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ANNALS OF
AN ETON HOUSE
WITH SOME NOTES ON THE
EVANS FAMILY
BY MAJOR GAMBIER-PARRY
ONCE A MEMBER OF THE HOUSE
AUTHOR OF ' REYNELL TAYLOR : A BIOGRAPHY,' * DAY-DREAMS,' ETC.
WITH PORTRAITS AND ILLUSTRATIONS
Sensere quid mens rite, quid indoles
Nutrita faustis sub penetralibus
Posset, quid Augusti paternus
In pueros animus Nerones.'
Horace : Odes, iv. 4.
LONDON
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, W.
1907
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O'
TO
EDWARD AND ALFRED;
TWO DISTINGUISHED MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE-
TWO FINISHED EXAMPLES OF WHAT
ETONIANS MAY BE
I DEDICATE THIS VOLUME, IN MEMORY OF
THE HAPPIEST YEARS.
PREFACE
Some among us will have no difficulty in recalling the
sensations we experienced as Eton boys when we were
* called up' to translate a difficult passage that we knew
little about : we had not prepared the lesson ; we had
left the possibility of being ' called up ' to chance. The
rest of the Form witnessed our struggles amidst a
growing silence, till, at last, we reached our appointed
end, in the sentence from the desk, ' Sit down, write
out and translate your lesson, and bring it me at one
to-morrow.'
In a preface, a personal note may be permitted : I
confess that my feelings at this moment are much those
just described ; but with this all-important difference.
The boys of the Form have been replaced by Masters,
and I am about to be ' called up ' by the whole of them —
1, the single boy in the middle of them all. It counts
for very little that I have tried to prepare my lesson,
have tried to leave nothing to chance, have read end-
less books, have pestered hundreds of people with
questions innumerable, have written out and trans-
lated my lesson, not once but many times — all this
makes no difference; and to have tried one's best is
qualified by the fact that one's best may often be so
very bad. I stand now with my book in my hand, and
I see before me a whole array of distinguished men ;
and a horrible feeling comes over me, that, though
much has been supplied by others, adequate advantage
has not been taken of all the help received, and that
vii
viii PREFACE
my rendering of this passage in the life of Eton falls
far short of what it ought to be. How infinitely better
some of you would have done it, my Masters all !
Yet, I know you will be generous: that has been
already shown in many a score of letters from the
greatest and the best. And therefore, though there
be occasion, here and there, for the free use of that
violet ink that so ruthlessly scored our efforts both in
prose and verse as Eton boys, I do not fear the
* tearing over,' or that I shall have to * come at one.' I
only know that during these past eighteen months and
more of honest, daily effort, there has ever been with
me this one absorbing hope, that some among you
might find pleasure in these pages, in spite of their many
shortcomings and the writer's stumbling gait.
There remains another point. When I was first
charged with this task, one we all honour issued this
caution, ' Be brief.' Brief ! The word has rung in my
ears daily. Brief! when the House Books numbered
seventeen volumes, averaging 300 MS. pages each ;
when the proceedings of the House Debating Society
totalled another dozen of even weightier proportions ;
when William and Jane Evans' diaries covered a period
of nigh fifty years ; when upwards of 400 Members of
the House had to be written to half a dozen times and
more ; when the period to be dealt with reached close
on seventy years ; and when a small library of Eton
books had to be run through. How simple the advice;
how almost impossible of fulfilment ! To sacrifice
everything to brevity would have been wrong ; and if
in this respect I have failed, I can at least affirm that
the material sacrificed exceeds tenfold that which here
appears. But how would it have been if the subse-
quent advice of the very person who at the outset had
recommended brevity had been ultimately followed ?
He finally suggested the inclusion of * all the letters.'
Or where would have been the limits of this under-
PREFACE ix
taking had the desire of another been entertained, who
pressed for the inclusion of 'all the matches,' even
though they were inserted * in small print at the end ?'
Brief? No; setting aside all such temptations, it was
even then impossible to be so very brief. Many and
many a letter has had to be omitted ; and my hope is
that those who took the trouble to write and who do
not find their letters here will understand the reason.
To have included a larger number would have been to
have greatly exceeded that margin of allowable repeti-
tion that has been already far overstepped. On this
account alone, many who deserved to be quoted could
not even be named : I hope they will forgive it.
To thank all those who have helped in many ways
would be out of place: the book is ours, not mine.
But yet some must be mentioned, and these the
members of the Evans family: Mrs. Fenn, Mrs. Samuel
Evans, and, especially, Mr. Sidney Evans. They have
trusted me. What more could they have done? I
only hope that they will not judge I have abused that
trust in any of these pages ; and that they will accept
the warmest thanks of every one of us, their debtors
still.
E. G. P.
CONTENTS
PAGES
Preface - - - - f - - - vii-ix
CHAPTER I
Some notes on Dames and Dames' houses : a retrospect - 1-16
CHAPTER II
The Evans family — William Evans — Jane Evans' reminiscences,
1839 — William Evans founds the House: his system: his
description of Dames' houses at this date - - 17-32
CHAPTER III
William Evans' first years as a Dame — The construction of the
Hall — Manners and customs of the boys of the period —
Annie and Jane Evans — The institution of ' Passing ' - 33-47
CHAPTER IV
Reminiscences of the earlier years of the House— Letters from
A. D. Coleridge, Lord Cottesloe, and the Dean of Ripon 48-65
CHAPTER V
1844-52 — Extracts from the Eton diaries of Sir R. T. White-
Thomson and Lord Welby — Letters from Lord Redesdale,
C J. Cornish, and Lord Rendel - - - - 66-86
CHAPTER VI
Annie Evans gradually assumes control of the House — The
advent of boys from Coleridge's — The two sisters, Annie
and Jane Evans — The founding of the House Library —
Letters from T. F. Halsey, J. F. F. Horner, and the Earl
of Cranbrook — The Committee of boys known as ' The
Library' ------- 87-103
xii CONTENTS
CHAPTER VII
I'AGES
The * Boards' and the House Books — Aquatics in the 'forties-
Letter from R. H. Denne : football - - - 104-114
CHAPTER VIII
Aquatics, 1852-69 — Earlier races — The Cup for House Fours —
Check nights — Oppidan Dinner— New races — The Volun-
teers — The House Shooting Cup - - - 115-125
CHAPTER IX
Football, 1855-68 — The House Football Cup — House colours —
The Steeplechase and School athletics— The Beagles : letter
from Lord Knaresborough .... 126-142
CHAPTER X
The revival of cricket at Eton — The House Cricket Cup,
1860-71 ....... 143-153
CHAPTER XI
Reminiscences, 1853-68— 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 ...... 154-175
CHAPTER XII
Annie Evans — The two sisters carry on the House in William
Evans' absence — Annie Evans' illness and death, 1871 —
Her character and work — A letter from a boy to his sister —
Jane Evans assumes chief control of the House - 176-188
CHAPTER XIII
Anni Mirabiles, 1872 - 76 — Football — Cricket — Aquatics-
Racquets — Fives ..... 189-212
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. Abraham, Bernard Holland, and Lord Farrer— Robert
Buchanan-Riddell - . . . . 213-246
CONTENTS xiii
CHAPTER XV
TAGES
The House in 1877 — William Evans — His illness and death —
His character and work — Jane Evans decides to carry on
the House, and becomes Dame - - - - 247-258
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 ...---- 259-276
CHAPTER XVII
The House Debating Society ... - 277-297
CHAPTER XVIII
House-matches and Athletics, 1878-90 - - ^- 298-307
CHAPTER XIX
Jane Evans' diaries, 1878-90 (first portion) - - - 308-326
CHAPTER XX
Reminiscences, 1878-90 — Letters from E. Hobhouse, J. A.
Pixley, E. D. Hildyard, the Earl of Arran, Horace Marshall,
and J. R. Moreton Macdonald - - - - 2^7-3^7
CHAPTER XXI
Miscellanea ------- 338-357
CHAPTER XXII
Jane Evans' diaries, 1891-1900 (second portion) - - 358-380
CHAPTER XXIII
The Portrait ------- 381-390
CHAPTER XXIV
House-matches and Athletics, 1 89 1 -1905 - - - 391-410
CHAPTER XXV
Reminiscences, 1890-1906 — 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 - - . . . 411.429
xiv CONTENTS
CHAPTER XXVI
I'AGES
Samuel Evans — Jane Evans' illness and death — Sidney Evans
has charge of the House — The end - - - 430-444
APPENDICES
I. List of the Captains of the House - - - . 445
II. A List of those who were Captains of the House Aquatics
and who kept the Boating Book . - _ 447
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 ----- 448
IV. Table showing the position of the House in the Football
Ties from the date when the House Football Cup was
started in i860 ------ 449
V. List of former Members of Evans', eighty-three in number,
who served in South Africa, 1899-1902 - - - 451
VI. The names that appear upon the ' Boards ' - - 453
VII. Rules of the House Library - . . - 460
VIII. Rules of the House Debating Society - - _ 461
Index - - . . _ 463
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
FACING PAGE
William Evans, from the Portrait by F. G. Cotman,
1877, IN the Possession of Sidney V. Evans, Esq.,
Eton College {photogravure) - - - frontispiece
Mrs. William Evans, from the Portrait by Margaret
Carpenter, 1830, in the Possession of Sidney V.
Evans, Esq., Eton College - - - - 24
♦The Hall ....... 36
*The Cottage -.-..-- 38
' Evans' ' - - - - - ■ -104
The Winners of the Pulling in 1862 - - - 120
*The House Eleven in 1865 - • - - - 134
** Over-the-Way ' --.... 176
*Annie Evans, from a Photograph taken in 1865 - 180
*The House Group in 1875 - - - - -190
*The House Eleven in 1872 - - - • - 194
*The House Eleven in 1874 - - - - - 198
*The House Four in 1875 • - - - - 208
*The House Eleven in 1888 - - - - - 302
Jane Evans, from the Portrait by John S. Sargent,
R.A., NOW the Property of the Provost and Fellows
of the College {photogravure) - - - . 390
*ViEw from South Meadow - - - . . 392
*The House Eleven in 1904 - . . . . 395
*'The Door' - - - - - - -440
The illustrations marked * are reproduced from photographs
taken by Messrs. Hills and Saunders of Eton.
XV
ANNALS OF AN ETON HOUSE
L CHAPTER I *
SOME NOTES ON DAMES AND DAMES* HOUSES : A
RETROSPECT
To those who are unable to claim the name by which
many of us set such infinite store, and whose know-
ledge of Eton is confined to a single visit on some
great holiday, few things are more puzzling than the
terms we Etonians use so glibly and that are current
in the daily life of the School. Every school has its
slang; but the terms referred to can scarcely be so
dismissed : they have passed the lips of Eton boys
and Eton masters for generations, their origin un-
questioned, their meaning undefined, and many of
them seem destined to continue in use in the genera-
tions still to come, by Eton boys and Eton masters
who are as yet unborn. And the strange thing about
these terms to an outsider is that the phraseology of
the place seems to be governed by opposites. It is
not at once apparent why boys confined indoors are
said to be * staying out ' ; why the day is divided into
chronological periods often in direct contradiction with
the hours ; why the year has three ' halves ' ; or why,
again, that moving crowd, answering ' Here, Sir,' to
the Head Master's call, is said to be attending 'Absence.'
It is all very strange, perhaps, like the name of * Pop,'
I
#
2 DAMES AND DAMES' HOUSES
or that game in which the ball itself is seen only at
intervals, which is played against a wall, but which is
yet called football. They belong, doubtless, to the
domain of the genius loci; they have been often
noticed; but to the stranger they must remain as
much a mystery as the bewildering intricacies of
unending toil that constitute the day's work of a
so-called idle Eton boy.
And if this phraseology is for the most part likely
to live, one term, in constant use for centuries, though
still apparently struggling hard for life, has come now
to its appointed end. The visitor aforesaid may have
been puzzled by much, but he was puzzled the more
when he learnt that the ' Dames ' were playing the
'Tutors' in 'the Field,' and still further, perhaps,
when he was introduced to one spoken of as ' my
Dame,' but yet addressed as ' Sir.' There was nothing
feminine, much less effeminate, about that manly form ;
yet was he termed officially * a Dame ' ; his very house
was a Dame's House; he was called by all *my Dame,'
— William Evans, for instance, height well over six
foot and weight some fifteen stone, a Dame : there was
something very funny about that ! The other terms
might look after themselves, but this one surely needed
some explanation.
And so it does, and the more so because the old
term in its old sense is dead. It may continue to be
applied, in spite of all enactments, it may take an un-
conscionable time in dying; but in a few years the
very name will in all likelihood be without meaning
in the School, and survive only as the title of a
Matron of a House. The last of the real Dames' has
closed its doors, and because of this and because of
the halo that surrounds its name, an effort shall be
made to tell its story — to collect such details of its
history as may be possible; to piece together facts
about its busy life of nearly seventy happy years ; to
EARLY HISTORY OF DAMES' HOUSES 3
tell of those who ruled over it, and of those who once
peopled its walls, who added to its fame, who loved it
— to do this in halting phrases, doubtless, but in all
sincerity and truth. The last of the Dames' — the last,
the oldest, the most famous of them all — Evans' in
Keate's Lane, has passed away. Let us set out,
therefore, on our task ere the Dustman comes along
and scatters all to the four winds.
At the outset, then, and for the better understanding
of what follows, it seems necessary to preface this story
with a short historical retrospect. We are to deal
with the last of the Dames. What do we know of
those who first held the title ? Not very much. Such
data as are procurable at this distance of time are con-
fused, nebulous, not easily to be laid hold of at all.
One may probe about among old leases and convey-
ances, one may study the tenure of this or that bit of
property, one may seek to rebuild in fancy this or
that demolished house, or wander along boundaries
very ill defined ; but when one spreads out the
material collected and turns on to it present-day
light, the answer is much that of an illusive smile
when we hoped for speech. Still, a few things may
be set down for what they are worth.*
The original Statutes leave us in no doubt as to the
wishes of the King when he put his hand to the first
Charter of Foundation in 1440. He hoped that his
College would become a great centre of education for
* Among the various works consulted for what follows have been :
History of Eton College, Sir H. C. Maxwell Lyte; Memoirs of
Celebrated Etonians, Jesse ; Etoniana, Collins ; Memoirs of Eminent
Etonians, Sir E. Creasy; A History of Eton College, Lionel Cust;
Seven Years at Eton, Brinsly Richards ; Eton in the Forties, A. D.
Coleridge ; Fasti Etonenses, A. W. Benson ; Memories of Eton and
Etonians, Lubbock ; Memoirs of Rev. F. Hodgson; Reminiscences of
William Rogers ; A Guide to the Buildings of Eton College, R. A.
Austen-Leigh; Etoniana, R. A. Austen- Leigh ; Report and Minutes
of Evidence 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 — Commensales, 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
Commensales 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 i557'i558,
Malin 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 earl}' 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 that 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 influx 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 latent 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 ^nd 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.^
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 Philips
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 1 768-1 775 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 effect is to be found in the leases of Jordley's,
Bearblock's, Woodward's, and Slingsby's.
lo 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 w^ere 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
staff of Assistant Masters was at the same time
greatly strengthened, and new houses were built for
several of them.f
Great changes were also made in the discipline ot
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.
t 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 1851 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 *t 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 of
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.
X 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-
penny, 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 181 5, 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 23^ 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, 5i,' 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 o£
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. In the aff'airs 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
ahke 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 family,
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.f
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.
(John Sidney, b. 1837, d. 1838.
t 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 many 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 Langton, 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, WIU.IA:M EVANS.
From the portrait by Margaret Carpenter, 1830.
Yfo/acc 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 during 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 £60.^
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 ot
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 1 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
Life 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 off 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.f
* Provisions were then much cheaper ; everything,
in fact, so 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 witnout remuneration.!
Mr. Dupuis was the first to follow the example. I
* This agreement is before the writer. It is dated February 11,
1839, and this must therefore be taken as that of the founding of the
House. Mrs. Vallancey had held the premises since 1812.
f 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.
X These were what we used to call our ' Orders ' — /.^, 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, £120 v^orth 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 ;^ 1,000 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 perhaps 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 1
wording running thus : ■
In loving memory of
George Augustus Selwyn, D.D., b. April 5, 1809 ;
d. April ir, 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,ooo, 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 VALLANCP:Y'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 £2>S 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 ;i^20o 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^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 nme 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 £3$^ ^ year.
* I 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 once.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
is ;ij;io5.
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.'
3—2
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 fiimus igni alieno
luculentior ; 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. In 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.'!
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.'
+ The site, including that of Hodgson House, was, for nearly
1 50 years, let to the Slatter family, who again sub-let it. The Blatters
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 totaj 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 above number, 50, is given as a fair average ; but the largest
number of boys in the 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 Evans' habit to contrive to have fewer boys in the
House in the Easter 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 were 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 room, 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
maintaming 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 P
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 boys*
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 exactly 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 1 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 eacn 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 lav 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 Villette, 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
(^lapham 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 recognized 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 '^ non-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. t 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.
I 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 (1840-1850) 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 Eton 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, was 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 any 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 incurably. 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 ne 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. W^e Tost 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 of
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 plenty 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 sovereignty 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 mmd it.
* Fourth Form speeches I never heard of at Eton
except at my Dame's. Our speeches consisted ot
doggerel poetry and satire not cloaked or veiled, for
I remember plenty of ribaldry. The curious thing
was that the libelled and slandered now and again
52 CRICKET IN \^
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 Eton 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 upper 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
Eleven, played for me, and, oddly enough, Wiss
fielded for Thompson a part of the time.
'William Cottman 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." Cottman ripened into an able matne-
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 dming-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 by 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 England shooting Eights, and was A.D.C. to
Lord Wolseley when Commander-in-Chief; 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, //, C," and belov^, "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 gam^s 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 (skiff's), 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 WilUam 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,J 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.
j 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.f
* 'Manners and Customs of ye English in 1849: "A View of
Mr. Lord hys Cryket Ground"' {Punchy vol. xvii., p. 12).
f The actual date when the Eleven adopted the present cap is
uncertain, but J. F. F. Horner gives the following interesting par-
ticulars 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. Probably 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 7nce versa. Boating colours were older than cricket
colours — e.g., 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. 1 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 Wolley* (the elder
brother of WoUey-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 alter, 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.
■f 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 de 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 777,* and the latter days 01 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, 1 am told, there was coflfee before
early school, a meat and marmalade breakfast in Hall
afterwards, cake and milk served out at a sort of
wmdow-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 gainin^^ 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
* Boarded at Coleridge's; died 1905. 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. Cottes-
loe, besides being the best bowler in the Eleven, was
high up in the Newcastle Select, and became eventu-
ally a Fellow of Trinity, Cambridge, and vice Master ;
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
oleridge, 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 played
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 Honorary 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 tne 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 63
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
dispassionately, 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 1 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, ruat caelum" 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 ^rand 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 I 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 1 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 kind had been sent into the
house, and by this means brought about a conviction.
There was httle fuss about it; the boy quietly dis-
appeared. I remember that the chief things the poor
fellow had bought were a comfortable chair and an
illuminated prayer book !
* I may mention one or two facts about the trust-
fulness that William Evans showed to his Captains.
