The windows of the school-room were kept
open, whilst the only heating came from a microscopic stove
jealously guarded by a huge iron stockade to prevent the boys from
approaching it. For breakfast we were never given anything but
porridge and bread and butter. We had an excellent dinner at one
o'clock, but nothing for tea but bread and butter again, never
cake or jam. It will horrify modern mothers to learn that all the
boys, even little fellows of eight, were given two glasses of beer
at dinner. And yet none of us were ever ill. I was nearly five
years at Chittenden's, and I do not remember one single case of
illness. We were all of us in perfect health, nor were we ever
afflicted with those epidemics which seem to play such havoc with
modern schools, from all of which I can only conclude that a
regime of beer and cold rooms is exceedingly good for little boys.
The Grange, Mr. Chittenden's house, was one of the most perfect
examples of a real Queen Anne house that I ever saw. Every room in
the house was wood-panelled, and there was some fine carving on
the staircase.
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