V + 

Of My First Going to School + 

Upon the very evening of the day whereon I had buried Philip Lisle’s guinea in a corner of my garden, there came to our house Parson Drumbleforth, who had walked along the highway from Darrington to hold converse with my father and mother. And our Lucy, seeing him approach from afar off, ran quickly indoors, and told my mother, who immediately caused a fire to be lighted in the best parlour, the spring evenings being ofttimes chilly for old bones, and Parson Drumbleforth having got past his vigour. So presently he came in sight, and advanced along the garden walks, and was met at the door by my mother with a respectful courtesy. But he would have naught of the best parlour. + 

“Let me go into your own chamber, Mistress Dale,” said he, “where is, I know, such an easy-chair as would fit judge or bishop, let alone a humble clerk, and where the fire hath burnt all day. Your best parlour, sure, is very fine accommodation, but cold, mistress, cold.” + 

“Why, surely,” said my mother, “an I had known your Reverence was coming there should have been a fire lighted hours ago. However, my own parlour hath had a fire in it since noon.” + 

Whereupon she led him to the easy-chair in her own room, and Lucy and myself followed in and paid our respects to the Vicar, and admired his white bands and the silver buckles of his shoes, and looked at his staff, which was a clouded cane with a heavy silver knob of great value. And the Parson having stretched forth his hands to the blaze, and asked us how we did, and if we were faithful in our duties to our parents, I was sent forth into the yard to find my father, who had gone out awhile before to consult Timothy Grass and Jacob Trusty about certain yearlings which he had just bought at Wakefield fair. And finding him, he at once broke off his discourse and went into the house and greeted the Vicar, and brought forth tobacco and pipes, and they both smoked, and my mother went into the kitchen and made a pitcher of mulled ale, of which grateful drink Parson Drumbleforth was an admirer. And my father and the Vicar discoursed of the weather, and the crop of lambs, and the prospect of the coming harvests, hay and corn, and Lucy and I listened and strove hard to behave ourselves with propriety. And the mulled ale having been brought in and the glasses filled, the Vicar pledged us all and commended the drink mightily, after which the pitcher was put on the hob to keep warm, and my mother sat down to her needle. + 

“Master and Mistress Dale,” presently said Parson Drumbleforth, “I am come here tonight on an important matter. Ye have here a great lad⁠—stand up, William, my child, and let us look at thee; why, thou art nearly to my shoulder already!⁠—ye have here, I say, a great lad, who is fast growing towards manhood.” + 

“Oh, sir!” cried my mother. “Manhood! Why, ’tis but a child.” + 

“Softly, softly, mistress. I say manhood, and rightly. For before ye see the change he will be a youth, and then a man, ay, and a bigger man than his father.” + 

“He will, he will,” said my father. “Ay, he will be an inch bigger than I am all ways. However, I am six foot three in my stockings.” + 

“ ’Tis a fine lad, indeed,” said Parson Drumbleforth, measuring me with a critical eye. “Wherefore the greater responsibility resteth upon you.” + 

“Your own boy, sir, Master John, is a big-made boy, too,” said my mother, anxious to return the Vicar’s compliments. + 

“So, so. A sturdy knave is Jack, and strong enough, but rather broad than long. However, your mention of Jack, Mistress Dale, brings me back to where I set out from. It is time, Master Dale, that this great lad went to school.” + 

“He hath learnt from me, sir,” said my mother, looking anxiously at me. “What I could teach him he hath learnt, so that now he can read his Catechism in the Prayerbook, and knoweth his duty, and⁠—” + 

“Mistress Dale,” interrupted Parson Drumbleforth, “I know well that you are a scholar, and able to impart knowledge to your children. As for this little maiden, let her continue to learn from her mother. But as for Will here, let him to school, where men will teach him, and he will mix with his fellows.” + 

“But, sir,” said my mother, “there is no school at hand. For it is too far for him to walk twice a day ’twixt here and Pontefract.” + 

“Then he must board with the master, my good friend Dr. Parsons,” said Parson Drumbleforth. “He will not charge you overmuch for the lad’s eating and sleeping. On a Saturday let him come home, so that he may enjoy the benefit of my ministry on a Sunday, and on a Monday morning let him be off again bright and early.” + 

“He hath never slept away from home in his life,” said my mother. “And I always fear damp beds in strange houses. Our own, sir, if not slept in for awhile, are aired for days before we use them again, but all folks are not so particular.” + 

“Tut, tut, mistress, the beds will be aired I warrant. Mistress Parsons is a careful housewife. What say’st thou, Master Dale?” + 

“I am for the lad to go,” said my father. “ ’Twill do him no harm to live with others of his age.” + 

“ ’Tis a good school, the Queen’s School at Pontefract,” said the Vicar. “My own lad, Jack, hath been there since Christmas, and though somewhat of a woodenhead, he hath picked up a good deal. Wouldst like to go with Jack to school, Will?” + 