It was the rule that anyone going out should have
a ticket showing where he was going, the hour, and
that of his expected return. Evans let me go out
freely, and without asking any questions. Porcnester,
afterwards the Statesman, Lord Carnarvon, was my
greatest friend at that time, and I spent most of my
evenings with him, going out and in without a ticket.
I was allowed also free access to the garden — a great
privilege ; and I remember going there to practise
for the great Speech day, when a little boy, Lord
Tullibardine, whom I hadn't noticed, ran into the
house crying out that there was a madman in the
garden ! On the whole, there was a good tone amongst
us ; a fair amount of work was done ; there were few
outbreaks of disorder; we were all loyal to "my
Dame," as we called the stalwart gentleman whose
house we lived in; and the brotherly feeling pro-
moted by one like Pemberton was a real influence
for good.
CHAPTER V
1844-52 — EXTRACTS FROM THE ETON DIARIES OF SIR R. T.
WHITE-THOMSON AND LORD WELBY — LETTERS FROM
LORD REDESDALE, C. J. CORNISH, AND LORD RENDEL
Not many boys keep a diary in their School-days,
even in obedience to a mother's wishes ; nor do many
suffer their small records to survive in after-years.
The best security for such contemporary documents
is the litter that inevitably accumulates in the course
of a long life, and that is often of less interest than
the slender note-books that lie buried beneath. Now
and then, unfortunately, it chances that in a general
tidy up on a wet day such volumes are brought to
light, with the result that they are scanned, perhaps
with an amused smile or a whispered ' Rubbish,' when
the hand, all too ready now to tear, destroys, or the
fire receives what would certainly be of interest, if
not of value. It has, however, been a surprise to find
how many a boy at the House did manage to keep
a diary. Some of these have been lost, others
destroyed, but three or four have survived, and,
belonging to the late 'forties and the earlier 'fifties,
there are two of especial interest, and from which
extracts have been supplied by their authors.
The first of these, taking them in School order, is
by Sir R. T. White-Thomson,* who was at the House
from '44 to '46, kept a diary regularly while there,
and has not destroyed quite the whole of it. From
♦ Then Thomson ; afterwards Major, King's Dragoon Guards.
66
LIST OF HOUSE IN '44
67
what remains he sends the following, including two
complete lists of the members of the House in '44
and '46 :
1844: April 20th. — My Mother took me to Eton.
There I boarded at Mr. Evans' (the Drawing Master),
and Mr. Luxmoore was my tutor.
June $th. — Whole holiday for Emperor of Russia.
June 6th. — Ascot. Not allowed to go with Cousin !
June 20th. — Prince Albert laid first stone of New
College Buildings.
July — List of my Dame's.
Herbert ma.
Herbert mi.
Adhngton.
Croft.
Coltman.
Dampier.
Clissold.
Harries.
Becher.
Penrhyn ma.
Penrhyn mi.
Palmer ma.
Palmer mi.
Bagshawe.
Legge.
White.
Newdigate, A.
GrenfeTl ma.
Grenfell mi.
Grenfell min.
Blore.
Atkin.
Fursdon.
Barnett.
Duflield.
Cust.
Cobbold.
Hamilton, G. F.
Philips.
Hutchinson.
Quin.
Colborne.
Shaw.
Evans ma.
Evans mi.
Bryant ) Fifth
Chitty j Form.
Watson.
Fremantle ma.
Fremantle mi.
Arkwright.
Bacon.
Hardinge.
Thomson.
Rogers away ill (in all 44).
July igth. — My Dame's sculling sweepstakes :
Becher i ; Bagshawe 2.
July 2^rd. — My Dame's sweepstakes: Bryant and
Cust I.
October. — My Dame's had two games daily, also
matches; notably one against Ward's, which ended
in a tie.
October 12th. — Whole holiday for Louis Philippe's
visit. The Duke of Wellington, the Queen, and
Prince Albert came to Eton with him.
Miss Furlong at this period assisted in the charge
of the House.
1845 : April 21st. — Boating began.
5—2
68 SIR R. T. WHITE-THOMSON'S DIARY
May. — My Dame's sweepstakes : Grenfell ma. and
Barnett i ; Bagshawe and Grenfell mi. 2 ; myself and
W. H. Fremantle mi. 3.
July 4th. — A triumph for Evans' ! Sam Evans (son
of my Dame) and Bagshawe won the School Pulling.
1846 : January. — Rounders, prisoner's base, jumping,
paper-chases.
March. — Boating for the ' Boats.' Had an oar
occasionally in Bagshawe's boat.
May. — Got into Lag-boat (St. George).
June 12th. — Triumph for Evans'! Bagshawe won
School Single Sculling.
June 26th. — Bagshawe (with Greenwood bow) won
the School Double Sculling.
July lyth. — My Dame's sweepstakes: myself and
Hardinge i ; Fursdon and Cobbold 2 ; Grenfell and
Fremantle mi. 3 ; Barnett and Buller 4 ; Chitty and
Grenfell 5 ; Colborne and Crosse 6.
Later. — My Dame's Sculling : Fursdon 1 ; Myself 2 ;
Quin 3. My Mother being m Scotland, Mr. Evans
kindly * took me in tow,' and we travelled via Fleet-
wood and Ardrossan to Helensburgh.
September to December. — My last half. Football,
fives, and paper-chases. At football my Dame's won
a glorious victor}^ over the combined eleven of
Cookesley's and Rishton's. Rustic sports (?) in our
rooms ; football and hi cockolorum in the passages
were not interfered with by my Dame; but on one
occasion John Colborne roused his ire by exploding
detonating powder up the chimney of one of the
rooms (not his own)! The noise was great, and, of
course, in came my Dame, and there was nothing
to be said ; but he kindly contented himself with
'blowing up' those of us who, being on the spot,
naturally shared the blame.
List of my Dame's, Christmas, 1846, when I left Eton.
Sixth Form.
Fremantle ma.
Fifth Form.
Blore.
Chitty.
Herries.
Grenfell mi.
Newdigate ma.
Rogers,
Grenfell ma.
Cobbold.
PhiHps.
Bagsnawe.
Barnett.
Legge.
Fremantle mi.
Hamilton.
LIST OF HOUSE IN '46
69
Fifth Form.
Watson.
Thomson.
Fursdon.
Hardinge.
Duffield.
Colborne.
Arkwright.
Crosse.
Quin.
Newdigate mi.
Remove.
Shaw.
Duller.
Pemberton.
Fremantle min.
Fourth Form.
Willes.
Fursdon mi.
Burgoyne.
Barnard.
Mitford ma.
Mitford mi.
Wilberforce ma.
Wilberforce mi.
Maynard.
Bayley.
Lower School.
Rolt.
The match between Evans' and Cookesley's and
Rishton's, referred to above, appears to have been
a famous one, and to linger even now in the minds
of those who witnessed it. The Football Books of
the House had not been started in those days ; and
it is all the more interesting to find, therefore, that the
writer of the above diary was so moved by the event
that he sat up till his candle was taken away to record
this stirring contest of sixty years ago in verse ! Here
is a copy of the original :
Description of a Match at Football, between my
Dame's and Cookesley's joined with Rishton's,
IN which my Dame's won. Oct. '46.
Evan^ XL
Mock Heroics.
Cookesley's and Rishtor^s XI.
Chitty, Fremantle ma,, Fre-
mantle mi., Bagshawe, Blore,
Barnett, Watson, Duffield,
Quin, Grenfell ma,, Herries.
Miller, Baillie, Board, Ham-
mond, Maugham, Hamilton,
Fowkes, Heygate, Maugham,
Nicholls, Lucas.
A challenge went from Evans' ('twas an October
day)
That Rishton's joined with Cookesley's, brave Evans'
should play.
The challenge was accepted, a day was straightway
fixed
On which the two elevens should meet, the single and
the mixed.
70 EVANS' V. COOKESLEY'S AND RISHTON'S
The day was fine, the field was full, the goal-sticks
they were set,
The twenty-two then marched forth, and in the middle
met.
Barnett is Evans' 'behind'; gaunt Quin their goals
doth keep ;
Fremantle stands between the two, a player very deep.
Behind the other's bully, * Glum ' Baillie tries his foot
With Nicholls, while long Heygate to guard their
goals is put.
They quickly form a bully; they form it close and
tight.
And then begin to shin and rouge with all their main
and might.
Oh ! 'twas a thing right rich to see, and to hear the
kicks so loud,
While for a moment brief the ball was kept within the
crowd.
But now the bully's broken, the ball is kicked away,
Fremantle sends it o'er their heads, and shows some
pretty play ;
Staunch Lucas quickly sends it back, opposing crowds
rush too,
But Chitty takes it from the midst in spite of all
they do,
He runneth with it to their goals, in vain does Miller
rush,
Fleet Chitty sends him over with a very little push.
Yet soon he gets upon his legs, but while to goals he
goes
He stumbles over Bagshawe's legs, and falls upon his
nose;
Now Maugham closely backs him up, 'blind fury' fills
his mind,
He shins poor Barnett off his legs, and kicks the ball
'behind';
Then, between Quin and Maugham, to touch it was
a race.
But Quin he spun by Maugham at a most tremendous
pace ;
The ball is touched, the rouge is saved ; his side at
Maugham scoff,
Quin looketh mighty pleased, and then prepareth to
kick off;
EVANS' V. COOKESLEY'S AND RISHTON'S 71
Gaunt Quin he took ten little steps, gaunt Quin he
gave a kick,
The ball went whizzing through the air over the bully
thick.
And now both sides in earnest work, the game more
savage grows,
Bold Bagshawe shinning all he meets, a way before
him mows ;
Now Barnett gives a mighty kick, the ball's behind
their goals.
And keeping on its even course behind some hurdles
rolls.
And now there is a splendid race, to touch it Baillie
tries.
But Chitty passes him right quick, and o'er the hurdles
flies.
Hurrah for * Mr. Ivens',' a rouge they've surely got.
And not a soul of all the throng shall dare to say
they've not.
About a yard before their goals they place the well-
blown ball,
And then a bully round it form, a bully strong though
small.
Chitty then putteth on the steam, and rusheth in
between,
But John Board somehow works it out, right craftily,
1 ween ;
Now some one sneaking kicks the ball ; cries Chitty,
' that won't do !'
And rushing in gives him a purl enough for any two,
But spite of winding up and jeers he rises up again.
And boiling over goes to aid his side's endeavours vain ;
For vain they are ; now half-past one, old Lupton's
clock chimes out.
Brave Evans' the victory hail with many a joyful shout.
R. T. Thomson, Eton College,
Nov. 12th, 1846.
(Sitting by a dull fire with candle burning in socket.)
My muse has flown, kind reader, so good-night,
And here comes Martha to put out my light ;
Yet ere we part you'll join with me and say
' Floreat Etona ' hip ! hip I hip ! hurrah !
72 LORD WELBY'S REMINISCENCES
The other contemporary diary is that of Lord Welby,
who was at Eton as R. E. Welby from '45 to '51.
He was one of the earlier Captains of the House, and
the mark he made as an Eton boy foreshadowed, in
some ways, what he was destined to achieve in later
life. He was in the Newcastle Select in '51, he was
President of ' Pop,' he was in the Field and Wall
elevens, and in the summer half he rowed in the Boats
and was known as a good oar.
The extracts from his diary, that he has been good
enough to make himself, give a distinct picture of the
manners and customs of Eton in his day, and though
many of the details are well known and a risk of some
repetition here, as elsewhere, is involved, they are of
great interest, and certainly deserve a place in their
entirety.
In a letter accompanying them, Lord Welby writes :
* I had some difficulty in finding them (the diaries),
and I certainly had not looked at them for half a
century. I have made up the enclosed memorandum
of all sorts of matters pertaining to Evans' and the
School in my time, and tnis sketch of Eton, taken from
a contemporaneous diary, may amuse you.
* I don't know that Evans himself was very popular
in the sense, for instance, that, in my time, Balston
was popular in his house. He certainly was not the
contrary, and he managed his house well and liberally,
and ruled judiciously, desiring to be on good terms
with the boys. I had much to do with him, having
been Captain for a year and a half. Personally, I
liked him and had a great regard for him.'
The following is Lord Welby's memorandum :
' I have found a diary which I kept at intervals while
I was at Eton. Its daily record is of little interest,
but I note here passages bearing on Evans' House in
my time. I went from Parker's to Evans' in 1849.
Mrs. Parker had a Dame's House, then recently built,
between the old Christopher Inn and Williams', the
WILLIAM EVANS 73
bookseller, facing the gate into the churchyard. Mrs.
Parker had become very old ; we did there pretty
much what we liked, and the House was not gaining
in reputation when she retired at Christmas, 1848.
Ivo Fiennes, afterwards in a Hussar Regiment, two
Dennes, and I, then went to Evans'.
' At the beginning of 1849, William Fremantle (now
Dean of Ripon) was Captain of the House, John
Pattison Cobbold, the Ipswich Banker, was second,
I was third. Denne ma., Richard Laurence Pember-
ton, well known afterwards to many generations of
Etonians as one who for fifty years never missed the
Lord's Matches, or the Collegers and Oppidans match
at the Wall ; Fiennes, Charles Fremantle (now Sir
Charles), and Rendel (now Lord Rendel) were others
at the top of the House.
' Evans treated us very well. Dames' Houses were
not growing in favour, though at this time there were
eleven Dames' to fourteen Tutors' Houses, and Evans
in consequence was very anxious for the reputation of
his House, then, I think, decidedly the largest in Eton,
and perhaps on that account regarded with some
jealousy by the Masters. He trusted to his Captain
and head boys to prevent mischief and keep order.
I think I may fairly say that the House was orderly,
and I can recollect nothing during the time I was at
the House that could be called mischief. The House
had been at the height of its reputation, both for
scholarship and games, two or three years previously
(I am speaking of William Evans' time, because I
presume it never was so great as it was afterwards
under his daughter), and the healthy tone and tradi-
tion inherited from our immediate predecessors still
held force. Evans himself was kindly disposed and
wished to make friends with his boys, especially the
upper ones, asking us to come to him in the evening,
in the Hall or in the garden, while he smoked. He
meddled very little with us in the House, and certainly
did not play, what we should have called, the spy.
Occasionally he came round in the evening, but quite
openly. He hated card-playing. We were not very
hard-working, for I find whist and backgammon a
constant entry ; but the accounts I kept show, I think,
that we did not play for money. I remember his anger
74 BOATING, CRICKET AND FOOTBALL
one evening when he caught us. We heard his voice
and had only time to pocket the cards, but could not
get away from our wnist-table, where we sat facing
each other with nothing before us. I should not be
able to say that he was generally popular, but he was
not unpopular. Personally, I saw a good deal of him,
and I can heartily give him a good word. He was
a good master of his House. The boys were imme-
diately under the superintendence of Mrs. Kenyon, a
kindly lady and popular with us. Evans, if I recollect
rightly, had met with a severe fall out deer-stalking
at Blair Athol, which had severely injured the bone
of his jaw, and which caused him great and recurring
pain. We knew, of course, his daughters ; but at that
time they did not, I think, take any active share in the
management of the House.
' In the closing 'forties and the beginning of the
'fifties Evans' held a good all-round position in the
School. In '47 we had Blore and Fremantle ma.
(Lord Cottesloe) Select for the Newcastle. In '48 we
had Fremantle ma. as Newcastle Medallist ; and in '49
we had Fremantle mi. (Dean of Ripon) Newcastle
Medallist. We had no one in the Select in '50. I was
one of the Select in '51. In boating we showed well,
for in '46 we had Bagshawe and Thompson in the
Eight ; in '47 Bagshawe and Thompson again ; in '48
Herries; in '49 and '50 no one; in 51 Pemberton ; in
'52 Rendel would have been in the Eight, but he was
obliged to go down in the summer half from ill-health.
We sent a good many into the boats : in '49 Crosse
and Fiennes were good choices ; in '50 we had Pem-
berton in the Victory, and Fremantle (Charles) steered
the third upper; in 51 Meade King was seconci Captain
of the Boats, Pemberton was Captain of the Britannia,
with Rendel and Mynors under nim. We had Rolt in
the third upper, and I was in the ten, which Charles
Fremantle steered. Passing to Cricket, we had Blore
one of the Eleven in '45, '46, '47, and Barnett and
Fremantle ma. in '48 ; William Fremantle also in '49 ;
but Evans' was unrepresented in the elevens of '50
and '51. In Football we were always strong. In '47
we had Fremantle ma. and Barnett in the first eleven
of the Field, and Fremantle mi, Crosse, and Herries
as choices. In '48 Fremantle ; in '49 Fremantle, Fiennes,
FOOTBALL IN '49 75
myself, and Pemberton in choices ; in '50 myself and
Pemberton in choices. At the Wall Fiennes played
against the Collegers in '49; Pemberton, Meade King,
and I in '50.
' In 1849 the Houses stood in Football order thus :
1. Evans', Cocks 8. Pickering's.
of College. 9. Okes'.
2. Coleridge's. 10. Balston's.
3. Goodford's. 11. Young's.
4. Durnford's. 12. Eliot's.
5. Dupuis'. 13. Joynes'.
6. Johnson's. 14. Angelo's.
7 Carter's.
* The houses unplaced were : Robert's, Vavasour's,
Cookesley's, Edwards', Middleton's, Horsford's, Vidal's,
Drury's, Holt's, Stevens' (formerly Ward's), Lux-
moore's.
* Our football eleven in this year, when we were
" cocks," was made up as follows :
Fremantle, W., corner. Denne mi., bully.
Fiennes, bully. Mynors, bully.
Welby, corner. Hewett, bully.
Pemberton, long-behind. Fremantle w^'., goalkeeper.
Denne ma., bully. Rolt, bully.
Maynard, short-behind.
* In the Easter half of '49 Fremantle our Captain
was Newcastle Medallist. The Queen came to see the
Boats go up on the 4th of June. All the Boats had
a supper laid out on the meadow opposite Surley
Hall, and the Captain of each boat got a "sitter," who
stood them champagne. The Sixth Form had a supper-
table, but the rest of the boys got their friends in the
boats to " sock" them. The like took place on a smaller
scale on Election Saturday, and between these dates
were some couple of "duck and green-pea" nights,*
when the Upper Boats went up to Surley and supped,
and were met by the Lower boats at locks.
' In the Christmas half of '49 cholera was bad in
London, and it extended to Windsor and Eton. There
* Commonly called * Check Nights ' when the boats used to go up
to Surley in full dress. This custom was abolished in i860.
^e COLLEGERS AND OPPIDANS
were seven deaths in Brocas Lane ; but the chief
attack was in Beer Lane (I think it was called) in
Windsor, running down from the High Street to the
Thames. On the 26th a general fast was ordered in
mitigation of the visitation ; there were three services
in the Chapel, and at Evans' we fasted on cold beef
and pudding. Football was only allowed after 4. A
General Thanksgiving followed on the cessation of
the cholera, 15th November; but I find no note in my
diary of the thanksgiving dinner. My Dame's had
arranged to play Goodford's on that day after 12 ; but
the Doctor would allow no play till after 4. This half
we collected £df in my Dame's for football. On appor-
tioning fags this half, Fremantle had five, Cobbold and
I four each, and so on down to Middle Division. The
Lower-boys were very numerous. 25 th September
we had a special football game to train the Lower-
boys. Fives began, ist October. On 17th November
my Dame's played Goodford's for second Cocks of
College and beat them by 8 rouges to i, and on the
2ist we played Coleridge s (Cocks of College the pre-
vious year| and beat them by a goal and ;4 rouges,
becoming Cocks of College ourselves. The following
day we had a " sock " of my Dame's eleven at " The
Christopher" to celebrate the event with songs and
toasts. On the 27th my Dame's second eleven played
Coleridge's second eleven, ending in a tie. This year,
after Collegers and Oppidans on the 30th November,
there was a row between Collegers and Oppidans ; a
lot of Lower-boys and some Fifth Form began shying
stones at the Collegers, who returned the compliment.
