THE
PFITFJRITEI VoL . III .
FEBRUARY,
1
881 .
No .
18.
EVOLUTION : A REJOINDER. EJOICING, as I do, that the days are come or coming when truth can be sought after for its own sake, without reference to that which is of no value except in so far as it is founded upon it, that the time is not distant when even the shadow of persecution will have passed away, and all genuine efforts after real knowledge be looked upon with deserved favour,— in such a spirit as this I wish to join my friendly opponent, your nameless correspondent, in the common object of eliciting simply what is true with regard to the now almost engrossing subject of Evolution : so far, that is, as this object can be supposed to be served by two short and simple essays on a subject of such magnitude. There are, as Bacon says, an unsatisfactory class of persons who strive rather "to know what may be said than what should be thought " : to do this and go no further is mere word-fighting. But still, no doubt, one cannot go further without going as far. Truth, in fact, is best served by being looked at from both sides ; for one cannot be said truly to know what ought to be said in favour of any position, until one knows what may be said against it. There are then, I think, reasons good, and capable of reasonable compression, why one may justly hesitate to accept as certainly proved the conclusions which the last article on the above subject so positively laid down, as it seemed to me, in a somewhat axiomatic spirit ; though I carefully avoid the assertion that they are positively disproved, or perhaps ever will be . These reasons I am now to point out as well as my narrow
R
2
EVOLUTION : A REJOINDER.
limits will allow ; and at the formidable risk, too, of being set down as one of the "fools or bigoted ignoramuses" (pray, Mr. Editor, is that the correct plural ?) who are yet in wilful darkness, or at best in a kind of intellectual twilight . And it may be well to confess that all do not possess that degree of inner light which the writer seems to enjoy . What, however, surprises me, is that he himself informs us how that not very long since he "was wont to scoff " most stiff-neckedly for want of knowledge : I fear he has not yet dropped the bad habit, but is still scoffing for want of more. Seriously, it would be well if there were on all sides less of this calling names : invective is the cheapest, and vulgarest, but certainly the least convincing kind of argument . Besides, hasty dogmatism is thoroughly unscientific : it is nearly as shallow and empirical to rush hastily to a conclusion and assert it as a proven fact, as it is to be deaf to reason altogether. For instance, it is an unscientific state of mind which can regard Esau ' s hairiness as "the most positive proof" of any general conclusion at all . The most it can do is to render any such conclusion slightly more probable . If, therefore, we are to be dogmatized over like this, we may as well have it in the oldfashioned way ; but we have given up by this time the search for truth, pure and simple, which we set out with. Here, then, we differ, but only, so to speak, in Theory : it must, then, be my task now to point out a very few general reasons which in my eyes render the conclusions before obtained doubtful : I will not say that they prove them to be wrong. What is quite plain to every one that observes, whether he be much of a Naturalist or not, is that many animals, human and otherwise, are made up of much the same materials and on a very analogous plan : this I of course grant . But though much was made of this fact, yet I cannot see that it goes to prove anything, though the absence of it would disprove everything . To the question whether the various sorts of animals formed separate creations,—had separate beginnings, if that term is preferred,—or all sprang from a common origin ; to this the observed fact of a striking similarity offers no reply at all ; because it was to be expected in any case, as it is a priori very likely, that animals destined for living under similar conditions should be formed of similar substance and upon similar plans . This, then, does not
EVOLUTION : A REJOINDER.
:i
shew that one kind of animal was developed from another, it only renders it conceivable. I grant, too, that species so-called are most likely merely 'arbitrary distinctions, established in ignorance, and retained for convenience ; and that one melts so gradually into another that any line of separation is often purely conventional, like that great red mark in the map which separates what is called England from what is called Wales . I grant, also, that minor variations can be successfully produced by art or so-called accident, and rendered persistent too : and that sexual selection may perhaps act more powerfully than either of them in the same direction. If this were the question, discussion would be at an end : but it is not. The question is, whether amid the continuous variation of smaller details, there are, or are not, certain main and striking differences, such as a child can appreciate, which are essential and unchangeable. To this question any possible experience of ours is, so far as I can make out, not long enough to offer any sort of satisfactory reply at all. The result, then, might be to find that "all we know is that nothing can be known," were it not for the testimony of the rocks, to which we come next . Here lies, I conceive, both the chief strength of the position, and also its greatest weakness :— its strength as a Theory or imaginable hypothesis, since it is thus so clearly shewn that all things have tended upwards from the first, and that the higher has followed the lower in regular succession ; and its weakness as an accepted fact, since the intermediate forms which one would expect to find, on the supposition of all these gradations being derived from one another, arc conspicuously wanting ; and all that the most pronounced advocates of the Theory can do is to assert that no doubt these will be found, if we search long enough ; a kind of argument, one may observe, to which there is no reply. The absence of our own immediate progenitors may, perhaps, fairly be accounted for in the same way as the absence of apes : so that one of these may be allowed to explain the other : but this surely offers no explanation of the scarcity of other intermediate forms. There is, as one may observe, a neatness and symmetry about the Theory, which renders it fascinating and capable of carrying almost immediate conviction to a certain class of minds : but yet, for that very reason, a too ready conviction is a thing to be
4
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING.
