Page:A short history of social life in England.djvu/351

Rh two millions were at school. Teachers being insufficient and funds low, most of the teaching was done by children themselves—a method which was the forerunner of the pupil-teacher system. Classes were divided into eight "drafts," marked by semicircular lines chalked on the floor. Each child was supposed to attend for two years between the ages of seven and fourteen to learn reading from the Bible, writing on a ruled slate, and the first four rules of arithmetic. This was given free till 1827, when a fee of 2d. a week was charged to defray expenses. Punishment by ridicule was the fashion in these days, though the stick was never absent. Thus the idle boy was rocked in a cradle by a girl, the fidget had his legs tied to logs, the truant was fastened to his desk, bad boys were yoked together, and sluggards were put into a basket and hoisted up to the ceiling by a rope. But better days for the children of England were dawning.

A change in dress, moreover, was widely welcomed. Throughout the centuries boys and girls had been dressed in exact imitation of their parents. Boys had worn their hair long or short according to the fashions of the day; they wore