Hawtrey summoned the Oppidan Sixth Form and
slanged them for this outbreak of animosity. This
year also the Doctor took note that the Collegers and
Oppidans elevens had a " lush " at " The Christopher"
in celebration of the match ; one of the few occasions
on which Collegers and Oppidans met convivially.
He summoned the Captains of the two elevens and
inquired about it. They explained it was for the pur-
pose of promoting a good understanding, and he over-
looked it this year.
' 1850. This year Charles Dickens came down to
Eton, and came to the boys' dinner at Evans'. He
was bringing his son to our House, a nice lad, whom
EAST WINDOW IN CHAPEL 'jy
I took as a fag, if my recollection is right. Easter
half : We boys used to provide ourselves with hot
things for breakfast. This was forbidden, and cold
meat also. Evans replied that he had just provided a
safe for the boys' cold meat ! Small-pox broke out,
and a College Proctor caught it. We were all vac-
cinated in the House. William Fremantle, our Captain,
was to have stayed till the end of this half, but his
health gave way and he did not return after the
Christmas holidays. He was a good all-round boy, a
hard-working, good scholar, though not a scholar on
a level with his older brother (now Lord Cottesloe),
whom one of the trust regarded as an eminent type of
good Eton scholarship. William Fremantle was also
a fine cricketer, and an excellent football player.
Cobbold left at the end of the Easter half, and I became
Captain of my Dame's, and remained so till midsum-
mer, '51, when I left. I was succeeded as Captain by
Freeman, or Marindin. I am not sure whether they
had left ; Rendel, in that case, would have been Captain.
Evans was busy this summer, and often in London on
a Commission connected with the Great Exhibition of '5 1 .
'This year the East Window in the Chapel was
finished. It was put up by the boys, or, rather, if I
remember aright, by their fathers, a five-shilling sub-
scription being included in the accounts. This con-
cluding year, however, a subscription was got up
among the boys for its completion, and I record that
between twenty and thirty boys in Evans' subscribed.
In June, Hawtrey gave a dinner in Upper School in
commemoration of Montem. This year, Coleridge
gave a dinner to a great assemblage of his old pupils
on his fiftieth birthday, and after dinner the party ad-
journed to Evans', and a few of us were invited down
to meet them. I note that on the 5th of June the old
Duke of Cambridge came to Chapel, and that we
laughed at the way in which he made the responses.
He sat in Upper Club after 4 talking to the boys. He
died a few weeks later. This summer half my Dame's
was weak both on the river and at cricket.
'When we came back for the Christmas half our
football strength was sadly weakened, and it was
evident we should not be able to hold our place as
Cocks of College, Fremantle, Fiennes, Denne ma.^
78 'POP'
had left, and poor Maynard had died in the holidays.
On the other hand, Meade-King, the second Captain
of the Boats, came to us from his former Dame's, who
had given up. Johnson's House became second Cocks
of College, and on the 31st they played us for Cocks
of College and they won. On the 14th November,
Goodford's played us for second place, and they won
by four goals and three rouges. On the 9th December,
Durnford's played us for third place, but we won. My
Dame's football eleven this year, Xmas half 1850, was :
Welby, flying-man. Fremantle, goalkeeper.
Pemberton, long-behind. Hewett, bully.
Denne, bully. Mynors, short-behind.
Meade-King, bully. Parish, corner.
Cornish, corner. Rendel, bully.
Fiennes, bully.
When we came back this half we found several new
rooms added to Evans'.
• Some attention was given in the Easter half of '51
to lectures on Chemistry and the like, the first attempt
of the kind that I remember. Also in '50 or '5 1 attend-
ance at Stephen Hawtrey's school was made compul-
sory, but mathematics had not become part of the
serious curriculum of the School when I left. At
Easter, '51, examinations at the end of the half, called
"Collections,"* were instituted. "Pop," which used
to be open on Sundays, was closed to the members on
that day. Evans' was fairly represented in " Pop."
Fremantle (William) was long time a member. We
had three Officers, a President, Chairman (or Treasurer),
and an auditor, and Fremantle at the close of his time
was, if I recollect rightly. Chairman. I became Chair-
man in 1850, and was President for the summer half
of '51. Pemberton and Charles Fremantle were also
members. At the close of 1850, or beginning of '51,
Pennington, the founder of the Society, who held
the honorary post of Trustee, died, and the Society
debated as to the old member w^ho was now most
celebrated. The choice lay eventually between Lord
Derby, " the Rupert of debate," and Mr. Gladstone.
♦ Collections were abolished by Dr. Warre when he became Head
Master in 1884.
CELLAR 79
The eventual vote was in favour of Lord Derby, and
we asked him if he would succeed Mr. Pennington,
but he declined. The Society maintained its reputa-
tion fairly at this time, though I cannot say it was
conspicuous for eloquence. In '51 the Queen and
Prince Consort came to Eton, and we of the Sixth
Form spoke before them in Upper School. June 17th,
Evans took Sam Evans and nine of us from his House
to Henley Regatta ; this ten was as follows :
Pemberton, stroke. Sam Evans.
Rolt. Denne.
Fiennes. Rendel.
Welby. Mynors.
Meade-King. Fremantle.
We drove to Maidenhead, rowed up to Henley, and
rowed back to Eton in the evening, a capital expedi-
tion, which we fully appreciated.
* At Evans' a great part of the House, used, from
time to time, to meet in one of the larger rooms and
sing. Charles Fremantle, who had a good voice, was
our principal songster, but we preferred songs with
good choruses.
* It is singular how little attention was given to
gymnastics. Angelo had a fencing school; but it was
paid for as an extra, and, I think I am right, very few
attended it. An old Corporal Mundy had a room, or
barn, up town, where he used to teach singlestick. We
used to go there of an " after 4," most of us, not to learn
singlestick, but to have the pleasure of whacking each
other over the head or legs in the most unscientific
fashion.
' One relic of Montem survived in the person of a
half-crazy chap dubbed " the Eton poet," who, on
Montem anniversaries, appeared in a fantastic dress.
When we met him we used to chaff him, and make
him give us rhymes. The Pohce of Eton consisted of
two old fellows. Bolt and Macallim, old soldiers, I
think, but quite superannuated.
* One of the institutions of Eton at this time was
" Cellar," held in the upper room of Jack Knight's
" tap," a little way up town. Jack had been old Keate's
coachman, and in the " tap " hung the old silhouette
picture of Keate, which ^ave rise to, or justified, King-
8o OPPIDAN DINNER
lake's celebrated description of Keate in Eothen, as
something between Napoleon Buonaparte and an old
apple-woman. Certain of the big boys went by right
to Cellar, which was held in the Summer half, in one
" after 2 " in the week. I think the Eight, the Eleven,
and the Sixth Form Oppidans, had the right. Others
went by invitation. At the first invitation one had to
drink the " long glass," a tube of glass with a bulb at
the end, holding about a pint of beer. The neophyte
had to finish it without withdrawing the glass from
his lips. It required skill to so lift and then lower the
glass that only a moderate quantity flowed from the
tube, but most of us were nervous on the occasion,
and lifting the glass unskilfully, deluged ourselves by
the rush of beer from the tube, to the satisfaction of the
lookers-on. At " Cellar " we ate bread and cheese, and
drank beer or cider; but as the beer given us in our
Houses was very poor stuff, we hardly touched it at
dinner, and hence what we drank at Cellar involved
no excess. " Cellar " was an old institution of which I
never heard the origin. Probably the name was derived
from it being held in some corner of the old "Chris-
topher," where, while it existed as an inn, "tap " was held.
* Another institution existing at this time, but very
rightly stopped a few years later, was Oppidan Dinner
at the White Hart Hotel, Windsor, in the Summer
half. The dinner took place after four, and we re-
turned to dessert after Absence at a quarter-past six.
It was managed, if I recollect rightly, by the Captain
of the Boats, and only the Eight, the Eleven, and the
big boys dined, on invitation by the Captain. I note
that this year (1850) forty of us dined, and that it cost
us i6s. apiece. Innumerable toasts, and, I think, songs,
were given, and of course the wine got into the heads
of some of the diners. After this dinner, or on " duck
and green-pea " nights, it was the custom to form what
we called " big levy," that is to say, we walked arm in
arm, forming a row which stretched quite across the
High Street, till we got into College. " Upper tap "
was a very select society. If I recollect rightly, the
Eight were members, and a few, very few others,
invited by the Captain of the Boats. " Upper tap " was
held after 2 in a room at Jack Knight's, whither we went
to eat bread and cheese, and drink a glass of beer.
'THE CHRISTOPHER' 8i
'In the winter half of 1850, Dr. Hawtrey and the
Masters had reason to believe that boys frequented
" The Christopher " too much, and they resolved rightly
to put a stop to it. The Masters accordingly made
several incursions into the Inn, but matters came to a
crisis over the " lush " which the Oppidan and Colleger
Elevens always held there two or three days after the
match. The Doctor formally forbade us to hold it.
We, however, resolved not to give up the old custom,
and in spite of the prohibition we held it. Goodford,
Balston, and Carter, came in and desired us to open
the door, which was locked. They took our names,
and the following day the two Elevens, two or three
excepted, who were not present, were sentenced to
be kept back at the beginning of the holidays, going
away with the Lower-boys ; and we also had a book
of Milton to write out.
'i find a list of the boys in the House — viz., the card
from which Absence was called, in the Christmas or
Easter half of 1850, with the end unluckily wanting:
Welby.
Rendel.
Parish.
Pemberton.
Mynors.
Watkins.
Fremantle.
Rolt.
Brougham.
Freeman.
Mitford.
Dickens.
Denne ma.
Cornish.
Congreve.
Meade-King.
White Cowell.
Denne mi.
Marindin.
Tyrrell.
Fiennes.
' This took the House down to Remove ; the part of
the card with the Lower-boys is wanting.*
Lord Welby's reminiscences close here. Almost
kaleidoscopic in their local colour and interesting con-
temporary detail, they bring to the mind something of
the busy outdoor life of Eton, and the part in it that
Evans' never failed to play ; but to obtain a full im-
pression of the tone and character of the House it is
necessary to look at it, so to speak, from many sides,
and what we want now is a view of the inside, and
especially of one particular feature of it — the happy
intercourse that always existed between those who
6
82 LETTER FROM C J. CORNISH
held the House and the boys who boarded there.
From one end of the history to the other they were
friends, and the following letter from C. J. Cornish*
gives a good description of how boys were received
by the Evans family, and made to feel a part of it :
' I went to Eton,' he writes, * in the summer half of
'47 at twelve years of age. I had never left Devon-
shire before, and never before had travelled by rail.
My father and mother took me to London first that I
might see it, and after a few days we went to the
Castle Hotel, Windsor. That was on a Saturday.
On Sunday morning, after service at St. George's
Chapel, we went down to Eton, and dined in the Hall
at Evans'. I can see it all vividly before me now, and
remember that W. M. Thackeray and his two little
daughters were there also. Then I was taken to the
Head Master, Hawtrey, and entered on the books.
My tutor was H. M. Birch.f I was a very fair scholar,
but not being advanced in verses, was shoved down
into Lower Fourth. I mention this that you may
see how much the condition of Evans' helped me to
ameliorate my position. Many of the boys came from
rich homes, whereas at Ottery, where I had been
before, the boys were chiefly the sons of ordinary
country gentlemen, the clergy, or of professional men.
There was certainly not much of it at that day at
Eton ; still, I had a certain taste of what the veoTrXovroi
might be. There was at Evans', however, hardly any
of that snobbishness. The Captain of the House was
Tom Fremantle. Herries and Newdigatet came next
on the roll.
' The feature of the House was the wonderful dis-
cipline Evans kept without seeming ever to exercise
it. He would send for boys individually, and talk to
them by themselves about their faults. There was
also a very kind matron, Mrs. Kenyon, to whom we
owed much. She, too, had a wonderful power of
* Afterwards Rector of Childrey^ Wantage.
t An Assistant Master from 1844 to '49.
X There were three Newdigates at the House, the eldest being one
of the original members in '38. The above was the Rev. A. N., and
the third Lieutenant-General Sir H. N., K.C.B., who served in the
Crimea, Indian Mutiny, and Afghan campaigns.
THE EVANS FAMILY AND THE BOYS 83
dealing with boj^s. And then, side by side with all
this, was the family life which we shared — we were
treated as part of the family. And of this family, Jane
was the one I clung to; she was my friend, and
through life I have always looked at this friendship,
from childhood, as one of the marked features of my
existence.
* I think it was the family life I speak of which did
so much to make Evans' what it was — the whole family
dining with the boys, the social advantages, to the
elder ones especially, of the high table, at which we
often met distinguished men who were there as guests.
Among these last I can remember Charles Dickens,
Lewis, the Oriental painter. Lord Brougham, and other
men of mark. But besides this there were the invitations
to breakfast, where we were then even more closely
part of the family. I look back with the greatest in-
terest to these parties. Then, lastly, there was my
Dame's room, where the new and younger boys often
went and sat, and enjoyed the happiness almost of
home life.
' I do not think there was then any of the luxury in
the boys' rooms that one hears of in these days. An
arm-chair was an almost unknown thing: most of us
were content with the old Windsor chair. It was not
an unusual thing, too, for a boy, for the sake of
economy, to mess by himself, or even to join another
because he felt the one he was in too expensive. The
House was never one where the mere fact of a boy
being rich gave him any position at all. F. E. Durn-
ford* had the post of calling Absence in the House at
Lock-up, and I have always felt that to him, to Jane
Evans, and to J. L. Joynes,t who became my Tutor
when Birch left, I owe most of my happiness at
Eton.*
Of W. M. Thackeray and Charles Dickens, both of
whom are mentioned in these letters, it may be added
that the former was one of William Evans' more
intimate friends, and was a constant visitor, while
* Tutor and House Master 1839-64, and Lower Master 1864-77.
t Tutor and House Master 1849-77, and Lower Master 1877-87.
6—2
84 LETTER FROM LORD REDESDALE
Charles Dickens, after a first visit to the House, was
so much impressed by what he found that he sent his
son there in 1850, instead of to the house he had pre-
viously intended.*
One of Lord Welby's and C. J. Cornish's contem-
poraries was A. B. Freeman-Mitford, who was at the
House for some time before he went into College,
and who was also destined to distinguish himself in
after-life, being better known now as Lord Redesdale.
' I think,' he writes, * this is perhaps a record. Three
boys, who were in the House at one and the same
time, have been raised to the Peerage — Lord Rendel,
Lord Welby, G.C.B., and Lord Redesdale, G.C.V.O.,
K.C.B. Three also, at Evans' together, were heads of
Government Departments at the same time — Lord
Welby (Treasury), Sir Charles Fremantle, K.C.B.
(Mint), and Lord Redesdale (Office of Works). I
think these are remarkable cases of absolute contem-
poraries.'!
It is a happy circumstance that all these should still
survive, and be able to show by their letters the warm
corner they preserve in fheir hearts for the old House.
Sir Charles Fremantle has been often mentioned,} and
this chapter must therefore close with a letter from
the only one of the number who has not hitherto been
quoted.
Few have taken greater interest in the preparation
of this volume than Lord Rendel. His letters glow
* See A. C. Benson's Fasti Etonensei^ p. 432, ' Letters from
Charles Dickens.'
f Lord Redesdale had two elder brothers at the House — Percy M.
afterwards in the Scots Guards, and Henry M. — also two sons, C. B.
and J. P. B. O. Freeman-Mitford. It may also be worth noting, as a
parallel case, that three contemporary pupils of Dr. Wane — viz.,
the Earl of Elgin, Lord Wenlock, and Lord Harris — held the posts
of Viceroy of India, Governor of Madras, and Governor of Bombay
respectively at the same time.
X The writer has received many letters from Sir Charles Fremantle,
who offered help in any way that he could. The two letters from
his brothers in the previous chapter give already, however, all the
information of his period for which space can be found.
LORD RENDEL'S LETTER 85
with a love for Eton and for the House, and the follow-
ing is what he writes of Evans himself in the early
days, and of the influence his system of managing the
House subsequently had upon his daughter Jane :
' I have but little hope of helping you, but I cannot
lose the bare chance of doing so. Yet, if only I could
put it into words, no survivor of the earlier days of
the famous House could give you a livelier sense of
the spirit and character which for sixty years made
Evans' House the quintessence of Etonianism, and in
some senses even the leaven of the School.
'When I became a boarder in 1847, William Evans
was in his prime. In person handsome and stalwart,
in manner genial and virile, in taste and habit a com-
bination of sportsman and artist : a man of breezy
outdoor life, frank, friendly, and sociable, and as far
removed from the pedagogue or dominie as a man
could be. The good and homely Mrs. Kenyon then
filled all those housekeeping duties which would have
been out of Evans' way, and upon which his eldest
daughter Annie was not as yet robust enough to enter
fully.*
* Looking back to this early and, I think, original
condition of things, I feel that to it was due the
singular influence and subseq^uent success of Jane
Evans. She grew up to combme in herself the best
qualities of the management of the House in her
father's and Mrs. Kenyon's days, and she enhanced
the combination by her own most striking personality.
In saying this I am not going beyond my own ex-
perience, because I was unluckily a delicate boy and
exceptionally often ' staying out,' and was thus thrown
with the family.
* I believe I was Captain of the House before I left
in '51, but, strange to stay, I am not quite sure, the
reason being that I was certainly treated as Captain
by Evans himself His position, of course, as a Dame
* Mrs. Kenyon had been previously in charge of the children of
Lord Lincoln, whose eldest and second boy followed her to Eton.
Mention is made of her death in Jane Evans' diaries on February 15,
1881, and also of the fact that allusion was particularly made to her
in a sermon by Mr. Joynes in Lower Chapel on the 20th of the same
month. She was universally beloved.
86 EVANS' SYSTEM
was wholly exceptional. He knew very well that,
were he to assume any outward show of authority
as a sort of Master, he would invite the resistance of
the boys, always quaintly jealous of formalities on this
score. He did not desire recognition as a Master, and
the secret of his success was his cleverness in taking
full advantage of his detached position. He consulted
his boys; he gave no orders and made and enforced as
few rules as possible. His art was to govern the boys
through the boys who could repay his confidence, and
to give this last to them entirely ; to elicit their manly,
honourable, generous, and loyal feelings when and only
when necessary, and otherwise, as far as possible, to
leave them to themselves.
* Sam Evans had much of the best of his father about
him, and was all his days a delightfully good fellow ;
but it was upon Jane that, more and more, the main-
tenance of the House devolved, and as age and
experience advanced no doubt she gradually filled
the precise part slowly surrendered by her father, as
well as retaming her more feminine attributes : she
became father and daughter in one.
