Description
Through the Fray
CHAPTER I: A FISHING EXPEDITION
It has just struck one, and the boys are streaming out from the
schoolroom of Mr. Hathorn’s academy in the little town of Marsden in
Yorkshire. Their appearance would create some astonishment in the minds
of lads of the present generation, for it was the year 1807, and their
attire differed somewhat materially from that now worn. They were for
the most part dressed in breeches tight at the knee, and buttoning up
outside the close fitting jacket nearly under the arms, so that
they seemed almost devoid of waist. At the present moment they were
bareheaded; but when they went beyond the precincts of the school they
wore stiff caps, flat and very large at the top, and with far projecting
peaks.
They were not altogether a happy looking set of boys, and many of their
cheeks were stained with tears and begrimed with dirt from the knuckles
which had been used to wipe them away; for there was in the year 1807
but one known method of instilling instruction into the youthful mind,
namely, the cane, and one of the chief qualifications of a schoolmaster
was to be able to hit hard and sharp.
Mr. Hathorn, judged by this standard, stood very high in his profession;
his cane seemed to whiz through the air, so rapidly and strongly did
it descend, and he had the knack of finding out tender places, and of
hitting them unerringly.
Product ID: 9781776786534
Sku: 9781776786534
