The home of my childhood was at Barnsbey Park, Islington N. We were about 3/4 mile from my father’s church, the Parish church of St Mary’s on the Upper Street. I remember when a boy hearing that the population of Islington was about 150,000: but it has greatly increased since then. There was a low brick wall surmounted by iron railings and a high iron gate. In front of our house – enclosing a small plot of flower garden just the width of the house. From the gate to the hall door steps was paved, with a covered hole for coal about 1/2 way. There were about 6 white stone steps up to the hall door with kitchen areas enclosed by railings on either side. A private hedge on the left separated the little garden from the tradesmen’s passage way.

There was a green gate for the tradesmen, a small paved court and a door leading to the head of the kitchen stairs. Standing at the entrance gate facing the house on the left was the large high entrance gate facing the house. On the left was the large high library window, then the dining room window, the hall door in the middle, and to the right of it the morning room window and the tradesman’s court hidden by a wall. On the upper story over the library was Louisa and Chenda’s room, then Smif’s room then 2 windows, Edward and Arthur’s room (the old nursery), and to the extreme right over the kitchen entrance and laying further back, the spare room and my father’s dressing room. There was a bell at the gate, and another one on the right hand side at the top of the steps and a slit for letter in the centre of the door. Entering the house, there was first a stone floored porch with a doormat, then, up a step to the hall floored with oilcloth. On the left hand, against the wall, the hall table, just past it on the left the door into the dining room, opposite the hall door was the door into the drawing room. On the right side, opposite the hall table, was first the door into the morning room, then the stairway leading upstairs and then a passage and 2 or 3 steps leading past the back drawing room door, down to the schoolroom. At the end of this passage, down the 2 or 3 steps, the schoolroom door was on the left hand, a little tool closet at the end and on the right hand a red swing beige door lead to the head of the kitchen stairs.

On the right of this passage, down the steps to the schoolroom, were pegs for great coats and hats, and on the opposite side, in the niche of the back drawing room door (which was seldom opened) was the umbrella stand.

To return now to the dining room, it was a fair sized room, with one window, the large dining room extension table occupies the centre. Entering the room and facing toward the window, the sideboard set into a niche in the wall, with a cupboard on either side, was at your back, the fireplace in the middle of the wall on your right, a row of about 10 black horsehair bottomed chairs against the wall on your left, an armchair under the window in front, 3 or 4 more chairs between the fireplace and the far corner on the right and close on your right hand, the door into the library.

The sideboard was mahogany, of the old fashioned shape, consisting of 2 narrow cupboards, one for wine, the other for eatable, one on either side, with a recess for the deep tin lined basket for plates between them, the upper part like a table with two drawers in which napkins etc were kept. On the top of the sideboard was a stone jug and 2 tumblers for water on a tray. The butler’s strand and tray stood between the library door and the fireplace. Over the fireplace was an oil painting of my great grandfather. In the cupboard nearest the hall were medicines and jams, in the other one near the library were sugar basins, tea caddy etc.

Opening the library door you passed down a winding staircase of 8 or 10 steps to the library. The library was a large room, the whole width of the house with a very large window at each end. That at the street end had a cupboard under it for books and papers but the window at the garden end, which was much the largest, was down to the floor and when the lower sash was put full up there was room for any one to walk out without bending. The room was 16 feet high and was almost entirely surrounded with bookshelves extending from the floor to the ceiling. There were 7000 volumes.

Coming to the foot of the stairs, exactly opposite to you was the fireplace, with a large oil painting of my grandfather, the  Br? Of Calcutta, over it. On the left of the fireplace was a little brass knot or hook which, when pulled up sharply and let go, rang a bell in the kitchen and was the summons to the servants for family prayers. By this bell close to the fire was my mother’s armchair, rosewood with chintz seat, in which she sat at prayer time. Then came my father’s large desk, with drawers on either side and space for his knees in the centre and his big leather covered armchair in which he sat for prayers.