guarded against. For this moral certainty, unshared by other minds accustomed to the consideration of a different class of facts, is altogether of too subjective a kind to be reliable, or to be appealed to as proof. For instance, it may be said, as the writer of the former essay has said, that the world ought to have been self-developed, and that this accords more with one's own idea of what is to be expected . But this is not proof to any but those who are prepared to believe and accept just what is most pleasant . What we think in the abstract ought to be, has really no place in a discussion about what is. I submit, then, while sharing the wonder wherefore so much stale and feeble repudiation has been wasted over those who uphold this belief, that without more light than is yet obtained, it would be premature to speak of this doctrine as any more than a pretty Theory, which it must be for the future to accept or to refute . I wish to add that I have carefully avoided the use of scientific terms, which tend to silence rather than convince those unaccustomed to them : and that I should not have ventured to approach this topic at all, for various reasons, had not a second essay been invited, or rather permitted, by the Editor.
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. [THE AMATEUR DRAMATIC CLUB'S ENTERTAINMENT, DEC. I 8 & 20, 1880 .]
HE croakers prophesied failure for the Theatricals, and the
T croakers, let us be thankful, were wrong. And yet their vaticinations seemed to have some reasonable foundation . The Club had lost Mr. Moss, to whom so much had been due in previous years ; it had lost at least one actor, whose histrionic talent, exerted often and well on its behalf, it was not likely soon to forget ; and a certain self-denying ordinance had been passed in the matter of subscriptions. In spite of all this, the theatricals were a brilliant success . We might say more, but we remember the dictum of Dogberry, "Comparisons are odorous," and the applause with which its utterance was received by an enthusiastic audience. In view, then, of this success, we have pleasure in congratulating the Club on the selection of the play . It gave scope for an
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING .
5
unusually large number of pretty scenes, of which we may mention particularly the dance in Lconato ' s house and the midnight rites at Hero's tomb, while the tableau at the end was as charming a picture as we have ever seen on the school stage. Let us here acknowledge our obligations where they are due. First of all, we must thank Mr . Yeld for his self-denying kindness and scholarly help, this year called into requisition more than ever. Baskett has been an excellent secretary and treasurer; how he has found time to do the work of these two offices in addition to acting Benedick, not to mention his services athletic and editorial, is a perfect mystery to us. Brady ' s mechanical talent and industry have been extremely valuable, and we shall miss him sadly next year ; whilst the scene-painters have done their work remarkably well . We do not wish to forget the Prompters, either, or those scene-shifters and call-boys who, though their names be not written down, have a great deal of work to do, of which the audience little dreams . Last, but not least, we owe our thanks to Mr . and Mrs . Stephenson for very valuable assistance of various kinds. We pass to the consideration of the actors individually . To take Baskett first, the school has never, in our opinion, produced a more artistic and thoughtful performance than his Benedick . He had got hold of a distinct conception of his part, and every word and gesture harmonized thoroughly with it . We congratulate him upon his song ; but his acting was so evenly good, that we cannot select anything for special praise, still less anything to find fault with. Hodgson, too, was an excellent Beatrice . In one or two scenes he did not quite rise to a conception of that larger soul which the lady who was " born to speak all mirth and no matter " now and again reveals . But generally he was very good . When he was left alone with Benedick, in the latter part of the church scene, he did a very difficult piece of acting to perfection ; and he was equally good in the last scene of all, his laconic reply to Bencdick's "Do not you love me ?" being simply exquisite. No one who had seen Grahame as heroine for three years in succession would doubt for a moment his capability for his part this year. At the same time to say, as some did, that he looked rather too tall for Hero, was a fair, if not a profound criticism. We do not imagine Beatrice ' s gentle and retiring cousin as " a
6
MUCH All() ABOUT NOTHING.
