who willsteal sugar wherever they can find it. I never put much confidence insuch fellows, and I wish Etonians could be cured of the habit."
Reginald was very anxious to have an insight into the plan of the schoolarrangements, and Power undertook to enlighten him.
"In the first place," he observed, "you must understand that there isthe Lower School, and whatever the boys belonging to it may think ofthemselves, it is but a very insignificant appendage to theestablishment of Eton. It is generally composed of small boys, who havebeen to no other school. It is, indeed, more of a private school withnone of the advantages of one, and all the disadvantages of a publicschool. So I will say no more about it, and you, at all events, willnot belong to it. The Upper School, which is really Eton, is divided,in the first place, into Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Forms. The FourthForm is again separated into two parts--the lowest retains its name, andthe other is called the Remove. The Fourth Form is subdivided intoLower, Middle, and Upper, and the Remove into Lower and Upper. TheFifth Form is also divided into Lower, Middle, and Upper, and thesedivisions are again subdivided according to convenience, usually intothree divisions each. The Sixth Form consists of twenty fellows,namely, ten Oppidans and ten Collegers. The boys on the foundation arecalled Collegers: the management of the College and the Collegers is avery complicated matter. They are the fellows you see going about inheavy black cloth gowns. They go by the name of `Tugs,' which is shortfor tug muttons, because they used, it is said, to be fed on toughmutton. The lower boys treat Tugs with great contempt, because theylook down upon them as belonging to an inferior class. This they shouldnot do, and it is arrant folly into the bargain; for many a Tug hasrisen to be a Lord Chancellor, or to fill one of the highest offices ofthe State, while the self-satisfied Oppidan, who has snubbed him as aboy, has ended his days as a sub in a marching regiment, having runthrough all his property before he was of age. High up in the schoolthere is a good deal of party-feeling indulged in by fellows who oughtto know better. It comes out when `Collegers and Oppidans' are beingplayed, either at football or cricket."
"I do not think that I shall ever be able to remember all about theFourth and Fifth Forms and Removes," said Reginald.
"Here you have it in black and white, then," said Power. They weresitting in his room after chapel, enjoying that _otium cum dignitate_which an Etonian learns so well to value.
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1. Lower School, composed of small boys neither learned nor wise.
Fourth Form: 2. Lower. 3. Middle. 4. Upper.
Remove. 5. Lower. 6. Upper.
Fifth Form.
7. Lower, with about three divisions.
8. Middle, with about three divisions.
9. Upper, with about three divisions.
10. Sixth Form, composed of ten Oppidans and ten Collegers.
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"When a fellow like you, for instance, arrives first, if he has been ata good private school, his tutor examines him. If he thinks well of himhe is placed in the Upper Fourth, or perhaps in the Remove at once. Ifhe is not above the average, he joins the Lower Fourth, with the rest ofthe unplaced. He remains in it till `Trials,' which come off about amonth after the beginning of the half. According to his knowledge, heis then placed finally in the Lower, Middle, or Upper Fourth. Now youmust understand that although Fourth Form is in the Upper School, yetall below Fifth Form, that is, Upper and Lower Remove, and Fourth Form,are called `Lower Boys.' All Lower Boys are liable to be fagged, sothat `Lower Boy' is equivalent to `Fag.' Lower Fourth is generally inthe hands of a young master, and, like puppies not yet broken in, theyare consequently very disorderly. There are also always a few fellowsat the top of the division who have come out of Lower School, and takeconsiderable delight in putting the new-comers up to mischief.New-comers have a fortnight's `law' before they are liable to be fagged.This is to give them time to look about them, and to learn the ways ofthe school. At the end of that time the captain of their house allotsthem to some master. As to fagging, I decidedly say in a large schoollike this it is a very great advantage, and wonderfully assists thegoverning powers by giving a number of fellows who would otherwise beidle something to do. It teaches, also, fellows to take care ofthemselves, as well as some accomplishments which they may find veryuseful in after-life, when they come to knock about the world. Afterall, too, what are the hardships? A fellow has to