At the end of the desk toward the street window was a whatnot with a large model of St Mary’s Church under a square glass case standing on it and beside this was the wastepaper basket. There were cane-bottomed chairs under the window, and short cane bottomed forms along the straight walls. These forms had smaller forms of the same make exactly fitting under them so that whenever a large meeting was to be held, the smaller ones could be taken out and the seating accommodation doubled. Miss Joarett, our governess in 1852 and we children sat for the most part opposite father at prayers on the forms and chairs just under the stairway and from there to the street window. The servants, 7 in number, cook, nurse, 2 housemaids, scullery maid, footman, coachman – sat on the forms between the foot of the staircase and the big garden window. On the right side of the fireplace was the coalscuttle, then a black horsehair sofa – then a large life sized bust of my grandfather on a high red marble pedestal and then a chair or two.

At the garden end of the room were two doors, one on each side of the big window, one led into a receptacle for sermons, shoes etc and a lavatory; the other was a cupboard for ink and then, in the centre of the room at the garden end of the room was a round table with books etc on it, and back to this table, facing the street window was another leather covered armchair. In this, my brother Wilburforce used to sit for prayers, when at home, and Lucy, with either one of the children or any visitor who might be present, sat on the sofa. In the library, which had been added to the house by my grandfather, large clerical meetings and juvenile missionary meetings used to be held. Mr. Bilby, the clerk, exhibiting his magic lantern, and at one time we entertained the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs at a banquet in this room. Col. Wilson, a cousin of ours, was Lord Mayor that year, and I think the occasion was the opening of the new Cattle Market. They all came in state in their grand equipages: & I remember, among the dishes, was a pheasant pie in the body of a real pheasant with all it’s plumage on – sitting on the dish.

My father kept his big family bible in one of the shelves just behind his big arm chair; & there was Rees’ Encyclopedia, about 30 large leather covered volumes, in the same shelf. On my fathers’ right hand, when sitting at his desk was a large old fashioned brass ink stand with two glass bottles and a brass drawer underneath for stamps. On his left hand, the top drawer was his money drawer with bags of gold & silver in it, & the drawer just under that was for waste paper. To return now to the Hall. Between the stone floored porch & the oil cloth covered hall was a swing red beige door which was propped open with an iron weight in the day time, & always swung to at night. In the centre of the hall ceiling was a single gas lamp enclosed in a glass globe. Under the hall table was the dinner bell, & there were two dark wooden hall chairs.

And now to enter the drawing room. It ran lengthways with the length of the house - & had 3 large windows looking out on the garden at the back. The end wall to the left on entering was against the library, & the end wall to the right was against the schoolroom; in other words, the library was the whole width of the house at it’s W. end & the schoolroom with head of kitchen stairway, made the width of the house at the E end; and the drawing room filled the space between the library & the schoolroom on the back or garden side of the house, the dining room, hall, & morning room being on the front of street side. On entering the drawing room (the doors were all grained and varnished on the hall side & painted whitish tint inside the rooms), opposite you, looking out on the lawn & garden were the three windows – two of them belonging to the drawing room proper & one to the back drawing room, the two rooms being connected by folding doors, which were kept almost constantly open. Between the 2 windows opposite to you was an upright cottage piano, over which was the picture of Lucy Edward & Arthur (now in my possession at Salt Spring Island).

