which they read, many can only be pronounced as excellent. But when it comes to everyday topics, the boy's spirits break out and he runs riot, occasionally forgets himself, and is pulled up with a fine : any argument serves for the moment, the meeting is more easily swayed than usual, and votes are recorded hastily. The boys, in fact, are boys; they no longer wish to call in a reporter on the staff of one of the leading daily papers, as they did on one occasion, and got into trouble for it, but they are there to let themselves go, and they afford fun of the first order, over which one may laugh and cry at the same time. Here is a debate on ' Is the present state of Eton satisfactory ?' in which the seconder says 'he is quite sure it can't be,' and brings forward in support of his argument ' the ungentlemanly conduct of many fellows in their exultation at the defeat of my Dame's by 294 LADIES SMOKING De Rosen's yesterday. This is a sign of a certain low tone that nntst be prevalent in the School.' The debate is said to have been * livel}'- but rather strag- gling, a drawback which perhaps the nature of the subject itself involved.' On the question of too much time being devoted to athletics, one speaker remarks that he ' should like people who think so to see us on Mondays '; and another 'considers an utter sap as being quite as con- temptible as one who never saps at all. A fellow might shut himself up with his Greek Plays and his Lexicon, and get it all by heart, but he would know nothing of what was going on in the world and be quite devoid of common sense. A fellow in training for the Eight can't trouble himself much about books, and if all the work supposed to be got through at Eton was done, there would be far too much of it.' On the question * Whether it is desirable for ladies to smoke,' the opener says : ' I don't think it desirable for ladies to smoke. Smoking is injurious to some men, and so I should think it would be to most ladies. Cigarette-smoking is the most injurious form of all, and this is the form chiefly adopted by ladies, greatly to the detriment of their complexions and general health. It is a well- known maxim that smoking produces drinking, and it would be most disgusting if ladies took to drinking whiskies and brandies and sodas to the same extent as gentlemen do. Besides this, ladies would be coming into gentlemen's smoking-rooms, and would, to a great degree, stop that freedom of speech that gentlemen indulge in when not in the presence of ladies.' Another speaker remarks that * ladies' bills for clothes are generally quite high enough, without adding a cigar bill ; and the smell is objectionable w^hen per- vading all the rooms.' This last remark brings a noble Lord to his feet with, he knew of an instance in which A FAVOURITE SUBJECT 29s smoking from one room made the whole house smell. ' The custom,' says another, ' forms the stepping-stone to a future rivalry. Women are deteriorating, and the result will be that men will lose their admiration for the fair sex.' On a division, the motion was thrown out by 10 to I. A subject often debated was, * Whether it was better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all,' and this always gave rise to amusing speeches. The opener of one of these debates, who considered that it is better never to have loved at all, remarks that, 'taking the question to refer to persons who have fallen into love, but who, for some cause or other, have been unable to marry, the pleasure of anticipation is counteracted effectually by disappointment afterwards, and that the cases where lives are bettered are coun- teracted by the possibility of murder or suicide.' Another thought that ' many crimes had refusals at the bottom of them, but that, all the same, it was better to have loved.' A third seeks protection from possible ills in another way, and remarks, * I think that the happiest way of going through life is to love every pretty woman, and so avoid all jealousy and despair. Men hopelessly in love are an awful nuisance to their friends.' The debates on this subject generally contain references to the crimes resulting from disappointed love, and one speaker avers * that it would cause a man very great disappointment if he saw the object of his adoration in another man's arms, and he might be induced to go abroad and commit suicide.' The horror of such a possible situation seems to have caused the Society to cast 8 votes in favour of never loving at all, 7 being of the other way of thinking, and 2 members being absent. This is among the largest divisions recorded, the Society rarely numbering more than 16 members, though anyone was eligible so soon as he reached Fifth Form. The fact was that 296 INTRODUCTIONS the blackball was very freely used, and this made the honour of being elected all the greater. Attendance was compulsory, and members absent without valid excuse were liable to censure, besides being subjected to a fine of one shilling. Reference has already been made to the way a member, after writing what he had said in the book, introduced the boy who followed him. The metaphors were sometimes a little mixed, but these introductions showed considerable ingenuity as well as variety. Here are some examples : In a certain debate on the subject just referred to, Mr, C. is said to have ' harangued the House in the following amorous strains,' In one of the many debates on spiritualism the opener ' terrified the House by the following spookish remarks,' while the seconder * proceeded, in a practical manner, to demolish the arguments in favour of Ghosts,' In a discussion on some military subject, * Mr. T., filled with martial ardour, entranced the House with the following eloquence'; while these would be difficult to surpass : ' Mr. B. then proceeded to pick the opener's honeyed strain to pieces with the following effervescence'; and Mr. G. 'unfolded his contrary statements with the following peroration.' But our notes on Evans' Debating Society must be brought to a close, lest we run the risk of dealing with matters in a flippant manner that were generally re- garded with the utmost gravity. On the evenings when the Society met, the atmosphere pervading the two little rooms that formed the Library was one of formality ; the speakers rose to their feet amidst silence and expectation ; and they opened their re- marks with a bow and a formal * Sir ' to the President. The rules governing their manner were those of ' another place,' and the speeches, often adorned by apt quotations from the Classics, were not infrequently punctuated by restrained applause. The presence, NUMBER OF SUBJECTS DEBATED 297 on occasion, of one or two of the younger Masters lent weight and colour to these weekly meetings, and the proceedings were usually carried on with un- flagging spirit, until an ominous knock at the door warned the company that the flow of eloquence must cease. The subjects that were debated during these thirty- four years numbered approximately 500, and if these twelve bulky volumes contain much that is interesting, both from the illustrations they afford of the working of the boy mind, as from the views once, and often still, held by those who are now before the country in a public capacity, we may smile at the undeniably funny side, but at the same time be ready to admit the soundness of the opinions that were advanced by many of these speakers, when they, and the company around them, were but boys in their teens. CHAPTER XVIII HOUSE-MATCHES AND ATHLETICS, 1878-9O Very lean years in the matter of Cups mark the opening of Jane Evans' rule, and only one of the principal House Cups was secured during the whole of the period to which we must now turn — 1878-90. For this singular want of success it is not easy to account, especially as the material, judging by the successes of the Lower-boys, was as good as ever. Nor, if we look beyond this period and scan the School records to the end, does any marked change occur until just as the history of the House is closing. The House, it is true, maintained, on the whole, a con- sistently high level, and figures well in all the lists ; but it never, under its new title of * Miss Evans" re- peated the triumphs of earlier days, or occupied the place in athletics that it had formerly done. In one direction, however, the House made its mark, though this was not one that was ever thought much of at Eton. The day is apparently still distant when rifle-shooting ma}^ be considered as one of our national pastimes; and however much man}^ of us still hope to see a certain amount of drill and knowledge of the rifle forming part of the accepted curriculum in our great public schools, there are not many signs of it at present. In the days of which we are writing the Shooting Cup was usually referred to in tones of good-humoured banter, and a boy with a rifle, wending 298 THE SHOOTING CUP 299 his way to the butts on the further side of Chalvey, was regarded with much the same smile as that bestowed on another bound for the Lower Thames-, with a fishing-rod. Few boys cared anything for the art : there were far too many other things to do ; and rifle-shooting appealed to a very limited number. The House always contained a number of boys destined for the Army, and this may have had something to do with the Shooting Cup being secured four years running at the opening of this period. In '79 and '80 the Cup was won for the House by T. F. Fremantle, A. W. Drury, and G. H. Barclay; in '81 by G. H. Barclay, R. H. U. Pickering, and J. A. Pixley ; and in '82 by J. A. Pixley, R. H. U. Pickering, and W. H. Buller. In '80 and '81 the three representatives of the House also shot in the School Eight for the Ashburton Shield, and in '81 and '82 J. A. Pixley, as the highest scorer in the team, shot for the Spencer Cup. One other Cup the House also won twice at this time — the House Fives. In '81 the Cup was carried off by P. St. L. Grenfell and G. H. Barclay, and in '82 by G. H. Barclay and C. E. Farrer ; G. H. Barclay also winning the School Fives with H. Erie Richards in '80, and with A. E. Newton* in '81. The Lower-boys were meanwhile doing something for the credit of the House in the Lower-boy House Cups. There were only two of these Cups up to the year 1900, when the Fives Cup was added, and in the five years 1 879-1 883, the Lower-boys succeeded in winning the Football Cup four times out of five, and the Cricket Cup in 1881. In the latter year they held both Cups, and they also won the Cricket Cup again in '88 and '90. The following note appears in the Football Book regarding the Final match in '79 : * Not a boy of the House. 300 THE LOWER-BOYS, '79-^1 * During the many years my Dame's have fought for this Cup, it has never before fallen to any Captain of the Football to have the pleasure of recording in these pages that we had won it. This year we have suc- ceeded in so doing, after one of the most brilliant Lower- boy Finals ever witnessed at Eton. Our Lower-boys fought against Cornish's, Dalton's, and A. C. James', and then beat Mitchell's in the Final. The behinds would indeed have put the House behinds to shame had they been bigger, which, un- fortunatel}^ for the House, they were not.' The names of the eleven are not given, but in '81, when they repeated their victory and defeated C. C. James', the eleven consisted of S. Evans, Crum-Ewing, Grenfell mi., O. Smith mi., Moore, Dixon, Arkwright mi., Hanbury, Mackintosh, Balfour, and Fremantle mi. In both the years '82 and '83 the Lower-boys secured the Cup. In the first-named year, when they defeated A. C. Ainger's, the eleven were : O. Smith, Moore, Dickinson, Hanbury, H. Amory mi., C. Clarke, Balfour, Evans mi., Warrender, Fraser, and Brown ; and in '83, when they defeated Hale's by a goal and two rouges to a goal, Evans' representatives were : Moore, Evans mi., Amory mi., Clarke, Warrender, Harrison, Bram- well. Duff, A, Gore, Denison, and Worthington. With such good material coming on, it is strange that, so far as House Football was concerned, our Dame's should have touched a lower point in the game than at any other period of its history. In '80 and '82 the House appears in the list of * bows ' in the draws for the ties, and if, on both occasions, they retrieved their position by beating their * strokes, the fact of the House being so estimated was un- precedented.* * As these terms are of a somewhat technical nature, it may be stated here that the best or strongest houses in any particular game are defined as ' strokes' in drawing the ties, the second best as ' bows.' The competing houses for a Cup being set down in two columns and so defined, the 'strokes' draw as to which house among the 'bows' MATCHES FOR THE CUP, >8-'88 301 Turning to the result of the matches for the Cup, the House stood thus : In '78 they were beaten in the second Ties by C. C. James', who eventually won the Cup ; in '79 they were in the ante-Final ; in each of the next three years they were beaten in the second Ties, and in '83 in the third. They then began to retrieve their position, for both in '84 and '85 they were in the Final ; in '86 they were in the ante-Final, and though beaten in the second Ties, in '87 and '89 and in the third Ties in '90, they at least scored one win, and in '88 brought home the Cup.* One or two of these matches deserve further notice. That ill-fortune attended Evans' in a peculiar way cannot be doubted, and this is confirmed on all hands, as well as by these Books ; but it would not be fair to opponents to make too much of this. There is an element of chance in all games, or they would cease to be games ; the result must always, in the end, be the test of the material, however much we may feel that on many occasions the best side does not always win, any more than do the best men always survive to come to the top. A fall or slip at a critical moment at football may make the same difference as a catch dropped, and the first shot fired has often been known to find its billet in a very promising young life. The match in the ante-Final in '79 was against A. C. James', and the House was beaten. For many years Evans' had been noted for its play behind the bully, but now, and for some time, the House failed to throw up a good ' behind,' and thus the Book records of this match : * The behinds were they have to play. This plan is followed throughout the ties, the houses being classed as ' strokes ' or ' bows ' according to the form they show. * A table will be found in the Appendi.^ showing the House's performances in the Football ties annually. 302 EVANS' V. DAMAN'S, '84 " awfiil^^ and to this defect we must undoubtedly attribute our defeat.' One of the best behinds Evans ever had, Edward Lyttelton, had returned to Eton as a master in '82 and throughout his eight years at the School in this capacity his interest in his old House never flagged. Its doings in the football-field always claimed his sympathy, and thus, in the Football Books, there are many accounts of matches against elevens he got together to play the House, and his handwriting once more makes its appearance when he has been asked to comment on some particular contest. In '84 and '85, as already recorded, the House was in for the Final. In '84 we had to meet Daman's. Our eleven was judged to be the best in the School, but Daman's possessed a boy named Gedge, who is described * as the best rouge-getter that Eton had seen for years, and when, besides this, Daman's eleven were far heavier than Evans', the result was that rouges were turned into goals and the House was defeated by two goals to a goal and three rouges. This account of the match extends to six pages, and is summed up by Edward Lyttelton thus : 'The general superiority of Evans' was startingly manifest to the onlookers, and this fact rendered the whole match the most bitter spectacle for our partisans that has been witnessed since the memorable calamity of 1873.' Once again victory was snatched from Evans' eleven the following year, and in the last ten minutes of the match, by a single rouge to nothing, their opponents being W. Durnford's. But victory came at last, and in '88 the Cup was once more won. The House eleven comprised the following, the first four being in the Field, an un- precedented event in any House eleven : •<. r?:t- ^!S ■~/J ^ pi m g >. m 3 O :d w Sffi ''11 w ^.oi 4k w ^a Mm M •■'• ■ ■/; ( o rt X '^ ^ - w S-^S ^ != OT3 it: « >- o is X 5 EVANS' V. A. C JAMES' 303 H. Heathcoat-Amory. A. Boden. E. Clifton Brown. W. H. Noble. H. F. Wright. R. S. Boden. A. B. Marten. M. Bell. M. R. Martineau. W. Peacock. J. E. Farquhar. The match was against A. C. James', and was generally considered to be a foregone conclusion, the account in the Book running : 'At last we have won the longed-for Cup. We worked the ball down to James' end almost imme- diately, where, in a united rush, Erskine kicked the ball behind, which I touched and so scored the first rouge. This we could not force, but still continued to have a great deal the best of the match. . . . After change the game became much more even, the ball remaining near the middle of the field. Once they got it on our line, but did not score. After this we played up much better, and in a rush, headed by Wright, we took the ball down to their line, where I scored a second rouge. This, like the first, we were unable to force. . . . From a kick-off, I got hold of the ball and got a somewhat lucky goal. After this, nothing of any importance occurred, and we continued to have the best of the match till "time" was called, leaving us winners by a goal and two rouges to nil. It is now twelve years since the Cup stood in our Baronial Hall ; let us hope it will remain there for some time to come.' Edward Lyttelton added to this : 'A huge amount of credit is due to Amory. Not only has he kept up the spirit of the team and played capitally in the matches, but he has refused to lose heart as to the ultimate success of my Dame's, even at the end of a period of unparalleled bad luck and ex- asperating failure. But more than that, during this match he worked hard and scored plentifully, though suffering from a contusion detrimental to the personal vanity. . . . Who has ever kicked a goal in a Final House-match with a broken nose ? History can re- 304 THE HOUSE WINS THE CUP call nothing" simile ant secundum. . . . Much accumu- lated chagrin, which had been gathering ever since '76, was dissipated in that one point of time.' On the day of the match, Jane Evans records : ^December 12. — A most eventful day. All at break- fast were very low and desponding, and would not hear of our winning in the Final. At i, I went to see how things were going in the Field. Half-time, and our boys had a rouge ; but soon after they scored another, and then Amory kicked a goal and we won : the last ten minutes were long and anxious.' The usual supper followed, two evenings later, and the entry runs : * I dressed and went down to our Supper, which we had at 8 o'clock. Mr. Lyttelton, Mr. A. James, and Dickinson, the Captain of his eleven, joined us. Everything went off very well : not very late.' In 1890, the House played College, but were beaten 'in the last two minutes' by a goal to nothing. This brings the football of this period to a close, and we must turn now to cricket. The annals of House cricket in the years we are considering will be always remarkable for the striking and continuous successes of one particular house. In the eight years, 1880-87, Mitchell's won the cricket Cup eight times, and thus achieved a record that is unlikely to be ever broken. In no less than six of these eight years the House was their opponents, and if we were never able to wrest the Cup from our powerful rivals, we yet went near doing so on more than one occasion. Four times the House met Mitchell's in the Final, and twice in the ante-Final; in other words, it was second for the Cup four times. To give a detailed account of these matches would be impossible within ordinary limits, even had the EVANS' AND MITCHELL'S 305 Cricket Book been kept at the time, or all the scores been preserved elsewhere. But some of the matches may at least be mentioned. In '80 the only note about the Final runs : 'This match was played in miserable weather. Paravicini's bowling was too much for Miss Evans'; but if Grenfell ma. had been backed up better by his side the result might have been different.' The House scored 68 and 38 in their two innings, of which Grenfell ma. made no less than 34 not out and 18, Mitchell's making 113 and 53, and thus winning the match by 60 runs. In '81 the House was beaten by Warre's in the Second ties ; but in the following year they were again in the Final with Mitchell's. The House in '82 possessed only one boy who had ever played in Upper Club, whereas their opponents had two mem- bers of the Eleven, and two in the Twenty-two. Under these circumstances it is remarkable that the House succeeded in reaching the Final at all, and the fact that the}'^ were beaten by nine wickets is not surprising. One match in the Ties this year, '82, calls for special reference, as it falsified all anticipations. In the third Ties the House had to play Austen-Leigh's, the result being regarded as a certainty for the latter. Such, however, is the uncertainty of cricket, that the House won in an innings, and with 209 runs to spare, C. Grenfell making 149, T. H. Barnard 70, and A. W. Heber-Percy 43. The totals were : for the House 341, and for Austen-Leigh's 74 and 58. Two years followed, in both of which the House had to meet Mitchell's in the ante-Final ; but they were beaten in an innings and 4 runs in '83, and by 129 runs in '84. Then, once again, came two years when the same 20 3o6 CRICKET MATCHES FOR THE CUP two houses had to meet one another after all the Ties had been played. In the first of these, '85, the contest was more even. The match was regarded as a foregone conclusion, but owing to the excellent bowling of T. H. Barnard and E. G. Bromley-Martin there was an exciting finish. The totals in the first innings on either side were : Miss Evans' 80, Mitchell's 81. In the second innings the House scored 78, Mitchell's finally winning by four wickets. The Final of the next year, '86, was marked by the peculiar circumstance that neither house contained any representative of the School Eleven. We were beaten practically in an innings, Mitchell's making 135 against 6^ and 78, and knocking off the 11 runs required without the loss of a wicket.* This ended the famous series of contests between the two houses. The House, subsequently, often held more than one of the Eleven — indeed, it is remarkable how seldom there was no boy from the House playing for the School ; but, in spite of this, many years were still destined to elapse ere they were once again able to carry ofT the Cup. Jane Evans generally made a point of attending her boys' matches ; but the remarks about them in the diaries are very brief, and thus she only says of the first of the foregoing : * Went to see the end of oar match : alas ! beaten. Most exciting.' And of that in '86: ''July 29. — Bo3^s beaten in the Final by Mitchell's.' The title of the Lower-boy Cup was changed to the Junior Cricket Cup in '88, the House 'winning it with * The above facts are taken from the Chronicle, the Cricket Book not having been kept at this time. AQUATICS, '79-'90 307 the greatest ease from Donaldson's,' says the Book, in the only note preserved of this match. Two years later they won it again, beating Broad- bent's, in an excellent match, by 20 runs. In the Aquatic world the House made little mark in these years, and, with the exception of '79, when they were beaten in their Heat, do not appear to have had a Four on the river. Two brothers, F. L. Croft and W. G. Croft, were in the Eight ; the former, as stroke, in '78, and the latter in '80. But the House had become more than ever a dry-bob house, and of this characteristic Lord Arran, then Lord Sudley, writes : ' The House during my time ('82-'86) was practicall}' composed of dry-bobs. There were always several boys in the Boats, yet wet-bobbing was never popular at my Dame's. The chief event of these years was the winning of the School Pulling by Boden in '84 with a bo}^* of another house. In March, '86, five or six of us got our Boats, but this naval success was received with only partial favour in the House, the ideas and traditions being strongly dry-bob.' Nor did the House achieve any very marked success in School Athletics. H. S. Boden won the Walking Race in '83, and was second in the Mile the same year, also running third in the Steeplechase in '8^ and '85 ; while A. W. Heber-Percy won the High Jump in '84 with a jump of 5 feet. * H. S. Boden, the boy he rowed with being G. C. Wilson. Boden was also 2nd in the Sculling the following year. 20 — 2 CHAPTER XIX JANE EVANS' DIARIES! 1878-9O Some have spoken of Jane Evans' conversation as being occasionally marked by a quality amounting almost to genius, and often by a ready wit : they have told of her swift perception, of her discrimination, and of the wisdom of her judgment ; and they and many others have supposed that her diaries would contain matter of the same kind, together with a full account of the affairs of the House, and a record of its doings. In truth, they contain nothing of the sort ; and those who have confidently expected to find here something of the outspokenness and the genius of a Madame de Stael or a George Sand, will no more find them than they will the egoism of a Marie Bashkirtseff or the light touch of a Fanny Burney. Jane Evans' diaries furnish us with no human document ; we did not come to them looking for anything of the kind : she was not a woman of subtle intellect, and if her con- versation in her serious moments has now and again sent us away the richer by a sentence we could treasure, the source of her wisdom lay not so much in the quality of her mind and her capacity, as in a wide experience, a natural talent for dealing with the matters that came daily to her hand, an inborn common sense amounting almost to inspiration, a dignity of outlook, and a sympathy that was without limits. These diaries will, therefore, be disappointing to 308 JANE EVANS' DIARIES 309 those who have built much upon them. A large portion is devoted to family affairs, and therefore does not concern us ; a further portion records the names of those who visited her, and those she visited ; her friends, her social engagements in the little circle of Eton society, the routine of her daily life, and her travels in the holidays. And then there are, of course, references to the anxieties that were inseparable from her position, and that often tried her spirit to the utmost : here again are private matters that cannot be divulged. To control a house of fifty boys for twenty-eight 3^ears is to have few illusions left about boy nature, and while these diaries show that Jane Evans invariably took a charitable view, even in the face of the gravest delinquencies, she never allowed herself to be deceived as to the real meaning and nature of an offence, or suffered her charity to get the better of her judgment. One cannot rise from the perusal of these volumes, however, without carrying away a very distinct picture of the character of the House ; neither would it be possible to study such daily, personal, and private entries, extending over so many years, without form- ing some conception of the character of her who wrote them. To keep a diary is to write one's own character more often than is supposed, and if we find no words of wisdom, no cleverness, no striking pronouncements or opinions set out here, what we do get is an indelible impression of womanliness in its best and its purest aspects — faith, sympathy, love, an undying hopeful- ness, a bright cheerfulness that scorned to be dis- mayed or to be downcast, and that simply went on its way looking upwards always with a smile for the answer that would come some day to those riddles that we all meet. 1 hese pages, then, are but the record of a life which, from childhood to the final call home, was lived and 3IO JANE EVANS spent at Eton. The circle is a narrow one, but it did not serve to narrow the character of Jane Evans. She lived her life there ; she loved it ; she could never understand anyone wishing to leave it. But her interests were widespread. She took an interest in everything, from the affairs of the School to those of the world beyond it ; from the flowers in her border, her essays in drawing and painting, and her music, to what her House did, and what her boys were doing as men in other fields. She was a hero worshipper ; she loved to witness success ; to succeed was the surest way to her heart ; and thus, though she never forgot the cripples or those who had dropped out of the race, she followed with keenest interest those who had once been in her charge, and who went to the top, welcoming them on their return from all points of the compass with the old smile, the old gesture of the hand, the old familiar voice that rang always with friendship, and often, perhaps, with something even deeper still. Kindness was the rule of her life ; faith was her sheet-anchor. Thus, while in these pages there is mention, though now and again only, of attempts to help the poor, the unfortunate, or those in sorrow — for she did not often write these down — there are many more of higher things. She made it her practice to attend the morning service in Chapel, and she often takes stock of the demeanour of the boys. One thing she never forgets to do, and this is to record the name of the preacher, and to give the text of the sermon, with a few trenchant remarks concerning its quality, the manner of delivery, and of the effect, or probable effect, of the discourse upon the boys. So, too, with regard to Sunday morning prayers. No single Sunday seems to have been passed without the names of those who were late being given in full. And with regard to evening prayers on week-days, a note is often made JANE EVANS AND HER HOUSE 311 of the way they were read by the Captain at the time, as well as of the behaviour of the bo3's. She was ever very particular that the prayers should be properly conducted, and she never failed to speak when she denoted signs of irreverence. There are constant entries such as these : * D. read prayers excellently, much better than I expected. He will improve.' ' B. went to bed before prayers, in order to make M. read or C. uncomfortable. Read myself, and boys very good. Felt very cross with big fellows.' ' Had to lecture C. for being naughty at prayers. Boys are so thoughtless ; they don't mean to be wicked. We must go on from strength to strength.' It was her practice to go round the House every evening, talking, as far as possible, with each boy. Now and then she felt herself unable to do this, for her health was very far from being as robust as it appeared. When she is unable to go, she refers to it as 'shirking' — 'Left Mrs. Barns to go round. Mean !' — and when she was unwell she speaks of ' trying not to stay-out.' Every day she records the condition of the boys : * Spent the evening going round the house, chatting.' * Boys all well, and very good.' * Bo3^s all quiet and say they are good.' ' Boys very noisy and trouble- some, and not nice ; rather took it out of me to-night.' * Boys as good as gold ; better than good : went to my room full of thankfulness.' She always seems to know when things are not as they should be. ' Had a talk with Percy about the House : very nice and helpful. Must do my best for them all ; but it makes me very anxious about the well-being of the House.' ' Boys very tiresome, throwing water out of window. Handed them over to the Captain, and they were caned.' ' Boys rather babyish ; don't seem to 312 SMOKING AND CARDS feel their responsibility.' * Round the House and made a discovery. Little boys betting! Must do my best to get such things stopped. Had a long talk with B., who has promised to help me.' ' Found H. smoking in his room.' ' Found S. and H. smoking in the tool-house. To be handed over to the Head Master. They were executed this morning.' 'Got a bother on with a man in Eton who had three of my bo3^s' dressing-gowns. Saw him, and found he had a smoking-room for small boys.' * After dinner went into House, and found B. and S. and H. having a comfortable pipe. Handed them over to their Tutor.' 'W. E. smoking in his room. At a loss what to do. Had a talk with him, and said I would trust him.' ' F. and M. are most silly and foolish. They are the weakest " heads " we have ever had : take no share in anything. Just like some boys !' Smoking, by general testimony, was not indulged in, as a rule, at the House; nor was card-playing. Now and then there is mention of such transgressions, but very seldom. ' Found E. and G. playing cards : took the cards away.' ' Found the little boys in the Cottage playing cards. "Old Maid"! Quite innocent, poor little things.' 'Found R. and E. playing cards in B.'s room. Made R. sit with me till supper.' ' Had to lecture, which is horrid. Must try and get the parents to help.' Of the ordinary naughty and mischievous boy she had her full share ' H. very troublesome. Went into Martineau's room and upset all his things, and put his cap up Gaisford's chimney. Gave him up to Barnard, for he won't listen to reason.' 'Scolded H. and H. for mischief 'T. in high spirits : smashed M.'s door, which they said fell of its own accord.' 'G. very naughty: came in through his window, which is close to mine, and I never heard him. Sent him to the Head Master. Saw him make a good score.' ' S. and H. and W. in trouble with a rope-ladder.' ' Note from Mr. S. Oh dear, those THE STAYERS-OUT 313 naughty boys !' ' Lowers very noisy ; want squash- ing : was up and down once or twice this evening.' ' Lowers caned.' To be the head of a House is to become well accustomed to accidents, and numerous indeed are those recorded here. ' M. came in this morning with his front teeth knocked in by a cricket-ball.' * Fincastle broke his arm to-day.' 'Sent for Doctor, who came and put a stitch in K.'s eyelid.' * W. caught on a nail.' ' N. cut his fingers very badly in the door, quarrelling with his brother.' ' Balcarres has bent his collar-bone.' ' W. E. came in with a cut over his eye from a stone.' And so on. Staying-out, when behind with work, was a means of escape from trouble that was often resorted to. To get leave to stay out it was necessary to apply to my Dame, and this we did, looking our worst, though sometimes with no very clear idea as to what was the matter with us. Artists in malingering would occasionally pass a coal-smeared finger under their eyes, while others would stake all on the cast of a die, and apply for permission by sending a maid to our Dame's room at 7 o'clock in the morning. We were not always successful, for Jane Evans was not easily deceived, though her kindness of heart some- times got the better of her judgment. Friday morn- ings often brought a crop of malingerers, being- referred to as * Friday fever,' and, altogether, some of the most amusing entries in these volumes are those dealing with the * stayers-out ' and the way in which Jane Evans got the best of the shufflers. Now and then they evidently got the best of her ; but she always knew it. 'Ten boys staying-out, of whom five are really a little poorly.' ' Boys all shuffling again. Wet and nasty for boys, but lovely for the country.' 'Some 314 FRIDAYS shammers stayed-out because it was Friday.' ' One or two wanted to shuffle, but didn't succeed.' ' Had to be like a flint to-night.' 'Sad effect of a march out : ten boys staying-out !' * S. in another deter- mined mood and would not get up. When I came down he told me he was ill, but I would not listen to him. After breakfast he came again, and pleaded so hard and wept so much that I gave way and let him stay-out. So we treat him like an invalid, and only let him have very light diet and do all his lessons!' 'Awoke soon after 7 by Mary Ann about B., who says he can't go into school. Sent word to say he was to get up. When I came down, there he was in the room looking quite well. I had great trouble to get him into school ; prevailed at last, and " after 12 " he played in the Field !' ' A sort of epidemic has seized the boys, or they are lazy: nine staying-out.' An old ofTender appears again : ' Had an interview with B., who had not got up, and shirked early school, and now wanted an "excuse." Because I said I couldn't give him one, he told me "it was very unladylike to refuse him." I laughed all the way to Chapel.' * Earaches and headaches and coughs, and a little mixture of whole-school-day fever.' ' Being Friday, had earl}^ visitors and bad complaints. Managed two, but no more !' In cases of real illness there was no limit to her kindness ; and when boys were unwell she spent much of her time reading to them. On Sundays she would often read a part of the Service to those who might be in bed, instead of going to Chapel herself. Thus, * Reading to my invalids ' is a common entry. 'Sat with my nieaslcrs : eight in bed altogether.' 'Did Chaplain with my sick boys as well as I could.' Nothing affected her more deeply than any discredit being brought upon the House by the action of its inmates. One or two instances occur, and it is only necessary to read the entries to see how acutely she felt such things. She did not recover her spirits for JANE EVANS AND HER HOUSE 315 days afterwards, though she successfully hid the fact, even from her own family, and thus one reads : * Could not go out ; feel so ashamed.' And three days later : * Can't get over my trouble ; feel so ashamed.' And yet the offender here was far more sinned against than sinning. She possessed, in a singular degree, the power of throwing off her troubles, for she was by nature bright and saw the funny side of most things ; but evidently, in her heart, she felt them no less keenly. Thus, if clouds came, as come they must, they were, apparently, quickly driven away. We find her one moment writing like this : ' Spent a lazy day ruminating and wondering zvhy everything is, and what a world we live in.' And then she is receiving her countless visitors, or goes to see a match or a race, or remarks : ' Was very happy doing my flowers.' Or again : * Had a good groan : did me good. Sam has got a headache. Match ! !' There is always a little sparkle of fun to end with. She is playing a game in the evening, and the ' I won !' comes in, when, a few moments before, she had been tried to the utmost. Her life-interests were centred in her House and its inmates : she realized that such a life, with its busy, methodical round, was bound to be full of the ups and downs of existence : the lives about her were young lives, full to overflowing of health and vigour and strength : the very Eton day was as the stream of a great river; there was the flotsam driven hither and thither ; there was the jetsam thrown up on the fore- shore : the one floated on in the sun amid the cheery sounds of boys' voices ; the other — well, what of the other? Were they wastrels — 'weeds,' she called them — were they ne'er-do-weels ? And if they were, were they not hers just the same ? And thus she had a place for all. She would defend the worst ; go to the Head Master and plead his cause ; and when she came away, knowing that reprieve was hopeless, as 3i6 JANE EVANS AND HER HOUSE she knew well when she set out, her large, womanly heart was full to overflowing, and she writes : * I could have cried.' Then once more she turns to the busy life about her, full of spirit and energy. There was no time for dallying. The life was to be lived, and in her simple, unselfish way it seems as if, in her soul, she gloried in it. So, too, in these diaries, where she is always so anxious to give all the credit to others, where she is never tired of writing — * they are all so good to me,' ' they all spoil me,' * I don't deserve any of it ' — it seems as if she realized that her duty lay here, as if behind all the sparkle of fun there was yet the deeper feeling that she would try to fulfil this duty, and fulfil it humbly to the end. ' Such is life,' she writes, * all up and down. It makes one feel alone, and is good for one. Nothing much, but I try to do my best for all.' Jane Evans always took a keen interest in games and what the boys of her House were doing in this direction, as well as in their races on the river. She goes frequently to Lord's — once she speaks of having 13 boys in the carriage with her on the journey — and her figure there was well known to many of us. Occasionally she visits Henley, and on both days of the regatta ; and her criticisms show how well she was able to appreciate a boys' * form,' or the points in a game of cricket or football. Now and then she was so anxious about the result of a match when a House Cup was being played for, that she kept away that she might not witness a defeat ; and sometimes she did so because, as she says, ' I am supposed to bring them bad luck.' ^December 15, '85. — Went to see our match against Durnford's. Full of hope and spirits, only to learn another lesson of endurance. Our poor boys were beaten again by a rouge. They had the best of the game all the first part, but were very unlucky. A CUP AT LAST 317 Behaved, as usual, beautifully. Had a dinner-party for our eleven, who were as happy as they could be under the circumstances.' The summer half comes, and there is a match for the Cricket Cup against Cornish's. ''July, 18, '87. — Boys played against the Cornish's, and so badly that they scratched this evening. Alas, to have such boys !' Then, once again, it is Football. * November 38, 'Zt. — Went to the Field. It began to rain, and poured the whole time. Saw Beckett's fatal kick and came away. Alack, alas ! we gave the game away, although we had the best of it and played splendidly all the time. The Hales' were generous and gave us credit for being the best eleven.' It was the day of defeats for the House, but there came a bright gleam in a Final for the Junior Cricket Cup. ''July 28, '88. — Juniors played in the Final, winnings and with ninety-four runs to spare ! At last we have a Cup again. It is a most cheering thing to see a Cup, if only a Lower-boy Cup, once more in the Hall. It promises well for the future. Bennett, our captain, is a most promising cricketer; Gibbs ma., Fremantle, and Lloyd-Baker are our bowlers. All very much pleased with themselves. Had a supper for the Junior Cup. Mrs. Woodward surpassed herself. Boys as good as gold.' * November 12, '88. — The boys played their first match against Merriott's, and won by three goals and three rouges. They were not at all satisfied with their play; said it was very bad, and that they ought to have won by much more. Poor Merriott's !' The House won the Football Cup that year ('88) ; but lost it the next, being beaten in the second Ties. ''November 19, '89. — Alas! The Cup has gone to Brown's to-night. Boys played their match against Durnford's, and were beaten by three rouges.' 