Ordinary offences of a trifling character, such as being late for Chapel, or “Shirking Hills,” (_v.i._,) were punished by the infliction of an imposition,—generally thirty lines of Virgil, English and Latin. I think I must have written out the Æneids of Virgil and Odes of Horace half-a-dozen times during my sojourn at Winchester. Indeed, being naturally of a prudent disposition, whenever I had nothing particular to do, I used to write out a few lines, and thus gradually became possessed of a small capital of a thousand lines or so, on which I could draw at any pressing emergency. If a boy had occasion to speak to a Master, and while he was up at books, the correct thing was to keep his gown buttoned at the top; and if he wished to go out of School, he wrote his name on a slip of paper, (or “Roll,”) with the following sentence:—“Ostiarii veniâ potitus, tuam pariter exeundi petit;” he then asked leave of the Ostiarius to “put up his roll,” which being granted, he deposited it on the Master’s desk, and made his exit. When a Præfect wanted to go out, he went to a corner Scob near the door, and “scraped” with his feet until he attracted the Master’s attention, and obtained a nod of consent. At one particular time of the year, (I think it was during Saturday evening School in Easter week,) two Commoners and one College Inferior might collectively scrape out together. Only about half-a-dozen boys were allowed to be out at one time; but I have known some steal out on the sly, without any preliminary formality. On a fine summer afternoon, the Doctor might accidentally cast his eye over School, and observing that it had rather a deserted expression, would send out the Bible Clerk and Ostiarius to make a foray in Meads, who would presently return with a flock of truants; it being impossible to flog such a number, it was usual to make them “cut in a book,”[7] to settle which half-a-dozen should be distinguished in this manner. [Illustration: SCHOOL.]