CHAPTER X.THE JUNIOR IN MEADS.“Watching out”—Cricket Reminiscences—Lord’s Matches—Turf—Football—Six and Six—Twenty-two and Twenty-two—SS and Trees—Fines—Sick-House—Gooseberry Fool—“Going Continent”—Long Meads—Enlargement of Meads.
“Watching out”—Cricket Reminiscences—Lord’s Matches—Turf—Football—Six and Six—Twenty-two and Twenty-two—SS and Trees—Fines—Sick-House—Gooseberry Fool—“Going Continent”—Long Meads—Enlargement of Meads.
As I said before, I must confess that as a Junior I did not on the whole look upon a holiday as a peculiar blessing; indeed I used to watch the applicant for a Remedy with much interest, and profound was my secret disgust when it was granted, and ill-concealed my satisfaction if it was refused.
My reason for this was the unlimited extent to which “Watching out” at cricket was enforced on us. I believe that this is now altered, the timebeing limited to one hour on a school-day, and two on a holiday, which amount is healthy for the boys, and very useful, inasmuch as it initiates them into one of the most useful branches of a public-school education—the science of cricket. But it is quite possible to have too much of a good thing. I have been, on a Saint’s-day, (this, however, was an extreme case, and did not occur often,) ordered down to watch out in Meads early in the morning before breakfast, and not allowed to quit the ground, (except to attend chapel,) till dark, the whole time without a hat, often in a broiling sun; at breakfast time and one o’clock one of the Fags would be sent up to bring down food, which we ate on the ground. In order to effect this day’s work, we had (if we could not get leave, and I think only three were allowed) to shirk Hills three times, for each of which we were liable (if discovered, by names being called, as was generally the case) to an imposition. And when the day’s entertainment commenced by a big Præfect, about twenty-two years old, placing a boy aboutten paces behind the wickets as Longstop to a fast bowler, pointing significantly to a spare stump stuck in the ground close by, and remarking, with a savage scowl, “Now, you look here, you young ⸺, you see that stump, the first ball you miss I’ll cut you in three pieces—body, soul, and legs,” I think it will be admitted that to that Longstop at any rate a holiday would not be regarded as a very great privilege, especially when Nestor was not at all the boy (man, I should rather say) not to endeavour conscientiously to fulfil any promise of the kind above mentioned. I again repeat, this is an extreme case; and now, even if the will were present, the opportunity would be wanting. Happy was the boy who succeeded in making a catch, as in that case he was excused from watching out for the rest of the day; still more serene must have been the existence of the mustard and pepper keeper—the responsible duties of which office relieved the fortunate holder from service in the field.
But what adepts we became in fielding underthis rough treatment! I would in those days stop a ball with my left hand, which, if I now saw coming towards me, I should diligently avoid touching at all. So “there is no cloud but has its silver lining;” and, perhaps, if in these latter days Winchester has not held the laurels in cricket quite so firmly as of old, it is in some respects owing to the mitigated apprenticeship served by the boys in their Fagging days. This, alas! is not of much consequence now, since it has been deemed expedient by the authorities to put an end to the public-school matches at Lord’s, which tended so much to produce a wholesome feeling of patriotic rivalry among the boys, and were always looked forward to by all Wykehamists as the pleasantest rendezvous of the year, where their spirits were refreshed by talking over past times with old friends seldom seen but at those reunions.
I have heard, from the best authority, that the principal reason for no longer permitting the Winchester boys to contend with Harrow and Eton in the public arena at Lord’s is, that their parentscomplained that they were put to great inconvenience by having to send up their sons to London in the middle of the holidays, that they were put to considerable expense, and the boys exposed to many temptations. These objections are valid ones, I admit; but, I think, not insurmountable. As regards the expense, I am certain that a fund could easily be raised that would cover all the travelling expenses of the eleven for the next ten years; and as regards the exposure of the boys to temptation, I am sure that, even if they had no relations resident in London who could put them up, were the want made known, hospitable doors would open in sufficient number, not only to take in the eleven, but the whole school, if required; and the boys’ proceedings would be as carefully looked after as if they were at home. And I cannot doubt but that the old school is lowered in the eyes of the public by its absence from the annual contest at Lord’s, and that other schools will gradually usurp the position as one of the first in England, which it has held for so many centuries.