To the right of the piano - & under the central window, was a round mahogany table, without a cloth, & covered with books, ornaments &.. In the corner between this window & the folding doors was my mothers’ dark rosewood davenport, in which she kept her letters & treasures. Just in the opening of the folding doors was a chintz covered ottoman in which wools etc were kept - & back of it a long mahogany table with 2 drawers in it & inkstand, blotting book, books etc on it. – Behind this table in the centre of the end wall near the back drawing room fireplace, with the picture of Daniel & Kate over it – the mantelpiece was of white marble. On either side of the fire were dark rose wood bookcases. In the one on the right hand – were 6 immense volumes almost too heavy even for a big child to carry; they were an illustrated edition of the Bible containing beautiful prints. These 6 volumes stood upright toward the right. Between them & the fireplace were several low shelves containing children’s books - a splendid big book of animals, which lay flat on the bottom shelf, & on it a very favorite old picture book. Up on the very top shelf of this bookcase were some little old fashioned children’s story books, little churlk?sp. books: Among them were “Frank & his dog Trusty” & “Henry & his bearer”. The chairs both in the back & front drawing room were rosewood with chintz covered boltons sp?. We used sometimes to act charades in the back drawing room; the door leading out to the steps down to the schoolroom made it convenient for dressing. There were 2 gas chandeliers with 3 lamps each one in the front & one in the back drawing room. These however were a comparatively recent innovation; as I well remember when we used brigs sp? for candles, & the footman wd bring in two tall silver candlesticks with the candles lighted & a big silver pair of snuffers on a silver tray. There were also candlesticks with glass pendants on each mantelpiece. Leaving now to the back drawing room, we are once more at the drawing room door. As we stand, facing inwards, on ojur right is a small whatnot with a small model of St Mary’s Church under a glass case on it. Over this model is a picture of Arthur, about 3 years old, with a toy coal cart, - & corresponding with it, on the other side, over the davenport is a picture of Edward with a spade & Ellen sitting on the ground. To the left as we come in at the door is a very small table with mothers’ large bible on it. Then the Chiffonnier, an old fashioned article, rosewood, a cupboard in center, with red silk paneled door, in which parlor games etc were kept, & on either side narrow shelves for books. On the top of the chiffonnier used to be a number of clay figures of hindoos with palanquin etc sent to us by missionaries in India. After one trip to the continent in 1853, these were done away with, & some antique vases & things from Italy & Switzerland, took their place. A sheet of looking glass at the back of the chiffonnier reflected all these things - & there was a little shelf above on which minor bric a brac found a place.

Over this was an old fashioned picture of Wilberforce about 10 years Old & his 3 sisters Emily, Fanny, & Louisa. Between the chiffonnier & the corner of the room was our mother’s sofa, covered with chintz – Then came the fireplace at the end of the room, with an old fashioned marble clock under a glass case in the centre – glass candlesticks with glass prisms hanging at each end & vases for lighters & Mother’s portrait, in a gilt frame, was over the mantelpiece.  & on either side was a brass spring bell handle connecting with the kitchen. On the other side of the fireplace – opposite the sofa was my father’s armchair – square shape, dark rosewood & covered with chintz. In the centre of the room just under the gas lamp was my mother’s table, A large square one, on a pedestal with feet & castors, & covered with a dark green cloth bordered by herself with a succession of woolwork squares on one of these squared I remember was a yellow canary, on others I think flowers. My mother had her writing case & envelope case on this table & sat on a cane-seated chair with her back to the fireplace. There was an old fashioned silver ink stand in the middle of the table, ink in one bottle, colored wafers in the other & in the middle a place for sealing wax & matches, on the top of which fitted a little silver candlestick. The windows had heavy dark silk curtains. At night, the shutters, which folded back out of sight, were then put up, one across the top & one across the bottom & a spring bell put in its place. Then the curtains were drawn &all was snug & safe for the night. This was done to all windows on the ground floor. The morning room, the door of which was opposite the hall table, used, in my child days, to be called the museum room. There were 2 cupboards in it, one on each side of the fire place, full of idols, clay figures, palm leaves, grass woven baskets & other curiosities sent to my mother by missionaries in India & Africa. The cupboard had a most Indian smell when opened and there was a big stone idol, brought by my brother Daniel from India, in one corner of the room; also 2 high cabinets each with a double set of drawers all filled with shells, stones, minerals, papyrus writing & other curiosities. At a later date – after governess days were over – the piano from the schoolroom was placed in this room – also a cupboard with bookshelves over it. There was a square table, covered with a cloth, in the centre of the room, & several chairs. Daniel & Kate had the use of this room when they were engaged & at a later date E.F.W. and Fanny Spooner had the use of it under similar circumstances.

