dawn of the next day, lest the deluge should come upon them like a thief in the night.

"On the morrow it was seriously discussed whether it would not be advisable to duck the false prophets in the river. Luckily for them, they thought of an expedient which allayed the popular fury. They asserted that, by an error (a very slight one) of a little figure, they had fixed the date of this awful inundation a whole century too early. The stars were right, after all, and they,

privileges were obtained for the inhabitants through the intercession of the Archbishops of Canterbury. The market, which was granted in 1262, appears to have fallen into disuse before the reign of Elizabeth. Norden, writing at that period, observes that "Harrow-on-the-Hill was a markettowne in the time of Doct. Borde's peregrination, as appeareth by a little Treatise of his in writing." Although no longer possessed of the benefits arising from a regular mart, Harrow is still but

erring mortals, were wrong. The present generation of cockneys were safe, and London would be washed away, not in 1524, but in 1624. At this announcement Bolton, the Prior, dismantled his fortress, and the weary emigrants came back."

Great doubts, however, it is only fair to add, hang over this entire story.

Outside the churchyard, on the western slope of the hill, a terrace has been formed, with seats for visitors. The view from this spot is very extensive, embracing as it does the green and level expanse of western Middlesex, and commanding a view of Windsor Castle and the Oxfordshire hills.

The town of Harrow could once boast of its weekly market and its annual fair, both of which

| little inferior in size and population to some market-towns; what it lacks in that respect being, in all probability, made up to it by its famous school. In 1871 the number of inhabited houses was 1,503, the population numbering some 8,500 souls; but such has been the additional advantage offered of late years by railway communication with the metropolis-for there are now two railwaystations here, one on the North-Western and the other on the Metropolitan line-that nearly 5,000 more have been since added to the number of the inhabitants. The town, too, possesses its Fire Brigade, its Literary Institution and Young Men's Society, and a Workman's Hall. The Public Hall is a large building of "Elizabethan " design, capable

of holding upwards of 600 persons; it was erected in 1877 by a limited liability company. There is also a Cottage Hospital, which was erected in 1872, in the Roxeth Road, on land given by Mr. Charles Leaf, who also bore the principal part of the expense of the building; the institution is supported by voluntary contributions. Harrow has also its Local Board of Health, its gas and water works, and its weekly Gazette. Some races were held here between the years 1864 and 1869, but they have since been abandoned.

In 1873 a Catholic chapel was erected in the Roxborough Road. It is dedicated to Our Lady and St. Thomas of Canterbury, being named after Thomas à Becket, who, as stated above, spent

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the hill, and possesses altogether an air of quiet respectability, its shops, most small and unassuming, being largely mixed up with private houses and schools, most of which in the architecture are in keeping with the larger institution to which Harrow at this day owes its fame, and of which we shall speak in the following chapter.

As we have already intimated, Harrow cannot boast of having numbered among its inhabitants, apart from the school, any men whose names have become famous in history; but it may be worth stating that early in the present century, at the foot of the hill, lived Mr. Benjamin Rotch, some time M.P. for Knaresborough. Though a magistrate for Middlesex and Chairman of the

to the Lord Mayor of London, Alderman Winchester; but the latter retaliated by a criminal

THE chief interest of Harrow in the present day is centred in its school, which, in spite of the absence of a regular collegiate foundation, stands second

only to Eton among those nurseries of great and distinguished men-the "public schools" of the kingdom. Though resembling it in its aristocratic

connection, and in some of its other features, Harrow differs radically and distinctly from Eton. It never was an ecclesiastical foundation, nor even an adjunct to one. At Harrow, therefore, there is no venerable Provost or body of Fellows to act as a check upon the head-master.

The founder of Harrow, as shown in the preceding chapter, was a plain yeoman, John Lyon, who lived in the hamlet of Preston, within the bounds of the parish to which he proved himself so great a benefactor. Even in his middle life he set apart "twenty marks" yearly for the instruction of poor children; and in the thirteenth year of Elizabeth's reign (1571) he obtained letters patent and a charter from the queen, empowering him to found a "Free Grammar School" at Harrow, and to draw up statutes for its regulation and govern

ment.

It was nearly twenty years after the issue of the above-mentioned charter, and only two years before. his death, which took place in October, 1592, that John Lyon drew up and promulgated the document, entitled his "Orders, Statutes, and Rules for the Government of the School," containing full instructions for the disposal of the property which he intended to devote to that purpose. The sum of £300 was to be expended on the building of a school, with houses for the master and usher, who were to be elected by the governors: the former "to be on no account below the degree of Master of Arts," nor the latter "under that of Bachelor of Arts."

The founder expressly particularises the estates with which, after the death of himself and his wife, Johan, he intends to endow his establishment. At this period a house for the reception of the scholars had not been provided, and the founder thus expresses his intentions on that head :-" And I, the said John Lyon, doe purpose, by ye Grace of God, to build wth some pte of my lands lying within the towne of Harrow uppon y Hill meete and convenient Roomes for the said Schoole Master and Usher to inhabite and dwell in; as alsoe a large and convenient Schoole house, with a chimney in it. And, alsoe, a celler under the said Roomes or Schoole house, to lay in wood and coales, which said Celler shall be divided into three several Roomes, ye one for ye M, the second for the Usher, and ye third for ye schollers."

