The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1893-03-14
"ARNOLD OF RUGBY"
Or. Bigsby's Brilliant Lecture
Story of Arthur Balm
bridge-The Head
Master.

DIR. Bernard Bigsby, residing at
present at Detroit, Mich, an English
scholar and lecturer, graduate of
Rugby and of Oxford, spoke for few
minutes to the pupils Of the high
school on last Thursday morning, and
ON the evening Of the same day lee
tured at the Baptist church to an ap-
preciative audience.
His fund of information, his fiueney
of speech and his well modulated voice
make him one of the most popular
lecturers in America. He speaks
without notes and from the beginning
To the close of his lecture has the
closest attention and the warmest
sympathy Of his audience. The sub
ject Of his talk, "Arnold of Rugby, :"
gave him ample opportunity to de-
scribe the school in which Arnold was
educated and the school that he taught,
the former being the renowned school
of Winchester, and the latter the
great school of Rugby.
In language beautiful and eloquent
he described the famous school of
Winchester, and 50 wildly that the
walls, courts. garden, buildings and
boys became so real that his hearers
felt as if they were really upon the
scene of his description. He referred
to the old bell handle that was used
to announce your presence and said
that its rusty, disagreeable appearance
must not prevent the reverence you
should feel for it. 1t has been there
1900 years. The mailed hands of
knights, of kings, princes and soldiers
had taken hold vi it and nothing
could induce the school to part with
it. Over the court here and there
were great stones that had been
knocked by the bombardment OF the
Round Heads from the walls, all moss
covered, hat they would never be re-
turned to the walls because they had
been displaced in battle when
Cromwelfs forces we're winning
a victory from the royal gar
risOn. and would have succeeded
but for the fact that at critical mo-
ment, uprose the 600 lads Of Winches-
ter and turned the victory of the
enemy into defeat: but for a time
only. Later, Cromwell captured the
place and stabbed his dragons in the
dining hall of the school. He de-
scribed the stately manner of the mas
tiers. especially the head master. and
gave in detail all the arrangements
for work and study. He explained
the meaning of ''impositions," tie
dread of the school boys life; a fail
ure to obey request, to observe
rule, to answer question, to conform
to any requirement led to an ''impO-
sition-that is, the offender had i'm
posed upon him the tasks of writing
100 lines, 500 lines, probably 1000
lines for each oilense, and every im-
position meant the loss of half holt
day. No boy could go home at vaca-
ton against whom there were
imposltions until he had
completely met these require
ments. During his last visit to Rug
BY he had found ON the fly leaf of the
Latin reader OF little pupil the fol-
lowing definition of a boy: "A boy
is little animal with body and soul,
and Latin impositions." He spoke
very beautifully of a tragic incident
that happened 100 years ago at Win
chester. Little Arthur cambridge.
10 wears old, the only child of
widowed mother whom he loved,
and by whom he was most tenderly
loved, was sent by his guardians to
Winchester. The little fellow, heir
to vast estates, tenderly reared, gently
cared for. could not meet the stern re-
quirements Of the school. Imposi-
ton after imposition took from him
his half holidays, his holidays, his va
cations. Vacations ut Mich@lmas,
Christmas and Easter were spent
at school in vain attempts
to do his impositions. although he
longed tn go home as the other boys
did. The long summer vacation was
approaching. and the little fellow
toiled through his weakeness and
his tears, till the pen fell