ay," May 29th. On these two days the
boys were expected to decorate the school in the early hours of the
morning; a _sine qua non_ being, that, on the Doctor's arrival at 7.30
a.m., he should find his desk so filled with floral and arboreal
adornments, that he could not enter it; whereat he would make the remark,
repeated annually, "Well, boys! you have shut me out of my desk, so we
must give up work for the day." He also, on these occasions, often
brought with him a daughter, and the two carefully looked into the
decorated desk, when they were rewarded by finding the nest and eggs of a
"feather-poke" (long-tailed tit), or some other rare bird, which he
always took home and preserved in his study, as a trophy till the
following year. No questions were asked as to _how_ the decorations were
obtained, but in practice the process was as follows. On the day before,
between school hours, certain of the younger boys were sent round the
town to beg flowers, and then, later on, followed what, as we should have
said, the present hypercritical generation would call, at the very least,
"dishonest pilfering." After retiring to rest, and when the final visit
of the Assistant Master had been made to the dormitories, all became
excitement; boots and caps had been carefully concealed under the beds.
The elder boys were quickly re-clothed, booted and bonneted; and we crept
down, by back stairs, to the kitchen, with the connivance of the cook and
housekeeper; those good souls also providing some refreshment for us, to
be taken either before we went out, or after we returned; and then,
stealthily emerging by the back door, we separated into small companies
of twos and threes; some re-visiting gardens in the town, and taking
without permission further flowers; others going into the country;
sometimes even taking a light cart from one yard and a pony or horse from
another, and then visiting gardens or parks in the neighbourhood, and
returning laden with branches of horse-chesnut flowers, pink may, &c.,
which were quietly conveyed to the school; and by the appointed hour the
work of decoration would be completed; and we, having returned to our
dormitories, refreshed through the cook's kindness the inner man, and
washed the outer, were ready to greet the good Doctor and his daughter on
their arrival. The only difference between the decorations on the 24th
and 29th was, that on the latter day oak leaves and acorns were a
distinguishing fea