RECOLLECTIONS OF SEVENTY-TWO YEARS .
BY THE HONOURABLE
WILLIAM WARREN VERNON
A few days after this saw me back at Eton, and the prin-
cipal event of this half was my cousin Frederick (surnamed
Dick) Lambton winning the first German prize and I
simultaneously winning the first Italian prize. What joy
for our mothers, who were sisters ! and what joy for my
father away in Italy, who had set his heart on my winning
this prize ! He bestowed 20 again on me for books, but
he was not pleased at the way I expended it, for I entrusted
the binding of the books to Ingalton, the Eton bookseller,
and my father, with his fastidious taste in bookbinding,
said he would not touch one of them with a pair of tongs !
My tutor gave me a beautiful Chaucer, and was heartily
pleased at my success. I did very fairly well, too, in the
French examination (won by Cowell, Francis Byng being
second), and was placed high up in the Select. There was
one young competitor in the Italian and French examina-
tions who distinguished himself a great deal. This was
A. C. Swinburne, afterwards the poet. He did quite a
remarkable Italian ode, which was much and justly praised.
In the French examination, when Monsieur Delille made us
his annual valedictory harangue, he spoke in terms of great
I have not mentioned any mathematics, nor was our
school as good for them as for its other branches of teaching.
For modern languages we had an old Dutchman, Herr
Vlieland, 1 from the island of that ilk, who used to come over
from Norwich, and teach us French, Italian, and German.
I got the French prize one year, and my Italian was very
fairly kept up, preparatory to Eton.
Wed 24 Nov 1847 IN THE PAPER.
Vernon, and Lambton, all of whom were pupils of Mons. Vlieland, of this city.
We are informed that this is the sixth year tbat tbe pupils of this gentleman have occupied high rank at this college for their proficiency the Languages.
Sat 11 Oct 1851 NORFOLK NEWS
cipal event of this half was my cousin Frederick (surnamed
Dick) Lambton winning the first German prize and I
simultaneously winning the first Italian prize. What joy
for our mothers, who were sisters ! and what joy for my
father away in Italy, who had set his heart on my winning
this prize ! He bestowed 20 again on me for books, but
he was not pleased at the way I expended it, for I entrusted
the binding of the books to Ingalton, the Eton bookseller,
and my father, with his fastidious taste in bookbinding,
said he would not touch one of them with a pair of tongs !
My tutor gave me a beautiful Chaucer, and was heartily
pleased at my success. I did very fairly well, too, in the
French examination (won by Cowell, Francis Byng being
second), and was placed high up in the Select. There was
one young competitor in the Italian and French examina-
tions who distinguished himself a great deal. This was
A. C. Swinburne, afterwards the poet. He did quite a
remarkable Italian ode, which was much and justly praised.
In the French examination, when Monsieur Delille made us
his annual valedictory harangue, he spoke in terms of great
The Hon. William John Borlase-Warren-Venables-Vernon, second son of the fifth Baron Vernon, was born in 1834.
After several years spent in Italy, whither his father had removed for financial reasons, he went to Eton, where he won (in 1850) the Prince Consort's first prize for Italian.
From Eton he went up to Christ Church as a gentleman-commoner. He left Oxford in 1855 in order to be married, without taking a degree, an omission which he repaired 20 years later.
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