New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-01-15
TROLLOPE'S MEMOIRS.
SEVENTY LIVELY YEARS
WHAT REMEMBER By THOMAS ApoLrHrs troll

man who has lived almost from the beginning
of the nineteenth century and who mas cni'i,"
the faculty of observation, cannot nut ha'c q"
eumulated a mass of interesting "reminiscences
such an observer has in addition been an "o'',0
traveller man Of letters in touch With '"o p0uP
best worth knowing in his own ana many o',,
countries, his recollections are sure 10 w "o' o"'
smusng but valuable. And such facon"ui %
Mr.. Thomas Adolphus i'rollope; scptuagenarl"h
moreover who carries the weight OF MS ye"i'
most iaun,ily and whose pleasant gossip Is
s,ve,tensd nv the chccrfuness Of his disposition
and the ycritablc youthfuness Of the spirit In
(which he surveys the past aud looks forward 10
the future. The readers of THE TRIBUNE have
not TO make the acquaintance Of this GENIAL ana
clever writer, who for years was Itaiah CORE
bpondcnt of this journal. gathering In his floreh-
tine home the most important and interesting
matter for the use and information OF great
American audience.
Sevcnty-eight years in the nineteenth century
imply in the way of radical change ana
extent Of progress than any hundred years OF inc
Christian can show previously. MI lrohope
was born into q London which haj neither rat
ways, omnibus es gas nor police Tic venerable
end dirty old hackney coach, the feebly glimmerng
and Ill smelling whae-oil lamp. the inefficient ana
sonmolent Charley furnished transportation
illumination and protection for a metropolis winch
its inhabitants no doubt thought vast. but when
really included little more area and population IMAM
some of its principal suburbs OF to-day iariS
was in even worse case Such drainage as it
possessed consisted in the foul kennels which ran
Down the middle Of the streets Its paving was pala-
full to pedestrians and seemed adapted mainly to
the construction of barbados, while revolutionary
risings were further facilitated by the narrow ara
crooked thoroughfarcs 1t is needless to point the
contrast by rccapitulating the changes which nave
taken place, nor perhaps is it surprising TO hhu
Mr.. Trollopc railing against some of the alleged
improvements, and notably the underground rail-
way which more than he have found detestable'
But il is astonishing to find old a man endowed
with so keen and retcntive memory 1here
sc ms no hiatus in his recollections either. III is
not only that he retraces his boyhood and school
DAYS in minutest detail but that every part of his
long carceris equally present to him when he writes
of it, OF his early family life it is unnecessary
70 sneak He was w kham boy, and the
pe,uliarities Of that foundation are recounted by
him with evident enjoyment. Nothing indeed
could be more unlike any modern school than inc
famous one of Winchester. The so-called entrance
examination in this wise:
Duly instructed as to the part we were 10 pi'y
we went marvelling up the ancient stone corhscreW
stair to the mysterious chamber situated over me
middle gate j. e., the gateway between IN. .hc
onter court and the second quadrangle where uhe
chapel the hall and the chambers are nc
. election chamber always maintained certain
character of mystery TO MS because IL was IetS n
Opened or used on the great occasion OF me
annual election. In that chamber we 1ounu .lic
six solemn electors in their gowns waa'ng aor a
Warden of Winchester College, an aged man who
with his peculiar wig and gown, was an OBJECT OF
awe No bishop had i'll those days dreamed as JcV
Of discarding the episcopal wig .u.
And then the examination began rs I9Iio"s:
Well boy, can you sing Yes, r ara do dLe I "
resDopded the neoplyte-dnly instructed previously
in his part OF the proceedng,wthont at'emp'lInis
in the smallest degree to modify IN any way hiS
ordinorv speech =" Very well, boy. That VIII
do returned the examiner The eXam !Ili
over and you were meInDef Oh w Winto on
,,rcnc Wipton, PrOpe Wlnt0n. observed, Int
he college is situated outside the ancient city Walls
The explanation of this survival OF the sinluia-
cu,m OF an examination is that the ancient statutes
REQUIRE that candidates for admission as scnol'S
in plain chant the intention OF the founder PeihS
that all his scholars should take part III the chor"'
service of the chapel
1t is only fair to add that there WAS serious
examination provided at later stage OF the
school career. There were 10 prohibition IDEAS
aaoat at that time, and indeed they would nave
conficted with the views of the founder as the
following statements shows: he mentions
The rather singular fact that whereas all other
suDulas from the college buttery TO the boys
the bread. the cheese the butter, the meao-T 1
accurately measured. the beer was given abso-
L,tely adj libitum. In fact, it. was not gwen ON
nj ali. bat taken. Thrice day the way 10 me
cellar was open 6acI star do Grn WITH Po is central
nllor and arches springng from IT IN every dllCc-
zion All around were the hogSheadS, ana ,nc
nroDer tools for tapping one rs soon as announcer
sbonId he out And to this cellar the boys-or
rather the junior boys at each meSS-weht lreelS
TO draw as much as they chose
And tie beer thus freely supplied was Our o!iy
beverage for not only was tee or eonre MOI ldr-
nished it not permitted some OF me Pr'teC ,
"too-mcsses. provided out Of their own pocket
money and served by their flags But H. Us
would sometimes happen either OF the masters
could be got out of the way, he used 10 slnlsn
them all using bis ars% pa key ,ci of t iaG r
Wi any OF of wykeham knew nothing, 1 think of
tear
Not onlv was beer drank thus freely during the
DAYTIME. but supply was carefully furnished
for the austcntation Of the boys at night. We
are told that 4" the supply Of provision oil th''
refrcsl,rnent was recognized, it being part OF lh'
duty of the bedmalSers TO carry every evening
into each Of the seven chambers huge nip
perl,in, of beer ito last as / remember one Of
the bedmalzers telling me when | first went TO col
lere for all night The supply he adds
SO far as my recollection goes, was always con-
siders,bly in excess of the consumption AT least
il is TO be hoped so.
Though ecclesasticsm was strongly represented
nj Wylzcham, there seems TO have been plentiful
lack of reverence, as the following anecdote VIII
Indicate
Our three chapains were all Of them also
minor canons of the cathedral Very worthy;
good they were; one of them especially ana
Exceptionally exemplary in his family relations !;
bnt their mode of performing the service III thc
chapel was not what would in these days be con
sidercd decorous reverentiaL Besides inc chal,s
lainev of the college and the minor canonry OF
the cathedral. these gentlemen-all three OF them
believe-held small livings in the city: Ana the
multiplicity of duty which bad thus TO be aole
rendered a degree Of speed in the performance OF
the service so often desideratum, and sometimes
an absolute necessity, that that became the most
ing or rather intonng, the prayers. the habit was
20 allow no time at all for the choir to chant their
Amenn which bad TO be interlected in such sort