ed. Formerly, the regularly educated bore a vast proportion to the irregular ly educated part of the community. The mind of the country, which had been truly liberalized, by an elaborate and purifying process of education and intercommunion with the wise and good, was decidedly ascendant throughout the learned professions, and in the great council of the nation. At present the case is reversed. The irregularly and imperfectly educated bear a vast proportion to the regularly educated part of the community; and the Church, which is tolerably strict respecting the qualifications of those admitted into holy orders, is the only profession not overrun by a species of spurious liberalism, the child of conceited ignorance, and the parent of anarchy and revolution. Now, this is an evil which can never be remedied by any enlargement of the limits of our Universities. The commonage of literature over which the mind of the country has been permitted to range, is too boundless for academic enclosure; and it is impossible to make collegiate rules either commensurate or compatible with that spirit of intellectual activity which is at present so strongly excited, and so universally diffused. Nor can it be denied, that the cases are not a few in which selftaught men have made attainments, which have rarely been surpassed by those whose studies were prosecuted under the most favourable circumstances within the walls of an university. What we, therefore, would, with great humility, venture to suggest to the learned persons who preside over our venerable seats of learning is this;that they would bestow some attention upon devising a plan by which the benefit and the rank of a regular education may be, as far as possible, extended to those who are desirous of obtaining them, but who are not so circumstanced as to be able to do so by residing in a University; that thus some attempt might be made to raise the standard of attainment, and stimulate the proficiency of those to whom "a little learning," (which they cannot be prevented acquiring,) might indeed prove a "dangerous thing." Is not the forward and presumptuous dogmatism, at present so lamentably prevalent in matters both religious and political, at least as much owing to the want of proper direction and encou ragement, as to any irreclaimable per-> versity in the human mind? We think so; and we would fain prevent it, by looking kindly, and speaking cheeringly, to those who are struggling upwards, unassisted, on the rugged path of literary eminence, and lending then a helping hand, and vouchsafing them a gracious hint, where they must otherwise stumble, or be disposed to remain stationary. Thus they may be induced to carry on their studies to a degree of completeness, which would obviate much of the mischief likely to arise from crude and imperfect acquirements. Instead of a jealousy towards their more regularly graduated brethren, they would cherish a feeling of affection and respect; and if they did not themselves arrive at the land of promise, they would, at all events, come within sight of it, under circumstances which would dispose them to pronounce a blessing rather than a curse upon those who were more favoured. Thus the bad principles which so universally prevail amongst the irregularly educated, might be, in a great measure, prevented; and the bad feeling with which they are disposed to regard all the regularly educated classes, would be altogether removed. A certain course of study, which might easily be prescribed, and which would imply not a superficial, but a thorough acquaintance with much that is humanizing and elevating in literature, and much that is profound and ennobling in philosophy, must necessarily give rise to an "esprit du corps," and serve to detach those who had made a suitable proficiency in it from the ruffian levellers by whom the peace of the country is disturbed, and its institutions endangered. There would thus be multiplied a species of lay fraternity, who would make common cause with their brethren of the University, and serve to break, if not to repel, the violence of that formidable combination of ignorance, violence, and presumption (those Titans of our day) by whom they are threatened; and who may otherwise prove as terrible in their hostility, as they are abominable in their principles, or monstrous in their pretensions. But whatever may be thought of this latter proposal, neither Oxford nor Cambridge need apprehend any loss of reputation from the closest and the most cordial intercourse and intercom munity with their younger sister in Ireland. "The University," says Bishop Jebb, himself one of its brightest living ornaments, "which, in its earliest days, produced Usher, the most profoundly learned offspring and ornament of the Reformation; and Loftus, in Oriental letters rivalled only by his great coeval Pocock; which afterwards sent forth, to shine among the foremost of our Augustan age, Parnel, the chastest of our poets; Swift, the purest of our prose writers; and Berkeley, the first of our metaphysicians: which formed, nearly in our own time, perhaps within the recollection of some noble Lords who hear me, Goldsmith, our most natural depictor of life and manners; Burke, the greatest philosophic statesman of his own or any other age or country; -and, why should I not add Grattan, the eloquent assertor of his country's rights, the parent of Irish independence?