The schoolroom was rather a long room, with double French windows opening into the garden. On entering the door at the foot of the steps, (just opposite the swing kitchen door) – about the middle of the wall on the left hand was the schoolroom cupboard (afterwards moved into the snoring? room) The cupboard was only about 3 feet high & had 2 doors to it – haas slat work covering crimson on silk. There were 2 bookshelves above it, and inside were 2 shelves on which were kept the slates & books & a cup with a sponge for wiping the slates. (Louisa once mischievously put some cod liver oil in this cup, which made all the slates to greasy for sums). In the far corner was a celestial glove on a pedestal – standing about 3 feet high. Then came the French window looking out on the garden; and in the other corner – or at least between the corner & the fireplace was the piano. The piano was of light coloured wood, - was removed later to the morning room, & finally found it’s way to the first Shipw? Home at Garden River, where it was burnt in 1873. On the other side of the fireplace were chairs, & in the corner a terrestrial globe, the same site as the other one, between that corner & the door were some bookshelves high up & out of reach of the children. The door was quite in the corner of the room, & the spring bell handle just beside it. In the centre of the room was the schoolroom table & there were 3 or 4 old fashioned high backed children’s chairs besides the other ordinary ones. This room was the schoolroom until about 1855. Then when Edward & Arthur began to go to school, it became the workroom. The maids sat there in the afternoon for needlework, & Mifs? Sherring the dressmaker came once a week. (Mwrifs? Sherring in 1879 came to be matron at the Shigwank?, Sault St Marie, but did not stay long).When Aunt Lucy had Wilberforce’s  2 children, Ethel & Ida living with her, the schoolroom was again used for lessons. In 1872 Chief Bechkwingjime? Lived & slept in that room, his bed being the couch, brought from India on which my grandfather died. When Arthur & Charlotte were first married they had this room fitted up for their drawing room. They were there when we went home with Archie, Bertie & Flossie in 1880; but soon after they removed to Hampstead. The little tool closet (already mentioned) at the end of the dark passage, close to the schoolroom door, was our carpenter shop; there Arthur & I manufactured clocks with wooden wheels, & steam engines with squirts for cylinders & bird cage seed glasses for boilers. We also kept white mice & piebald rats in that tool closet. When I was a very little boy I had a squirrel in a barrel case named “Tasso”. Tasso died & was stuffed & placed on the schoolroom mantelpiece. At one time we had a gray parrot that talked: it was kept outside the schoolroom window.

The red beige swing door, opposite the schoolroom door, led to the tradesmen’s’ entrance from the street, & to the right was a steep flight of wooden stairs leading down to the kitchens. At the foot of these stairs was a central hallway, the first door on the left was the scullery with sink, shelves & then came the wine closet & then the kitchen door. These with area windows facing the street. Then, next to the kitchen, on the garden side was the butlers pantry, then the larder, in which all the good things were kept, & then the laundry. At the back of the wine closet was a dark passage connecting the scullery with the kitchen, & off this passage was the coal cellar right under the pavement in the front garden. There was a paved area with iron railings at the back of the house as well as in the front, & some stone steps led up from the laundry into the garden. There was no washing done at home as far back as I can remember, but it is evidently used to be in earlier days as I remember the square painted clothes line posts that used to be at the bottom of the garden. I remember David as a boy digging one up & making me cry by threatening to put me in the hole. In the kitchen was the kitchen range on the side opposite the door - & a cupboard & rack for plates opposite it, a square dual table in the centre where the servants had their meals, & bright tins, pans, & dish covers ranged on the walls.

In the pantry was a cupboard for all the plated things, plated service, knives & forks & - and the footman had a folding bed which folded back into a cupboard in the daytime. The maid servants all slept in the attic upstairs, and the coachman, Wells, & later Steele, lived in his own house with his wife & children on John Street, near to the stable. We had at that time 2 horses. My father’s strawberry roan riding horse, called Strawberry, & a carriage horse & brougham. Both footman & coachman were in livery. Having done with the lower part of the house, we will now go upstairs.

From the Hall, the stairway (with the morning room wall on it’s right, & a dark wood balustrade on the left) led up first to the landing. On this landing, in full view both from the hall & from the bedroom passage above was the old Eight-day clock. You went up one step to where the clock stood, then turning to the left, up another step led to 2 doors, the one in front of you being the spare room, & the one on your right my fathers dressing room. In the dressing room, by the window was a marble washstand with cupboard under and water laid on. This filled up the whole of that end of the room. On the far side was a bureau & looking glass & rack for my fathers boots and shoes. Another door, led into the spare room, but as a rule was kept closed & locked. The spare room was over the schoolroom & about the same size. There was a large double bed with its head against the w. wall. At its foot, in the centre of the opposite was the fireplace. There was one window looking out on the back garden. Beneath the window was the dressing table. Between that corner & the fireplace was an old fashioned wardrobe, with 2 deep drawers at the bottom & hanging closet above.

