Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 7.djvu/373

 10 s. vii. APRIL 20, 1907.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

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in two rooms, in the Chaplain's Quad, just west of the great tower the room on the right being the Senior School, and that on the left the Junior Room. The Head Master at that time was the Rev. William George Henderson, late Dean of Carlisle ; 10 S. vi. 105] ; but his duties were undertaken by the Rev. William Jonathan Sawell, chaplain and formerly chorister (1819), a man beloved by all who knew him. He was the very essence of good nature and of kindness. He only had one fault, and that was that he made the most atrocious puns that mortal man ever heard."
 * the Usher was, nominally, a Mr. Lancaster [see

Mr. Hall declares that the boarding arrange- ments of the boys at that time left much to be desired. The organist was Benjamin Blyth (see 10 S. v. 123), who " was feared by us all, and I may say was loved by us all. His floggings were something to be remembered; but he was in private life kind and helpful to his boys, and we would have done any- thing for him. He was a most delightful organ player; he had one of the most beautiful tenor voices that I have ever heard, and his refined and tasteful singing of certain songs, such as ' Tom Bowling ' and 'Birds on the Branches,' was a thing never to be forgotten. The choir, in my early days, was simply atrocious. Hardly any of the academical clerks could sing, and there were only four ' singing men ' ; one of them had leave to attend service only on Sundays, so that during the week we had only three men singers ; one had the most detestable alto voice that ever was heard, another took such care of his voice that it was scarcely audible across the chapel, and if I re- member rightly, the bass sang persistently out of tune. However, after a few years, things began to improve. Two new basses were obtained, and other alterations were made. Under Mr. Blyth's tuition, the boys of the choir became somewhat famous for their singing, and at one time we had at least six boys out of the sixteen who were able to sing

' verses' or ' solos' when required In those days

the discipline of the School was somewhat lax, and what 1 chiefly remember is the wonderful way in which we choristers were allowed to use the College as our playground. We used to play hide-and-seek in the New Buildings, shutting the swing-doors which I think still exist, and hiding up the stair- cases ; we used to fish for crayfish, night after night, in the shallow part of the Cherwell that borders the Grove, near the Mill ; we vised to play ' Dicky, show light,' on winter evenings in the ' Walks ' ; and stranger than all, we used some- times in summer to borrow one of the Fellows' keys and lock the gate of the Walks, so that we boys might have a bathe in the Cherwell, free from all intruders."

Mr. Hall records " one curious custom." He says :

"The three senior choristers used to go to Dr. Bloxam's rooms quite early on the morning of Easter Day, and sing the Easter hymn outside his bedroom. The hymn being finished, the door of bedroom was slowly opened, and a hand appeared holding a silver salver, on which were seen three Easter eggs and three half-crowns; these were

bestowed on the three boys, and if I remember aright, the old Easter greeting was used, The Lord is risen,' answered by ' The Lord is risen indeed.

When Dr. Millard became Head Master in 1846, a great change came over the School ; the Boarding House (now superseded) at the lower end of High Street was obtained, the new School -room begun, and other improvements made. " To Dr. Millard's careful training and deep religious feeling^ I, and many other, owe an unspeakable debt of gratitude." In those days there were three half-holidays every week Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays ; while every saint's day was a whole holiday. Then at the Gaudy

"each chorister chose a Fellow on whom to wait during the dinner. We stood behind the chair of our Fellow, and made a pretence of waiting. Some- times we procured a clean plate for him, and some- times we took a message requesting some other guest to take a glass of wine with our Fellow. When the guests left the Hall for the Common Room or Bursary, we choristers had our dinner at the tables they vacated. Then the chorister who sang the grace at the Gaudy was allowed to ask each Fellow who was in the College at the time for one guinea ; this was indeed a lucky windfall tor the fortunate boy, sometimes as much as 18/. or 20/. would come to him in this way. In those days the number of the resident Fellows, especially ot Senior Fellows, was far greater than it is at present.'

At that time

"the 10 o'clock service was looked upon as< ' Fellows' Prayers,' that is, it was supposed to be a service for the especial benefit of the Fellows ;. and the tradition was that if no Fellow was present at the conclusion of the Psalms the service was stopped, and the chaplain and the choir all walked away. If my memory serves me aright, I remember that this happened once in my time. But 1 am under the impression that one of the members for the University happened to be in chapel on that occasion (Sir Robert H. Inglis), and he was so- scandalized at the proceeding that he walked straight to the President's house, and interviewed Dr. Routh, the result being that orders were issued that nothing of the sort was ever to occur again. ' Whilst Mr. Hall was a chorister it often happened that one or more of the boys were taken to assist at great musical celebrations in London and elsewhere. Thus Louis Stacey Tuckwell, now rector of Standlake, went up with Mr. Blyth to sing at the Duke of Wellington's funeral at St. Paul's. Mr. Hall himself assisted at the opening of the Crystal Palace in 1854 ; and on another occasion went, with Dr. Corfe and Mr. Blyth, to sing at the annual concert of the Bristol Madrigal Society. Towards the end of hi* career as chorister he was often called upon to go to the organ and play the service ; and, while an undergraduate at Magdalen, he played the organ for weeks together.,