daughter of the gods divinely tall ." Such an idea, and this idea Grahame's appearance unfortunately suggested, does not sort well with Benedick's description of her as " Leonato's short daughter," "too low for a high praise, and too little for a great praise " ; unless, at least, we are to see in the jocose bachelor's remarks a refinement of sarcasm that will no doubt commend itself to the New Shakspere Society. But we were quite ready to forget this trifling incongruity, as soon as Grahame began to act . Throughout the part he acted well, but the church-scene calls for special remark. Here there fell to him, in the lingering agony of the accusation, at first vague, but gradually gathering definiteness, the most difficult piece of acting—especially of dumb acting—in the play, and he acquitted himself worthily . When he concentrated a world of pathos into those words "0 my father . . . Refuse me, hate me, torture me to death," he won, in the hush that fell over the crowded room, a triumph greater than any applause, and a triumph he richly deserved. Of A . R . Stephenson (Claudio), we cannot speak so favourably. He was too much prone to striking attitudes when there was no necessity for so doing . Besides, though he showed very decided skill in the less sentimental scenes, in keeping a flippant tone in the more sentimental ones, he seemed to forget that Claudio 's rather shallow nature was just the one to show its sorrows openly. It could work off its grief in a dainty lyric, where a deeper nature would have been silent : none the less ought the lyric to have been read with emotion. G . G. Richardson was very good as Don Pedro. In the garden scene, where Benedick imagines himself secreted in the arbour, Pedro and Claudio scarcely disguised their intentions sufficiently; they would not have deceived Benedick if they had not borne their conference a little more sadly . In their later interviews with him they were both admirable. Brady (Leonato) was, here and there, indistinct . We were the more sorry for this, because at no single point did he fall short of the spirit of his part . His acting in the church scene, where Shakespeare has balanced the intensity of the daughter's speechless anguish with the father's impassioned eloquence, was full of feeling . We were much pleased, too, with Brockbank as Pon
7
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING.
Yohn. Ike and L. E . Stevenson really looked and spoke like most accomplished villains—they might have been practising as amateur casuals for a few weeks. Barnby, also, was a very fair Conrade. What shall we say of Dogberry ? He was perfectly inimitable, and we have all the more pleasure in congratulating him upon the way in which he repeatedly brought down the house, because he never yielded to the besetting sin of an actor in such a part, the temptation to win cheap applause by over-acting . And what we say of Dogberry applies to Verges. Of H . C . B . Clayforth's Friar Francis, on the first night, we will say nothing, on the principle, nil de mortuis nisi bonum . He was unfortunate enough to incapacitate himself for the second performance, and G . H . Eyre kindly and courageously took his place, without even a rehearsal . He succeeded so well, that we only wished he had appeared in a more prominent part. Margaret and Ursula were both good, and we hope to see them again next year . Griffith, too, fully justified our expectations of a good song by his " Sigh no more," and Bailey personated well the rather uninteresting character of Antonio. The argument on the programme was again contributed by J . H . Piggin, but we missed a spoken Prologue, such as those supplied in previous years by Mr . Moss and Mr. Veld . The band, which, to adopt the phrase in the play and on the programme, "drew to pleasure us," gave full satisfaction. To conclude, we would point the moral of the Theatricals at the risk of seeming not to adorn their tale. Some of us have regretted to see in the school lately a growing feeling of selfish indifference to school institutions . It has shown itself in more ways than one ; in the humiliating record of the last Cricket season ; in the spiritlessness which has allowed the Debating Society to die out, and—as a correspondent tells us in another column—made the Library practically inaccessible to the majority of its subscribers. This being the case, we are glad to look upon the success of these Theatricals—more than ever the product of united and unselfish work—as a triumph of a better spirit, a genuine spirit of energy and union alive and powerful in the school . But Dogberry must have bestowed some of his tediousness on us ; so let us haste to follow his example, and " humbly give " our readers " leave to depart . " QUIVIS.
8
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING.
