You see, dear reader, how difficult it is to refrain from talking "shop," when one has been a school-master.
XVI.
Public School Scholarships and Exhibitions. — Grateful Parents. — Inquiring Mothers. — A Dear little Candidate. — Ladies' Testimonials. — A Science Master well Recommended.
It seems strange that in a democratic country, overburdened with school-rates, free education should be offered in the public schools to the children of the well-to-do and even wealthy people. To give opportunities to those who have clever children and cannot afford to pay for their education, such was the spirit which dictated the foundation of scholarships and exhibitions in the public schools, which schools are under the supervision of the Charity Commissioners.
The Charity Commissioners! The organizers of that well-ordered British charity which begins at home!
But all this again does not concern me. If it did, I should say to gentlemen enjoying revenues of £700, £800, and £1,000 a year: "My dear sirs, you can afford to pay school fees for your children; please to leave these scholarships to your less fortunate countrymen."
My diary contains a few recollections about foundation scholars and their parents which suggested the foregoing remarks to me. Pardon me for having given them a place here.