The wooden double washstand was between the bed & the other corner by the window. On the door side of the room was a stand or table with a large model of the tabernacle in a glass case on it. Just outside the spare room door, opposite the dressing room door, was a shallow cupboard for clothing. Returning now to the cock landing – a few more steps, going in the opposite direction from the first led to the upper landing, off which were all the bedrooms. As I remember this in my baby days – there was first, n the left hand, the servants stairs up to the attic – then the 2 nursery doors, the first kept closed & locked & between these doors a half circle table – the straight part being against the wall & just fitting in between the 2 doors. Next to the 2 nursery doors was Emily’s door, then at corner a door opening into a dark narrow passage that led to Louisa & Ellen’s’ room at the end & to father & mother’s room, the 2 doors being close together. & both these rooms being immediately over the library. Coming back again, next to this passage door, was the cupboard in which were kept the bread, butter & for the nursery meals – then at the corner, opposite Emily’s door, was the night nursery, afterwards Lucy’s room; Then, coming back toward the head of the stairs, first there was Lucy’s room, which later became a maids room, and lastly, just at the head of the stairs, Miss Fawcett’s room, which afterwards became Wilberforce’s room. Off the night nursery, at the back of the bread closet, & occupying the space between the narrow passage & the night nursery, was a large clothing closet in which all the linen & was kept on several bread shelves. I think it was in the year 1850 that we had scarlet fewer in the house, & the doctor said that this narrow passage & dark closet must be done away with. Then one big landing was made on which all the bedrooms opened, bread closet, cupboard & passage being all thrown into one, with sky light & ventilation in the roof & a gas lamp suspended in the centre. And now to take the rooms one by one; the first on the left at the head of the stairs was our day nursery. It had 2 windows – looking out on the front street (Barnsbury Park) The windows had blinds, but no curtains, & there were heavy shutters which drew upwards from a deep socket in the sill by means of side pulleys & weights – so as to cover the window at night – except for a narrow slit of light at the top. Between these 2 windows was a long low cupboard about 3 1/2 feet high & painted white. It had 2 double doors to it, but the shelf inside extended the whole length, & it used to be our delight as children to crawl in at one door and out of the other – sometimes at the bottom sometimes on the shelf & make it a sort of lair or den.

All our toys were kept in this cupboard. When the nursery was given up, this cupboard was removed & the schoolroom at the E end of the nursery in the middle of the wall was the fireplace with a fender & a guard about 3 feet high made of bright steel bars, on which napkins & towels were hung to warm or dry – over the mantelpiece was the oil paint of “Little Ann” – a sister of my grandfather who died young. When we grew to be schoolboys, & the nursery had become the boy’s bedroom we sadly defaced this picture by shooting arrows at it and eventually it had to be removed. On either side of the fireplace was a cupboard let into the wall. In the right hand one was food for the nursery meals & the one on the left was a hanging closet for clothes. There was a square nursery table with a red cloth in the middle of the room. At the other end of the nursery – opposite the fireplace – there was a half circular table in the centre with it’s straight side against the wall (the same kind of table as the one just outside in the passage) – and on either side of the table was a chest of drawers. The old nurse of the family was Nurse Horne. Before her days was old “Nardie”. I don’t know what her real name was. She was before my time, but I fancy I saw her once or twice when she came on a visit. It was old Nurse Horne who attended my entrance into the world, & also that of my younger brother Arthur. I remember old Nurse Horne bathing me & carrying me seated astride on her hip in my clean nightgown to the night nursery to bed. Later, we had a nurse named Jane, whom we detested, & whom Wilberforce taught us to call Jane Juggernaut. She had a very red nose. Then we had Emma, whom we liked. The two housemaids in Emma’s time were Ruth & Margaret, & the cook whom we all loved, was Hannah Badcock. When we all went abroad in 1853, Emma the nurse left, & we never had another one – and Ruth, Margaret & Hannah went with us to the continent. But to return to the Nursery. Arthur & I spent a large part of our time at the 2 nursery windows. Every evening the lamplighter came with his lamp & Ladder to light the street gas lamp, which was just outside the gate. And we used to watch for Steele bringing ‘Strawberry’ for father to ride – or the brougham for father & mother to drive out – also the frequent arrival of visitors – often in a carriage & pair. Sometimes too there would be an organ grinder with a monkey. And on the 5th November came the boys with their Guy Fawkes. And there was an old witch of a woman with a shrill cracked voice, named ‘Peggy” who brought watercresses to sell. It was quite a little special excitement too when the coal wagon arrived about 30 blacks sacks of coal to be taken from the back of the wagon, one by one on the coal heaver’s backs, & dumped down the coal hole. After they had finished it all had to be swept up and the iron cover replaced - & then Hannah came with her scrub brush & pail to wash the pavement clean.