3i8 JANE EVANS AND SCHOOL MATCHES ''July 22, '90. — Our boys beaten in the first Ties with Drew's, by 9 wickets ! Feel very much ashamed of myself, and so do the boys.' The jottings about the School matches fall rather outside our subject, but jane Evans was a constant attendant at many of them, and now and again went over to Harrow to see how the boys were getting on there. The Winchester and Harrow matches are noted each year, and many of these Jane Evans regularly attended. Here are her notes on these two matches in '89, as they are given more fully, though, in both, Eton was defeated ^June 28. — Winchester won the toss and went in first. They made 139. Ours began badly, but picked up with Studd and Tollemache, who made a great many runs between them.' ^ 2gth. — I neglected everything and went to the Playing Fields. The Winchester boys made a grand innings, and our boys went in nervously and dis- heartened. By 5.45 the match was over, all our best going out for 1 2 runs ; never was such a disastrous sight. The two Wards and Talbot did their best, but all was over, with about 114 runs to the bad. The only good thing was that it was finished. A draw, under such circumstances, would only have left us in a worse position.' ^July 12. — Arrived at Lord's just as the match was beginning. Harrow won the toss and went in and made 272 runs by 4 o'clock.' * 13M. — Our boys were all out for 168, and had to follow on. It resulted in their making a score which left the Harrow boys 49 runs to make to win in three- quarters of an hour. They did it, and had ten minutes to spare, winning by 9 wickets.' The Fourth of June was, of course, always a great day, and open-house was kept. ' People began to arrive at 10.45, and never ceased till 7. Boys splendid.' 'We had over 150 people; saw many old friends.' ' One hundred and fifty to luncheon and tea. Boys all better than good; went to my room full of thankfulness.' OLD BOYS AND THE HOUSE 319 One rule of the House often led to amusing scenes. No Old boy, unless he was a guest of the family, was allowed in the boys' part of the House after Lock-up, the only occasion when the rule was relaxed being the day of the annual football match — ' The House v. Old boys.' The latter were then allowed in the Library after all had had tea together in the Hall. Old boys were, however, often discovered trying to break the rule, though Jane Evans generall}^ found out the offenders, and was no respecter of persons in those she turned out. * Heard that Sudley * and Fincastlef were in Tulli- bardine's room. I had to turn them out, which was not pleasant ; but Sudley was very good about it : 1 did not see Fincastle.' On one occasion she heard of a well - known character being in the House, and sent for him, saying, * I am sure you would not like to go away without seeing me.' She then kept him in conversation with her till Supper time, when she dismissed him. That she disliked doing these things may easily be conceived ; but rules were to be obeyed and her boys looked after. If one, of whom she had no great opinion, made his appearance in this way, she did not hesitate. * Found F. Told him not to come again. Disagreeable business altogether.' Many references to her various interests and pur- suits occur in these Diaries. At one time she is taking drawing lessons and attends a class where a model is provided, or ' tries a very grand panorama sketch of the whole district !' in the holidays ; at another she is gardening and laying out her flower- beds and borders, for flowers were an inexhaustible joy to her. Then she often goes to concerts, and speaks of the delight that good singing gives her. She often, too, goes to London to attend the weddings of * Now Earl of Arran. t Now Earl of Dunmore. 320 JANE EVANS' INTERESTS some of her * Old boys,' or is present in St. George's for some State function, ' seeing the greatest sight I have ever seen or ever shall see,' Then, once again, it is the School ; she is present at the Sports, or comments on a particular boy's ' form ' on the river. She meets the Volunteers, and writes : * Saw the Volunteers going to the Park. Was seized with martial ardour, and, on my return, as I could not persuade Mrs. Barns to go, went by myself.' She comes home from the river on' a summer evening, and, to her intense amusement, finds herself merged in the great crowd of boys engaged in * hoisting '; or she is dining with the Head Master, and comments that * it was very solemn.' She dines, too, at many of the Eton houses, and goes to evening parties, where she plays a game of this or that, or a rubber of whist ; she entertains numbers of people in the same way in her own house, or visits the Castle to dine with one or other of the many friends she always had at the Court. Then she describes an interview with her cowman, * which he didn't like at all.' She has from five to seven cows in milk, and these supply the House, while in the holidays butter is made, the surplus milk being given away to ten or twelve poor children who attend at the cow-gate daily. Then she is arranging about her hay in South Meadow or one or other of the fields she rents, judging of her winter-keep after a short crop, or doubting the advice of some one 'not to part with her young cows now.' Every item in the arrange- ments of her House goes through her hands, and it is she who directs everything. On Mondays she refers to her 'usual Monday business' — the homely matter of * the washing '; every week she goes to the Bank, draws her money and pays her weekly books regularly; all accounts she keeps with her own hand ; every order given to a boy is written down. And then there is the daily correspondence. When a boy is ill, or THE DAILY ROUND 321 really unwell, she never misses writing to the parents daily. She writes, also, almost daily to one or other of her two surviving sisters, beginning often — ' My dearest dear,' the letters always full of love and affec- tion. From six to twelve letters are despatched daily in this way. She never minded being interrupted ; she would put down her pen, enter into the matter of the moment, and then pick it up again as though she had not been disturbed at all. Those who lived closest to her, and for the longest time, say they ' never saw her put out by such things.' The little pin-pricks of life she felt greatly ; the big troubles she faced with a smile. Her closest relations say they * never knew her in low spirits.' How well she must have hidden her feelings ; the Diaries tell a different story. ' She had the largest heart any woman ever had,' writes one; 'she loved everybody.' Thus, her charity and open-handedness were proverbial ; she is visiting the hospital, or a sick servant or dependent; she is making a wreath ; an old servant is taken, in the holidays, and she ' makes the room beautiful as she would have done for me.' Then, again, Christmas comes round, and she is arranging for a party or dance in the Hall, or making out her tickets for the coal or meat that she dispenses regularly among the poor at this season of the year. There is nothing, apparently, that does not engage her attention or claim her interest; though the boys are always first. Of the claims of her friends, or those who came to see her, she was always mindful. She would never be * not at home ' when she was ' in.' Her list of callers grew with the years, and to read through the names is to receive a liberal education in the Peerage, the Baronetage, and the County Families. Among her callers were people of every degree, from the highest to the lowest in the social scale, and among the number were Judges and Bishops and well-known 21 322 THE QUEEN AT ETON soldiers, as well as not a few foreigners. The door was, literally as well as metaphorically, always open. And this open door led one day to an amusing incident. Queen Victoria never knew Jane Evans personally, but it is a well-known fact that Her Majesty often made inquiries about her. Thus, on one occasion, when Her Majesty wished to ask after a boy who was ill, and nobody about her knew where he boarded, the Queen's remark was : ' Miss Evans will know; I wish to go there.' On arriving at the House, the Lady-in-Waiting, sitting back to the horses, did not stop the carriage until the front door had been passed. The first thing that was known of the presence of the Queen was John Brown appearing through the open door of the front hall, and asking 'where the groom of the Chambers was.' The person he asked chanced to be Marie Haas, always somewhat curt in her replies to strangers, and seeing no carriage, she remarked, ' If you didn't come into a house like this, but rang the bell, some one would come !' Marie then caught sight of the carriage, and made a rapid exit to find the Captain of the House. This individual was discovered behind his curtain, and declined to have his excellent view of the Queen interrupted. Mean- while, every one being out, a small boy, passing down Keate's Lane, was called, and asked for the required information. But he turned out to be a nezv boy ; and Her Majesty, thus unfortunately baffled, stated that she would return the next day. The news of the Queen's impending visit was not long in becoming generally known, and when Her Majest}' arrived, this time at the right house, a considerable number of boys were in the street, and every window was full. All doubtless had a good view of Her Majesty, who was heard to remark that, ' Miss Evans' boys were much better behaved.' The boys of the House were not, however, allowed to accept such Royal encomiums JANE EVANS' HOUSE LIST 323 unchallenged, and some evilly disposed person at once put into circulation that all Miss Evans' boys had been out when the Queen called, and that, with their foreknowledge of what was going to occur, it was the}^ who had occupied all the front seats in the windows of the house at which the Queen was ex- pected. No Eton story ever loses in the telling, and the local wit ensures that no point shall be suffered to escape. Mention has been already made of Jane Evans' House List. The number applying to have their boys' names put down was often great. There are many entries in the Diaries of interviews with parents who came on such errands, and now and again she writes, 'Declined the honour of So-and-so's son.' When former members called for the same purpose, she received them with delightful cordiality. Her memory v/as at this period extraordinarily good, and continued to be so for many years. On one occasion a well-known peer, whom she had not seen for long, put his head round the corner of the curtain of the drawing-room door, saying, * You don't remember me ?' * Oh, come in (using his Christian name), and we'll have a good talk,' was the immediate reply. She always loved a gossip, as she called it, over the fire, and especially with former members of the House. There is often a note of amusement when the names of children are entered, as much as to say, *As if I should live so long; what nonsense it is!' Thus she writes : ' B. M. came and put all his boys' names down for '90 to '97 ! It was so nice seeing him, and he was so nice and affectionate.' 'K. K. called to put his son's name down for seven years hence !' * C. B. put his youngest boy, aged one year, on the House List.' ' V. B. came to ask me to put his boy, aged three, on our list. My 60th birthday : getting very old, but don't feel so.' 21 — 2 324 THE TRADUCER OF ETON Of that strange lady who, knowing little of Eton and nothing of school life, yet thinks it her mission to traduce some particular school from time to time, the school being, as often as not, Eton, Jane Evans had frequent experience. One is mentioned who came to put her son's name down, and who prefaced her remarks by saying that ' she understood Eton was the wickedest school in the world.' Jane Evans dismisses this with — * Begged her to send her son elsewhere.' Sometimes such people had a depressing effect, even upon Jane Evans. ' Had an excited visit from Mrs. X, who told awful things. Felt very miserable about everything and everybody.' Again, in the holidays, she writes : ' As usual, heard the most outrageous stories about Eton, and how Eton goes on I can't think. Wonder people, who hear and know so much, send their boys there.' Her account-books were often the cause of anxiety to her. ' Books, as usual, very high. Began to get in a fright. I'm a bad manager, I'm afraid.' 'Wonder if we shall end in the Union,' is another remark. The entries in these volumes of a miscellaneous kind are, of course, numerous. She is trying to persuade one of the Masters not to accept a College living, though she ' feels it to be no affair of hers.' Eton was all in all to her, and she could never understand any- one desiring even to give up work there. A boy's manners strike her 'as bad and common'; she gives him 'a good talking to and feels better.' Another behaves ill, and she threatens ' to turn him out if he doesn't mind.' A third has to be reprimanded, and she adds, ' he bore it well : one of the right sort,' ' Feel thankful,* she remarks on another occasion, , when such opportunities come, to be able to speak to LEAVING ETON 325 the boys.' Then she is rejoicing in some success : ' Warkworth is in the Select and looks so happy; it makes one feel quite like old times. I am so pleased.' Once she gives leave to some of her boys to go away before the half is quite ended, and writes, with evident amusement : * Was sent for by the Head Master and reprimanded for allowing the boys to go.' And by way of rehef, on another occasion, she notes : ' Read " Mysteries of a Hansom Cab " till 1.30 a.m. !' At the close of each half a few lines are generally devoted to anything which has particularly marked it, and there is always a word of gratitude when all has gone well : ' Feel full of thankfulness for all the mercies of the school time, which, on the whole, has been a satis- factory one.' ' Boys all good ; no rows !' Then there comes the last evening. Few, indeed, have been the boys who lay down for the last time on their folding-bed without a feeling which the word regret entirely fails to describe. Only one exception is noted here : * B. does not mind leaving a bit : so different to most boys.' Usually the entries are of quite another kind . 'Poor E. feels leaving bitterly'; or, 'Poor B. is very much distressed at leaving Eton : tucked him up, poor old boy : he will leave a good name.' ' The first boys left soon after 5 a.m. : they all seemed to congregate under my window !' ' It is most pleasant and peaceful to have one's home without the boys for a time.' As soon as the boys were gone, Jane Evans generally went away herself; sometimes abroad, sometimes to the sea, more often to stay either with relations, or one or other of the many friends who were always pressing her to come to them. In the summer she 326 HOLIDAYS goes, year after year, to the Duchess of Atholl at Dunkeld, and also stays at Blair. One year she spends the inside of a week at Hawarden with Mr. and Mrs. Gladstone ;* but wherever she goes she speaks with intense delight of her different visits, and always of her 'gratitude at having been allowed to come.' * See p. 217. CHAPTER XX REMINISCENCES, 1878-9O — LETTERS FROM E. HOBHOUSE, J. A. PIXLEY, E. D. HILDYARD, THE EARL OF ARRAN, HORACE MARSHALL, AND J. R. MORETON MACDONALD The names on the Boards repeat themselves more frequently as we approach and enter the 'eighties, for sons are succeeding fathers or relations in ever- increasing numbers. The Eton days of many ol these are already some way behind ; but, while those of the older generations have fought through, and in many cases come to the top, those of this period are still in the thick of the combat, and their ultimate chances remain to be realized. Such well-known names as these recur in this way more or less frequently — Selwyn, Chitty, Fremantle, Grenfell, Northcote, Wyatt-Edgell, Cadogan, Tulli- bardine, Farquhar. Of the soldiers of this time men- tion is made elsewhere,* as well as in the letters to be presently quoted ; many were destined to distinguish themselves in India, Egypt, and South Africa. Among the remainder were E. Hobhouse ;t J. Eldon Gorst, now K.C.B.;t C. E. Hobhouse ;§ H. K Richards;! V. A. Spencer, now Viscount Churchill ;1[ G. H. Barclay,** * A list of those who took part in the war in South Africa will be found in the Appendix. t Now M.D., Brighton. j Succeeded the Earl of Cromer as British Agent, Consul General, and Minister Plenipotentiary at Cairo in 1907. § Now Under Secretary of State for India ; M.P. East Bristol. il Legal Member of Viceroy of India's Council since 1904 ; K.C. ^ Afterwards Coldstream Guards ; Conservative Whip, House of Lords. ** Now Councillor of Embassy, Constantinople. 327 328 LEADING BOYS IN THE 'EIGHTIES nowC.V.O.,C.M.G.; J.A. Pixley;^ W. A.C. Fremantle;^ Sir Henry Lawrence;^ Lord Ednam, now Earl of Dudley;* Lord Royston;^ Lord Sudley, now Earl of Arran; F. A. C. Thellusson;^ N. M. Farrer ;7 H. Marshall;^ Godfrey Baring;^ Richard F, Cavendish ;^^ Lord St. Gyres ; Lord Fincastle, now V.C. ; Lord Warkworth, now Earl Percy ; and Lord Balcarres. Many good cricketers and athletes belong also to these years, among them being P. St. L. GrenfelV^ who was in the Eleven in '79 and '80, C. G. R. Trefusis, now Lord Clinton, who played for the school in '81 ; C. A. Grenfell in '83^2; E. G. Bromley-Martin^^ and T. H. Barnardi* in '84 and '85 ; and H. F. Wright in '89. J. A. Morrison also belongs to the close of this period, and was extraordinarily successful in many ways. He was elected to the Foundation, he writes, in '86, and resigned in order to goto the House. He was in Sixth Form for a whole year, and Captain of the House. He rowed in the Eight in '91 and '92, and won the School Pulling ; he was in the Field and both Walls, and was whip to the Beagles.^^ The letters for this decade are not very numerous ; but some have written, and in the following extracts still further names are to be found. E. Hobhouse's letter is interesting, as showing the extremely liberal manner in which the boys of the House were fed in Jane Evans' time ; he also adds ^ Barrister-at-law ; bullion broker. 2 Eldest son of the Dean of Ripon ; a missionary in India ; d. 1894. 3 Died October 27, 1898. * Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, 1902-5. ^ Afterwards Earl of Hardwicke ; d. 1904. ^ Eldest son of Lord Rendlesham. ^ Solicitor in Solicitor's Department, Board of Trade. ^ Barrister-at-law, Inner Temple. » M.P. for the Isle of Wight. " Late M.P. for North Lonsdale. 11 Murdered by the Matabele, March 30, 1895. 12 Served in South Africa ; Major, Bucks I.Y. 13 Banker. '•» Banker. ^" Rowed for Oxford in '93 and '94, Oxford winning on both occasions ; became a Captain in the Grenadier Guards ; and was twice elected M.P. for the Wilton Division of Wiltshire. THE WAY THE BOYS WERE FED 329 further particulars about an incident that has been recorded elsewhere. ' I succeeded T. C. Farrer, now Lord Farrer, as Captain, and was succeeded by my brother, now Canon of Birmingham. I was in the House for a very long time, as I went there in January, '72, and remained till Election, '79, when I was Second Captain of the Oppidans. The most exciting memory was the famous match with De Rosen's in '^i. The next year we had almost every Cup in the School. I cannot remember any grave trouble in the House, and no serious bullying during the whole time I was there, which is, I think, a remarkable tribute to its ruler and the general sta- bility of the House. Some mention should be made of Jane Evans' generosity in the matter of food. She had for some time given the 5 or 6 upper boys breakfast, with several hot dishes, and during my time instituted the practice of also giving all Lower-boys breakfast, with coffee and tea, and eggs, or ham or bacon, so that they might not lose their meals owing to fagging. She also provided hot coffee and bread-and-butter before early school, and milk with cake, biscuits or buns at 12, after school. This was a great boon to those who had breakfasted hastily at 8.30 and were not to dine till 2. Possibly, in the matter of work, we should have been the better for some tutorial supervision ; as to conduct, I do not think we felt the lack of it. Smoking, gambling, and drinking were, so far as I know, almost unknown ; there may have been occasional incidents, nothing more. * My only success worth mentioning was winning the Oppidan Prize in '74. I was not allowed to go into the Boats owing to ill-health. ' There was one very comic incident of which I was the only witness, and which would amuse Old boys who remember Marie, my Dame's German maid. The Queen came down to inquire about some boy, and called at my Dame's, where one of her pages was, to get the address, A servant came up for me, and I went down into the hall to find Marie, who spoke very broken English, and John Brown, who spoke the broadest Scotch, sputtering at one another while Her Majesty waited outside. They were both very short- 330 J. A. PIXLEY'S LETTER tempered, and were furious, because neither could understand wliat the other said. It may be hardly worth recording, but it was a very funny scene.' W. Hobhouse was succeeded as Captain by G. H. Barclay, who has since made a name for himself at the Foreign Office, and is now a C.M.G. and C.V.O. He mentions in his letter that he won the School Fives in '80 and '81, and was in the Shooting Eight in '79, '80, and '81, being Captain of it in the last year, and helping to win the Ashburton Shield in '80. The next letter to be quoted is from J. A. Pixley, also one of the Captains of the House, who was known at Eton as an enthusiastic Volunteer and a good rifle- shot. ' I went to my Dame's in the autumn of 'jy, and stayed there for five years. The following half the House first became " Miss Evans'." 1 remember with pride my promotion to my Dame's Breakfast. Some of my happiest recollections are these breakfasts, espe- cially those on Sundays, when we had more time and were asked to bring friends, chosen with very great care, and who we hoped would interest as well as be interested in my Dame. ' When I was Captain of the House, Mr. Gladstone came to lecture on Homer, and we at once captured him for our Sunday breakfast. He came with Mrs. Gladstone, and it was good to hear my Dame and the Grand Old Man vieing with each other in their stories of the good old times. I well remember that, perhaps owing to our innate Toryism, we thought the honours always remained with my Dame. ' Things ran smoothly during my Captaincy, thanks to the kindly advice I was always certain of getting from my Dame. The lessons I received in when to see things and when to turn a blind eye have never been forgotten. ' I am thankful to say most of my friends in the House are still living. A few have gone ; amongst them. Sir Henry Lawrence, the son of the Indian soldier. He had married, and had just settled in MR. GLADSTONE 331 Ireland, when, in '95, he died, after a short illness. Lord Royston, who succeeded his father as Lord Hardwicke, was in the House with me ; he, too, died quite recently, after having been given an Under Secretaryship in the last Government. Reggie Grenfell, the youngest of the three brothers who were in the House with me, died when on his way out to India to join his regi- ment, the 6oth Rifles. ' My Dame took a great interest in the Volunteers, and we got a large number of recruits during my time. I was a Colour-Sergeant, and had held the Silver Bugle previously for some time.* ' M}^ personal record is a small one. I was in Sixth Form all the time I was Captain, and my last speech was before the Prince of Wales, now our King, when he opened the Screen in the Chapel in '82. I rowed in the Victory for a year, and poor Seton Donaldson, who was drowned in the summer of '82, was one of the same crew.t I was in the Shooting Eight for two years, and shot for the Spencer Cup at Wimbledon. With Pickering's help, we carried off the House Shoot- ing Cup in '82.' E. D. Hildyard, who was Pixley's successor as Captain, has also written. He mentions many things that have been already referred to, and goes on to say: ' I remember in the summer half of '82, Mr. and Mrs. Gladstone were spending a Sunday with the present Head Master, their nephew.^ We entertained them at breakfast, and Mr. Gladstone was very * The silver bugle was presented to the Corps by Lord Carrington, and was held by the chief bugler. t Donaldson boarded at Everard's. j The following extracts from Mr. Gladstone's diary have been sent by Henry N. Gladstone, his son : '■June 24, 1882. — Off to Eton before 3.30. Saw a match in the U.S. Fields, with good play. We slept in Coleridge's house, now lent to E. Lyttelton and a friend. Much pleasant conversation on Homer with Curzon. 'In the College precincts the Ideal and the Actual seem widely separate. 'June 25, 1882. — Eton Chapel in morning, St. George's afternoon. Breakfast at Miss Evans'. Luncheon at Dr. Hornby's.' 332 LORD ARRAN'S LETTER pleasant, and full of reminiscences of Eton in his time. He repeated the names, in the order of the boys, in some division or form in which he had been. Shortly afterwards, when I was Captain of the House, and was trying to get old members to recruit the Library with presentation volumes, I wrote what I considered a very diplomatic letter to Mr. Gladstone, and he very kindly responded by sending us one of his works. ' We were not very successful in athletics during my time. I remember the fury that ran through the House when, for the first time on record, we were put * bows ' in the opening draw for the House Football Cup. However, my Dame's avenged themselves by defeating the 'strokes' (C. C. James'), and in the second round nearly beat Cornish's, who were after- wards in for the Final. My Dame's were only beaten after a drawn game.' Of Jane Evans, and of the House under her. Lord Arran* writes : * My recollections of the House extend from '82 to '86. Even to a boy of thirteen or fourteen Jane Evans' absorption in her House was very great, and the evidence of her influence amongst the boys very striking. She ruled strongly and fearlessly, but she ruled entirely by love. Her custom of coming to each boy's room to bid him good-night gave her a personal insight into every boy's character, an insight of which she made full use. Each boy seemed to be in her estimation a son to her, and her maternal interest included the weakness common to all mothers of believing her geese to be swans. Her kindness to the wretched of the community was unbounded, in spite of an impatience constitutional in her. She had mastered the fact that it is only responsibility that can bring out the best qualities in the individual, and it was thus her practice to consult the opinions of boys high in authority in the House. She had a great admiration for success, both during Eton and after- life, and though she was always helping the lame ■* Late Major, Royal Horse Guards ; served in Egypt, 'g6-'gy ; also in South Africa, 1900. LORD ARRAN'S LETTER 333 ducks, she yet seemed to feel in herself that success was the reward of merit rather than the whim of fortune. ' The House seemed different in one respect from other houses, in that the line drawn between the older and younger boys seemed to be more marked than was the case elsewhere. The seven or eight most prominent boys lived in a circle composed exclusively of themselves. As an example of this, the House Library may be mentioned. Nominally intended for the use of the whole House, it resolved itself, in practice, into the sitting-room of the few senior boys, whose personal authority left them in indisputable occupation of it. As each different batch left, their places in the Library were taken by their successors, and by a tacit recognition of their fitness and right to fill this high position. These held Cabinet rank at my Dame's. ' Though the House Debating Society held its weekly meetings in the Library, yet for the majority of the members of the Society the Library was at all other times closed. I had the honour of being elected as a comparatively young boy, and so had the experi- ence of nearly three years' membership. There re- main in my recollection several good and promising speakers. The best speaker of all, one who made excellent and carefully reasoned speeches, well pre- pared and well delivered, was Frederick Thellusson, the eldest son of the present Lord Rendlesham. It is to be regretted that he has not continued to speak in later life. F. Whitbread was also a light in our debates, though an impatience with some of his most intimate and devoted friends sometimes caused a pungency of oratory creating sores that took days to neal. ' The boys who were most prominent in the House in my time were E. D. Hildyard,* A. W. Heber-Percy,t T. H. Barnard, E. G. Bromley-Martin ; the first named a brilliant football-player and member of the Sixth Form, the last three excellent at all times, and wearers of every 'colour.' N. M. Farrer, also of the Sixth Form, Captain of the House and of the House Foot- * Barrister*at-law. f J.P. and C.C. 334 CALLING ' LOWER-BOY ' ball ; F. P. Whitbread,* the scholar and the wit ; the Clilton-Browns ;t Hugh Warrender;t Horace Marshall; R. Hanbury,§ beloved by all ; A. Dickson i and F. A. C. Thellusson, the football-players of a later year; the Evanses; J. C. Harrison,11 who in after-life died gallantly in South Africa ; Fincastle, the V.C. ; and Warkworth, now Percy. These are the most prominent of my time that I can at the moment recollect.' Horace Marshall was at the House from '82 to '87. He was Captain of the Oppidans in the Jubilee year, and therefore, of course, Captain of the House, and he writes : * My recollections of the House that will be of any interest are very meagre. I remember that great indignation was caused in the House by a general order about the beginning of '86, and directed by the Head Master, against the time-honoured custom of calling ' Lower-boy.' I believe it was stopped in every house in Eton except my Dame's. She, I remember, went to see the Head Master, and obtained an ex- tension of time from him, during which he said he would consider our case. We interpreted the con- cession in a generous sense, and continued to call 'Lower-boy' as before, and I think it gradually came into use again in other houses. The Head Master's idea was that only the name of one boy should be called, and his object was that all the others should not be disturbed who were, in theory, doing deriva- tions, or engaged in some other intellectual feat of the kind. As a matter of fact, I found, in practice, that the call had the opposite effect, and would frequently clear out a room full of noisy and idle Lower-boys, who would very often, when once disturbed, turn their attention to more studious pursuits. * Director of Whitbread and Co. t H. C.-B., late Major 12th Lancers ; E. C.-B,, merchant banker. X Late Grenadier Guards. § Malting engineer. II Rarrister-at-law. IT Lieutenant, Scots Greys ; died of wounds, Pretoria. J. R. M. MACDONALD'S LETTER 335 ' We were not a hard-working House, and things used to happen there, as elsewhere, that were bad ; but I think, on the whole, we were a well-governed House. No Master ever came inside it, except when Sam Evans went the nightly round in place of my Dame. The rule of the Captain and Upper boys was real and effective, and was always influenced by a chivalrous feeling of loyalty to her. Eton will most certainly never see another Dame. Too many qualities are necessary to make the risk worth running ; but given the qualities that Jane Evans possessed, I believe you have the ideal constitution for the government of boys.' * The last letter t of this series is from J. R. Moreton Macdonald, who was at the House from '87 to '91, and who elects to call himself an obscure member of it. His letter, however, is one of exceptional interest, and his description of Jane Evans helps us to understand something of the secret of her influence, and also how it was that she almost invariably won the heart of the boy and often held that of the man in after-life. ' I find it most difficult to say anything about my Dame's that could be of any use to you. I was such an obscure member of the House that I thought at first I could give you no information ; but on second thoughts it occurs to me that you may like to hear how my Dame appeared to a very inconspicuous boy. ' 1 had better begin by saying that no successes in athletics or otherwise fell to my lot at Eton ; I was an overgrown, sensitive, dreamy boy, with rather a bent for books and no appetite for games. I went to Eton in '87, and at the end of my time was second in the House. I think it was always a difficulty to my Dame to have a boy in a responsible position in the House * Horace Marshall, now at the Bar ; won the Oppidan Prize in '84, and the first Open Exhibition at Trinity College, Oxford, in '86. t Other letters have been received from Lord Balcarres ; Lord Fincastle, who mentions having broken his arm at football in South Meadow ; M. Wyatt-Edgell, one of a family long associated with the House ; and Lord Churchill. 336 JANE EVANS who was not a ' swell ' in the School. Her attitude in this particular matter was extraordinarily wise. You felt that she always understood the side of you that other people did not ; you felt also that she was always ready to back you up, and to bring you out. At the same time, she accepted, to the full, the school- boy judgment of character, and made no attempt to thrust a boy down the throats of his schoolfellows by reason of virtues that she appreciated and they did not. She was contented quietly to rub away corners, and to support you loyally in any matter of discipline. * My Dame was an extraordinarily good judge ot character : I was a boy who developed very slowly. I know now how fully my Dame understood this. " Your best time will come, when you go to the University," she said to me more than once. This prophecy of hers turned out startlingly true ; and I remember reminding her of it. ' But she not only saw how you were going to develop ; she also helped one to develop ; not, I think, by any intellectual gifts or to any great extent by wise advice, but simply by the power of sympathy. I can remember now how I used to make haste to get into bed in order that my Dame should find me there when she came round the House in the evening. She hardly ever failed to come round, and if you were in bed, she would sit on the bed and talk in her great, sympathetic, motherly way ; I don't remember what about, but I can see her sitting there; see her head nodding in that curious fashion that became a habit with her, and hear her musical voice. I can remember, too, the glow of sympathy that one felt, all the more wonderful because, being a hopeless little prig of seventeen, I have no doubt I had an " intellectual contempt " for her! * I believe that constant contact with that simple, motherly character had a very considerable influence on most bo3'^s ; and I believe my Dame knew that this was her great means of influence. 'Of her tenderness and large-heartedness I had much experience. One winter I had a bad attack of influenza, and my Dame had me removed from the Second boy's room to her own bedroom, and I slept in her bed for fully a week while she slept in my tiny J. R. M. MACDONALD'S LETTER 337 room. I can remember her wise talk from the outer room when she sat and wrote, while I lay in bed in the inner one. She made light of the affair; but it was of course a considerable effort to an elderly lady to give up her own bedroom and go into such poky quarters. ' I wonder if we really appreciated my Dame's great- ness during our time at Eton. 1 think not : it was so utterly simple ; and somehow, we looked upon her too much as a kind old nurse. It was afterwards, when we got older and remembered her, and came back and saw her, that the greatness of her character came home ; her marvellous memory for all the details of one's family life and home; her complete singleness of heart; her absorption in the House; and her some- times amusing detachment from things outside. Then one realized that one had been in contact with one of the world's great souls. A contemporary of my own said to me, soon after the death of the late Queen, " Now my Dame is the greatest lady in the land." There was great truth in that, and many of us felt it. ' I spoke just now of my Dame's absorption in her House. This came out in many ways. She was, for instance, most punctilious in following the fortunes of her boys after they had left. I remember being present at my friend Lionel Bonham's wedding. I was at the back of the church, and there was an empty pev/ behind me. A lady entered it rather late. I turned round and saw — my Dame ! After the service she leant forwards and said, " I hope it will be your turn next." Then I asked if I could take her anywhere. " No," she said, " I just came up in time for the service, and now I am going to walk back to Paddington to get my train." I was greatly struck at the time by such a proof of her interest in an old boy. No one would have known that she was in the church if I had not seen her; and she had come all the way from Eton for this one purpose. * These are all trifling anecdotes ; but you will perhaps be able to gather from them something of the impression that my Dame made on me as boy and man.' 22 CHAPTER XXI MISCELLANEA No place has hitherto offered itself for various odds and ends to do with the House and our lives at Eton, and some of these must now be recorded. Few mentions have up to now been made of that hard-working class, known all over Eton as * Boys' Maids'; and if it is impossible to give any adequate record of many of those who served us so well, and had often, it is to be feared, to suffer somewhat at our hands, the names of several of those belonging to my Dame's may well find a place in these pages. Foremost among them stands Martha. For a period of little short of forty years, apparently, Martha walked those passages and attended to innumerable boys, until she welcomed the sons of fathers, over and over again, who had themselves occupied the rooms she tidied and swept, year in year out. Martha retired in 1896, and still lives, being now in her seventy-eighth year. Her home is in the Eton Almshouses in Eton Square, a place to which few of us could have pene- trated, as it stands back from the High Street, on the left-hand side as you near Windsor bridge. There the writer visited her, one murky November after- noon, and talked over old times and old boys and days long gone by. There was a break in Martha's period of service at the House at one time, for she became Mrs. Ihams, though, in doing so, she found ' a bad partener,' as she 338 MARTHA'S REMINISCENCES 339 expressed it, and was not long, therefore, before she returned again to her more accustomed duties. ' I used to thinly I could write a book soon,' began Martha; 'but my memory seems to go now, and I don't seem to recollect as I used. Mr. Evans, now, was a nice old gentleman; very sensible; understood everything. Miss Annie hadn't the energy as Miss Jane had. What Miss Jane said, that was enough ; and she would wrestle till she found out everything. She must go right into it all ; and the boys coming back seemed always to give her fresh energy. It was a nice, happy time. ' I had sixteen boys at first, and then fourteen ; grates and beds and all to do. First, it used to be rougher, for there were very rough boys amongst them ; but it was wonderful, all round ; and they was nice boys. Well, there was the Lytteltons : always depend on them ; wonderful ; so much alike ! Ah, Mr. Selwyn and Mr. Kinglake ; I fancies I can see their faces now, plain ; and his, and his.' And Martha would look into the fire for a minute, silent. ' The Fremantles, now they was nice gentlemen, all ; quiet and good-meaning boys. And then there was the 's ; two of them were twins. And one of them says to me one evening when I was clearing away their teas, " Now, Martha, mind as you calls me lor certain to-morrow morning." The major \y3.s staying-out ; and they was both very much alike, so as some folks couldn't tell them apart. Well, I come in in the morning, and goes to his bed and shakes him to make sure, and draws the curtains. Then, later, comes an excuse wanted, and he says he was never called : and the two had changed beds, for they was wonderful alike; and 'twas the major I'd called and he was staying- out. But no, there wasn't much trouble with many of them, though I used often to say I would go to Mr. Evans, and then never went. Of course I went at times ; and once one boy called me a liar, and so I told Mr. Evans, and he got swished ; and after early school he meets me on the stairs and says, "You got me something this morning; thank you." And that was all. 'And then there was G. He bought a hawk, and 22 — 2 340 MARTHA'S REMINISCENCES would keep it in his room. And one day when I wanted to sweep up, he comes in with some Httle sparrow birds as the cads had got him for his hawk to tear to pieces. So when he was gone into school, I opened the cage door, and got the handle of my broom and poked him out. There wasn't no sin in that. But when he came out from school, he was in a terrible way, and went to Mr. Evans; and I had to go over, and all Mr. Evans said was, "Quite right, too, and why didn't you come to me before !" * Sometimes the Library was very rough ; but the football in the passages was the worst part, especially that wall game, for they wouldn't wait for you to go by. Of course it was a bother sometimes to get them to bed ; but that was nothing among a lot of boys.' Of most of us Martha spoke well. It was always, ' He was a nice fellow ' ; ' he was such a gentleman : so quiet about the passages'; 'they was all pretty right'; 'he was a nice-meaning boy'; or, * they kept to them- selves, and I never liked to see a boy by himself; 'twas better for two to be together than for one to sit alone : they could help one another then in their work.' News of many of us had not reached Martha, and when she heard that one and another had fallen in the war, she would throw up her hands and say nothing, looking back again once more at the fire. And then the visit came to an end, and Martha repeated the sentence she had made use of so often : ' Oh, Miss Jane was a wonderful woman : it was wonderful, wonderful : it was a nice, happy time ; and all the boys was very good.' Nearly all the Maids of older days are no longer living, and this is the case with Sarah, who was at the House for i6 years, Harriet, also for i6, and Mary Ann for 14. Others that may be mentioned were Ellen Williams, Louisa Keene, Georgiana Bowles, and Mrs. and Ellen Hearne, whose duties lay in the Cottage. Many of our Maids were certainly shrewd judges THE SERVANTS 341 of character, and to talk to Martha is to find out how quick they were to discern ' want of class ' in any boy. In later days, one of the maids would say, * Ah, Sir ; there are Eton gentlemen, and gentlemen as comes to Eton,' and in this remark there is more than might at first appear. Nor was it less remarkable to hear Martha describe the character of one or other of those who were in the House in her day, and to note how closely her description agreed with the man of after- years. Marie Haas and Kate Norton scarcely came under the same head as the others, for they were more Jane Evans' private maids. Marie has been already often mentioned. She was a woman of marked independence and originality. She died in '86, after a faithful service of man}^ years, Kate, who played a more important part in the House, not to the liking of some of us, died in 1890, and perhaps her chief merit was an absolute attachment to her mistress : Jane Evans was devoted to her. Lastly, there was Mrs. Woodward, who for over thirty years presided over my Dame's kitchen, and did much to make the House well known for the excellence of its food. For us she must have laboured as hard as anyone ; but few of us ever saw her or knew her. Like the rest, she was deeply attached to Jane Evans, who possessed in a marked degree the gift of winning the love of those she employed. Year by year, as her birthday came round on April 4, there is mention made in the Diaries of her maids coming to her in the early morning with some little present, or the best flowers they could buy. Mrs. Woodward died in 1903. She went away ill, expecting to return shortly ; but she succumbed in the Windsor Infirmary only a few days later. And this brings us to the Boys' kitchen, an institu- tion peculiar to the House from the earliest days. Probably that room saw more ' life ' than any other 342 THE BOYS' KITCHEN in the house. To stand in it now is to wonder how it could ever have served its purpose, for its proportions are very, very small. The door was on the opposite side of the passage to that of the Library, and light was admitted through a window opening into the passage leading to the boys' entrance to the house. Gas was at all times necessary. The room measures 13x11; but all this was not available, for until much more recent times a large portion of the floor-space was taken up by the only big bath then in the house, screened off by a folding wooden partition. On the opposite side was a large fire, and next to it a hot- plate, loaded always, on our return from morning and evening school, with kettles supposed to be boiling and ready for making tea. A number of coffee-pots were provided, and also a certain complement of sauce- pans and frying-pans, together with a few iron spoons, some toasting-forks, and an egg- or fish-slice or two. The reek, the atmosphere, the heat and the noise in the congested area of that little kitchen defies descrip- tion. As a Lower-boy, the first thing to be done was to seize a kettle for one's fag-master, and sometimes one for oneself, though this last had generally vanished when we regained our rooms. The next thing was to obtain the use of a frying- or sauce-pan according to the item on the fag-master's bill of fare. It might be bacon and eggs, or an omelette ; it might be fish, or it might be sausages ; it might be kippers or bloaters, chops or steaks, or even kidneys ; but whatever it was, the3% or it, had to be cooked, while the material for the cooking had to be found. The result was, in some cases, strange, the faith reposed by the fag-masters, even in the last-joined, being certainly touching if not always misplaced. Now and again the proceedings resolved themselves into a free-fight, during which some evilly disposed person would sprinkle pepper on the hot-plate and then bolt till the atmosphere and THE BOYS' KITCHEN 343 the coast were alike clear again. Nor must the making of toast be omitted. That, in former times, was a set- piece in the daily programme, if attended by much difficulty owing to the limited space. It was not unusual for three ranks to be then disposed in front of that fire, the lowest being seated on the floor, and all alike struggling for a particularly bright spot that the free use of the poker revealed. An unfortunate woman was generally somewhere in the background, though not always visible. It was her duty to have the kettles ready and to clean up. For many years Mrs. Daw and Mrs. Warner occupied this unenvi- able position, and many of us remember them with gratitude. And what of the result ? Probably most of us would agree that, given a boy's appetite, interest centres more in the article than in the skill of the cook ; and many of us will recollect our Eton teas as among the very best we ever ate. To the more modern and up-to-date boy the whole affair, even to the kitchen itself, would in most cases be scouted, for we are now all alike well versed in the very highest hygienic principles : a bath in a kitchen, perpetual gas, and no exit to the outside air, would be deemed impossible. But we of the earlier and the middle period cared for none of these things, nor did we know of them : we had to fight our way through, times vv^ere far rougher, our requirements were com- paratively small, what we had to do had to be done. And we often gained something in the doing. In the case of this kitchen the gain was great in many directions ; it taught us a good deal in more ways than one ; and often in after-life, when our fire has been lit under the sky in the rain and the ground was our bed, the thoughts of not a few of us have gone back to that dim little spot in the old House. We were able to look at the fun of the thing as boys, without 344 BATHS being over-particular ; and when we have had often to cook for ourselves as men — well, we could cook, and then fall asleep with a smile. The material improvements of later years were many, but none surpassed the gradual introduction of baths. Until some years after Jane Evans' period had begun there was only one bath in the house, and this was the one just mentioned as occupying a large portion of the boys' kitchen. As soon as the cooking there was over, the woman in charge folded back the wooden partition, and the bath was then open for use by any boy fortunate enough to obtain it. First come first served was the rule, and right to its use was obtained by going to the window and calling out to the boy inside, 'So-and-so, "After you.'" One then took one's stand at the door, sponge and bath-towel in hand, ready to rush in when the other boy came out. Thus, in a house of fifty boys our ablutions in winter were certainly few and far between. The change from this state of things was gradual, and only really began in '^y. The bedroom immediately to the left at the top of the first flight of stairs was then divided by a partition, and two big baths placed there. These baths were, however, only allowed to be used by the first six boys, and it was not till '96 that a flat bath was provided for each boy's room. Some of the bigger boys had had such baths shortly before this, and on return from football it was the duty of the fags to fill these for their fag-masters when required. Baths coming into general use in this way, naturally brought about a serious disorganization in the general work of the house ; and Jane Evans' diaries contain frequent references to difficulties with the servants, the never-ending mess in the rooms, and all the hot water being drawn off when it was wanted elsewhere. Each boy's bath had to be set out for him in the morning, and if often not used, had equally to be cleared away. HOUSE SPORTS 345 Boys at length took to tubbing at all hours, till at last Jane Evans writes : ' The use of baths so often is preposterous and ridiculous !' It might be supposed that, in earlier days, we were not given to over-cleanliness, but this would be nothing less than a gross libel, for we washed as well as we could, and in one direction we were immaculate. We have all heard of the boy who, being ordered to wear flannel next his skin, and having met with the misfortune to be swished, received several extra cuts from the Head Master for having on a flannel shirt. Our hearts would certainly not have gone out to that boy, for not only was it an unwritten law that we should put on a clean starched shirt and collar daily, but, in a large number of cases, we should never have thought of putting on the same shirt twice — that is, after changing for football or some other game. White ties, of course, went to the wash by the hundred, and, if fathers suffered, the laundry women must at least have profited considerably. No records have been preserved of the annual House sports. These were held in the Easter half, the prizes being provided by a general levy among the boys. Now and then the House joined with another, and for some years this house was Ainger's ; but usually the sports were confined to the boys of the House alone. The various events included a mile race, quarter-mile, and 100 yards, high and broad jumps, putting the weight, and occasionally a three- legged or a jockey race. Two challenge cups were presented in later times, which added much to the interest of the House's independent contests ; but these cups were not put on the Hall tables with the School Cups, but kept by the winners in their own rooms. No complete record 346 TWO PRIVATE CUPS exists of who won these cups annually, and on onl)- one of them do any names appear. The earliest of the two was for Fives, and was presented to the House by the Hon. Mrs. Sidney Glyn. * I cannot remember,' writes A. St. L. Glyn, now a Captain in the Grenadier Guards, ' that there was any reason for my mother giving the cup, except that she, like myself and my brother, the late George Carr Glyn, was much devoted to the House, and also personally to Jane Evans.' The inscription and names on the cup run thus : Miss Evans' House Fives Challenge Cup. Presented by Hon. Mrs. Sidney Glyn. June, 1887. 1888, W. Peacock. I 1892, W. L. Graham. 1889, C. H. K. Marten. | 1893, D. MacCarthy. The other cup was given by Lieutenant-General Charles Baring,* whose son, Godfrey Baring, now M.P. for the Isle of Wight, writes : ' The cup was given by my father on my leaving Eton in '88 as a tribute of respect to Jane Evans.' There are no names on this cup, and the inscription runs : Challenge Cup. One Mile Race. Presented to Miss Evans' House, Eton College, by Lieutenant-General Baring. 1888. In the School athletic sports the House did not very often distinguish itself; but a story is told of one boy, a keen runner, who had set his heart on winning the Steeplechase, He trained vigorously, and on the morning of the race got up early and went over the course, doing it in good time. He was highly de- lighted with the result, and set off after 12 fully * General Baring, late of the Coldstream Guards, was in the habit of giving a sovereign to the boy who ran second ; but this did not long continue, for (Jeneral Baring died in 1890. 'SQUASH RACQUETS' 347 expecting to win. After the first field he was ex- hausted and a long way behind ; but on coming to the hedge he made a great effort and fell, a loud cry coming from the ditch where he lay. A cab was fetched, and every sympathy shown. The doctor arrived, and his clothes were cut partially off; but there was nothing the matter ; he was simply unable to bear defeat. Many have expressed a wish that another of the games played by the boys of the House should be referred to. At the back of the house there was an open yard, divided from Wise's livery stable by a wall some 18 feet in height. The space was much that of the inside of a racquet court, and for the last thirty years of the House's existence, * squash racquets,' as it was called, was played there, especially in the Easter half. The balls were, of course, often hit over the wall into Wise's yard, and the ostlers there were at all times ready to return them on receipt of a penny. For some reason these men were known as * Aarons,' and ' Chuck it over, Aa-ron !' was always to be heard at certain seasons of the year ' after 12 ' or during ' short after fours.' Those who indulged in this game (in earlier years we used to kick about a passage-football there) will regret to hear that the site is now occupied by a large pupil-room, access to which is obtained on the ground floor, at the end of the passage where three little rooms formed a T. It is perhaps almost needless to say that those indulging in squash racquets were open to being ducked from the rooms above, throwing water being a pastime to which boys are somewhat addicted. There was, however, an ingenious contrivance by which, at one time, a boy occupying a room on this side was suddenly ducked from the floor above, and when innocently employed in the homely occupation 348 WEBB of gardening in his window-box. The contrivance in question was of simple construction. All that was required was a bucket, or a large can, and two pieces of string of the necessary length. One of these pieces of string was attached to the handle and the other to the side of the bucket. Both were then held level, and on the bucket being lowered to the exact distance, the string attached to the handle was suddenly re- leased. Due care being used not to alarm the intended victim, the result of this engaging amusement was a certainty. Throwing things at passers-by was a frequent source of trouble. On one occasion a great fuss was caused by a boy hitting a man on a bicycle with a bad egg. The man at once complained and the boy was sent for; but the tables were somewhat turned when the man proved to be the local egg-merchant, and the boy was able to show that he had bought the eggs from him the previous morning. A remarkable record was achieved by one employed in the House for a great number of years. To the older generation the fact of the boys' clothes being- taken down by the footmen, brushed and mended by another man when required, and brought back again, sounds somewhat luxurious. The man employed in this way, much to the advantage of the boys, was one Webb, who was, or had been, a choirman. Webb arrived at the House every morning at six, attended to what was wanted and took the clothes back to the boys' rooms, remaining at work till Chapel-time. He continued this work for fully thirty years, and was never known to miss a day. In the famous years when the House held nearly all the School Challenge Cups, there was a scare of burglars and warnings were issued by the police. The very next morning, to the dismay of every one, all the cups had disappeared from the Hall and nothing PROVISION IN CASE OF FIRE 349 remained but their glass shades. It subsequently transpired that, on thinking it over, it had occurred to Jane Evans that there might be some risk in leaving them in their usual place, so she had got up, gone down to the Hall, and removed the cups one by one to her bedroom. Jane Evans had always a great dread of fire, and thus it was that she was the first to employ a watch- man, who was on duty all night and patrolled the passages. Various people were employed in this capacity from the year '87 onwards, and when a man was found unsatisfactory, a woman who had been a boys' maid was tried, part of her duty being to keep up a boy's fire if he was unwell and to attend to him in any way that was necessary. When the fire-escapes were put up in 1903, in addition to the system of trap-doors in the passages that had been in existence since '84, a fire-drill was now and again held, consisting in all the boys coming through these trap-doors and assembling at the library door on the ground floor. But this was not the only use to which these trap-doors had been put, for they were the scene of many practical jokes. One of these con- sisted in inquiring of some unsuspecting boy whether he thought he could lower himself down and pull him- self up again ; and when he proceeded to do it, the boy above would hold his arms while a confederate below would administer chastisement with any weapon that lay handy. On one occasion a boy who suff'ered from an indifferent temper was ejected from one passage to the next amidst a general uproar. Just at this moment a figure appeared at the end of the passage clad in a dressing-gown and cap. Some fled, and returned, the picture of innocence, to find a friend dressed up and exactly representing Jane Evans. The expenses of the House games, the Library, Debating Society, House sports, entrance fees for the 350 HOUSE SUBSCRIPTIONS various Cups, and so on, were covered by a regular subscription at the beginning of every half. The accounts were kept by the Captain of the House, and the ledger containing these for the last twenty-four years is before the writer. The Upper boys paid slightly more than the Lower. In the 'sixties, the amount levied from each boy used to come to as much as sixteen shillings, exclusive of exceptional subscrip- tions, such as, for a House * four,' a memorial, or for a charity ; but in later times the average seems to have been from eight shillings in the Summer and the Easter half to ten shillings in the Football half, the Upper boys usually paying a shilling more than the Lower. All subscriptions and payments appear in this ledger, including fines from the Library and the Debating Society, the account for the half usually balancing at about ;^30, though sometimes the total runs up to as high as ^60, and occasionally even more than this. The Captain was responsible, and the accounts were signed by him at the end of each half, and when handing over the book to his successor. There appears to have been no regular system of auditing, save that of the succeeding Captains. The subscription to the Eton Mission came to between £$ and £6 a half, a collection being made after evening prayers, the Captain holding a plate at the Hall door. When Jane Evans found coppers had been given, she writes in her diary that ' such things never ought to be.' She had strong ideas about the amount of money parents gave their boys, and would say: ' Don't give your son too much money; he will have everything strictly necessary, and if he has to go without things he would like, why, so much the better for him !' 'At the same time,' she would add, 'some parents don't give enough, and very often they are rich people. Thus, some boys get accused of being mean TYPES OF BOYS 351 and niggardly, when 1 knovo they have not enough money to pay necessary subscriptions ; and so they are put in a false position through no fault of their own.' In order that boys should not be without money, a shilling, known as * allowance,' was paid to each as he went out from dinner on Mondays; but it must be confessed that this was usually spent within half an hour, and that little or no benefit therefore was derived from the custom. Another thing Jane Evans always laid stress upon was this ; she would say : * Come and see your boy often, and write to him very often. There is no better way of keeping them straight than being constantly in touch with home influences. I have some boys whose parents never write or come to see them, and this naturally makes them think that no interest is taken in their welfare, and that it does not matter therefore how they behave.' The letters appearing in this volume show that there were boys at the House who regarded Eton from every point of view and whose tastes were of every order. There were those whose animal spirits led them into every conceivable prank, and who lived habitually in ' hot water,' and there were others of a reflective turn of mind who passed a dreamy existence and who wrote English as well as Latin verse in their spare hours. There were brilliant boys who excelled in everything, and there were those who sacrificed all to games ; there was the boy of a mechanical turn who laid out his worldly all in steam-engines, and who had a line of rails running round his room ; and there was the hydraulic engineer who had a cunning display of fountains in his window-box in summer-time. Above all, there was the sporting boy. There was one who possessed a saloon pistol and who shot rats upChalvey ; and stories are related of another, of earlier times, who 352 THE GREAT FLOOD OF '94 kept a coach at Slough, and whose delight was to drive through Eton in disguise, with another from the House by his side. No doubt there was the lover of Natural history who carried a snake in his pocket ; and there was certainly one indefatigable fisherman. This boy, on one occasion, chanced to land a fish of some size. It has descended to posterity as a trout of 5 pounds, and nothing would satisfy the angler but that the Queen herself should have it. So up to the Castle it went, being duly acknowledged by some Court official; while the boys of the House contented themselves by aver- ring that the fish had been kept much too long before being sent, and that it was only a chub after all. The great floods in the autumn of '94 are referred to in several letters from boys of that date. They led to many amusing episodes, and to the break up of the School for a fortnight.* The entries in Jane Evans' diaries deserve, however, a first place. ^November 15. — Water rising, and every one rather dismal.' ' 15///. — A wet morning and water rising all round. Every one prophesying a wonderful flood.' ' \6th. — Water higher than ever, everywhere. Mr. Benson's boys gone home, and if the water goes on rising, others will have to go too. All excited and restless.' '17///. — Most alarming accounts of the floods. Boys all to go away. Kitchen and scullery flooded, and Mrs. Woodward wondering what next! Boys very much excited, and would hardly let one have breakfast. Telegraphed to numbers of parents, and tried to keep the boys till the answers came ; but they are all utterly demoralized, and I can do nothing but let them go and hope for the best. Only 8 at dinner, which was cooked under difficulties. A most bewildering time. After dinner, a batch of circulars arrived from the Head, to be sent off to all the parents. Employed the boys to put them into envelopes while I addressed them.' * lyth. — Gave the poor waterman some breakfast early He had been up all night. Sid * The School broke up on November 17, and reassembled on the 30lh. THE GREAT FLOOD OF '94 353 and Sam arranging about the punts to take food round to everybody. Boys' hampers being sent away. M. Townshend had some beautiful potted meat, which helped capitally !' Needless to say, the boys, during these eventful days, had been watching the floods with ever- in- creasing anxiety. Their hopes were centred in the possibility of the floods rising; in their falling, they had no interest whatever. Other houses were break- ing up ; and if only the water could be made to rise another inch or two and find its way into my Dame's kitchen, the thing would be done. Therefore the aim should be to block the drain in the road in front of the House. Any scientific demonstration of the futility of such an attempt would have been treated as a mere matter of jaundiced opinion : the drain had to be blocked, no matter what outlay was entailed in the attempt. How the boys of the House set about this is shown by the following extracts : ' I remember,' writes W. Buchanan-Riddell, ' half the House spending the whole evening hurling books at a drain opposite, to try and choke it up, at the time of the great floods in '94, when it was hanging in the balance whether the House would be flooded out or not. Our object was to turn the water into the dining- room, by preventing it running off through the drain just below our windows. Ainger, who lived opposite, kept sending a man out to clear away our books and free the drain ; but whether or not through our efforts, I cannot say, next morning the water was in the House all right, and away we all went for a fortnight.' Another account mentions an amusing sequel to the enterprise. M. F. Blake, now in the 60th Rifles, writing from India, says : * I remember watching the water getting further and further up Keate's Lane daily, until one evening it got as far as my Dame's, which was about as far as it did get. There was, of course, great excitement and ^3 354 RIDING AND DRIVING speculation as to whether we should have to go home or not. On the night in question, most of the Lower-boys in the House congregated in the room I shared with another fellow, Winnington, and tried to block up a grating in the road opposite, by throwing books at it. There was an unfortunate man, whose duty it was to keep the grating clear, and he came in for a hot fire of grammars, dictionaries, etc. I don't suppose the books did much good or much harm, from whatever point of view one looks at it; but we thought they might help to block up the drain and get us home! Next day I remember seeing the Head Master poking at the place with his stick, and unearthing, among other things, my Latin Grammar !' Some amusing stories are told of a boy of the House who was much addicted to riding and driving. He belonged to a family whose name must always be associated with Evans' ; but as the stories come from a relation of the name who was at the House at the time, that of the 'ossy boy is suppressed. Whether he was one of those who got up early and went for rides in Queen Anne's Drive, on the assumption that 'the Head Master wouldn't mind,' is not related ; but at one time he possessed himself of a donkey and cart and experienced much glee when he drove past the Provost and family, undetected, on the Slough road. On another occasion he and a comrade chanced upon an old horse, turned out to graze on Dorney Common. With an ample supply of money, and being as keen as usual for a ride, he forthwith went up town and purchased a new saddle and bridle. All went well, and a good gallop was being enjoyed, when the pro- ceedings were detected by the owner of the horse, who, in company with a Master, immediately gave chase. Slipping off the horse, the rider fled on foot, and it is related that the new saddle and bridle were never afterwards claimed. The calling ' Lower-boy ' often led to funny scenes among the called as well as among others, though what WINDSOR FAIR 355 happened was not always of a funny nature. In order to avoid being sent on an errand it was necessary to be among the first to arrive, the duty generally falling on the last. At one time the boys at Sam's over-the-way were not altogether exempt, and until after lock-up they had to run with the rest. The involuntary steeplechases that took place were often a source of danger to the harmless pedestrian in the Lane, and one boy records that, on a certain occasion, a funeral procession was completely scattered by the boys rush- ing blindly across the road from one house to the other. At times when the School as a whole was extremely * lively,' the boys of the House often took a prominent part in the proceedings of the moment — and sometimes suffered for it. Our free-fights in Bachelor's Acre in the days when Windsor Fair was supposed to be forbidden need small reference here, though on one occasion some of us would have been badly mauled had it not been for the assistance of a party of the Grenadiers. A certain boy recalls that he visited the Fair with the modest sum of twopence. Many roulette- tables then occupied the side of the pavement from ' Damnation Corner ' to the Curfew Tower, and with their assistance the boy in question visited every show in the Fair and returned with more coppers in his pocket than when he set out. The ultimate effect of this success did not bring about the result that some might suppose, for the boy has never played or gambled since. A general poena for the whole School, or the larger part of it, is a matter of some discomfort at the time, more so, indeed, than a swishing, and raises many re- flections afterwards. In this connexion some will remember the fate that befell us when w^e were be- guiled into a visit to the Windsor Theatre by the notice of a play, placarded everywhere and entitled The Orange Girl and the Sea of Ice. What boy of 23—2 356 ELECTION SATURDAY spirit could possibly be proof against such a remark- able combination ! The riot on Election Saturday,* 1871, and which resulted in another general poena, need only be mentioned because it is seriously asserted that a boy of the House was instrumental in saving one of the Masters, attacked on that evening, from the certain fate that awaited him. He was a powerful boy, and he maintained a firm hold on the Master's habiliments when he was already hanging over the wall of Barnes Pool. Yet he was punished with the rest. It was seldom that our proceedings were carried to such a length as this denotes. Usually, they were dis- tinguished by a marked spirit of fun. Thus, some will recall the action of a boy of the House who was the ringleader when a certain Mathematical Master was hoisted amidst uproarious cheers from the School Yard to his own door. Given the individual, the event was at least remarkable, if subversive of all discipline. There can be no doubt that our attentions often fell upon the simple more than on those of sterner stuff, though on the Election Saturday just mentioned this was not the case. Brown of ' Brown's ' was, it is to be feared, often baited much as bears once were. And yet, what we breakfastless boys owed him in coffee and buns ! Why we baited him remains among the things that will never be known. He was of tragic appear- ance, and perhaps uncertain temper, and he lived in the smallest shop — the only shop, it may be said, in the * No single date can be given as that on which ' Election Saturday' was abolished, the day having been marked by a number of ceremonies that disappeared one by one. There was the reception of the Provost of King's, who came in state at about 2 o'clock. Then followed the ' Cloister Speech,' which was a sort of welcome to him. Later in the day there were '5 o'clock Speeches' in Upper School, and in the evening there was the procession of Boats, fireworks, etc., as on June 4. The last Cloister Speech was delivered by F. H. Rawlins in 1870, and the procession of Boats and festivities were done away with in '72 in consequence of the disturbance here referred to. BROWN 357 heart of Eton proper. On a certain occasion he was supposed to have insulted a boy by one of his common remarks, such as, ' If you don't know your own mind, I can't serve you.' Stone-throwing thereupon began, and Brown put up his single shutter and closed his door. But presently he emerged again, and affixed to the door this letter, subsequently taken down and preserved to this day among the writer's Eton archives. The wording runs : ^ Jime 8, 1870. ' I regret to have to witness what I was compelled to to-night by you gentlemen amusing yourselves (I suppose you call it) by throwing stones at my house. I tell you for once only, that if it is continued I shall go direct to the Head Master. I beg you to show this to your companions, that they may know as well as yourself what I intend doing. * Yours respectfully, * Joseph Brown, * Confectioner! Poor old Brown ! He befriended many of us, and he now at least lies at rest in the Eton Cemetery. But these scattered recollections begin to roam too far afield. Those who took part in such things have vanished one knows not whither, and so it is we recall the lines written years ago of another house : ' How many a thought Of faded pains and pleasures, These whispered syllables have brought From memory's hoarded treasures — The balls, the bats, the forms, the books, The glories and disgraces ; The voices of dear friends, the looks Of old familiar faces. ' Where are my friends ? I am alone — No playmate shares my beaker ; Some lie beneath the churchyard stone, And some before the Speaker ; And some compose a tragedy, And some compose a rondeau — And some draw swords for liberty, And some draw pleas for John Doe.' CHAPTER XXII JANE E vans' diaries, 189I-I9OO The Diaries for these ten years vary little from their predecessors. There is the weekly list of those who were late for prayers on Sunday mornings ; there is the text of the Sunday morning sermon, with the name of the preacher and comments upon what he had said ; there is the list of daily callers, forming now a kind of afternoon reception ; there are the ' shammers ' and the * shufflers ' and the * stayers-out '; there is the simple record of the daily round of homely duties and the open house ; the shrewd remarks, the flashes of wit, the little characteristic utterances. And, withal, there are the keen, often bitter, anxieties and disappointments, borne always with that optimism and unflagging faith and pluck that refused to look for long at the dark side, but sought always to pierce the cloud, and to reach the eternal brightness that must lie somewhere beyond it. *So much for my doivn. It has taken all my paper; but I am looking forward to a great up' she writes at a moment of vexation. For an instant she would unburden herself, and then she would hide it, bear a bright face, and refuse to look longer at the dark side of anything, at the failure of any particular boy. A casual observer might have thought that she did not care, that she did not feel, watching her only, perhaps, a few hours after some trial had fallen upon her. But her diaries, her letters, the recollections that some 358 SYMPATHY 359 may have of talks with her, belie this utterly. Un- selfishness was one of her dominant characteristics, and in this was rooted that power of sympathy that knew exactly how far to declare itself under any particular circumstance, the voice falling to a note that was all harmony, the expression on the face remaining with you when you had gone out from that little room of hers under the stairs, whither she often went when she wished to talk with you alone. She would never allow her private cares or sorrows to cast their shadows on the lives of others ; and so it was that outwardly she was invariably bright, throwing her- self, almost on the instant, into the interests, the pursuits, almost the very lives, of those who came to see her in ever-increasing numbers as the years ran by. Few things are more remarkable in these diaries than the evidence they afford of the diversity of Jane Evans' interests. Her mind, like her sympathies, ranged over a very wide area. She is fond of games. You find her playing Halma or Backgammon in the evenings with one of her boys or a member of her own family. In summer, and to an advanced age, she continues to play croquet. But whatever the game may be, there is always evidence of the keenness she brought to the contest, and one can almost hear her laugh as one reads : * Had two games with B., and I beat him both times !' Or, ' Played croquet this evening, and got beaten. Very sad !' Then one sud- denly comes across such an entry as this when she is travelling in Germany: ^ 12th August. — The poor grouse !' Or it is the last Wednesday in May, and she writes : ' Flying Fox won — ^^Duke of Westminster's horse.' Then she is paying one of her annual Scotch visits, and she writes of two boats fishing one against the other, and adds: 'They caught more than we did, but I caught a fine perch !' Or, again, she is reading 36o THE BOYS a debate in Parliament, and comes across a speech by one of her old boys, and writes : ' Cannot help wondering if he prepared it himself!' And just as her interests were wide, so was her desire to help never found wanting. There are not many mentions of her endless charitable gifts, for she did not record these things, and would not have liked them talked of here. But her open-handed generosity is known to very many, and is spoken of by some as amounting almost to a fault. To talk to those who knew her in Eton and Windsor is to hear many stories of her liberality ; but all we find in the diaries is : ' Sent what I could — wish it could have been more.' Or, ' Then went up to Windsor, and paid in my cheque.' There is no mention of what was sent ; no record of the amount of the cheque. In addition to all she had to do, we find her, now, with her maids on Sunday afternoons reading and talking to them for an hour; while mention is also made of a working-party being held at her house, in Mrs. Woodward's room, the results being sent to her sister's parish in Norfolk. The boys were always with her, and always in her thoughts. She tells them of their faults, and gives them 'a good talking to,' or she takes their part, and fights their battles for them, ' Had to lecture T. ma. for relighting his candle. Frightened him. Gave me a text to preach upon, and I made good use of it. Saw all the boys' maids, and preached to them too !' * B. very assertive, and wants snubbing a little.' ' Had to lecture L. for his Lower- boy ways,' These talks sometimes produced shyness, but never engendered bad feeling on either side, and thus we read : ' Boys all most amiable in spite of the plain speaking last night,' 'All rather strained at first meeting this THE BREAKFASTS 361 morning. I never had so much attention before : all most anxious to wait upon me. A row is not bad in its effects !' She would often go to the Head Master to try and defend a boy. The day was not always gained with the great man, but * he was most kind, as he always is.' A boy ' muffs ' in trials, but has the chance of a second paper at the beginning of the next half. He comes back, and * muffs ' again. * L. came in great distress to say he had muffed, and must go away. So I went to see the Head Master. He was very kind and sympathetic, and said L. might try again.' The result was that L. passed, and was thus able to complete his Eton career. The Breakfasts are often referred to, and she dis- cusses the quality of the boys who compose these parties from half to half. Sometimes the set appears not to have been up to the mark, and the term 'Lower-boy' is applied to them as an opprobrious epithet. Here are some of the entries : * Boys are so different at the top of the House ; so like Lower-boys.' * Boys beginning to be silent, following the fashion here.' ' My present party are most uninteresting. They think of nothing but them- selves. I don't know how to wake them up ; they are so dull and childish.' * Had talks with B., G., and T. All responsive. It was an unpleasant duty, but borne so patiently that it makes me more fond of them all than ever.' ' Breakfast such a contrast : all were so nice and so attentive without any feeling of strain, only to show that they were friendly and did not misunderstand me.' 