L1ST OF OFFICIALS, ACTORS,
ETC.
President,—The Rev. H . M . Stephenson. Committee,—F . T. Griffith, G. H . Eyre. A. Peters, A . R. Stephenson, A . E. Douglas, F . W . Greenhow. Honorary Secretary and Treasurer,--B . G . M . Baskett. The Staff: Stage Manager, G . Veld, Esq. E . W . Clayforth. Prompter, J . H . Collinson. Under Prompter, Property-Man, J . C. Bailey. B . G . M . Baskett. Super-Master, j N . P . \V . Brady. Master-Carpenters, P . Hodgson. The New Scenery by N . P . W . Brady, IV . E . Brockbank, S P . Hodgson. The Dresses and Properties by Samuel May, Costumier, Bow St ., London. The Cast : Don Pedro, prince of Arragon, G. G . Richardson. W . E. Brockbank. Don John, his bastard brother, . A . R. Stephenson. Claudio, a young lord of Florence, Benedick, a young lord of Padua, B . G . M . Baskett. Leonato, governor of Messina, N . P . W. Brady. Antonio, his brother, . J . C . Bailey. F . T. Griffith. Balthazar, attendant on Don Pedro, Borachio' L . E . Stevenson. followers of Don John, W. H . Barnby. Conrade, H . C . B . Clayforth. Friar Francis, Dogberry, a constable, R . Kitching. Verges, a headborough, . . E . Crossley. F . W . Greenhow. A Sexton, . H . Kitchin. A Boy, Messenger, H . G . Joy. T . E . Grahame. Hero, daughter to Leonato, Beatrice, niece to Leonato, P. Hodgson. . N . Stephenson. Margaret W }gentlewomen attending on Hero, Ursula, J R. Crawshaw. Watch, Pages, Attendants, Gaolers, Citizens. THE ARGUMENT. They are hushed, the drums of battle : surely we should feast to night ; Hardly yet has fair Messina looked upon so proud a sight ;
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING .
9
Hardly after shall Messina look upon the sight again, For the Prince, Don Pedro, cometh, and he brings a goodly train. Benedick and Pedro's brother and young Claudio all are here, And the governor, Leonato, means to give them royal cheer. Leonato's daughter, Hero, true and tender is and fair, Scarcely hath young Claudio seen her when he gives his heart to her. Soon a marriage is agreed on—but alack ! when winds are high, Often hath a goodly vessel foundered with the haven nigh. And the Prince's villain brother hath conceived a villain plan; If the Prince can not be wounded, still his dearest comrade can; He will injure Pedro, if he injure Claudio at his side ; He will injure Claudio deeply, if he rob him of his bride. Little of the coming mischief think the lovers and their friends, While themselves are busy plotting merrily for other ends. So for Hero ' s laughing cousin, Beatrice, a trap is laid, That she, too, may seek for marriage who has sworn to live a maid; And for Benedick, the mirthful, there is laid a counter-plan, That the scorner of all women may be styled " the married man . " But the evil plotter meanwhile playeth well his darker game, Casts upon the lady Hero foulest slander, fiercest shame. All successful is his plotting, when there comes a sudden turn— Fools reveal the dastard secret wiser men could not discern. So the lovers are united—Claudio to his Hero true, Benedick to Beatrice, marriage satisfied at last to woo; And, mid weeping changed to laughter, when for merriment and glee Shall Messina, fair Messina, two such weddings ever see ? Mighty prober of the darkness of our drear and dreamful way, Of the ghostly fire-lit cavern where the fitful shadows play, Light and darkness interweaving their faint tissue on the walls, Joy as now up-Hares the flame-tongue, sorrow as anon it falls; O thou fire-bearer Promethean, with thy torch of nature lit, High thy torch is held for guidance : we would light our torch at it. For we are perplexed and troubled, as the shadows come and go, Phantom men and phantom women hurrying ever to and fro : Yet we find, as thou dust show us, something of a hidden plan, Working to a higher purpose in this mystery of man ; Seeing vice awhile triumphant, virtue seeming to be shamed, Seeing self-love turn to sorrow, and the haughty spirit tamed, Seeing peace succeed to turmoil, even as, when rains are done, Comes a glory in the heavens at the setting of the sun . J. H. P.