We used to have a kettle on the fire for tea, & nurse had tea with us. Our diet being generally milk & water with thick square slices of baker’s bread slimly buttered. Sometimes we were allowed a sprinkle of brown sugar on the bread & butter just for a treat. Louisa sometimes came into the nursery when nurse was away & gave us pinches of brown sugar out of the sugar bowl in the cupboard, generally making us do something to earn it.

When we became schoolboys, my bed was against the wall between the fireplace & the door, out washstand close to the door, & the head of Arthur’s bed where the 1/2 circular table used to be. There was a bell rope on the left side of the fireplace, & between the bell rope & the cupboard, we hung the first real clock that we ever possessed, it was a crystal Palace clock with a china face, pendulum, & hanging weights, & had an alarm. We bought it between us with saved pocket money & it cost 6s/.

Emily’s room, next to the nursery, had the washstand just inside the door was & the head of the bed against the nursery wall. There was one window, looking out on the street, a fireplace, & 2 cupboards also a dressing table & a chest of drawers. I think Emily & Fanny had this room together in my nursery days but Fanny died in 1850, 7 I know she was on a couch bed in the corner of the nursery when she died, that room having been given up to her during her illness. It was in Emily’s room that Bishop Smith, the Yankee Bishop of Kentucky, was lodged during his stay with us when I was about 8 or 9 years old; and they said he never moved the jug out of the basin during his visit.

In Louisa & Chenda’s room (Chenda’s real name was Ellen Richenda) – there were 2 high cupboards – separate from the wall, one on each side of the fireplace, for clothing a chest of drawers on the window side of the room & the head of the bed was against Emily’s wall. I remember Gertrude Bateman (now Mrs Shaw) playing bears with us under that bed. The next room to this, with its window looking out on the back garden was our Father & Mother’s. They had an old fashioned 4 poster bedstead, turned wooden posts at each corner supporting a narrow wooden frame on which was painted some device that always looked to me like animals chasing one another – This square frame at top was covered with a square stretched cloth – on which dust used to collect in quantities waiting for the summer house cleaning to be removed. The bed had curtains all round it which were drawn back to the posts in the day time - & a valance all round underneath – reaching from the mattress to the floor. This bed stood jutting out into the room, it’s foot towards the fireplace & its back against the night nursery wall. Between the door & the bedstead was my mother’s hip bath & on the other side of the door with its back against Louisa & Ellen’s room was her wardrobe. On the fireplace side of the room, to the left of the fireplace was a canopied child’s bedstead, in which Ellen slept, while Arthur & I were in the night nursery. But later on I occupied that bed, & Ellen slept with Louisa in the next room, Arthur being with Emma the nurse. On my mother’s mantelpiece, among other things, was a little china dog, a brown & white one in a sitting position with its head downward – nicely made. It was given by mother to Arthur on his 3rd birthday. Father on the same day gave him a cockhorse (a horses head with a stick & 2 wheels) to ride on & I remember he liked the cockhorse best. The old night nursery had the big cupboard in it. There we used to play hide and seek & bears & I remember once I pretended I had gone to sleep while riding underneath the rocking horse & the servants came & sprinkled water on one, and I did not wake & they were all frightened & sent for mother, but I was only pretending. That was a long time ago, as I know it was our old rocking horse – a comparatively small one. When I was about 7 years old I wrote a letter to grandfather in India asking him to give me a new rocking horse & he gave us a beauty & said it’s name was to be “Wellington”. Lucy’s room was the little room between the night nursery & Miss Jowett’s. Miss Jowetts’ afterwards became Wilberforces’ room & after he left home – was made a spare room.