'An amusing breakfast, for a wonder : all so virtuous and pleased with themselves, as if no one else was so good as they !' ' New break- fast party. X tried to feel at home, but failed rather, and looked foolish. Had a nice few minutes with him afterwards.' ' Boys very silly. Breakfast now rather a trial.' 362 WHOLE-SCHOOL-DAY FEVER At such a time-honoured meal it is difficult to believe that the boys could have behaved in such a way as this : * G. and B. behaved like Lower-boys of the Lowest type, by cutting holes in the bread while they were waiting, putting mustard on the cloth, and salt in the milk. This was not conducive to a cheerful breakfast, but S. and D. being with me, my " say" was put off till the evening, when I spoke my mind freely to both of them.' But they did not always forget themselves, ' Went down to breakfast without my cap, and, although the boys were there, till Kate appeared with my cap in her hand I was not in the least aware of it. Speaks well for my Eton boys. We had a great joke about it.' There are, of course, numberless entries of boys wishing to stay-out without sufficient cause. The thermometer was sometimes brought into use to test matters, and was apparently resented : ' M. had whole-school-day fever and broke Kate's thermometer. Happily we had another, and being normal he went into school at ii ! A serious epidemic of the same complaint all day.' An instance has already been given of the way some boys were aggrieved at not being able to obtain an excuse when they had stayed-out on their own account. Here is an occasion described, where a boy was appar- ently not to be defeated : ' G. ;;//. very funny to-day. He shirked early school, and because I wouldn't give him an excuse, he went to see Dr. W, and got him to say he couldn't shave as he had eczema. And so, as boys must shave, he got his Tutor to give him sick leave, and went home !' ' Went round to see the stayers-out, and found L. with his room full of boys racquetting about. Told him to TROUBLESOME BOYS 363 get up and come down. I spoke rather plainly and lost my temper, I'm ashamed to say.' * Founder's Day to-morrow ; boys all quite well to-night.' For bigger boys who wanted to stay-out for nothing, she had the greatest contempt : ' B., who got his colours yesterday, and G., captain of our eleven, sent word asking to stay-out. What degeneracy ; alack, alas ! No pluck, so soft. It makes one long for backbone.' The new system of having baths at all hours was a fruitful source of trouble : ' Boys playing football in the evening in the passages and then having baths, which they refuse to empty.' ' B. and I had a confidential talk about the management of the baths. Then we went to Chapel. I was no sooner back, than I was attacked by P. and B., who were both so excited that they hardly gave themselves time to speak. They were quite grand in their indig- nation. But, soon after, B. came back and apologized. This is like a thunderstorm and will do a lot of good. Nothing comes without a meaning.' Needless to say the boys were often very * lively,' and gave their Dame plenty to do owing to exuberant spirits and love of mischief; many will therefore sympathize with the remark : * Oh dear, boys are troublesome !' ^Sunday. — Just as I was coming downstairs, Kate told me to go into B.'s room, where his bureau door had been smashed in by G. mi., whom I found with Lister, I sent him to his room, and then saw smoke outside the window, where he had put some lighted paper and matches which might have set the house on fire. G. caned them both.' ' R. and P. ragging. Put it into G.'s hands, and they are now paying their debt in the Library. It was disgraceful : three upon one. They have now come and told me they have made it up and all messed together !' ' P. has just jumped out of the bathroom window because he couldn't open the 364 BOY-NATURE door. Happily not hurt.' 'Smoking in Library!' * Great talk about boys ordering horses in Queen Anne's Drive, and getting out of the houses to ride them in the small hours of the morning. R. nia. was one of them, and he told me he went out when the cows came in at six. G. says he is sure the Head wouldn't mind !' ' Found fault with H. and C. They had a cousin to tea, and spent eighteen shillings upon it.' 'Found some cards in G.'s room.' 'Just had H. here, who, like all Old boys, tried to get into the House after lock-up. It is such a nuisance to have to keep them up to the mark.' ' Caught T. letting out a friend.' Then comes an entry such as this, showing that she was not behindhand in telling Old boys when she thought they were wrong : ' Wrote to G., who was most conspicuous last night in the Lane (Sunday), with a tandem and a trumpet.' But in all these and many other similar escapades, Jane Evans never forgot that she had to deal with boy- nature, and thus she never lost her love for them, and her interest in them never flagged. ' She doesn't understand them a bit,' she writes of a new Matron, ' and makes me so cross that I am quite ashamed of my old self.' Or, again, of another: * She has such a way of mixing up w^hat ought to be with what is, that she gets hold of the wrong end of the stick sometimes.' Jane Evans had had more than thirty years' experience at this date, and this had given her such an insight into the variety and complexity of boy character that she very rarely failed to understand them, and never herself ' got hold of the wrong end of the stick ' in her dealings with them. Thus she would write, ' Boys making a noise ; that's nothing '; and in graver cases, ' Oh that we may be helped to help them !' She did not believe in always finding fault, or oi continually criticizing or pointing out failings. In dealing with GROWING OLDER 365 boys, especially, it was necessary to have a tolerant spirit ; and so she would come back from Sunday morning chapel, and jot down, ' Preacher still harping on the same string. How I wish some one would preach — Love, Mercy, Help !' She never hid from herself that a life such as hers had to be full of cares and worries; but all the cares and all the worries were not going to quench her infinite love for the young lives about her, or stifle the innate feeling of hope that belonged to her, no matter how often it might seem almost to wither away in her hand. In connexion with this side of her nature there are many entries, but over these we must draw a veil. Yet this at least may be said : in Jane Evans' warm heart there was room for all ; there was mercy some- where for the worst ; help would be given. Such traits of character lay deep-seated in her inmost being; they seldom declared themselves in words, and in these many volumes of her private diaries, the perusal of which has been of such immense help, they run far more often between the lines than in the clear, bold handwriting of the page. One thing, however, life was doing for her, and without doubt. Jane Evans was growing older ; and as the years passed, time and character touched her face, and set there a radiance that was that of peaceful autumn, full of mellow sun- shine, full of beauty, full of bright, silent hope. ' B. had achat with me this morning about boys. He is easily depressed and worried. If he had all the petty worries of an everyday Eton woman's life, he would have thrown it all over !' To her, her work and her House were, one may believe, a perennial joy, the source of her brightness, the centre of every hope, and she, at least, was not going to give up any part of it at present, come what might. Towards the close of the 'nineties there is more frequent mention of her leaving others to go round the 366 INTEREST IN AFFAIRS House at night in her place, and now and then she is ailing and evidently feels her strength diminishing, ' Had to give in ; everybody sat upon me !' But in a few days she is about again, doing all her accustomed work, and ' was not going to stay-out any longer.' She did not hide from herself that she was getting older, and when her birthdays come round, she makes such entries as these: ' My old birthday, 68 to-day, and I can't believe it. Very nearly come to an end, and I feel about i8 !' On April 4, '96, she completes her 70th year : * Poor old me ; nearly done !' But there were no signs of diminishing powers, no loss of bright- ness, no lack of interest in affairs. Those about her counselled her to spare herself; but she flouted the idea. She goes to Lord's, she goes to Henley ; she attends, regularly, the great garden-parties at Syon House, where she meets * heaps of friends '; she works hard in the Jubilee week, as she had done in '91 for the Commemoration day,* that the decorations, and the hospitality she offers, may not be behind the rest ; she goes to London and witnesses the Jubilee procession from Northumberland House, and ' it makes her feel inclined to weep '; but she comes back in the evening, and writes, triumphantly, ' Did my duty and went round the House !' She makes long journeys, and in '96 goes to Germany ; every year she passes a part of the summer holidays at Dunkeld, and in paying other visits to friends in Scotland. She enjoys all these things, and writes, ' I can only wonder why so much of all this world's goods in kind friends and lovely sur- roundings are poured upon old me ; I feel ver}?^ grateful.' Several of her former Old boys are to be married ; to many of them, their weddings would be incomplete without her presence So we find her going again and again to these functions in London, having accom- plished a fair day's work ere she set out, and com- * The 450th year, June 24, '91. HENLEY 367 pleting a good deal more on her return, writing what she calls 'all her usual and unusual letters about boys,' entering up her accounts, and 'doing her duty.' And when those about her try and save her extra fatigue, she writes such sentences as these : * Am getting demoralized by kindness of friends and relations.' ' I am being gradually spoilt.' ' Still shirking my work !' But there is no sign in these diaries of her ' shirking' anything. In '98, when she was over seventy-two, there is this entry on July 5 : 'This being the day of Henley Regatta, I got up earlier and gave the boys their breakfast at 8.15. Then went to Henley. Went to the Balliol boat, where we were as happy as queens and saw several dear old ji/ow;/^ friends. The boys won their heat !* She is disappointed, two days later, when a report reaches her that Eton had been beaten : ' B. came for an order for a new hat, telling me at the same time that Eton had been beaten at Henley, so I would not let him have a hat, and felt very down. In about half an hour M. ma. came for his ticket and told me Eton had won !' Whether she then relented and allowed B. to have a new hat is not mentioned ; but when Eton was beaten, it was no time, in her opinion, to go about in fine clothes. She records her boys' successes with delight : '&' 'Alington* playing in the Eleven.' 'Morrison won the pulling I'f ' Our boys played Hale's and beat them. Haig kicked a wonderful goal, which gave us the victory, though we were not so good as they.' 'July 8, '92. — Went to Lord's both days. Every one lum. Three wickets down for 19; and, soon after, 5 for 27. It was most pitiable ; but Bircham joined Forbes and things began to improve. They looked * Twelfth man, 1891 t 1891, with a boy of another house, named R. O. Kerrison. & 368 CRICKET like staying, and were evidently getting their eyes in, when unlucky Forbes ran Bircham out, having done the same thing before. He, however, made some runs and carried his bat out, but we were beaten by 64 runs.' Three of the House are playing in the Eleven in '93 ; but one of these loses his place through misfortune only three days before Lord's. ^July 8, '93. — Bromley-Martin, Greenly, and Bircham playing in the Eleven.' July II. — Greenly has German measles. Alas! his hopes are dashed to the ground.'* She goes up to see the match, and writes with glee : ' Bromley-Martin finished it off with a fine 4, amidst deafening applause !'t Another year she feels disinclined to go to Win- chester, and writes : ^ Am glad ; it would have been too exciting.' In '94, however, she goes there : * Eton began badly ; but her tail was fiju, and they made 206 by 6.30.' Aquatics are not forgotten, though the tastes of the majority do not run that way; and she is evidently proud when she can write : ^July 2, '99. — St. Aubynt has got his Eight! Con- gratulated him.' The matches for the different House Cups are all referred to, though not at any length, for in these years the House won none of them except the Fives. Such successes as there were, were confined to the * W. H. Greenly became 12th man this year, t Was Captain of the Eleven this year. X E. G. St. Aubyn. Eton won the Ladies' Plate this year, and for the seventh year running. OLD TIMES 369 Juniors ; and these will be noticed elsewhere. The diaries generally contain the entry, ' Horrid !' when defeats occur ; or, * We were beaten, and have all been in the lowest depths ever since.' But when the Juniors bring home a Cup, spirits revive, and the entries run, * Boys had ducks and green peas to-night for the Cup'; or, 'Gave our boys a turkey supper for the Lower-boy Cup.' There is no lessening of interest in anything here ; but there is often a note struck that seems to show that, in her opinion, these days were not the equal of former ones. In these ten years she had to mourn the loss of many friends, and perhaps this made her welcome all the more warmly those who could carry her back in their talk to former times.* Certain it is that there was a geniality about her reception of many of us that we can never forget. She had the happiest knack of saying the pleasantest things on the instant and without premeditation ; and if, from the lips of many people, these might have passed as little by-the- way compliments and without meaning, Jane Evans invariably, either by the tone of her voice or some little added gesture, gave them a touch of reality and left you in no doubt of her sincerity. Her memory for faces as well as for events continued remarkable to the end, and as illustrating this, and showing how she received those she had not seen for years, the following may be quoted : Lord Rendel relates that he ' often and often would say to Jane Evans in later days, ** We come to you, and you make us think you care, and all the while * Among the intimate friends who died during this decade were Mrs. Barns, who had been Matron of the House for nearly 21 years, and who died in April, '91, universally regretted ; Dr. Balston, November 18, '91 ; Dr. Ellison, the medical attendant of the House for a great number of years, in January, '97 ; the Duchess of AthoU, in May that same year ; Bishop John Selwyn, February 12, '98 ; and Lord Justice Chitty, February 15, '99. 24 370 PLEASANT WORDS there are hundreds of us who each think you care for him in particular." To which Jane Evans would art- fully reply, " No, no. It isn't the same with all: you and I go back to the old, old times, when we were all still young." ' Another instance is a personal one, but seems worth recording. The writer went one day to see Jane Evans. The chances of a soldier's life had made a visit to Eton impossible. Thirty years had passed since the last meeting, and Jane Evans was a woman of seventy-five. The writer was shown, unannounced, into the little room under the stairs, and the two open- ing sentences of the conversation were these : ' Well, do you remember me ?' The instant reply, accompanied with the familiar gesture of both hands, was, *0h, can't ^''ou come back ?' The compliment was utterly un- deserved ; but it was the highest any man might receive. Her memory was then as vivid about things of ten as it was of those of five-and-thirty years back. The time was one of some passing anxiety in the House, and she spoke long and seriously ; but, through it all, there ran the spirit of cheerfulness and hope : the voice was the same, but the face had put on an expression that held one by its wonderful mixture of strength, shrewdness, and love. We talked of many things, and, as if she were comparing the present days with the old, she said : ' I don't know what has come over the boys now. Why, in your day, you would settle things between yourselves when you fell out ; but now they actually come to me — to me r* When Old boys visited her, she notes whether they have changed, or marks some feature that she re- collects. * The writer's younger son was at this time at the House, making the sixth member of his family who had been there — C. CHnton Parry ; C. Hubert H. Parry, now Sir Hubert Parry; E. Gambier Parry; S. Gambier Parry ; and T. R. and T. M. Gambier Parry. METHOD 371 ' Lord Emlyn came — an old boy of long days gone by, when Sam and 1 lived together. His face was not a bit altered.' ' Had a visit from Sir Hubert. It was very nice seeing him, but very hard to realize that we had never met since he left Eton thirty-two years ago. His eyes were all one could recognize.' All her books she keeps herself, and has regular days for bringing the entries up to date. To glance at these books, from the one recording the name of every boy who stayed-out and what was the matter with him, to the day-book of her out-of-pocket expenses, is to find one and all kept with scrupulous care. Every week she goes round to the different tradesmen and settles up with them. When she travels, every item is entered. In all there is method and completeness ; everything is clear and in order. At the end of every half Mr. Craske* comes in and makes out all the bills with her, and they sit and work together for many hours at a stretch. The evening before the boys leave, all is finished : there is no hurry ; everything is ready and complete. It is worth while to see what one who helped her says of this side of her character. For thirty-three years Mr. Craske gave her his assistance, and here are extracts from his letter on the subject : * I began to assist Miss Evans with her accounts in the autumn of 1872, and from that time till Christmas, 1905, I never missed attending for two or three even- ings at the end of the half The last year or two she took but little part in this work, as the strain was too trying for her. Of course you know that the manage- ment of a large house at Eton is a task of no small magnitude, and to have done it successfully for so many years is evidence of very high qualities. The yearly transactions amount to a very considerable business, and when one considers the almost infinite number of entries and figures that the large total * Manager of the London and County Bank, Slough. 24 — 2 372 ACCOUNTS means, one can appreciate the incessant attention and care that such a charge involves, and the perfect method needed to make things work smoothly and efficiently. Miss Evans was most regular and punctual in keeping account of every detail of her expenditure, and the last entries in her cash-book were made only a few days before her death. Faithfulness, regularity, method and completeness characterized all her work in this direction. 'She would often talk to me about the House, "the dear old House," as she called it. Sometimes there were occasions of anxiety ; at others, there might be occasion for the exercise of discipline. No one can tell how much she felt all these things, and yet how tactfully and splendidly she met her trials. She was a most able and capable woman, who managed others in so firm and gentle a way that they scarcely knew the quiet authority that ruled them. I certainly never knew anyone so universally beloved. She never con- sidered herself : she was far more considerate of others, and was always ready to help any benevolent under- taking. If she had been so disposed she might have died a rich woman, but she had something infinitely better than riches to leave behind.' On the I St February, 1897, there is an entry in the diary that foreshadowed a change: *Sid saw the Head Master this morning, and this evening went round the House for me.' The opening of this year found Jane Evans far from well. There was nothing seriously the matter, but she writes more often of being compelled to allow others to go round the House for her in the evenings, or after prayers. She even writes at this time : * I seem to have no strength, but try to do everything.' Those about her had long been endeavouring to save her as far as she would allow them to ; but they now decided that something definite should be done to relieve her of duties that overtaxed her strength and that others might well do for her. Needless to say, she resented the idea altogether; but, in the end, it was once more SIDNEY EVANS 373 a case of ' had to give in ; every one sat upon me,' and she decided, reluctantly, to acquiesce. To make so simple a change was not, however, easy, for to depute some one to go round the House at night in their Dame's place would certainly rouse the opposition of the boys. These last had a very distinct idea that they could manage themselves, and if, in this, there was much of pleasant theory, there was little doubt that any interference from outside would be resented. To carry out the change at all, it would be necessary, therefore, to give it some official sanction ; while the only person at all likely to commend himself to the House was Jane Evans nephew, on account of his age as well as for the inde- pendent position he occupied. Sidney Evans at this time had been Assistant Instructor in Drawing since '93 ; he had been a member of the House, and had distinguished himself as a football player, having won his colours in the Field in '84, besides being keeper of Lower Club as a cricketer. The boys knew him well ; he had joined them in their games, and had been for long thrown into friendly intercourse with them ; but he knew that what was now proposed would alter his position entirely, and, before anything was finally settled, therefore, he decided to go to the Head Master and obtain his official sanction. This he accordingly did, as the above extract shows, the Head Master at the same time sending for the Captain of the House and explaining matters to him personally. To fill so difficult a place required the greatest tact, and too much praise cannot be given to Sidney Evans for the way in which he carried out his duties. From the first he set himself to show that Jane Evans was the head and his father second, and also that, though he was a Master in the School, he was not there to act as one. To punish a boy would have been to act independently of his aunt, and while there was a 374 SIDNEY EVANS difficulty here, there was also the natural dislike he felt at having to report wrongdoers in the same quarter. He began, therefore, as he writes, 'by being cheerfully in the way.' At first he confined his duties to going round to each boy's room after evening prayers ; then he attended the boys' dinner ; then, and for the last two years, he did everything except breakfasting with the top boys in the morning on week-days. This last Jane Evans continued to do herself to the end. The change was thus a gradual one ; and if, for the first few years, Sidney Evans encountered much opposition, the Captain of the House at least never failed to support him. Probably the older boys recognized the difficulty of his position, and knew that what he was doing was right by themselves and right by their Dame. Thus in time all opposition died away, and what had at first been a most onerous task, came in the end to be regarded by Sidney Evans as the greatest pleasure of his life. The interior management of the House, and all that this meant, still, of course, remained in Jane Evans' hands abso- lutely, and everything was directed by her as before. Nothing that occurred from time to time was without a parallel in her experience, and if, by degrees, Sidney Evans was allowed to take a more active part in ajflfairs, and in doing so to win the affection of the boys, his aunt was, to the end, always behind him, to direct, to sympathize, and, in reality, to rule as before in her calm, wise way. By the spring-time Jane Evans' health was quite restored : she was not one to surrender at the first shot, and thus we find her going the round of her duties as before ; attending the house-matches and the various functions already described; entertaining over a hundred people at luncheon as usual on the 4th June; and, what was of far more importance to posterity LOOKING BACK 375 preparing to have the portrait painted that will be noticed presently. The two last years of the diaries record many things. Some of these have a sombre hue, and shadows fall across the page ; others reflect the brightness of the day. It is winter, and one sees again the breathless contests in the trodden, muddy Field : it is summer, and one wanders to Upper Club, where the shadows are creeping slowly and lazily over the smooth turf; the day is waning, and so is the half; a Final is being played ; there is the sound of bat and ball, the sound of shrill cheering from young throats, lost there in the cool air. One wends one's way to the river ; it has been a cloudless day, and one rests in the shade of Brocas Clump : then round the bend comes a running crowd, and the air is cleft by the voices of a hundred boys : they are on you almost before you can rise ; but you are up and running with the rest, though you are old, while the boats there on the river shoot the Bridge, and a cheering crowd welcomes the winners at the rafts. The day closes in ; the old Castle reflects the red light from the west ; the street of Eton is in cool, blue shadow ; all the School is there ; and of a sudden there comes a great tide of boys, surging along and filling the whole space: it is 'Hoisting'; the evening air is full of cheering and shouts and bubbling laughter ; and the great wave of young life sweeps by as you seek the shelter of some friendly door and watch the young faces to see what you may learn. Then the bells chime in Lupton's Tower, and those of all the houses follow suit ; there is already a light in many a window; on the pavements there is the sound of many feet ; the great crowd disentangles itself; and in a moment you are standing there alone. It is all a dream ; but Jane Evans' diaries recall to you these things ; you go here and you go there, always in her company ; for a moment you are an Eton boy, 376 EPIDEMICS and young again ; and knowing what ' Hoisting ' means, you smile when you find her recording that she got into the middle of it as she came back from the Brocas — a lone woman in a crowd of a thousand boys. * The}?- were all very nice to me ; but it was very funny !' As if they could be an3'-thing else but nice to a figure such as that ; all knew her now as a link with old days ; all knew her, and knowing loved. The Easter half of '98 was marked by a serious epidemic of measles. Fourteen cases occurred at this time in the House ; the Cottage was turned into a hospital, and two extra nurses were employed. But fortunately all recovered, and there was no repetition of the terrible event of '96, when one boy died on Easter Sunday morning. He was an only son ; his father stands as one of the greater figures of the House, an Etonian to the core, who is spoken of to this day as *an ideal Evans' boy.' ' So closed a little a very little, Eton life,' writes Jane Evans. The House as a whole may bend its head, and send, even now, a whisper of sympathy from all the years. Such outbreaks naturall}^ added greatly to Jane Evans' work ; but the diaries show her, nevertheless, to have been indefatigable in her attention to those she terms 'her measleites.' It is a Sunday, and she writes : * Chaplain's duty, beginning with Ward and ending with little Gibbs, leaving two Johnstones till after dinner.' As the boys get better they become more troublesome ; but she doesn't visit their sins on them, but writes : * Getting old and crabby in my ways, I'm afraid.' In the summer half one of the boys of the House distinguishes himself, and she writes of the event with pleasure: ' Heard of Ralph Bond saving a soldier from drowning on Friday evening.' The circum- stances deserve recording. On May 29 a soldier of the Life Guards fell out of his boat; the spectators, as A DISTINGUISHED BOY 377 often happens, were unable to act ; but Bond, who was rowing down at the time, went overboard, and held the man up till assistance came. It was no simple thing- for a boy of seventeen to hold up a Life Guardsman, the worse for drink, in 20 feet ot water; but he did it, and saved the life, being rightly recommended for the Royal Humane Society's medal. This last was presented at the end of the following month, and Jane Evans, taking with her the Captain of the House, saw Bond receive it at The Royal Institution, at the hands of the Duke of Cambridge.* This entry concerning another of the House is also significant : ^ March 17. — A whole holiday for Fincastle, V.C. Was told of his coming to see me yesterday when I was away in London.' t The year '99 is marked by the outbreak of the war in South Africa. Soldiers had always had a w^arm place in Jane Evans' heart ; she had ever been an enthusiastic supporter of the School Volunteers, and had seen many don their first uniform as boys who were now fighting for their country. Many former members of the House are taking part in the stirring * W. Ralph G. Bond is now at Dongola, in the Sudan Civil Service. The following coincidence is worth recording : Mrs. Bond, the mother of W. R. G. Bond, was a Meysey-Thompson ; her brother. Colonel R. F. Meysey-Thompson (see p. 170), and her son both, therefore, won this medal. A. A. G. Bond (elder brother) is now Adjutant, 4th Battalion Rifle Brigade. f Viscount Fincastle, i6th Lancers, received the Victoria Cross for gallantry at Nawa Kili, the Official Record running thus : ' During the fighting at Nawa Kili, in Upper Swat, on August 17, 1897, Lieutenant-Colonel R. B. Adams proceeded with Lieutenants MacLean and Viscount Fincastle, and 5 men of the Guides, under a very heavy and close fire, to the rescue of Lieutenant R. T. Greaves, Lancashire Fusiliers, who was lying disabled by a bullet wound, and surrounded by the enemy's swordsmen. In bringing him under cover, he. Lieutenant Greaves, was struck by a bullet and killed ; Lieutenant MacLean was mortally wounded ; whilst the horses of Lieutenant- Colonel Adams and Lieutenant Viscount Fincastle were shot, as well as two troop horses.' 378 THE BOER WAR events of these days, some a very distinguished part ; and not a few come and wish her good-bye ere they set out on a journey from which all are not destined to return. She follows their fortunes with ever- increasing interest ; and ere the war is at last brought to an end, she can point with pride to the names of eighty-three out there, whom she had known as small boys in jackets when members of the House. She was always thinking of them, and often writes such sentences as this, ' Great anxiety for our dear Old boys ; the lists will be terrible when they come !' She is already seventy-three, but is as full of energy as ever. ' May 7, 1900. — Up to 8 o'clock breakfast. First Volunteer morning. All in uniform. Good news from South Africa, but still fighting.' Mafeking is relieved, and she loses no time in having the House decorated. ^ May 19. — Awoke early, and at 6 o'clock heard a sound like a gun going off. Then another. Flags and decorations all up by 9 o'clock. Keate's Lane most festive, with no end of flags, etc. Two bridges from window to window. The Official Report came. We went to Fourth Form Chapel. Mr. Donaldson read a beautiful Thanksgiving, and the boys sang, " Now thank we all our God," most heartily, and ended the service with " God save the Queen." Wrote letters and went on with my Saturday work. Friends calling as usual.' She is always at work ; always eager to show her interest in everything ; and the days now are more than ever full. 'June 2. — After breakfast, went into my room and never moved from my writing-table till 12; not that I wrote so many letters, but I had every variety of inter- ruption ; boys for orders ; nurse, with her affairs, etc., etc. Then parents till dinner-time. I live and learn ; I do hope 1 may act rightly. Boys' concert ; all well.' On the Fourth she is entertaining ' over 100 people to luncheon, not including boys, the old hall looking lovely and bright with flowers.' Again, two days later, she writes : ' Had a battle about tea in boys' CRICKET MATCHES 379 rooms. Won! Lots of people still here, and constant calls though it is only 10.30' ^ June 15. — A real Friday. Was awoke by the excuse book. B. had a headache. On referring to the book, I find he constantly has an " ache " on Friday mornings. Tried to impress upon boys at breakfast about taking each others' books ; but failed. Then a visit from N., who complained of the uselessness of mankind generally !' The following will be noticed elsewhere ; but the entries are characteristic, so they are given here. It is the end of the Summer half, and many events are being decided. ^ July 20. — Poor Gordon* beaten by Benson. Second. He bore his disappointment well ; he got great praise from every one, and was hoisted, and well watered at Mr. Donaldson's last night! Early dinner, as the Volunteers have an inspection.' ^ July 23. — Boys playing Mitchell's. Began well; 4 wickets for 150.' ^ July 24. — Our boys made a poor innings, alas !' July 25. — Boys won the match against Mitchell's.' ''July 27. — Match after 12 against Austen Leigh's. Sandeman took 7 wickets for 14 runs.' ''July 28. — We won our match by three wickets. In for the Final. Hurrah !' ''July 10. — Boys playing White-Thomson's. Doing well at dinner-time. 2 wickets for 116. Blake made over 60 and Smith over 30.' ''July 31. — Match continuing. I promised to send their tea to the field. Nearly forgot it, but the servants managed splendidly. Boys in good spirits, but they will have to fight hard ; they are so handicapped by Rowe, Lewis, and Amory being away. Chinnery is playing splendidly, and they made 286, but this after- noon the others have made 160 for 5 wickets. All are gone, and tea is being sent to them. Came home rather low ; one of our wickets down for o. Blake and Smith have made 36, and they go in again to- morrow.' * J. E. Gordon, second in School Sculling this year. 38o THE DIARIES END * August 3. — Holidays. Flys, as usual, everywhere. At 8, only the eleven left, looking rather disconsolate, for it began to rain and looked as if it would last. Then the two elevens met and decided on a draw ; we are to keep the Cup till Christmas and the others for the Easter and Summer terms.' When the winter half comes, the days seem to be ever fuller, and after many worries, ' the House being overrun with nurses,' she writes : 'A hard day for an old woman; it begins to tell.' Then, all are well again and she takes heart : ' Much better, and ready for work, but still spoilt !' ' Mrs. X called to see the picture and was much pleased. We are nothing now but a couple of old crocks ! Boys rather low about a match. I encouraged them as much as I could ; but we are always better when we are not quite so sure.' So the year ends ; and so, too, the diaries. The last glimpse we have of her here is always ready for work ; always caring for and encouraging her boys. The years are beginning to tell ; little things are given up. But the old spirit never flags ; the head is bent, but the eyes are full of fire and always full of love, while the genial smile plays about the mouth as of yore. Jane Evans goes on taking her full part, directing, influencing, building up character. She stands at Eton now as nigh the last link with the old times ; and as her well-known, old-world figure passes up the Lane on the way to Chapel, she receives recognition on all sides, giving always in return a cheery word or a bright smile, accompanied ever by the familiar gesture of the open hand. CHAPTER XXIII THE PORTRAIT The idea of having Jane Evans' portrait painted was a very happy one. To have allowed her to pass away leaving nothing by which her wonderful face might be recalled would have been to rob posterity of a right. She already stood as a landmark in the history of the School : the time would arrive when the School would want to know what kind of woman she was ; when some outline of her face and form would be looked for. The name of her House figured up and down the page whereon the doings of Eton bo3^s are re- counted for all time. For many, many years she had ruled an establishment generally containing fifty boys, and often more than that number; and some five hundred had gone out into the world from her doors in her time, each bearing, in greater or lesser degree, the impress of her hand. Of one class she stood as the last surviving representative, and with her the Dames would pass away : one form of house government she had almost perfected, if she had not entirely originated, and this, the training of the boys of her House to maintain discipline among themselves : one aim she had ever kept steadily before her, the maintenance of the great traditions of the place in which she had spent all her days, and in which was bound up the indefinable something that we know as the spirit of Eton. Future Etonians would certainly have a right 381 382 A HAPPY CONCEPTION to know what Jane Evans looked like, what manner of woman the last of the Dames really was. But if such ideas as these lay at the back of many minds when the painting of the portrait was first suggested, there were also those who knew the debt they owed her, and who wished to mark the intensity of their regard for her, not by making any mere formal presentation, but by coming together, hand in hand as it were, and thereby showing her the place she still occupied in all their hearts. From whichever side it was regarded, therefore, the portrait was a happy conception happily carried out, and, when the day of presentation came, the gathering in the walled garden and in the old Hall resembled that of a big family party, Jane Evans, for the moment, being as the mother of us all. The credit of making the suggestion must be divided between Bishop Selwyn,* ' Bishop John,' as Jane Evans called him always, and Mrs. Bond, who, as a Meysey-Thompson, had had six brothers at the House. The following letters show this without any doubt. Writing to Mrs. Bond in June, '97, Bishop Selwyn says : ' You certainly have nailed us to this enterprise. I am writing to Sturgis. Yes, Jinny's modesty is great. I knew the House under her father, and under the rule of her elder sister, and then under her own rule, and there is no comparison which is the best. It is the great wish of my heart to get this picture. Lord Cobham will act, and every one will give. We only want the Committee, and the thing is done.' On a visit to Eton in '97 Mrs. Bond had mentioned .to several members of Jane Evans' family that 'the portrait ought to be painted,' and learning that Bishop * Bishop of Melanesia ; Master of Selwyn College, Cambridge ; d. February 12, '98. JANE EVANS AND HER PORTRAIT 383 Selwyn had expressed the same idea, she wrote to him, receiving the above letter in reply. The next step was to sound Jane Evans herself. At first she fell in with the suggestion, though not without hesi- tation. Then a few days later she wrote begging to be let off. The two letters are very characteristic, and run as follows : June 28, '97. ' My dear Mrs. Bond, 'To attempt to describe my feelings on reading your letter yesterday is quite impossible. Why / should be honoured in such a way is quite past my comprehension. All the work of our House was done by my father and sister, and I have only had to follow on and try to keep up to their standard. I, too, have had such help. My brother and his eldest son are my " sheet anchors," though their help, ex- cepting in the House, is so little to the front. I do the ornamental part, and get all the praise ! It is very humiliating to receive so much in return for so little. When I look back and see what examples we have had, I am ashamed. We are having the result of all their life's work, and much more than we deserve. Friends who, but for our having the care of their boys, we should never have known or even spoken to ; friends, too, from whom we have learnt so much. It has been a great privilege, and they have been our great supporters. I am now thinking of our fellow-workers, our Captains, who have been so true to us, and so loyal to the old House ever since we began. It was my dear father's ideal to have a self- governed House. If the fact of my sitting for my likeness will give any of our old fellow-workers and helpers the least pleasure, I can only bow my head and say " Thank you," feeling at the same time most unworthy. I cannot write any more, but remain, ' Yours very sincerely, 'Jane Evans.' The entry in the diary at this date runs : * Wrote to Mrs. Bond about taking my likeness. I feel so ashamed, and just an upstart !' 