he was arousing his sleeping body, forcing his way into it. It was a difficulty and a struggle, for the body was sluggish and reluctant, and he had an odd but very uncomfortable feeling that he did not quite know how to fit into its swaddling bands his soul-shape, perhaps a little expanded by unwonted exercise. But at last, with a great gasp, he made himself one with it again, and, after some ineffectual efforts, succeeded in raising the heavy eyelids. He looked upon his study once more. Cold, dreary it seemed; fire and candles were both low; but that appeared to him rather a comfort than otherwise, for, as it was, the light was quite strong enough to reveal to him the bald ugliness of the colours his eyes fell upon, the bare angularity of the room. He had thought this study of his a model of tasteful furnishing, but now he closed his eyes in horror at its vulgarity. "Well," he said to himself, making another effort to arouse his senses, "I suppose, as Hartley used to say, these appearances are but appearances. I must summon that comfortable philosophy to my aid, and try to put up with my own surroundings. God bless you, Hartley and Elena; you have indeed begun your life!" TO THE SLAVE OF THE LAMP. What, Brain, art thou overwrought, to give no answer at all? my will, . O, but yield to the pulse of And cast off thy burden of sloth. Find a way for my spirit to fill; O, loosen thy leaden bands, unclose me the prison wall! Nay, Slave, art thou fainting and sick unto death of thy double thrall, To be open and quick to the word that comes when the breathing is still, And to work thy wheels the year through in the weary worldly mill? Should I starve my flesh and be free, would'st thou then respond to my call? I would love to leave thee, Dull brain of my pain, in my dream. and lie At rest in soft airs far away, where unsullied and azure the sky; Slave brain, I have torn and slain, can'st neither live nor die ? Weak face of despair, avaunt! Soul, arouse thee from slumbers numb, Flash thy fire in the gleam of new morn, when nor bird's throat nor man's should be dumb! The spirit doth move us in joy shall come. and maybe God's message SPIRIT OF THE UNIVERSITIES. MAGDALEN COLLEGE, OXFORD, August 22. I MAY be pardoned for availing myself of the exquisite quietude of the long Vacation to obtrude a few crude thoughts on the direction which academical legislation seems likely to take. Burns formulated a truism on the theme of "to see ourselves as others see us," but the doctrine he inculcated was humility. In my humble judgment, we have had rather more than enough of that equivocal virtue as regards our colleges. For several decades it has suited the purpose of publicists to insist with emphasis on the utter uselessness of these institutions, which have been contrasted unfavourably with the Universities of Germany and the United States. It has been argued that because Christ Church does not turn out periodically a Hegel, or Brazenose a Tischendorf, both these colleges serve no good purpose, and their revenues ought to be promptly merged in those of the University. Assuredly if either college, or any other college, fell under the category of indifference, the contention would be verifiable without reference to German philosophy or philology. Paradoxically enough, however, at the very moment when a certain set of iconoclasts are bent upon the annihilation of the independence of colleges, the outer world is lost in admiration of our collegiate system. An intelligent German, Frenchman, or American, acquainted with the past of Oxford or Cambridge, would bid us sublimate these noble institutions, instead of destroying them. The argument, I may remark, that every college at every stage of its existence should evolve results commensurate with its endowments is one which will not hold water. We do not dream of disestablishing Liverpool because the cotton trade fluctuates; neither would it be just to crush Oriel because it cannot turn out relays of Newmans, Puseys, Kebles, Arnolds, and Cloughs. Yet this destructive spirit is rampant just now. It is argued, because fellowships were productive of mischief, because the promising youth who gained one of these sinecures, now and then, instead of developing into a Solon, degenerated into a drone, a drunkard, or a madman, that, therefore, delenda est Carthago, all the fellowships are an evil, and as fellowships are the mainspring of the collegiate system, with them the colleges must go. A more haphazard and inconsequent style of reasoning it were difficult to conceive. Certainly there are notable instances of college Fellows having disgraced their societies, either positively or negatively, and the inutility of absolute sinecures cannot be disputed. But on the other hand one stands aghast at the alteration in contemplation, which seems to be to convert the fellowships into prizes tenable for a brief space, and to reduce the colleges to a condition of subservience to the University. Against such legislation it is difficult not to rebel. The autonomy of the college