In the servants attic upstairs was one large bed in which the cook & one housemaid slept. Where the other housemaid & the scull maid slept I do not know. Off the attic were 2 great rambling closets under the slated roof & when we boys had grown old enough not to be afraid of bogies we just delighted in exploring these dark uncanny regions & were forever unearthing some extraordinary thing that had bee put away up there & forgotten.

The back garden was 1/2 an acre in extent surrounded by a high brick wall. Facing the drawing room windows was the lawn – square in shape with rounded corners – a gravel path all round it & the flower beds – 3 on either side against the side walls were high shrubs & trees – a silver birch on either side, close to the house – hollies, lilacs & laurels & at the end of the lawn – separating it from the kitchen garden was a grassy bank with flower bed on top in which were 3 good sized junipers & on either side a high acacia tree with a laburnum under. The laburnums were loaded with flowers every spring. Just outside my father’s library window at the end of his lavatory, was the garden pump. Following the path from the library – past the lawn & under the acacia tree were Edward & Arthur’s little gardens about 8 feet wide & 10 feet long under the garden wall. The little girl’s gardens were on the other side by the path leading from the schoolroom. In the centre between the children’s gardens, separated from the schoolroom. In the centre between the children’s gardens, separated by a path from the Juniper bank was the rhubarb; behind the rhubarb the asparagus, & then gooseberry bushes. Then a cross path, then vegetables, then Jerusalem artichokes. Both the side paths & the cross path were bordered with a row of strawberries, but they scarcely ever bore. Beyond the artichokes & separated by a hedge of elder – was another lawn with some flower beds & 2 large pear trees – which in some years had quite a number of pears. They were Jarganelles. On this lawn was a swing. In the far corner at the one end of the path leading from the schoolroom was the greenhouse – quite small – about 8X12 in size. When schoolboy friends came to spend the afternoon our delight was to shy stones at this green house, as it was no longer used, and at length it was in such a disreputable state that my father had it removed & a shed with lattice work put up in it’s place. In this I kept rabbits & guinea pigs. In the other far corner of the garden was the chicken yard & against the side wall a long shed, the far end of which was the chicken house, then our goat stable, then a spare shed with my pigeon house over it. I kept about a dozen pigeons. My first ones I got from Wilson’s omnibus yard. They had an old bus hung up in the gable of a roof & transformed into a pigeon house. My delight on Saturday afternoons was to go down to Leadenhall market, in the city, to trade or buy some pigeons or rabbits. We had 2 goats when we were schoolboys, named snowdrop & snowflake & we had a wooden cart & harness, with which we drove them round & round the garden. Arthur & I began our schooling on our return from the continent in 1885. We went first to a Mr. Smith of the bottom of the park. I was 10, Arthur 81/2 & we had both begun Latin. Then my brother Daniel taught us, in Lonsdale Square. In the early spring of 1856 we began going to school. It was the Islington Proprietary School – about 1/2 a mile from our house, close to Milner Square. It was a classical school, & only gentleman’s sons were admitted. No tradesman’s sons were allowed. There were about 120 boys in all. The headmaster had been Jackson & when he became Bishop of London, The Rev. R. W. Bush took his place. Mr. Bush taught the 1st and 2nd class, Rev. Hutt the 3rd & 4th class, Rev Mills the 5th class. Mr Harding & afterwards Mr Tickner was mathematical master, & also taught the 6th or lowest class. When we entered school I went into the 5th class & Arthur into the 6th. The French master was M. Puyo, & the German master Herr Falklebahn. We had 1/2 holiday Wednesdays & Saturdays. Some of the boys whose names I still remember were Quathwaite, Searle, Balmer, Ridley, Wagstaff, King, Strand, Richardson, Kilner, Moore, Stubbs, Stock, Coventon, Wilton, Witherley, Jackson, Clarke, Maxwell, Rayson, Terry. In January 1861 I left school & went to live with Mr James Elgar, at the ‘the green’, Wingham, Kent. He was a land agent and had the control of several farms. I was bent on learning farming, although father and mother both wanted me to go to college. Father paid 100 pounds a year for me at the Elgar’s & I stayed there until the summer of 1863. There was Mr & Mrs Elgar, their son Edward, about my own age, & Mrs Elgar’s sister, Miss Wrake. They were simple good people, had everything most comfortable & very good meals. Edward Elgar had sheep, pigs, chickens & pigeons of his own & at one time I went into partnership with hi in pigeons, but we lost on them. We had to pay a man for feeding them, & a big sow died. There were 2 dogs, Nelson, a Russian Mastiff, & a toy terrier called Tiny. Edw’d Elgar & I also went in largely for rabbits – we had a rabbit yard, a rabbit pit, & a number of hutches & at one time we had nearly 100.

