RUGBY 70 YEARS AGO.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 806, 2 May 1910, Page 4

RUGBY 70 YEARS AGO.

. ——« A TALK WITH ONE OF "TOM BROWN'S" CHUMS. ' BOYS WHO . WON FAME. Tilers still lives in retirement here, as " old Rugby boy who figured in "Tom Brown's Schooldays," and . was a friend ; Of the author.. ' . .. Mr. J. G. Holhvay, who has had a distinguished legal career, went up to Rugby in ,1836, and during his time,' ha informed me, 'he played in six Schoolhouse matches against the reel' of the ' school. He was at Rugby during tha last five years >of Dr. Arnold's life; and'' was in his honse. Among those. who, were famous footballers. when he went ■ to Rugby, most of whom he Temembero, • iwiiio George and Tom. ■ Hughes, V tha latter being, of course, the author of . "Tom. Brown's Scliooldavs"; Smyth, of- : terwards Colonel Smyth, who was a,, splendid player, and is portrayed as Tom. Jones in "Tom. Brown's Schooldays"; Thomas -Walrond, afterwards Sir Thomas Walrond, who was' known' at Rugby as the champion drop-kick; Hod-; son, "who raised the corps in India,' Hodson's Light Horse, and was knouiy • among liis schoolfellows as "Red • Hodson"; Franklin Lushington, . afterwards Sir F. Lushington, senior .magistrate of. London; Bradley, who was afterwards Oean of Westminster and 'Head Master. of Marlborough School. ■ ' "I know him woll," said Mr. Hollway. "I chaigod him at football, although ha r was a big fellow' in the 'sixth,' and I was onlv a little ■ follow." . Mr. Hollway. was a school friend of Thomas Hughes,' and figures in several of the incidents in "Tom. Brown's Schooldays." Ho mentioned that the heroes of the great light in that delightful book were both alive, ono being Chancellor' Jones, of St.' Asaph, and the other a' clergyman iff' Bedfordshire. - "The great match," he said, talking of football, "used .to.bo.tho, Sclioolhoiiso . match against the rest of the school. Wa had a large honse of about GO pupils, and we used to play all tho other houses. ' Of course, there were Upwards of 300 when I was there, and the conse- ' quenoo was we were practically 60 against> 240; but wo worked together. ;Wo wore a disciplined army, and tier were a confused mob We generally used 'to bait thom for that reason —not that wo. were, better players, or that wo wsre more pluck}-; but each fellow • knew, exactly, what, he has got to do." Questioned as to his opinion, on mod. ern Rngby, compared with. the game as he knew it in his schooldays, Mr Hollway said: "I have no . r ibso]n'o knowledge of the present game, but I gather from what I hear and read of it that it is a game which requires to a certain extent more ptaotice and skill, and at tho same . time moro weight and strength than in the early days. A little follow in tho old game at Rugby, if ho was oxpert, was more useful in the gamo than now." . '•.. Mr Hollway had much to ear,in praise of the drop-kick, and agreed with a correspondent that.it wonld be exoeedingly useful if this peculiar kind of kick were employod moro in the .future than it has been. . , " . Mr Hollwav, who is now between 80 and 87, and is still hale , and hearty, has something to remind hini of his Rugby days in the Schoolhonse side in the shape of'a small white dent .on his loft shin, which ho received as the result of tt hack over 70 years ago.