As the boy would be anxiously straightening his school tie in nervous anticipation before his master or mistress's study, he would inevitably hear his surname called from behind the door. This most certainly inspired dread in most boys since this was his cue to enter the study where he would be sternly greeted by a gowned figure gently flexing a school cane in his hands and then directed towards a bare wooden chair positioned in the very middle of the room. Few words would be spoken between master and boy since the boy knew full well what was expected of him. Once he had taken up his position at the chair, his housemaster would administer the required number of strokes.
Some English housemasters said nothing at all, surmising that the hiss of the cane was sufficiently eloquent in itself. As one elderly master once told me, “after three or four well placed strokes on his behind, it is usually the boy’s voice that fills my study as he becomes ever more keen to prove to his master that he has indeed learnt his lesson. Nothing quite compares to a traditional English rattan cane in its pleasing ability to inspire a very sudden willingness in even the toughest of schoolboys to improve his behaviour, show obedience towards his masters and adopt a more respectful attitude towards those who hold authority over him.”
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