384 JANE EVANS AND HER PORTRAIT Then, five days later, comes this, the delight in a joke making its appearance as usual : *July 3. — Wrote to Mrs. Bond to get me off my promise (if possible) to sit for my likeness, and made another suggestion, which will be much better when I am dead and gone.' * My dear Mrs. Bond, ' Is it too late to hope that I may cancel my last letter to you, and beg of you to help me out of my difficulties ? I feel like a dreadful impostor, and begin to hate myself for not having the courage to say "No" to your kind proposition. You have done me a great honour, for which I thank you and all most sincerely ; but if I may go on as I have begun, quietly and peacefully to the end, I shall feel so grateful to you. Were I in favour of cremation, I might suggest that when my time comes, and you still wish to immortalize me, I might be bottled and put into the Museum with other curiosities ! Do help me if not too late, please.' It was, of course, too late ; Bishop Selwyn had already taken the matter in hand, and Howard Sturgis, upon whom the whole brunt of the work was to fall, had accepted the office of Secretary and treasurer of the fund that was to be raised. The first Chairman of the Committee was Bishop Selwyn; but when he died, in February, '98, his place was taken by Lord Cobham, the other members being the Duke of Atholl, Lord Cadogan, Sir J. F. F. Horner, Sir H. Meysey- Thompson (now Lord Knaresborough), R. B. Brett (now Lord Esher), Alfred Lyttelton, Lord St. Cyres, A. G. Chitty, E. Bromley-Martin, and H. Heathcoat- Amory. Upwards of two hundred and fifty former members responded to the appeal, and more would certainly have done so had it been possible to reach them, and to trace their whereabouts. This last difficulty gave the inde- JANE EVANS AND THE ARTIST 385 fatigable secretary endless labour, and no pains were spared. Very shortly afterwards the commission for the portrait was entrusted to Mr, John S. Sargent, R.A., and the first interview between him and his future subject took place at Howard Sturgis' house at Windsor. Jane Evans' diaries give an amusing description of this meeting and the sitting that subsequently followed : 'October 16, '97. — Mrs. Bond came and told me all about the picture, and about Mr. Sargent, whom I am to meet with her. It seems foolish, but can't be helped now.' ' ijth. — Met Mr. Sargent at luncheon with Howard Sturgis. Very alarming !' Then on March 10, the next year, the first sitting takes place, ' Went with Howard Sturgis to Mr. Sargent's studio, where I spent a most amusing time. He, poor man, had a bad cold ; but, after a bit, got quite excited about making a picture of me, and made a sort of outline, which pleased Sturgis, but which I don't think is quite natural.' Nine further sittings are recorded in the diary. It is a well-known fact that both artist and subject thoroughly enjoyed their meetings, and when the last came, Jane Evans writes : 'July 4. — Went to Mr. Sargent's for the last time. It made me feel quite sad that my pleasant afternoons had come to an end.' Mr. Sargent writes * how surprised he was from the first, as every one must have been on meeting her, with the honesty, directness and power of her personality '; and Charles Lyell also tells the following about the sittings : 25 386 PAINTING THE PORTRAIT ' My mother, Lady Lyell, was a mutual friend of my Dame and Sargent, and for the first sitting, and once or twice afterwards, my Dame lunched with us and was then driven down to the Studio. In this way I saw some of the picture painted. At their first meeting, which took place at Howard Sturgis' house at Windsor, both m}'^ Dame and Sargent were in a great fright of each other. My Dame was, or professed to be, terri- fied of meeting a great portrait-painter who had been painting " everybody who was anybody " for some time ; and Sargent afterwards confided to my mother that at first his knees felt like water. No doubt he expected an appalling old dragon who had been con- trolling some fifty untamed young savages for an indefinite number of years. Needless to say, when they met, they fell completely in love with one another ; Sargent was so delighted with her that he made her come up, I believe, to several more sittings than was usual for the completion of one of his portraits ; and we all know what a splendid work he produced.' * At the end of July '98 the picture arrived at Eton, and the following entries occur in the Diary : 'July 22nd — Howard Sturgis came to see where we can hang the picture.' '25//?. — The picture arrived at 1.50. Great excitement. Every one went to see it. Mrs. Woodward says it makes me look very old, and she considers it very bad ! S. very amusing, and much afraid of my growing conceited and thinking the picture like me ! The next day, 26th July was the day of the presenta- tion, and the entry runs : ' Up in good time and full of all that is going to happen to-day. As soon as breakfast was over, I wrote down a few thoughts, in case I should have to speak. Such a number of letters I have to answer to-morrow. . . . All the afternoon Old boys began to arrive, and soon our garden was full of them and our friends. At 5.45 Lord Cobham took me into the Hall and made a * Mr. Sargent has approved of tliis letter being inserted. THE PRESENTATION 387 fine speech, to which 1 read a reply, and the function was over. All soon dispersed and went to see the Fours. Our boys beat Daman's ! !' The proceedings on that summer evening deserve further reference. The old Hall w'as crowded ; many had come long distances ; and the gathering was a very representative one. When the applause that greeted Jane Evans' arrival had died down, Lord Cobham made an effective speech. He alluded to the death of Bishop Selwyn, * knowing with what appro- priateness and with what feeling and eloquence ' he would have performed the task that had now devolved upon himself. He then referred to ' the debt they all owed Howard Sturgis, who had had no assistance in the heavy labours he had undertaken,' and he went on to say that he had ' to present the portrait in the names of the subscribers as a token of their gratitude, admiration, and affection for a lady who had done so much for Eton. It was no light thing for any man or woman to manage a house in Eton for thirty years, and to have kept up the name and reputation of that house at so high and consistent a level. The value was greater when they remembered the means. It had been effected by relying on the very best elements of the boys ; their readiness to obey all appeals to their honour; their pride and sense of responsibility for the good name of their House ; and their loyal and chivalrous devotion to her who had governed them so well and so wisel3^ What had been the mainspring and secret of Miss Evans' success ? It was all summed up in one word — Sympathy, He thought that she had been endowed by nature with the most wonderful measure of sympathy towards that somewhat complex and difficult product of civilization and of nature, the British boy. At all events, it seemed to him that without this quality there would never have been that wonderful and complete understanding that had 25 — 2 388 LORD COBHAM'S SPEECH always prevailed between Miss Evans and her boys. She had always known what to do with them, and also their ways and wants ; and, on the other hand, it was owing to this quality that the boys had always been ready to respond with unquestioning and unswerving loyalty. They knew that boys, like other wild animals — he saw boys present, but he was talking of his own recollections — take to and obey those whom they instinctively see understand them. It was this quality that had been the secret of Miss Evans' success. No doubt it had been enlarged by experience, combined with rare strength of character, but sympathy had been the mainspring and keynote. He now asked them to join with him in presenting this testimonial to Miss Evans, and to ask her to accept it. It was simply the outcome of an earnest desire on the part of the Old boys to give her, while she was 3^et among them, and while their numbers were not very much diminished, this proof of their affection and gratitude, in a shape which he trusted would prove pleasant both to her and to the members of her family, and also would perpetuate the memory of perhaps the last but certainly the best of the Eton Dames.' Lord Cobham then unveiled the portrait, which was hanging at the south end of the Hall, when, amidst renewed cheering, Jane Evans rose to reply. It was no light ordeal, but she faced it with the natural dignity that belonged to her, as well as with almost perfect self-control. She began by saying that she did not know how to thank them all properly, and that, as she could not trust herself to speak, she had written down a few lines. She then read from a sheet of notepaper that lies before the writer at this moment : * It is impossible for me to thank you all sufficiently for what has taken place this evening. I feel most un- worthy to receive all your kindness. At the same JANE EVANS' SPEECH 389 time it affords me an opportunity of giving you a slight Iiistory of our old House, for some time the oldest in Eton. * In 1840 boarding-houses were looked upon as pro- visions for widows and ladies in straitened circum- stances. Bishop Selwyn was at that time Private Tutor to Lord Powis' sons and resided in this house. It was through his influence that my father was induced to succeed a lady who was giving it up. To do this work needed all the tact, sympathy, and character my dear father possessed, and which he gave most generously for many years. The aim and object of his life was to raise the social tone of these houses, and to-day's gathering is a wonderful proof of its success. ' As time went on my father's health failed, and the House suffered in consequence. Then, my eldest sister, with the help of the older boys, brought the standard up again, and I have only had to follow on, my regret being that with all its old traditions and associations it will cease to exist with my life. But I am content to believe and trust that " God buries His workmen but carries on His work." I could not now go on with the House but for the willing help I receive from the members of my own family. It is invidious to mention special names, but, on such an occasion as this, I may be allowed to say how deeply we are indebted to the Selwyns, Meysey-Thompsons and the Lytteltons. Without Neville Lyttelton's assistance my sister would have been helpless, and when my turn came to take the reins I can never forget how much Lacaita did for me, as well as other Captains, not forgetting Edward and Alfred Lyttelton. We try to follow on the same lines, and to-day I am proud to say that we have as good a Captain as there is in the School, and with whom it is a pleasure to be associated. I can only add how deeply I feel the honour done to our family by this presentation, and also by this great gathering of old friends this evening. Before we separate, may I say how much I have enjoyed my visits to Mr. Sargent's studio, and I am very sorry that he is not able to be here to see how thoroughly his portrait is appreciated. Once more I do most heartily and sincerely thank you all.' 390 THE ADDRESS An illuminated address bearing the names of the subscribers accompanied the portrait, the wording running : ' To Miss Jane Evans. * The old boys of your House, whose names you will find in the following list, hope you will accept from them your portrait by Mr. John S. Sargent, R.A., as a token of their respect and affection. You will find among the names some who have passed away since the scheme was first started, especially his who was its original author. If you miss from among them some that you would have expected to find there, you must believe that it is due to accident, and to the diffi- culty that has been experienced in finding those who are scattered about the world, or gone from their old homes. — July 26, 1898.' A balance remained over when all outgoings had been paid, and, at Jane Evans' wish, this was expended in placing on the wall of the passage, close to the Boards, a brass plate in memory of three members of the Selwyn family.* The portrait, which in many quarters is regarded as one of the finest examples of the artist's wonderful genius, was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1899, and in the following year made the journey to Brussels for exhibition there, Jane Evans noting in her diary : 'March 13. — Letter from Brussels requesting the loan of Sargent's picture. Wrote and asked for one thousand g-uineas insurance.' &' The picture went and safely returned, and now finds its temporary home in the Drawing School at Eton. * See p. 32. ■OWle^^ff^^S.. ^^i-(^ix the portmAJz hy J akn. cy.c)aj-^f^efL-t.^yC~.\ ■ now Ihe prc/M-f-ti^ of the^/rmxKyt an-d .jre-llvijrd of the GcLUcf^ CHAPTER XXIV HOUSE MATCHES AND ATHLETICS, 189I-I905 Once again we must turn to the Books and complete the record of the House's doings in Football, Cricket, and Aquatics for the last fifteen years of its history. The contests were often closely fought, but the successes were few. In the previous thirteen years the House had often been well up in the Ties for the Football Cup, but had only once succeeded in winning it. The same record marks these closing years. Only once was the Cup secured ; but to turn to the Table in the Appendix is to see how often the most coveted Cup of all those for which Eton boys compete was nearly being won. Again and again the old House reached the ante-Final, only to be beaten, often by the eventual winners of the Cup, and by a narrow margin. Throughout the whole period there was, save in one year, little real loss of place, and the House continued to show the same consistently high order of skill in the game that had marked its past history. Thus the House won the Cup once, was in the Final once, was in the ante-Final no less than seven times, was beaten in the third Ties five times, was never defeated in the second Ties, and only beaten in the first Ties once, and this for the second time only in its history. The Cricket records show much the same results. The Cup was won once, and was * divided ' once ; twice the House was in the Final ; four times it 391 392 THE FOOTBALL BOOKS reached the ante-Final ; four times it was beaten in the third Ties, and three times in the second. Thus, here also it showed a high level of skill, for in four years out of these fifteen it came out either first or second, and in four more it was either third or fourth. In the case of Aquatics the record is different, principally from the fact that the House was not a wet-bob house. In twelve out of the fifteen years the Books show that the House possessed no Four, or did not enter for the Cup, while in the three years that it did enter it was beaten in the Heats. At the same time, it was not without its successes on the river, as will be presently seen ; but, for the moment, we must go back to the Football records, and show how the House bore itself when it was playing a game in which the whole of its members joined. These last three volumes of the Football Books show an ever-increasing interest in the game : the entries are even fuller than those of earlier days ; the matches played by the House eleven, to help train them for the great contests for the Cup, are more numerous; and that between it and former members is played annually. Now and then a boy who has left brings an eleven from Oxford, or a number of young- soldiers come over from Sandhurst ; while more than one Master in the School gets up a local ' Scratch ' to play against his old House. But it is not only here that keenness shows itself: very often the distin- guishing characteristics of the different players are solemnly set down and criticized ; the phases of par- ticular matches are considered and commented upon ; and, occasionally, some one from outside writes his views of what took place, and endeavours to trace the cause of defeat, or to point the way to victory. The steady growth in the popularity of the game in the country is reflected here, and we find football treated SOUTH MEADOW 393 with a seriousness that was but the counterpart of what the outside world was doing in its daily press. To many of us the Books present another picture : they carry us back to South Meadow — the meadow where the House-games had been played for over sixty years : we look again over the grey landscape in the mellow autumn days ; we recall the time when the game totalled over twenty a side, when the small fry never touched the ball, unless by chance it hit them, when the huge bullies swung this way and that, much as a pack of starlings wheel at sundown. We grew older in time, and took a better place in the breathless struggles, vicing in the grey mist or in the windy weather with the very best, as we fought and sweated, always with the aim of winning in the end the red shirt and the red cap, with the skull and cross- bones just above the peak. We were all young once. * 'Tis always morning somewhere in the world ': at Eton it is never anything else ; and thus, as one thinks of it, one couples with it the dawn of life, clear skies, the radiant morning, and hopes undimmed. In the first four of these years {'gi-'g4) the House was in the Final or ante-Final on each occasion. In the ante-Final of '91, the first match, with A. C. James', was a tie, but in the second we were defeated by a goal and a rouge to nothing. The following year the Final was reached. Our antagonists were Mitchell's ; the Captain and keeper of the Book, G. F. H. Dickson, opening his account with — ' What can be more heartrending for me than to write an account of my Dame's defeat, and that, too, in a Final ! The last House-match in which I shall ever play, besides being the one Cup for which my Dame's seek with an undying keenness.' The match was a close one, the House losing by two rouges to nothing. In both the two following- years the House was again beaten in the ante-Final : 394 FOOTBALL TIES in the first by Mitchell's, the Book recording that 'they were outplayed, and did not deserve victory'; and in the second by Broadbent's.* Then came two years in which the House was beaten in the third Ties : in '95 by a rouge, by Impey's, after a drawn match ; and in '96 by Mitchell's, for the fourth time in seven years. The match was a hotly- contested one, and the account of it extends to four closely-written pages by C. H. K. Marten. The House lost on this occasion by a goal and a rouge, Mitchell's ultimately winning the Cup. The year '97 found the House still out of luck, Impey's beating them in the ante-Final by a goal to a rouge. The next year, however, when they were beaten in the third Ties by A. C. James', a bright gleam came from another quarter, the Lower-boys securing the Lower-boy Cup for the first time for fifteen years. There was a large exodus from the House in the course of the 3^ear '99, and when the Football half came round again only two old choices remained, L. Heathcoat-Amory and W. H. P. Lewis. The House, however, reached the ante-Final ; but were defeated, after a draw, by the winners of the Cup, Austen-Leigh's, and by a forced rouge to nothing. The Book records that several of our team were unfit to play through illness, but that, 'on the whole, the best side won.' Once again, in 1900, we were beaten by the winners of the Cup, Hare's, and by a goal to nothing. So again in 1901 : the House reached the ante-Final and then succumbed, for the third year running, to the ultimate winners ; on this occasion Radcliffe's. But the Lower-boys were more success- ful, the Book recording that — 'With 29 Lower-boys in the House it was only right that we should win ; but we will hope that the * The Book has been mutilated at this point, and three pages have been cut out. HOUSE BEATEN IN FIRST TIES 395 result was due to quality of football talent as much as to quantity. In Chinnery, the Gibbs family, and Clifton Brown, and perhaps Fenn, my Dame's have very promising players, who we hope may be de- pended upon to win the House Cup in three or four years' time.' Thus the Lower-boys won the Cup, for the sixth time. The hope expressed above was destined to be fully realized; but what was looked upon as a disgrace had first to be experienced. In 1902 the House, for the second time only in its history, succumbed in the first Ties, and under circumstances that made their defeat more difficult to bear. Their opponents were de Haviland's, and the opening and closing words of E. L, Gibbs' account runs : ' This shocking defeat occurred on Thursday, the 27th November. It is bad enough to be beaten in first Ties, but to be beaten by a house without colours is too awful for words. ... It is strange to think of Evans' being turned out in first Ties : in fact, the name of Evans' has up to now hardly been associated with first Ties, and I hope it never will be in future. The House is very young all through, and I cannot find fault with anyone's play in particular.' An unprecedented event marked the contest for the Lower-boy Cup in 1903, when the Lower-boys of the House met those of Broadbent's four times, and finally beat them, losing the Cup, however, in the ante-Final in their match with Radcliffe's. The House eleven had succumbed to Rawlins' in the third Ties this year; but at length there came an end to this long story of defeats, and 1904 saw the Cup once again in a place from which it had been too long absent.* The account of the match, which was against Impey's, covers five * It will be noticed that the House also won the Cricket Cup this year. 396 THE HOUSE WINS THE CUP closely-written pages, and must be summarized. The House eleven was thus composed, the Captain, Hammond-Chambers, being spoken of as 'the best long-behind in the School, and, indeed, the best behind ': H. B. Hammond-Chambers. R. V, Gibbs. E. F. Chinnery. A. V. Agar-Robartes. C. Clifton-Brown. [. L. Merivale. C. M. Bonham. L M. Buller. F. A. W. Gibbs. B. Collins- Wood. A. C. Tumor. The match was played on December 22 in a thick fog, and was at first of a very even character. Nothing was scored in the first half-hour ; but after ' change ' R. V. Gibbs, 'with a fine run down,' obtained a rouge. The House was unable to force this; but out of the loose bully Clifton-Brown 'put the ball through the goal in a truly marvellous way.' This stroke won the match ; nothing further was scored ; and when ' time ' was called the ball was on Impey's line, and the House remained the winners by a goal and a rouge to nothing. The House took the field in 1905 with the following eleven, destined to be its last : C. Clifton-Brown. E. C. B. Dale. C. M. Bonham. A. C. Turnor. R. V. Gibbs. R. C. Ansdell. A. V. Agar-Robartes. E. G. P. Lewis. B. Collins- Wood. R. H. G. Collins. G. M. Gibbs. After defeating Kindersley's and Broadbent's, they reached the ante-Final once more, and were then defeated by William's on the i8th December by the narrow margin of a rouge to nothing. But if the House thus lost the House Cup in its last year, the Lower-boys were again successful. The descriptions of the matches now extend to a great -^ ,_^ ^ 'EVANS' CHAMPIONS' 397 length, and even to the Lower-boys' matches as much as eight pages are given in place of the single para- graph of former times. Two pages are also devoted to * the characters of the Lower-boy eleven.' The names of the last Lower-boy eleven deserve to be recorded, for the Lower-boys had played their part in the football history of the House, and had won the Cup seven times in all since the date of its institution in 1865 : R. C. B. Gibbs. C. J. Hoffnung-Goldsmid. A. T. Storey. W. G. Houldsworth. R. Mansel. W. M. Armstrong. J. L. Clowes. D. H. W. Alexander. J. G. Graham. P. Leigh-Smith. B. M. M. Edwards. The 'Book of Evans' Champions' has not often been referred to. It shows, however, how large a number of the House found a place in the Field, the Oppidan, and the Mixed Wall elevens. Many have already been mentioned, and in these last fifteen years as many good players were furnished to the School by the House as at any previous period in its history. The records of '86 and '88 were not repeated,* but the note below shows that the House more often than not had at least one representative in the Field, and some- times two.t The Field game is the game of the houses, and the House Cup is for the House that can produce the best eleven at the game. To pass in review here the whole history of the football of the House appears to be unnecessary. A sufficient space has been already allotted to it, even though this may be a long way 1^ In '86 A. V. Evans, H. Clifton-Brown, and F. A. Thellusson were in the Field ; and in '88 H. Heathcoat-Amory, E. Clifton-Brown, A. B. Marten, and H. F. Wright. t '91, J. A. Morrison ; '93, G. E. Bromley-Martin and P. E. Thellusson; '97, D. Clifton-Brown; '98, S. M. Macnaghten (second Keeper) and L. Heathcoat-Amory ; '99, L. Heathcoat-Amory ; 1904, H. B. B. Hammond-Chambers ; 1905, C. Clifton-Brown and R. V. Gibbs. 398 FOOTBALL SUMMARY from satisfying those who have pressed for a record of ' all the matches.' The Football Books number seven volumes, containing upwards of 1,700 pages of manuscript, and to fulfil this last request is impossible. Some day, perchance, these Books may find a place with all the others in an Evans Memorial, and then those who care to fight their battles again may reach down a volume, and, while reading of old exploits, feel once more young, as in the morning of their days in the Eton fields. All we can do here is to set out our simple record and summary, leaving it to speak for itself, without idle boasting, which is poor form, and without any blowing of trumpets. Thus we find that, in forty-six years, the House Won the Cup 7 times; Retained it ... ... ... ... once; Was in the Final 9 times ; Was in the ante-Final ... ... 12 times; Reached the third Ties ... ... 8 times ; Was beaten in the second Ties 7 times ; And in the first Ties only twice. The House was well represented in the Cricket Eleven almost all through this period, and in only six out of the fifteen years was no member to be found playing for the School. In one year three boys would have been playing at Lord's had not W. H. Greenly fallen ill two days before the match ; and in two other years there were two. The 12th man was also a member of the House in '91, '93, and '94. The record is, on the whole, a good one, when it is remembered that over 500 boys in the School were acknowledged dry-bobs.* * The members in the Eleven appear to have been as follows : '91, H. St. (1. Peacock (C. E. Alington 12th man) ; '92, d. E. Bromley-Martin and H. F. W. Bircham ; '93, G. E. Bromley-Martin, CRICKET 399 The Cricket records show the same ups and downs as those of Football in the House's efforts to win the Cup. The Book is often badly kept in the earlier years, though, later on, the accounts of the matches are furnished with a wealth of detail sufficient to satisfy the most exacting. All we can do here is to treat of the prominent contests, dealing more fully with the occasions when the House was in for the Final. A good many years were destined to go by ere the Cup was woxi, and in several of these the House was met and defeated by their old antagonists, Mitchell's. In '91 the House was in the Final with A. C. James', who had won the Cup three times running. Bromley- Martin scored 62 in the first innings out of a total of 114. James's responded with a total of 125, and the match promised to be an even one ; but in the end the House was beaten by 8 wickets. In '94, after having been beaten by Hale's in the second Ties in '92 and by Broadbent's in the third lies in '93, the House was again in the Final with Mitchell's. The match was a good one, the highest scorers for the House being G. E. Bromley-Martin, 39 ; and B. O. Bircham, who made 23 in each innings. The totals were, for the House, 136 and 94, and for Mitchell's 181 and 100; Mitchell's being thus left the winners by 51 runs. Of this last match and of the cricket of this period, G. E. Bromley- Martin, one of the finest cricketers the House produced, gives the following interesting account : * In '89 we had not a great cricket side, but Wright got his colours for the Eleven. In the third Ties we Captain, and H. F. W. Bircham (W. H. Greenly 12th man) ; '94, G. E. Bromley-Martin, Captain (F. B. Robertson 12th man); '95, F. B. Robertson ; '98, E. G. Martin and S. M. Macnaghten ; '99, E. G. Martin ,• 1902, G. A. Sandeman ; 1905, E. F. Chinnery. 400 G. E. BROMLEY-MARTIN'S LETTER played Mitchell's, and it was in this match that I first played for the House. They had a good side, with Tollemache in the Eleven, and Bathurst who had played the year before, but who had been left out in '89, and a good level side all through. Mitchell's beat us pretty comfortably. 'In 1890 we again had rather a wretched side at cricket. Peacock was captain, and, I think, Alington the only other player in Upper Club. We got beaten early in the proceedings ; but won the Junior Cup, beating Broadbent's in the Final. ' In '91, in the Cricket half, Alington, who was 12th man at Lord's, was our captain, and we also had H. St. G. Peacock, who kept wicket at Lord's, and R. A. Bennett, who afterwards played for Hampshire ; while I was in the twenty-two. We had a good batting side, but our bowling was rather poor stuff. However, we got into the Final, where we met Arthur James'. They had D. H. Forbes and H. A. Arkwright, who were the first two bowlers for the School, both being more than useful bats in House matches, and F. C. France-Hayhurst, who was also in the Eleven. We got them out fairly easily in the first innings ; but had not made enough ourselves, and were eventually beaten by 8 wickets. * In the Junior Cup that year I was captain. We were favourites, but got beaten in the ante-Final by Hale's, or rather by C. C. Pilkington, whose first year it was, and who was the best for his age I ever saw, both as a bat and bowler. * In '93 we had a very good side on paper. Myself, Greenly, and H. W. F. Bircham in the Eleven ; but we had a miserable collapse against Broadbent's, and failed both to get any runs or to get them out. I remember H. B. Chinner}-, who got his Eleven next year and afterwards played for Surrey, made his mark in this game, and we were bowled out, I believe, b}-' one, Buckley, who had never bowled well before, and perhaps never did again. ' In '94 we had, besides myself, F. B. Robertson (12th man), and Corbett, a good wicket-keeper and in the Twenty-two. We had a pretty easy time, and beat Radcliffe's easily in the ante-Final on a sticky wicket. It was a cruelly wet end to the summer half, EVANS' V. MITCHELL'S, '94 4oi and it was always a mud-lark. We played Mitchell's in the Final. It was a real good game ; but they had the luck, winning the toss and going in when the wicket was soaking wet and very easy. We couldn't get a foothold or a grip on the ball bowling, at first ; and they got sixty before we got a wicket. The wicket gradually got more difficult, and we got them out pretty quickly at the finish. * In our first innings, all went well at the beginning, especially as one luckless person dropped me twice ; but unfortunately this same person was standing short-leg, and I hit one as hard as I could straight into his stomach, and there it stuck : I don't think he ever touched it with his hands. They had a bit of a lead on the first innings, and we got them out fairly cheaply in the second ; but I remember a rather im- portant catch being dropped which made a lot of difference. We had, I think, about 150 to win; but we started badly by Corbett and myself getting mixed up, and I was run out. Eventually, though Robertson played very well, we were beaten by 51 runs. It was that miserable 60 in the first innings, when the ground was wet and the ball greasy, that did us.' The following year the House reached the ante- Final, when it was defeated by Austen-Leigh's by three wickets, the scores having been lost ; and then followed four years when nothing of note was achieved. In '96, after playing for three days against A. C. James', they were called upon to begin a match in the evening against Mitchell's. They were all tired out, and were dismissed for 19 runs. Having got Mitchell's out for 159, they * were anxious to have a good go ' at their old enemy ; but were called upon by the Captain of the Eleven to * scratch.' The two following years they were beaten in the third Ties ; first by Mitchell's, when they had again to * scratch ;' and in '98 by Impey's, the scores being once more lost. In '97 the Lower-boy Cup is referred to as ' the Junior Cup'; but not until the next year does the book record any alteration in regard to the matches. The 26 402 EVANS' V. HARE'S, 1900 entry, in '98, runs : ' There was a new alteration in the method of playing for this Cup, and every house played each other on the Football League system.* The Cup was won by the Lower-boys of the House in '97, when they beat Impey's by an innings and 46 runs. In 1900, after having lost to Rawlins' in the second Ties in '99, the House was in the Final with Hare's. In the second Ties they had beaten Mitchell's, after an exciting match, by 18 runs, and there seemed to be a good chance of winning the Cup. But the weather put an end to the contest, as will be seen, the account in the Book running as follows : * My Dame's reached the Final for the first time since '94 ; but, unfortunately, we were greatly handicapped by the loss of three out of the first four choices in the House Eleven. The start was considerably delayed owing to rain and the fact that the other two Houses had not finished their Tie in the ante-Final. We did not begin until about 8 o'clock on Wednesday after- noon. My Dame's lost the toss and were sent in to bat, with the double disadvantage of a wet wicket and failing light ; we played for about three-quarters of an hour, when it came on to pour, which made it impos- sible to play any more that evening. ' The match was resumed at 10.30 on Thursday, with our score at 34 for i wicket. The wicket improved quickly as the day went on, and by some very even scoring we reached the respectable total of 230. On their going in, runs came at a good pace, and we were somewhat fortunate to get Tomkinson out as we did. Murray and Buckstone made a long stand before they were dismissed, but this was owing to some bad pieces of fielding by my Dame's, several catches being dropped that should have been easily held. At this perioa my Dame's fielding became demoralized, and Hannay was allowed to make a lot of runs, being missed no less than five times. We eventually got them out for 301. On batting again, we lost one wicket for about 30. We had decided to go on playing if necessary till 4 o'clock on Friday ; but on Friday morning it was pouring with rain, and as there seemed no likelihood EVANS' V. HARE'S, 1900 403 of its stopping for at least 24 hours, we agreed to divide tlie Cup, my Dame's to keep it next half, and Hare's for the other two halves.' The score of this unfinished match stood as follows : THE FINAL, 1900. MISS EVANS'. First Innings. M. F. Blake, b Tomkinson ... M. S. Smith, b Murray R. E. P. Lewis, b Holbeach ... C. R. Blake, b Murray J. W. Boden, c Drake, b Murray E. F. Chinnery, l.b.w., b Holbeach M. S. Johnstone, c & b Murray J. S. Mellor, c Lacon, b Murray W. O. Gibbs, run out H. M. Stobart, not out G. A. C. Sandeman, b Murray B 8, l.b. 4, w 2, n.b. 3 43 7 20 29 19 22 4 21 20 15 13 17 230 Second Innings. not out not out b Holbeach , 26 10 o 36 J. H. M. HARE'S. M. Tomkinson, c Sandeman, b Smith Murray, c & b M. F. Blake M. Buckstone, c & b M. F. Blake . Holbeach, c M. F. Blake, b Gibbs , Lacon, c Sandeman, b M. F. Blake . C. Cumberbatch, b Sandeman R. Palmer, b Lewis R. O. Hannay, c Sandeman, b M. F. M. Johnson, c Smith, b Mellor R. H. Townsend, c & b Sandeman G. H. Drake, not out B 6, l.b. I, n.b. 2 Blake 22 70 51 o 13 24 17 64 27 o 4 9 301 The House, as usual, continued to come out well in the Ties, and in the two following years reached the ante-Final, though they were badly beaten by Hare's in 1901, and by Donaldson's, who won the Cup for the second time running, in 1902. No data are forthcoming for 1903, when the House succumbed in the second Ties. The Lower-boys, or Juniors, again distinguished themselves in 1903. Having won all their matches, 26 — 2 404 EVANS' WIN THE CUP they were in the Final with WilHams', defeating them by an innings and four runs. They thus won this Cup for the fifth time. Then came a year, 1904, when the House Cup was fairly won. Their opponents were Donaldson's, and the House's success was mainly due to a remarkable innings by E. F. Chinnery. The Chronicle describes the House eleven as ' undoubtedly a one-man side,* the account being pasted into the Book, with the following remarks by Chinnery : * As to the account of the Final which appeared in the Chronicle, it is necessary to say that I did not bribe the reporter ; also that Chambers' services are some- what underrated, especially his bowling, as he was only rested for a few overs in the first innings during the whole of the match. Great praise is also due to Bonham, who only let two balls by him throughout the match. Donaldson's bowling was poor, Methuen had sprained a tendon. Both Bankes and Naylor played the luckiest innings they will ever play, Bankes skying four balls running over slip's head for 4.' The following is the score : THE FINAL, 1904. MISS EVANS'. First Innings. E. F. Chinnery, run out 179 Second c W. Gibbs beck ... Innings. , b H. Birk- H. R. Chambers, run out 19 not out... 22 L. M. Duller, run out c W. Gibbs, b Birkbeck 5 C. C. Brown, c Gibbs, b H. Birkbeck 18 not out... 10 E. J. C. David, c & b H. Birkbeck 4 R. V. Gibbs, b Methuen I G. F. Kingscote, c Mulholland, b Methuen 16 A. V. Agar Robartes, c Naylor, b H. Birkbeck I G. V. Wellesley, c Methuen, b Birk- beck 19 C. M. lionham, not out R. C Brooke, c Bankes b Methuen Extras 16 Extras 9 273 Total (2 wkts) 46 THE CRICKET RECORD 405 S. A. DONALDSON'S. Second Innings. 