-the University, which sent forth such men, is not now degenerating, is not likely to degenerate, from her ancient rank and name, and needs not blush to be compared with either University of England. On this subject, if I speak with more than common interest, I speak at the same time soberly, advisedly, and from intimate acquaintance with the facts. The course of study there laid down, the rules of discipline there enjoined, are well known to me; and how those studies are directed, and how that discipline is administered, under the learned, wise, and excellent person who presides over that University, I could abundantly and most satisfactorily testify, were I not restrained by the consideration that, from early youth, that person* has been among the most familiar, and most cordial of my friends." When it is considered that the Dublin University, although founded since 1593, could not be said to have enjoy➡ ed quiet, or indeed to have been free from disturbance, for one hundred years after its foundation, and that no provision was made by its founders, for what may be called literary leisure, without which no work of great extent, or of lasting utility, can fairly be expected; when it is considered, that the government and education of more than fifteen hundred students is confided to a provost, and five and twenty fellows, by whom also various arduous professorships and offices connected with the regimen of the University are. filled, it will be seen with how little, reason, from men so circumstanced, any great exertions in the field of general literature, are to be expected. And yet, we think, the eloquent enumeration of great names, which we have extracted from the speech of the learned Bishop, and which will live as long as letters endure, were sufficient to shield her from the reproach of being" the silent sister." To these may be added, Dodwell and Leland, and Husey, Burgh, and Yelverton, and Flood, and Fitzgibbon, and Curran, and Burke, and Plunket, and Magee,† • Dr Kyle, Provost of the Dublin University. +We cannot omit extracting the following sketch of the character of Archbishop Magee, from a little pamphlet which appeared some years since in Dublin. The writer, having refuted the calumnies by which his Grace was assailed, thus proceeds: "And here I think it unnecessary to insist on what no one who values his own character can pretend to deny, Dr Magee's pre-eminent claim to distinction for learning and ability. When in College he was not more remarkable for the vigour of his understanding than for the goodness of his heart. His attainments as a scholar were not more calculated to inspire respect, than his warmth and sincerity as a friend, and his courtesy and urbanity as a gentleman, to win and secure esteem and admiration. I question whether there ever was an individual in the University so deeply, so universally, and so permanently beloved. The great powers of his mind were so liberally exerted on behalf of others, and his prodigious intellectual superiority, of the consciousness of which it was impossible that he should divest himself, sat so easy upon him, that those who applied to him for advice or assistance did so with so much faith in the cordial and unostentatious generosity of his nature, that they seemed ra ther to be drawing upon a banking house, where they had made a provision to meet their demands, than soliciting what depended upon the will of another. And well might they be thus confident in their appeals to a heart which beats but for purposes of benevolence. There was such an air of frankness in his manner, and his fine countenance so sparkled with delight when employed in the service of his friends, that and Hales, and Greaves, and Bur- ford or Cambridge might well be rows; men of whom, assuredly, Ox- proud; but upon whom, we suppose, they might almost be deceived into the belief that they were doing him a favour in permitting him to oblige them. His means and opportunities have been few compared with those of other men; but I venture to say, that if the number of those who, at one time or another, had reason to acknowledge him as their benefactor, could be collected together, they would form a phalanx before him through which the enemies of the Established Church, numerous as they are, and who must, of course, be his enemies, would find it difficult to penetrate. "In our College the tutors are almost proverbially kind and generous to their pupils. And they have all so much to do, that it is not surprising if they confine themselves to the care of those of whom they are, in an especial manner, the guardians and instructors. But it was the peculiarity of Dr Magee that he was felt as an almost universal benefactor. His presence diffused a cheering and a vivifying influence through the University. As all classes took pride in his talents, so all classes claimed the privilege of his patronage. There were few, from the highest to the lowest of either the fellows or students, who would not, almost instinctively, turn to him for sympathy or assistance in any case of distress or perplexity. And any appropriation of his services by his own pupils would be resented as a kind of monopoly, derogatory to him, and injurious to the University. "A severe devotion to abstract science is not always beneficial to the mind. Attainments, made with difficulty, are commonly valued beyond their importance. Accordingly, many men, eminent for their proficiency in science, have been not a little' tinged with pedantry, and inflated with pride, even while they were so obviously without any intellectual character upon general subjects, that, without the grade of collegiate rank, they must sink to a very ordinary level in society. But Dr Magee's proficiency was so rapid, and made with so much ease, the most formidable difficulties so speedily vanished before his intuitive sagacity, that his success never inspired him with any inordinate self-sufficiency. His mind was never