10
FOOTBALL. VERY dog has his day ; football has had its season, and is now, for the time at least, past, and it seems almost out of place to speak of football at a time when boating occupies, or ought to occupy, the attention of all . However, since the last number of the Peterite was issued, we have had a run of unbroken success, winning three important matches in succession. The Hull Town Club, evidently despising a team consisting of— what the columns of a magazine connected with the parish of Clifton have named—" their more youthful opponents," sent a weaker team than that which we met in our first match, and consequently were easily beaten, as they only gained one try to St . Peter's four goals and five tries . Our next match was against Thorp Arch School . At the commencement of the game St . Peter's were hard pressed, principally owing to our opponents ' spirited forward play . A long run, however, by Douglas, and some sharp passing, credited St . Peter's with a goal ; and, the ice being broken, a long list of goals and tries was the result . Thorp Arch failed to score, but, had they not become so easily dispirited, perhaps our victory would not have been so decisive : three goals and five tries to nil. The return match with Clifton was far more equally matched, as the Cliftonians, profiting by past experience, had considerably strengthened their team by the addition of C . Wood and T. Ashburner . At first St . Peter's held the advantage, and secured in the first half-time a goal and a try ; the game, after sides were changed, was more keenly contested, and C . Wood twice passed our backs, and Ashburner once, though from none of the tries was a goal kicked, and St . Peter ' s were left winners by one goal and two tries to three tries.
E
As a whole, the football season this year has been fairly successful . Out of ten matches we have won six and lost four. We commenced the season rather badly, bit as time went on the team shewed manifest signs of improvement : the forwards played well together, and with greater spirit and dash, and whenever an opportunity occurred, unselfishly passed the ball to the backs . There is still, however, room for improvement in the way of forming the scrimmages . Amongst those who rendered
NOTES AND ITEMS .
11
good service for the forwards we noticed particularly J . C . Bailey, F .W . Greenhow, and L . E . Stevenson . Of these, the first two are always to be seen playing well on the ball, whilst the last is chiefly remarkable for his successful " rushes," his very weight carrying him through his opponents . The backs have played very fairly throughout, B . G . M . Baskett, our worthy captain, T. E . Grahame, and G . Bulman, especially shewing fine play. Baskett and Grahame—playing three-quarters and half-backs respectively—have been indefatigable in their exertions, and have saved the School in many a match . Bulman and Gay, too, have proved tolerably safe backs, the former especially collaring well and noted for his long and effective runs. Douglas, the other half-back, has played as well as any one, and we have never seen him at any time off the ball . He probably has done more than any one for the success of the team . Wood, though rather slow at handling the ball, has shown a fair pace. But what contributed chiefly to our success towards the latter part of the season was the marked improvement shewn in the "passing" game,which secured, instead of (as before) only individual exertions, unity and concentrated effort . This was chiefly conspicuous in the return match against Richmond School, when the Richmondians, evidently despairing of final success, effected, by one of their number, a coup d'ctat, burst through the—I will not say serried—ranks of their opponents—for no one hindered the carrier of Richmond's fortunes in his course—and then, amongst the cheers of the admirers of this brilliant achievement, kicked a goal. We noticed, however, at times, more particularly at the beginning of the season, a slackness in following up well, in consequence of which our opponents sometimes have been able to handle the ball and make a run which might otherwise have been prevented . This we hope to see remedied next football season. The Old Boys' Match was to have been played on Tuesday, December 21st, but was prevented by the weather.
NOTES AND ITEMS. E are happy to have to record another honour gained by A . Gorham, who went from St. Peter's to Shrewsbury School, at Trinity College, Dublin, viz ., the Chancellor' s Gold
W
12
NOTES AND ITEMS.
