d enlargement laid upon him the
responsibility of fostering the slow and unostentatious work of
profiting by the past and of seeing that the reputation of the School
was maintained and increased. He was essentially an idealist, a dreamer
of dreams, a visionary, but he never lost sight of the practicable.
Organization was his handmaid.

Parents, Masters and Boys were quick to recognize the sincerity of the
man. He was often impetuous but he was always candid. His decisions were
firm, but he never shirked an argument. His sermons in Chapel were not
steeped in oratory but the directness of his appeal, the persistent
summons to the standard of Duty and the obvious depth of his emotion
gave them power. Largeness of numbers never appealed to him, and he did
not in any way strive to call the attention of the world to the School.
He wished for success in Scholarships and in Athletics but he regarded
the School as he regarded the individual. Distinction in work or games
was no passport to his favour, but he continually looked only for the
right use of such capacity as each one possessed. Frequently he would
take boys from the lower part of the School and himself give them
private tuition. Character was more than intellect. The boys learned to
know him as their friend and he would go into their studies in the
evening and be gladly welcomed. The unity of the School was much
increased, the Hostel had no special privileges and at the close of his
Headmastership the six years had witnessed a steady growth in the
effectiveness of the School. No one ever forgot that he was Headmaster
but at the same time he never failed to encourage others to act for
themselves. He had a single-minded desire for the good of the School and
he inspired others with it. His contempt for outworn conventions, his
sincerity, his generosity of heart, even his impetuous nature impressed
all alike with the feeling that they were dealing with one, who was
essentially a man.

A successor to Mr. Vaughan was soon found in Mr. Robert Noel Douglas,
who after having had a distinguished Academic and Athletic career at
Selwyn College, Cambridge, had been appointed Assistant Master at
Uppingham in 1892. There he had acted as a House Master for some years
previously to his appointment to Giggleswick.

[Illustration: R. N. DOUGLAS, M.A.]

Soon after the new Headmaster had been appointed, Mr. Philip Bearcroft
retired from his work as Bursar. Since 1878 he had been a Mast