Once more then, Chiltern is not a real school and its masters are not real masters. But, though not real, they are not impossible—at least, so the author believes. For men, like boys, are unconsciously moulded by their environment and tend to conform to types; and, given a school like Chiltern, there would probably be masters like the Chiltern masters.
G. F. B.
June, 1913.
CONTENTS
| CHAPTER | PAGE | |
| I. | The Election | [ 1] |
| II. | Mr. Flaggon Pays a Visit | [ 14] |
| III. | Exit Dr. Gussy | [ 29] |
| IV. | The First Skirmish | [ 43] |
| V. | Mr. Tipham | [ 56] |
| VI. | The Cloven Hoof | [ 69] |
| VII. | The Affair of Le Willow | [ 79] |
| VIII. | The Parents’ Committee | [ 92] |
| IX. | “God’s in His Heaven” | [ 103] |
| X. | The Lanchester Letters | [ 114] |
| XI. | Mr. Chowdler Wins a Battle and Meets with a Rebuff | [ 126] |
| XII. | The Explosion | [ 139] |
| XIII. | In Dark Places | [ 151] |
| XIV. | The Day of Decision | [ 164] |
| XV. | Aftermath | [ 176] |
THE
LANCHESTER TRADITION
CHAPTER I
THE ELECTION
Chiltern School lies just outside the sleepy little town of the same name. Its motto is “Providendo nec timendo,” and its colours—a happy combination of cerise, orange, and green—are a familiar sight in all parts of the Empire. But the school itself, though second to none in the opinion of Chilternians, who should be the best judges, is not seen so often by the general public as its colours, because it can only be reached by a branch line and the time-table is a difficulty. It owes its inaccessibility to the foresight of its governors who, at the time when railways were invented, succeeded in keeping the main line at a distance; so when the present chairman comes down for Speech-day he generally travels in a motor-car.
Its stone walls are grey with age or green with creepers. Later generations have relieved the monotony by adding blocks of buildings in variegated brick, and nowhere can the genius of Sir George Honeymead, the famous mid-Victorian architect, be studied to greater advantage. But of recent years taste has swung back in favour of uniformity, and whenever a famous Old Chilternian dies—and there are many famous Old Chilternians—an attempt is made to perpetuate his memory by converting the brick into stone. The sick-house, the gymnasium, the workshops, and the lodge have already been transformed; and it is generally understood that, when a certain aged statesman is taken to his rest, the Great Hall will undergo a similar change—unless, indeed, a new chemical laboratory is considered to have prior claims.
The school owes its existence to the generosity of one John Buss, a local farrier, who migrated to London in the early years of the seventeenth century, prospered in his business, and bequeathed a school and a hospital to his native place. Antiquarians have been at pains to prove that what John Buss really did was to endow an ancient but struggling institution that had existed on the same site ever since Benedictine days, and that the history of Chiltern stretches back into the dark ages before even William of Wykeham was born. But the long gap between the suppression of the monasteries and the seventeenth century is hard to bridge satisfactorily, and John Buss is still regarded, officially, as the creator of the famous school. The property which he bequeathed in East London has of late years greatly deteriorated in value, and, when the prior claims of the hospital have been met, the school only nets £92 3s. 11d. per annum out of the endowments. The Liberal papers, however, have not yet discovered this fact, and, when politics are dull, they demand that the revenues of Chiltern shall be restored to the nation and a University for working men built and endowed with the same. This contention helps to keep the memory of John Buss green outside the walls of Chiltern, and there are some who see in him a pioneer of Democracy and a prophet of the University Extension movement. Be that as it may, Chiltern at the present moment is rich because rich men are content to pay large fees in order that their sons may have the privilege of being educated, exclusively, with the sons of other rich men. The junior masters are of opinion that these large fees should be made still larger, and the salaries of the junior masters raised in proportion; but the senior masters scout this proposal as mercenary. The senior masters at Chiltern are popularly supposed to be better paid than the senior masters at any other school. Whether this is so or not, it is impossible to say for certain; for the senior masters at Chiltern only talk of their salaries to the surveyor of taxes, and, even then, they do so reluctantly.