' Thus it was that the House, for forty years, was, in
the opinion of its boarders, a House apart and yet a
House pre-eminently Etonian in its best sense. I am
naturally laudator temporis acti, and ready to say there
will never be quite such another House nor another
Jane Evans. I pray that her memory may be pre-
served, not alone in affection for and in justice to ner,
but in the interests of Eton itself. For I am sure that
she embodied the very finest spirit of Eton, and that
the maintenance of the traditions of her House is not
onl}'' a duty sacred to many hundreds of her Old boys,
but one of the best services that can be rendered to
the great Foundation itself.'
CHAPTER VI
ANNIE EVANS GRADUALLY ASSUMES CONTROL OF THE
HOUSE — THE ADVENT OF BOYS FROM COLERIDGE's —
THE TWO SISTERS ANNIE AND JANE EVANS — THE
FOUNDING OF THE HOUSE LIBRARY — LETTERS FROM
T. F. HALSEY, J. F. F. HORNER, AND THE EARL OF
CRANBROOK — THE COMMITTEE OF BOYS KNOWN AS
' THE LIBRARY '
It is not to be supposed that Evans' House escaped
the vicissitudes that wait on all human undertakings,
or that it passed through the sixty-seven years of its
existence without experiencing many a blow from the
hand of Fate, if so we prefer to call it. The control of
a House containing fifty boys puts an end, in a sentence,
to any supposition of the kind, without enumerating
the cares and responsibilities that are inseparable from
such a task. Few undertakings can be more difficult ;
none require more constant vigilance or a fuller
measure of the finest tact and judgment. Failure is
comparatively easy ; to succeed requires gifts that are
bestowed on very few. And if a full measure of
success is attainable by a limited number only of all
those who put their hand to such a work, and through
a combination oi qualities that are as subtle as they
are indefinable, it may be doubted whether the in-
fluencing of young lives does not offer some of the
richest prizes, and whether even a small measure of
success does not bring with it some of the happiest
moments in a man's declining years.
87
88 EXISTENCE OF HOUSE THREATENED
But it is not in these directions that we have now
alone to look. That the history of the House affords
one if not two striking examples of the glad acceptance
of such responsibilities, of the possession of these
subtle characteristics, and of the final reaping of these
rich rewards, all of us will be ready to admit, and
to admit with gratitude. To other causes than
the mere lack of necessary qualities in those who
ruled it was the House twice within measurable
distance of having to close its doors. That such was
the case will presently be shown, and if the fact has
hitherto been known to few, there is yet another point
connected with it that calls here for very prominent
recognition. Twice, through untoward circumstances,
the very existence of the House was threatened. On
both occasions it fell to a woman's hand to rescue it
from an impending fate.
William Evans was a man possessed of many aspira-
tions. He was happy in the founding of the House ;
events proved him to be happier still in the possession
of two daughters such as Annie and Jane Evans showed
themselves afterwards to be. He had started with
many ideals. He was then in the prime of life and
full of vigour, and he was possessed of health and
strength, as well as of characteristics eminently calcu-
lated to appeal to a boy's nature. Those who knew
him best in these days speak of him with regard, with
a sense of what they owe him, and tell of his liberality
and the help he was to them ; but it was not so,
it could not be so with all. A boy's judgment is
proverbially hasty, and those in authority over him
are dismissed as * decent chaps ' or the reverse on the
slenderest evidence. It is no part of our undertaking
to deal exhaustively with Evans' character, yet it is
important that some endeavour should be made to
correct estimates where these seem to need qualifying.
If Evans was a man of many aspirations, he was
WILLIAM EVANS' ACCIDENT 89
certainly one who experienced many trials. For long
years he threw himself into the task he had under-
taken, sparing neither his time nor his capital, allow-
ing his art to occupy a second place and his boys and
his House to have his first thoughts. But then by
degrees there came a change, and the House saw
gradually less and less of him. How was this ? He
had suffered many bereavements. His wife and three
of his children had been taken from him earlier; his
eldest son had died in New Zealand, as we have seen ;
and once again, in 1851, death came and claimed his
sailor son in Rangoon. But a further misfortune now
befell him, though the actual date of the occurrence is
uncertain.* Suffice it to say that when sketching — it
matters very little where — he stepped back to look at
his work, and was precipitated down a steep and rocky
'bank. The injuries he received were of a terrible
nature, and there is no need to dwell upon them here.
He was then a man in his prime, and though he lived
to be nearly eighty, his strength now slowly declined,
and his days were more often than not days of acute
suffering. The glory of health and strength gradually
ebbed away, and Evans came to take less and less
share in the active management of the House. For a
time he was, in the words of one of his Captains, 'quite
capable of exercising authority if it was wanted ' ; but
his state of health necessitated periods of absence of
gradually increasing length, until at last he was away
for many months at a time. So it was that most of us
saw little of him, and came to look in other directions
for help and guidance in the House that still continued
to bear his name.
William Evans was thus very largely the victim of
* The writer has been at great pains to discover the date, but the
reports vary to so great an extent that it is impossible to arrive at any
definite conclusion. Some speak of the 'forties, others of the 'fifties, and
some, again, of the 'sixties. The Dean of Ripon, however, seems positive
that the date was '44, and adduces strong evidence to support this.
90 ANNIE EVANS AND THE HOUSE
circumstances, and if the state of affairs was not calcu-
lated to benefit the House, it speaks well for the
system he had inaugurated that discipline and order
continued to be maintained. At one time the strong
opinion was held that Evans should resign, and then
great pressure was brought to bear upon him to admit
a young Master as resident in his House. But he
would not entertain the idea of resigning, while he
scouted the notion of a Master being imported to keep
order. The boys would do that ; he could trust them.
But there were things that the boys could not do,
and that could not be left in the hands of a Matron,
however capable. Parents had to be thought of, and,
if on this side there were difficulties, the further fact
had to be faced that there had been a heavy capital
outlay, nearly the whole of which would almost cer-
tainly be sacrificed if the door was closed.*
It was now that Annie Evans came to her father's
assistance, and gradually took up the definite and entire
management. That she was not inexperienced is
shown in the following note by her sister Jane :
' My eldest sister, Annie, came home when she was
about nineteen, and in 1844 began to take part in the
management of the House ; but it was many years
before she was allowed to have anything to do with
the boys. My father considered that some one more
experienced was necessary in their case, and always
endeavoured to appoint ladies as matrons who were
fully competent to undertake such a position. When,
however, in 1855, my sister, who was very quick to see
and understand what was wanted in such a large house
from a woman's point of view, asked my father to let
her take the management of the House with him, he
gladly agreed, only stipulating that she should have a
thoroughly efficient matron to work with her. After
trying one or two, she finally chose Mrs. Barns, whose
♦ In his evidence before the Public Schools Commission Evans
stated that 'he had paid, besides his renewal fines, £7,300 and up-
wards for goodwill and improvements ' (see Report, p. 99).
ANNIE EVANS 91
c[uiet tact and practical ways with the boys were of
infinite help to ner.'
Annie Evans at this time had passed her thirtieth
year, her sister, Jane, being two years younger.
Sensitive and highly nervously organized, she brought
to her task the energy and enthusiasm which is often
the mark of such a temperament. There was no limit
to her kindness, and all who write of her at this time
speak of this with gratitude. Many of us can recall
the quick way in which she would form an opinion,
and when anything was wrong how quickly, too, the
words would come from lips that trembled because of
her hatred of evil and her keen anxiety for the
character and welfare of the House that was in her
charge. We little realized what it cost her. To take
up such a work required no ordinary courage ; it was
beset with difficulties, and everything depended on
her success or failure. She was herself far from
strong. Her father's health grew worse ; there were
brothers and sisters to be thought of; and there was
the House, with its fifty or more boys and a whole
array of servants. She may not have stood absolutely
alone, for behind her was her sister Jane, and to a
certain degree her father ; but she would always say
that it was impossible for two to manage such an
undertaking, and though Jane Evans certainly came to
take her full share, it was Annie who, during a period
of sixteen years, was the real head of the House, and
threw into the work her whole heart, her strength, it
may be truly said, her very life.
* I think Annie Evans,' writes Howard Sturgis, 'was
a very remarkable character. She was by nature
emotional, nervous, almost hysterical at times, the last
type of woman whom anyone would have suspected
of any aptitude for the work she was called upon to do.
Yet she undertook it with dauntless courage, and did
it successfully, with what amounted to a touch of
92 THE TWO SISTERS
genius. She had amazing intuition about boys ; it was
hke an instinct. The danger was that she came to
trust her intuitions too much, and of course they were
occasionally wrong; but the marvel was, and remains,
how often, on the whole, they were right. Of course
what boys will be apt to remember of her will be the
little outbursts of anger, or of behaviour inevitable in
a person of her excitable temperament ; and there will
be a danger of the real good sense and cleverness with
which she filled a most difficult position being done less
than justice to. There was a kind of electric brilliancy
about her, the antithesis of her sister's calm wisdom,
but not in its own way less remarkable.'
It is not now, however, that an attempt need be
made either to sum up her character or to form an
estimate of the influenge she exerted on the House
itself. In due time she earned the love of the very
best of the boys, as she did the admiration of those
who were at the head of the School. These things
shall be spoken of in their place, but one further
point certainly needs a reference here, because it
intimately concerned the continued well-being of the
House.
Few can doubt that the one sister possessed what the
other lacked in the way of natural characteristics, and
that the nervous anxiety consuming Annie was counter-
balanced by the quiet strength and sell-possession of
her sister Jane. But what they both had, or came to
have in a remarkable degree, was an innate perception,
an almost intuitive insight into the character of a boy.
How important a gift this was in a House governed on
the principles of Evans' may be easily understood.
The Captains of the House had had their responsibili-
ties before, but they came gradually to occupy a more
prominent place now, and all through Annie and Jane
Evans' fifty years of rule, in no way did these sisters
show their wisdom more than in the manner in which
they developed their father's original ideas, and threw
THE CAPTAINS OF THE HOUSE 93
the maintenance of the discipHne of the House largely
into the hands of the boys themselves.
That Annie Evans was certainly fortunate in her
first Captains, the subsequent life-history of these
Captains proves. But how was it, when we look
back, that Annie and Jane Evans were almost
always able to put their hands on boys whom they
could absolutely trust, and who were of sufficient
strength of character to head their fellows ? The
Captains of the House were not all boys of the same
calibre : that cannot be supposed for one moment.
They varied much : some were the very pick of their
kind ; some were born leaders, boys who excelled in all
the pursuits of boy-life, who were leaders in the foot-
ball field, at cricket, and on the river, boys who showed
what they would become though only then in their
teens, as well as many others who, while they shone not
at all at games, attained the dignity of Sixth Form or
occupied a high place in the School. It may have been
in part due to the tone of the House and the influence
and education that this gave; but however this may
be, the Captains of Evans', taking them as a whole,
were boys of exceptional calibre, and the trite expression
that the boy is father to the man came true in their
case again and again.
Whether Annie Evans exerted her influence in
preventing boys of poor character remaining till they
became Captains cannot be said for certain, though
it seems probable that she did so ; but her sister
certainly did, and the following from one who was
familiar with the work of the House as a boy there,
and as the father of sons who followed him, supplies
perhaps the fullest answer :
* One of Miss Evans' wise principles was never to
allow a bad boy to remain till he was at the Head of
the House. At the risk of offending anyone, from a
Duke downwards, she would request his withdrawal.'
94 THE LYTTELTONS
So it came about that one who was none too strong
for such a task took up the work and saved the
House : Annie Evans' position was recognized ; she
was called by us 'my Dame,' and though her father
was titular head, it was she who year by year took
upon herself more and more of the burden — the glad
burden as it was to every member of the family — of
ruling over it. One cannot but admire her pluck.
And as if Fortune smiled upon her, an event occurred
at this period that was fraught with consequences of
the greatest moment for the future welfare of Evans'.
Early in 1857 Edward Coleridge, then Lower Master
and holding the house now known as Keate's house,
was created a Fellow. His house was accordingly
dissolved, and the boys went elsewhere. Among the
number was one, C. G. Lyttelton, and it was his
advent at Evans' that carried with it far more than
for the moment appeared. He was the eldest of
eight brothers, one of whom accompanied him from
Coleridge's. Six others were destined to follow them
at the House in due course, and if to speak here of
their subsequent careers would be an impertinence,
we who knew them, and were thrown with many of
them in the days of our boyhood ; who, it may be,
watched them then, and knew well how it would be
when they came out into the full glare of the arena,
may rejoice, as we look back, at the happy chance that
brought them to the doors of the old House, and made
Evans' their Eton home.* A House Master is capable
of impressing upon his House as a whole something
of his own individuality, just as he is of leaving his
mark for good or ill upon the very souls of his boys.
* The names and dates of these eight famous brothers are : C. G.
Lyttelton, now Viscount Cobham, '54-'6o; Albert V. Lyttelton, '57-'6i ;
Neville G. Lyttelton, '58-'64 ; G. W. Spencer Lyttelton, '59-'65 ;
Arthur T. Lyttelton, afterwards Bishop of Southampton, '62-^70 ; Robert
H. Lyttelton, '66-'72 ; Edward Lyttelton, now Head Master, '68-'74 ;
and Alfred Lyttelton, now Right Hon., '68-'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
that came to it numbered very few, but there was no
doubt about their quality; 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 i860
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 ;* J. A. 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 got to know many of my new House-mates before
I 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 '6i. 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 Httle 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 deHght 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'
original 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 like 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. Horner writes:
* I was Captain of the House from Sept. '60 to
Election '61. C. G. Lyttelton (Lord Cobnam) 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 Medwayt 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, Kaffir and Zulu campaigns ; Lieutenant-
Governor of Jersey, '95-' 1900.
t Since this was written, Earl Cranbrook.
7—2
icx) 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 m 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 floor above emptied his water-jug on the victim of
the joke.
CONTENTS OF THE LIBRARY loi
The books composing the library were of all classes
— 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. J. Jenkyns, D.D., who had two sons
in the House — J. Jenkyns,* and his distinguished
brother, Henry Jenkyns, who became Parliamentary
Counsel to the Treasury in succession to Lord Thring
in 1 886, and afterwards a K.C.B. 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
* Rector of Durley, Bishop's Waltham ; Rural Dean of Peter-
borough, '9o-'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 shuffled 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 lift of all the name* on the Boards will be found in the
Afrpendix. Every cflTort has been made to dbcovcr whether it would
be pOf»ible to make good the omiffions, but all hope of compiling; a
complete and truttwortby list has had to be given up. The House
wai ruled at different time* by three of the Kvan« family, and no
lists seem to have been kept, or if they were have certainly not been
Keserved. Many names might be added, an'! ^/t^■ ..r.i r.ry. 'fhe
t would, however, even then be lamentably d, ai an
instance, the writer may mention that^ after - 1 Jiearrh
through one peri^xJ only, '43 to '49, he di»crrt'ered the names of 22 bovs
who appeared to have >^<;irdftd at V.van;'. but who were not to be
found on these Board-,.
THE HOUSE BOOKS logr
writer by the score, we shall find that, by general
testimony, though there were bad characters amoi\g
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. Nevei^
theless, we can assuredly claim tluit they were few
indeed who passed under the intliu lu c 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, ami by the Captains of the
Cricket and Footlvill I K vi us, were a luunber of
volumes, gilt-edi^i tl and bound in black momcco
leather, with the Anns of I'lmi cmM.i oncd on the
covers. These l)«n>k>. wcir tli\uK>l mio Hoaiing"
Books, Football n>>i'k-. ilu- (lukci l^>>«lv, .uhl, lastly,
a volume known .i-- iln- Iw.^k .*i I'x.ui'.' ( li.nnpions.
In all they number sc\rnl«H-n xohniu ., .uul .r. con-
temporary records of tiie athletic cm ni:> ol ihc *!.iy
their value is consiiKuMc
The Honfini; I^ooUs in eipfht volumci are the most
compK'U, .uul ilc.il not only with tiie contests in which
the House itself w.i ( i > I, but also with all tlu
prominent aquatic * \< m. ol tiie School for a great
number of years. Ihc lull tiil(> »>r this work runs:
'Annals of the Aquatic World ii I Nm, from the year
1825. Kept l>\' itic ( '.iplMin ol l\li I' \ ,, :,*
rcmorum ceitii.' Aiui on ilic lly-lcil tlun 1. i.n. in-
scription :
'This book wns oiininnlly ..Mni-l,.l lu chmlr-i
Edward Pcpys and John \Vollry,.i:..u.:icil 1j> Kobcil
Clive, W. A. Houatoun, luul othora, 1S41.**
* A list of thoio who kept the Ilt)vuo Hoatlny HtMka will bo found
in the Apputulix.
108 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 v^ell 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, '73, '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 the Appendix giving the names of those
who kept these Books from the date 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 boys 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), and 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 mi.
— ' 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
;^i, 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, '6i-'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 s^e
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' Boating 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.'
On June 30, 1848, Welby* won a medal as second in
the School Sculling, and in 1850 two other boys of the
House, Fiennesf and Fremantle,t distinguished them-
selves by winning the School Double Sculling Sweep-
stakes, 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, had 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. Denne§ may be
inserted here. Three brothers of the name were at
the House, and were all good athletes, being known
* Now Lord Welby, G.C.B.
t Son of 1 6th Lord Saye and Sele ; afterwards joined the Royal
Welsh Fusiliers, and distinguished himself in the attack on the
Redan.
t Now the Hon. Sir Charles Fremantle, K.C.B.
§ 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 eames, I recollect most of all the Wall game,
of which I was Captain. When Captain, I instituted
the Oppidan Wall game, always played on Mondays.
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 played 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 was 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 my 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 Victofy, 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
120 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 Henley, 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.
US 8 — 2
ii6 POPULARITY OF THE RIVER
races. It was no uncommon thing for 25 or 30 boats
to start for the Double Sculling, and in '54 the number
starting for this race reached 40. But this was again
eclipsed by those engaged in the tub sculling races,
when the actual starters not infrequently numbered
more than 100. When Edward Coleridge, in 1854,
offered a prize of £s ^or tub sculling, ' about 1 30 ' 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 ma.,'\ Hopkinson, t Oliver, § Hardy, ||
Strahan,1[ 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,
t F. N. Smith, banker.
t Charles C. H., banker.
§ Afterwards Devonshire Regiment.
II Colonel Hon. C. Gathorne-Hardy, Grenadier Guards.
^ Colonel G. S., Royal Engineers.
** Won Double Sculling, '55 ; Oxford Eight, 'S9-'6o.
ii8 CUP FOR 'HOUSE FOURS'
Hardy (stroke), Kinglake,* Wynne,t Halsey,t and
Cadogan,§ all belonging to Evans', while Van de
Weyerjl 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.
* See p. 120.
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.
§ Now 5th Earl Cadogan, K.G. |1 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 precedmg nights, from Rushes to
Windsor Bridge, the crews being —
Evans' ( Windsor side).
Gulliver's {Eton side).