ought to be preserved; and, be it added, the governing body of these institutions should assuredly not be terminable prize holders, whose interest in the material welfare of the society which they rule could never be anything better than ephemeral and sentimental. Everything, however, at present is chaotic; and whereas in 1851 the colleges were strenuous in fighting their own battle, S. John's absolutely defying the Commission, in 1878 nobody seems to care one iota what becomes of corporations, once in their cohesion resembling an endowed Freemasonry, but now utterly rudderless, if not shipwrecked. We hear no plea of founder's intentions, no reverence for antiquity, no cry of collegium pro collegio. On the contrary, the ignoble idea prevails that so long as vested interests are held sacred, it matters not what becomes of any foundation. The game is not reform but revolution, and the old esprit de corps being dead, and the college, instead of being a home having been converted into a diversorium, nobody recks much whether its corporate existence be preserved or destroyed. The most irritating part of the whole business is that all this iconoclasm is contemplated in order to create empty lecture rooms for professors of abstract subjects quite wide of the University curriculum. Professor Jowett, as he is still designated-his titular distinction of Master of Balliol not being grasped by the press-will make a good Vicechancellor. He has wide sympathies which range as far as literature and art, and though he is unpopular with Oxford orthodoxy, his peculiarly gentle nature is acknowledged by those who like his 'doxy least. It is a matter of question, however, whether he is physically equal to control the turbulence of the Theatre; but nobody's virility can be gauged until it is tried. We shall anticipate a D.C.L. degree for Algernon Swinburne, who is the prime favourite of the Master, and possibly this distinction may be accorded to others of his, shall we say, classical school. Few, Dr. Cotton, Provost of Worcester, has merited a panegyric in the Daily Telegraph. He is distinguished, but only in an academical sense. however, will forget that he was the most courteous of Vice-chancellors, and has been throughout his long career not only a dignitary, but a gentleman. This would be rather a back-handed compliment were it not that not all Heads of Houses are distinguished for euphuism. TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDge, Aug. 19th. THE University Commissioners are said to have received an urgent representation from a body of men of high position in Parliament and the country, praying them to make some alteration in our Long Vacation system. And that many heads of families should be at their wit's end to know what to do with their sons during a four months' holiday, and should take fright at the opportunities for mischief likely to present themselves, can be readily imagined. Some strength of character is wanted in most cases, if work is to be kept up by one's self, amidst the distractions of society and sport away from the University, and there is no small danger of the loss or non-formation of the habit of steady application, which the duties of after life generally demand. Fortunately, however, for Cambridge students, the gates of the colleges are not, as I understand they are at Oxford, closed against those who seriously wish to make the most of their privileges of college membership; and now so many reside during July and August, that a visitor to the place might, if uninformed upon the matter, believe it to be full term. Whether the suspension of lectures is in itself an evil may be questioned. The lecturers get some quiet time for study and reflection, and as much good as can be obtained by their pupils can probably be secured in the twenty-four or twenty-five weeks during which they are at their posts. The misfortune is that the Universities may seem to the country at large to set the example of laxity, and it is always most desirable to avoid the appearance of evil. It will not surprise anyone if the commissioners make some change in the arrangement of the academical year. 66 The report lately issued by the Local Lectures Syndicate shows that the movement for organising "Lectures and classes in populous places' is still vigorous. During last winter and spring sets of lectures were going on in twenty places, in two of which, namely, Nottingham and Sheffield, results of a very marked character have been arrived at. In each of those towns the extension scheme has, in fact, brought into being a local college, and communications have lately been received by our Vice-Chancellor, both from Nottingham and Sheffield, pointing out the advisability of establishing under the auspices of the University Commissioners, new and definite relations between their respective colleges, and either, or both, of the older Universities. It is understood that those who played the most energetic part in originating the scheme have not so far found its success realising their fondest hopes, but