"And we pray Almighty God that it may please Him to bless the school, and
that under His guidance those who from time to time leave the school may
as scholars and Christian gentlemen uphold its fame in whatever sphere
they may be placed.

"_Uppingham_, _May_, 1877."

The HEADMASTER then rose and said: "Mr. Bell, Mr. Hawthorn, and friends
in Uppingham,--Home is home, and you may be quite sure that we, at all
events, who went through exile felt it indeed to be home when we came
back again. (Applause.) It does not signify what the circumstances may
be, but it is not possible to live long in a place and to have your home
there without taking root in it, and having fibres sent deep which cannot
be torn up without pain. (Applause.) We are very grateful, therefore,
for the hearty, the enthusiastic welcome you gave us on our return.
(Cheers.) Assuredly as our eyes looked on this pleasant hill and the
familiar fields, we felt a deep thankfulness for the great peril passed,
the page of life turned, and a year such as never can come again closed
with success. (Applause.) And it is a pleasant spot to look on when you
come down the dip of the valley before you near Uppingham, and look up
and see the ancient homes crowning the brow of the hill--it is a fair
sight to any eye, even to a stranger's eye, the pleasant homes of
Uppingham, with the church and its spire in the midst, the spire of the
school chapel beyond, each adding, methinks, to the beauty of the other,
and both alike in their upward spring and their holy worship. It _is_ a
pleasant spot to look on, and you made your old picturesque street very
beautiful with your decorations and that bright outbreak of welcome which
greeted us as we came in. (Cheers.) The school hardly knew what we
meant--they did not know when we asked them to cheer at the top of the
hill; but as the stream of life wound round and came in sight of that