1. S. E. Hicks.
2. J. Trower.*
3. J. R. Selwyn.
4. R. A. Kinglake.
J. Jenkyns (cox.).
1. H. D. Senhouse.
2. W. B. Gurney.
3. Lord Kenlis.
4. J. E. Parker.
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 ^ood 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 omnes ! 1 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, t 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.I.ING IN 1862.
C. R. W. Tottenham (Wolley-Dod's).
John Richardson Selwyn. Robert Alexander Kinglake.
\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
doin^ 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 library 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 P
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 went
* George, 13th Earl. f Now 7th Duke of Atholl, K.T.
X 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 '6^ ; 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 tlie
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
'7I1 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 February, 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 '63 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, 1855-68 — 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 especially 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.
Horne ma, Capt. C. C. Parry, Capt.
Bircham ma. Oliver mi.
Smith ma. Row^ley.
Horne mi Kinglake mi.
Oliver mi. Borrer mi.
Jenkyns ma. Hardy mi.
Hopkinson. Robarts ma.
Kinglake. Burrell.
Wynne. Beckford.
Millett. Pocklington.
Bircham mi. Allen.
["Oliver tni. and C. C. Parry
-j the first tv^'o 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 mi. The play 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 Horne ma., versus
the rest of the House. We leave the reader to judge
of the glory of such a victory. It will be seen that, in
1858, the first swf contended successfully against th^
'^
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 the 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.i
Kinglake.2
Lyttelton ma}
Hicks.
Lyttelton mi.^
Horner.^
Trower.^
Kennett.^
Fremantle.^
Jenkyns.*
Ward.
Lower- Boy and Lower
Division.
Kennett.^
Ward.
Drummond.
Thompson max}^
Burnell.
Gaussen.
Lyttelton minM
Jenkyns mi
Carter.
Bircham.^^
Cole.i3
Lower-Boy.
Drummond.
Lyttelton mm."
Thompson max.^^
Jenkyns mi.
Carter.
Elwes.
Drummond mi.
Thompson ma.^*
Hamilton.i^
Thompson mi.
Greenwood.
1 Afterwards Bishop of Melanesia.
* In the Eton and Cambridge Eights, and President of the
C.U.B.C., 1866.
3 Now the Rev. the Hon. A. V. L.
#
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 by
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.
^ Now Commissioner of Woods and Forests and Land Revenue.
^ 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.
8 Afterwards the Rev. the Hon. S. J. F.
^ Afterwards Parliamentary Counsel to the Treasury, and K.C.B.
^<' Now Lord Knaresborough.
" Now the Hon. G. W. S. Lyttelton, C.B.
^^ Afterwards Colonel, 60th Rifles.
^^ Now Earl of Enniskillen.
^^ Now Colonel R. F. Meysey- Thompson, late Rifle Brigade.
16 Now Sir Edward Hamilton, G.C.B., K.C.V.O., LS.O., Permanent
Financial Secretary to the Treasury.
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.
I
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 years 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 very considerable
number of officers to the Army, the military spirit may
* 9—2
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 Drury'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-SIaney,
who took the ball across the field for the line on the
3 >•
r:: o
[i. E a.
c
^^
_fcd £
IS S<
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 tnrough 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 ^ot more cannot
be denied, and indeed we cannot finish this without
paying our tribute of respect to the plucky and gallant
Elay of our opponents, who, by placing so small a
ouse 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 with 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 of 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 have 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
routes. Currey played instead of Parry. Thompson
behmd, 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.'*
W. 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 Q6y) 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 '68, 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 year 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.2 W. R. Ruggles-Brise.^
W. R. Kenyon-Slaney.3 R. B. Brett.^
Arthur Lyttelton.* C. C. Lacaita.^
E. F. Alexander.^ T. A. Hamilton.
H. J. Gladstone.io
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' were 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, '6g ;
M.P. for Peterborough.
2 Captain of the Boats ; won the Pulling ; President of the Eton
Society ; and was in all three of the School football elevens.
^ 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, '7 1 ; President of the Eton Society.
8 Now Viscount Esher, K.C.B., G.C.V.O.
" Newcastle Medallist, '72, and greatly 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, I 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
E loughs were very heavy, but I was in good condition,
aving some beagles at home which we used to run
with. The race was reduced to Lawes, 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 yard. I won a
quart pewter, a ring, a pin, and £4 in money. I was
much the smallest boy, and Beirs 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 v[iy new ones have "no education," as we
used to call it.'*
* Henry Baker's elder brother, Granville Lloyd Baker, 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 '63 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 beHeve 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 went the next day, 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, I 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 %"], 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 boys, 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
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 was 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 145
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 bowler 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
thit 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 Etonians ; 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 raucn.'
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 Eto7i in the Forties j A. D. Cole-
ridge.
10 — 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 16
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
W5, 1, b. 1 6
94
Second Innings.
1. b. w., b Mitchell ...
1. b. w., b A. Teape ...
runout
not out
b Mitchell
b Mitchell
b A. Teape
run out
b Mitchell
(H. V^^ard) b Mitchell
b Mitchell
W2, b2, l.b. I ...
10
23
41
I
I
5
2
I
2
o
5
99
MARRIOTT'S.
First Innings.
R. A. H. Mitchell, b Pocklington
A. Whittuck, b C. G. Lyttelton
R. Peel, b C. G. Lyttelton ...
R. P. Wethered, run out
A. S. Teape, b Pocklington ...
H. B. McCall, b C. G. Lyttelton
J. Trelawny, b C. G. Lyttelton
F. Lee, b Pocklington
C. A. Teape, b Pocklington ...
W. Hulton, run out
W. R. Griffiths, not out
L. b. 2, b 4, w 5
96
o
2
I
I
2
o
I
10
10
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 ...
25
3
I
o
10
3
o
o
o
o
7
51
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, 1 860.
W. EVANS'.
C. G. Lyttelton, run out 22
D. Pocklington, b Bagge o
N. G. Lyttelton, b Bagge 43
A. V. Lyttelton, b Bagge 2
S. G. Lyttelton, run out 15
J. R. Selwyn, b Bagge 5
J. F. F. Horner, c Bagge, b Norman 6
S. J. Fremantle, b Bagge 20
A. W. Grant, stumped Bagge, b Norman ... 24
H. Ward, b Bagge 10
H. M. Thompson, not out 2
W9, b3 12
DE ROSEN'S.
First Innings.
P. Norman, b Pocklington
P. Bagge, c Pocklington, b C. G
Lyttelton
H. Garnett, b C. G. Lyttelton
P. Montague, run out
H.Tollemache, c Pocklington, b C. G
Lyttelton
A. Bury, b Pocklington
N. Rolfe, b C. G. Lyttelton ...
E. W. Chapman, b C. G. Lyttelton
Clarke, b C G. Lyttelton
D. Frazer, not out
E. Garnett, b Pocklington
W6, b4, l.b. I
4
7
5
o
5
o
o
o
o
o
II
41
161
Second Innings.
c A. V. Lyttelton,
b Pocklington
b C. G. Lyttelton
not out
b Pocklington
not out
W3, bi, Lb. I
4
10
I
_5
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 play. 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
ISO 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 Lyttelton making
60 in the latter match, the Cricket Book was not kept
for twenty years. C. A. Grenfell, a member of the
Eleven in '83, 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 '63,
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,
I getting 99 in the last innings I played at Eton.'
The match referred to was against Wayte'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 Vceux, c Thompson, b Lyttelton
AUcard, c K.-Slaney, b Drummond
- 3
Ponsonby ma., b Drummond
... 13
Gibbs, St N. Lyttelton, b Drummond
Jackson, c Owen, b H. Thompson
... 7
Ponsonby ?ni., c Parry, b Thompson
Ferguson, c Owen, b H. Thompson
Twining, b Drummond
- 3
Furlong, b Drummond
2
Courthope, 1. b. w., b Hamilton
I
Campbell, not out
••• 3
Byes, etc
... 12
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-SIaney, not out i
Parry
R. Thompson
Owen
A. Thompson
Byes, etc.
did not go in
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 '63 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 '6^^
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-
cellenti 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 '67, 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 '6d, and '69 ; but in '70 my brother
Arthur got in, mainly on account of his fielding. In
'71 I 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 '6y 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 have 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 diff'erent 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 85 3-68 — 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 family 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. Ly ttelton, now General Sir Neville Ly 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., K.C.V.O.; Viscount
Cole, now Earl of Enniskillen ; S. J. Fremantle;*
J. R. Selwyn, 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.
f Died February 12, 1898.
I Editor of The Eton College Chronicle, 1867 ; died Apri 13, 1904.
154
LETTER FROM LORD CADOGAN 155
Thompson, now Lord Knaresborough ; the Earl of
Pembroke;* Earl Waldegrave ; Evelyn Alexander ;t
R. B. Brett, now Viscount Esher, K.C.B., G.C.V.O. ;
A. T. Lyttelton, afterwards Bishop of Southampton ; J
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, 1895. 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 bemg 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 wonderfully,
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.
STEPHEN JAMES FREMANTLE 157
'I 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, I 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 '63, 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 ; W. 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 Harrington
Kennett.t Young as I was, I remember being struck
by the extraordinary purity of character and mind of
Fremantle, who was, 1 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 nrst 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 memory
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.
t Afterwards Sir V. Kennett Barrington (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.
* I 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 system 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 apart 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 many
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 yet 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 '63, 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. Warre 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 charge 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 may perhaps be referred to :
Noticing a Concert given in December '66, the
Chronicle contains this: 'Mr. Parry] wm. 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, * I 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 130 members ; that there is a small Orchestral Society composed
of boys and Masters ; and that besides these the Volunteers have a
brass band. The Musical Society gives two concerts yearly, and the
Volunteer Band another. The musical instruments played by the
boys include piano, organ, violin, violoncello, flute, and comet, besides
the various instruments of 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 common
sense and keenness of humour. She nevertheless had
a curious insight into boys' characters, which was
rarely 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 X^'^^sury, 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 William 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), I 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 from the house ' 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 1 well remember the great delignt 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 Francis 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 my day, as we used to be able to get out
easily at ni^ht by dint of a key. I remember taking a
long moonlight walk once.
*ln my day the Musical Society was first started.
The inauguration took place in '62, when two boys,
by name Walpole and Amcotts, played. I became
President of the Society in '6^, 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 beheve, 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 I 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 I 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
Selwyn 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.
' I 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 personality in the artistic world.
He used to have a big, comfortable room looking out
into the garden, where he used to lounge in a sort of
Olympic grandeur. I used to visit him there occasion-
ally, and I 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 try 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 played 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 6,
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 ' My 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 by 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
gianist, and was always encored furiously. I and
iddie 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, 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, which
gave me a distaste for that species of viands for a long
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 01 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. M. 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.; 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 much 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. I 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 :
* I 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
I70 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 m hand.
' My brother Albert, afterwards the well-known
Q.C., won the fencing and single-stick in '^. 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 1 1 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, 77?^ 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 comes your own brother, Hubert, whom I
LETTER FROM 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, JuHan and
Howard, both distinguished in literature. Apart from
others whom I may have forgotten, that decade at
my Dame's produced a fairly distinguished lot of
boys. Some of very attractive personality, among
them Eustace Vesey,* Charlie Tytler,t and Ernest
Bickersteth,t 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 Kept 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 i8, '86.
t Died September 24, ''TJ.
\ Son of the Bishop of Ripon, d. July 30, '72.
§ Lord Esher's brother, Eugene L. S. Brett, of the Scots Guards,
d. December 8, '82.
II In 1870; now a soHcitor.
^ 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 rny 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 Playing 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
(qualified 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 '68j 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, Tungit;
Laniger atque Lapis, tu quoque parva Dies."
* I went to Eton in '63 and left in '69, when I was
second Oppidan. I was in the Field in '68, 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-hne, 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
continued 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
he 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 young 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 87 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 of
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.
176
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.f
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 '63 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 '97. 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 fagging in the House, and joined in
the House games; otherwise they lived 'over-the-way' entirely.
% See p. 22.
12
178 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 Gardens,
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 playing well. If we do, I think I shall challenge
the Scnool, which will be almost unheard of, and a
refutation of the James scandal.
'Beheve 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 carrying 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 : we knew that our Dame was often away, 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
ANNIE EVANS.
From a photograph taken in 1865.
\To/acep. 180.
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 very 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
remedy 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.
' I 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
I was in your father's house, and shall always associate
those years with happiness and kindness. Whenever
I 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 hastily, she was as
quick to forgive. To me she was especially forbearing
and considerate, and with many 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
your 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 I 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 rny 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
\ye 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,
i86 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 really 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, stayed
in the House or with my Tutor, and had long confi-
dential talks with her about the House and the boys,
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.
AN^
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-CRICKET —
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y go, and they
ys of yesterday
e sHd away, and
spreading to the
the House, from
has now to be
:ious events from
Lowing, and deal
fore doing so, the
in the House must
the list were com-
period opened, for
. many of the others
lievements about to
fterwards M.P. for
ship with consider-
Hobhouse, since dis-
* Gold Medallist for the Newcastle ; winner of the Russell and
Prince Consort's Prizes, 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).
189
190 A GOOD LIST
tinguished in many ways and now a Privy Councillor;*
Herbert Gladstone, now Home Secretary ; Robert
H. Lyttelton ; Herbert Edward Ryle, the present
Bishop of Winchester; A. W. Ruggles-Brise ;t
Howard O. Sturgis, writer and novelist ; F. C. Ark-
wright;t Edward Lyttelton, now Head Master of
Eton ; Lord Windsor, now Earl of Plymouth ; Alfred
Lyttelton, the most prominent athlete of his day, P.O.,
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 ;|| H. Whitfeld, who was in the
Eleven for three years, and Captain of it in ^'j'j ; and
W. Hobhouse,ir 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 Keeper of the Field and President of Pop, '71 ; now J. P. and
D.L., Essex.
X Captain of the House and House Eleven, '72 ; had two sons at
the House, R. A. and F. G. A., 1898-1903.
§ Author of hnperium 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.
II M.P. for the Lichfield Division of Staffordshire ; sat for North
Somerset, '92-'95.
\ Afterwards Head Master of Durham School, and now Hon.
Canon of Birmingham. Two others of the name were also at the
House — Charles E. Hobhouse, formerly in the 60th Rifles, and now
M.P. for East Bristol ; and E. Hobhouse, who will be noticed later.
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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 way ; 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 domus esto 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 '68. 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. Ru^gles-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 wonderfully 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, and yet he was not in the
Field.'
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 won 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. The first match between them
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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 '71' 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 dimly thought we might 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
equahzed the teams. My Dame's being the biggest
house in Eton always furnished a rather heav}-^ 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 comer. I told Denison to
change places with me ; and what I hoped for
happeneci exactly. The ball came to short-behind ;
I cfropped it in front of Alfred, who set off at a grand
speed, pursued, longo intervallo^ by Jim Judd, and by
'fisherman' Lawrie tr^'ing to back him up, and, in
spite of frost and the hostile spectators, ran 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 ended 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 me^
Virtute me involve, probamque
Pauperiem sine dote quasro."*
* The allusion in these lines is the more remarkable
when it is considered that the hideous provocation we
* Horace, Od., III., 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, '73.
' 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 days, 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 lately 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, contaming
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
:* -^
U 5
EVANS' 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. Selwyn. 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
rnember 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 ^^6. 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 days they occasionally 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
agamst De Rosen's. The shouts of encouragement
to our opponents would have surprised the present
generation of Etonians. They consisted of a kind of
positive, comparative, and superlative of the name De
Rosen—" Well played, De Rosen's "; " Well played.
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 any 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 'tj. 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." I knew next to nothing about mine, and,
when I 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 '72. 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 01 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 '73, '74, and '75, in each
of which the House secured the Cup. Evans' never
had finer elevens than in these three years. In
two they 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. and 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
E. W. Denison, b Brodrick
Oswald ma., c A. E. Miles, b Lambton
Pulteney, b Lubbock
Whitfeld, b Lambton
E. Lyttelton, run out
Marjoribanks, b Lubbock ...
Bayly, c & b Lambton
Oswald 7)11., c Edwards-Moss, b Lubbock
Selwyn, not out
Master, b Lubbock
Extras
47
13
5
13
o
43
18
o
o
3
o
II
153
* Was in the Eleven '7S-'7ly being Captain in the latter year.
Thus, in the space of five years, a member of the House was Captain
of the Eleven in three.
204 EVANS' V. WARRE'S IN 'n
WARKE'S.
First Innings. Second Innings.
F. J. Bruce, c A. Lyttelton,
b E. Lyttelton 5 b Denison 7
J. Lubbock, c A. Lyttelton, bDenison 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,bDenison 4
Baskerville-Mynors, c E. Lyttelton,
b Bayley 6 st A. Lyttelton, b Deni-
T. p. Edwards -Moss J 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 bDenison o
Extras 7 Extras 13
69 81
* This match took place in Upper Club on wickets,
strange to say, far from good. 1 he 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, bein^ 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 capacious hands few balls, having once entered,
are ever suffered to escape. A. Lyttelton's 47 vvas 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-le^, 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 bein^ 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
off, 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 having 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 bowling, 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 evening. Thursday, the last day, was always a whole-
school-day, and the only time for play was therefore 'after 12' and
' after 6.
EVANS' AGAIN WIN IN '75 207
I should mention that our fourth man in the School
team was Bayley (always called " only Bayley," 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 j^ear, 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' entered two crews in
the same way.
208 HOUSE FOURS IN '75
' A good race ensued to Upper Hope, where Evans'
I St 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. Evans' 2nd.
Bow S. H. Whitbread. Bow C. Abraham.
2 C. Warner. 2 B. Holland.
3 J. R. Croft. 3 C. Selwyn.
Str. O. J. Ellison. Str. H. R. Wigram.
Cox. F. L. Croft. Cox. Drummond.
In the Final heat for the Cup, three houses were
rowing, the account of the race running thus :
Windsor Mid-stream Eton
{Evans'). (C. C. James'}. (F. DumfordHs).
Bow S. H. Whit- Barton. Pinckney.
bread. Hall. Sir T. Crossley.
2 C. Warner. Cunard. C. Carr.
3 J. R. Croft. Wilson. S. Sandbach.
Str. O.J.Ellison. Cox. Pease. Cox. Davidson.
Cox. F. L. Croft.
' 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.
■^
U.J
W
HOUSE FOURS IN '76 209
There were six other competitors, but in those days
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, —
Windsor
( W. Evan^).
Mid-streatn
{Cornish's).
Eton
{Cameron's).
Bow F. L. Croft.
2 S.H.Whitbread.
3 C. T. Warner.
Str. 0. J. Ellison.
Cox. F. E. Croft.
Bow A. Thomson.
2 A. R. Pitman.
3 E. V. Wheeler.
Str. P. C. Novelli.
Cox. Christian.
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 following 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 earUest
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 July '75, but in '^6 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
vears, 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 'ji^ 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 '73 ; 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 'tj^ 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 FARRER — 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
jealousy, 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
213
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 by
a strong esprit de corps, 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
poenas. She had great faith in her boys 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 by 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 1 was
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. I 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 yd, 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 :
' 1 went to Evans' in the summer of '65, and left in
the summer of '72. Seven very happy years. In a
fatherly 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. My 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 Hawarden one night before the House
broke up for the holidays. I was particeps criminis,
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 play 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 to
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 style 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-Lloyd, 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. There
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 '6t. For some
time I shared a room with A. M. Blake.* Thompson
* Afterwards in the Grenadier Guards.
