Bones, and to his curiously hideous offspring, Miss Bones and
Master Bones. The same holds good with regard to the other families,
those of Mr. Bun the Baker, Mr. Pots the Painter, and their friends,
and we can only hope that these families make up in moral worth for
their painful lack of physical attractions. "Educational Quartettes"
were played in exactly the same way. At the age of six, I played them
every night with my sisters and brother, and the set we habitually
used was "English Ecclesiastical Architecture." In lieu of Mr. Bung
the Brewer, we had "Norman Style, 1066-1145." Mrs. Bung was replaced
by "Massive Columns," Miss Bung by "Round Arches," Master Bung by
"Dog-tooth Mouldings," each one with its picture. The next Quartette
was "Early English, 1189-1307." No. 2 being "Clustered Columns," No. 3
"Pointed Arches," No. 4 "Lancet Windows," each one again with its
picture, and so on through the later styles. We had none of us the
least idea that we were being educated; we thought that we were merely
playing a game, but the information got insensibly absorbed through
ear and eye, and remained there.
Never shall I forget the astonishment of a clergyman who was showing
his church to my youngest brother and myself, he then being aged nine,
and I eleven.
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