The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-09-01
NICHO

who was saying a few earnest words to
 Squeers, he was off as mysteriously as he had come. When Nicholas got a
 chance to read the letter privately he
 did so, It was not reassuring. "G
 know the world" said Noggs in his
 epstle. Your father did not. or he would not have done me a kindness when theere was no hope of return. If you should ever want shelter in Lon
 don they know where I live at the sign of the crown in Silver street, Golden Square"
 A whole donjon keep of Nicholass cas- tie melted away when he read the let ter.
 It was a winters night, with the snow | lying white over a wild country when Nicholas at last was ushered into the l cheerless house of Dotheboys Hall "On- ly we don't call it a hall down here" | Squeers remarked cynically. woman
 half a head taller than Squeers large l bony woman, seized the schoolmaster by l the throat and gave him two loud
 kisses. This was Mrs. Squeers. How l Is my Sqeery? she inquired playfully in
 deep, hoarse voice. The rest. of the 1 Squeers family was made up of Master
 Wackford Squeers, Jr., boy of 10, who | bulied the other boys and took their 1 clothes away from them for his own use when they happened to have any worth l taking, and Miss Fanny Squeers, about l 16 Miss Fanny at once began to meet 1 eyes at Nichoas, for he dined with the l family that night But Nicholas was
 more interested in the appearance of 1 youth called Smike who waited on the | table and seemed to be a sort of com
 mon drudge.
 Smke was a strange, crushed creature. i Though approaching 20, and tall for his | age, he wore a skeleton suit such as is | generally put on small boys, and which, l though absurdly short for his frame, was | abundantly wide enough for his atten-
 uated form. Around his neck was tat | tered chlld's fril, half concealed by a | mans neckcloth.
 "Weu- smike. what is It? asked l Soueers. seeiug that the strange crea-
 sture showed a desire to speak to him .'Is there--has there" hesitatingly be- {, gan Smike, ''anything-been heard-about | me?" No" roared Squeers. Nor amt l likely to be either. Pretty thing ain | 1t? That you have been seen here all these years and no money paid Tor you after the first six. Get out!'
 The next morning, when Nicholas was l introduced into the school itself, the last yestage of his air-castle vanished III | thin, floating wreath of horror and dis- gust The schoolroom itself was squallu | dirty miserable to the last degree; but | the uupils-the young noblemen! Pale, haEgard faces, lank and bony ngures' ] ehil iren with the countenance or old men l deformities with irons on their limps' boys of stunted growth and others whose l long. meagre legs would scarcely pear | their stoppin bodies, all were crowded 1 together-the harelip, the blear eye, de- l formity, neglect cruelty and horrible en- | durance. Little faces were there that | should have beel handsome and instead | were those of sullen and vicious raced l boys breeding like malefactors in Jaii! l And yet this dreadful scene had its lu- I W | stationed at one end of the room where l she was feeding out birthstone and trea- ! cle to each boy in turn, "Medicates en-, l said Soueers. Rot" sand Mrs. Squeers 'It takes away their appetites and that's l good for us. It purifies their blood and 1 1 hope that's good for them
 Now followed days and weeks Of nor | TOT for Nicholas; days and weeks of star yation and abuse at Dotheboys Hall. Ev- cry day he grew more and more desper- l ate at the scenes of oppression that he
 saw around him. At last Smike, whom | he had taken under his special protection, l so far as he could ran away and was l brought back to be treated with such ex- aggeration of cruelty that Nicholas could , hear if no longer In the presence of the | w1ole school he cast off all self-con-
 trol. thrashed Squeers savagely, and de-
 parted with Smike.
 After he had trudged some miles with | l wintry country lanes, resolved to walk | to London, he began to realize that he ! had done a rather nasty thing. He had
 hut A couple of shillngs in his pocket and 1 the way was long. But god from the l machine appeared in the shape of John
 Provide. a hale young Yorkshire farmer with whom Nicholas had become ac-
 quainted during his stay at Dotheboys 1 Hall and who had recently married Tidy ] prtce friendly enemy of Fanny l Squeers.
 Flo. ho. hor' laughed the big fellow l Civ US thy bond, yoongster Beaten the
 schoolnaster, hast thee? Dang it, l love ] thee for it." and men honest John in- ] sisted on lending Nicholas sufficient 1 money for his trip to London.
 | Arrived there, Nicholas at once sought | Newman Noggs ard in the humble quar- l ters of that red-nosed philanthropist found, for a time, refuge for himself
 and his charge. Newman told him that l Paloh Nickleby had given Kate and her
 mother quarters in half-ruinous, de- | serted house of his. and that Kate was l still working for Madam Mantalni.
 The next morning after Nicholas ar rived at the new home of his mother and sister a guest was there before him; 1 Ralph himself Ralph had received a let l fer from Miss Fanny Squeers. her "pa" being still too i'll to write, In which Nich- | olas was accused not only of having i beaten the schoolmaster within an inch | of his life but also of abduction in hay ing run off with Smike, and-just thrown l in for good measure-of having stolen
 ruby ring belonging to Ms. Squeers.
 Ralph had just read this letter and ! Kate and her mother were in tears when | Nicholas came Into the room. Tt is ] lie he shouted when the charges against him were made known. "I did 1 thrash Saueers. and he deserved it. 1 ] have rescued from his cruelty poor. , half-witted boy But there has been no theft, as you well know"
 On, dearr' sobbed poor. simple-minded Mrs. Nickleby 'I don't know what to | think Nicholas is so violent and ii.s uncle has so much composure. But suppose we can go to the Workhousc or | the Refuge for the Destitute or the Mag 1 dalen Hospital"
 ! Kate indignantly disclaimed belief in 1 the accusations against her brother and 1 besought him not to leave them again.
 But Ralph sternly said that If Nlchoias