The less stoic might bury their stinging fingers under their arms and bend silently over them. Those who clenched their fists, or pulled away, or showed obvious fear, could expect to be laughed at. There were few protests at the injustice done to others, although an inaccurate ‘cut’ which raised a welt on a wrist would cause comment. That ‘this will hurt me more than you’ was said often enough, and it was probably true that the violence marked the flogger more permanently than the flogged.”

“Father Montague’s operas were only brief seasons of culture. Indeed, boys’ souls were more likely to be striped with discipline than their spirits inflamed by the love of music in preparation for those days and nights on the boards at Manresa Hall.”