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 ^:^ . 
 
 tHtHT. HIT. T:H#t0»i)&»tSIIO1? OF 
 
 i ^itatt.^jiitttte 
 
 or 
 
 
 
 6V 
 
 yi^^k^itfa^ J^Mn^jP,. i^ Deem heti 18^. 
 
 
 'J 
 
», 
 
 V' '1 
 
SELF-EDUCATION, 
 
 A LECTURE 
 
 RKAIi TO 
 
 The Church of Enijland Young Mkn's Mutual 
 Improvkment Association. '•' 
 
 ON WEDNESDAY, 2^th DECEMBER, I8G4, 
 
 BY 
 
 THE LORD BISHOP OF QUEBEC. 
 
 SELF-EDUCATION. 
 
 Young men, — We live in times when the apparatus of educa- 
 tion is a theme of much discourse, when schemes for the 
 advancement of education, are put forward by thinkers and are 
 worked out by workers — when mills and manufactories are 
 in full operation for the production of model masters — when 
 inspectors and examiners arc running.jlo.and<fro upon the 
 earth, andthf^reis a genen;^ conspiracy Hgaiusttnc ancient and 
 honourable or^ler of Dunces. Yes, young gentlemen, this 
 *s a fact which may not be relished, but which cannot be 
 ignored, that we live in an age of examination — that a 
 nterary examination is becoming the door to all appointments. 
 We, in thi^ country are not as yet under the influence of the 
 system so much as they are at home ; but we feel the move- 
 ment ; and we shall I doubt not, ultimately be carried 
 along with it. Some day we shall find ourselves, in respect 
 of this latest development of our civilization, almost upon a 
 level with the Chinese, with whom this system has been for 
 many years thoroughly carried out, and indeed, for all that 
 I know, has been carried out a little too thoroughly. 
 
 Now the kind of education which will enable a man to win 
 in this race, is emphatically the regular education. Scho- 
 
 * A small portion of this lecture has been taken from a printed 
 speech but, as the speech was the lecturer's own, ho hopes to 
 escape the charge of plagiarism. 
 
*i 
 
 lustlc truiningwill always outshine uvun genius in an exniniiiii. 
 tion. Well, but I address thoso whoso chance of scholastic 
 training is gone. What they arc likely to got of it, thoy 
 have had. But they must not sit down therefore in despair. 
 Culture they must have. And I purpose to show this even- 
 ing, that the very best culture they may have ; for afi'.r all 
 there is no education, which for its best and highest resultn, 
 is equal to self education. I suy its lest and highest results. 
 I hero waive of course the question of examinations for appoint, 
 ments, and speak of that mental culture wiiich docs not 
 merely supply literary adroitness, and argumentative skill, 
 but which enables a man to reason rtther than to argue— enables 
 and prompts him to feel nobly, to think bravely, and to act 
 manfully. These I call the best and highest results of educa- 
 tion. And this is a part of his education, which, whatever 
 may be his advantages, each man gets for himself. A system 
 of intellectual and moral pumps will never fill the passive 
 recipient with such results as these. Exhaustive notes and rare 
 editions, various readings and all the minutur of criticism — 
 these are the tools of the critic ; and critical scholarship I am 
 far from •(fnda^rjili|ifl^ ^ but do ngt let those who cannot get 
 this, fan(?y»{haItV,Iij3y]5»p^Igpi;,Tiotljihj; ; orlhat' w»hat they can 
 get is of little value. The dynamic value otc'dutation (though 
 there is a good deal in the torn), for thought cannot be divided 
 from the form of thought) lies much more in the quality of tho 
 matter of our studies, and the intenscness of the intellectual 
 heat we contrive to evolve in the process of our slidies, than 
 in the getting up of their adjuncts. If a master mind has poured 
 out high thoughts upon his page, or dissected with his pen the 
 compound substance of life, and laid open to view the springs 
 or motives of conduct, I may, with great advantiige, go through 
 what is called tho getting up of his work. To learn off a 
 compendium of the treatise — to acquaint myself with what 
 others have thought about it — to ransack libraries, to com- 
 pare authorities, and to exhaust commentaries, in order to 
 acquire an exact and accurate knowledge of every chrono- 
 logical, historical, geographical detail connected with tiio 
 work in question— this is, undoubtedly, a process producing 
 