I must, however, in justice, add that, from the present arrangement of having the cricket-match with Eton played on alternate years at Eton and Winchester, the boys themselves (excepting the eleven) certainly must derive far greater amusement than they did heretofore from the knowledge of the fact that the match was being played at London, where, besides the eleven, there probably would not be half-a-dozen present. Now they get two whole holidays; and when the match is played at Winchester, half the Eton boys come over by railway, and are entertained in Hall, so that the game is carried on in the presence of the two schools. Notwithstanding this, I think that the annual contest of the principal schools in the national game is an affair in which the interests of the majority of Wykehamists ought to be consulted, and should take place in the metropolis.
What a noble game cricket must be, when one loved it so much, notwithstanding the previous training! What genuine excitement when College and Commoners was played; what frantic shoutingwhen Rapid got well hold of a “Barter,” (seeGlossary,) and sent the ball from “Spanish Poplar,” right over Meads wall by “Log pond;” or when Cocky, from the centre of “Turf,” landed one well into the middle of Commoners! They used to hit hard in those days with a bat, as well as with a ground ash. Howblaséone gets now-a-days! Oh for a quarter of an hour of genuine boy’s enthusiasm!
Meads is always a pleasant spot to me. I played in a match there not long ago against the garrison; but, alas! where was the fire that used to burn within me! I got one run the first innings, and was bowled out first ball by a slow underhand “Lob” (tice) the second; and when I attempted to throw up the ball, it went ten yards wide of the wicket, my arm nearly out of its socket, and I felt the pain in it for a week after. But I am glad I got out soon, for I strolled round the old place, and inspected all the well remembered nooks and corners; and the stones in the wall so carefully smoothed and neatly carved withthe names of past heroes. Happy he who, on his return in after life, can find his unscarred; a sure sign that he had left a respected name behind him. There was Amen Corner still unchanged; I could even discern faint traces of
“S̄alvĕ D̆i|vā P̄o|tens”
that we chalked up years ago in honour of “Young Sadnose’s” powers of scanning. Log pond, with its Champions, still exists, but much shorn in its dimensions, and a row of trees planted in front. “Non Licet gate’s” hinges looked as rusty as ever, (it was supposed only to be opened when a boy was to be expelled.) Spanish Poplar was gone,—blown down by a gale. How well I remember, when a small boy twelve years old, on my first appearance in Meads, seeing “Long John” and ten other men pulling at a condemned limb which was half sawn through, when the rope suddenly snapped, and they all in an instant subsided on their backs in the middle of Turf; how I rolled with delight at the scene! Since then I have oftenrolled with delight, as well as from other sensations, in the old green Meads; one had one’s trials and difficulties, yet, on the whole, I doubt if I have ever been much happier.
About two acres in the centre of Meads was slightly raised above the rest on a chalk foundation, and covered with turf, which was most carefully kept, and constantly rolled, and in winter fenced all round. This, which was calledpar excellence“Turf,” was kept sacred for the use of the Præfects and the first eleven, (called Senior Match;) except two corners, which were allotted to Middle and Junior Match,—the former consisting of the second eleven and Senior part, and the latter of the third eleven.
But I must now proceed to Football, a game I like (or rather, used to like) far more than cricket. The reason is simple; I was a tolerably good hand at the former, and rather a muff at the latter. Of all the games of football that I have seen, I think none can compare in interest to the Winchester“Six and Six.”[8]I hate the crowded games of twenty or thirty a-side, where for one kick at the ball you receive a dozen on your shins. In “Six and Six” your powers of pluck, endurance, strength, and speed are constantly called into play; it is not all weight and hustling, but speed and scientific kicking, that win the day. Kicking the ball up into the air was considered very bad play, except when the ball had been previously caught before it had touched the ground, when it was allowed,i.e., if the kicker could get the chance, before one of the other side was down upon him.
Our costume consisted of a jersey, flannel trousers, “Beeswaxers,” (lace-up boots,) or “High-lows,” (low shoes,) with two or three pairs of “Worsteders,” (thick worsted stockings,) the feet of all but one pair being cut off.
