V.

MY DEAR MAMMA, According to your particular desire I have sent you a pretty quick account of our arrival, which was as safe as you could ever have possibly desired; and as to time, the only fault was that we were rather too soon. Perhaps you and Papa will think this impossible; but I assure you they tell me that it would have been much better for us to have staid in London a few hours longer, and not to have come here so unfashionably early. Henry is very much of their opinion, as in that case he would have been able to have visited a few more sights, particularly the wild beasts, which he declares he will take especial care never to miss again. You cannot imagine any thing more dismal than Eton looked as we drove into the College boundaries, or any thing, in fact, more totally different from the gay and crowded appearance which the Long Walk exhibited to the astonished eyes of a new comer. There was scarcely a single creature in the street, excepting a few Collegers moping about in their long black gowns, the very picture that one would fancy of every thing that is sorrowful. The Chapel, the School Room, and all the buildings in the place, looked ten times blacker than usual, and many of them, from their barred and grated windows, bore a very near resemblance to so many prisons.

Eton Coll. May 7, 1821.

The shops, which, as I think I told you, are pretty numerous in the immediate neighbourhood of the Dames houses, were almost all closely shut up, as I understand they always are during our Holidays,-a pretty good proof how these pastry cooks, and such sort of people here, live npon the boys. Towards evening they all began to brush up their windows, and to set out their dainties in the nicest possible display, in order to entice some newly-arrived customersdetermined, I dare say, to make up for three weeks' lost time by an additional squeeze of the well-lined pockets. Indeed there seems to be a sharp contest among the harpies of Eton, to see which shall get the most of the boys' money before it is all gone. Between them all this last purpose is pretty soon accomplished.

The Fifth and Sixth Form boys will be here in a very few days, and then every thing will go on as regularly as ever again. I should think that they composed half of the School. By the by, it is high time for you to know that I am called Rashleigh Major, and Henry Rashleigh Minor; and this is the only means of distinction which it is proper for me or anybody else to use. To be sure it seems very ridiculous to be obliged to learn a new way of addressing one's brother; but if I was, by any mis

chance, to call him by his Christian name, I should most infallibly be laughed at. I must allow that I think Mr. Plodwell's method is superior to the Eton one in this point; for he always used to mark us plainly enough by the old plan of Senior and Junior. Some of the boys have already pitched upon a spot of ground in the Playing Fields, intending to ask leave of the Captain of the School to appropriate it entirely to the use of our Cricket. The knowing ones tell me that it is excellently adapted for the purpose; and with a little mowing and rolling, and such sort of care, which they intend to give it, will become really beautiful. The principal mover in all these affairs is a young Baronet, by name Sir W. Roby, who is also, as I understand, to be head bowler. He has astonished me wonderfully by various accounts of the amazing distance to which he can drive a ball; Heaven defend me from ever going half so far to fetch it! But it is some consolation to consider that he is rather given to the marvellous. Henry, I find, took a very early opportunity of going up to the shop, according to his agreement with Papa, and choosing a bat. He is quite in ecstasies at having got one so much streaked as to resemble mahogany, and declares that it was quite his own unassisted selection. It certainly, is a very pretty one, and I hope it will turn out well. My Tutor tells me that I must take very great pains with my verses, in

order to be sent up for good before my trials for the Fifth Form, which take place at the beginning of next month. But I suppose this will want explanation. The Assistant Master, who always inspects our compositions, takes any one copy that he thinks deserving, and after we have altered the faults, and written it over very neatly, sends it up to the Head Master, who takes some opportunity to read it out to the boys assembled in School. This is reckoned a very great thing, and much greater than I have any hopes of succeeding in; but of course I will do my best. I find there are two parties, a Boat party and a Cricket one; and they consider it quite impossible to belong to both. The latter are at a stand at present, because the principal leaders are not yet arrived; but the boats are all ready, and look very gay, with their fine gilding and painting, even to the blades of the oars. I will tell more about their proceedings byand-by. There are a good many new boys already, and I am happy to say that they look quite as foolish, appear quite as confused, and get rather more teased, than I did. You know it is a great satisfaction never to be singular. It is to be hoped something will happen to make my next Letter a little more interesting. In the meantime, you must accept our united loves, and believe me to be, my dear Mamma,

Yours affectionately,

SAM. RASHLEIGH.