JULIAN STURGIS 221
(Albert, alias ' Pip ') was Captain. I don't remember
anything approaching bullymg 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,
my 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 mlfil 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 solitary.
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 lonely 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 I 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 probably 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 nobody 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 mstance 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, but
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
mne times a week, as well as racquets, mostly ** after
10" and "after 2," and consequently having really no
time for sitting in the Library or talking much to
other boys of the House, how Annie Evans came into
my room one evening to tell me I 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. I
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
"hustlmg" 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 of
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.
I 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 ungentlemanly, 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. 1 was
Captain for, I think, just a year — from Easter '71 till
Easter 'y2 — 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. I 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 of 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
1 60 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 m. 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, Doubt and Paganism," by A. T. Lyttelton,
ETON STORIES 237
Wells Theological College — would spend two and a
half hours over one Ode of Horace which the ordinary
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. Wo boy's order of butter was
safe in his room unless he hid it away in his wardrobe
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 by 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 by 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 very 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 that' 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 very 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 Chronicle 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 I 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 wnich we had been 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,
Deing 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
[ouse, 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, was 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 fussmess never invaded the
230 JANE EVANS
spacious and serene balance and good sense of 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, ignoring Governing Body and their regula-
tions, she held sway. In general, her demands on us
were slight, 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 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
particularly 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. H. 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 p. 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,$
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.
I 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,| 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, I 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 ChildersH were in a
double-room, facing the road ; and there were also the
two Nevills, Lord Nevilllf and his brother Henry,**
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 read}^ 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 I 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 SheriflF, '98.
j R. G. Townley, afterwards in H.M. Diplomatic Service; d. at
Pekin, November 30, '80.
§ W. B. Danby, a solicitor.
II 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 in '82 and '85.
IT Now Earl of Lewes.
** Now Lord Henry 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
'"j^^ 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 ; led a dog's life under the tender mercies of
" 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. Kindly Hugh Currie let
jne 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, yelling for Roger Eykyn hoarsely
* C. W. Morland, afterwards of the 71st Highland Light Infantry.
236 C T. ABRAHAM'S REMINISCENCES
and fiercely. The passages at ni^ht 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 1 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, ^ot 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 eas}^ 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 I 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 of 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 majora 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 scanty 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 ^reat Cups, football, cricket, rowing, acforned
the tables m 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 73 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
troft, 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.
1 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-
r
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 I
secured the first place in the History Tripos of '78.
No wonder, for Lyttelton'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 et 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 ner, 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 m 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 always 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 by 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 lon^ 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 ^y6y I 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 necessary 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 display, 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 oif 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 play games, football
especially, in their old, ordinary clothes, and she
lamented 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
always 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 Jane Evans knew there was aconvenient
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. 1 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
f)ots in the kitchen. The Dame said nothing, but,
ooking 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. 1 shall never forget her going down to break-
fast the day after, and saying of these Masters, "Silly
youn^ 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 always 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 6oth 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 seg. 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 8/7 — 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 '^6, 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 ''jG 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 ^T"] 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 'tj closed, the House could only boast
247
248 WILLIAM EVANS
the Shooting Cup, which was won by C. C. Meysey-
Thompson, E. Devas, and A. W. Drury.
But if ^yy 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 many years. 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 I
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 Lancet 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 'j6 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 very 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. — ^Jennie's first appearance at the Boys'
dinner. Farrer, the Captain, in a speech in the Hall,
made a very kind allusion to her recovery, 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 '77,' 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 brilhant 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 daughter 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
pecuHar 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, Wend'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
desiderantes
Is pingendi artifex peritissimus juventutem vere suam per annos
XXXV magister excoluit
Idem pueros domum receptos
Suavitate morum ac virtute non minus quam insigni liberalitate
Ex animo devinctos sibi adstrinxit
Etonre natus prid: non: Dec: A.S. MDCCXCVlil.
Etonas Vixit annos Ixxix dies xxviii
Etonae in Christo obdormivit prid: kal: Jan: A.S. MDCCCLXXVIII.*
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 years, 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 comphcated 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
' 2nd Set.
' To try and remember that so long as they do their
best, and try to grow up like the best fellows, so long
1 am willing to stay and help them.
* '^rd 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 boys 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 Drawing 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 pcenas
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
poena.' 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 played 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 days 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, for 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 diary 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.
Craskef 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 Atholl, 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 highly 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 Bod}'-, with no theo-
retical but immense practical power, acknowledged
and encouraged by my Dame in every way. And I
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 days 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 responsibility, 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 which we
have just referred. Writing of this, R. D. Anderson says :
* I was at my Dame's from Easter '"ji to Easter '78.
For the first part of that time the House was called
W. Evans,' altnough William Evans never took any
active part in the management in my 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 I 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 they 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 any 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 '^y, 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 Evans' 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 boj'^s 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, 1 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 psychological 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 boj^s 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 particular 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 House 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,
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 of
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 Society
of the nature of that established at Evans'. In the only instance the
writer has come across, the meetings were held in Pupil Room and the
Tutor was always in the chair.
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 bulky 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 pubHcly 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,
I 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, I 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 I 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 society. 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.* 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
* 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.! 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. Eraser- Ty tier, 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 of which were agreed to by 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 ^j$.
'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 by 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 solemnity that dis-
tinguished them in later years. Here, for instance,
are two entries belonging to '73 :
'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." The 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 effect 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 £12' The report runs :
' Mr. Croft proceeded to open the question, and read
some statistics from a paper which he had prepared,
following 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 by 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.* unanimously
objecting to his juvenile propensity of saying ^^ Dam"
whenever he opened his mouth. His resignation was
duly accepted by 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 occupy 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 3, 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 HI. are judged to be worthy of
approval without dissent ; but those of Charles L and
Cromwell cause lively debates, with the result that
Cromwell is not considered worthy of admiration by
5 to 4, and Charles L 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 abihty,
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 compliment 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 loudly 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 world.'
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 ma}^ 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 SUFFRAGE'
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 tnink, 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 :
freat strides are being made in this direction. But,
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, believing, as I do, that the moderate and
partial extension of the franchise would be /air 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
suffrage, and, 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 Egypt 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 majority, 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 1 1 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 b}' 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 must be prevalent in the School.' The
debate is said to have been 'lively 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 ii 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 decree, 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 when 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 295
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 may be considered as one of our national
pastimes ; and however much many 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
^m his wa
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 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 188 1. 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, '/p-'Ss
' 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-
fortunately for the House, they were not.'
The names of the eleven are not given, but in '8i,
when they repeated their victory and defeated C. C.
James', the eleven consisted of S. Evans, Crum-Ewing,
Grenfell 7ni., 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, Eraser, 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, '78-'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 Appendix showing the House's
performances in the Football ties annually.
302 EVANS' V. DAMAN'S, '84
" mvful" 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 :
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 :
M/ 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 luckv 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
suff'ering 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 aut secundum. . . . Much accumu-
lated chagrin, which had been gathering ever since ^^6^
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 i8, 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 they 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 67 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 off 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 our match : alas ! beaten.
Most exciting.'
And of that in '86 :
^July 29. — Boys 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-'9o 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 practically
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 boy* 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 '83 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 years 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.
These 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 boys. 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.' ' Boys 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
boys' 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
hi^h 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 mme, 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, quarreUing 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 1' ' 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 offender 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 early 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 measlers : 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 why 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 28, '87. — 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, winning,
and with.Jiinety-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 Marriott'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 Marriott'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
^Julv 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 ToUemache, who made a great many runs
between them.'
* 29//f. — I neglected everything and went to the
Playing Fields. The Winchester boys made a grand
innmgs, and our boys went in nervously and dis-
heartened. By 5.45 the match was over, all our
best going out for 12 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.'
' iith. — 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 generally found out the
offenders, and was no respecter of persons in those
she turned out. 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.'
' Heard that Sudley * and Fincastle were in Tulli-
bardine's room. I had to turn them out, which was
not pleasant ; but Sudley was very good about it : I
did not see Fincastle.'
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.
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 new 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 Majesty 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 they 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 was 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 relief, 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 of
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, TuUi-
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 V, A. Spencer, now
Viscount Churchill ;t G. H. Barclay,§ now C.V.O.,
C.M.G. ; J. A. Pixley ;|| W. A. C. Fremantle;! Sir Henry
* 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 Afterwards Coldstream Guards ; Conservative Whip, House of
Lords.
§ Now Councillor of Embassy, Constantinople.
II Barrister-at-law ; bullion broker.
^ Eldest son of the Dean of Ripon ; a missionary in India (C.M.S.) ;
died 1894.
327
328 LEADING BOYS IN THE 'EIGHTIES
Lawrence;! Lord Ednam, now Earl of Dudley ;2 Lord
Royston;^ Lord Sudley, now Earl of Arran; F. A. C.
Thellusson ;^ N. M. Farrer ;5 H. Marshall f 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. Grenfell,^ 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 '8310 ; E. G. Bromley-
Martin" and T. H. Barnard^^ 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 go to 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 received for this decade are not very
numerous. Several of those mentioned are no longer
with us ; others have written, and in the following
letters still further names are to be found.
E. Hobhouse's letter is interesting, as showing the
extremely hberal manner in which the boys of the
House were fed in Jane Evans' time ; he also adds
1 Died October 27, 1898.
2 Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, 1902-5.
^ Afterwards Earl of Hardvvicke ; 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.
8 Late M.P. for North Lonsdale.
" Murdered by the Matabele, March 30, 1895.
^^ Served in South Africa; Major, Bucks I.Y.
" Banker.
^2 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, '^2, 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 '73. 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 ^yhat 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, '8o»
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 'y"], and
stayed there for five years. The following half the
House first became " Miss Evans'." I 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.*
* My 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.f 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.l 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.
X 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.
^Jtcne 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, '^-'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 Clifton-Browns ;t Hugh Warrender;J Horace
Marshall ; R. Hanbury,§ beloved by all ; A. Dicksonjl
and F. A. C. Thellusson, the football-players of a later
year; the Evans'; J. C. Harrison,1F 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 ver}'- 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 I2th Lancers ; E. C.-B., merchant banker.
j Late Grenadier Guards.
§ Malting engineer.
II Barrister-at-Iaw.
*ir 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 'Sy 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 be^in 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.
f 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.
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 think 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 tne '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 for certain to-morrow morning." The major was
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 little
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 34i
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 many 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
13 X II ; 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,
they, 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 were 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 '87, 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 loo 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 only
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 General Baring died in 1 890.
'SQUASH RACQUETS' 347
expecting to win. After the first field lie 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 1 8 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 suffered
from an indiff'erent 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 shilHngs 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 £^o, 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 I know 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.'
' i6th. — 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.' ^ lyth. — Most alarming accounts of the
floods. Boys all to go away. Kitchen and scullery
flooded, and Mrs. Woodward wondering what nextl
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 30th.
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
23
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 we 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 I 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 abohshed, 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 :
^ June 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 EVANS* 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 down. It has taken all my paper;
but I am looking forward to a great «/,' 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 1' 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
^P morn
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 mshion 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 1 1 ! 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. mi. 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. w«., 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. ma. 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 what 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 of 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 I' 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 very 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 young 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 :
'Alin^ton* playing in the Eleven.' 'Morrison won
the pullmg !'t * 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
glum. 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 1 891, 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 fine^ 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. Aubyn} 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.
+ 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, 'gi ; Dr. Ellison, the medical attendant of the House
for a great number of years, in January, '97 ; the Duchess of Atholl,
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, 'Oh, canH
you 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 P *
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 Clinton 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 I 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 rnethod
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. 1 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 m.ore active part in
affairs, 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. ' They were all very nice to me ; but it was
very funny !' As if they could be anything 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 naturally 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 of
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.' f
The year '99 is marked by the outbreak of the war
in South Africa. Soldiers had always had a warm
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.
t 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 on. 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 everv 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 I may act rightly. Boys' concert ; all well.'
On the Fourth she is entertaining * over 100 people
to luncheon, not including boys, the old hall lookmg
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 TyO. — 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.
380 THE DIARIES END
' August 3. — Holidays. Elys, 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 mucn 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 boys 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 mi^ht 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 P'ebruary, '98, his place was taken by Lord
Cobham, the other members being the Duke of Atholl,
Lord Cadogan, 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.'
' 17th. — 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 my 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.'
*2$th. — 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 this letter being inserted.
THE PRESENTATION 387
fine speech, to which I 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 was 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 wisely. 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 yet 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 history 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 rowis' 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 ol
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 guineas insurance.'
The picture went and safely returned, and now finds
its temporary home in the Drawing School at Eton.
* See p. 32.
iicntr the p^rype^rtu erf -th^z/rxn»xyb cuid^ ^TetLotim of the. C^fT^/e^^
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, vieing 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 (91-94) 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. H. F. Dickin-
son, 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 year '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 Radcliife'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. J. L, Merivale.
C. M. Bonham. L. M. Buller.
F. A. W. Gibbs. B. Collins- Wood.
A. C. Turnor.
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. CHfton-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
2 2.
uU
.f ^
■535
>W
' 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
* 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- Mart in 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. G. Peacock (C. E. Alington 12th man); '92, G. 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 won, 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
Ties 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 veir 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. Chinnery, who got his Eleven next
year and afterwards played for Surrey, made his mark
in this game, and we were bowled out, I beheve, by
one, Buckley, who had never bowled well before, and
perhaps never did again.
* In '94 we had, besides myself, F. B. Robertson
(i2th 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 40i
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 dan'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 drof)ped which made a lot of
difference. We had, I think, about 1 50 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 5 1 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 period 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 the 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.
Second Innings.
M. F. Blake, b Tomkinson
43
not out
26
M. S. Smith, b Murray
7
not out
10
R. E. P. Lewis, b Holbeach
20
b Holbeach
C. R. Blake, b Murray
29
J. W. Boden, c Drake, b Murray ...
19
E. F. Chinnery, l.b.w., b Holbeach
22
M. S. Johnstone, c & b Murray ...
4
J. S. Mellor, c Lacon, b Murray ...
21
W. 0. GibbSj run out
20
H. M. Stobart, not out
IS
G. A. C. Sandeman, b Murray
13
B 8, Lb. 4, w 2, n.b. 3 ...
17
230
J. H. M. HARE'S.
F. M. Tomkinson, c Sandeman, b Smith
J. Murray, c & b M. F. Blake
G. M. Buckstone, c & b M. F. Blake
W. Holbeach, c M. F. Blake, b Gibbs
R. Lacon, c Sandeman, b M. F. Blake
H. C. Cumberbatch, b Sandeman
G. R. Palmer, b Lewis
R. O. Hannay, c Sandeman, b M. F. Blake
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
36
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 Williams', 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. Second Innings.
E. F. Chinnery, run out 179 c W. Gibbs, b H. Birk-
beck o
H. B. Chambers, run out 19 not out 22
L. M. Buller, run out o 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,
bH. Birkbeck I
G. V. Wellesley, c Methuen, b Birk-
beck 19
C. M. Bonham, not out o
R. C. Brooke, c Bankes b Methuen o
Extras 16 Extras 9
273 Total (2 wkts) 46
THE CRICKET RECORD 405
S. A. DONALDSON'S.
First Innings. Second Innings,
45
34
6
run out
b Chambers
c Brooke, b Chambers
II
22
35
c Chambers, b Chinnery
c C. Brown, b Chambers
47
12
I
21
24
30
c RobarteSjb Chambers
c Robartes, b Chambers
c David, b Chinnery...
c Bonham, b Chinnery
I
10
2
7
runout
3
3
3
not out
Extras
I
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. Mulholland, c Chambers,
b Chinnery
W. C. Gladstone, run out
R. W. Bankes, b Brooke
W. D. Gibbs, not out
A. W. Clive, 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 12$. Stone's made 3 1 1 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 1 891 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 fife 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
lives, 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 Haviland, 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.
But 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
I St 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 eff'orts. 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 of
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.f 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'.
t 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, 1890- 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 many 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 fame, 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 tiie 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.t 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., 17th 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, 'S^-'S? 5 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-'g2 ; Master of Selwyn College, '93-'98 ;
died February 12, '98. (3) Their first cousin, Charles William, '7o-'76,
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 Caesar, 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 had 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 tne School, were always
absolutely loyal to my Dame in the House when in
prominent positions. I don't suppose there was ever
anyone 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 makmg 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, onlj'^ two are dead, both killed in action.t 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 wTiter 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 actuall}" 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 always a good sportsman. He was my
fa^, and joined the loth Hussars in time for the South
African war, where he was promoted in a verj' 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
Grey and an M.P., though there are many, mostly in the
Service, who have done well and will do better : Clem
* Kingsley's WaUr-BoMis^ chap, vii., p. 273.
t M. Gurdon-Rebow, of the Grenadier Guards, noticed abo>-e ;
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 Battahon 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.
' I 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 i2tn 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 always 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 Haviland'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 Haviland
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 nis name in the most loyal and helpful way, and I
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, I 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. I was in Six 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 were
beaten on repla3nng 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 Amory'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 way 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 'gg,'\ 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 nave
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 f" 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
think, 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 always 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 tne
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 I was
one of the two boys, then in the House, who 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, only those who
heard tneir 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 meijibers 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 probably 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, C 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 knew 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 always 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.
PViends 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 everywhere, 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 1' Even in moments of serious
discussion, such as how to accommodate the 50 boys
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
would 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 aff'ection — 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 8oth 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 v^^as 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 nas 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 wordinsr ran as follows :
^fc)
* To the Provost and Fellows.
* February^ 1906.
' 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 may 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
I
CLOSING THE DOOR 441
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, by 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. WoUey ; afterwards a distinguished naturalist.
'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.
'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 list has been a matter of great diffi-
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, K.C.B.
'64. E. A. Owen ; now Recorder of Walsall.
'64 C. W. Greenwood ; now at the Chancery Bar.
'65. E. W. Hamilton ; now Sir Edward Hamilton, G.C.B., G.C.V.O.
'66. Julian Russell Sturgis ; Novelist : died 1904.
'67. A. C. Meysey-Thompson ; afterwards Q.C.
'68. G. G. Greenwood ; now M.P. for Peterborough.
'69. E. F. Alexander; afterwards Rev.: died 1887.
'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.
'77. 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.
'8r. G. H. Barclay ; now C.M.G., C.V.O., F'oreign Office.
'82. J. A. Pixley ; now a Barrister.
'83. E. D. Hildyard ; now a Barrister.
'84. W. A. C. Fremantle.
'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 ; 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, 60th Rifles.
1900. M. F. Blake „ „ „
'01. C. R. Blake; B.A. Oxford.
'02. G. A. C. Sandeman.
'02. A. Meysey-Thompson.
CAPTAINS OF THE HOUSE AQUATICS 447
'03. A. Meysey-Thompson.
'04. H. B. Hammond-Chambers-Borgnis.
'05. J. A. Clegg.
'05. C. M. Bonham.
'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 2^, \.Z^2.'
1842. J. Foster.
'43. Hon. G. Herbert ; afterwards Dean of Hereford : d. '94.
'44. Hon. R. Herbert ; called to the Bar '53 ; High Sheriff,
Salop, ^78 : d. '02.
