After the fatal affair, culminating in James’s decease, a search made in the cabin of his floating hulks brought to light that throughout the years of his piracy he had been a faithful subscriber to the Eton Chronicle. Here is a discovery which must move those of you who have not hearts of flint, if any such there be. His contribution which I have heard is entitled “A Dissertation upon Roast Pig” and seems to me to have merit, but for some unexplained reason his tutor interfered to prevent his being paid for it. He also contributed to one of the journals of original matter known locally (one wonders why) as Ephemerals. Here we are on firm ground he was in the First Hundred. I hear you asking impatiently what were Hook’s intellectual attainments. Of that night I will tell you anon and make, in so doing, I hope, a triumphant reply to the Provost, who can hardly grudge this tardy rehabilitation of his old fag-master. I have since discovered the true explanation, surely one of the most somber, yet glorious, tales in the history of Eton. The page in the books of the Society recording his election has been mysteriously destroyed, and for some time I suspected that this could be explained in only one of two ways-either the authorities did it because they thought his subsequent career (meteoric as it was) reflected (on the whole) no credit on the school, or the dilapidations were made by autograph hunters. But even if so, what ardour to excel, how indomitable is the particle, man. Legend (always untrustworthy) says that Hook’s election was a great surprise to the other members, who alone have the right of voting, and that James must have manipulated the ballot-box. The Pops are the chief sight of Eton, and parade on great occasions in sock and spat, arms linked, six or eight abreast, and two yards in front of the Sun and Moon. The society consists of the 30 or so leading person in the school, who are chosen entirely on account of their mental equipment. Again, I have proof that in his last year at school he was a member of what is perhaps the most exalted assemblage in the world-the Eton Society, or Pop. She told me that he had got them specially made at a little place in the city. Being an outsider I don’t know what thye stand for, but you will know-one was red and blue, a second was claret and blue, and the other was all pale blue. His Aunt Emily, whom I succeeded in tracing, showed me three of his caps hanging very honourably over her mantelshelf. He won many colours at Eton-he had many colours. Like so many subsequently famous he left Oxford one morning.Īt Eton he was a dry bob, contrary to what one might have expected, as his future was to be on the sea, but, boy or man, he hated the touch of water, and he was always the last to leave his ship. Athletically I find that he was not specially notable at Balliol, but there is a curious record that when hurt on the football field he “bled yellow.” His best sporting performance seems to have been that he was 12th man in the College 100 yards. Thus his mind was already turning to the classics. These volumes may still be occasionally picked up at second-hand bookstalls, with the name “Jacobus Hook” inserted as the owner. He was certainly in residence there for several terms, and we know that he borrowed from the library a number of books, all of them, oddly enough, poetry and mostly of the Lake school. On the same doubtful authority we learn that his last words were “Floreat Etona.”Ĭoncerning Hook at Balliol I have pursued few inquiries, feeling that Eton is more important. We should not even know that he had been an Etonian but for the statement “Eton and Balliol” in a work that is probably largely unreliable. To prove my case I have of late been trying to collect facts regarding Hook’s early days, and it must be admitted that he is an Old Boy about whom Eton has preserved few traditions. I was here this year on June 4, and in a speech at luncheon the Provost challenged me to disprove this terrible indictment, “James Hook, the pirate captain, was a great Etonian but not a good one.” Now in my opinion Hook was a good Etonian though not a great one, and it is my more or less passionate desire to persuade you of this-to have Hook, so to speak, set up for good-that brings me here this afternoon in spite of my better judgment. This talk with you arises out of a sort of challenge from the Provost.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |