The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-03-05
Charles Dickens lfR

Is on n time, in England there
II t8(SA we're two brothers named Nick
IN tAPfs lcby who had grown up to be
FE5I7TM very different men, Ralph was was
Sg t1sStaHt 4, very riGn and misery money
D n lender who gained his wealth by
,}ersecutiur the poor OF I-ondon-a thin,
e. culd-he.trted. crafty man with creuicl
"a smile. IT he other, who lived in the co IN
38t ~. was generous but poor, SO that when
x lie died he left Ills wife and two children
Nicholas ana Kate, with hardly q penny
40 keep them from starving In their,
Fl, rcuble the mother decided TO 90 to 5lon-
f8 dor, and trygto obtain help from her nus
St bands brother. Ralph gNicklcby, &. Al.
81 Ralph was angry when he learned they
Il had come to London, for he loved his gold
better than anything else In the world.
He lived III Golden Square a very rich
part of the city. Ill a great fine house,
9all alone save for one servant, and = ne
kept9onlyone clerk. This clerk whogwasl
il.ained 8Noggs, u had one glass eye and and
n long. bony fingers which he had an ull-
N comfortable habit Of cracking together
when he spoke to any one. lie had once
Il been rich, but he had given Ills money
Il to Ralph Niclsleby to invest for him, and
the !nl0ney-lender had ended by &c ting 1t
all, SO that the POOR man at last mad to
become the others clerk When lts ne 1 IFS
H gaW Nicholas and Kate, Noggs was sorry
enough for them, because lie knew II
would be little help they would get from.
their stlngy uncle. .5& 5 81
& n Nicholas was proud-mcttled, and his
II very bearing angered the money ender.
He called him a young PUPPY and 4 q
y pauper besides,5to which Nicholas replied
with heat and spirit. Ills mother sue
cceded in smoothing things over, and
y;u1,o n
ment hated tho boy, yet he grudging-i
" promised her TO get him situation as
IS az teacher. y M St} f3 fS
The school the miser8 selected was one.
called nDotheboys Hail. long, cold-looS-
ing, tumble down building, one story high,
in a dreary part Of the country. It be-
s longed to a man named sSquecrs, a gbllrly,
brilliantly hypocrite, who pretended to he
s; world to be a kind, fatherly MASTER but
In fact treated his pupils with such cruel-
55 tySlthat the only ones ever sent there
l:3 were poor little orphans, whose guardians
N were gladSto get rid fofs them Sqneers
n had an oily, wrinllcd face, ard flat shiny
S2 hair brushed ght UP from his fore
IN head, His sleeves We're too long and hti
trousers ooshort, and he carried q leath-
III {crt whip in his pocket tolpun!sh the boys
with. "
Mrs Saueers was a fat woman who
wore "a soiled dressing gown kept her hair
isl int papers all day. ana always had a
# yellow handkerchief tied around her neck.
ny She wa s as cruel as her husband. They
~ lad one daughter and a son named NYack-
ford squeers. The latter they kept as
KS plump as could be, SO he#would serve
as an advertisement OF the school; the
rest OF the boys, however, We're pale and
ri thin. 5,38 8 ii III
No wonder for they got almost nothing
to eat. For dinner all they had was q
n bowl Of thin porridEe with a wedge of
bread for a spoon. When they had eaten
S#th he porridge they ate the spoon. Once
week they had to swallow a dreadful
81 mixture OF birthstone and sulphur because
this dose took away their appetltes and
q they ate less for several days after
ward. Is They were made to sleep five in
II a bed. and were poorly clothed, for
whenever anew boy came Mrs. Squeers
took his clothes away from him for Wack-
ford, and made the new boy wear. any
old ones SHE COULD find They were al
lowed to- wife only letters telling how
happy they We're there. and when letters
came for any OF them. Mrs. squeers open
5a ed them first and took for herself any
money they contained,
There was no attempt at teaching at
Il Dotbcboys Hall. Tho books We're dirty
and torn and The classes were scarecrows.
y All the boys were made to work hard nj
chores about the place, and We're flogged
+ almost every day. SO that their lives We're
miserable. What Squeers wanted was
q the money their guardians paid him for
X 3 keeping them tt
This was the kind Of school for which
BIS Nicholas found himself hired at very low
II wages as teacher He knew nothing about
( X II yet, however, and thought himself lucky
i and Ills uncle Kind as he babe his
" mother and Kate goodbye and took the
coach for Dothcboys Hall. Noggs, Ralph
a NickelbS's one-eyed clerk, was there to
Vi sec him off. and put a letter into his hand
as he started. Nicholas was so sad at
leaving the two he loved best In the
x world, that he thrust II into his pocket
= and for the time forgot all about it. U
On his arrival next day Nicholas's heart
sank into his boots. When he saw the
boys gathered in The barn. which served
for q school-room, he was ready TO die
With shame and disgust 10 think he was
10 he a teacher IN such a place. But he
had no money to take him back to Lon,
* don, and because he did not want to Fnakc
his mother and Kate unhappy, he wrote
them as cheerfully as he could Th,
letter Noggs had given him he remenl
.H besed ut last 10 read. j told him thu
writer feared his uncle h;td deceived hin
in regard 10 the school, and said IL Mich
olns needed q friend 1T any limc, h,
"a Huulu ililu one III HIN, INDsEs.F 'lles
kind words from The old clerk brough
tears to Nicholas's eyes,
81. OF all the wretched boys there Nchola
4 ptied most n poor telloW named Smike
whom Squeers had made u drudge IL
Was tall and lanky and wore a litl
boys suit. TOO short in the arms an
legs. lie had been placed there when
child, and whoever had brought him ha
disappeared. and left no money TO pay 10
his keep, Squeerss cruclties had mad
Il the unfortunate lad supplemented. BE
sides this he was lame, Nicholas helpe
n Smkc all he could, and the poor fello,
was so grateful that he followed the othe
sGs about like a slave
Saueers's daughter was named Fanni
She had red hair. which she wore in fiy
H 4 exact rows on the top Of her head Sh
thought herself very beautiful and 4
once fell In lows With Nicholas. AS i
could not help showing that lis did M
like her, Miss Fanny grew spitefnl an
in revenge began 10 persccutc Sink
i.