everyone else thinks that success remarkable. The "youthful Gamaliels," as Mr. Alsager Hill once cuttingly called the lecturers, have made their way bravely, and have not caused shame to their academical mother. And, by-thebye, time has now matured several of those who commenced their work as very young B.A.'s. It was hardly unwise in the syndicate to entrust the commencement of their propagandism to men who would undertake it with all the freshness and buoyancy of youth, and who would very readily adapt themselves to circumstances. They were the men, moreover, whom upon economical grounds, it was best to employ. Just made bachelors of arts, and as yet bachelors in another sense of the word, two hundred and fifty pounds a year seemed very adequate compensation for work, accompanied by so much pleasant excitement, movement, and valuable experience. The fact that so many towns have not grown tired of paying all the expenses involved (for those expenses have not been borne by the University, nor have there been, I believe, more than two or three, if any, instances of the lectures being self-supporting) proves that the way in which the work has been done has been upon the whole deemed satisfactory. The movement has reacted favourably, too, upon the home life and work of the University. It has given a stimulus to a more extended culture. It has introduced a new element of vigour into college lectures, many of the resident lecturers having for a time done the "peripatetic," and learnt much. It has made Cambridge feel more than ever the responsibilities of her national position. Turning to small talk, I may tell you that the house near the rifle butts, which Mr. Champneys is building for a venerated ex-tutor of this college, and which, on account of its singular architectural features, excites general remark, is nearly ready for habitation. It has been suggested that Mr. Champneys resorted for the idea to a box of German toy bricks. At St. John's College the Fellows have taken in hand a grand reform in the kitchen. Henceforward they are not to be at the tender mercies of a great farmer of the whole cooking department, but are to administer it themselves. The phenomenon has been observable, during the past few weeks, of one of their eminent body, a gentleman very much less distinguished for his wardrobe than for his learning, proceeding with marked frequency to and from the railway station. He is in possession, it is said, of a season ticket, which enables him to buy in the Billingsgate and other neighbourhoods, the fish, fruit, &c., required for St. John's College Hall. The Professor of Latin meanwhile is, they say, abjuring all good things, in order that he may discover by experiment the minimum amount of food required to support life. Philanthropy, in the shape of concern about the luxury of the age and about the sorrows of the poor, suggested, I believe, this course of experimentation; but I am not the only person who greatly regrets that the valuable body of Professor Mayor should be regarded by himself as a "corpus vile." UNIVERSITY OF CALCUTTA, July 16th. THE University of Calcutta is an examining body, with power to confer degrees. It was incorporated by Act No. 2 of 1857, and consists of a Chancellor (the Governor-General of India for the time being), a ViceChancellor, and Fellows. These constitute the Senate. The Senate is divided into four faculties, namely, arts, law, medicine, and engineering. The executive government of the University is vested in the syndicate, which consists of the vice-chancellor and six of the Fellows, who are elected for one year by the several faculties, in the following proportion: three by the faculty of arts, one by the faculty of law, one by the faculty of medicine, and one by the faculty of engineering. Colleges and schools are affiliated to the University on complying with certain conditions. Thirty-nine institutions are at present affiliated in Arts up to the Bachelor of Arts standard; and eighteen up to the First Arts or Little-go standard. Eleven institutions are affiliated in Law and one in Medicine, namely, the Medical College at Calcutta. Two are affiliated in Engineering, the Presidency College at Calcutta, and the Thomason College at Roorkee, in the North-West Provinces. By its examinations the University influences education throughout the whole of the Bengal Presidency, i.e., from Calcutta to Peshawur. Besides, there are four institutions in Ceylon affiliated to the Calcutta University, and a few Burmese candidates present themselves for the entrance or Matriculation Examination. This and the First Arts Examination, or Little-go, are held at various centres throughout the country; the examination for the degree of Bachelor of Arts is held at two centres only, Calcutta and Agra. The total number of candidates that appeared for the Matriculation Examination held last December was 2720, of whom 1166 were admitted. For the First Arts Examination or Little-go, which is held at the same time, 791 candidates presented themselves, of whom 253 |