MY DEAR UNCLE,

I imagine that you have already discovered that I have acquired, among other qualifications peculiar to an Etonian, an extreme unwillingness to letter-writing. This fault is a very fashionable one here now, and I have no doubt it prevailed a little even in your time. Like other people in similar circumstances, I comforted myself most ingeniously by the expectation that you would hear all about us from home, where we both sent very ample despatches, and confirmed them in the holidays. Now I have positively sat down to beg pardon for past offences, or, to speak in Eton language, to ask for my first fault to profess better manners in future-and punctually to give you my very best thanks for a most effectual piece of service, which you rendered both of us, and which I shall proceed faithfully to relate. You may fancy my astonishment, and alarm too, when I was ordered, quite unexpectedly, by a sudden messenger, to come to Swinburne, one of the Sixth Form. I made a thousand conjectures about the reason of his sending for me, and began to consider and try to recollect if I could have offended him by not shirking him out of bounds, or any other transgression. I asked the boy who was despatched for me "if he was sure that I was the right person? if he knew my name, or what I was wanted for?" with innumerable other questions, all in

Eton, May 23, 1821.

vain. However, it was not in my power to disobey the summons; so I followed along quietly enough, but in a terrible fright, and looking, as I should judge, very much like a criminal. What then must have been my surprise, or rather delight, when upon my arriving in the presence of this formidable man of authority, he first of all mentioned your name, and asked "if I was not your nephew? how long I had been here? what part of the School I was in? and how I liked it?" This was not the examination I expected, so I plucked up my spirits, and answered with a little confidence. After this he took me to several of his friends in the same part of the School as himself, and desired me to thank them each for their Liberties, which he had obtained from them in my behalf. Of course I did as I was ordered; but it was very absurd to thank a person before you knew that he had done any thing for you. If I had been in a laughing humour, I am afraid I should have offended them. However, Swinburne gave me an explanation of the business; and as I think it is an old custom, I shall take it for granted that know you all about it. The advantage of these Liberties, as they call them, I assure you I have already experienced; for I can go about with twice the satisfaction, now that I can be seen by these great people at a distance, out of bounds, with impunity. It appears that your

not to do things by halves; for, after doing me this service, he volunteered to be my protector, and particularly enjoined me to apply to him in case any one should bully me. Nothing as yet has obliged me to have recourse to his media tion ; and it is to be hoped that nothing will: however, a power ful friend is not a bad thing anywhere, and his name may do a good deal for me. This interview had the very contrary effect from what I expected. I went away as happy as a prince, and ten times better pleased with Eton than ever. Some short time afterwards, on a whole holiday morning, I received a note, containing an invitation from my new patron to breakfast at ten o'clock. I suppose we are rather later now than you used to be. This seemed to me rather a strange occurrence, but it was not for me to reason upon it, so away I posted exactly at the hour, with my rolls in my hand, and found my way to Swinburne's room. There were powdered footmen to announce me, so I opened the door and walked into an apartment,-to be sure it was not a very large one, -quite full of company, who received me as I made my bow with a general laugh. This is not at all to be wondered at, considering how laughable a figure I must have been with the rolls that I carried, staring around like one thunderstruck, without the least motion either one way or the other. Luckily enough, Swinburne was roused by this noise from a deep conversation he had entered into with Courtenay; and perceiving me in the situation just mentioned, came very opportunely to my relief,

no

of his Majesty the King of Clubs, in whose honour the breakfast was given. It was, indeed, fit for any King, of any country, unless he chooses to dislike (which he certainly has no right to do) eggs, chocolate, ham, chicken, beefsteaks, meat-pies, patès, and various other good things with which the table was covered. The party then present seemed to be quite of my opinion, for everything decreased most rapidly under their knives and forks. I had no idea of such a various display; it. was a complete dejeûné a la fourchette, and, after our little tea-table, looked quite magnificent. They say, however, that nothing, which another person would eat at dinner, comes amiss to an Etonian by way of breakfast. Perhaps they had not carried their luxury so far in your time. The fags were at a side-table, busily employed in eating too, unless when they were sent away to fill up a chocolatepot, or get some more eggs, or other errands of the same kind. Now that I have given you so good a description of the entertainment, I must tell you a little about the guests. Courtenay I have mentioned; then there was a good-natured-looking man of the name of Harvey, a very great favourite with all the lower boys; another, called Rowley, who ate prodigiously, and gave his opinion upon everything, whether it was good or bad, in a most authoritative manner. Sir Thomas Nesbit, Lor zell, Oakley, and a host of other worthies, not forgetting Golightly, who came in about the middle of breakfast, a thorough Dandy, and made a thousand excuses. The fact is, he was longer than ordi