The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1866-02-18
English Ladies' Boarding-SehooIs
--Marriageable Ladies Birched-
Retaliation.

w. i. FLENINa.

Retaliation.
The Queen, a London "lady's news
paper has lately contained a number
of letters from various correspondents
relative to corpOreal punishment in
schools, the contents of which have
produced quite a sensation, and made
parents anxious about their daughters
at boarding-schools II appears from
these letters that in most of the fash
ionAble ladies boarding schools the sys-
TEN Of cOrporeal punishment is in
vogue, and that manageable young
ladies are stripped, laid across = "horse'
aud then receive castigation which is
usually awarded to only the naughtiest
OF children. Besides the stripes of a
birch, there are several other formali-
ties 10 be gone through, very humbing
TO the pupil, and which one correspOnS
dent describes IS follows:
"For the first ofIense the delinquent
is prepared for punishment, but gener.
ally pardoned for the second, she is
whipped privately; for all subsequent
delinquencies the punishment takes
place IA the schOol-roOm, on the horse,
and in addition TO the pain it inficts
it costs in money about one shilling in
fees. This is the system: First, she
proceeds 10 the hOusekeeper to procure
the rod-she pays two pence for the use
of it secondly, she has to be partly
undressed by the maid, and this costs
two pence thirdly, she hGl then to
walk bareiooted TO another part Of the
house 10 be rObed for punishment-a
peculiar dressing to add TO the disgrace.
IL is a loug linen blouse, short cotton
socks, and slippers. The young lady,
thus dressed, now proceeds to the
drawing-roOm to be exhibited TO the
lady superintendent Having been ap-
proved, she is then conducted TO the
second room, when she has to pay six
pence TO the goyerness who indicts the
punishment A wooden horse, cover
ed with soft leather, is the medium
of castigation. The delinquent
then thanks the gOverness, kisses the
rod, and retIres to her own room to APP
pear no more until the next morning
One of the writers, an Irishman, says he
has under his care a niece, eighteen
years old. Last summer, the young
lady having finished her education,
they went TO live in pleasant village
near tie Thames In the "Yillage"
was a very large ladies school, and the
young lady in question being particu-
larly fond of study, made arrangements
to attend twice q week, in order to add
10 her store Of knowledge, if possible
One afternoon IL appears she contra
dicted, or rather corrected a teacher
who had misquoted q line of poetry.
To her surprise, when about to leave
after her lesson, she was ordered into
the scheolroOm To her amazement
and indignation, she was told that she
was TO be birched "for impudence TO a
teacher She protested and implored
but in vain. Her resistance was use
less against force, she was held across a
desk, the clothing was completely re
moved from the lower part Of her per-
son, and the lady principle gave her
twelve sharp cuts with birch. The
young lady went home, distracted in
mind, and related the circumstances to
her uncle. He was, of course, highly
indignant, but he concluded to say
nothing about il until the young lady
had completed the term Of her tuition.
That time having arrived, he sent an in
vitatiOn to the lady principal, asking
her to lunch at his home aud receive
the amount Of money due her. This
the principal accepted, and on her arri-
val she was rather surprised at the
warmth Of the reception, which was as
follows Three lady aequaintances had
been invited to act committee OF re-
ception, with q birch, horse" etc,
along with them. On the appearance
of the principal the gentleman lectured
her as 10 her conduct 70 his niece. and
told her, to avoid exposure by legal
proceedings, he had concluded, with
the aid Of the ladies present, 10 punish
her as she had done his niece. There
being no other alternative, she consent
ed, and was accordingly stripped by the
ladies, drawn across the horse, and
the gentleman himself hid on the
birch He gave her twenty strokes, the
severity OF which the principals flushed
countenance attested 10. She then de-
parted There are number of other
letters, all OF which contain accounts
similar 10 the above.