hed wildly onward, as though our
very lives were at stake.

It may be guessed that Miles did not mean to imply that a number of
real eagles were swooping down upon us with the intention of bearing us
away to some rocky crags, there to form an appetizing repast for their
young; the word had, in this case, a special meaning, to explain which
a slight digression will be necessary.

Many things have altered since the year 1830, and in no direction are
greater changes manifested than in the schools and school life of that
period compared with those of the present day. What the modern boy at
Hobworth's School (so called after its worthy founder) would think of
the place if suddenly transferred back to the days when I went there as
a boarder, I cannot imagine. Whole chapters might be devoted to a
comparison of the past with the present, but for the purposes of our
story only one point need be considered, and that is the great
difference in the style and character of recreation out of school hours.

Though organized games, such as cricket, no doubt existed in the big
public schools, they were unknown at Hobworth's. Such sports as
prisoner's base, marbles, and an elaborate form of leap-frog called--if
I remember rightly--"fly-the-garter," we certainly indulged in; but, as
might be expected, such amusements did not always satisfy the bolder
spirits--the result being that these found vent for their adventurous
inclinations in various expeditions, which more than once landed them
in serious trouble with farmers and gamekeepers.

I cannot say that there was any vicious intention in these raids and
forays. It was perhaps difficult for us boys to see the justice of
certain men claiming all the birds' eggs, squirrels, or hazel-nuts in
the neighbourhood, especially as these things were of no value to their
avowed owners. Again, if pheasants were disturbed, or fences broken,
or perhaps a rabbit knocked over for the joy of subsequently cooking it
surreptitiously in a coffee-pot, it was, after all, a very small
matter, and not worth making a fuss about. So, at least, the youngster
of that period would have argued.

Those were not happy times for the small and weak. Brute force was far
too highly esteemed, and the champion fighter of a school was thought
as much or even more of than the leading cricket or football player is
to-day. It was an unpardonable sin for a small boy to sneak, but the
cruelty and oppression of the more e