overlayed by its vast and various stores of knowledge, nor his natural character disfigured by the slightest shade of affectation. On the contrary, there appeared, in his whole behaviour, something so undisguised, something so transparent, something so eminently and intrinsically. great and excellent, as to render the stamp of academic distinction nugatory and superfluous. Wherever he went, he carried about with him, in the shining qualities of his mind, his own credentials. He seemed rather to have come down from some higher sphere, than to have been raised from some lower one to the station which he occupied. And it was matter of common observation, that the University derived more lustre from its connexion with Magee, than Magee from his connexion with the University. "But the sweetest and most engaging instances of his philanthropy, were undoubtedly those in which he made it his business, and found it his pleasure, to direct and animate by his advice the young men in whom he perceived any remarkable degree of ability. While he literally watched over them with the affection of a father, he entered into their views, and concerned himself in their interests, with the warmth and familiarity of a friend. Were they desponding, they were cheered; were they negligent, they were counselled; were they straitened by pecuniary difficulties, relief was liberally afforded. Did they experience a difficulty in mastering any of the severer sciences, with all the cares and business of his laborious station upon him, his assistance never was withheld. "Many are the hours of despondency which hang upon the spirits of the young man, who, unsupported by wealth or patronage, is labouring, by the path of academic distinction, for the attainment of a reputable independence. Frequent are the misgivings which damp his ardour in a pursuit in which health is not seldom irrecoverably lost before the object is accomplished. And no one feels, with more poignant bitterness," that sickness of the heart which arises from hope deferred."-How often has Dr Magee passed, from the sweet privacy of his own domestic circle, to the lonely room of the pale and wasted votary of science, and banished, by his benignant presence, and his cheerful and animating conversation, the morbid melancholy that was preying upon him, and that might otherwise have brought him to an untimely grave! How often have the studies, which were abandoned in disgust or despair, been resumed at his instance, with alacrity and diligence, and ultimately rewarded with a to use the eloquent language of Grattan when speaking of the great Kirman, "the curse of Swift must have fallen," because they were Irishmen and men of genius, and employed that genius in the service of their country. The celibacy of the fellows of the Dublin University has been a subject much discussed; and many are disposed to consider the restraint thus put upon them unwise, unjust, and injurious. The reasons which render celibacy uncomfortable and objectionable are so obvious, and have been so frequently before the public, that the reader, we are persuaded, will excuse us for not setting them forth at large. Would that we could equally calculate upon his forbearance, while we defend the present practice, and offer what appear to us conclusive argu ments against any meditated innovation! As the college is intended for the benefit of the country, so the fellows are appointed for the use of the college. The first consideration, therefore, is not what may be most comfortable for the one, but what may be most expedient for the other. We will first state the hardship to which the fellow is subjected by not being permitted to marry, and next, the grounds upon which such an injunction may be defended. The man who is a candidate for a fellowship, knows very well the condition on which alone it can be obtained. He is, therefore, as it were, a purchaser with notice. He cannot complain, without being thought unreasonable, of a privation to which, with his eyes open, he consented; and his submission to which was indispensable to his success. So far, we think, the regulation is free from the imputation of injustice. But still its actual hardship is complained of. And what is its hardship? Let us suppose a young man to get a fellowship at five and twenty. He will, in all probability, have the option of a valuable church preferment before ten years. That is, before five and thirty he may retire from college upon L.1000 a-year. He is not, then, assuredly too old to be married; and it curiously happens, that that is the very period of life that has been fixed upon, by one of the wisest men who ever lived, as the most suitable in which, for those who live in our latitudes, to enter into the married state. So much for the hardship of the condition, upon which a young man receives a most eligible provision for life, and rank and consideration in the world! And now, a word respecting the advantages of the present practice. Those who have been educated in Dublin College will, we believe, all bear testimony to the purity and integrity with which every thing relating to its internal administration is conducted. A young man from the remotest part of Ireland, friendless and unconnected, enters the Examination Hall, and takes his seat on the fellowship bench, with a perfect conviction that justice will be done him, and that his success will be measured by his deserts, no matter who the candidates are, who are contending against him. And he is never, or scarcely ever, disappointed. Should he succeed, he owes his success to his talents and attainments; and he must needs be proud of a distinction which adds so much of character and rank to