ABSTRACT
James Leigh Hunt considered himself in all respects English, though neither of his parents had been bom in the British Isles. A relative once noted that their very appearance — mother and children — was distinctly un-English, and that their blue-black hair and olive skins betrayed them even before they spoke. Leigh Hunt had much to say of his colonial anœstors in his Autobiography, tracing their origins and associations with English families, frequently regretting that his evidence was vague. On 24 November, he put on the distinctive Tudor-style blue and yellow uniform, which earned the pupils the name of ‘Bluecoat Boys’, and began his schooldays. Physically and mentally, the spartan school regime tried Hunt’s health and spirits. In his memoirs the tedious rigidity of routine is a prominent theme, and at school the time-table was inflexible: rising at six, washing, breakfasting, lessons, play, dinner, lessons, supper, bed, with endless intermissions of prayers and Bible reading.