'45. Sir J. F. Croft ; 2nd Bart. : died 1904.
'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 Captain, 2nd Life Guards; became
Rector of Buckhorn, Weston, Bath : 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.
,„, j 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.
'90. (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, ist 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.
860
861
862
863
864
865
866
867
869
870
871
872
873
874
875
876
877
878
879
880
884
885
886
1887
Captains.
J. R. Selwyn
J. R. Selwyn
Hon. N. G. Lyttelton
Hon. N. G. Lyttelton
W. S. Kenyon-Slaney
W. S. Kenyon-Slaney
C. H. H. Parry
J. R. Sturgis
G. G. Greenwood
F. A. Currey
A. W. Ruggles-Brise
A. W. Ruggles-Brise
F. C. Arkwright
Hon. E. Lyttelton
Hon. A. Lyttelton
C. W. Selwyn
H. Whitfeld
R. D. Anderson
W. J. Anderson
W. J. Anderson
T. E. Harrison
Sir H. Lawrence
C. A. Grenfell
A. W. Heber-Percy
E. G. Bromley-Martin
N. M. Farrer
Hon. A. C. Thellusson
H. Heathcoat-Amory
Beaten by Joynes', who won
the Cup in
Beaten by Marriott's, after a
draw, in the
Beaten by Gulliver's in
Beaten by Drury's in
Beaten by Drury's in the
Beat Drury's, and
Retained the Cup after three
draws with Warre's
Beaten by Warre's in the
Beaten, after three draws,
by Drury's in the
Beaten by Warre's in the
Beaten by Durnford's in the
Beat Drury's, and
Beat Warre's, and
Beaten, after a draw, by de
Rosen's in the
Beat Dalton's, and
Beat Austen Leigh's, and
Beaten by Hale's in the
Beaten, after a draw, by
Hale's in the
Beaten by C. C. James' in
Beaten by A. C. James' in the
Beaten by Cornish's in
Beaten by Cornish's in
Beaten by Mitchell's in
Beaten by Warre's in
Beaten by Daman's in the
Beaten by Durnford's in the
Beaten by Luxmore's (who
tied Marindin's for the
Cup) in the
Beaten by Hale's in
3rd Ties
Final
2nd Ties
1st Ties
ante-Final
Won
Final
Final
Final
ante-Final
Won
Won
Final
Won
Won
ante- Final
Final
2nd Ties
ante-Final
2nd Ties
2nd Ties
2nd Ties
3rd Ties
Final
Final
ante-Final
2nd Ties
29
.150
APPENDIX IV
TABLE SHOWING THE POSITION OF THE HOUSE IN THE
FOOTBALL TIES— Continued
1889
1890
1891
1892
1893
1894
189s
1896
1897
1898
1899
1900
1901
1902
1903
1904
1905
Captains.
H. Heathcoat-Amory
A. D. Boden
A. D. Boden
J. A. Morrison
G. F. H. Dickson
G. E. Bromley-Martin
F. M. B. Robertson
W. Gibbs
J. L. Buxton
J. St. J. N. Graham
S. M. Macnaghten
L. Heathcoat-Amory
M. F. Blake
J. S. Mellor
E. L. Gibbs
H. B. Hammond-
Chambers
H. B. Hammond-
Chambers
C. Clifton-Brown
Beat A. C. James', and
Beaten by Durnford's in
Beaten by Mitchell's in
Beaten by A. C. James',
after a tie, in the
Beaten by Mitchell's in the
Beaten by Mitchell's (who
won the Cup) in the
Beaten by Broadbent's in
the
Beaten by Impey's, after a
draw in
Beaten by Mitchell's (who
won the Cup)
Beaten by Impey's in the
Beaten by A. C. James' in
Beaten, after a draw, by
Austen Leigh's (who won
the Cup) in the
Beaten by Hare's (who won
the Cup) in
Beaten by Radcliffe's (who
won the Cup) in the
Beaten by de Haviland's in
Beaten by Rawlins' in
Won
2nd Ties
3rd Ties
ante-Final
Final
ante-Final
ante- Final
3rd Ties
3rd Ties
ante-Final
3rd Ties
ante- Final
3rd Ties
ante-Final
1st Ties
3rd Ties
Beat Impey's, and Won
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-THREE 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.M.I.
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.
Barclay, F. G., Lieutenant S.A. Mounted Irregulars.
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 Officer, 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 Lieutenant
Imperial Yeomanry, Rough Riders' Corps ; late Imperial Yeomanry,
Norfolk.
Du Pre, F. J,, Lieutenant 3rd Hussars.
Evelyn, J. H. C, Imperial Yeomanry, 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).
29—2
452 APPENDIX V
Fraser-Tytler, 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., Liefttenant 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 Yeomanry, Bucks.
Gurdon-Rebow, M., Lieutenant Grenadier Guards, wounded at Bel-
mont and killed at Hanover Road.
H anbury-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.
Mansel, 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. F., D.S.O., Captain ist Life Guards, Lieutenant- Colonel
1 2th 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, Major 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.
Paulet, C. S., Captain Imperial Yeomanry, Warwickshire.
Percy, Lord A. I., 2nd Lieutenant Grenadier Guards.
Petre, B. J., Special Service, Remounts Depot ; late Captain Madras
Lancers ; late Captain 18th Hussars.
Porter, H. C. M., 2nd Lieutenant K.R.R.C.
Powell, E. B., Lieutenant Rifle Brigade.
Pulteney, W. P., D.S.O., Major and Brevet-Colonel Scots Guards,
O.C. ist Batt.
Ramsden, R. E., Captain R.F.A., Pompoms ; wounded at Boschbult,
r
^■^ Rhodes. 1
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., Captain and Brevet- Major K.R.R.C. ; 2nd in Com-
mand T.M.L 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. ist 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 Lewisham
Hon. W. J. Pepys
W. W. Cooper
T.N. Underwood, K.S.
J. Baverstock, 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
APPENDIX VI
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
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. Buller
W. H. Fremantle
H. Denne
H. Mitford
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
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. Oliver
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. Dickinson
P. A. Hope-Johnstone
NAMES CUT ON THE '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
1866.
W. M. C. Burrell
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
Hon. G. H. Cadogan
E. 0. Trower
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
I. 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. Mirehouse
Hon. C. G. Lyttelton
mond
G. W. Barnett
1868.
R. Jenkyns
Hon. N. G. Lyttelton
M. Horner
R. H. Jelf
H. M. Meysey-
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
W. W. Cook
1869.
1861.
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-Thomp-
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
R. G. Buchanan- Rid-
del!
H. J. Gladstone
j R. G. Townley
j Hon. R. H. Lyttelton
J. H. Lonsdale
I H. O. Sturgis
j 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
j G. D. Lawrie
j Lord Windsor
I W. S. B. Levett
I
' 1875.
E. E. Robertson
B. M. O. H. Gosselin
S. G. Parry
F. B. Collier
H. H. Master
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
I C. T. Abraham
O. J. Ellison
I S. H. Whitbread
j C. Neville
T. C. T. Warner
T. P. King
I E. Christian
j L. H. Bristowe
! P. Christian
j C. Fraser-Tytler
j A. R. C. Somers-Cocks
I 1877.
I L. G. Drummond
! G. L. Holford
i E. G. Wilbraham
I E. Cadogan
j W. H. Herries
; H. Whitfeld
i E. T. H. Devas
, C. C. Meysey-Thomp-
j son
H. G. Wilbraham
I G. B. Collier
C. L. Lindsay
I R. W. Fitzwilliam
T. C. Farrer
! C. W. H. Good
j H. W. Whitbread
A. A. Han bury
F. D. Baillie
G. V. Bethell
NAMES CUT ON THE 'BOARDS' 457
1878.
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
G. E. Gorst
R. Willis-Sandford
Hon. V. A. Spencer
C. E- H. Hobhouse
W. J. Anderson
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. Townley
D. C. Herries
W. G. Croft
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
1882.
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. Buller
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
A. W. Heber-Percy
Lord Ednam
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. Duff
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
R. E. Beckett
H. D. Bramwell
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. Heathcoat-
Amory
E. T. H. Hanbury-
Tracy
H. E. D'Arcy- Hutton
458
APPENDIX VI
R. F. Cavendish
Hon. J. Percy
M. R. Martineau
Lord Warkworth
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
1890.
R. A. Fremantle
R. S. Boden
W. Peacock
W. H. Noble
Lord Balcarres
Marquis of TuUibar-
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
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-
Mitford
E. Holland
{ H. S. Marsham-Town-
shend
j R. L. Dawson
Le R. A. Sober
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
1896.
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. H anbury
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. Baker
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
H
on.
F. G. Agar
Robartes
G
M
A. Graham
H
M
. Stobart
R.
F
L. Montague
Johnstone
R
A.
Arkwright
C.
H.
son
Meysey-Thomp
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. H. 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. Allhusen
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. Tumor
L. Drummond
G. M. Gibbs ma.
L. M. Gibbs
G. M. Greaves
J. G. Graham
R. G. Anderson
P. Leigh Smith
J. L. Clowes ma.
B. M. M. Edwards
A. T. T. Storey mt.
W. M. Armstrong
D. H. W. Alexander
C. J. Hoffnung-Gold-
smid
W. G. Houldsworth
M. Tennant
460
APPENDIX VI-VII
W. R. E. Harrison
R. C. Mansel
R. Burdon-MuUer
R. C. B. Gibbs mi.
J. A. Garton
E. H. G. Palmer
A. G. Taylor
R. L. Stobart
Hon. C. E.
Robartes mi.
P. Dilbdroglue
G. N. Ogilvy
Agar-
V. E. G. Stacpoole
J. H. S. Williams
Drummond
C. G. E. Clowes tni.
L. C. Gibbs mill.
T. E. Lowinsky
VII.— RULES OF MISS EVANS' HOUSE LIBRARY
Drawn up January^ 1 897
W. R. Buchanan-Riddell, President
J. St. J. Graham, Secretary
D. Clifton-Brown, Auditor
Revised May, 1900
L. Heathcoat-Amory, President
W. H. P. Lewis, Secretary
M. F. Blake, Auditor
I. That no Book be allowed to be taken out by anyone below the
Lower Division of Fifth Form.
II. That no one be allowed to take out any Book without first
entering it in the Library Book, with the date of taking it out, and
that such books be returned and re-entered once a week, and that all
entries be made in ink.
III. That Gentlemen be admitted between breakfast and Chapel in
order to take books out and also to return them.
IV. That no daily or weekly papers be taken out of the Library.
V. That no books of Reference be allowed to be taken out on a
Sunday. Books of Reference to consist of Bibles, Greek Testaments,
Biblical Dictionaries, and Books of general ecclesiastical literature.
VI. That no one do wilfully damage Library property.
VII. That no translation be under any circumstances taken out of
the Library.
VIII. That no Dictionaries or lesson books be taken out of the
Library.
IX. That every Gentleman do supply the Library by turn with
paper in school order.
X. That the Auditor of the Debating Society do look after the books
in the Library.
XI. That there always be one Library Fag, whose duties are to
keep the room tidy, to cut the papers, and to keep up the fire, etc.
XII. That each member of the Library be allowed to keep one copy
of these Rules, and that one copy be always placed in a conspicuous
part of the House Library.
XIII. That the House Football, Cricket and Boating Books be
always kept in the Library.
XIV. That all weekly illustrated papers be kept for binding.
XV. That no one below the Lower Division of Fifth be admitted
into the Library.
XVI. That there be not less than five members of the Library, and
not more than nine.
XVII. That the President of the Debating Society, the Captain of
the Football XL, and the oldest member of the Library do elect new
members.
XVIII. That violation of Rules I., II., IIL, IV., V., VI., VII., IX.,
X., be punished by a fine of Two Shillings and Sixpence.
MISS EVANS' DEBATING SOCIETY 461
VIII. — RULES OF MISS EVANS' DEBATING
SOCIETY
Drawn up February^ 1875 ; Revised November, 1876 and 1882 ;
Revised September, 1892
I. That the number of the Members of this Society be unlimited.
II. That no one below Lower Division of Fifth Form be admitted as
a Member of this Society.
III. That the Society meet once a week.
IV. That no meeting take place unless at least one officer be
present.
V. That there be three officers — President, Secretary, and Auditor —
to be elected every Half by a majority of votes.
VI. That no one be elected to any office unless he obtain more than
one half of the votes of the Members present.
VII. That the duties of the President be—
{a) To keep order during debates.
{b) To put the question and declare the numbers.
(^r) To decide on the Openers and Seconders of Debate.
VIII. That the President have a casting vote when the numbers in
a debate on each side are equal.
IX. That the duties of a Secretary be to keep the books of the
Society, and to enter reports of debates, etc., before the next debate.
X. That the duties of the Auditor be to collect subscriptions and
fines, to see that all Members are present at meetings, and to keep the
funds of the Society.
XI. That every Member do attend and speak at every meeting.
XII. That parliamentary language alone be used.
XIII. That the Openers and Seconders of debates do write their
speeches in the Society's book —
(a) The Opener before two days ;
\b) The Seconder before four days,
after the debate.
XIV. That the Society may present a vote of thanks to any Member,
to be balloted for and negatived by one black ball.
XV. That the Society may pass vote of censure on any Member,
which shall be balloted for according to the scale of black balls in
Rule XVIII.
XVI. That the Society may expel any Member by ballot according
to the scale of black balls in Rule XVIII.
XVII. That no canvassing on any occasion be allowed.
XVIII. That the ballot be regulated on the following scale :
Under 8 Members present 2 black balls exclude.
8,9, 10, II, 12 » 3 » «
13, 14, 15, 16 „ 4 „ „
Over 16 „ 5 „ „
462 APPENDIX VIII
XIX. That if any Member be absent, he may give his proxy to any
other Member, which shall hold good for all business, subject to the
following conditions :
(a) That proxies be announced before they are used ; that no
gentleman hold more proxies than one.
(d) That unless invited to do so, no one do hold a proxy.
(c) That no Member be permitted to hold a proxy when two
black balls exclude.
XX. That no new Member be allowed to vote until he has been
present at a debate.
XXI. That a special meeting can be called by one Officer, or three
Members of the Society, upon a day's notice.
XXII. That fines not paid within a week be doubled. That the
Society decide upon the validity of excuses. That no Member be fined
in his absence.
XXIII. That the Society be allowed to inflict discretionary fines.
XXIV. That each Member do bring forward at least one argument
for the side on which he vote.
XXV. That when several Members are elected at the same ballot
they take rank according to the numbers of black balls they have
received; but in cases of equality the first proposed has the
precedence.
XXVI. That if the Secretary or Auditor be absent, the senior
Member to take his place and perform all his duties.
XXVII. That the Seconder do always oppose the Opener.
XXVIII. That the Auditor be fined if he do not collect fines
imposed by the Society within a fortnight.
XXIX. That all reports of debates be written in before the next
debate.
XXX. That the President do have power to forbid any candidate to
be put up for election.
XXXI. That any Member be allowed, with the permission of the
Secretary, to write his speech in the Society's Debate Book.
XXXII. And that the Secretary have power, with the permission of
the President, to compel any Member to write in his speech.
XXXIII. That the Secretary, after each debate, do make a list of
those who voted in favour of Opener and those in favour of Seconder.
XXXIV. That the Auditor do speak before the Secretary if he has
been elected Auditor at a meeting previous to that at which the
Secretary was elected.
Fines.
For violation of Rules IX., X., XL, XII., XIII., XIX.(^), is.
Resolved. — That these Rules be placed in a conspicuous part
of the House Library.
INDEX
Abraham, C. T., 190 note; letter
from, 235, 240, 279 note, 280,
282
Adlington, H. S., 49, 50, 53, 61
Adventurer, The, i^i
Ady, W. H., 136, 157
Aitken, H., 52
Alexander, D. H. W., 397
Alexander, Evelyn, 139, 155, 174,
231
Alington, C. E., 398 note, 400
Amcotts, V. A. Cracroft, 164
Amory, H. Heathcoat-, 303, 379,
384, 397 note
Amory, Iv. Heathcoat-, 397 note,
409, 422
Anderson, R. D., 109; letter from,
201, 268
Ansdell, R. C, 396, 408
Aquatics, popularity of, in the
'forties, 109, 115; new races,
122; changes and new races,
406
Arkwright, F. C, 190, 193, 233 and
note
Arkwright, F. G. A., 190 note, 300,
408
Arkwright, R. A., 190 note
Armstrong, W. M., 397, 408
Arran, Earl of, 307, 319, 328;
letter from, 332
Athletic Cup, the, 410
Atholl, Duchess of, 265, 326; her
death, 369 note
Atholl, Duke of, 384
' Bagging,' 218, 226, 238
Bagshawe, W. L. G., 52, 55, 61, 67,
68, 112
Baker, Granville Lloyd, 140 note
Baker, H. O. h., 129 ; wins steeple-
chase, 140
Baker, Michael Lloyd, 140 note,
Balcarres, Lord, 328, 334 note
Balfour, F., 300
Balston, Dr. Edward, 141, 169,
184; his death, 369 note
{ Banbury, W. M. V,, 420
j Barclay, G. H., 299, 327, 330
Baring, Godfrey, 328
Baring, Lieutenant - General
Charles, 346
Barnard, T. H., 305, 306. 328, 333
Barnett, W. E., 52, 56, 68
Barns, Mrs., 90, 259, 264; her
death, 369 note
Barton, Mrs., 271
Baths, 344
Bayly, J., 203
Beagles, the, 141
Becher, Sir H. W., 67
Beckett, R. E., 317
Bennett, R. A., 317, 400
Bickersteth, Ernest, 171, 192, 234
Birch, H. M., 82
Bircham, H. W. F., 367, 399 note,
400
Bircham, S., 99
Blake, A. M., 220
Blake, C. R., 421 note
Blake, M. F., 353, 379 ; letter from,
421
Blore, E. W., 56, 74
' Boards, The,' 105 et seq.
Boating Books, the, 107
Boden, H. S., 307
Boer War, the, 378
Bond, A. A. G., 377 note
Bond, Mrs., and Jane Evans' por-
trait, 382-3-4
Bond, W. R. G., receives R.H.S.'s
medal, 377
Bonham, C. M., 396
Books, the House, 107 et seq.