“Yes, sir, very much,” I answered. + 

And in the end it was decided that I should go; and my father promised to ride into Pontefract the next morning, and there make arrangements with Dr. Parsons about my board and lodging in the master’s house. And so overjoyed was I at the prospect that I could hardly sleep that night. But early next morning I rose and sought out Jacob Trusty, and told him the news. + 

“Thou wilt have to fight, William,” said he; “yea, thou wilt have to fight. However, I have no fear for thee. And when thou hast fought and beaten the biggest lad in the school, thou wilt be much respected. For in going through the world, William, boy, thou wilt see one thing, namely, that men never so much respect their fellows as when the same have shown their power. Wherefore remember to hit hard and straight, and to care nothing for what thou gettest in return.” + 

And then returned my father from Pontefract, with news that he had made arrangements with Dr. Parsons, and I was to go the next Monday; and he had seen Mrs. Parsons, who had promised faithfully to see that my bed was duly aired, upon which assurance my mother plucked up some small comfort, though she was not at all reconciled to the idea of parting with me. And after that all was hurry and bustle in our house, for my mother must see to my new shirts and handkerchiefs, and Lucy must broider my name upon each article, and there was repairing of garments and washing and ironing, so that, as my father said, I might have been going on a voyage to the Indies instead of only to Pontefract. But I have observed that mothers do take a pleasure in making a fuss after their children, and are never so pleased as when busying themselves in that way. It is something which a man cannot understand, but women with children to care for understand it readily. + 

And so the Monday morning came round, and Timothy Grass harnessed one of the horses to our light spring cart, and my box was put therein and my father took the reins, and I kissed my mother and Lucy, with many admonitions to the latter to take care of my dog Rover, whom I had perforce to leave behind me, and away we drove down the road. I felt an important personage that morning, for I had not only a new suit of homespun upon me, but in the pockets of my breeches there lay a new crown piece given me by my mother, and a shilling presented to me by Lucy, and Jacob Trusty had given me a knife which I had often envied him the possession of, and which had three blades, and a pick for taking stones out of a horse’s hoof. + 

On the road between Darrington and Pontefract we came upon Master John Drumbleforth, who was trudging his way to school. My father pulled up the horse, and civilly inquired if Master John would accept of a lift, a question which he at once answered by climbing into the spring cart. + 

“Why,” said he, “I had at any time sooner ride than walk, as you may well imagine, Master Dale. And so thou art going to school, Will? Well, I will look after thee, if need be.” + 

He was a rather solid, heavy-looking lad, this Jack Drumbleforth, with a round shining face, and big limbs, but no great height. Unlike his father, the Vicar, he was no deep nor apt scholar, but rather delighted in sports and games, and in an outdoor life. Nevertheless, he was not so dull as to lack observation, and knowing that learning is a thing which helps every man that strives to obtain it, he worked hard, in a plodding, laboured fashion, and acquired some knowledge. There were lads of his own age of more brilliant parts, who dashed ahead at a great pace, and could write Latin verses ere ever Jack Drumbleforth had mastered his hic, hæc, hoc, but in the end the tortoise caught the hare, for though Jack was undeniably slow he was very sure. + 

The new world into which I was now plunged furnished me with much matter of surprise and wonder. Until that time I had seen little of the world, my observations having been confined to an occasional visit to Pontefract market with my parents, which excursions had been great events in my life, and were eagerly expected and pleasurably regretted. Now, however, I was thrown into the company of some hundred and twenty lads, whose ages ranged from ten to fifteen years. Also I was brought under the rule of the Reverend Dr. Parsons, the headmaster, and his assistants, who were younger men, but also scholars and clergymen, and exceeding grave. There was also Mrs. Parsons, the doctor’s wife, who was a motherly lady, and took as much care of us who lived in the headmaster’s house as if we had been her own children. For if we needed it she dosed us with medicine, and if one did cut or bruise himself she repaired the damage with lint or oils, and there were poulticings for colds and gruel for such as were unfit for stronger meat, and the weakly were tended with much care. Because of all these things good Mrs. Parsons was much thought of by the lads, and highly respected by their parents. She was a little bustling woman, always cheerful and always ready, and I have since thought that she manifested the greater care for us because it had not pleased Providence that she should have children of her own. + 

As for Dr. Parsons, he was a little man, somewhat stout, very nimble and active, red-faced and smiling, a strict master, never sparing the birch, and always just in his decisions; wherefore there was hardly a lad in the school who did not feel that praise or punishment was properly meted out. For he confused not the sharp lad with the slow, and made a fine distinction between them that attained knowledge by leaps and bounds, and them that reached it by gradual and constant labour. The dull lad who plodded on patiently met in him a kind and indulgent master; the clever but idle boy received from him a vast amount of watching and of castigation. Half-done work he could not abide, and would rather have had a slow lad work at a task for two hours and know it than see a more sharp-witted one master it in ten minutes. + 

