An Autobiography of an Ancient Athlete & Antiquarian

18 AUTOBIOGRAPHY I left school on the 19th December, r857, being then aged 14 years and two months, having importuned my father to take me away at that early age on account of the great and unfair severity, not to say brutality, of the Head Master. During this year (1858) I was at my father's office at 16, Golden Square, Westminster, 1 my chief amusement being entomology. We used to walk up every morning along Sloane Street, in the gardens of which I continually found Z. A eschuli, the Leopard moth, emerging from lilac trees just as I did 50 years later, and across the Green Park, where I used to find S. Salic-is then, and after the same 50 years' interval. I can just remember Rosamond's Pond, and well remember the long reservoir along Piccadilly. About this time my father took me, but on what date I can't remember, to Salisbury and Stonehenge, to Cam– bridge and Ely, and also to Sandwich, Canterbury, and Richborough, showing me antiquities. We usually went to Herne Bay for our regular holidays. About this time he took me to Lynn, and we stayed at Paradise House with Dr. J. V. Hawkins. This was my first visit to Norfolk. The house was afterwards bought by E. M. Beloe, the antiquary, and my third son, F. G. Rye, married his daughter from it, a very curious coincidence. In r858 he gave me books, e.g., Smith's ''Action at Law," White's " History of Selborne,'' '' The Vicar of 1 I was hardly more comfortable there than I was at school, for both my brothers and I had to rough it extremely. If we wanted fires in the office we had to fetch the coals from a coal-house in the back yard and make and light them ourselves, no pleasant job after coming in wet through from the three miles walk from Chelsea, and our only washing accommodation was a tin bowl in the back to be filled by ourselves. There was only one clerk besides ourselves, and the business was so intermittent that we often left for an hour or so. Our pocket-money was minute, but our leisure was ample. My brother, who was a clever draughtsman, increased his by making sketches for various papers (iucluding "Fastolf," a long extinct comic paper) and publishers, but having no talent that way I persuaded my father to pay us instead of pocket-money certain fixed payment for actual work done. In this I rather got the better of him, for eventually our weekly bills came to double our pocket. money, but though he grumbled he honourably kept to the arrangement.