his abilities and upright conduct. His mathematical
knowledge is great for his age, and I doubt not he will do
himself credit in classics. As I believe I mentioned to you
before, his examination for the Divinity prize was one of
the most creditable exhibitions I have ever seen.

During the whole time of his being in my house, his conduct
has been excellent.

Believe me to be, My dear Sir,

Yours very faithfully,

A.C. TAIT.

Public school life then was not what it is now; the atrocious system
then in vogue of setting hundreds of lines for the most trifling
offences made every day a weariness and a hopeless waste of time,
while the bad discipline which was maintained in the dormitories made
even the nights intolerable--especially for the small boys, whose beds
in winter were denuded of blankets that the bigger ones might not feel
cold.

Charles kept no diary during his time at Rugby; but, looking back upon
it, he writes in 1855:--

During my stay I made I suppose some progress in learning of
various kinds, but none of it was done _con amore_, and
I spent an incalculable time in writing out
impositions--this last I consider one of the chief faults of
Rugby School. I made some friends there, the most intimate
being Henry Leigh Bennett (as college acquaintances we find
fewer common sympathies, and are consequently less
intimate)--but I cannot say that I look back upon my life at
a Public School with any sensations of pleasure, or that any
earthly considerations would induce me to go through my
three years again.

When, some years afterwards, he visited Radley School, he was much
struck by the cubicle system which prevails in the dormitories there,
and wrote in his Diary, "I can say that if I had been thus secure from
annoyance at night, the hardships of the daily life would have been
comparative trifles to bear."

The picture on page 32 was, I believe, drawn by Charles rile he was
at Rugby in illustration of a letter received from one of his sisters.
Halnaby, as I have said before, was an outlying district of Croft
parish.

During his holidays he used to amuse himself by editing local
magazines. Indeed, they might be called _very local_ magazines,
as their circulation was confined to the inmates of Croft Rectory. The
first of these, _Useful and Instructive Poetry_, was written
about 1845. It came to an untimely end after a six