To rumours which accused “Crayshaw’s” of undue severity, of discomfort, of bad teaching and worse manners, my father opposed arguments which he allowed were “old-fashioned” and which were far-fetched from the days of our great-grandfather.

A strict school-master was a good school-master, and if more parents were as wise as Solomon on the subject of the rod, Old England would not be discredited by such a namby-pamby race as young men of the present day seemed by all accounts to be.  It was high time the boys did rough it a bit; would my mother have them always tied to her apron-strings?  Great Britain would soon be Little Britain if boys were to be brought up like young ladies.  As to teaching, it was the fashion to make a fuss about it, and a pretty pass learning brought some folks to, to judge by the papers and all one heard.  His own grandfather lived to ninety-seven, and died sitting in his chair, in a bottle-green coat and buff breeches.  He wore a pig-tail to the day of his death, and never would be contradicted by anybody.  He had often told my father that at the school he went to, the master signed the receipts for his money with a cross, but the usher was a bit of a scholar, and the boys had cream to their porridge on Sundays.  And the old gentleman managed his own affairs to ninety-seven, and threw the doctor’s medicine-bottles out of the window then.  He died without a doubt on his mind or a debt on his books, and my father (taking a pinch out of Great-Grandfather’s snuff-box) hoped Jem and I might do as well.

In short, we were sent to “Crayshaw’s.”

It was not a happy period of my life.  It was not a good or wholesome period; and I am not fond of recalling it.  The time came when I shrank from telling Charlie everything, almost as if he had been a girl.  His life was lived in such a different atmosphere, under such different conditions.  I could not trouble him, and I did not believe he could make allowances for me.  But on our first arrival I wrote him a long letter (Jem never wrote letters), and the other day he showed it to me.  It was a first impression, but a sufficiently vivid and truthful one, so I give it here.

“CRAYSHAW’S (for that’s what they call it here, and a beastly hole it is).
          
                                                 “Monday.

“MY DEAR OLD CHARLIE,—­We came earlier than was settled, for Father got impatient and there was nothing to stop us, but I don’t think old Crayshaw liked our coming so soon.  You never saw such a place, it’s so dreary.  A boy showed us straight into the school-room.  There are three rows of double desks running down the room and disgustingly dirty, I don’t know what Mrs. Wood would say, and old Crayshaw’s desk is in front of the fire, so that he can see all the boys sideways, and it just stops any heat coming to them.  And there he was, and I don’t think Father liked the look of him particularly, you never saw an uglier.  Such a