Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-04-25

The public school, as every reader of Tom
Brown at Rugby knows. is divided into differ
ent houses" The pupil enters house lust as
at Oxford or Cambridge he enters a college"
He becomes a member of that house At Rugby
there are eight OF these different houses, and
about the same number at Eton. Each of these
houses Is under the charge of its own house
master. He carries it on as boarding -house.
takes the fees and furnishes the table and pock-
cts the profits or the loss 1t is ALWAYS profit
and generally good one. Teaching is a much
more remunerative business in England than In
America. The masters salary will ordinarily
range from one thousand two hundred or one
thousand five hundred dollars Il year to seven
Of eight Thousand dollars No one knows ey-
actiy what the income of successful house
master or head master is. for he is paid not a
salary by board of trustees, but in fees and
perquisites. But well-nformed Englishmcn
credit the head master Of Eton with an income
of fifteen thousand dollars a year and probably
it is not less in the case of the head mastei. at
Rugby.
Each pupil has his own room Rooming to-
gether and studying together are unknown in
England. The whole herdng process. so con-.
mon in America rom the nursery UP. is abhtl-
rent 20 an Englishman. He is semi-socia..
but never gregariOus animal. In Rugby there
are dormitOrieS in which the boys sleep, and
sittingroOms In which they. gather for social
life; but each boy has his room for study. usll-
ally without even a single roommate. In EtOn
at least in the college" the studv-rOOm and
bedroom are all one, each boy having his own
solitary apartment. The boy. from his entrance
on public school life. begins to Shift for himself
His house" gives him breakfast of tea and
bread ana butter; he markets for himself tor
what else he wants-cggs, marmalade, iam
potted meats. In school, as out of 1t, the Amer
lean breakfast OF fish, beefsteak, hot cakes or
what not. is unknown. The boys breakfast in
small rooms. twenty or twenty-five together
each eating such breakfast as his means his
tastes, his skill in marketing, the liberality of
Weather friend may afford him.
The school is divided into classes or .'fOrms."
fhe sixth-iorm boys breakfast in their own
rooms. az they do afterward when they enter
the universities. In the university they have
steward to get the breakfast for them run
necessary errands, keep the room in order and
the like. In the public schools this service is
rendered for the senior, or siNth-form boy, by q
boy In the flrst-IOrm, who blacks his boots,
brushes his clothes, runs his errands. does his
shopping. prepares his breakfast of tea and
toast and makes himself generally useful. This
Is a flag. The siXtii-fOrm boy NAV be
tOilOrs son. the first form fag the son of duke:
school distinctions take precedence of all
Others. Hardship there sometimes is, tyranny,
even occasional cruelty: bnt no English boy aI,-
parently feels the degradation which every
American boy would feel in rendering such
mental service.
The boys of each honse dine together In q
common hall; no SOUP roast beef or mutton,
bread and desserts OF sweets" The school
provides each boy with beer; wines are not al
lowed. There is very simple tea at SIX and
supper of bread and cheese and. believe, cold
meat. If one wants it before going to bed. The
rooms are warmed by the fireplace-the univer-
sal method in England-and lighted with can
dies. How the boys, who do much of their
principa! studying evenings. can get out Greek
ana Latin and mathematics by the light Of a
flaming candle and preserve their eyes is a
mystery on which did not get any light and
can give none. Perhaps the Englishman's foggy
Gccustoms him to dimness of illu-
He breads glare as much as an
American breads darkness
There is one relic OF ancient times at Eton
which strikes the modern American as some
what singular; this is the whipping block. This
ancient instrument stands in the corner of the
yard When a culprit is to be castigated he is
brought hither aud a call is made for the first
form boys. The two who come last at the scene
pay the penalty for their hardness by beng re-
quired to hold the offender down over the block
while the head master administers the switch
ing.