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

MY SCHOOL LIFE AT HERTFORD 35occupied in St. Andrew's Street very little occurredto impress itself upon my memory, partly, I think,because I was too young and had several playfellowsof my own age, and partly, perhaps, because the verysmall house and yard at the back offered few facilitiesfor home amusements. There was also at that timetoo much inequality between myself and my brotherJohn for us to become such constant companions aswe were a little later.When we moved to the house beyond the OldCross, nearly opposite the lane leading to Hartham,the conditions were altogether more favourable. Thehouse itself was a more commodious one, and besidesa yard at one side, it had a small garden at the backwith a flower border at each side, where I first becameacquainted with some of our common garden flowers.The gable end of the house in the yard, facing nearlysouth, had few windows, and was covered over withan old vine which not only produced abundance ofgrapes, but enabled my father to make some gallonsof wine from the thinnings. But the most interestingfeature of the premises to us two boys was a smallstable with a loft over it, which, not being used exceptto store garden-tools and odd lumber, we had practicallyto ourselves. The loft especially was mostdelightful to us. It was reached by steps formed bynailing battens across the upright framing of thestable, with a square opening in the floor above. Itthus required a little practice to climb up and downeasily and to get a safe landing at top, and doing thisbecame so familiar to us that we ran up and downit as quickly as sailors run up the shrouds of a vessel.Then the loft itself, under the slooping roof, gloomyand nearly dark in the remote corners, was almostlike a robbers' cave ; while a door opening to the