45 34 6 run out b Chambers c Brooke, b Chambers II 22 35 c ChamberSjb Chinnery c C. Brown, Ij Chambers 47 12 I 21 24 30 7 c Robartes,b Chambers c Robartes, b Chambers c David, b Chinnery... c Bonham, b Chinnery run out 1 10 2 3 3 3 not out Extras I First Innings. H. A. Birkbeck, b Chambers G. W. Birkbeck, b Chambers p. Methuen, b Chinnery D. C. Bingham, c Bonham, b Chinnery S. M. Naylor, run out H. Mulnolland, c Chambers, b Chinnery W. C. Gladstone, run out R. W. Bankes, b Brooke W. D. Gibbs, not out A. W. Chve, b Brooke R. G. Peek, b Brooke Extras 209 109 Only one year remains to be recorded. In 1905 the House once more reached the ante-Final, the last match being against Stone's and the site of it Agar's Plough. The highest scorer for the House was E. J. David, who is said to have played ' delightful cricket,' and who made 41 and 48. The Totals for the House were 218 and 125. Stone's made 311 in their first innings, and hit off the 33 required to win without the loss of a wicket. This concludes the cricket records of the House. Since the institution of the Cup in i860, the House had won it six times and divided it once, and if this in no way compares to the phenomenal successes of Mitchell's, so often their opponents, Evans', in the House-cricket annals for these forty-six years, stands at least second in the list. It has been found impossible to compile a summary of the Cricket Ties as was done in the case of Football, for the simple reason that no records remain of many of the matches, or even with whom they were played. The House Book was not written up, and the Chronicle^ no doubt for want of space, does not always give the result of the earlier Ties. If, however, we eliminate the year 1890, which remains blank, and take the 4o6 AQUATICS period from 1878 onwards, it is possible to trace the House's doings continuously, and to see how often it was either second or third for this Cup. In these twenty-eight years, then, it stood very high in no less than fifteen ; it was in the Final six times and in the ante-Final seven, while it won the Cup once and divided it once. In 1891 J. A. Morrison was captain of the House boating, and was in the Eight this year as well as in '92. The Boating Book had not been written up since '87, but it was now started again, through Morrison's agency, the two remaining volumes being full of details and the Books often beautifully kept. The races for the Junior Pulling and Junior Sculling, races for boys in Lower Boats, show an ever-increasing number of entries. In '91 there were ten heats in the first round and four in the second ; two heats in the ante-Final and six boats in the Final. The boats are often ranged in two rows, and the descriptions recall the races of earlier days, though it is fair to say that the proceedings are now very orderly. Various changes take place in the Aquatic life of the School at this period. A new race makes its appear- ance in '91 — Novice Pulling, a Cup being given by one of the Masters, S. A. Donaldson. Several other races are also mentioned for the first time, such as Lower Eights for boys in Lower Boats ; Novice Sculling and Novice Eights, for those without colours, the crews for these last being selected and the Eights stroked by a boy in Lower Boats. Then come Lower-boy Pulling and Sculling, established to give the younger ones something to row for ; and lastly, the Bumping races, and Junior Bumping House Fours. In all these numerous contests, as well as in the older School races, the House often had its representa- AQUATICS 407 tives, though its members do not appear to have occupied a very prominent place in the results.* In 1891 J. A. Morrison won the School Pulling, and this was the only great success the House achieved. During these fifteen years, the House only entered for House Fours three times. In '92 they were beaten by Donaldson's ; in '98 by Lowry's, St, Aubyn, who was in the Eight the following year and who is spoken of as a fine oar, being captain of House Aquatics ; and in '99, when the race was rowed for the first time on sliding seats, by White-Thomson's — on each occa- sion in the Heats. The House was much indebted at this time to R. S. de Havilland, one of the Masters, who took great pains in coaching the crews ; but the large majority of the House continued to be dry-bobs, and those in the Boats were very few. The House possessed a member of the Eight in 1902 in G. M. A. Graham. The year was marked by the institution of the Junior Bumping House Fours. The original idea had been that each house should enter a Four for the race, subject to a fine for not doing so. Bi^t this raised a storm of disapproval among those who were interested in rowing at Eton, and it was pointed out that such a race would mean a strain on the young Novices rowing in such contests, while it would often entail a member of the Eight, after his severe training for Henley, * having to row three in- competent companions over the course four nights in succession.' Added to this, bumping races were con- sidered unsatisfactory where level races were possible. The scheme thus fell to the ground, and, as a sub- stitute, it was decided that the race should be open to members of Lower Boats and Novices, this plan being referred to as * a clever compromise.' The boats were * It has been found impossible to trace many of the successes of the boys of the House, as often no initials are given — a practice common even in the case of the Newcastle — and there being nothing to denote whether they were members of Evans' or not 4o8 BUMPING RACES to start in order of seniority of the houses. College had two boats, A and B, the former being head of the ist Division, and our Dames' ranking next. Twenty- one Fours competed, in three divisions ; and in the end College maintained its position at the head of the River, Vaughan's being second and the House third. The race should have been won by the House in 1903 ; it was lost by bad steering. Starting 3, they bumped Vaughan's the first night, and College A the next. ' The third night,' the Book records, ' was a howling failure. Soon after the Railway Bridge, the rudder- strings appear to have got loose ; any way, the cox. lost his head and ran into the bank, breaking the nose of the boat, the result being that The Dame's was bumped by College A. The fourth night was also unsuccessful, owing chiefly to bad coxing again. We had not bumped to the Railway Bridge. There, the crew was called on to spurt, to which they responded well ; but, just as they overlapped, the cox. pulled the rudder and missed the College boat. This was re- peated twice more, but the crew were too much done to spurt again, and The Dame's finished second : they were undoubtedly the fastest crew on the river. The following were the crew : G. V. Wellesley, D. Leigh- Pemberton, Hope-Douglas, and F. G. Arkwright.' The next year the House was again third; but in 1905 better luck attended their efforts. Twenty-five boats competed, the House showing some of the old spirit by putting on a second Four, composed of dry- bobs. The first Four was coached by W. A. Ellison, O.U.B,C, ; but the dry-bobs had no coaching at all. The names of the first crew were Nash, Ansdell, Collins-Wood and Jackson, with Armstrong cox.; the dry-bob Four being Clifton-Brown, Merivale, Clegg, Agar-Robartes, and Greaves as cox. The dry- bobs are said to have rowed ' remarkably well, making- some very good spurts, and very nearly bumping their FIVES AND RACQUETS 409 first and third nights.' They started last but one, and finished up last ; while the regular Four bumped College A and finished about four lengths ahead ot them. Thus the House's two Fours were head and bottom of the River respectively. With this the history of the House Aquatics comes to an end. The records of the various periods must be left to speak for themselves. A new volume was purchased for 1906, and the events of the Easter half were entered by the last Captain of the House Aquatics, E. W. B. Collins-Wood ; but ere the half had scarcely opened, Jane Evans had been taken to her rest, Various other events remain to be recorded. The House contained several excellent Fives and Racquet players in the middle of the period we are considering, and its successes here were very marked. G. E. Bromley-Martin won the School Fives with C. C. Pilkington* in '94 ; the House Fives Cup being secured no less than four times in five years : in '98 and '99 by S. M. Macnaghten and L. Heathcoat- Amory ; in 1900 by L. Heathcoat- Amory and W. H. P. Lewis ; and in 1902 by G. A. C. Sande- man and H. M. Stobart.t The House thus won this Cup, in all, nine times. Added to this, the School Fives was again won in '99, by S. M. Macnaghten and K. Kinnaird ;* in 1900 by L. Heathcoat-Amory and F. A. U. Pickering;* and in 1902 by G. A. Sandeman and E. C. D. Rawlins.* S. M. Macnaghten distinguished himself greatly in Racquets in '99, winning the Single Racquets and also the Double Racquets with I. A. de la Rue.* That same * Not a member of Evans'. f This Cup was kept, after winning it three years in succession and a duplicate was supplied for the School. 4IO TWO MINOR HOUSE CUPS year he played with de la Rue for the Public Schools Challenge Cup, and won it for Eton.* The successes of the House in School Athletics were small ; and two minor House Cups started in this period were never won at all. The first of these, dating from 1893, is the Athletic Cup, taken by the house that secures the greatest number of successes in the athletics of the School ; and the other is the Singing Cup, which dates from 1894. There is no record of the House's performances in this last, and it looks as if its musical talent had burnt itself out with Hubert Parry. * Macnaghten died in South Africa (see letter from M. F. Blake, P- 423)- CHAPTER XXV REMINISCENCES, 189O-I906 — THE CHARACTER OF THE HOUSE — LETTERS FROM S. J. SELWYN, G. E. BROMLEY- MARTIN, CHARLES LYELL, LAWRENCE BUXTON, M. F. BLAKE, C. CLIFTON-BROWN, F. LACAITA, AND E. V. GIBBS Not much remains to be told of what may be called the interior history of the House. To look at the Boards is to find the old names repeating themselves more and more often as the 'nineties run out and the sand in the glass gets low. The affection of former members seems to grow always in intensity ; many realize that Evans' stands as the last relic of older Eton, and though their steps do not often take them to their old haunts, their hearts are there, for they know that the system is still the same, and that one is ruling over the House whom all men admire and all boys love. So their sons shall go there if only there is place, and no matter at what sacrifice. The years run on, but there is time yet. Our Dame grows older, but there is time yet. It is always so : all things must come to an end ; but there is always the catching at the straws, and the cry, * Not yet — not yet.' Thus, taking much the same period as was done in the case of athletics, 1 890-1906, we run down the panels in the passage and find the same names here at the close that occurred at the very opening of our story : Stewart-Murray, Croft, Bircham, Selwyn, Kinglake, Thellusson, Strutt, Meysey - Thompson, Arkwright, 411 412 CHANGES Freeman-Mitford, Buchanan-Riddell, Parry, Keppel, Robartes, Gibbs, Bentinck, Leveson-Gower, Spencer, and many and many another. And so it is if we turn to the book wherein Jane Evans entered, and often with a smile and a joke as she wrote, the names of boys that she knew quite well she could never live to see : in the years that are still to come, the name of a Lyttelton yet figures on the page, though he was never destined to wear the red shirt. But Jane Evans, at the opening of the period before us, had many years of usefulness still left to her : there was no sign of loss of vigour, as we have seen by the Diaries ; the old brightness and wit shone clear as ever, the charm of her presence increased, and her influence grew always wider and more deep in the sphere of her long life's work. Changes were occurring all about her, at Eton as in the wider world ; and if she occasionally almost resented some of these, that attacked old-established custom in the School, she had at least the satisfaction of feeling that the boys who came to her house were of much the same stamp as their forefathers. They might have other ideas and other aims, and look at things, perhaps, in a different way ; but there was a link between her and them nevertheless. Then, again, education was being regarded more seriously : competition was telling its tale ; the teachers and the taught were more alive to their responsibilities and duties, and more was ex- pected from both. Many of those, too, who came to the School in ever-increasing numbers, were strangers to Eton tradition, attracted there by the glamour of a great name, and these created something of a new atmosphere, and the face of man}^ things was altered. But the House was for long unaffected by this sur- rounding atmosphere, and those who came to it and lived the old happy life were still, for the most part, the sons of fathers who had gone in and out of the DARK SHADOWS 413 same door, who had slept in the same rooms, worn the same colours, and to whom the name of Eton was very precious, and that of Evans' no less dear as a part of it. By almost universal testimony, the tone and character of the House altered little; but there came, nevertheless, a time when it was not what it once had been, and of this it is necessary to say a word. Much has been written of the House's successes, of its tone and character, of the place it occupied in Eton life, of the men it sent out into the world. But is this book to be that, and that alone ? We were ever judged to have a good opinion of ourselves by our school- fellows ; and therefore it is all the more important that we should not hide our shortcomings here. At one period during the years we are considering there can be no doubt that the House fell somewhat in the estimation of the rest of the School. The period was a short one, but the House then passed through a phase that cut, to the very quick, her who ruled it and those who loved it no less dearly than herself. To some who looked on, the light seemed to have gone out and Evans' to be falling from the position it once occupied. This is not the place for details or the discussion of reasons and causes : that is not the object of these lines. The object rather is this : to act according to the dictates of common manfulness, and to own that we of the House know the indictment to be true. It does not fall within the compass of human endeavour that justice should infallibly reach the most guilty. For one that is punished another goes scot-free ; and man is fallible still. That is but the commonest of truisms. Thus, while more than one that was bad, and that was doing harm, was sent away during this epoch, more than one as guilty remained behind and ran his Eton life as though unstained. The example was made ; but the con- 414 THE DAWN OF A NEW DAY tamination remained. To read through the most private passages in Jane Evans' diaries, as to scan carefully the letters that have reached the writer's hands from other sources, is to realize the perplexity that must often seize the mind of him or her who tries to rule a house in a great school : such moments must always come to those who put their hands to a task beset with such inherent difficulties. They may strive for the light, yet remain for long groping in the dark. But just as no true endeavour ever altogether misses its mark, so here, too, there will come, and there must always come, the dawning of a new day, the awakening of new life, the triumph — if only the aim be pure — of the good over the evil in the end. The old House passed into a shadow in its later days ; but that shadow was dispelled. Then, at last, black- ness lay behind and light broke again, clear as day- dawn. Once again, as in the past, the House shook itself free, and then returned to its true course, re- gained its old famiC, and carried its good name, bright as it had ever been, untarnished to the end. A number of those belonging to this last decade give promise of being no less distinguished than their forbears : some have already made their mark as soldiers in the field ; others are making their voices heard in Parliament ; and many more are doing good work in the world in numberless spheres, both at home and abroad. The Bar, Science, the Civil Service, the Church, the Army, the City have claimed their votaries, and scattered over the country are numbers * doing the thing that's nearest,' possessed of many ideals, and aware of the responsibilities that belong to time and means. And so we must turn to the last batch of letters, and pick out from them those that seem most representative and of greatest interest. Many have written, and if in such a work as this overlapping and repetition are unavoidable, the points THE SELWYNS 415 of view of a number of writers on the same subject are not without interest. Few names of all those associated with the House stand out more prominently than that of Selwyn. The foundation of the House is traceable, in a large degree, to the Bishop, George Augustus Selwyn, who once lived within its walls ; the name of another Bishop, John Richardson Selwyn, is connected with its best and its happiest traditions ; the Brass in the passage is familiar to all ; and on the Boards the name may be found at intervals almost throughout its history. The note at the foot of this page* gives a short record of those who boarded at the House, and the following are extracts from a letter from S. J. Selwyn, the last of them all : * My own stay at Evans' was peculiarly undis- tinguished. The boys I remember best, when I was a Lower-boy, were the present Earl Percy and his brother, Lord Josceline Percy. The latter was always delicate, and I regretted to read of his death a few years ago.f He had a beautiful character in every respect. One of the most promising boys at the House in my time was W. H. Greenly, now a Brevet- Major and D.S.O., 12th Lancers. J. A. Morrison was also a most capable fellow ; in the Eight, and very dis- tinguished in scholarship. He was M.P. for Wilton, * (i) William, son of George Augustus, Bishop, '$2-^7 ; Vicar of Bromfield, Shropshire, since '66 ; also Prebendary of Hereford. (2) His younger brother, John Richardson, '54-'62, a famous oar; Bishop of Melanesia, '77-'92 ; Master of Selwyn College, '93-'98 ; died February 12, '98. (3) Their first cousin, Charles William, '/o-'Z^, Keeper of the Field ; joined Royal Horse Guards ; sat for Wisbeach Division of Cambridgeshire, '86-'9i ; died in New Zealand, '93. (4) William George, '78-'84, son of the above William Selwyn ; after- wards Secretary to the Governor of Ceylon, Sir A. Gordon (now Lord Stanmore), '88-'9o ; took Orders, '91 ; died of fever when Curate of Bishop Auckland, October 5, '93. (5) Harry Jasper, '82-'86, son of Lord Justice Selwyn, and half-brother of the above Charles William ; served in the LY. in South Africa. (6) Stephen John, '88-'93, son of the above John Richardson, Trinity College, Cambridge, where he rowed in the Trial Eights, '95-'96; took Orders, '98; now a curate- in-charge in Handsworth, Staffordshire. t Died 1898. 4i6 R. J. STRUTT Wilts, twice. Charles Lyell, with whom I messed for years, is a prominent politician and is M.P. for East Dorset. He was one of the pall-bearers at my Dame's funeral. ' But the chief centre of attraction in Evans' House was my Dame herself. It always seemed to me that her character was singularly like that of Queen Victoria ; homely, but with a wonderful grasp of affairs and a splendid memory. She was very seldom any- thing else but sunny and bright, and always most kind and soft-hearted when anyone was in real trouble, though sharp in discovering shams. ' The whole of my Dame's establishment was con- ducted more on the patriarchal system than any other house 1 know at any school. The midday dinner in the beautiful old Hall recalled the Baronial feasts in the Middle Ages ; while, day by day, cows ambled up the Yard to be milked, and I suppose nearly loo people of all sorts and kinds fed daily under that roof.' R. J. Strutt* ('89-'94) gives one of those instances of the character of the man belying that of the boy, which, for every reason, claims prominent notice here : ' With regard to boys who are now dead,' he writes, ' I can mention only one, M. Gurdon-Rebow,t who was killed in South Africa in making a desperate stand against the Boers. This came as a great surprise to me and, I know, to some others. We regarded him as essentially an ineffective person. I remember one scene particularly, when a number of others, as well as, I am ashamed to say, myself, were teasing him, he was made to confess, without much pressure, that he was what I have described. Nothing that could be called bullying was required ; and we thought it simple poverty of spirit.' But look elsewhere. ' Whatever Rebow may have been at Eton,' writes the Regimental Adjutant of the Grenadier Guards, ' he * Afterwards Scholar of Trinity College, Cambridge; ist Class Natural Science Tripos ; elected in '95 a Fellow of the Royal Society, and as one of its youngest members, for his investigations on electric discharge and on radium. t Left 1892; afterwards Lieutenant Grenadier Guards. M. GURDON-REBOW 417 was a first-rate boy afterwards. He was killed because he refused to do what a good many people did during the war — surrender. I knew the boy myself, as I was Adjutant of the Battalion he joined ; he was a most gallant youth, and his courage was well known among his brother Officers.'* G. E. Bromley-Martin, who, as already stated, was in the Eleven for three years and Captain of it in two, writes : * I was at Eton from January '89 to August '94, and at my Dame's the whole time. * Whilst I was there, I think the old House was much what it had been for many years before, and what it continued to be right up to the end. My Dame was, of course, in these days, full of energy, and did absolutely everything in the House. She did every- thing herself, or through her Captains, except setting the punishments for shirking prayers on Sunday mornings. On these occasions we were sent to Sam Evans, who always gave us the first twenty lines out of Julius Csesar, beginning " Friends, Romans, Countrymen." But, of course, the characteristic of the House in my time, as I suppose it had always been, was the way my Dame left, with certain slight reservations, the whole management of the House nominally to the Captain — in reality, to the Captain and other prominent members. The result was that, though we may have been late for lock-up and dinner, there never was and never will be a house with a better tone. Fellows who, before, had appeared rather useless, no sooner became Captain than they nearly * Major Montgomerie also sends a long extract from the unpublished Official History of the 3rd Battalion of the Regiment, and the report made at the time to Major-General Inigo Jones. The event took place, September 16, 1901, not far from Reit. Gurdon-Rebow and a party of five were attacked on three sides by some 20 or more Boers. The contest was prolonged for some time. The sergeant of the party was dispatched for assistance, leaving four. Of these, one man hai been killed and two wounded, when Rebow was shot dead while in the act of firing. The official report concludes : ' Lieutenant Gurdon Rebow was a young officer of the highest courage, and had been particularly active through the latter part of the campaign in training and working mounted men as scouts for the Battalion.' 27 4i8 CHARLES LYELL'S LETTER always rose to the occasion splendidly ; and others, who were not exactly saints in the School, were always absolutely loyal to my Dame in the House when in prominent positions. I don't suppose there was ever anj^one who did not adore my Dame.' The following, from Charles Lyell, now M.P. for East Dorset, contains a happy reference to Jane Evans' methods in dealing with her boys, and gives an analogy from Kingsley's Water-Babies which is strikingly true : * I was at my Dame's from '89 to '94, and was Captain my last year. During the whole of that time I remem- ber no particular incident. We never won any of the important Cups ; but, on the other hand, we main- tained a very high average level, being usually pretty near everything. Some houses had extraordinary ups and downs in the athletic way : one year] they would nearly sweep the board, and then, for two or three years, sink into absolute insignificance. But this was never the case with my Dame's, * As regards my Dame and my recollections of her, I always used to think that the secret of her success was her extraordinary instinct for letting things alone. Of course, it was part of the optimism that was the dominant trait of her character ; but I was always struck by her genius for recognizing instantly the rare cases when her intervention was necessary, and the deliberate skill with which she stood aside and watched events shaping themselves in all others. Above all, she never fussed. She used to remind me of the description in Kingsley's Water -Babies of Mother Carey, whom Tom found sitting like a majestic statue in the middle of the Peace Pool, while all the new forms of life continually flowed out from her throne. Tom asks her how this is : he had expected to find her sawing and piecing and carpentering, hard at work making the new creatures. Mother Carey's reply is that anyone can make a new thing, but it takes a very clever person to make it make itself. This is just what my Dame did ; she made us make ourselves, and she sat by and watched us doing J. L. BUXTON'S REMINISCENCES 419 it.* As regards my contemporaries. As far as I know, only two are dead, both killed in action. f I should say the most distinguished contemporary of mine was R. J. Strutt, son of Lord Rayleigh, who became a F.R.S. a year or two ago, one of the youngest Fellows the Royal Society has ever had.' The next two letters are both from soldiers, one reaching the writer from Malta and the other from India. Both are amusing, and also valuable for what they tell of contemporaries. Lawrence Buxton, now a Captain in the Rifle Brigade, and recently Secretary to the Governor of Victoria, Australia, writes : * I was at Drew's for one or two halves when I went to Eton in 1890, and did not actually qualify as a member of the House till January, '91. I was there till Christmas, '96. During the whole of that time the House was often in the Final or ante-final, though we never actually won any of the more important Cups. The great event in my time was the occasion when we were all flooded out, and the whole School went home for a fortnight in November, '94. *As regards those in the House in my day who subsequently distinguished themselves, probably Tommy Lister, Lord Ribblesdale's son, was the only one who came under this heading. He was not bril- liant, but was alwa3^s a good sportsman. He was my fag, and joined the loth Hussars in time for the South African war, where he was promoted in a very short time, and got a D.S.O. He was killed in Somaliland in the winter of 1903-4. ' I think of all the people of my standing at Eton, Lyell is the one who has come most to the front at present. He is now Private Secretary to Sir Edward Gre}^ and an M.P., though there are many, mostly in the Service, who have done well and will do better : Clem * Kingsley's Water-Babies^ chap, vii., p. 273. f M. Gurdon-Rebow, of the Grenadier Guards, noticed above ; and J. F. Rhodes, of the Scots Greys, who fell at Klippan, near Springs. 27—2 420 REVOLVER SHOOTING Mitford, now Adjutant of the loth Hussars, being one of them, and W. Gibbs of the 7th Hussars and E. Gibbs, Coldstream Guards, two more. Bill Gibbs gave me my House colours, and E. Gibbs received his at my hands. * I was lately in a Transport with some of the 6oth, a draft of my own Regiment, and the 3rd Battalion of the Coldstream Guards. On that ship, where there were about 50 officers, there were no less than nine old members of the House : W. H. V. Darrell, J. E. Gibbs, R. L. Dawson, W. M. V. Banbury, R. Keppel, Burton, myself, and two others, of whom I think Fuller-Maitland was one. In our 4th Battalion there are only three former members of Evans' — Bond, my- self, and Banbury, who has just joined. You must excuse a soldier referring to the boys in the House who went into the Army. * 1 remember W. H. Jenkins, now of the 7th Dragoon Guards, and Soltau-Symons, of the Durham Light Infantry, having a great battue with a Service revolver on the top floor. A lexicon was usually the stop- butt ; but on this occasion they forgot it, and the bullets went through the wall and nearly slew God- ley, now in some Government Office. For some reason, I escaped being captured with them, as did Clem Mitford (loth Hussars). They were dealt with by Greenly, now of the 12th Lancers, and as far as I remember he was not merciful. * A. A. Dorrien-Smith was another old Rifleman who was at Evans' ; but, alas ! his papers have gone in. At Eton he was alwa^^s lucky. The last day of the half, some of us discovered an open window in the next door House, and began throwing bread, coal, sugar, etc., into it. Dorrien-Smith was the most successful at the game, and at the last moment he departed to go to the Scilly Islands, having leave to go away a day before anyone else. The window hap- pened to be de Havilland's, and we were all discovered and awarded 300 lines of Homer and a hiding from J. A. Morrison, the head of the House, and afterwards of the Grenadier Guards. But Dorrien's train was just in time, and he got off for nothing De Havilland was a good fellow, and never bore malice. He now commands the Eton Volunteer Corps, and is, I think. J. L. BUXTON'S REMINISCENCES 421 the keenest man on the Service I ever met, and would have made a first-class soldier. *Of my dear Dame I have many memories, but I cannot well write of them. During my time she aged very much ; so much so, that my father sent my two younger brothers to another House. Towards the end of her time she relied more and more on the senior boys in the House, and I think her system was justified. ' It was not always the Captain of the House who kept it in order in actual fact; but others would do so in his name in the most loyal and helpful way, and 1 am inclined to state that when I left, the tone of the House was as high in every way as at any time in its history, though I must confess that it was not so successful at games as it might have been, and had been. ' In the Old boys my Dame always took the greatest interest. She was always delightfully kind when we went down, though sometimes the place of honour was a terrifying experience, as, towards the end, my Dame had rather lost her memory for dates. On one occa- sion I was given the place of honour on the right of the Captain of the House in preference to a man double my age, who was a member of the Government at the time, 1 think. ' I cannot conclude without referring to Martha, the boys' maid. She looked after the present Lord Redesdale, and also after his son. She must have been there for forty years. * You ask of my own accomplishments. They were not much. House colours and Oppidan Wall were all I had in this way. 1 was in Sixth Form, with the quali- fication of my Tutor, Lionel Ford, that I was the stupidest fellow" who ever got there. I also attained to the dignity of Pop. I played for the House at cricket every half I was at Eton, getting steadily worse every year, though, towards the end, I used to fancy myself as a catch in the deep field.' The second letter is from M. F. Blake, now in the 60th Rifles. He was one of that limited number who was not only Captain of the House, but also Captain 422 M. F. BLAKE'S LETTER of the Oppidans.* Extracts from his letters appear elsewhere, but these further notes may be inserted here : * We never won the House Football Cup in my time ('94-1900), but generally had a pretty good side and were well in the running. In '99 we had a great fight in the ante-Final with Austen-Leigh's : we played a drawn game the first time in a sea of mud, and V/ere beaten on replaying the match by a goal to nothing. Austen-Leigh's beat Williams' pretty easily in the Final. ' We won the Fives Cup in my time, three years in succession. The first two years, S. M. Macnaghten and L. Heathcoat-Amory played for the House, and in the last year Amory and W. H. P. Lewis. We decided, when we had won the Cup the third time, to appeal to old members of the House to help us in providing another cup, a facsimile of the original, so that we could keep the cup permanently, as we were entitled to do. This appeal was generously responded to, and we got another cup made by the Goldsmiths' Company, and kept the original one. * In my last Summer half, we halved the House Cricket Cup with Hare's. This was a creditable per- formance, I think, as we had no member of the Eleven or even of the Twenty-two. Heathcoat-Amory was in the Twenty-two, but left after Lord's, and did not play again in any of the House matches. In the Final we had three out of our first four choices away owing to illness and other causes. I was Captain in Amor3^'s absence and lost the toss. It was a wet wicket, and the captain of Hare's decided to put us in. We made 230. Hare's responded with a biggish score (301). On going in again we had lost one wicket for 40 runs, when it came on to rain, and continued to do so for the rest of the half. Several of us were going into camp with the E.C.R.V., so, after some discussion, it was decided that each house should keep the Cup for six months. ' As to my recollections of boys who were in the * It is worthy of remark that M. F. Blake's brother, C. R. Blake, succeeded him in both capacities. S. M. MACNAGHTEN 423 House with me, but who are no longer living, these are few. There was Fairfax Rhodes,* who was after- wards killed in South Africa, and S. M. Macnaghten who afterwards joined the 6oth, and died in South Africa from the effects of a second operation on his arm, which was amputated, first at the elbow and then at the shoulder, owing to gangrene setting in. He had a bad fall while riding a race and smashed his arm, and in this wa}^ he lost his life. ' Macnaghten, who always went by the name of " Muggins," was the best all-round athlete in my time at Eton. He was Second Keeper of the Field, and captain of my Dame's Football eleven in '98. He was Keeper of the Fives Courts, and won the School Fives in '99, also the School racquets and the Public Schools Challenge Cup with I. A. de la Rue in '99,t and was in the Eleven in '98. He was very keen on, and used to run, the Association Football in the Easter half. He was one of the best, if not the best. Fives player I have ever seen at Eton, and he was never better than when playing with a hopelessly bad partner. He was all over the court at once, and there was nothing he could not get up. He used to play up tremendously hard, and I think that was the reason he was so good at racquets : he always had a jolly good try at any ball, however impossible it may have seemed to return it. ' My Dame's was much more a dry-bob than a wet-bob House, and we did not distinguish ourselves greatly on the river in my time. The only member of the Eight I can remember at my Dame's was E. G. St. Aubyn. ' One Easter half there was an epidemic of measles or chicken-pox in the School, and a good many cases at my Dame's. In consequence, we had several nurses looking after the patients. On the second floor, close to the stairs, was some boy going away on sick leave who had his portmanteaus stacked outside his door in the passage. Some fellow had got hold of one of these, and was holding it over the banisters and doing juggling feats with it, letting it go and trying to catch it again before it fell. Needless to say, he dropped it * In the Scots Greys. t The School had not won this Cup since '82. 424 C. CLIFTON-BROWN'S LETTER all right, but unfortunately failed to catch it, with the result that it fell to the ground floor, where a nurse was coming along with a large tray full of drinks, medicines, etc. It just missed her, but fell bang on the top of the tray, smashing all the glasses and everything on it. The nurse nearly had hysterics, and reported the case to my Dame, who sent for the culprit, and, after giving him a good talking to, ended by saying, "Oh, So-and-so, how could you be so selfish r Why " selfish " we were never able to find out.' The last three letters for which space can be found are all from boys who went to Eton with the advent of the new Century, and who all remained in the House till it finally closed its doors. The first is from C. Clifton-Brown, who was captain of the last football eleven, and was also in the Field and First Keeper of the Fives : *I was at Eton from 1901 to 1906. In my time, I hink, there were very few changes in the House or the School. In the School there was the change of Headmastership, about which my Dame was so pleased when she heard Canon Lyttelton had been made Head. She had alwa3^s thought he would be made Head Master. ' In the house I don't remember any changes. For about the last year of her life my Dame stopped coming into the boys' luncheon, and also to prayers in the evening. During the last winter half, I don't think she managed to go round the House visiting the sick boys, as was her custom before. She never seemed to me to change in the least : she was always telling stories, or discussing the character of the House. ' When she died the whole House, I am sure, felt as though they had lost a near and dear relative. Every one was very sad about it, and tried to give as little trouble and make as little noise as possible. After her funeral every one, not only in the House, but in the School, was most anxious for Sidney Evans to take on the House. Some members of the School JANE EVANS 425 even got up a petition to the Governing Body that the old House should continue. ' There is very little to tell about the sad end of the old House. Everything went on just the same as usual, the whole of that half. Sidney Evans took the place of my Dame. He really did splendidly, and he was very popular with all, in the House and outside. ' It was a very great surprise to all of us when we came back, that Lent half, to hear that my Dame was so ill. We came back on the Thursday. She died on the Saturday afternoon, and it came as a terrible shock to hear she had gone. I don't think I ever heard of anyone who did not love her, and certainly the whole House mourned for her as a relative ; and so did the whole School. ' When I was at my Dame's, one saw very little of my Dame herself until you came to be in the first seven in the House and had breakfast with her. The only time that the average Lower-boy could talk to her was when he was ill or staying-out, or when he went to get leave for something. * If you were ill and in bed, she would come and see you some time in the morning, nearly always, and talk; and if it was Sunday she would read the morn- ing service and lessons with you. She was generally rather strict as to letting you stay-out, because I am sure she knew directly if you were ill or not. During the last winter half, she got ill several times, and stayed upstairs for two or three days ; but Sidney Evans took her place, and everything went on the same. 'At the end, I think the House was in splendid con- dition. There were a lot of young fellows growing up in the middle of the House who were very nice. Then the Lower-boys happened to be a very nice set indeed. I think it was agreed by almost every one in the School that there were few Houses better than Evans' at this time last year.' The second letter of the three is from F. Lacaita, who bears a name that must always be honourably associated with the House : * I am afraid I cannot put my facts in chronological order ; but I have just written a few notes of what I 426 F. LACAITA'S LETTER remember. I was in the House from May, 1901, to April, 1906. ' My Dame's death came as a great shock and grief to all of us ; and I shall always be glad to think 1 was one of the two boys, then in the House, w^ho walked beside her at her funeral ; for I always loved her since I came down, when nine years old, to see the Eton and Winchester Match with my father and mother. As soon as I came in, she sent for a large piece of cake and a glass of milk, and said, " Now take off your gloves, no one wears them here ;" and I, who had just been supplied with a pair by my mother, thought she must understand exactly what every one liked. ' While I was in the House (in 1903, I think) my Dame gave up coming to our midday dinner, at which she had always carved. She had given up coming round the House at night a year or two before I came. In this way, perhaps, some of us did not see quite so much of her as we otherwise might have done ; but she always came to talk and read with any- one who was staying- out, and in bed ; while any who got up, but stayed out of school, used to have dinner with her at one o'clock. Thus she kept, I think, quite in touch with the House as a whole ; she took a great interest in its doings, especially the football. She always had to be appealed to for any special leave; for instance, in 1904, the members of "The Library" wanted to put up a small billiard -table, and had to ask her leave to do so ; this was refused. * As regards fagging. The Lower-boys were allotted by the Captain of the House to the first 5, 6, or 7, according to the number of Lower-boys, as tea fags. The Captain of the House, the Captain of the Foot- ball, the President of the Debate, and members of " Pop " smacked with a cane ; other fag-masters — i.e., all those who had been in Fifth Form more than five halves — smacked with a slipper. Only those who breakfasted with my Dame were allowed to call "boy." In 1901 no "boys" were called after lock-up, but only Lower-boys by name ; thus, onl}^ those who heard their name had to run. But fag-masters took to calling several names at once, and, as a result, all Lower-boys ran, even when only one name had been THE LIBRARY 427 called. Hence in October, 1904, fag-masters took to calling "boys" again after lock-up. ' In the Lent half, Lower-boys always had to wait indoors between dinner and Absence : dinner was at 2, and Absence at 2.45 ; and later, both of them half an hour earlier. ' When I was in the House there was a case of stealing, and a boy had to be taken away. My Dame talked to most of us about it, and to me she said that I must not suppose he was any worse than others because he had broken a commandment which was made much of by the world. It was not for that reason the most important commandment — in fact, some of those which came before it were more im- portant ; for instance, honouring one's parents, though to transgress this was not so much condemned by the world. She thought a great many of us broke this commandment, and we ought therefore to be sorry for him, and not join with the world in abusing him. 