There were no canes. What there were, however, were things called ferulas (that should probably be ferulae). The ferula was whale bone covered in leather and was administered on the hands. As punishment offenders (or, in my case, perfectly innocent victims of mistaken identity) would be ordered to "get four" or "get six". For more serious offences nine was the punishment while in extreme cases the punishment would be twelve, twice six on two hands, but often administered on separate days on account of the hand becoming numb. Adding psychological to corporal punishment, in what some might think true Jesuitical style, offenders were given forty-eight hours to decide when (at which break) they would receive their ferula otherwise additional punishment was liable to be added. Three or four masters were approved to dish it out and one had to report to their studies. Corporal punishment ended in the early 1990s, far too late for me.