Borrer, Arthur H., 233
Borrer, C. F., 233 note
Borrer, C. H., 233 note
463
464
INDEX
'Bounds,' 46, 115, 124
' Bows and strokes,' 300 note, 332
Bramwell, H. D., 300
Breakfast, Lower-boy, in 1867,
271 ; finally established, 273
Breakfast, general, for the whole
House, 273
Breakfasts, the, 102, 216, 230, 239,
245, 270, 271-2, 274; Mr. Glad-
stone at, 330-1, 361, 429
Brett, Eugene V. I,., 233, 235
Brett, R, B. (see Esher)
Brewis, P. R., 280
Brise, A. W. Ruggles-, 139, 153,
190, 200, 233
Brown, A. Clifton-, 397 note
Brown, C. Clifton-, 396, 397 note,
408 ; letter from, 424
Brown, D. Clifton-, 397 note
Brown, E. Clifton-, 334
Brown, H. Clifton-, 334
Brown, 356; disturbance at his
shop, 357
' Broziering,' 180, 244
Bryant, H. S., 67
Bugle, the Silver, 331 note
Buller, J. H., 68, lio
Buller, L. M., 396
Buller, W. H., 299
Bullying, 267
Bumping Fours, 406-7 ; the
House wins, 409
Burnell, E. A. Pegge-, 130 note
Busby, A., 280
Buxton, T. L., letter from. 419
Cadogan, Earl, 118, 154; letter
from. 155, 384
Captains of the House, the, under
W. Evans, 65; Annie Evans,
92-3 ; Annie Evans said to have
been the first to make real
use of, 182 ; increasing powers
of, under Jane Evans, 266 ; jus-
tice administered by, 267; House
Masters and their Captains, 267-
8, 417, 421
Carter, Rev. T., 116
Cattermole, G., 24
Cavendish, R. F., 328
♦Cellar,' 80
Chambers, H. B. Hammond-, 396,
397 note
Chapel, the, alterations in, 12 ;
east window in, 77
Check nights, 75 note, 115 ; aboli-
tion of, 123
Chemistry, 78
Chess, 239
Childers, C. E. E., 234
Childers. E. S. E.. 234
Chinnery, E. F., 379, 396,399'note,
400, 404
Chitty, A. G., 384
Chitty, Right Hon. Joseph, 48,
52. 55. 61, 63; date of death,
369 note
Cholera, 75
' Christopher, The,' 11, 37, 38, 81
Churchill, C. H. Spencer, 53
Churchill, Viscount, 327, 335 note
Clarke, C, 300
Clegg. J. A., 408
Clinton, Lord, 114, 328
Clissold, E. M.. 53
Clive, Hon. R. Windsor, 50, 51, 107
Clowes, J. L., 397
Clowes, Peter L., 232
Cobbold.J. P., 68, 73
Cobham, Viscount, 94; letter from,
96, 97. 123, 124, 145, 147, 149, 156.
384, 387-8
Colborne, Hon. J., 49, 68
Coles, V. S. S., 160
Coleridge, A. D., 49; his reminis-
cences, 49, 61 126
Coleridge, Edward, 26, 49, 77, 116
Coleridge, F. J., 49, 50; his House
breaks up. 96
Coleridge, Herbert, 60
• Collections,' 78
College, condition of, 1830- 1834,
8 ; reforms in, 10
Collegers and Dames' Houses, 9,
23
Collegers and Oppidans, relations
between, 76, 81
Collins, R. H. G., 396
Commensales, 4
Colours, House, 131 ; introduc-
tion of, 164
Colours, School, 57 note
Corbett, N. E. F., 400
Cornish, C. J., his reminiscences,
82
Coltman, W. B., 61, 62
Cottage, the, 37
Cottesloe, Lord, 49; his reminis-
cences, 54, 61, 74, 77
Cottman, W.. 52
Cranbrook, Earl of, letter from,
99
Craske, Mr., 371-2
Cricket in the 'forties, 57; re-
vival of, in the 'sixties, 143-5
Cricket Book, the, 108
Cricket Cup, the, instituted, 147 ;
summary of matches for, 405
INDEX
465
Cricket Cup, final matches for
the:
Evans' v. De Rosen's in i860,
148
Evans' v. Gulliver's in 1863,
150
Evans' v. Wayte's in 1864, 150
Evans' v. Warre's in 1873, 203
Evans' v. Vidal's in 1874, 205
Evans' V. Warre's in 1875, 207
Evans' v. Mitchell's in 1880,
305
Evans' v. Mitchell's in 1882,
305
Evans' v. Mitchell's in 1S85,
306
Evans' v. Mitchell's in 1886,
306
Evans' V, A. C. James' in 1891,
„399
Evans' v. Mitchell's in 1894,
399
Evans' v. Hare's in 1900, 402
Evans' v. Donaldson's in 1904,
404
Croft, F. E., 190
Croft, Sir F. ly., 190, 208, 307
Croft, Sir J., 62
Croft, John R., 190, 207, 208; his
influence in House aquatics,
210; wins sculling and pulling,
2x1, 237, 238, 280, 282-3
Croft, W. G., 190, 307
Crosse, C. K., 68, no, in
Cunnington, Nurse, 262
Currey, F. A., 122, 139, 153, 171,
231, 232
Currie, H. P., 226, 233, 235
Cust, Horace, 49
Dale, E. C. B., 396
Dames' houses, 3 ; number in 1766,
7 ; Dame system in existence
elsewhere, 7; Collegers and
Dames', 9 ; reforms in, 10 ;
vested interests of the Dames,
1 1 ; condition of, 11; gradually
supplanted by Tutors, 14; aboli-
tion of, 15, 26; W, Evans'
description of, 28 ; payment for
goodwill, 29, 73, 253, 258, 281
Dames v. Tutors, no, in, 117,
179
Dampier, H. L., 53
Danby, W. B., 234
Darell, W. H. V., 420
David, E. J., 405
Dawson, R. L., 420
Day, Russell-, 166
Debating Society, the House, 240;
institution of the, 277 ; the
Society's books, 278 ; I^ord
Grimthorpeon,279; first debate,
297; officers of, 280; standard of
the debates, 285 ; political views
of, 286, 290 ; debate on ' Female
Suffrage,' 286 et seq.; opinions
of the boy and the man, 289 ;
members of the House in late
and present administrations,
289; sport, 292; the Etou Volun-
teers, 292; care in preparing
speeches, 293 ; ladies suioking,
294; a favourite subject, 295;
introductions, 296; the meet-
ings. 296, 333
Denne, H. H., 73, 78, 113 note
Denne, R. H., 73 ; letter from, 113
Denison, E. W. See Grimthorpe
Devas, E., 248
' Dibs,' 236
Dickens, Charles, 76, 83, 84
Dickens, C. B., 76
Dickinson, Reginald, 154, 174
Dickson, A., 334
Dixon, 300
Donaldson, S. J. A., 47 note, 331
Dorrien-Smith, A. A., 420
Douglas, E. M. Hope-, 408
Douglas, G. Sholto, 194, 237
Dramatic Society, the House, 240
Drummond, F. C., 151
Drummond, Francis, 130 note,
164
Drummond-Moray, W. A. Home,
233
Drur}', A. W., 248, 299
'Duck and green-pea' nights.
See Check nights
Dudley, Earl of, 328
Duff, G. J. B., 300
Duffield. C. P., 61
Dunn, Arthur, 201
Dunsandle, Lord, 174
Dupuis, G. R., 145 ; letter from,
197
Edgell, M. Wyatt-, 335 note
Ednam Lord. See Dudley
Edwards, B. M. M., 397
Eights, Novice, 406
Election Saturday, 356; festivities
discontinued, 356 note
Elgin, the Earl of, 84 note
Eliott, Sir W., 49, 53
Ellison, Dr., his death, 369 note
Ellison, O. J., 208; letter from,
2x0
466
INDEX
Ellison, W. A., 232, 40S
Emlyn, Lord, 371
Enniskillen, Earl of, 154
Esher, Viscount, 139, 155 ; letter
from, 170, 226, 233, 238, 384
Ethelstone, E., 61
Evans, Annie, birth of, 22 ; Mrs.
Fenn's description of, 43; comes
to her father's help, 90; her
temperament, 91 ; her influence
on the House, 92 ; her intuition
about boys, 92, 179 ; takes up
the management of the House,
94. 156. 159, 163, 172, 176; her
breakdown in health, 180; her
death, 182; her character and
influence upon the House, 182;
letters from old boys and others
after her death, 183-4 ; a letter
from a brother to a sister, 184,
216 ; order in House in her time,
218, 222, 223, 225, 239, 256, 339,
389
Evans, A. V., 397 note
Evans' Champions, Book of, 108,
397
Evans, Jane, birth of, 22; early
recollections, 23, 39, 45 ; Mrs.
Fenn, notes by, 44 ; influence
of her father's system upon her,
85 ; her notes about Annie, 90,
159. 172; takes charge of the
House at her sister's death,
186; outline of her character
at this time, 186 et seq. ; visits
Hawarden, 217 ; her tact with
the boys, 222 ; no boy ever
misunderstood her, 225 ; her
methods, 225 ; sketch of her
character and her system of
management, 229, 234, 240 ; her
independence, 241 ; her aver-
sion to a Master entering the
House, 242; her dislike of
luxury, 242 ; her sense of
humour, 243 ; extracts from her
father's diary about her, 249,
256 note ; a timely legacy, 257 ;
the House becomes ' Miss
Evans',' 257; her additions to
the House, 262 ; begins a diary,
263 ; her absence, 264 ; outbreak
ofscarlet fever, 264; her instinct
regarding a boy's character,
265 ; her plan of governing,
267; the bo3S during her illness,
268 ; her Dreakfasts, 272 et seq. ;
her liberality and that of her
family, 275 ; her interest in the
Debating Society, 277 note, 284 ;
her diaries, 308, 358 ; dominant
traits of character, 309, 310;
her interests and daily round
of work, 319-20-21 ; her liber-
ality to her boys, 329 ; her
character described by l^ord
Arran, 332; and by J. R. M.
Macdouald, 335 ; Martha's recol-
lections of, 339-40; her ideas
about boys' money, 350; parents
should visit their boys, 351 ;
her sympathy, 359; the diversity
of her interests, 359, 366; grow-
ing older, 365 ; her memory for
old friends, 369; her business
aptitude, 371-2; becomes neces-
sary to relieve her of part
of her work, 372 ; recovers her
health, 374; close of diaries,
380; portrait painted, 381 el seq.;
letters to Mrs. Bond, 383-4 ;
sitting to Mr. Sargent, 385 ; her
speech at the presentation, 388,
412, 416, 417; 'Mother Carey,'
418 ; relies more and more on
her Captains, 421, 424, 425-6,
428-9, 431 ; some extracts from
her letters, 433-4 ; her work to
the last, 434-5-6; her last ill-
ness and death, 436-7 ; the
funeral, 438 ; a last look back,
443
Evans, Samuel, 17, 18, 86
Evans, Samuel T. G., birth of,
22, 55, 68, 125 ; succeeds his
father as Drawing Master, 177,
217 ; moves to the House, 259 ;
the difficulties of his position,
260; two stories about him, 261,
335) 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 family, 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 ;
his 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 Eton, 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, 389
Evans, William Vernon, 43
Ewing, H. 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., 185-6
Fiennes, Hon. F, N., 49, 77, no
Fiennes, Hon. J., 73, 1 13 note
Fincastle, Lord, 319, 328, 334, 377
Fire, provision in case of, 349
Fives Cup, the House, 210-11,
299, 409, 422
Fives, the School, 211, 409
Flood, the great, 352
Football Books, the, 108, 398
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, T33
Evans' v. Drury's in 1865, 134
Evans' v. Warre's in 1866,
136
Evans' v. Warre's in 1867, 138
Evans' v. Drury's in 1868, 138
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
XS75, 199
Football 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
1888, 303
Evans' v. Mitchell's in 1892,
393
Evans' v. 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; in
1868, 139; in 187 1, 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
'Football fields,' the, 126
Football matches, early, 128
Forster, J. G., 50
Foster, John, 161, 167
' Fours.' See House Fours
Fourth Form Speeches, 51, 58
Franks, Sir A. W., 49, 53
Eraser, 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,
154, 156, 157, 160
Fremantle, Hon. T. F. See
Cottesloe
Fremantle, T. F., 299
Fremantle, W. A. C, 273, 300, 327
Fremantle, Hon. W. H., 49; his
reminiscences, 59, 73, 74, 77
Furlong, Miss, 67
Fursdon, C, 68
Gaisford, A., 312
Games in early days, 126
Garnett, L., 160
Gawne, R. M., 156
Oen&r&l 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 diary of,
217, 331 ; present at Breakfast,
330 - 1 ; gives a book to the
library, 332
Glyn, A. St. L,., 346
Glyn, George Carr, 346
Glyn, Hon. Mrs. Sidney, 346
Graham, G. M. A., 407
Graham, J. G., 397
Graham, W. ly., 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
Grenfell, P. du Pre, 68
Grenfell, R. du Pre, 300, 331
Grenfell, P. St. L., 299, 32S
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
Gosselin, Sir Martin le M., 160
note
Haas, Marie, 217, 329, 341
Hall, L. J., 118
Halsey, Right Hon. T. F., letter
from, 98, 118
Hamilton, Sir Edward W., 129,
154. 157. 159. 161 ; letter from,
163
Hanbury, R. J., 3CX), 334
Harcourt, Aubrey, 224
Hardinge, Sir H. C, 68
Hardwicke, Earl of, 328, 331
Hardy, Plon. A. E. Gathorne,
letter from, 158
Hardy, Hon. C. Gathorne, 117, 118
Harris, Lord, 84 note
Harrison, J. C, 300, 334
Harrison, Miss, 262
Haviland, R. S. de, 407, 420
Hawtrey, Dr. C. H., 10, 12, 51, no,
III, T13, ir7
Havrtrey, J. W., 120
Hawtrey, Stephen, 15
Henry, King, VI,, his scheme, 2 ;
his purchases and grants of
land, 5
Herbert, Hon. George, 60
Herbert, Hon. Robert, 60
Herbert, Sir Robert, 60
Herries, Herbert C, 50, 55, 61
Hicks, S. E., 100, 119
Hildyard, E. D., letter from, 331,
333
Hobhouse, Charles E., 190 note
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, 164, 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 boys in '44 and '45, 67-8;
list of boys 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; alwaj'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 et 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 Fours,
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 governing,
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 boys 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 high place in
athletics, 418; retains the Fives
Cup, 422 ; last days of, 425 ;
closing the door, 438 et seq. ;
looking back, 442
House colours instituted, 131
House Fours, institution of Cup
for, 115, 118; the House wins
in 1861, 119; also in '75, 208;
also in '76 ; 209 ; winners have
to row in heats, 247 ; the House
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, 2:^7
Johnstone, C. F., 156
Johnstone, H. A. Bufer-, 99, 127
Johnstone, M. C. J., 376
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, iii
King, W. E. King-, 174
Kin'glake, R. A., 100, 1 18, 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 1
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
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 days, 51, loi ; committee
of boys known as, loi, 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., 280
' Lower-boy,' calling, 334, 355, 426
Lower - boy Cricket Cup, the
House wins in 1881, '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 House 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
Ivower-boy Sculling, 406
Lubbock, Alfred, 151, 157
I.uttrell, G. R, 50
Lyell, C. H., notes from, 386, 416;
letter from, 418, 419, 437
Ivyttelton, family of, 94, 172, 339,
389
Lyttelton, Right Hon. Alfred, 190,
195. I99» 202, 211; letter from,
229, 236, 239, 284, 302, 303, 384,
389, 437
Lyttelton, Hon. A. T., 139, 152, 155,
159. I7i»2i6, 226, 231, 232, 236, 237
Lyttelton, Hon. A. V., 96, 97, 129,
144
Lyttelton, 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, 177, 389, 437
Lyttelton, Hon. Robert, his note
on cricket (1866-72), 152, 190,
233, 236-7
MacCarthy, 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., 282
Marshall, H., 328 ; letter from, 334
Marten, A. B., 397 note
Marten, C. H. K., 198. 346
Martha (Mrs. Ihams), her remi-
niscences, 339, 421
Martin, E. G., 399 note
Martin, E. G. Bromley-, 306, 328,
333. 437
Martin, F. Wykeham-, 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, go
Merivale, J. L., 396, 408
Milnes, Burnell-, 174
Mission, the Eton, 350
Mitchell, R. A. H., 145, 147, 149
Mitford, A. B. Freeman-. See
Redesdale
Mitford, D. C. Freeman-, 84 note,
420
Mitford, Henry, 84 note
Mitford, J. R 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., 328, 367, 397 note,
406, 415, 420
Musical Society, founding of the,
160; the first concert, i6i, 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 Henry, 48, 51, 114
Northampton, Lord, 164
Northcote, A. S., 273
Norton, Kate, 341
Nursing arrangements, 262
'Odd 'uns,' the, 127
Old-boy 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. Hubert 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
Parrj^, T. R. Gambier, 370 note
Passage football, 226, 236, 427
' Passing,' institution of, 46
Peacock, H. St. G., 398 note, 400
Peacock, W., 346!
Pemberton, R. h-, 62, 63, 65, 74,
III
Pembroke, Earl of, 155, 159
Penrhyn, B. H., 62
Pepys, Hon. C. E. (Earl of Cotten-
nam), 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, Lord, 65
Portrait of Jane Evans, the, 38 1
et seq. ; presentation of, 387 ;
address with, 390
Powell, Picky, 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
Rickards, A., 138
Riddell. Sir 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, Frank, 51
Rogers, Norman, 60
Rolt, John, III, 117
I Rowe, L. G. Fisher-, 379
Royston, Lord. See Hardwicke
Ryle, Herbert. See Winchester,
Bishop of
St. Aubyn, E. G., 36S, 423
St. Cyres, Viscount, 170, 32S,
384
Sandeman, G. A. C, 399 note,
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, 280
Selwyn, George Augustus, 10, 25,
26, 29, 30; memorial in House
to, 32, 46, 49
Selwyn, John Richardson, 32, 96,
100, 119, 120, 121, 134, 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, 125, 211, 248; the House
secures it four years running,
299
Singing Cup, the, 4x0
Sitwell, Sir G., 247
Six and Eight matches, 117
Slaney, F. Kenyon-, 199
Slaney, W. R. Kenyon-, 139
Slaney, Right Hon. W. S.
Kenyon-, 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, 123
South Meadow, 393
Spencer, Hon. V. A. See
Churchill
Squash -racquets, 347
Steeplechase, the, 139
Storey, A. T., 397
Strahan, 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, Julian, 142, 154, 157, 159,
164, 173, 218, 221
Sudley, Lord. See Arran
'Swagger rows,' the, 219
Sweepstakes, the House, ill
Symons, 1,. S. Soltau, 420
Thackeray, W. M., 82, 84
Thellusson, Hon. F. A. C, 328,
333. 334. 397 "ote
Thellusson, Hon. P. E., 397 note
Thompson, Meysey-, the family of,
168, 389
Thompson, A. C. Meyse}'-, 129,
136, 157. J 70
Thompson, C. C. Meysey-, 248
Thompson, H. Meysey-. See
Kn aresborough
Thompson,Colonel R. F. Meysey-,
letter from, 136, i6g, 170, 377
note
Thompson, Langhorne, 49, 52, 74
Thomson, Sir R. White, 49; his
Eton diary, 68
Tinne, J. C, 169
Townley, R. G., 234
Trefusis, Hon. C. G. R. See
Clinton
Tritton, E. W., 151
Trower, J., 119, 120
Tullamore, 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, 1 18,
156
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, 126
Walpole, G., 164
Wanklyn, Mrs., death of, 430
Ward, E. H., 174
Warkworth, Lord. See Percy
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, X13, 126
Wellesley, G. V., 408
Wenlock, Lord, 84 note
Westminster, the races with, no,
112, 116; the two last races,
121
Wliitbread, 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 Pl3niouth
Windsor Theatre, 355
Wiss, A. P. W., 52
Wood, B. Collins-, 396, 408, 409
Woodward, Mrs., 341, 386
WoUey, 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
BILLING AND SONS, LTU.| PKINTBKS, GUILUFORO
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