Again, one has to make the monotonous statement, there are to-day no sons of poor, middle or working-class parents at St. Paul's School, West Kensington. The holders of the present foundation scholarships, since 1879 awarded by competitive examination, are the sons of rich and well-to-do folk of the upper, "upper-middle," and middle classes. "Almost all of them are sons of professional men, lawyers, clergymen and military men.”*

* 1864, Report, 1, 51, 87; and Evidence, No. 4131, vol. iv., same Report. (Clarendon Commission.)

CHAPTER XIV

MERCHANT TAYLORS'

TAYLORS AND Linen Armourers-Manor of the RosE-FOUNDATION OF A FREE GRAMMAR SCHOOL-SIR THOMAS White-Censure of RICHARD MULCASTER, SCHOOLMASTER-FRICTION-" Well spoken of BEYOND THE SEAS '-" FOR POOR MEN'S Children "-A COMPLAINT AND A PROBATION-WILLIAM DUGARD AND HIS INSCRIPTIONS— CATCHING POSTERITY'S EYE-QUINTESSENTIAL AUTOCRACY-THE COMMISSIONErs' Reproof-A FEE SCHOOL AND NOT A FREE SCHOOLCUSTOMARY NEPOTISM NUMEROUS UNIVERSITY EXHIBITIONS BROUGHAM'S WHITEWASHERS-ALUMNI-CHARLES II. IN THE ROLE OF A MORAL PRECEPTOR-A QUIBBLE-EXTRACTS FROM OFFICIAL REGULATIONS.

THIS London grammar school owes its origin to the ancient "Company of the Marchaunt Taylors," a guild which, under the name of " Taylors and Linen Armourers," dates back antecedently to the thirteenth century.

Modelled upon the foundation of Dean Colet, at St. Paul's, thence originally a free grammar school, Merchant Taylors' School was intended "for the better education and bringing up of children in good manners and literature," and about 1561 a leading member of the guild, one Richard Hills, offered for that purpose £500 (equivalent to £75,000 at the present time) towards the purchase of the "Manor of the Rose," in the parish of St. Lawrence Poulteney. The "Rose" was a splendidly built and spacious mansion, originally erected by Sir John Poulteney, five times Lord Mayor of London, in the reign of Edward III. It had had a somewhat tragic history in connection with the fortunes of various aristocratic families which had either willingly or unwillingly fallen foul of the King. Finally, it had passed to the Sussex family, from whom, in 1561, the Company purchased about half of the palace, which moiety they devoted to

the purposes of the school. The other half their successors purchased about 1860, at a cost of £20,000, for which they obtained the site and garden.

In a few months after taking possession of the first half of the property purchased on September 24th, 1561, the master, wardens, and assistants, in the name of the whole Company, met and agreed upon the statutes for the regulation of the school, which were a duplication of Colet's ordinances. The high-master of the school was to be assisted by a chief usher, and by two subordinate ushers, who were to be chosen by him with the approval of the master and wardens of the Company. The number of scholars was to be limited to 250, and, as in the case of St. Paul's," they were to be of all nations and countries indifferently." The school was a day school only, there being no boarders or boarding-houses attached, and once in every year the master, warden and assistants, with the aid of such learned men as they could procure, were to examine and try whether the master and ushers had done their duties in the school, and, at the same time, ascertain how the children had profited under them.

In 1566 Merchant Taylors' School sprang to the forefront of English schools; for in that year Sir Thomas White, a member of the Company and co-founder of the school, came forward and munificently appropriated forty-three fellowships at St. John's College, Oxford (he had recently founded that college), for the poor scholars of the school.

A bait was thus held out to attract pupils to the school, and, consequently, increasing in popularity, the stipulated number of pupils was soon completed. Parents were eager to enter their children on such a lucrative foundation, and Mulcaster, the first master, was tempted to open rooms in his own house for the reception of students beyond the statutable number, for which temptation and infringement he incurred the censure of the Company. He was compelled to dismiss all boys for whom vacancies did not occur on a given day. White had ordained that on St.

Barnabas' Day every year, an election out of Merchant Taylors' scholars, to fill the vacant fellowships at St. John's College, should be made by the president and fellows of St. John's, jointly with the warden and the Company's officials, and for many years this ordinance was a source of friction between the Company and the college, the latter of which allowed three years to elapse before taking notice of the injunction. Finally, they (the Company) obtained the intervention of the Master of the Rolls as one of the visitors of the school on behalf of the college; and in June, 1572, on the result of an examination in classics and Hebrew, the Dean of St. Paul's, the Archdeacon of Middlesex, the Bishop of Winchester, and the aforesaid Master of the Rolls chose four scholars "meteste as well for learninge, personage, poverty, and years to be presentlye preferred to college."

In November, 1606, the Company, "perceaving that tyme and experience hath founde that it were fytte to make some addicion or enlargement of the orders of the Companie's schooles, and knowing that nothing can contynue without order and government," appointed a committee to peruse the statutes and to prepare such additional regulations as might be thought necessary. In a preamble to the future arrangements of the school, the committee lay special emphasis on the fact that "the Marchaunt-tailors' School in London was founded at the Companie's charge nowe fforty-fyve yeres past, and by them mainteyned . . . to their contynuoll burden and cost, and being scituat neere the middest of this honorable and renowned citty (the eye of this kingdom), is famous throughout all England, and also in some remote places beyond the seas well spoken of, and that for these three consideracons, viz. :—

"ffirst, for number of schollers, it is the greatest schoole included under one roofe.

"Secondly, the schollers are taught iointly by one mr. and three ushers.