I was born at No - The MAN & Other Families

10On our return from holidays at Innellan we took up our abode at No. 7 Tornville Terracewhich was also a very nice three storied house and formed one side of a square lookingout on an open field in which Aggie and I used to play cricket and other games with localchildren. This field was later railed in and converted into a garden in which we played.Wilfred was born here.At this time I was sent at the age of nine to the Glasgow Academy in Elmbank Street. Itwas a huge school numbering about seven hundred, mostly of a very rough type. TheRector was Dr. Morrison, one of whose sons, Jimmy, I knew very well in Rangoon yearslater. I was not at all happy at this school, but learned there to play Rugby football.To outward appearances we had not showed very many signs of straitened circumstancessince the "Crash". We still lived in good comfortable houses and had the usual staff ofservants, etc. but inwardly we had to practice the strictest economy. For instance myclothes were mostly "made-downs" from Frank and Stewart Taylor. One pantomime andone visit to the Circus annually were the limit of our outside entertainment. Our mealswere very frugal. For breakfast, porridge and milk (no sugar) and salt, and one roll andbutter. We took our lunch consisting of one roll and butter to school with us and hadnothing else until evening dinner, about six o'clock I think.School was about two or more miles away and I walked there and back every day. Wehad one penny a week pocket money, most of which went for Christmas presents. Iremember about this time there was a great famine in China and subscriptions for reliefwere being raised all over England and Scotland. As we couldn't afford a subscription mymother suggested a meatless week, to which we agreed and so were able to save enoughfor a small subscription.It was about this time that the famous evangelists, Moody and Sankey 5 came to Glasgowwhere they made a great impression and hundreds of conversions. We used to attendmany of their meetings, which were always crowded. Moody's preaching and Sankey'ssinging made a great impression on me which I have never forgotten. Moody was not byany means an excitable, ranting preacher. He was very quiet, but forceful and convincing.After they left a band of their most faithful followers used to hold revival meetings whichwere largely attended. Once a week in the evening there was such a meeting for boysonly, which I attended and also remained for the "enquiry" meeting which took placeafterwards. No preacher whom I have heard during my long life can compare withMoody.This was also the time of the Franco-Prussian War and we had hanging up in the nurserytwo large sheets, one with the photos of the French and one of the Prussian Generals. Ifavored the French and Aggie the Prussians. The French Generals whom I rememberwere:-Louis Napoleon CanrobertLe BoeufDucrot