Mr Elgar had a horse & carriage & the coachman’s name was Tickman. Mr. Tickman lived in a cottage close by. Old Mrs Tickman, the man’s mother was a dear old lady & I was very fond of her. Edward Elgar, under his father, had the superintendence of several farms; so we had plenty to do going round & seeing after them. Our pigs we kept at Witterden’s Hall; an old man named Poole with his wife looked after them. There was a good apple orchard there, which we visited a good deal in the apple season. Sometimes we went to shoot moorhens down in the Alders. And in the shooting season Edward Elgar always took out a license – which cost $3, & used to get a good many partridges & sometimes pheasants. Of course he could only shoot over land where he was allowed. We had a liver & white pointer - & the partridges were generally put up in a turnip field. Sometimes we went for a rabbit shoot with ferrets. It was sharp work shooting them as they bolted out of their holes. It was generally at Peter Worsfold’s that we go rabbits; he had a nice sandy rabbit warren. Rev Clark was the clergyman at Wingham Church. He was considered rather advanced in those days because he wore a surplice in the pulpit instead of a black gown. There was a chime of bells in the church tower & they played hymn tunes on Sundays. The Village of Wingham had about 1200 people.

There was a post office & several inns & stores. Edward Elgar’s eldest brother George was married & lived at Crockshard, about a mile distant. Edward Elgar afterwards came in for this farm & I believe is still living there.

In the summer of 1863, the same year in which my mother had died (January 25th), I left Wingham, & went to live with Mrs. E. W. Moore at Coleshill, Berks. Mr. Moore was Lord Radman’s steward, & managed his estate. The family consisted of Mr. & Mrs Moore, their daughter Bessie & 3 farm pupils, Orlebar, Elmes & myself. Their own son, Willie, was at Wadham College, Oxford, but came home for vacation. It was a long, pretty house, almost covered up with roses, clematis & other creepers. There was a nice well-kept garden, & beyond was the extensive park, with Lord Radnor’s house just hidden by the trees away to the left. The Village was quite close, & the village church, - but we attended service at Farringdon, 4 miles distant, as Mr Moore was a stray protestant & objected to the high church practices in Coleshill Church. He also used to have a service of his own in his hall on Sunday evening at which quite a number of the laborers & a few of the villagers attended. I preached my first sermon from Mr. Moore’s “pulpit”. There were about 30 laborers regularly employed on the farm, & the foreman was a Scotchman, named Robertson, he was married & had 2 little children. We pupils were expected to go round everywhere on the farm & each keep a labor book, putting down every day what every man was doing. Besides the men, there were generally 5 or 6 women at work; among these Eliza Wilson was rather a character. The cattleman was named Dick, the pigman Hollick, the head shepherd Fuller, the head teamster Neil, the games keeper Greenwood. Besides these there were carpenters, blacksmiths, sawyers etc. There were 130 head of cattle, all shorthorns, & 1000 sheep. We fattened cattle, sheep & pigs always for the Smithfield show - & always had prize animals for every show of importance. The farm buildings were all of stone with slated roofs, long rows & rows of cattle pens with little trucks on rails on which to carry the food. Mr Moore kept a horse & carriage and several riding horses. The two nearest towns were Farringdon & Highworth, each about 4 miles distant. There were several young ladies who used to come as visitors. Among them were Miss Isabel Bazette from Cheltenham, Miss Fanny Bazette from Reading, & Miss Spooner from Langford. I first met Miss Spooner at a flower show at Coleshill, a few days after my arrival She is now my wife.

I left Coleshill in 1865 & went out to Canada.