Foxholme Hall, and Other TalesKingston, William Henry Giles
General
Foxholme Hall, and Other Tales
Kingston, William Henry Giles
Adventure stories; Boys -- Conduct of life -- Juvenile fiction; Children's stories; Conduct of life -- Juvenile fiction
Fifth Form.
7. Lower, with about three divisions.
8. Middle, with about three divisions.
9. Upper, with about three divisions.
10. Sixth Form, composed of ten Oppidans and ten Collegers.
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"When a fellow like you, for instance, arrives first, if he has been at
a good private school, his tutor examines him. If he thinks well of him
he is placed in the Upper Fourth, or perhaps in the Remove at once. If
he is not above the average, he joins the Lower Fourth, with the rest of
the unplaced. He remains in it till `Trials,' which come off about a
month after the beginning of the half. According to his knowledge, he
is then placed finally in the Lower, Middle, or Upper Fourth. Now you
must understand that although Fourth Form is in the Upper School, yet
all below Fifth Form, that is, Upper and Lower Remove, and Fourth Form,
are called `Lower Boys.' All Lower Boys are liable to be fagged, so
that `Lower Boy' is equivalent to `Fag.' Lower Fourth is generally in
the hands of a young master, and, like puppies not yet broken in, they
are consequently very disorderly. There are also always a few fellows
at the top of the division who have come out of Lower School, and take
considerable delight in putting the new-comers up to mischief.
New-comers have a fortnight's `law' before they are liable to be fagged.
This is to give them time to look about them, and to learn the ways of
the school. At the end of that time the captain of their house allots
them to some master. As to fagging, I decidedly say in a large school
like this it is a very great advantage, and wonderfully assists the
governing powers by giving a number of fellows who would otherwise be
idle something to do. It teaches, also, fellows to take care of
themselves, as well as some accomplishments which they may find very
useful in after-life, when they come to knock about the world. After
all, too, what are the hardships? A fellow has to lay his master's
cloth for breakfast, get his muffins and eggs, make his tea and his
toast, and be ready to cook a mutton chop and anything else he may
require. He may also have to clean his shoes and brush his clothes, but
in that there is nothing very terrible. The only disagreeable part of
house fagging is being sent out at odd hours or in bad weather to get
things when a fellow would be rather sitting in his own room. There is
no cricket or football fagging here, but out of doors a Fourth Form boy
is liable to be fagged by any one in the Upper or Middle Fifth Form,
either to run on errands, to buy things for him, or to stand behind a
Five's court, and to pick up the balls, or to carry books for him. This
may be called miscellaneous fagging. The captain of Upper Remove is
excused fagging by custom. Lower Fifth neither fags nor can be fagged.
`Upper Lower' can fag miscellaneously, but cannot own private fags.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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