'While I was in the House, passage football existed only as a training game for those in the House eleven, and the next few choices. It took place perhaps twice or thrice a half on Saturday nights, and was duly announced on the House notice-board ; thus it was virtually compulsory. ' The library in my time was, practically, not open to the whole House. Certain hours were specified in which others might come in and read the papers, take out books, etc. ; but Lower-boys might never come in, except the library fag to tidy the room. As a matter of fact, once the members sank in numbers to four ; and others never came in. In September, 1905, the numbers would again probably have sunk to four, but my Dame, without insisting upon anything, said she wished the number of members to be as large as possible, and also she wished younger boys to be encouraged to use the room. As a result, the number of members was raised to seven, and a notice was put up reminding all those in Fifth form that they might use the library, and giving new hours, adapted to the changes in school hours, etc. In spite of this, I think the room was used only four or five times at most during that half, and the next one (Lent, 1906), by those who were not members of " The Library." ' 428 R. V. GIBBS' LETTER The last letter is from R. V. Gibbs, one of a family* that had a long connexion with the House, and who, as the last Captain, completed a roll bearing many a distinguished name : * I went to my Dame's in January, 1900, and became Captain, Christmas half, 1905. At first, we all saw my Dame at luncheon and at supper, and, of course, the older boys, at breakfast (I am not counting prayers, which, until 1905, she always used to attend). At luncheon and supper she used to talk about ordinary topics : football, cricket, etc., and tell stories, hardly ever talking about the more serious affairs of the House. When she wanted to talk to anyone she used to send for him to come to her room. For the last two years, only those who breakfasted with her saw much of her, as she practically never came into the boys' part of the House unless some one was staying- out. The small boys probabl}^ only saw her, so as to know her, when she sent for them to lecture them if she thought they were going wrong. When they came to her to get leave or to get something signed, she would always ask them to sit down and would give them advice, picking out their particular weak- nesses and the faults to which they were liable. ' As Captain, I saw her very often, when she would discuss and give advice about certain boys. The advice and discussions were practically always about the moral and general tone of the House, and about certain boys whom she thought wanted smacking, as they were getting above themselves or were in the wrong set. She was most anxious about those who were just in Fifth Form, as she said they thought themselves tremendous swells as Uppers and wanted more supervision than others. But what was most remarkable about my Dame was her extraordinary knowledge of character. She always knew if anyone was likely to go wrong, or in what way he had gone * Thirteen of the name were at the House, the sons of two brothers. Of these, G. A. Gibbs is M.P. for West Bristol, W. Gibbs is in the 7th Hussars, and J. E. Gibbs in the Coldstream Guards. Of their cousins, W. O. Gibbs is in the loth Hussars, N. M. Gibbs is farming in South Africa, and F. A, W. and R. V. Gibbs are at Magdalen College, Oxford. JANE EVANS AND HER BOYS 429 wrong; and always after giving one, as she used to say, a long lecture, she would end up by saying, *' Now, go along, old boy, and enjoy yourself;" or, " Now, go away, old boy, and try to do better and remember what I've said," and in such a way that she might have been joking with you instead of just having given you a severe lecture And yet, while she was speaking, you had felt what a poor thing you were ever to have annoyed or caused anxiety to such a lady. ' At breakfast she used to discuss all matters about the House, and would say : " All that is spoken at breakfast is between ourselves and the four walls, and is strictly in confidence." I used often to go into tea with her on ordinary days during the last half, as she always liked one to come into tea, especially without being asked, as she used to complam that she was getting a little bit out of touch with the House. Up to the end she was extremely clear about everything, and only when she was especially worried did she ever get at all muddled. It was not easy to convince her that she was mistaken ; but this was not often the case. My Dame often used to say that we thought nowadays much too much about our personal comforts, and she always strongly objected to anybody having hot teas up from the shops. She never tried to stop it, but always said it was ridiculous and advised parents not to give their sons "orders" at any food shop. Also she disliked anybody wanting to stay-out often, and said they were milksops and effeminate. 'None of us, when we first came back that last half, knew how ill my Dame was, although, of course, we all knev/ that an illness at her age must be dangerous. It was a great shock to all of us when Sidney Evans told me that it was only a matter of time. It is un- necessary to say how greatly everybody was devoted to her, as you knew her and her beautiful charm and goodness. I never knew before her death how every one of the servants loved and respected her, although of course I knew the feelings of all those who had been with her for a long time. Her death affected the whole School.' CHAPTER XXVI SAMUEL T. G. EVANS — JANE EVANS' ILLNESS AND DEATH — SIDNEY EVANS HAS CHARGE OF THE HOUSE — THE END We have run through the years, and little remains to be told of the House itself. What concerns us now is rather Jane Evans. Two heavy and very sudden bereavements fell upon her in these closing years ; her brother, Samuel T. G. Evans, died on November i, 1904, and her sister, Mrs. Wanklyn, on January 28, 1905. Sam Evans had retired from the post of Drawing Master in 1903. He had held it for fifty-four years, and was succeeded by his son, Sidney V. Evans, who still occupies the position. Loyalty to one another always distinguished the members of the Evans family, and of this Sam Evans had afforded a conspicuous example. Just as Annie and Jane Evans had stood by their father, so had Sam Evans by his sister and Sidney Evans by them both. The school owed Sam Evans no little debt ; but his work for the House and in his sister's interests equally deserves to be remem- bered. His life, so far as the House was concerned, had been one of self-effacement, and perhaps only the members of his family are capable of estimating all that he did at its true worth. As an Eton boy he had endeared himself to many, and his few remaining con- temporaries still speak of him with affection. His countless pupils do the same. And so it is that those of us who knew him and who can look back over the 430 SAM EVANS 431 years, though we may not know all that he did for the House, can yet testify to his silent, unobtrusive labours, to the tact and patience, the unfailing good-humour and kind-heartedness, that he brought to the discharge of his duties in a most difficult position. Such traits and qualities as these were but the exact reflection of Sam Evans' character, and about his character — even to his very diffidence — there was, in the eyes of many of us, something that made him very lovable. Sam Evans was in his seventy-fifth year when he retired from active work ; but he still continued to paint. On that ist November he had gone to London, taking with him his latest drawings, and there, in the gallery where they were to hang, he fell and breathed his last. It is said of Jane Evans, by those who were most intimate with her, that when they went to console her in trouble, they came away feeling that she had been consoling them. So, when these heavy blows fell upon her, she accepted them and bowed her head, and thought not for one moment of herself. She called to her the older boys of her House, and said to them : ' They tell me this ought to have killed me ; but I cannot mourn.' And to her sister, Mrs. Fenn, she writes, quite calmly : ' My own dearest dear. Be prepared to hear what some call bad news of our dear old Sam. He went to London yesterday, having finished his work for the Gallery, and whilst there had an attack, we think, of heart, and died.' And, a few days later : ' I am quite oppressed with the amount of letters which come by every post. One of the most beautiful is from an old pupil. They are all so sweet and full 432 CLOSING YEARS of love and affection for our dear, dear old Sam. It does not seem yet as if one had gone whom we are not to meet again in this world ; but it is so lovely to think of and remember him as he alw^ays was — so happy, so cherry and so bright, as he especially has been since his freedom from School work.' Those nearest to Jane Evans speak of her as seem- ing to grow suddenly old at this time. She was approaching her eightieth year, and there is no doubt that these sorrows told upon her, however bravely she may have borne them. Nevertheless, she continued to work on as before, arranging everything, ordering everything, and keeping all the accounts. She did not always appear at the boys' dinner, nor was she often seen in the House in the evening ; but she was as regular and punctual at her breakfasts as ever, and her conversation there lacked none of its former bright- ness and wit. Nothing was done in the House with- out her directions, and if Sidney Evans was as her right hand, it was she who really ruled as of yore. Her gratitude to her nephew and to those about her found constant expression in her conversation as in her letters, and she was never tired of referring to all that she owed both to him and to them. Every morning after breakfast she would talk with Sidney Evans about the affairs of the House and settle matters for the day ; then he would go to his work and she to her correspondence and books. Nothing delighted her more in these closing years than watching the way in which Sidney Evans gradually gained the complete confidence of the House and discharged duties that now lay beyond her own strength. The death of Sam Evans had cemented the happy relations that had long been growing up between Sidney Evans and the boys: trouble often brings friends, and the ready friendship and sympathy shown him by the members of the House at this time, he speaks of as things that he can JANE EVANS 433 never forget, and as bringing him and them nearer together than they had been before. Jane Evans herself, busy as ever though she was, was fond of remarking that she owed everything to * the dear people about her ' ; and, with the sparkle of her old wit, she would add : * I only do the ornamental part, you know !' Personal applications from former members, entreating her to put their sons' names on the books, were continually being made, and to these she would remark : * What nonsense ! I suppose you think I am going to live for ever.' In the middle of this last year of her life, she writes, in her daily letters to her sister : ' Being Ascot week and the Winchester match we are expecting to be inundated with visitors. Only time for a card, but all well. "Old self" said to be wonderful ! — so I consider myself very important. Friends came quite anxious because I will make no plans for the future; and their boy is not coming for four years !' ' We are all excited about Henley. A spell of heavenly weather; we do enjoy it so much. I am going to sit in the garden and think. If only I can be spared till things are more hopeful for every one's sake ! — I mean, that the home they love so much may be theirs. Sid is winning golden opinions. He is quite wonderful in managing the boys. He is very strict, and I am sure no boys can be more cared for than ours. They are all so good.' Of those who had left, she writes with pride to an old friend, only some three months before she died : * Our dear Old boys are everyzvkere, and it is always a great pleasure to see them from time to time. I am getting very old, but have most excellent help, and our old House still keeps its place, and we turn out many more good than doubtful boys, and even they come right in time ; one may have been impatient with them, and not sympathetic enough. Only think of one of them being our Head Master. It is wonderful to have been allowed to live long enough to see this !' 28 434 JANE EVANS Another large batch of letters lies before the writer, written by Jane Evans in the holidays to her last Matron, Miss Tute. They are full of arrangements for the conduct of the House, and therefore do not call for detailed mention here. There is no sign of any lack of vigour in any of them, no slackening of interest in her work ; the task was one that claimed, as ever, her whole enthusiasm ; the House and her boys were dear to her to the very end. The last of these letters is penned within three weeks of the day when life was to close for her, and when she was at last to lay down the work, the inner nobility of which she realized, but of which she rarely if ever spoke. She had always looked upon her work as a sacred trust, and that it could possibly be regarded as anything else — that any mercenary ideas should be brought in to belittle what she or anyone else was trying to do in and for Eton and for her House — raised at once her indignation and her scorn. For narrowness and small-minded- ness she had the supremest contempt ; and if one came complaining to her in such a key, she would answer him with, * Rubbish, rubbish, rubbish !' The aim she had had ever before her was to train and mould the characters of those who came within the range of her influence. With the utmost simplicity she continued at that task, scarcely owning, even to herself, what her aims were : by sympathy it was to be furthered ; by a humble trust and faith perhaps it was to be achieved : she would go on unflinchingly ; good would always show itself in the end ; and when her time came to lay it all down, there would be some one else to take it up and to carry it on for the sake of the School — Eton ; Eton, that occupied her whole great, generous heart. Now and then she grew weary in this last year, as her letters show; but the old, unflagging spirit came always to the fore, and the fun that was in her shone out as brightly as ever. ' Only just up,' she JANE EVANS 435 writes in one of these letters to Miss Tute — 'only just up; look at the time (12.55). I do feel ashamed of myself, but I am absolutely demoralized. My dear Sister and H. keep guard over me in such a way, that I can only smile and say, '* Thank you !" ' But she goes on to remark that she will have her revenge when the half begins and she gets back to work. And then, again, she writes : ' I have been revelling in idleness ever since you left, and enjoying it very much. I hope you have been doing the same. There is something indescribable in " putting up one's legs and thinking of nothing," like the old man in church; it does seem to be a sort of tonic !' Even in moments of serious discussion, such as how to accommodate the 50 bo3^s that are arriving in a few days when many have set their hearts on having particular rooms, there is always a joke to end with. 'This is rather a mixed dish, up and down like a potato pie,' is the way she describes one of these letters of endless details. Her Matron is taking a long journey : * I expect you will want a companion : can't you advertise ?' She is at the seaside, and describes every one as ' dressed as much like tramps as possible,' but as being herself engaged in laying up ' all the store of strength she can, so as to be ready for the battle of life !' She did not realize how soon that battle was to be over. The New Year, 1906, opened : the School would soon be assembling. She must play her old, familiar part : give the boys of the best, because even that influenced them unconsciously ; welcome the parents and make them feel that they were welcome always, because that brought happiness all round. Then there were her endless interests outside. These were not to be dropped because she ruled an Eton house and was growing old : they never had been ; with her they never could be. And thus there were many, to the very end, who always looked to her for 28—2 436 JANE EVANS help, knowing well that they would never look in vain. That she would die a very poor woman was to her not worth considering, and so her purse was always open, and she gave without stint and where- ever she felt help to be really needed. Such were the facts. To say more would very certainly be contrary to her wishes. On one occasion the writer thanked her ; he is never likely to forget the expression on her face when she answered, with a shake of her head, ' I have done nothing.' She looked distressed. What she had done was her delight and her duty ; why thank her ? So with her daily life, that, in spite of many trials, had been often so radiantly happy. To have held up for admiration what she did, what she achieved, to say much of her, even had such been possible with us in her lifetime, would have been to bring back that look of distress, to wound her. Silence therefore now is best : our Dame would have preferred it. A hundred writers have testified in these pages to their admiration and their love for her ; a thousand others might have done the same. But it is, and w^ould be, unnecessary. There is something of more value than a flood of words. The sands of the glass run out, and there is silence ; but just as sound travels on and on into space, so Jane Evans' influence will find its place, unknown and unsuspected, in the souls and the characters of a generation that is still to come. Nothing is lost ; nothing can be altogether lost. There is no need to dwell upon the end. In January, 1906, a week before the half opened, Jane Evans was taken unwell, and remained upstairs. Those about her were not alarmed, and thought that, as often before with her, the return of the boys would prove the best tonic, A few days passed and the THE END 437 services of a nurse were suggested ; but she would not hear of anything of the kind, though at last she consented, with, 'Very well; I'll be a good boy.' On the 24th the House began to assemble, and in two days the boys had returned. By that time those about her realized that the end could not be far off. She herself, however, spoke of getting better and taking up her work again ; and talking with her Matron, Miss Tute, the day before she died, she referred to this, adding, * The boys must always be your first care, remember. It is a great work ; one of the greatest.' The fifth Head Master she had known — one who had once been a boy in her House and for whom she had the warmest affection — came ever and anon to her bedside, and between intervals of sleeping and waking she spoke quite clearly to those dearest to her. ' I'm so happy : it's all for the best.' ' My day is over.' She no longer asked about the boys. Her day was over. Quietly and without pain she gently laid down her work; sleeping, she passed peacefully away on the afternoon of January 27th, 1906, in the 80th year of her age. One of the great figures of modern Eton was gone. There was a large gathering of former members of the House four days later. It was Jane Evans' funeral. Followed by her immediate relations, her servants, and the boys of the House alone, the pro- cession passed up Keate's Lane to the Chapel. The pall-bearers had been chosen to mark the different epochs in the history of the House, and the following walked beside the coffin : Sir Neville Lyttelton, Alfred Lyttelton, S. J. Selwyn, Sir Charles Fremantle, Charles Lyell, E. G. Bromley-Martin, and the Captain and Second Captain of the House, R. V. Gibbs and F. Lacaita. A single wreath, out of an immense number, went with her, and it bore these words : 438 REST ' A respectful token of love from her boys.' Arriving at the Chapel, the building was found to be filled by a vast concourse, principally of Old Etonians, for it was a whole-school-day, and many boys of the School were therefore unable to attend. Out once more into the grey light of the winter day, the procession, headed by the surpliced choir and clergy, wended its way to the cemetery on the Eton Wick Road, where the path was lined by the Eton tradesmen, for every shop was closed. Edward Lyttelton, the Head Master, read the concluding prayers, and then there rose in the hushed silence of the great throng the voices of the Eton choir, singing, softly, the old familiar hymn : * Now the labourer's task is o'er.' So was Jane Evans left to sleep her last sleep, and all Eton mourned. The death of Jane Evans naturally raised the ques- tion — What was to become of the House ? For the rest of that half Sidney Evans remained in charge, and, as the Captain of the House at the time writes, * It was all exactly the same, and Sidney Evans was a pattern of consideration, in spite of his own greater grief. Mrs. Evans, Miss Evans, her daughter, and Miss Tute were all so good to us.' But as the half ran by, and the effects of Jane Evans' death were more clearly discerned, there grew up on all hands a general desire that the name of Evans should not be allowed to disappear. Already, some few years before this, a petition had been presented to the Governing Body, praying that the succession to the House might be secured to Sidney Evans. This petition had been privately prepared by former members of the House, and the signatures of sixty of the most representative men were affixed to it. Ten times this number of signatures might possibly have been obtained had this THE PETITIONS 439 been necessary, but the sheets show that these sixty were well qualified to speak for the rest of us, and to speak with the greatest weight. The wording ran thus : * We, the undersigned, beg to express our most earnest wish and hope, that some means may be found to guarantee the continuance of Miss Evans' House to Mr. Sidney Evans, in order that a House, unique in itself, in its age and traditions, and which has done so much good, may not be allowed to die out. * Hoping this may receive your most favourable attention, we remain ' The result of this petition will be noticed presently, for the decision arrived at by those in authority was the same as in the case of a second petition that was now prepared, and that had quite another origin. The first had expressed the direct wish and hope of former members of the House, and may have been largely governed by sentiment. The second petition was a far more remarkable document. It was nothing less than a general testimony on the part of the members of the School at the time to the way in which Eton as a whole regarded the House that had so long been a part of her. It was signed by the Captain of the School and of the Oppidans, the President of the Eton Society, the Captain of the Boats and of the Eleven, the members of Pop, Sixth Form, including Collegers and Oppidans, and the Captain and Second Captain, or some other representative member, of every House in Eton save Evans' itself: ninety-one names in all. The wording ran as follows : * To the Provost and Fellows. ^February, igo6. ' My Lords and Gentlemen, ' With respect to the death of Miss Evans, we hear that you have met to appoint a successor to carry 440 THE PETITIONS on her noble work. There is a general desire through- out the School that the successor should be a member of the Evans family, and that the name should be pre- served on the roll of House Masters. Mr. Sidney Evans has worked long and faithfully in the past ; he is beloved of the boys in the House, and his appoint- ment will be the surest guarantee for the maintenance of the traditions that have given the old House its peculiar character. ' Up till to-day the House has been handed down from generation to generation. Its position as an heir- loom of the Evans family has been legally sanctioned by successive Governing Bodies and Head Masters, and we feel bound to express the wish of the School in general that this sanction ma}^ be extended to so efficient a helper as Mr. Evans has been. ' We are convinced that the house, under any Master the Governing Body may see fit to nominate, will be worthy of its old traditions, but it would be hard for any Master other than Mr. Evans to keep up the principles of government laid down by successive members of the family. ' We do not pretend to have any voice in School appointments, nor do we wish to show any disrespect to any nominee of the Governing Body. We only claim to represent the general opinion of the School, that Mr. Evans would be the fittest person to hold a post of such responsibility,' Such were the two petitions. Both had been pre- pared entirely without Sidney Evans' knowledge. What of the results ? We all know that, after due consideration, the request thus earnestly proffered was not granted, and that Evans', as a House, came to an end at Easter, 1906. How was this ? Pains have been taken to obtain an authoritative answer, both from the side of the College as from that of the Evans family. The result may be stated in a few words. At Jane Evans' death the succession to the House presented no great difficulties to those in authority. The appointment to a house rests with the Head Master, and Dr. Warre had given Sidney Evans CLOSING THE DOOR 44i clearly to understand that he was not to succeed to the House at his aunt's death. Moreover, his position on the roll of Masters equally appeared to forbid it at this time. The matter was therefore settled ; no mis- take had been made, as many afterwards supposed ; and Sidney Evans retired. It might have been easy for him to come forward, with the support of these petitions and at the reiterated requests that former members made to him personally ; but from feelings that we must all greatly admire and respect he de- clined to press his claims or to take any action in the matter whatever. The points upon which the question had turned were primarily the position of Sidney Evans upon the roll, and the terms, as understood, of his appointment as a Master. What, in fact, was his position on the Staff in respect of seniority, and at what date did he become a full Master? There is no reason to quote from letters and papers that are of a private nature ; but when Mr. Ramsay had taken up his residence at the House, these questions appeared to claim a final answer. A thorough investigation then took place, and the definite conclusion arrived at made it perfectly plain that Sidney Evans was legally a full Master, and that, b}^ seniority, he had been entitled to the House in January, 1906. In other words, had he chosen to press his claim at the time, the House would have fallen to him. He forbore to do so, simply from a high sense of honour, and the appointment therefore went else- where. It only remains to be said, regarding the final break- up after Easter, that Mr. Ramsay, who already held a house, was transferred to Evans', and that Mr. Hill, being next on the list, took in the majority of the boys at ' Gulliver's,' to which he was now appointed in the room of Mr. Ramsay. In this way, thirty-one went to Hill's, one or two to Hare's, Macnaghten's, and 442 LOOKING BACK Tatham's, and nine of the smaller boys remained on in their old quarters. The story of the old House is ended ; but we must linger yet and look back once more. Evans' had been in existence for sixty-seven years, and now its doors were finally closed. It had played its small part in the great life-history of Eton : it had provided its quota, and nothing more, of those leaders of men that Eton never fails to supply : it had had its share of the heroes of the day, of those born to great positions, of those of whom the world hears, and rightly hears, much, and of those of whom the world never hears at all. The vast majority of the 800 boys and upwards who spent their Eton days beneath those homely roofs were destined to make no mark in life. It has always been, and always will be so. These belonged, and belong, to that great army which marches all its days, yet leaves no track by which its pilgrimage may afterwards be traced. They are but the rank and file of the world, who do the main share of the work of the world, who have aspirations or who have none, who spring to the call of duty, who lend a hand, who call a cheery word, who help the lame dogs that they chance upon, and who do these things all the better, we like to believe, because of the spirit of Eton — the spirit that, with them, was born, was fostered and grew up beneath the homely roofs we speak of. Take up the list ; look back at the names upon the Boards. They tell their tale to each and all of us. Here is one whose career was full of promise and who achieved nothing ; here is another of whom we thought little, and who has risen very high ; and here is yet a third who has fulfilled all the promises of youth. Read on. Here is one who fell out of the race for no fault the world knows of; here is another LOOKING BACK 443 struck down in his prime, laid low on the field at the first shot fired ; and here a third who was taken home while still an Eton boy. Look back once more. Here is one who laboured long years for others, and whose name is still loved by scores of hearts, otherwise im- pressionless, in the slums of a great city ; here is another whom men followed to the death because they knew intuitively that he had been ever true to God and true to man, swerving not at all in life any more than he swerved now, climbing the steep ahead of them and calling always till he fell, ' Come along, men ; come along ;' and here is yet a third whose voice reached many hearts, whose glory lay in saving souls, and the echoes of whose life must linger long in the silent shadows of a great fane. What use to tick them off. The stories that these Boards may tell is but the story of the wider world, with its struggles and its instances of manly effort, its successes and its failures, its riddles and its mysteries, its common ups and downs. There is something to be learnt here by each and all of us, for these Boards are as an open book, and a book full of the brightest hope. We have sung our songs ; but, as the echoes die out, there remain with us still the most cherished memories, the forms of close friends, the sound of cheery voices, something of the atmosphere of the glamour of youth. And then again there rises once more before us the personality of one who influenced the lives of many scores of us for good, and who has gone down into silence loved and honoured by some of England's best. These last know that they owe her much ; the least among us owes her no less ; the poorest speci- men among us may yet owe her most of all. It is a small army ; and if many are gone, many survive, while many remain who have not yet swung out into the full tide or felt the breeze. The traditions are broken, the door is closed, there is a new foot on the 444 LOOKING FORWARD floor. The story of what Evans' once was may be told for many a year, and this story will be one in which most of its members will feel a silent pride. There is nothing to boast of in it all. But as the generations follow one another and Eton grows older and older still, she will, we believe, carry in the corner of some page the name of a House that once did something for her general weal. To have done that, to have helped to have done that, is not to have lived in vain. We may mourn the death of the old, and the carrying into limbo that which we once cherished ; but the new is what must be and shall be, for the new birth is synonymous with progress and with life. The Dames have passed away, but we need not mourn that they are dead. And so we end, and in the words of Milton's Blest Pair of Syrens, which one of the House has set to harmonies divine, though human, close these pages thus : ' Oh, may we soon again renew our song, And keep in tune with heaven, till God, ere long, To His celestial concert us unite, To live with Him, and sing in endless morn of light !' APPENDICES I.— LIST OF THE CAPTAINS OF THE HOUSE* 1839. Viscount Lewisham ; afterwards Earl of Dartmouth. '40. Viscount Lewisham „ „ „ '41. T. Wolley ; afterwards a distinguished naturahst. '42. Hon. Robert Windsor Clive ; sometime M.P. for Ludlow and South Shropshire. '42. T. Foster. '43. Hon. G. Herbert ; afterwards Dean of Hereford. '44. Hon. R. Herbert ; afterwards a Barrister. '45. J. F. Croft ; afterwards Sir John Croft, Bart. '46. Hon. T. F. Fremantle ; now Lord Cottesloe. '47. Hon. T. F. Fremantle „ ,, „ '48. Hon. W. H. Fremantle ; now Dean of Ripon. '49. J. P. Cobbold ; afterwards M.P. for Ipswich. '50. R. E. Welby ; now Lord Welby, G.C. B. '51. W. P. Williams-Freeman ; afterwards in H.M. Diplomatic Service. '52. H. C. Marindin ; afterwards a Barrister ; d. '72. '53. G. Tyrrell ; afterwards a Barrister. '54. G. Congreve ; afterwards Rev. '54. W. Strahan ; afterwards Major, Royal Artillery. '55. H. Jenkyns ; afterwards Sir Henry Jenkyns, K.C.B. '56. C. C. Hopkinson ; Banker. '57. A. A. Legge ; afterwards Vicar of St. Giles', Reading. '57. R. M. Gawne ; afterwards Rector of Ashill, Attleborough. '58. V. B. Van de Weyer ; afterwards Lieutenant-Colonel, Berks Militia. '58. C. F. Johnstone ; afterwards Rev. '59. Hon. C. G. Lyttelton ; now Viscount Cobham. * The dates are those of the year in which the various Captains succeeded one another. The preparation of this Hst has been a matter of great difS- culty, as no records had been preserved. It is believed to be accurate, but some of the names given, in the 'forties especially, are perhaps open to doubt. Where two names appear for one year there was a change of Captains during that year. When the same name occurs in two successive years it does not necessarily mean that a boy was Captain for two whole years : he would probably have succeeded to the Captaincy in the football half of one year, and remained Captain for the whole of the next. 445 446 APPENDIX I '60. J. F. F. Horner ; now Commissioner of Woods and Land Revenue. '61. Hon. Stephen J. Fremantle ; afterwards Rev.; died 1874. '62. Hon. Stephen J. Fremantle ,, ,, '63. Hon. N. G. Lyttelton ; now Lieutenant-General Sir Neville Lyttelton, G.C.B. '64. E. A. Owen ; now Recorder of Walsall. '65. C. W. Greenwood ; afterwards at the Chancery Bar ; d. '07. '66. A. C. Meysey-Thompson ; afterwards Q.C. '67. G. W. Horner ; now Rev. ; Coptic and Ethiopia scholar. '68. M. Horner, Merchant ; J. P. Somerset. '68. G. G. Greenwood ; now M.P. for Peterborough. '69. E. F. Alexander; afterwards Rev.: died 1887. '70. Hon. A. T. Lyttelton ; afterwards Bp. of Southampton ; d. '03. '70. Alfred Farquhar ; Banker. '71. C. C. Lacaita ; sometime M.P. for Dundee. '72. F. C. Arkwright ; J. P. and D.L. for the County of Derby. '73. Hon. Edward Lyttelton ; now Head Master of Eton. '74. Hon. Alfred Lyttelton ; P.C., late Colonial Secretary. '75. C. T. Abraham ; now Vicar of Bakewell, Derbyshire, and Canon of Southwell Minster. '76. T. C. Farrer ; now Lord Farrer. ^^T. T. C. Farrer „ „ „ '78. A. J. Chitty ; now a Barrister. '79. E. Hobhouse ; now M.D. '80. W. Hobhouse ; now Honorary Canon of Birmingham ; some- time Head Master of Durham School. '81. G. H. Barclay ; now C.M.G., C.V.O., Foreign Office. '82. J. A. Pixley ; now a Barrister. '83. E. D. Hildyard ; now a Barrister. '84. W. A. C. Fremantle ; afterwards Rev.; d. '94. '84. Hon. F. N. Curzon ; Stock Exchange. '85. T. H. Barnard ; Banker. '86. Hon. N. B. Farrer ; Private Secretary to Permanent Secretary of Board of Trade. '86. H. Marshall ; now a Barrister. '87. Viscount St. Cyres. '88. M. R. Martineau ; now a Barrister. '89. W. Peacock ; now a Barrister. '90. W. F. Stratford Dugdale. '91. J. A. Morrison ; afterwards Grenadier Guards; sometime M.P. for Wilton. '92. G. Dickson ; Captain, Royal Welch Fusiliers. '93. W. H. Greenly, D.S.O. ; 12th Lancers. '93. C. H. Lyell ; now M.P. for East Dorset. '94. W. L. C. Graham ; Merchant. '95. H. J. Godley. '96. L. H. Buxton ; Rifle Brigade. '97. W. R. Buchanan-Riddell ; B.A. Oxford. '98. E. G. St. Aubyn ; Lieutenant, 60th Bifles. '99. M. F. Blake ; Lieutenant, 6oth Rifles. 190 o. M. F. Blake „ „ „ '01. C. R. Blake ; B.A. Oxford. '02. G. A. C. Sandeman. CAPTAINS OF THE HOUSE AQUATICS 447 '02. A, Meysey-Thompson. '03. A. Meysey-Thompson. '04. H. B. Hammond-Chambers-Borgnis. '05. J. A. Clegg. '05. C. M. lionham. '06. R. V. Gibbs. II.— A LIST OF THOSE WHO WERE CAPTAINS OF THE HOUSE AQUATICS, AND WHO KEPT THE HOUSE BOATING BOOK. The fly-leaf of the first volume has this : ' This book was originally compiled by — Charles Edward Pepys (afterwards 2nd Earl of Cottenham : d. '63), and John Wolley (afterwards a distinguished Naturalist : d. '59) ; Assisted by — Robert Clive (Hon. R. Windsor Clive : d. '59), and W. A. Houston (d. '46) ; and is to be the property of the Captain of Evans' for the time being. Election Monday, July 25, 1842.' 1842. J. Foster. '43. Hon. G. Herbert ; afterwards Dean of Hereford : d. '94. '44. Hon. R. Herbert ; called to the Bat '53 ; High Sheriff, Salop, '78 : d. '02. '45. Sir J. F. Croft ; 2nd Bart. : died 1004. '46-7. Hon. T. F. Fremantle ; now Lord Cottesloe. '48. Hon. W. H. Fremantle ; now Dean of Ripon. '49. J. P. Cobbold ; some time M.P. for Ipswich : d. '75. '50. R. E. Welby ; now Lord Welby, G.C.B. Assisted by R. L. Pemberton ; High Sheriff, Durham, '61 : d. '01. '51. W. P. Williams Freeman; afterwards in H.M. Diplomatic Service : d. '84. '52. H. C. Marindin ; afterwards a Barrister ; d. at Calcutta '72. '52. J. Rendel ; now Lord Rendel. '53. G. Tyrrell ; afterwards a Barrister : d. '87. '54. G. C. Congreve ; afterwards Rev. ; Missionary of the Society of St. John at Cowley. '54. W. Strahan ; afterwards Major, Royal Artillery : d. '77. '55. H. Jenkyns ; afterwards Sir Henry Jenkyns, K.C.B. '56. C. Hopkinson ; afterwards a Banker. '57. A. A. K. Legge ; afterwards Rev. '58. R. M. Gawne ; afterwards Rev. '59. C. F. Johnstone ; afterwards Rev. : d. '92. '60-1-2. No names given ; but probably R. A. Kinglake and S. J. Fremantle, as they are mentioned as procuring a new book in '62 ; Vol. IV. '63. W. H. Wickens ; afterwards in the 63rd Regiment. '64. H. P. Sturgis ; M.P. for South Dorset '85-6. 448 APPENDIX II '65. C. H. Master ; High Sheriff for Surrey 1900. '66. J. H. Ridley ; J. P. Northumberland: died 1904. '67-8-9. F. A. Currey ; now a Solicitor. '70-1-2. F. C. Arkwright ; J. P. and D.L. Derbyshire ; High Sheriff '87. '73-4-5. J. R. Croft ; afterwards Sir John Croft, Bart. : d. 04. '76. O. J. Ellison ; now a Solicitor. '77-8. F. L. Croft ; now Sir Frederick Croft, Bart. '79. F. E. Croft. '80. W. G. Croft. '81. T. E. Harrison. '82. J. A. Pixley ; now a Barrister. '83. F. C. Holland ; now a Clerk in the House of Commons. '84-5. H. S. Boden. ,P I Lord Sudley ; now Earl of Arran. ^^■\J- S. Hawkins. '87. H. Marshall ; now a Barrister. '88. G. S. St. Aubyn ; now Major, 60th Rifles. '89. W. H. Noble ; now Rev. 'go. (No name given.) '91-2. J. A. Morrison ; afterwards Grenadier Guards ; sometime M.P. for Wilton. '93-4. C. H. Lyell ; now M.P. for East Dorset. '95. W. L. Graham ; Merchant. '96-7-8. E. G. St. Aubyn ; now 60th Rifles. '99. J. G. Gordon. 1900. (No name given.) '01-2. Hon. G. Agar-Robartes. '03. G. V. Wellesley. '04-5. E. R. Nash. '06. E. W. B. Collins Wood. III.