Medal for knowledge of Latin : this is about the best honour of the University. W . English has gained (as we omitted last month to mention) the Gold Medal at London University for Medicine. C . J . Daniel was placed 9th out of Ho candidates for admission to Sandhurst, and O. C . Williamson is admitted to Woolwich. J . R. Husband was ordained deacon shortly before Christmas, and licensed to St . Mary's, Hull, passing first in the Examination. Our readers will be glad to hear that Mr . Hugh Moss is shortly to have a play of his produced at the Gaiety, London: at a morning performance, it is true ; but still the fact reflects great credit on him. The Editors wish to remove an impression which, they believe, prevails among the masters, that contributions from them are not wished for. They assure the masters that, so far from this being the case, they will be most grateful for all such assistance from them. We felt reluctant to disturb the Debating Society in its grave ; we thought that after life's fitful fever it slept well . But as it appears there is some likelihood of its resuscitation, we may mention that one of its old members recently distinguished himself at the Oxford Union by a maiden speech much above the average . The report, however, that one of the London dailies sent down a special for the occasion, lacks confirmation. Another O .P. has just been elected Secretary of his College Debating Society at the same University. May we implore our subscribers to acquaint us at once of any change in their address ? They would save the Treasurer much trouble by attending to this. We were much affected by the letter we received from a gentleman—we cannot with strict accuracy call him a subscriber or even a reader—who felt aggrieved at being requested for his subscription when it was only eleven months overdue . He said he had not time to read the magazine, but he had taken it for the sake of the old School . We felt ourselves heartless wretches, until we reflected that, if many others adopted the same way of showing their love for the old School, the Peterite would speedily expire .
18
CAMBRIDGE LETTER. E little fishes! the fatal event—intimated so long ago to our
readers as in the first Cambridge letter ever written by the Y real and original Kambridge Korrespondent, has at length come upon
us . The TRAM runs : but, let me add in haste, the University Library is not yet an aquarium, nor the Senate House a Skating Rink. As to University news—the R. U . Football fifteen have only yet been beaten by Richmond, who brought down a very strong team ; which shews them to be quite equal to, if not above, the average ; and it was satisfactory to hear that such a good and even match was played against Oxford ; though here I must score one off Keble College . A match of great interest took place in Cambridge towards the end of the term, between Keble, Oxford, and St . John ' s, Cambridge—in which St . John 's beat Keble by a try to nil. As regards Boating, our prospects for the race—if one may judge by the newspapers—are not so particularly bright : our trials seem to have been as good as those of Oxford, on the whole ; but the latter have very few vacancies to fill up, whereas our boat will consist chiefly of untried men : however, it is yet too early in the year to judge with any accuracy the course things may take : ah, could one only now Boycott the Oxford Eight ! The authorities have decided to build an University Boat-house : let us hope it may not share the sad fate of Oxford ' s new erection. There has been much excitement up here over the vexed Greek Question : briefly, the advocates for its abolishment in the Little-go contend that its place would be better supplied by one or more foreign languages ; but their opponents have proved themselves too strong as yet, and the question is shelved for the present. It may interest a few to be told, if they do not know it already , that two Heads have died this term—the Masters of Caius and Pernbroke—their places being filled by N. M . Ferrers and C . E . Searle : also that Canon Fleming preaches before the University next May. As to College matters and personal details : there is little to relate. J . H . Mallinson rowed in (eheu !) the losing College trial at Christ ' s ; from the first-captaincy of which College J . E . Stephenson retired this term ; and P . L . Newman has been playing football for the same College . We have missed this last term, too, the familiar forms of R . M. Ainslie and the (now) Rev . J . R . Husband : they both took their degrees in June, and have vanished from the scene .
14
SCHOOL LETTER.
I have been requested to correct any error which may have crept into the last Cambridge letter : there is only one of omission—A . A. Gibson, of Pembroke, being an O .P. ; his name was not in the list. MAX.
SCHOOL LETTER. HE day-boys met on Tuesday, January z5th, but, in consequence
of the frost which disordered household arrangements, the T boarders did not come back for some days . We have lost several whom we shall miss, among whom is conspicuously Bulman, who is gone to Durham University . We heartily wish him success. It is to be hoped that this term S . Peter ' s will shake off its conservatism, and adhere no longer to its old senseless custom of having the Sports in the Midsummer term . The end of this term (if indeed we must have them at the end of any term) is decidedly the time for such things. It is further to be hoped that the School will not show the selfishness it has displayed these last two years, in refusing to take pewter instead of silver prizes for the Boat Races . One cannot speak too strongly against those selfish persons who incited the majority to vote as they did, or those silly people who followed their leaders like sheep in a course so manifestly contrary to the interests of the School, however profitable to themselves . Now that such damage has been done, it may seem like locking the stable door when the horse is stolen, thus to economise, but it still will be benefitting our successors. There is another institution which should not be allowed to drop— the Debating Club . It has fallen purely and simply through laziness on the part of its members : it is the general spirit that is to be blamed, not that of the probable president. We hope to see it revived, and with all its pristine glory, this term. Football may be played with advantage this term . Probably it will be continued : but there is wanting something besides the action of the authorities, viz ., willingness to play on the part of the School. We would advise the Club to cultivate the second team especially ; it should be a feeder to the first team next season . It certainly is now almost as important as the first. The Editors and self beg heartily to congratulate the School on the success of the Theatricals. Something might be said also about the prologue, which was even better than usual . Amongst O .P . ' s who were there (non-resident in York) we noticed J . H. Piggin, J . E. Stephenson, W . S . Fox, S . J . J . S . le Maistre, W . Mitchell, J . A .
