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

32 MY LIFEOur regular games were cricket, baseball, leapfrog,high and long jumps, and, in the winter, turnpikeswith hoops. This latter was a means of enablingthose who had no hoops to get the use of them. Theykept turnpikes, formed by two bricks or stones placedthe width of the foot apart, and the hoop-driver hadto pass through without touching. If the hooptouched he gave it up, and kept the turnpike in hisplace. When there were turnpikes every five or tenyards all round the playground and a dozen or morehoops following each other pretty closely, the gamewas not devoid of its little excitements. We neverplayed football (so far as I remember), which at thattime was by no means such a common game as it isnow. Among the smaller amusements which werealways much liked were marbles and pegtops. Theindividuality of tops was rather curious, as somecould only be made to spin by holding them with thepeg upwards, others with it downwards, while otherswould spin when held in either position, and thrownalmost anyhow. When tops were in fashion theymight have been made the vehicle for very interestingteaching of mechanics, but that was quite beyondthe range of the ordinary schoolmaster of the earlypart of the nineteenth century.During my last year's residence at Hertford anarrangement was made by which, I suppose, the feespaid for my schooling were remitted on conditionthat I assisted in the school. I was a good writerand reader, and while continuing my regular classesin Latin and algebra, I took the younger boysin reading and dictation, arithmetic and writing.Although I had no objection whatever to the workitself, the anomalous position it gave me in the