My life : a record of events and opinions - Wallace-online.org

MY SCHOOL LIFE AT HERTFORD 31matter of learning by heart names and dates, andreading the very baldest account of the doings ofkings and queens, of wars, rebellions, and conquests.Whatever little knowledge of history I have everacquired has been derived more from Shakespeare'splays and from good historical novels than from anythingI learnt at school.At one period when the family was temporarilybroken up, for some reason I do not remember, I wasfor about half a year a boarder in Mr. Crutwell'shouse, in company with twenty or thirty other boys ;and I will here give the routine of a moderately goodboarding-school at that period.Our breakfast at eight consisted of a mug of milkand-waterand a large and very thick slice of breadand-butter.For the average boy this was as muchas he could eat, a few could not eat so much, a fewwanted more, and the former often gave their surplusAny boy could have an egg or a slice ofto the latter.bacon cooked if he bought it himself or had it sent fromhome, but comparatively very few had such luxuries.For dinner at one o'clock we had hot joints ofmeat and vegetables for five days and hot meat-pieson Saturdays. On Sundays we had a cold joint ofmeat, with hot fruit-pies in the summer and plumpuddingin the winter, with usually some extraEvery boy had halfdelicacy as custard or a salad.a pint of fairly good beer to drink, and any one whowished could have a second helping of meat.At half-past five, I think, we had milk-and-waterand bread-and-butter as at breakfast, from seven toeight we prepared lessons for the next day, and ateight o'clock we had supper, consisting of bread-andcheeseand, I think, another mug of beer.