“Thou art a great lad, William Dale,” said Dr. Parsons to me, when my father had bidden me farewell and departed, “and I doubt not thy mind runneth more on birds’-nests and suchlike than on learning. Nay, lad, that is but natural, and none but a fool would have it otherwise. I shall not plague thee overmuch with learning. This counsel, however, I give thee⁠—what thou dost learn, learn well, and be not ashamed if it takes thee two days to master what a sharper lad would master in one. It is better to know why a thing is done than how it is done. Get to the bottom of everything. Let me see thee work steadily, eating thy meals with a good appetite, and behaving towards me and thy fellows as to thy parents and sister. So shall I be satisfied with thee, William. And now, perchance thou wilt get fighting with some of these lads of mine. Well, ’tis one of those things which our perverse human nature prompteth us to. However, William Dale, bear this in mind⁠—never fight until thou art bound to do so. Be not the aggressor. He that gives cause of offence deserveth punishing. So when thou art forced to fight, fight not in anger, but with cool temper, and remember that a shot straight out from the left shoulder is a wonderful thing to cool down thy adversary. And now let us to school.” + 

When I had had time to look round me, I discovered that of all my new associates there were but two of whom I had any knowledge. One of these was John Drumbleforth, the other was Dennis Watson, the son of that Watson of Castle Hill to whom I have already made reference as being the enemy of my family. This Dennis was a lad somewhat my senior, of a dark and rather forbidding countenance, very masterful, and apt to bear malice against any who fell under his displeasure. Save that I had now and then seen him about his father’s land I knew nothing of him. Between a Dale and a Watson there was never any speech. If we did but meet in the highways we passed each other without word or look. Wherefore I was not over-well pleased to find Dennis Watson amongst my schoolmates. For though I had been taught to hate no man, yet I had a hearty dislike to any representative of the race which had been our enemies for many a generation. + 

Out of consideration for my newness, Mrs. Parsons put me to sleep in the chamber in which slept Jack Drumbleforth and two other boys of a like age. With these three I naturally became closely acquainted. The name of one of my new roommates was Thomas Thorpe, the son of a steward on one of the neighbouring great estates; the other was Benjamin Tuckett, nephew of Mr. John Tuckett, the grocer in the marketplace. Ben Tuckett had neither father nor mother, and his uncle’s wife having an objection to great boys in the house, Ben was sent to Dr. Parsons until he should be of an age to be apprenticed to some trade. He was a round-faced, pleasant-tempered lad, always lively, always willing to do anyone a good turn, so that he was universally liked. Between Ben and me and Tom Thorpe and Jack Drumbleforth grew up a strong friendship, which lasted many years, until death severed it. + 

Now, from the very first day of my going to school, Dennis Watson made a dead set at me, pouring out upon me as it were all the hatred and malice which his house had for mine. Being somewhat more experienced of the world than I⁠—for he had been at school two years when I went there⁠—he had an advantage over me in some respects, and failed not to use it. He had a following of his own amongst the boys, all those who served under his leadership being noted as comprising the evilly-disposed portion of our little community. Presently it became the fashion among these lads to make sport of me, annoying me in whatever way their ingenuity could devise. Thus, if I were engaged in preparing my tasks, I should find a pot of ink spilt over my fair copies, or if I were playing with my fellows in the yard, someone would rudely knock me over, as if by accident. Howbeit, being of an easy nature, I took little notice of these matters until one day came when, by the advice of my three roommates, I determined to stand it no longer. So when one of Dennis Watson’s men, as if by accident, trod rudely on my toes, I seized him by the collar, and marched him up to where Dennis and his chief associates were standing together. And then I think the whole school saw that something was about to happen, for it gathered round us, and I suddenly found Jack Drumbleforth and Ben Tuckett at my elbow, and Tom Thorpe making his way to me through the throng. + 

“Now,” said I, shaking the boy, a small one, who had stamped upon my toes, “the next time you or any other treads on me, or spills ink on my paper, or makes other like mistake, I shall take his head and knock it against the wall! That is fair warning.” + 

Then Dennis Watson laughed in a sneering fashion, and his mates echoed him. + 

“Pooh!” quoth he; “we all know that William Dale has not heart to fight even a small boy, let alone one his own size.” + 

“Do you?” I said, going straight to him; “then, Dennis Watson, as you are older than I, and as big, I will fight you now.” + 

But he would have kept out of that if he could. Nevertheless, his own party edged him on to fight, and mine insisted on it, and presently we were all behind the school-wall, and our seconds were holding our coats. And I, remembering the doctor’s counsel to keep cool, kept cool as long as I could, and at the right moment I gave my opponent one from the left shoulder which spoiled his looks for many a day. And after that there was no more teasing of me, but I was much respected. + 

Two days afterwards came Dennis Watson to me, as I crossed the playground alone. “Will Dale,” said he, with a strange look of hatred on his face, “I hate you, and always shall. And however long I live, I will cause you such trouble as will make you wish you had never been born.” + 

Now at the time I made light of this threat, and laughed at it. But I remembered it many a time in the years which followed. + 