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CHAPTER X
ETON AGAIN, AND HOLIDAYS, 1882-1890
AT Eton in May 1882 I began wrestling With the bottom'
division but one of the Lower School, Chignell being
permanently at the very bottom.
Joynes, father of "Red " Joynes, was Lower Master,
and in his own person the source of many stories. It was
the custom for the IVth Form masters to dine with their
titular chief at the beginning of each half, nominally to
talk business. On the very first occasion I reminded him·
of a ludicrous episode in 1871 in Division m, when with
characteristic lash of the tongue he made a youth lookand
feel-a very decided fool. Joynes's teaching by that
time was losing its freshness, and occasionally might be
called childish for boys of seventeen. Among these was
a conceited little person in jackets named Combe--and
one day, just as •• old " Joynes was informing us that
CJ£Sar was too big a man for Pompey, Combe, whose
interest in Roman history was languid, began to giggle;
so suddenly: "Go into· the corner, Combe "-always
with a prolongation of the monosyllable. "That's right;
turn round to the wall now 1!-Ild look foolish. Ha.l ha 1".
(an indescribable mirthless laugh), then, moralizing on the
situation to us, "You know, boys, there are some boys
whom I should not dare to treat like that. If I told
' .
some fine, high-spirited fellow to go into the corner, he
would say, • Joynes I Joynes I who's Joynes?' and go out
of the room in a rage. Bui," pointing with his thumb,
" when it's only a little boy like Combe, ha I hal ha I "'
So in 1882 when I told the old gentleman the story,
he pretended to ·object. "Now, Lyttelton, you really
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