The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1891-03-26
Rugby town Of today has little to

Rugby town OF today has little to
atsracr Tie 81 se.s M rtSn as:
from its famous school. Perhaps q
mile from the center of the place,
which presume houses no more n m
seven thousand souls, Rugby scholars
included, Is the railway station. one Of
the handsomest of the iununerable
splendid railway stations OF EngIan !.
From this, two long. unintere>tIng
streets, half built with modern an
mediocre habitationS, occasionally in
| teisperSed with unattrac i've shops,
lead up to the old town. 1t stands on
IL gent,e emiueuce, from Which a wide
surrounding tract of splendilly cult
waited champaign country, the rich
plantations Of gardeners seats, aud
ap ancient demesnes, tiny thatched
hanlets nesting among elIns and syca
mores, and the gentle windiug2 of the
river Avon, can be seen. a maze of
| illy.cobbleu streets, with n arrow pave
nents, crowd each other for entrance
to little, irregular oblong mark t
| place, forming all manner Of fantastic
curvings and angles where they merge
into ii. In this market-squar are the
ancient inns, one that stands for the
| Spread Eagle at which TON
Brown" was set down when he came
i'll he talIy-ho from Islington, and an
other one. still III re ancient. known
as the Three HorseshOps;" the old
book shops of the place. where bar
gains that would do credit to London
East End dickerers are made with the
Rugby lads Tor schOolbookS. old aud
new; one or two perk Diapers stores; a
lev jewelers. aud music dealers: and
any number of Sweet" stalls, with
their endless temptings to the scho Il
boys palate aud purse. But the
qu'lntest of these are off the market
place, near 1t on the by-streets. They
are all lighthouses and shops. A bell
ike fire gong announces YOUR en-
trance Four generations of servers are
in waiting. Old. old men remindiny
one Of Il tile Nell's' grandfather ar.
perched in dark, platlormed corners
on carved old CHI airs of state A
daughter, nearly as Old appears with
a rush from the living TO ms. AZ
though long and var ed skirmishe.
with solemn vi>aged but ingenious
youths had made her alert for device
or reprlSal A still young matron.
| p'ihd'S "iuOW, is DOtlerlng aluOuu
the boxes and shelves; and Drim
ptachy and prudent young miss
conscious of her value as trade mao
net where there are thousand lads n
know a p, city face when they Sc II
mes out OF the half-lightS. a radiant
wheedlng preseLce. In every one ot
these by-street shops the shlIinrs and
pence OF the Rugby lads are the entirt
quarry; and everything dear to a how.
heart from cricket-ba's to leader
"pastie>' comprise the stocK-in trade
Z eer Old shop Ike pers all, are they
quaint as from the last century pi,.-
tue books; and they still keep the
com OF tn realm in leather bags, and
test susp lei us sjX-pences and thrip
penny bits with their teeth, here il
Rugby.
Near the market square, along tbese
oy,,streets. are many curious old nest,
OF MONIES; liJtIe stone pens with I'm,
windows, heavy overhansing cables
en- mneys fourth as large as the
hou'eS, strange carved easements, low
am narrow doors, strong enough f.
Withstand siege, all covered nv
MASSES OF ivy 30 packed and den.e
tl,at they seem like habitatIons emf
out OF verdurematted rock. Every