The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-03-22
JUST ONE DAY
AT OLD RUGBY
WakGman Describes One Of the Towns in
the Very Heart Of England.
The Place Made Famous as the One in Which
Tom Brown Spent His schooldays-Prop-
erty That Became Valuable.
Special to THE SUNDAY CALL.

interest, stands the fine old town of Rugby.
Roche-berie from roche, rock or stone.
quarry, and berie, court or habitation of
note, you will see ii called in King Will
JAMS Domesday Book; but In the Dction-
aire CeltiQue its photography became
RokeOy, from rue, river, and bye, town
that is, river town, or town near or by a
stream, which name prevailed for many
centuries.
Outside of the fortuitous fame given
Rugby town and school by tom Browns
Schooldays" the present great Importance
of the school as an educational factor in
England had its origin in almost an acct
dent and its grandest development in an
equally fortunate incident. Its founder
was as fanatical an old pudee as ever lived
in England. His name was Laurence Sheriff
he was born of lowly parentage at Rugby
and became an ordinary nimble-fsted green
grocer of the time in London. freQuenting
the Rose Tavern and exciting religious
brawls while in his cups. On one of these
occasions an equally anticipated haber-
daSher, whom Sheriff had incenSed with his
maudlin harangueS about himself, the Lord
and good Layde EliZ beth-afterward Queen
Bess-had the audacity to call Princess
Elizabeth "a JILL" On this monstrous
offense being given Sheriff ran away as fast
as his dumpy legs could carry him. had an
Information" laid against the haberdasher
before the Bishop of London. for which the
witless purveyor of ancient furbelows "got
a flap with fox taiP' and Sheriff got his
luminous name in "Fox's Book OF Martyrs"
THE VILLAGE OF RUGBY.
This valiant grocer died in London in 1867,
bequea thing a mite of property in and ne ar
Rugby, and originally $50 in money, the
value of the total bequeSt at that time not
exceeding ai00-for the purpose nf building
"a fayre and convenient schOOl-house" in
the then village of Rugby. The master was,
IF it conveniently might be, to be ever a
Master of Arts" There was also to be
lodging for four almsmen. Out of this mu-
niticent bequest the Trustees were enabled,
about 100 years later, 1858, to sOlemnly de-
cree payment to the school-master of a
salary OF 93 per quarter, and to the almsmen
a gift OF Is ID per quarter According to
green-grocer Laurence Sheriff's will and
intent" Rugby School would have remained
to this day precisely this manner of q
ha'peny charity. At the last moment the
wary old miser repented of wasting so
much money on grammar scholars and
almSmen, and, by cOdicil substituted in lieu
of the grant of ESQ One-third of twenty
four then valueless acres Of land belonging
to him in Middiesex. The field was an un-
slightly waste in the Conduit Close of Gray's
Inn Fields. After many years mighty Lon
don overran the spot; Conduit Fields be-
came one of its most ariStOcratlc districts;
the present income from the property must
exceed 100000 per annum; and this IS how
Rugby School became one OF the most sDlen-
did and undoubtedly the richest nOn-Sec
tartan boys schools in the world.
But better than its accidental wealth was
Rugby's incidental transformation from
4 Ia
to one guided by intelligence and humanity.
In 1898 along came demure and kindly
faced man, whom the world now knows as
the famous DR.. Arnold. He became head
master OF Rugby, He was quiet, unas-
Stunning man, who, while he happened TO
embrace Christianity and become great
scholar, seemed not to have forgotten that a
portion OF his life had been passed in boy
hood and yOuthtime. He fought great
though silent battle at Rugby with the old
feudal forms of sneeriag dignity, lofty eX-
clusveness and relentlesSnesS on the part
of under-masters, and with the defenders OF
the bludgeOn generally. He got together
men who would teach languages and mathe-
mates Sin hours" and practice morality
outside of them. lie took the boarding
halls away from venal wretches,
and put them in charge of under-mas-
to make homes of the halls or resign.
Then he turned his attention to the
boys. He told them plainly that their days of
fiogging like wild beasts were past lie in
sisted that they were gentlemen, and should
be treated by every one connected with
Rugby School as such. He became one OF
them, and made them know his trust in
them was absolute. "If you say tits so, your
word is quite enough" was his invariable
answer to the most preposterous sehool-boY
romance. 1t soon became a positive crime
at Rugby to lie to DR.. Arnold, and il meant
or tn
the lad that thus insulted the whole school.
GOVERNMENT OF TIE SCHOOL.
DR. Arnold also practically turn6 over the
government OF the school in all p tty mat
tiers to the boys themselves. appointing pi2-
posters from among the cieVerest and most
manly, bestowin9 upon them privileges and
rewards, AMI exacting certain duties as we'll
as the strictest accountability. This abol-
ished bullying and the lawless tyranny of
brute strength in the everyday life of
the scholars. School traditions were
not interfered with. Tagging" was
retained; but by making it the
came more refined and bearable. he en-
couraged every manly sport by genuine
sympathy and personal attention and over
sight Better than all, he got down among
the boys, and, without cant, preached such
sermons to the students as appealed TO their
intelligence and the practical necessities of
speak testify to a scholar at Rugby. On this
occasion he lost patience with dullard.
"Why do you speak angrily, sir? / am do
ing the best | CAMP the boy retorted. In
relating the incident DR.. Arnold asserted
that he had never felt so ashamed in his
life. From this really great mans labors
Rugby schooling became the synonym of
all manly requirement Because his sue
cessors have followed closely the lines laid
down, the educational system of all England
has been UNNECESSARILY improved by this
one magnificent model.
Near the market square, along these by
streets are many curious old nests of hmses;
little stone pens with tiny windows, heavy
overhanging gables, chimneyS fourth as
large as the houses, strange carved case
meuts, low and narrow doors strong enough
to withstand siege, all covered by masses
of ivy so packed and dense that they seem
like habitations cut out Of vefdure-mat.ed
rock. Everywhere are giant old syeamores
and elms; and y0u' irreSistibly follow one of
these streets ont on its London ward way. to
catch with "Tom Browns" eyes the
glimpSes which thrilled his boyish heart,
when he came that autumn morning on
that memorable journey from Islington with
old "BlOwhard," the guard, for conf
paniOn, and drank in with innocent intOXi-
cation the desperate and lawless tales of the
brave Rugby lads and their destructive pea
shooters. Very QUITO the-way. SIR" OBJ
served Blowhard" to Tom. in his brief
but accurate description of Rugby mo
pawn TO streets, nor no lighting. 'Mazin'
big horse and cattle fair in autumn-lasts a
week-just over now. Takes town week
to get clean after it."
THE FAIRS
Old "Blowhard" might have honestly told
Tom that Rugby never got clean after her
fairs. Nobody ever comes to Rugby when
there is not horse fair, cattle fair, but
ter aud poultry fair, or one has not lust
been, or is not just going to be. That is
why the little market-place is always busy
spot, full of long coated, heavy jowled buy
ers, frocked yeomen, red-faced, snappy-eyed
farmers wives, shocked louis from the near
hamlets and bevies of the most radiant
faced English countryside lasses eyes ever
beheld. Pushing through the medley of
folk you will enter narrow street. so
pinched that it is little better than shad-
owy lane and not stones throw from the
maTket-place you come suddenly upon Rug
by School itself.
What fine old structure it is-with its
ponderous doors, arched and mulioned
windows, great memorial windows, battle
mented walls and pinnacled towers, lust a
bit gloomy, but brave and stout and fine ;
and flashing iuto the fancy many pic.
ture of the grim old Elizbethan times