Before the end of my first half year, I became a difficult subject, though, as above mentioned, a hard sleeper; yet if anybody laid the gentlest finger on the bedclothes near my feet, to spring up, seize the nearest missile, and launch it at the intruder, was the work of an instant. An ingenuity, worthy of being devoted to better purposes, was displayed by Bolter in elaborating this foolish practical joke. He fixed a fishing-reel, with its line, to the leg of his washing-stool; and having passed the end of the line through a staple fastened to the post in the centre of the room, he then tied to it other lines equal in number to the boys in Chamber. Having secured each line to the toe of a boy, he then proceeded to wind up the reel briskly, the effect being that, in a twinkling, he had all the boys standing in a bouquet round the post with one leg extended. This little incident has been depicted by our artist in the plate entitled “Toefitying.” On rare occasions, the boys used to get up at night and have supper. Once (this was before my time) a feast was going on, when, on an alarm being given that a Master was coming round, one of the boys seized a hot roasted duck and crammed it into the sleeve of his gown, just before the Master entered. There being a strong flavour of cooking, he inquired the cause; on which the boy suggested that the same perfume would probably be found in the adjoining Chamber, as the windows of both were near the Warden’s kitchen. “Come with me, and we will try,” said the Master. So they adjourned to the next Chamber, the boy taking good care to keep his sleeve, in which was the duck, in close proximity to his conductor, who, after sniffing about, found, to his surprise, that there really was a similar flavour there also, which clearly, in that case, could not have proceeded from any cooking in the room, as there was no fire; and so the original destiny of the duck was ultimately accomplished. At the end of the half year, we used to have large entertainments, called “Spree Messes,” between Toy-time and Chapel, consisting of tea, coffee, muffins, cakes, &c., the funds for which were generally provided by fines inflicted during Toy-time for talking loud, slamming the door, coming in without whistling, (to show that it was not a Master entering,) improper language, &c. &c. Sometimes a Spree Mess was given by the boys about to leave at the end of that half. My muffin-consuming power, though still vigorous, has never been properly developed since the last of these entertainments at which I assisted, when Rasper, Sower, and myself, were the joint entertainers.