The Cleveland leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1865-1865, 1865-05-27
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A correspondents sends rs the following
Gu. ious account OfR recent conversation he
held with a g~entlemanly Englishmsn now
travelling in this country. We give it IoH
whatever it is worth:
In the midst Of a familiar chat, he asked,
tDid you ever read Dickens Nicholas Nick
lebp p , ESQ zee % 5'to-s1 Ai-' OF
answered Yes sd
Well returned he, fold Squeers was
my old master, William Shaw. And here
you have the rest of his story; One day
when I w4s passing by q bookstore on
Holborn Hill, London, nesr the Saracsn's
Head Hotel, Isaw a finely, though conf
cally devised picture of q ssehooImastsr.
On stopping to observe it more carefully
1 recognized the inesments Of my old
Yorkshire schoolmsster, Shaw, and ! went
in and purchased the volume containg the
picture, and found that it was Dickens
Nichols Niskieby. A short time after
wards, 1 met an old schoolfelloW BY the
name of Bishop, from whom Dickens got
the facts OF the school part of tbs story ;
ne told me that he put Dickens in posses
siod of tsem as the surest way he knew Of
to pay off old Shaw for his brutality.
1asked him in what part Of Yorkshire
the Shaw Academy (Dotheboy's HalD was
situsted; and his reply was at Bows. And
then BY piece-msalI examined the chArac-
ters of Squeers: (hr. shaw Mrs. Squeers
(Mr. Shawl Miss Squeers Miss Shaw
Miss Squeers miss Helen Shaw and Mas
ter Wsckfort (Mr. John Sh1w.l Mrs.
Shaw IVES to s'dot as Dickens represents
her. She used to take all our lead pencils,
paper, shirts, collars, &c, and either sell
them or give them to jenny. o what a
hateful little fellow he was; he'd steal
our balls, and as we did not
care speak to his father about them,
he always kept them Miss Shaw is unfair
IL drawn by Dickens; she was well educa-
ted and considerably refined, having been
sent 10 8 irst-clsss ladies' boarding school.
Mr.. Shaw wss avery passionate man, and
when enrsged st q boy in school, would or
der two boy to bold him down on 3 table,
one holding down his head, the other his
feet and then he would cash his bare back
with birch sticks. But no boy in school
dared cry when whipped, for if he did the
other boys pinehed and kicked him when
they got out of doors. Mr.. Shaw never
taught any branches except reading and
spelling. Fne reading exercise consisted
u DADlp ADaN1lz ACm IO FWAOioa 6CAOJlf
one hundred and twenty boys, two Versss
apiece and the writing exercises Of two
lines Of large and small hand. II any boy
in either of these exetcises don't satisfy
Mr.. Shaw, he would forthwith lay him out
on the. table, order two boys TO- hold him
down, and hog himtillahe got tired. One
dsy getting mad at 8 boy tor . small fault
in ~penmsnship, he struck him with 3 rod
and cut open MS right cheek. The assist
ant masters were orphsned boys whom
cruel guardians had spprehticed to him,
One Of them had had q Isfge fortune left
hm by his parents, but his guardian had
spprenticed him to shaw IS farm boy and
teseber, and kept the fortune for himself
Mr.. ShaW's large farm wa cultivated by
the boys. II they didn't work hard enough
they were logged or allowed half ~rstions.
For nearly two months they had TO work
at hsying, thu school being divided into
throWers and rskers. After the hayfng,
old Shaw would ssy TO the b0ysin the Wri-
ting class, "IH nOt fog the rakers, for
their hands are sore bus woe unto you,
throWers r.-.. -..+w f...4e.f4
He used 10 go to London twice 8 year,
and then the boys had to write letters tell
IIR ku6lE phLouAb "Ahh q kOO4 A1A DlAs
Shaw wss, shdhowkindly he treated them
Before shs testers we're written he used TO
say, II defy a boy of you to Isy that ever !
took away a collar, shirt,or even q pin from
him. but Mrs, Shaw always did that part
of the business. When in London he quar-
tered at the Sarscen's Head. Once inthree
weeks the boys were ranged in rows and
the assistant masters went around and saw
whether each boy had his lead spoon. fork
and knife in hsnk; if he hsdn't them, he
lost his pocket money for two or three
month"; After tina publication of Nicholas
Niekleby, Mr.ShaWlost all bis pay scholars,
and so no spprenticed his spprenticed
sohoolmasters 70 shoemskers, blAcksmiths
and carpenters. Mira. Shaw in about two
wears alter wards died of 8 broken heart.
Her Contemplate old husband died almost
an idiot. Helen married q low, drinking
fellow Johnny became 8 London lOafer,
and The second son. Jonathan, who studied
medicine, spent whatever was LETT CT the
old mans property among his FELLOWSHIP
dents in drinking and high living gener-
ally bat for some years has been the viz
Isge physicisn IN his native place, Bows.
B5hn Brodies actually existed IN John
.DphAbt kuo wing ohOoAAhAoA WAC . wv
humane habit of helping the boys in run
ming away from ShaW's dungeon, a. he 3
led the school. .s4 T.r-4.-s.. f..F f.F al
When q boy came to the school, his
clothes and other things were taken pos
session of by Mrs. Shaw, and he was given
pants of leather which had been worn BY
generations of boys before him, and which
had been so patched with different colOred
pieces of cloth that the poor s~choolboys
mistakenly called them "Joseph's coat Of
many eojors" When Mr.. Shaw and 81
the contemplate tribe Of Yorkshire school
masters had been shown up and ruined BY
Dickens Nickleby, the London Dispatch
cams out advising Shaw and his fellow
sufferers to prosecute Dickens for 4ibeli
but my brother and l who by bitter ex!
perianoe IpeW thes truth of Mr.. Dickens
exposition, WTOvs TO the editor OF that pa
per, assuring him that the book was almost
| literally true. And then the Dispatch
pitched into old Sasw more ssvagely than
Dickens had done, Nicholas Riekleby,
er rather a young LoudOner, 'cEme into
the school as assistant teacher after i ]eft.