The property left by John Lyon for the support of his school, and for the repairing of the road between London and Harrow, consists of lands which now bring in, it is said, an income of £4,000 a year; but it so happens that the lands in Marylebone and Paddington, which now are by far the

most valuable, were assigned to the latter of these two purposes, so that the school, though it seems to have been the principal object of Lyon's charity, reaps comparatively but little benefit therefrom.

The founder directs that a competent number of scholars, children of "inhabitants within the parish," shall be educated freely; but he allows the schoolmaster to "receive over and above. so many foreigners' as that the whole number may be well taught, and as the place can conveniently contain, at the judgment and discretion of the governors. And of the 'foreigners' he may take such stipends and wages as he can get, except they be of the kindred of John Lyon, the founder, so that he take pains with all indifferently, as well of the parish as 'foreigners,' as well of poor as of rich; but the discretion of the governors shall be looked to that he do."

No boy can be admitted into the school without passing an entrance examination, sufficient to show that he has mastered the chief difficulties of his Latin Grammar, and has made some progress in his Greek Grammar, and also in Arithmetic. No boy can be admitted after completing his fifteenth year, or in any case without a certificate of good conduct from his master or tutor; nor can he remain in the school (without special permission) after sixteen, unless he has reached the Shell at least; after seventeen, unless he has reached the "Upper Remove;" or after eighteen, unless he is in the Sixth Form.

Every boy at Harrow, however high or low, be he a boarder or a day-boy (home-boarder), is expected to have a private tutor; and some portion of the work taken up by the lower boys to the school must be previously gone over by him with his tutor in "Pupil-room." In this respect, the system of Harrow agrees in principle with Eton, though in the practice of the two schools there are many points of difference, which we have not space to explain here.

The school is under the control of a governing body, and is subject to the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of London as Visitors.

The school consists of fifteen "monitors;" a Sixth Form, divided into two "Removes ;" a Fifth Form, divided into four "Removes : "the Remove," in two "divisions;" the "Upper Shell," in two "divisions;" followed by a third and a fourth "Remove" of the same; a Fourth Form in three "Removes ;" and, lastly, a Third Form, which contains only a few boys. The Second and First Forms no longer exist.

The numbers of the school, which in the last

century rarely rose above 100, have fluctuated during the present century from 300, under the late Dr. G. Butler and Dr. Longley, to between 70 and 80 under Dr. Wordsworth. Under Dr. Vaughan the numbers steadily rose to between 480 and 500; and under his successor, the present Dr. H. Montagu Butler, they have reached 580, which the Governors have now fixed as the limit beyond which it is not desirable that the school should increase.

Every boy at Harrow is obliged to learn French, as part of the system; but after reaching a certain place in the school he learns either French or German. Of late years much greater prominence has been given to the teaching of modern languages than was the case in former times.

The cost for school-fees, board, and tuition, at Harrow, is about £135 in the larger houses, and in the smaller houses £180 a year. This represents the total of necessary expenses, exclusive of "extras" and tradesmen's accounts.

At Harrow there are plenty of motives for exertion, in the shape of prizes and scholarships, which are awarded by public competition. First and foremost stand the "Lyon," or entrance scholarships" (six or seven in number), of an annual value of from £30 to £80, besides which there are annually given eleven other scholarships, called, after their founders, the Sayer, Spencer, Neeld, Gregory, Botfield, Leaf, Anderson, Baring, Roundell, Clayton Memorial, and Ponsonby, varying from £30 to £100 a year. There are also annual prizes of books, and of gold and silver medals, founded by Mr. A. Beresford-Hope, by the late Sir R. Peel, Isabella Gregory, the late Mr. Beriah Botfield, Lord Charles Russell, Viscount Ebrington, Mr. Oxenham, and Mr. Cyril Flower, for compositions in English, Latin, and Greek prose and verse, modern languages, &c.; and the successful compositions are publicly recited on Speech Day," the first Thursday in July. The late Mr. Joseph Neeld also founded an annual prize for mathematics-a gold medal, of the value of ten guineas; the head master gives prizes for natural science and for English and Latin composition. There are also annual prizes for the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, Shakespeare, modern history, reading, and English literature.

It is almost needless to add that the monitorial and fagging systems-both, if rightly understood and properly applied, the best guarantees against tyranny and bullying-are in full operation at Harrow.