— A LIST OF THOSE WHO KEPT THE HOUSE FOOTBALL BOOK, FROM ITS INSTITUTION IN 1855 TO THE DATE OF THE FOUNDING OF THE FOOTBALL CUP IN i860 The first volume of the Football Book has on the fly-leaf : 'Annals of the Football Matches at Eton from the year 1855. To be kept by the existing Captain of Mr. Evans' Football. 'This book was originally compiled by — F. N. Smith (formerly a Captain, 1st Derby R.V. ; a retired Banker). E. L. Home (afterwards Rev. ; Curate at Great Marlow '62-70 : d. '70). S. Bircham (Solicitor to the L. and S.W. Rly. Co.). H. Jenkyns (afterwards Sir H. Jenkyns, K.C.B. : d. '99). ' This book was kept by Edward L. Home, who filled the post of Captain of Mr. Evans' house eleven for three successive seasons, a fact hitherto unparalleled in the annals of football, from 1854-56.' FOOTBALL TIES 449 1856. Edward L. Home (above). '57. T. F. Halsey : now a Privy Councillor. '58. V. Van de Weyer ; formerly Lieutenant-Colonel, Royal Berks Militia ; High Sheriff, Berks, '85. '59. C. G. Lyttelton ; now Viscount Cobham. '60. J. R. Selwyn ; afterwards Bishop of Melanesia : d. '98. IV.— TABLE SHOWING THE POSITION OF THE HOUSE IN THE FOOTBALL TIES FROM THE DAYS WHEN THE HOUSE FOOTBALL CUP WAS STARTED IN i860. Captains. i860 J. R. Selwyn Beaten by Joynes', who won the Cup in 3rd Ties I86I J. R. Selwyn Beaten by Marriott's, after a draw, in the Final 1862 Hon. N. G. Lyttelton Beaten by Gulliver's in 2nd Ties 1863 Hon. N. G. Lyttelton Beaten by Drury's in 1st Ties 1864 W. S. Kenyon-Slaney Beaten by Drury's in the ante-Final 1865 W. S. Kenyon-Slaney Beat Drury s, and Won 1866 C. H. H. Parry Retained the Cup after three 1 draws with Warre's — 1867 J. R. Sturgis Beaten by Warre's in the Final 1868 G. G. Greenwood Beaten, after three draws. by Drury's in the Final 1869 F. A. Currey Beaten by Warre's in the Final 1870 A. W. Ruggles-Brise Beaten by Durnford's in the ante-Final I87I A. W. Ruggles-Brise Beat Warre's, and Won 1872 F. C. Arkwright Beat Warre's, and Won 1873 Hon. E. Lyttelton Beaten, after a draw, by de Rosen's in the Final 1874 Hon. A. Lyttelton Beat Dalton's, and Won 1875 C. W. Selwyn Beat Austen Leigh's, and Won 1876 H. Whitfeid Beaten by Hale's in the ante-Final 1877 R. D. Anderson Beaten, after a draw, by Hale's in the Final 1878 W. J. Anderson Beaten by C. C. James' in 2nd Ties 1879 VV. J. Anderson Beaten by A. C. James' in the ante-Final 1880 T. E. Harrison Beaten by Cornish's in 2nd Ties I88I Sir H. Lawrence Beaten by Cornish's in 2nd Ties 1882 C. A. Grenfell Beaten by Mitchell's in 2nd Ties 1883 A. W. Heber-Percy Beaten by Warre's in 3rd Ties 1884 E. G. Bromley-Martin Beaten by Daman's in the Final 1885 N. M. Farrer Beaten by Durnford's in the Final 1886 Hon. A. C. Thellusson Beaten by Luxmore's (who tied Marindin's for the Cup) in the ante-Final 1887 H. Heathcoat-Amory Beaten by Hale's in 2nd Ties 29 ^5o APPENDIX IV TABLE SHOWING THE POSITION OF THE HOUSE IN THE FOOTBALL TIRS—Contimud Captains. 1888 H. Heathcoat-Amory Beat A. C. James', and Won 1889 A. D. Boden Beaten by Durnford's in 2nd Ties 1890 A. D. Boden Beaten by Mitchell's in 3rd Ties I89I J. A. Morrison Beaten by A. C. James', after a tie, in the ante-Final 1892 G. F. H. Dickson Beaten by Mitchell's in the Final 1893 G. E. Bromley- Martin Beaten by Mitchell's (who won the Cup) in the ante-Final 1894 F. M. B. Robertson Beaten by Broadbent's in the ante-Final 1895 W. Gibbs Beaten by Impey's, after a draw in 3rd Ties 1896 J. L. Buxton Beaten by Mitchell's (who won the Cup) 3rd Ties 1897 J. St. J. N. Graham Beaten by Impey's in the ante-Final 1898 S. M. Macnaghten Beaten by A. C. James' in 3rd Ties 1899 L. Heathcoat-Amory Beaten, after a draw, by Austen Leigh's (who won the Cup) in the ante- Final 1900 M. F. Blake Beaten by Hare's (who won the Cup) in 3rd Ties I90I J. S. Mellor Beaten by Radcliffe's (who won the Cup) in the ante-Final 1902 E. L. Gibbs Beaten by de Haviland's in 1st Ties 1903 H. B. Hammond- Chambers Beaten by Rawlins' in 3rd Ties 1904 H. B. Hammond- Chambers Beat Impey's, and Won I90S C. Clifton-Brown Beaten by Williams' in the ante-Final Summary. In forty-six years, therefore, the House- Won the Football Cup 7 times Retained it (in '66) once Was in the Final 9 times Was in the ante-Final 12 times Reached the 3rd Ties 8 times Was beaten in the 2nd Ties 7 times And in the ist Ties ... twice FORMER MEMBERS OF EVANS' 451 v. — LIST OF FORMER MEMBERS OF EVANS', EIGHTY-ONE IN NUMBER, WHO SERVED IN THE WAR IN SOUTH AFRICA, 1899-1902* Lyttelton, Hon. Sir N. G., K.C.B., Lieutenant-General, Commanding Natal District, late Commanding a Division and Chief of Staff. Abinger, Lord, Imperial Yeomanry, Duke of Cambridge's Own. Anderson, W. J., Lieutenant T.ALI. Arran, Earl of, Captain and Brevet-Major R.H.G. Baillie, F. D., War Correspondent, late Major 4th Hussars. Banbury, C. W., Lieutenant Coldstream Guards. Bell, M. H. L., Captain Vol. Service Co., Yorkshire Regt. Bircham, F. R. S., Lieutenant West Surrey Regt. Militia, attached to Railway Pioneer Regt. Bircham, H. F. W., Captain K.R.R.C., Mounted Infantry Co., wounded at Brakenlaagte. Boden, A. D., Captain Rifle Brigade. Bond, A, A. G., Lieutenant Rifle Brigade, wounded at Ladysmith. Bonham, E. H., 2nd Lieutenant Royal Scots Greys, late Imperial Yeomanry, Duke of Cambridge's Own. Bonham, G. L., Captain Grenadier Guards, wounded at Senekal. Brown, H. Clifton-, Captain and Brevet-Major 12th Lancers. Bryant, H. G., D.S.O., Captain Shropshire L.I., Staff, wounded at Bothwell. Buchanan-Riddell, R. G., Lieutenant -Colonel K.R.R.C., killed at Tugela. Buller, J. D., Lieutenant A.S.C., late 2nd Lieutenant Worcestershire Regt. Buxton, J. L., Lieutenant Rifle Brigade, Station Staff Ofificer, wounded at Nelthorpe. Cavendish, J. S., D.S.O., Lieutenant ist Life Guards, Staff. Clowes, P. L., C.B., Lieutenant-Colonel 8th Hussars, wounded at Geluk. Darell, W. H. V., Lieutenant Coldstream Guards. Dawson, R. L., Lieutenant Coldstream Guards. Dickson, G. F. H., Lieutenant Royal Welch Fusiliers. Dorrien-Smith, A. A., D.S.O., Captain Rifle Brigade, Special Service. Drummond, L. G., Major (2nd in Command) Scots Guards. Dudley, Earl of, Major (2nd in Command) Imperial Yeomanry, Wor- cestershire, D.A.A.G., Imperial Yeomanry. Duff, G. J. B., Captain Imperial Yeomanry, Hertford ; late Lieutenan Imperial Yeomanry, Rough Riders' Corps ; late Imperial Yeomanry Norfolk. Du Pre, F. J., Lieutenant 3rd Hussars. Evelyn, J. H. C, Imperial Y'eomanry, Duke of Cambridge's Own. Fincastle, Viscount, V.C, Captain i6th Lancers, O.C. 31st Batt. Imperial Yeomanry, Staff. Fisher-Rowe, C. V., 2nd Lieutenant Grenadier Guards. Fraser-Tytler, E. G., Lieutenant Vol. Service Co., Cameron High- landers ; late Lieutenant Lovat's Scouts. * Taken from the general list published by the E.C.C. (supplementary edition, 1905) ; but with two names, there given, omitted. 29 — 2 452 APPENDIX V Fraser-Tyt'er, W. T., Lieutenant attached to Black Watch ; late Lieutenant Lovat's Scouts. Gibbs, G. A., Captain Imperial Yeomanry, Somerset. Gibbs, J. E., Lieutenant Coldstream Guards. Gibbs, W., Lieutenant 7th Hussars. Gladstone, H. S., Lieutenant King's Own Scottish Borderers, Militia ; Station Staff Officer, Intelligence Dept. Glyn, A. St. L., Captain Grenadier Guards, Special Service. Gordon -Duff, L., Lieutenant Gordon Highlanders, Intelligence Dept. Graham, J. St. J., Lieutenant Imperial Yeomanry. Lanarkshire. Greenly, W. H., D.S.O., Captain and Brevet-Major and Adjutant 1 2th Lancers. Grenfell, C. A., Captain Imperial Yeomaiiry, Bucks. Gurdon Rebow, M., Lieutenant Grenadier Guards, wounded at Bel- mont and killed at Hanover Road. Hanbury-Tracy, E. T. H., Captain Coldstream Guards. Harrison, J. C, Lieutenant Royal Scots Greys, wounded at Belfast and died of wounds at Pretoria. Harrison, T. E., D.S.O., Lieutenant-Colonel 4th Batt. Imperial Yeomanry, Captain Imperial Yeomanry, Leicester. Hornby, R P., Imperial Yeomanry, Paget's. Jenkins, W. R. H., Lieutenant 7th Dragoon Guards, Staff. Leitrim. Earl of, Lieutenant 9th Lancers. Lister, Hon. T., D.S.O., Lieutenant loth Hussars, wounded near Florida. Macnaghten, S. M., 2nd Lieutenant K.R.R.C., died through accident at Heidelberg. Manstl, J. D., Lieutenant Colonel Machine Gun Comm., Col. Reserve of officers ; late Lieutenant-Colonel Rifle Brigade, Staff. Mellor, J. S., 2nd Lieutenant Royal Sussex Regt. Militia. Milner, G. P., D.S.O., Captain ist Lite Guards, Lieutenant- Colonel 12th Batt. Imperial Yeomanry; late Special Service ; O.C. Mounted Infantry, Staff. Mirehouse, R. W. B., C.M.G., Lieutenant-Colonel North Staffordshire Regt. Militia, Comm. Beaufort West District. Mitford, Hon. C. B. O., Lieutenant loth Hussars, wounded at Krugers- dorp and Uniondale. Morland, h. C, Lieutenant-Colonel Imperial Yeomanry, East Kent, Reserve of (.officers ; late Major 9th Lancers, Comm. Imperial Yeomanry Depot. Morrison, J. A., M.P., Lieutenant Grenadier Guards, Special Service. Mullens, R. L., Captain, Brevet-Major, and Adjutant Queen's Bays, Staff; attached to ist Brabant's Horse; wounded at Leeuwkop. Oswald, St. C, Major 3rd Hussars. Percy, Lord A. I., 2nd Lieutenant Grenadier Guards. Petre, B. J., ^peciaI Service, Remounts Depot; late Captain Madras Lancers ; late Captain i8th Hussars. Porter, H. C. M., 2nd Lieutenant K.R.R.C. Powell, E. I).. Lieuienant Rifle Brigade. Pulteney, W. !'., D.S.O., Major and Brevet-Colonel Scots Guards, O.C. St Batt. Ramsden, R. E., Captain R.F.A., Pompoms ; wounded at Boschbult. NAMES CUT ON THE 'BOARDS' 453 Rhodes, J. F., Lieutenant Royal Scots Greys ; killed at Klippan, near Springs. Robertson, F. M. B., Lieutenant Black Watch, attached to S.A. Constabulary. St. Aubyn, E. G., 2nd Lieutenant K.R.R.C. St. Aubyn, G. S., Cai'tain and Brevet-Major K.R.R.C; 2nd in Com- mand T.M.I. Staff. Saumarez, Hon. G., Lieutenant South African Light Horse. Selwyn, H. J., Captain Imperial Yeomanry, Worcester. Soltau-Symons, L. C, Captain Royal Warwick Regt. ; late Lieutenant Durham L.I. Mounted Infantry. Stewart- Murray, Lord G., Captain Black Watch ; Adjutant ist Scottish Horse. Stewart-Murray, Lord J. T., Lieutenant Cameron Highlanders ; attached to 2nd Scottish Horse. Swaine, F. L. V., Lieutenant Grenadier Guards, Special .Service. Tullibardine, Marquis of, D.S.O., Captain and Brevet-Major R.H.G. ; Comm. rst Scottish Horse ; late A.D.C. to Brig. Cav. brigade. Walker, W. B., Lieutenant Yorkshire Regt., Mounted Infantry ; supply officer. Wilbraham, R. J., Major Duke of Cornwall's L.I. ; Comm. Eland's River. Winnington, F. S., 2nd Lieutenant Coldstream Guards. Wyatt-Edgell, M. R. A., Captain Imperial Yeomanry, Devon, wounded at Bothasberg. VI.— A COPY OF THE NAMES CUT ON THE 'BOARDS' 1840. F. Coleridge T. Howard-Vyse J. Hamer Viscount Lewi sham Hon. W. J. Pepys 1841. W. W. Cooper T. N. Underwood, K.S. J. Baver-tock, K.S. W. A, Houston C. J. Newdigate W. V. Evans, K.S. E. Howard-Vyse F. Howard Vyse R. Clive J. WoUey 1842. Hon. C. E. Pepys W. H. B. de Horsey R. J. Hayne 1843. C. M. Robins H. L. Thompson J. H. B. Lane E. B. Foster G. H. Waddington 1844. A. W. Franks C. H. Spencer- Churchill B. W. F. Drake, K.S. Hon. G. Herbert R. T. Palmer T. W. White H. Wrixon-Becher H. L. Dampier H. S. Bryant E. M. Clissold W. R. Atkin 1845. F. N. Rogers Hon. R. C. Herbert H. S. Adlington E. H. L. Penrhyn P. D. P. Grenfell O. H. L. Penrhyn H. W. Cust W. B. Coltman S. T. G. Evans L. W. Arkwright 1846. R. T. Thomson E. H. Rogers, K.S. F. J. Coleridge, K.S. 454 J. F. Croft F. Palmer Hon. J. W. Hely- Hutchinson H. W. Wilberforce St. L. M. Grenfell G. R. Hamilton A. W. Arkwright Hon. J. Colborne ] R. G. Evans Hon. W. H. Wynd- ham-Quin 1847. F. Philips A. Willes E. W. Blore J. W. Chitty W. L. G. Bagshawe A. T. Watson H. C. Hardinge A. R. Grenfell C. P. Duffield H. E. Legge J. H. U. Spalding 1848. C. Fursdon J. C. K. Shaw T. F. Fremantle H. C. Herries A. Newdigate W. E. Barnett A. D. Coleridge, K.S. A. C. Barnard 1849. J. M. Burgoyne P. Mitford W. L. Rogers H. R. L. Newdigate C. K. Crosse J. H. BuUer W. H. Fremantle H. Denne H. Mitford APPENDIX VI 1850. J. P. Cobbold J. Nanney W. J. Barrett-Lennard H. W. C. Page R. Pennefather E. W. Lear Hon. I. De V. E. T. W. Fiennes 1 A. J. Maynard D. Williams H. J. Fane 1851. F. B. Gregory E. G. Waldy E. H. Hewett R. W. Bradshaw R. E. Welby R. L. Pemberton W. O. Meade- King W. K. H. R. White C. W. Fremantle R. H. Denne T. B. Mynors C. J. Cornish H. Parish C. T. Murdoch S. R. Grenfell 1852. H. D. Burn F. A. Marindin W. Fursdon, K.S. H. C. Marindin J. Rolt E. A. A. K. Cowell S. Rendel C. B. Dickens J. Radford 1853- S. S. Parker A. Loftus-Tottenham G. Tyrrell , H. C. Brougham 1854. H. H. Denne E. Hopton G. Congreve H. B. Savory J. J. Johnstone 1855. R. W. Caldwell W. Strahan G. Strahan W. J. Bacon R. A. G. Cosby C. H. Borrer A. E. H. Ward Hon. J. D. Drummond Hon. R. H. S. Eden A. J. Robarts F. N. Smith 1856. S. Bircham C. J. Home H. Jenkyns F. W. Robins Marquis of TuUibar- dine C. C. Hopkinson E. L. Home S. P. Ohver J. F. Oliver G. R. Harriott G. F. Millett 1857. W. Selwyn G. G. Liddell, K.S. A. A. K. Legge W. K. Mott F. C. Kinglake W. R. M. Wynne C. G. H. Rowley C. C. Parry T. F. Halsey E. H. Ward R. Di' kinson P. A. Hope-Johnstone I NAMES CUT ON THE M BOARDS' 455 1858. J. F. F. Horner R. F. Meysey-Thomp F. T. Bircham J. Jenkyns son C. F. Borrer S. E. Hicks E. W. Hamilton C. G. Hardy V. H. B. Kennett iRfifi W. M. C. Burrell Jl KJKJKJ* E. T. Liddell C. W. Greenwood R. M. Gawne W. H. Ady C. F. Chawner 1862. G. F. R. Farquhar Lord A. S. Pelham- H. A. H. Ward Clinton E. A. Pegge-Burnell C. H. Master Viscount Cole F. M. Ward V. W. B. Van de F. G. Doyle G. 0. Trower Weyer E. 0. Trower Hon. G. H. Cadogan R. A. Kinglake F. C. Robarts J. R. Selwyn C. H. H. Parry E. S. Mott C. A. Mott J. F. Daly E. W. S. Login R. K. Hodgson S. W. Kindersley C. W. Gaussen J. Trower 1867. 1859. R. Elwes W. 0. Massingberd W. E. King E. L. Elwes C. E. Partridge A. C. Meysey-Thomp C. F. Johnstone son G. E. L. Baker 1863. F. E. Ady W. H. G. Robarts F. H. Barnett A. G. Rickards F. P. Washington L F. Nicholl J. H. Ridley Earl of Pembroke H. J. Allen S. J. Fremantle C. G. Bell A. Jenkyns G. W. Horner G. A. Warre G. Campbell J. R. Sturgis J. W. Buchanan-Rid- i860. W. H. Wickens dell H. 0. L. Baker E. H. Conant H. H. Muirhead J. H. Macalister V. N. Ward A. S. B. Van de Weyer 1864. J. M. Carr- Lloyd H. E. S. H. Drum- R. W. B. Mi rehouse Hon. C. G. Lyttelton mond G. W. Barnett 1868. R. Jenkyns Hon. N. G. Lyttelton M. Horner R. H. Jelf H . M . M e y s e y - H. B. Brown D. Pocklington Thompson F. A. Anson C. Macpherson-Grant R. Neville R. G. Gaussen F. C. Drummond C. M. Meysey-Thomp- 0. S. Wynne son J. E. Curtis 1865. H. 0, Tudor H. P. Sturgis T. E. Robarts Hon. E. Vesey A. W. Grant E. A. Owen W. Kinglake Hon. A. V. Lyttelton W. Watson 1861. W. W. Cook 1869. Hon. G. W. S. Lyttel- G. G. Greenwood A. E. Hardy ton W. R. Kenyon-Slaney A. H. Bircham C. E. E. Childers W. S. Kenyon-Slaney T. A. Hamilton 456 APPENDIX VI E. S. E. Childers Viscount Nevill Earl Waldegrave W. H. B. Heygate Hon. H. N. Walde- grave P. L. Clowes E. F. Alexander H. N. Gladstone H. Neville F. H. L. Schuster 1870. R. B. Brett Hon. A. T. Lyttelton F. A. Currey A. M. Blake A. H. Meysey- 1 homp- son J. S. Lumley W. A. Home-Drum- mond- Moray 1871. A. Farquhar Sir C. E. Dodsworth H. P. Currie Hon. G. M. Nevill A. Harcourt E. G. Parry Hon. H. G. R. Nevill A. H. Borrer J. S. Horner A. H. Popham G. W. H. Wanklyn A. W. Ruggles-Brise E. E. Bickersteth H. C. Morland R. S. B. Hammond- Chambers G. F. Gregory E. L. Brett 1872. C. C. Lacaita H. Hobhouse W. B. Danby I R. G. Buchanan-Rid- i dell I H. J. Gladstone ! R. G. Townley i Hon. R. H. Lyttelton i J. H. Lonsdale j H. O. Sturgis I C. F. Townley I C. W. Fraser-Tytler E. G. Fraser-Tytler P. R. Brewis F. C. Arkwright G. G. Kirklinton-Saul C. E. Pigott J. S. Marriott H. D. Fussell M. Drummond 1873- A. Busby C. W. Busby C. E. Clowes J. E. Bruce Baillie 1874. H. C. Holland G. de Saumarez Hon. E. Lyttelton A. W. Pulteney G. T. Marjoribanks G. S. Douglas J. E. Gladstone G. D. Lawrie Lord Windsor W. S. B. Levett 1875. E. E. Robertson B. M. O. H. Gosselin S. G. Parry F. B. Collier H. H. Master j A. R. Wigram R. J. Wilbraham Hon. A. Lyttelton E. W. Denison B. H. Holland W. A. Wigram J. Oswald J. R. Croft J. Bayley H. R. Wigram F. G. Kenyon-Slaney E. L. Somers-Cocks St. C. Oswald F. A. Denny C. R. Wigram E. R. Wigram 1876. C. W. Selwyn W. G. Richards C. T. Abraham O. J. Ellison S. H. Whitbread C. Neville T. C. T. Warner T.- P. King E. Christian L. H. Bristowe 1 P. Christian I C. Fraser-Tytler [ A. R. C. Somers-Cocks 1877. L. G. Drummond G. L. Holford E. G. Wilbraham E. Cadogan I W. H. Herries H. Whitfeld E. T. H. Devas C. C. Meysey-Thomp- son H. G. Wilbraham G. B. Collier C. L. Lindsay R. W. Fitzwilliam T. C. Farrer C. W. H. Good H. W. Whitbread A. A. Hanbury F. D. Baillie G. V. Bethell NAMES CUT ON THE 'BOARDS' 457 R. D. Anderson V. H. Mellor A. J. Chitty F. L. Croft S. W. Bethell Sir G. R. Sitwell E. S. Sitwell 1879. V. M. Biddulph E. Hobhouse F. E. Croft J. E. Gorst R. Willis-Sandford Hon. V. A. Spencer C. E. H. Hobhouse W. J. Anderson 1880. G. F. Milner H. V. Russell T. F. Fremantle A. W. Drury P. St. L. Grenfell N. C. G. Gardyne J. P. Hamilton J. A. Hildyard W. Hobhouse L. E. Mackintosh G. O. Smith H. E. Richards W. B. Tovvnley D. C. Herries W. G. Croft 1881. G. H. Barclay T. E. Harrison Hon. C. J. R. S. Tre- fusis M. G. Townley H. F. W. Prince R. Dimsdale A. V. A. Wellesley H. H. Clay J. P. Arkwright C. E. Farrer L. B. Bethell J. A. Pixley Sir H. H. Lawrence C. Fergusson R. O. Smith A. S. Northcote R. H, E. U. Pickering Hon. H. Trefusis S. R. L. Ward W. H. BuUer C. R. Watson M. O. Smith 1883. H. O. Fenn E. U. Hildyard F. C. Holland C. A Grenfell R. du P. Grenfell M. A. Fremantle R. Vaughan C. Fremantle J. H. Moore 1884. A. W. Heber-Percy Lord Ednani W. A. C. Fremantle W. G. Selwyn J. P. Noble Lord Royston J. A. Clarke K. A. Eraser Hon. F. N. Curzon N. D. Mackintosh W. S. V. Evans W. W. Mackintosh 1885. F. G. Arkwright F. Balfour T. H. Barnard E. G. Bromley- Martin H. L. Horsfall H. E. Crum-Ewing H. Morrison H. S. Boden H. V. Warrender G. J. B. Duflf R. J. Hanbury G. Watson 1886. Lord Sudley T. G. Bayley-Worth- ington N. M. Farrer F. P. Whitbread A. Dickson J. T. D'Arcy Hutton H. Clifton-Brown Hon. F. A. C. Thel- lusson J. C. Harrison 1887. H. Marshall W. Fremantle J. S. Hawkins A. V. Evans T. Byron F. H. Chapman Lord St. Cyres 1888. R. E. Beckett H. D. Bran. well A. Gaisford G. Baring G. S. St. Aubyn H. B. Shephard A. St. L. Glyn Lord Fincastle E. V. S. Caulfeild E. Clifton- Brown H. W. L. Heachcoat- Amory E. T. H. Hanbury- Tracy H. E. D'Arcy-Hutton 458 APPENDIX VI R. F. Cavendish Hon. J. Percy M. R. Martineau Lord Wark worth A. A. B. Marten H. F. Wright R. L. Mullens J. E. M. Farquhar G. E. H Fell M. H. Bell M. G. E. Bell J. Y. M. Scarlett G. Carr-Glyn H. J. Wagg F. C. Bramwell G. Young R. A. Fremantle R. S. Boden W. Peacock W. H. Noble Lord Balcarres Marquis of Tullibar- dine M. G. Wyatt-Edgell A. D. Boden L. G. Bonham B. Granville J. G. W. Tetley 1891. H. M. Fitzherbert W. F. Stratford- Dug- dale C. H. K. Marten H. St. G. Peacock R. A. Bennett M. G. Lloyd Baker R. M. Holland H. G. Bryant Lord G. Stewart- Murray C. E. A. Alington J. R. M. Macdonald 1892. G. A. Gibbs. E. H. Chinnery T. R. Croft J. A. Morrison E. C. Gaisford E. H. Bonham M. Gurdon-Rebow J. A. T. Clarke C. E. Durnford G. F. H. Dickson A. H. Gibbs 1893. A. E. N. Middleton J. H. C. Evelyn W. H. Greenly H. F. W. Bircham S. J. Selwyn O. B. Walker W. B. Walker G. A. Paley O. Haig F. L. V. Swaine Hon. P. E. Thellusson L. E. H. M. Darell 1894. A. A. Dorrien-Smith Hon. H. E. Thellusson C. H. Lyell G. E. Bromley-Martin H. K. Nisbet Hon. R. J. Strutt C. O. D. MacCarthy N. E. F. Corbett L. C. Soltau-Symons Hon. T. Lister H. J. Meysey-Thomp- son W. R. H. Jenkins 1895. G. E. Wright C. B. O. Freeman- Mi tford E. Holland H. S. Marsham-Town- shend R. L. Dawson Le R. A. Soher W. L. C. Graham E. T. S. Dugdale R. P. Hornby F. M. B. Robertson C. W. Banbury W. H. V. Darell E. B. Powell J. D. Buller Earl of Leitrim C. E. H. Master W. A. Kinglake H. J. Godley B. O. Bircham C. H. Duprd H. S. Gladstone W. Gibbs J. Fairfax Rhodes N. Hanbury J. L. Buxton L. Gordon Duff F. Marsham - Town- shend E. A. V. Stanley F. R. S. Bircham 1897. F. S. Winnington A. A. G. Bond A. L Percy W. Hornby D. Barker W. R. Buchanan-Rid- dell J. St. J. N. Graham D. Clifton-Brown J. E. Gibbs W. B. G. Montgomery F. J. Du Pre E. King-King B. R. W. Smith NAMES CUT ON THE 'BOARDS' 459 T. R. Gambier-Parry E. G. Walker C. V. Fisher-Rowe 1899. G. A. Tomlin S. M. Macnaghten E G. St. Aubyn Hon. T. C. R. Agar- Robartes W. R. G. Bond V. P. Powell H. C. Buller E. G. Martin Lord W. R. Percy N. M. Gibbs E. S. Ward 1900. L. A. Eddis L. Heathcoat-Amory C. S. C. Wyatt-Edgell W. H. P. Lewis J. G. Gordon M. S. Spencer-Smith H. C. M. Porter M. C. J. Johnstone B. G. Bouwens E. M. Buller M. F. Blake G. M. Darell L. G. Fisher-Rowe 1901. J. B. Martin Hon. A. J. W. Keppe E. H. L. Beddington E. R. Eddison J. W. Boden W. O. Gibbs W. M. Banbury T. M. Gambier-Parry R. P. J. Mitchell H. V. C. Pirie J. S. Mellor C. R. Blake 1902. R. E. P. Lewis J. A. Hammond- Chambers-Borgnis O. M. Frewen B. P. Leschallas G. A. C. Sandeman Hon. F. G. Agar- Robartes G. M. A. Graham H. M. Stobart R. F. L. Montague- Johnstone R. A. Arkwright C. H. Meysey-Thomp- son H. S. Firbank A. H. L. Soames 1903. E. L. Gibbs A. C. Clarke C. W. A. Drummond- Forbes E. M. Hope-Douglas E. W. Woods O. C. G. Leveson- Gower F. G. A. Arkwright A. W. D. Bentinck K. Murray 1904. A. de C. C. Meysey- Thompson B. E. Sutton D. W. G. Leigh-Pem- berton G. V. Wellesley W. Brass R. O. D. Keppel H. B. B. Hammond- Chambers F. A. W. Gibbs L. M. Buller R. A. Alston 1905. P. M. Shand Hon. V. A. Spencer J. A. Clegg J. L. Merivale E. F. Chinnery G. IL Alington C. E. Townley E. R. Nash C. B. Jackson G. E. F. Kingscote C. M. Bonham L. A. C. Ridout 1906. R. V. Gibbs max. E. J. P. Lewis F. C. Lacaita Hon. A. V. Agar- Robartes ma. R. C. Brooke C. Clifton- Brown E. J. C. David E. W.B.Collins-Wood R. A. Storey ma. G. H. R. Combe O. AUhusen F. H. Wright F. Menzies-Jones F. M. Hardman R. C. Ansdell E. C. B. Dale C. F. Liddell R. L. H. Collins A. C. Turnor L. Drummond G. M. Gibbs )na. L. M. Gibbs G. VI. Greaves J. G. Graham R. G. Anderson P. Leigh Smith J. L. Clowes ma. B. M. M. Edwards A. T. T. Storey mi. W. M. Armstrong D. H. W. Alexander C. J. Hoffnung-Gold- smid W. G. Houldsworth M. Tennant 46o APPENDIX VI-VII W. R. E. Harrison R. C. Mansel R. Burdon-Muller R. C. B. (Jibbs ;;//. J. A. Garton E. H. G. Palmer A. G. Taylor R. L. Stobart Hon. C. E. Agar- Robartes mi. P. Dilbcroglue G. N. Ogilvy V. E. G. Stacpoole J. H. S. Williams Drummond C. G. E. Clowes mi. L. C. Gibbs min. T. E. Lewinsky VII.— RULES OF MISS EVANS' HOUSE LIBRARY Drawn up January, 1897 Revised May, 1900 W. R. Buchanan-Riddell, President L. Heathcoat-Amory, President J. St. J. Graham, Secretary W. H. P. Lewis, Secretary D. Clifton-Brown, Auditor M. F. Blake, Auditor L That no Book be allowed to be taken out by anyone below the Lower Division of Fifth Form. n. That no one be allowed to ta' 417 ; his character, 430 ; his death, 431 Evans, Mrs. S. T. G., 22 note, 264 Evans, Sidney V., 17, 22 note, 300, 373; assists in management of the House, 373-4, 424 ; his posi- tion at Jane Evans' death, 438 ; petitions in favour of his being given the House, 439 et seq. Evans, William, birth of, 18 ; be- comes Drawing Master, 19 ; love of sport, 19 ; his painting, 20; his faniil}-, 22; left a widower, 25 ; starts House, 26 ; his principles of management, 26, 82, 85 ; takes Vallancey's, 27 ; describes Dames' houses, 28; his liberality, 41, 64; manner and appearance, 85 ; INDEX 467 his character and aspirations, 88-9; his accident, 89; his out- lay on the house, 33, 90 note ; liis interest in Aquatics, 118, 155. 156, I59» 163, 166, 176; his system put to the test, 179, 224, 234, 237 ; his final breakdown in health, 248 ; his anxiety for the future of the House, 250 ; his closing days and death, 250-1; his character, 251 ; his work for liton, 253; letters at the time of his death, 254 ; memorial tablet, 255 ; his posi- tion as the holder of a House and his leases, 256; his system put to the test, 268. 339, 3S9 Evans, William Vernon, 43 Ewing, II. E. Crum-, 300 Fagging, 76 Farquhar, Alfred, 233, 236 Farrer, C. E., 299 Farrer, Lord, 190; letter from, 241, 279 note, 329 Farrer, N. M., 328. 333 Farrer, S., 279 note Fenn, Mrs., 22 note ; account of her sisters, 43, 185-6, 248, 250, 431 Fenn, Rev. W. M., 1S5-6 Fieunes, Hon. F. N., 49 Fiennes, Hon. Ivo, 73, 77, no, 113 note Fincastle, Lord, 319, 328, 334, 377 Fire, provision in case of, 349 First Hundred, examination for, 174 note Fives Cup, the House, 2x0-11, 299, 409, 422 Fives, the School, 211, 409 Flood, the great, 352 Football Books, the, 108, 39S Football Cup, the, instituted, 130; summary of the place of the House in matches for, 398 Football Cup, Final matches for the: Evans' v. Drury's in 1864, 133 Evans' v. Drury's in 1865, 134 Evans' z>. Warre's in 1866, 136 Evans' i>. Warre's in 1867, 138 Evans' V. Drury's in 1868, 13S Evans' v. Warre's in 187 1, 192 Evans' v. Warre's in 1872, 193 Evans' v. De Rosen's in 1873, 195-6 Evans' v. Dalton's in 1874, 199 Evans' v. Austen Leigh's in ^875, 199 Footl)all Cup, Final matches for the {continued) : Evans' v. Hale's in 1876, 200 Evans' v. Hale's in 1877, 247 Evans' v. Daman's in 1884, 302 Evans' v. A. C. James' in 18S8, 303 Evans' z>. Mitchell's in 1892, 393 Evans' z'. Impey's in 1904, 396 Football eleven, the House, in 1846, 69; in 1849, 75; in 1850, 78; in 1855, 127; in i860, 129; in 1865, 136; in 1866, 138; ni 186S, 139; in 1871, 192; in 1872, 193; in 1873, 194; in 1874, 199; in 1875, 200; in 1877, 247; in 1888, 303; in 1904,396; in 1905, 396 j ' Football fields,' the, 126 I Football matches, earlv, 128 j Forster, J. G., 50 I Foster, John, 161, 167 i ' Fours.' See House Fours I Fourth Form Speeches, 51, 58 Franks, Sir A. W., 49, 53 F'raser, K. A., 273 Fremantle, list of members of the family who were at the House, 53 note Fremantle, Hon. Sir C. W., 49, 53, 84, 113,437 Fremantle, R. A., 317 Fremantle, Hon. S. J., 99, 100, 129, I 154, 156, 157, 160 Fremantle, Hon. T. F. See I Cottesloe ! Fremantle, T. F. , 299 j Fremantle, W. A. C, 273, 300, 327 Fremantle, Hon. W. H., 49 ; his I reminiscences, 59, 73, 74, 77 ' Furlong, Miss, 67 I Fursdon, C. 68 Gaisford, A., 312 Games in early daj-s, 126 Garnett, L., 160 Gawne, R. M., 156 General pcenas, 355 Gibberd, Nurse, 262 Gibbs, family of, 428 note Gibbs, E. L., 395 Gibbs, F. A. W., 396 Gibbs, G. A., 317 Gibbs, G. M., 396 Gibbs, J. E., 419 Gibbs, R. C. B., 397 Gibbs, R. v., 396, 397 note, 428, 437 30—2 468 INDEX Gibbs, W., 419 Gilbert, Miss, 42 Gladstone, Henry N., letter from, 139, 216, 219 Gladstone Right Hon. Herbert, 139, 171, 190; letter from, 218 Gladstone, J. E., 194, 237 Gladstone, the Right Hon. W. E., 9, 78; extracts from diar}' of, 317, 331 ; present at Breakfast, 330 - 1 ; gives a book to the library, 332 Glyn, A. St. 1., 346 Glyn, George Carr, 346 Glyn, Hon. Mrs. Sidney, 346 Gorst, Y. Eldon, 327, Graham, G. M. A., 407 Graham, J. G., 397 Graham, W. Iv., 346 Great-coats, introduction of, 164 Greaves, G. M., 408 Greenly, W. H., 368, 398, 399 note, 415, 420 Greenwood, C. W., 136, 173 Greenwood, G. G., 139, 155, 171 ; letter from, 173, 218 Greenwood, John, 47 Grenfell, C. A., 107, 273, 305, 328 Gtenfell, P. du Pre, 68 Grenfell, R. du Pre, 300, 331 Grenfell, P. St. L., 299, 328 Grenfell, St. L. M., 68 Grimthorpe, Lord, 190, 199, 202, 240; letter from, 279, 280 Goldsmid, C. J. H., 397 Gordon, J. E., 379 Gore, 300 Gosselln, Sir Martin le M., i6o note Haas, Marie, 217, 329, 341 Hall, L.J. , iiS Halsey, Right Hon. T. F., letter from, 98, 118 Hamilton, Sir Edward AV., 129, 154, 157, 159, 161 ; letter from, 163 Hanbury, R. J., 3CX), 334 Harcourt, Aubrev, 224 Hardinge, Sir H.' C, 68 Hardwicke, Earl of, 32S, 331 Hardy, Hon. A. E. Gathorne, letter from, 158 Hardy, Hon. C. Gathorne, 117, 118 Harris, Lord, 84 note Harrison, J. C, 300, 334 Harrison, Miss, 262 Havilland, R. S. de, 407, 420 Hawtrey, Dr. C. H., 10, 12, 51, 1 10, III, 113, 117 Hawtrey, J. W., 120 Hawtrey, Stephen, 15 Henry, King, VL, his scheme, 2 ; his purchases and grants of land, 5 Herbert, Hon. George, 60 Herbert, Hon. Rol>ert, 60 Herbert, Sir Robert, 60 Herries, Herbert C, 50, 55, 61 Hicks, S. E., 100, 119 Hildvard, E. D., letter from, 331, 333 Hobhouse, Charles E., 190 note, 327 Hobhouse, E., 190 note ; letter from, 329 Hobhouse, Right Hon. Henry, 189, 226, 233 Hobhouse, W., 157, 190, 239, 330 Hodgson, Francis, 10, 12 Holland, Bernard H., 190, 226; letter from, 237, 279 Holland, F. C. H., 190 note, 273 Holland, R. J. H., 190 note Hopgood, Mrs., 42, 51, 54 Hopkinson, C. H., 117 Hopton, Sir E., 99 Home, E. L., 127 Horner, George, 138, 222 Horner, J. F. F., 57 note;' letter from, 99, 100, 129, 156, 165, 166, 3S4 Horner, Maures, 136, 142, 152, 222 Horsfall, H. L., 273 Hoskins, C. T., 52 Houldsworth, W. G., 397 House, the, date of foundation, 29 note ; Evans' outlay on and description of, 33 ; the Hall, 36 ; number of boys in, 38; absence in, 43; theatricals in, 51 ; list of boj's in '44 and '45, 67 - 8 ; list of boj's in '51, 81 ; absence of luxury in, 41, 83; the Cap- tains of, 92, 93 ; the tone of a House, 94-5 ; advent of boys from Coleridge's, 95-6 ; more a dry-bob than a wet-bob House, 122; alwaA-s a football House, 126; the House colours chosen, 131-2, 159; period when it ex- celled most at football, 132 ; cricket successes in the 'sixties, 147 ei seq. ; individuality of, 171 ; anni mirabiles, 189; its athletic successes, 190- 1 ; de- feats College at football, 194; comes well out of matches with De Rosen's in '73, 196-7 ; enters two crews for House Foi:rs. INDEX 469 207 ; unpopularity of the House in the School, 213 ; causes of same, 214, 240; the House in 1877. 247; the position of, at William Evans' death, 255 ; provision in case of sickness, 262 ; deaths in, 263 ; the Evans' method of governinj?, 268 ; these methods put to the test, 268; discipline in the House, 269 ; the House put ' bows,' 300 ; smoking and card- playing, 312; food in, 329; sports, 345 ; private cups, 345-6 ; subscriptions and accounts, 349 ; provision in case of fire, 349; the weekly allowance, 351 ; types of boj'S in, 351 ; athletic successes confined to Juniors, 369 ; epidemics in, 376 ; the death of a boy in, 376 ; its posi- tion in football and cricket, 1891 - 1905, 391 ; maintains its character, 412 ; dark shadows, 413; regains its old form, 414; its consistent hi^h place in athletics, 418; retains the Fives Cup, 422; last days of, 425; closing the door, 43S et seq. ; looking back, 442 House colours instituted, 131 House Fours, institution of Cup for, 115, 118; the Plouse wins in 1861, 119; also in '75, 208; also in '76 ; 209 ; winners have to row in heats, 247 ; the Plouse rarely represented in the race, 307. 407 Houstoun, W. A., 51, 107 Humfrey, Blake-, 124 Hutchinson, Hely-, 49 Ilchester, Earl of, 177 Jackson, C. B., 408 Jelf, J. A., 96 Jenkins, W. R. H., 420 Jenkyns, Rev. Dr. H. J., loi Jenkyns, J., 100. 119, 127 Jenkyns, Sir Henry, loi Joby, 147 Johnson, William, 147 ; his prize for poetry, 170, 237 Johnstone, C. F., 156 Johnstone, H. A. Butler-, 99, 127 Johnstone, M. C. J., ^76 Johnstone, R. F. L. M., 376 Junior Pulling instituted. 122 Junior Sculling instituted, 122 Keate, Dr., 18, 19, 28 Kennett, Sir V. Barrington, 129, 158 Kenyon, Mrs., 43, 74, 82, 85 Keppel, Hon. A. J. W., 420 King, Meade-, 74, 99, in King, W. E. King-, 174 Kinglake, F. C. 118 Kinglake, R. A., 100, 118, 119; letter from, 120, 122, 128,129, 166 Kitchen, the Boys', 341 et seq. Knaresborough, Lord, 129; letter from, 141, 154, 169 384 Knight, Jack, 80 Lacaita, C. C, 139; extracts from his diary, 185, 189, 211; letter from, 220, 226, 236, 238, 27 [ Lacaita, F., letter from, 425. 437 Ladies' Plate, the, 115, 122 Landseer, Sir Edwin, 24 Lane, Bagot, 49 Lawes, C. B., 140, 160 Lawrence, Sir H., 328, 330 Lawrie, A. D., 237, 240 Leaving books, loi Le Marchant, 127 Lewes, Earl of, 234 Lewis, E. G. P., 396 Lewis, R. E. P., 379 Lewis, W. H. P., 409 Lewisham, Lord, 39, 51, 254 ' Library, The,' equivalent of, in early daj's, 51, loi ; committee of boys known as, 101, 265 ; description of, 266, 273 note, 333. 427 Library, the College, 97 Library, the House, 97; founding of, 98 et seq. ; contents of, loi ; 163,164, 223, 230, 233, 240, 333,427 Liddell, C. J., 174 Liddell, E. T., 174 Lister, Hon. T., 419 Lloyd, J. M. Carr-, 136, 219 Lonsdale, J. H., 2S0 ' Lower-boy,' calling, 334, 355, 426 Lower - boy Cricket Cup, the House wins in i88r, '88, and '90, 299, 306-7 ; name of Cup changed to Junior, 306, 317; referred to as Junior Cup, 401 ; new rules as to, 402 ; the House wins, 402 ; the iriouse wins, 403 Lower - boy Football Cup, the House wins four times in five years, 299-300, 395 ; again suc- cessful, 396 ; last eleven, 397 Lower-boy Pulling, 406 470 INDEX Lower-bo}- Sculling, 406 Lubbock, Alfred, 151, 157 Ivuttrell, G. R, 50 lyjell, C. H., uotes from, 386, 416; letter from, 418, 419, 437 Lj'ttelton, family of, 94, 172, 339, 389 Ivjttelton, Right Hon. Alfred, 190, ^95' I99> 202, 211 ; letter from, 229, 236, 239, 284, 302, 303, 384, 389. 437 L3 ttelton, Hon. A. T,, 139, 152, 155, 159. 171.216,226,231,232,236,237 Lyttelton, Hon. A. V., 96, 97, 129, 144 IvA'ttelton, C. G. See Cobham Lyttelton, Hon. Edward, 190; his account of the matches with De Rosen's in '73, 195, 198, 201, 202, 206, 211; letter from, 224, 232, 284, 389, 424, 437, 438 Lyttelton, Hon. G. W. Spencer, 129, 150, 151, 154, 161, 171 Lyttelton, Lord, 10 Lyttelton, Hon. Sir N. G., 128-9; note as to House colours, 132, 148, 149, 150, 154; letter from, 156, 159, 163, 169; letter to W. Evans, 178, 389, 437 Lyttelton, Hon. Robert, his note on cricket (1866-72), 152, 190, 233. 236-7 MacCarth3% D., 346 Macdonald, J. R. Moreton, letter from, 336 Mackintosh, W. W., 300 Macnaghten, S. M., 397 note, 399 note, 409, 410, 423 Maids, 338, 340 Mansel, R., 397 Marindin, H. C, 77 Marjoribanks, G. T., 2S2 Marshall, H., 328 ; letter from, 334 Marten, A. B., 397 note Marten, C. H. K., 198, 346 Martha (Mrs. Ihanis), her remi- niscences, 339, 421 Martin, E. G., 399 note Martin, E. G. Bromley-, 306, 328, 333. 437 Martin, F. Wjkeham-, 62 Martin, G. E." Bromley-, 368, 384, 397 note, 398 note ; notes from, 399.400, 409, letter from, 417 Martineau, M. R., 312 Master, a, and his house, 267 Mathematical Masters, 15, 244 Mathematics, 15, 155, 226 Matrons, the first, 42, 90 Merivale, J. L., 396, 400 Milnes, Burnell-, 174 Mission, the Eton, 350 Mitchell, R. A. H., 145, 147, 149 Mitford, A. B. Freeman-. See Redesdale I Mitford, D. C. Freeman-, 84 note, I 420 Mitford, Henrj-, 8^ note Mitford, J. P. B. O., 84 note Mitford, Percy, 84 note Modern languages, 13, 14, 155, 226 Montem, 14, 23, 59, 77 Moore, J. H., 300 Moray, H. Drummond-, 164 Morland, H. C, 235 Morley, Miss, 262 Morrison, J. A., 32S, 367, 397 note, 406, 415, 420 Musical Society, founding of the, 160 ; the first concert, 161, 164 ; gradual development of music at Eton, 162, 164, 166 Mynors, T. B., 74 Nairnes, Robert, 254 Nash, E. R., 408 Nevill, Lord, 234 Nevill, Lord Henry, 234 Newcastle Scholars, Oppidan, 157 note Newcastle -under -line, the, 174 note Newdigate, Sir Henr}', 48, 51, 114 Northampton, Lord, 164 Northcote, A. S., 273 Norton, Kate, 341 Nursing arrangements, 262 ' Odd 'uns,' the, 127 01d-bo3' matches, 198, 319 Oliver, J. F., 117, 127 Oppidan dinner, 80, 115; abolition of, 123 Oppidan exhibition, the, 174 note Oppidan prizes, the, 173 note Oppidans, first mention of, 6; in creasing number of, 7, 14 ' Orders,' 29 note Oswald, J., 211, 239, 280 Outrigger, the first, 115 Parker, Mrs., 72 Parry, C. Clinton, 127 Parry, Sir C. Hxibert H., 136, 137, 152, 154, 157, 159, 161, 163"; letter from, 165, 169. 218, 371 Parry, E. Gambier, 162, 370 INDEX 471 Parry, S. Gambier, 194, 199, 201 Parry, T. Gambier, 25 note Parry, T. M. Gambier, 370 note Parr)', T. R. Gambier, 370 note Passage football, 226, 236, 427 * Passinf^,' institution of, 46 Peacock, H. St. G., 39S note, 400 Peacock, W., 346 Pemberton, R. L., 62, 63, 65, 74, III . Pembroke, Earl of, 155, 159 Penrhyn, E. H., 62 Pepys, Hon. C. E. (Earl of Cotteu- ham), 107 Percy, A. W. Heber-, 305, 307, 333 Percy, Earl, 328, 334, 415 Percy, Lord J., 415 Petitions in favour of continuance of the House, the, 439 Philolutes, 31 note Physical Science, 13 note Pickering, R. H. U., 256 note, 299- 331 Pigott, C. E., 280 Pixley, J. A., 299, 327 ; letter from, 330 Plymouth, Earl of, 171, 190, 240, 280 Pocklington, Duncan, 121, 147 • Pop,' 78 Porchester, Ivord, 65 Portrait of Jane Evans, the, 381 et seq. ; presentation of, 387 ; address with, 390 Powell, Pick)-, 147 Power, Major, 35 note Primrose, Hon. E. H., 164 Private Tutors, the, 13, 30 Psychrolutic Society, the, 31 note Pulling, the Junior, 122, 406 Pulling, Novice, 406 Pulling, the School, 211 Pulteney, A. W., 194, 233, 236 Punting matches, abolition of, 117 Racquet Cup, the House, 210-11 Racquets, Double and Single, 211, 409 Rebow, M. Gurdon-, 416-17 Redesdale, Lord, 49, 62; letter from, 84 Rendel, Lord, 49, 73, 74, 84 ; letter from, 84, III, 254, 369 Rhodes, J. Fairfax, 423 Ricardo, F. C, 123 Ricardo, H., 138 Richards, H. E., 299, 327 Rickards, A., 138 Riddell, vSir J. B., 177 Riddell, R. G. Buchanan, 245 Riddell, W. Buchanan, letter from, 266, 353 Ridley, J. H., 122, 142, 157, 169 Rifle-shooting, 298 Robarts, A. J.. 99, 117 Robartes, Hon. A. V. Agar-, 396, 408 Robertson, F. B., 399 note, 400 Rogers, P'rank, 51 Rogers, Norman, 60 ! Rolt, John, III, 117 i Rowe, Iv. G. Fisher-, 379 Royston, Lord. See Hardwicke j Ryie, Herbert. See Winchester, ; Bishop of ! St. Aubyn, E. G., 368, 423 j St. Cyres, Viscount, 170, 328, 384 ! Sandemau, G. A. C, 399 note, i 409 Sargent, John S., 285-6 Saul, G. G. Kirklinton-, 234, 237 School races, institution of various, 139, 211 Sculling, the Junior, 122, 406 Sculling, Novice, 406 Sculling, the School, 211 Selwyn family, the, 389; list of the, 415 note Selwyn Charles, 238, 240, 2S0 Selwyn, George Augustus, 10, 25, 26, 29, 30; memorial in House to, 32, 46, 49 Selwyn, John Richardson, 32, 96, 100, 119, 120, 121, 124, 128, 129, 154, 159, 166, 382, 384 Selwyn, S. J., 415, 437 Selwyn, William George, 32 'Shirking,' 46, 109, 123 Shooting Cup, institution of the, 124, 135, 211, 248; the House secures it four years running, 299 Singing Cup, the, 410 Sitwell, Sir G., 247 Six and Eight matches, 117 Slaney, F. Kenyon-, 199 Slaney, W. R. Kenyon-, 139 Slaney, Right Hon. W. S. Kenj'on-, 154; letter from, 158, 164, 218 Small-pox, 77 Smith, C. H., 117 Smith, M. S. Spencer-, 379 Smith, O., 300 Smith, P. Leigh-. 397 472 INDEX Snow, Herbert, 122 South Meadow, 393 Spencer, Hon. V. A. See Churchill Squash -racquets, 347 Steeplechase, the, 139 Storey, A. T., 397 Strahau, G. S., 117, 174 Strutt, Hon. R. J., 416, 418 Sturgises, the, 166, 171 Sturgis, Howard O., 171, 190, 234, 382.4, 3S5-6-7 Sturgis, Juhan. 142, 154, 157, 159, 164, 173, 218, 221 Sudley, L,ord. See Arran * Swagger rows,' the, 219 Sweepstakes, the House, III Symons, L. S. Soltau, 420 Thackeray, W. M., 82, 84 Thellusson, Hon. F. A. C, 328, 333. 334, 397 note Thellusson, Hon. P. E., 397 note Thompson, Meysey-, the family|of, 168, 389 Thompson, A. C. Meysey-, 129, 136, 157, J70 Thompson, C. C. Meysey-, 248 Thompson, H. Meysey-. See Knaresborough Thompson,Colonel R. F. Meysey-, letter from, 136, 169, 170, 377 note Thompson, Langhorne, 49, 52, 74 Thomson, Sir R. White, 49 ; his Eton diary, 68 Tinne, J. €.,"169 Townle}% R. G., 234 Trefusis, Hon. C. G. R. See Clinton Tritton, E. W., 151 Trower, J., 1 19, 120 Tnllamore, Lord. 47 Tullibardine, Marquis of, 65, 319 Turnour, A. C, 396 Tute, Miss, 262, 434. 435, 437 Tytler, C. Frazer-, 171, 280 ' Upper tap,' 80 Vallancey, Mrs., 27, 28 note Van de Weyer, V. W. B., 96, 118, Verses, 226 Vesey, Hon. Eustace, 171 Victoria, Her Majesty Queen, 23, 217. 329 Volunteers, the, 124; debate on, 292 Waldegrave, Earl of, 155 Waldy, E. G., 49 Wall, the, built, T26 Walpole, G., 164 Wanklvn, Mrs., death of, 430 Ward, E. H., 174 Warkworth, Lord. See Percj* Warner, T. Courtenay-, 190, 207 Warre. Dr. Edmond, 116, 122 Warrender, H., 300, 334 Water-Colour Society, the Old, 20, 21 note Watson, Sir A. T., 69 Webb, 348 Welby, Lord, 49; his reminis- cences, 72 84, 113, 126 Wellesley, G. V., 408 Wenlock, Lord, 84 note Westminster, the races with, no, 112, 116; the two last races, 121 Whitbread, F. P., 333, 334 Whitbread, S. H., 207, 240 Whitfeld, H., 190, 203, 211 Wigram, C. R., 282 Wigram, W. A., 199 Winchester, Bishop of, 171, 190 letter from, 231, 235 Windsor Fair, 355 Windsor, Lord. See Plymouth Windsor Theatre, 355 Wiss, A. P. W., 52 Wood, B. Collins-, 396, 408, 409 Woodward, Mrs., 341, 386 Wolley, John, 51, 107 Worthington, T. G. B., 300 Wright, H. F., 328, 397 note Wyndham-Quinn, Hon. H., 49, 68 Wynne, O. S., 116, n8 THE END BILUINO AND Si >.\S, I.l'L)., rulNTKKS, (iUII-l'KOKU limAHYIACUIjy AA 000 908 478 l