I was born at No - The MAN & Other Families

4strap divided into thongs) with which she chastised the three elder children. I was adelicate child and don't remember having been "tawsed" though I think I was sometimesthreatened.We had also an under-nurse called Telfer. She was a niece of Janet's and I rememberseeing Janet "tawsing" her also. I have also a recollection of Telfer eating my crusts whenI left them on my plate.We had a day nursery and a night nursery. The day nursery looked out on the GreatWestern Road and fields beyond where there are now buildings, while the night nursery,where we children slept in our separate cribs, looked out on to a very dismal back yardwhere numerous cats disported themselves at night and if the windows were open thesmell of cats was very apparent. Altogether it was a very depressing house. The diningsittingroom was furnished with black horsehair furniture. There was a large oldfashioned sideboard with two enormous ebony figures at each end.In the drawing-room, which was seldom used, I distinctly remember a bunch of waxflowers under a glass cover, as was the fashion in those days.In the bed-room which Aunt Galloway and Cousin Anna shared was a huge four-posterbed with heavy red curtains which were drawn at night.The servants lived downstairs in the "area", which I suppose we would now call"basement". There also were the coal cellar, kitchen, etc.We children were never allowed to go downstairs and never wished to because when wewere naughty we were told a black man lived down there and if we were not good wewould be taken down to him. This Aggie and I firmly believed and the threat always hadthe desired effect. We were always in terror of this punishment.Glasgow to me has always been a very depressing city both as a child and young man.For one thing it used to be surrounded with chemical and engineering works with hugechimneys, which emitted volumes of smoke, so that we seldom saw the blue sky. It alsoreceived a very full share of any rain that was going around.My recollections go back to the time when I must have been about four, consequentlyFrank must have been about eleven, Mary ten and Aggie six. As I have mentioned I was adelicate child and had my breakfast usually in bed.Frank went to a school called the Western Academy in St. Genge's Road. The rest of ushad a governess called Miss Gillies, a nice but strict woman. As far as I can remember,my share in the education consisted in making strokes in pencil on paper. Janet or Telferused to take us for walks every day when the weather was fine, but I cannot remembermeeting or playing with any other children.