The school is situated immediately to the south of the church, whilst the houses of the masters are

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scattered about the town. The school buildings form, as it were, the centre of attraction. These are mostly of red brick; they stand between the head-master's house and the churchyard. The most interesting part of these buildings is the "Fourth Form Room;" it is also the largest of all the school-rooms, though small in comparison of the Upper School at Eton. This was the original school-room of Lyon's foundation. It is a small, plain apartment, still containing the original fittings-a canopied master's seat at the further end, a lesser arm-chair and desk for the usher near the centre, and tiers of low benches and backless forms placed on either side of the room. It has an interest peculiar to itself; for on the dingy oak panelling which surrounds it are rudely carved the names and initials of some of the most illustrious sons of Harrow, cut by their own hands when boys: among the number are "Byron," "Robert Peel," "Robinson" (afterwards Earl of Ripon), "Aberdeen," "Temple" (afterwards Lord Palmerston), "Sir William Jones," "R. B. Sheridan," and "Normanby." The names of Harrovians of recent date are carved by a hired and experienced hand, and in a more regular way, so as to prove a record of most who leave the school. The opposite wing of the school buildings contains the old "Speech Room," erected about sixty years ago by subscription, under the auspices of the late Dr. Butler, then head-master, afterwards Dean of Peterborough. It is said to have cost £10,000. In it, as may be inferred from its name, the annual "speeches" were formerly held every summer. It was furnished with seats capable of accommodating about 500, and on “Speech Day" it was filled with all the rank and beauty of the land, even royalty itself not unfrequently being present. The room is now used for the purposes of school examinations. In stained glass in the windows are the armorial bearings of Queen Elizabeth and George III., and of sundry governors, head-masters, and benefactors. The "Fourth Form Room" is used for school prayers for some of the scholars, and on wet holidays and half-holidays instead of the school-yard, for calling over the "bill" of names, as the roll-call, or "absence" of Eton, is here termed.

In 1871, at a meeting of "Old Harrovians," it was decided to celebrate the tercentenary of the foundation of the school by the erection of a new "speech-room" and other buildings connected with different branches of education, including school-rooms, a museum, laboratory, gymnasium, lecture-rooms, &c. In order to carry out these various objects, a subscription was immediately set

in 1874-5 further additions were made in the shape of a gymnasium, and laboratories, and Natural Science schools. All these new buildings have been erected out of the Lyon Memorial Fund of 1871.

The boys of Harrow School attended Divine service in the parish church down to about the year 1840, when, under the head-mastership of Dr. Wordsworth, a chapel was built for them at the north end of the High Street, which they attended for afternoon services. It was a brick building, erected in a style to harmonise with the other portions of the school, from the designs of Mr. C. R. Cockerell, R.A. In 1854 that chapel was pulled down, and a new and larger chapel built on its site. The new school chapel was designed by Sir G. Gilbert Scott, and built under Dr. Vaughan's head-mastership. It is a handsome Gothic structure, consisting of nave, chancel, and side aisles, one of which was erected in memory of the Harrovians who fell in the Crimean war. A few yards beyond the chapel is the Vaughan Library, erected in 1860 in memory of Dr. Vaughan, who was head-master from 1845 to that date. It was built from the designs of Sir Gilbert Scott, and is in the Decorated Gothic style. It is a large and spacious room, and contains not only a good and serviceable library for the use of the boys in the Upper School, together with cabinets of minerals, coins, bronzes, and china, but also some interesting relics of Harrow in the olden days, and a series of portraits of the head-masters from Thackeray downwards, and of sundry illustrious old Harrovians, among whom Lord Palmerston, the Marquis of Dalhousie, Lord Herbert, Lord Byron, and the late Earls of Aberdeen and Ripon, stand conspicuous.

Almost adjoining to the library is the house of the head-master; it is a plain substantial edifice of red brick, with mullioned windows, and, including a wing recently erected, can contain about sixty boys.

In 1864 a sanatorium, which bears the reputation of being well arranged and organised, was

There is a covered and other racket-courts just below the school buildings, on the slope of the hill, leading down towards the cricket-field. This is far inferior in beauty to the exquisite "playing fields" of Eton; but the Harrow boys have frequently shown at Lord's that they can produce far better "elevens" than their great rivals. The game of the winter months is football. Not only in cricket and football do the Harrow boys bear away the palm, but also in rifle practice they may be said to hold their ground among the public schools, having carried off the Ashburton Challenge Shield no less than nine times.

By his will John Lyon settled the salaries of the masters, and specified the numbers of the "forms" in the school; their books and their exercises; their school hours, recreations, and vacations; and he recognised as lawful and appropriate games "driving a top," "tossing a hand-ball," and "running and shooting." The latter diversion was even insisted on: for the parents were required to furnish their children with "bow-strings, shafts, and bracers, to exercise shooting."

With such solicitude for the well-being of the scholars, not only during the school hours, but also in play-time, it is not to be wondered that the name of the founder of the school is held in high veneration by Harrovians. As it is written in "The Carthusian

“A Harrow man vows that there's οὐδὲν βέλτιον To be met with on earth than his founder, John Lyon." The following lines on "Lyon of Preston, Founder," were sung at the Tercentenary Festival of Harrow in 1871:

Lyon, of Preston, yeoman John,

Full many a year ago,
Built, on the hill that I live on

A school that you all may know;
Into the form, first day, 'tis said,

Two boys came for to see:
One with a red ribbon, red, red, red,
And one with a blue-like me!
"Lyon, of Preston, yeoman John,
Lessons he bade them do;
Homer, and multiplica-ti-on,

And spelling, and Cicero ;
'Red Ribbon' never his letters knew,

Stuck at the five times three;
But Blue Ribbon learnt the table through,
And said it all off-like me!