Every day, during middle school, the two senior Præfects who intended to play made out the “Roll” (list) of the side,—one was headed “AdRubrum Murum” (which meant that that side was to kick towards Sick-house wall,) and the other “Ad Foricam,” (vice versâ.) But Football wasn’t all beer and skittles to the Fags. There was an institution called “Kicking in,” which, while it lasted, was much worse than watching out at cricket, although it had the very great merit of not continuing so long; for even on a whole holiday we seldom had more than two hours of it. It was managed as follows:—The ground for the game was marked out by two rows of Juniors, who were obliged to keep exactly in line and prevent the ball from passing outside them, or if it did, to put it back again. Midway between each of the two ends of the line was stationed another boy, as umpire, (“Goal,” he was called,) who stood with his legs wide apart, and a gown rolled up at each foot: if the ball was kicked directly over his head, or between his legs, without his touching it, it was a “Goal,” and scored three for the party that kicked it; if directly over one ofthe gowns at his feet (a “Gowner”) which counted two; or if it passed between either of the gowns and the last boy of the line on that side, (a “Schitt,”) one.
We used also to play large games, occasionally with twenty-two a-side, which I did not much admire. The biggest boy on each side stood opposite to each other, the remainder pressing up close round, with their heads and bodies down in a compact mass; then, just to encourage them, the captain would drop his great fist on their backs, with a mild injunction; and the ball being deposited in the middle, the struggle began. This was called a “Hot,” a very appropriate appellation. After surging tumultuously about for a time, some boy would emerge from the mass with the ball before him, when it would be kicked about a little, till it got out of the line, when another “Hot” would be formed, and so on.[9]We used to haveannual matches with Commoners, six a-side, and also with twenty-two; one of the proudest moments of my life was when I was first unexpectedly told that I was to play in “Six and Six.”
The Juniors did not get much fun out of the regular games, as their part consisted solely in kicking-in the ball, and receiving divers kicks and “clows” in return for their vigilance; in the afternoons on holidays, however, they used to get a kick at a ball on their own account, as there was a kind of perpetual scratch game, without chosen sides, going on; this was called “SS and Trees,” from two trees being the goal at one end, and two iron clamps in the shape of two SS fastened in the wall at the other.
Football at Oxford, (where Winchester, Eton, Harrow, Westminster, Rugby, and various “T’other Schoolmen,”i.e., those who had not been at a public school, used to play together, each with different rules,) occasionally gave rise to some amusing incidents. On one occasion I saw a Rugby man catch the ball, and, with a complacentsmile, was then taking a little run to give impetus to his intended kick off, when Podder, hot from Winchester, darted out, and with one dexterous turn of his leg, laid the Rugbean flat on the ground, and before he could scoop the mud out of his mouth, and compose himself to articulate ejaculation, Podder had carried the ball to the other end of the ground. It subsequently appeared that by Rugby rules no one was allowed to interfere in such a case, whereas at Winchester he who had caught the ball might kick if he could, and if any one ran at him to interfere, he might then run away.
Football, though a splendid game for boys, does not do in after life, as it requires constant practice both in running and the art of kicking. About three years after I left, I was passing through Winchester, and went down to College to play football, expecting to enjoy myself immensely, and to explain to the degenerate youngsters how football used to be played in our time. The first fair kick I got at the ball I missed it altogether, andnearly kicked my own leg out of its socket; the second time, remembering my previous failure, and determining to be more careful, I buried my toes in the ground, just short of the ball, which never moved, while my ancle nearly snapped across with the shock; the third time I kicked well into the back of the tendon achillis of my other leg, and was carried off howling. Since then I have confined myself to looking on at football.