CORRESPONDENCE.
15
Jackson, W . J . L . Richardson, A . P. Chadwick . There were misguided people sitting in the gallery who were anxious to hear the play. Such people, we would remind O . P ' s and others it may concern, would not more easily attain their desire, because the gentlemen who stood at the hall door were talking and laughing. JAMES CRAWLEY. .—I hope you will all pay your subscriptions promptly. P .S
CORRESPONDENCE. - THE LIBRARY. To THE EDITORS OF " THE PETERITE . " MY DEAR SIRs,—Permit me for a few moments to draw your attention to the tremendous hardships of the position of the Librarians Poor things ! It is a truly dreadful task to keep that book, is it not ? It is a great trial to open Library so often in the week and to wait so long there . Night after night do they open the doors : night after night do they stand waiting with exemplary patience : why, I have known them wait for three minutes after the school bell has rung ! People might have expected the School to be grateful : but no, they are not . They even insinuate that the functionaries in question are lazy . But it is not true . The fact is that those who want books come in throngs long after time ; it is not to be expected they should get what they want, when they do not come till five minutes after school has left. How admirable is the sternness of the officials when they turn away those who come late, without their books . They never seem to tire of inculcating the principle that punctuality is a virtue. But if they are stern in that case, their courtesy sometimes approaches laxity . I have known gentlemen keep books for six months, and with mistaken kindness the functionaries never ask for them . They perhaps desire to extend the cause of Education. Let me suggest a remedy . Let a third colleague be chosen out of Mr. Adams ' s House . He would help the poor overworked functionaries . They could not then incur the suspicion of laziness ; they then must fully satisfy all . This may seem a poor reward of months of toil ; but rest assured, Librarians, your labours will be appreciated. The truth will out . Some day you will be extolled and the suspicion be removed : but at present your brilliance is not seen . Be not discouraged : the day will come when your light shall no longer be
16
CORRESPONDENCE.
hidden under a bushel . But, in the meantime, take my advice, and elect an assistant out of the other house . Your disinterestedness, so strikingly manifest in your actions hitherto to all who look below the sur f-ace, will not grudge him the credit he will gain with posterity as having been a sharer in your glory . Meanwhile, gentlemen, I am one who is AN ADMIRER OF WORTH (when he sees it). [We are not sure that we have fathomed all our correspondent's sarcasm, but we may direct attention to his suggestion that one of the librarians should belong to Mr . Adams ' s house . This used to be the rule, but it was dropped because members of that house declined the office, finding it too much trouble to come down to the school to hold library . But it is not necessary that they should give out books ; the real use of a librarian in that house would be that the authorities would have some control over the books there .—EDIToRS.]
To THE EDITORS OF " THE PETERITE . " DEAR SIRS,—I am sure the well-wishers of out-door pursuits cannot be too grateful to the powers that be in the Debating Society, for the way in which they have denied themselves the pleasure of presenting an overpowering rival attraction . Where eloquence has such force it must be administered with care, but may I venture to suggest that frequent homoeopathic doses would be better, than large—if occasional—draughts. Our authorities can hardly plead want of matter for discussion— politically at any rate, and I cannot venture to suggest that they are fearful of undertaking a defence which must be to men of their powers a light task . Only I might remark that a strong dose of eloquence may be attended with fatal results when the system has too long been without it, and, as I cannot suppose they intend to be so cruel as altogether to deprive us of that benefit, may I ask when we are again to enjoy it, that we may be prepared ? I am yours, &c ., RIGDUM FUNNIDOS. A letter from A .E .C ., some Queries, and several other contributions, are held over till next month. OXFORD : PRINTED
BY W .
R . BOWDEN, 59, HIGH STREET .