lay his master'scloth for breakfast, get his muffins and eggs, make his tea and histoast, and be ready to cook a mutton chop and anything else he mayrequire. He may also have to clean his shoes and brush his clothes, butin that there is nothing very terrible. The only disagreeable part ofhouse fagging is being sent out at odd hours or in bad weather to getthings when a fellow would be rather sitting in his own room. There isno cricket or football fagging here, but out of doors a Fourth Form boyis liable to be fagged by any one in the Upper or Middle Fifth Form,either to run on errands, to buy things for him, or to stand behind aFive's court, and to pick up the balls, or to carry books for him. Thismay be called miscellaneous fagging. The captain of Upper Remove isexcused fagging by custom. Lower Fifth neither fags nor can be fagged.`Upper Lower' can fag miscellaneously, but cannot own private fags.Middle Fifth seldom have fags `of their own,' as the captain of theirhouse probably appropriates three or four, and gives the second captaintwo or three, and so on, and thus uses up the `Lower boys,' before theycome to the end of the Upper Fifth. The most unpleasant faggingcertainly is behind the `Five's walls.' The old ones, you will find,are between the chapel buttresses in the school yard. You are fortunatein having come up in the middle of the half, because you will have timeto become known to fellows, and will be saved a considerable amount ofannoyance. If you had come at the beginning of the half, you would havefound that the Fifth Form arrived two or three days after you. The nextday all the Lower boys are collected together, and are then allotted tothe Fifth Form, as I have described. The Fourth Form are made to do thegreater part of their lessons under their tutor's eye, but boys higherup in the school do nearly all their work in their own rooms, and onlyjust go over it with their tutor when it is known. This, of course, isa great advantage, as we can learn all our lessons when we like, and arenot tied down in any way.
"There are two examinations--one from Upper Fourth into Lower Remove;and the second, which is the hardest, from Lower Fifth into Upper andLower Fifth. A boy takes a step upwards twice a year, unless he shouldbe plucked at one of these examinations; so that suppose he is placed inthe Middle Fourth--about the average place occupied by a new boy--itwill take him two years to get into Lower Fifth, the ambition of everyone, as he is then, as I have said, exempted from fagging.
"Every saint's day here is a whole holiday. Saturday is always ahalf-holiday, and there is one other half-holiday every week; so thatthe number of hours we are in school is very limited. Yet it is socontrived that we have at no time but a little over two hours toourselves. On whole holidays there are two chapels--one at eleveno'clock, and another at three o'clock. There is a roll-call at twoo'clock, just before dinner, and another at six o'clock.
"Generally speaking, we get up at half-past seven. There is school forthree-quarters of an hour. We have repetition usually for most days inthe week. Breakfast always at nine. School at eleven, as also atthree, and a quarter-past five. School lasts only about three-quartersof an hour at a time. Dinner always at two. Lock-up at night variesfrom five to a quarter to nine. We have supper at nine, and go to bedat ten. So you see, in the natural order of events, we have no veryoverpoweringly hard work. The time from morning school to breakfast isknown as `After Eight,' because, you see, we come out of school ateight. From breakfast till school again, `After Ten,' because breakfastis supposed to be over at ten; and for the same reason from school todinner is called `After Twelve,' from dinner to school `After Two,' fromschool to school `After Four,'
and in summer from school till lock-up`After Six.' There is, I should have said, also every week one playafter four, which means three o'clock school, but none at five o'clock.On half-holidays there is `absence,' that is, calling over names at twoo'clock, and in summer at six; and on half-holidays there is church atthree instead of school. On whole holidays there is `absence' at aquarter-past nine, and church at eleven as well as at three.
"Of late years, mathematics, which used to be neglected entirely, have,with great advantage, been introduced at Eton. There are severalmathematical masters, who have their different schools. Each divisiongoes to the mathematical school three times a week. At first thefellows set their faces very much against the system, and even theclassical masters didn't seem much to approve of the innovation; butthey now
Foxholme Hall, and Other Tales Page 13