so many desirable academic advantages. To this we are persuaded is chiefly to be attributed the highly ho nourable manner in which the junior fellows discharge their important duties, and the distinguished ability, as well as the strict impartiality, with which they adjudicate the honours of the University. But if the fellows were permitted to marry, they would, in all probability, have sons and daughters. And it is, also, not a little probable, that the senior fellows would be called upon to examine their own children, as competitors, for a provision for life, success by which they never could be attended but for his generous and inspiriting encouragement! "Why, my Lord, do I allude to these things? Not, be assured, in the vain hope of doing justice to the character of the Archbishop of Dublin. But, seeing that he is made a mark for obloquy, that bigotry has unkennelled her pack upon him, and that scorn seals the lips of his friends, while calumny excites the clamour of his enemies, I could not forbear to offer my tribute of admiration, poor and unacceptable as it is, and to bear my feeble testimony to the worth of a man, whose character I have never contemplated without thinking better of human nature.” VOL. XXVI. NO. CLV. M against others who had only their talents to recommend them. Now, in such a case, is strict impartiality to be expected? We trow not. The father who should, under such circumstances, engage to be impartial, would only on that account be the more to be distrusted. He would but deceive himself, and the truth would not be in him. Thus, the perfect fairness for which collegiate examinations are at present so honourably distinguished, would be destroyed, and the whole system would speedily become corrupt and worthless. When we consider the alliances that would naturally take place between the children of men, whose rank in life was the same, and whose tastes and habits were so very similar, we can easily conceive the kind of family compact that would soon be formed, by which the college would be converted into a close borough, and its influence made use of for the aggrandisement of individuals, whose interest, for the time being, might happen to be ascendant! We can easily conceive a senior fellow, having a son and a son-in-law at the board, and all called upon to examine another son, who is a candidate for the office of junior fellow! Now, would that be fair? Would it be decent? Even if relatives so much concerned for his interest could be impartial, must not such a candidate, from the very circumstance of his acquaintance with them, and knowledge of their peculiarities, have advantages in such a contest not possessed by his competitors? Or, what amounts to nearly the same thing, must not they have a suspicion that there is a bias in his favour, and that he does possess such advantages? So strongly was this felt, that when the son of a senior fellow, (for before the late act they were permitted to marry,) became a candidate for a fellowship, his father absented himself from the examination! This has hap pened when the courses were most weighty and important, in which the father should have examined, and which accordingly fell to the lot of some junior fellow, whose avocations, no matter what may be his abilities or his attainments, must have rendered it exceedingly difficult for him to be so prepared as to do the candidates or the college justice! Now, are all these inconveniences (and they will, we think, be allowed to be great, and by which the University must be seriously injured,) to be incurred, only that young gentlemen may be permitted to marry ten years too soon, and thus to run the risk of doing what might be, as far as they are personally concerned, an imprudent thing, as well as injurious to the best interests of the body which conferred upon them opulence and respectability? Besides, the desire of being married, and settled in the world, is a strong inducement to fellows to accept of College livings, when they have the option of so doing; thus the circulation of fellowships is quickened, and young men are advanced and provided for, who might otherwise sink under a course of laborious preparation, which, when protracted beyond its usual term, is all but insupportable; thus, also, the country parts of Ireland are furnished with able and learned men, who generally prove, also, most efficient and exemplary clergymen. By this means one part of the original intention of the founders of the University is at present fulfilled, they having provided, "that when the fellows should have completed seven years in their office, from the time of taking the degree of Master of Arts, they should be displaced from their fellowship, and others elected in their room, for the benefit of the Church and the kingdom.” We had intended (but are prevented by the length to which the present paper has already extended,) to have offered some remarks upon the course of education pursued in the Dublin University. We shall only at present observe, that it would not perhaps be unworthy of the attention of the governing members to consider, whether of late years classical learning has been sufficiently attended to; and whether the moral and theological bear a sufficient proportion to the physical and mathematical parts of the scientific course. We know that a classical medal is awarded, at the termination of his College studies, to the best answerer in a very extended range of Greek and Latin writers, a competent acquaintance with whom implies very considerable classical attainments. But this can only benefit the very highest order of classical students, as the competition for the medal is in fact confined to |