Fives we used to play against the back of school, which formed a spacious “Ball Court.” The bat used is, I believe, peculiar to Winchester; it was about two feet and a half in length, the part with which the ball was struck expanding to about the size of a small lady’s hand, and immediately above it the wood was planed thin, thus forming a powerful spring. With this instrument the ball could be driven with great force; and I have known it used for other purposes, for which it was very effectual, though not very agreeable to one of the parties in that game. One boy, I remember, kept a bat which he consecrated solely to this amusement,and to the back of it he had nailed a donkey-shoe, which gave great weight to his arguments. The balls used were small, about the size of a large grape-shot, and cost sixpence a piece, which made the game an expensive one; as, if the ball passed to the right or to the left of the school wall against which we played, it vanished altogether from our ken,—if it went to the left it went into Long-meads or Commoners, and if to the right into Cloisters. We could, however, generally purchase back at half-price from Long John about one quarter of those lost. Long John was the College mason, who was always wandering about with a satellite looking for something to do, but beyond occasionally scratching a brick, I scarcely ever saw him doing anything like work. If asked what he was doing, he always said, “Nothin’, sir;” at which occupation the satellite was a most efficient coadjutor.
The Winchester “Bat-fives” was amusing enough when played in a promiscuous way, but not, I think, a really good game, as it was toodifficult. I have scarcely ever seen even the best players return the ball more than three or four times. The Fag’s share of the game was to stand round the edge of the court and pick up the balls as they rolled off; it was not nearly such hard work as watching-out at cricket, or kicking-in at football, and the work being easy it did not entail so much punishment; but it was far from pleasant, owing to the blinding glare from the white concrete of which the floor was made. Mr Ridding, formerly second Master, has most liberally built some excellent racket courts, in what used to be “Long Meads,” but is now thrown into “Meads,” to the great advantage of the boys.
A long red brick wall ran across Meads on the west side, in which there was a door that led to “Sick-house,” situated in a field called “Sick-house Meads.” It was presided over by a worthy old matron named “Mother Maskell.” Her kind face is no longer there to soothe the invalid; and I hope, for the sake of the boys, that her successor inherits, with her other good qualities, her receiptfor gooseberry fool. How we used to scent it from afar; and the moment a fresh brew was ready, what a rush to Sick-house! How we slid over the gate, which formed no barrier in such a case! There were two kinds, “Husky” and “Non-husky;” the former was decidedly the favourite, and the consumption was really alarming. Notwithstanding this there were few of us ill in those times, and one half of the number “Continent” were generally “Shuffling,” and the other laid-up with wounds received in athletic exercises. One boy, I remember, broke his arm three times in one year; the last time, the Master under whom he was made him write out all the lessons that he would have had to do if he had been in school, suggesting that he had broken his arm on purpose to escape them. Certainly being “Continent” was an agreeable change for a Fag, as he had no lessons to do, and escaped all fagging, except from such Præfects as happened to be Continent also, and he also got a “Thoke” in the morning till nine o’clock. When a boy was really ill heslept at Sick-house. I only remember doing so on one occasion myself, and that was when I caught the measles in the remarkable way above mentioned, (videp. 127.) This was a very jolly period. I had them very slightly, and there were four of us in a room together—Rasper, Badger, Bumpus, and myself, and I was then, for the first time, initiated in the mysteries of the science of Whist; one of us, who was the least unwell, used to deal and collect the cards, which we threw into the middle of the room as we played.
As I mentioned before, when a boy felt ill, or inclined to quit school for a period, he had to get leave Continent,[10]which was done by sending a boy in the morning first to get leave from his tutor, and then from the Head Master; and when he returned to his school duties he was said to “come abroad.”
During Long half all the unoccupied roomsin Sick-house were occupied by the senior Præfects as private studies; and each of them chose a boy as a “Reader,” whose nominal office was to read aloud the “English” of any Greek or Latin author his master might be studying. This was a much coveted appointment, as the fortunate possessor was exempt from all fagging.
There was another field between Sick-house Meads and Commoners belonging to College, called “Long Meads,” which, to the best of my belief, was only used to feed the Fellows’ cows. This is now thrown into Meads; and if Sick-house Meads could also be added, what a magnificent playground it would make!
It has been, I believe, often suggested that the boys at Winchester were not allowed sufficient exercise in the open air. I do not think there was any ground for this complaint as regards the College boys at any rate, who were sent at least three times a week to the top of Hills, besides having Meads close at hand during all play hours. Commonerswere not so well off, as they only had one hour on school-days to breathe fresh air, in which time they had to walk half a mile out and back to the indifferent field forming their gymnasium; doubtless they now have access to Meads.