i 
 
 3 
 
 accurate linbiis of Oiouglit, liiglily to be desired, Hut tlic groat, 
 est benetit of all that I can derive — for self development — 
 the unfolding of my power, the awakening of feeling and the 
 <|uicknc8.s of thought within me, will be from the text itself — 
 will be from bringing my mind into contact with the mind of 
 genius, rather than with the frigidities of critics, commentators 
 and compilers. And bringing our minds \a contact with 
 genius, keeping close to it — its very self — and not to its husk — 
 the greatness of thought, the generosity of sentiment, the fine- 
 ness of feeling, which are attributes of genios, will, under the 
 CDinbined influence of the open and receptive admiration with 
 which a modest man listens to a great man, and of the pene- 
 trative power with which it is the prerogative of genius to 
 speak — will sink into, and spread their leaven through our 
 minds. And this, this is the very pith and marrow of JJduca- 
 tion — the first step in, as it is the last result of, mental culture. 
 The cnlariilng of our minds — not the cramming of our memo- 
 ries, but the expansion of our faculties — the enlarging of our 
 sympathies, the elevating and strengthening of our thoughts 
 and our power of thinking, the purifying of our feelings, 
 the widening, and deepening of our capacity to feel, the invest- 
 ing our moral sensitiveness with its right discriminating touch, 
 so that, feeling quickly and feeling deeply, we feel moreover as 
 we ought to feel — this is the grand result of Education. 
 
 And for the production of this, there is nothing like ponder- 
 ing and poring upon the bare text of a great writer, till we 
 have assimilated his thought and made it a part of our Intel* 
 lectual system, and so bringing our mind close to his. And, 
 though studying in this fashion we may make mistakes which 
 notes and cxplanatioLs, teachers and professors might liavc 
 enabled us to avoid — and thouglfwe may miss much, yet (un- 
 less we arc making criticism our profession, unless professional 
 knowledge is our object, which alters the case) yet the incom- 
 pleteness of our critical knowledge is amply compensated by 
 the improved tune, the magnetically communicated power of 
 our minds, consequent upon the manner in which we have 
 iiofiuirod what wo do know. 
 
I 
 
 i 
 
 Let me illustrate my crtiou by an iiiHtuncc. I onco 
 heard a clover scholar from Caiubridpo who wrote (iroek vcrmj 
 with facility, laughiug immoderately over hoiiio ,<:;niiiiiiiaticnl 
 errors in Lord Brougham's translation of one of tiui speeches of 
 Demosthcne.s. And, critically spoakinf,', I have no doubt he 
 was right. Upon such a point he could hardly bo mistaken. 
 And yet ho was grievously in error, when he fancied that ho 
 had read Demosthenes to more purpose than the translator, 
 whoso translation he ho complacently demoliNlicd. Admitting 
 that ho cannot, or did not always translate him with rigid 
 accuracy, yet I maintain that no man, now living, bus rend 
 Demosthenes to more advantage than Lord Brougham. Cer- 
 tainly his eloquence is different from that of his master. The 
 result of his intense, though perhaps uncritical, study of that 
 great orator was not to reproduce Demosthenes, but — what is a 
 great deal more — to produce — himself It has never been my 
 privilege to hear Lord Brougliam. Wo are occasionally 
 reminded that he is still amongst us by seeing in the news- 
 papers the mellower productions of his green old age ; but these 
 can give us no conception of what he was in his prime. Some 
 of his earlier speeches wo have, many of us, read. And truly 
 his eloquence is of a kind to make evil doers tremble. Scorn, 
 withering scorn, drops corrosive from bis lips. His contempt 
 is a tiling to be avoided ; and his indignation scorches like fire. 
 They hov?ever who heard Harry Brougham in the first burst — 
 the full flush of bis genius, tell us that (as with all true ora- 
 tors) the written page is but the cold corpse of bis eloquence : 
 that with tbe eye, and the voice, and the living, speaking, 
 gesticulating man, its soul is fled. Lord Brougham read 
 Demosthenes ; and genius kindled from the touch of genius, as 
 fire from fire ; my friend studied the great orator to light the 
 taper of grammar, but the efiect was not so good. I saw him, 
 on one occasion, stand up to address a popular audience, and 
 he was, ladies and gentlemen, with all his learning, he was, 
 emphatically, a stick. 
 
 Let me give one other instance in which the principle for 
 
 ^ 
 
 » I 
 
■V > 
 
 I I 
 
 which [ am contending hn^ boon by soino ahuost ulovutoJ 
 into an nrticlo of tliu faith ; viz : tlio meliorating effort 
 upon tho mind of man, of earnest, honest, thoughful atudy 
 of the pluin text of the Bible urithout note or comment. I 
 know that that Book is not like any other book, that it is 
 the word of God, and that His Holy Spirit, whose office it is 
 to guide men into all knowledge, interpretn to the pious 
 reader. But iu the mode and manner of attaitiing to a 
 fruitful knowledge of scripture the same principle holds 
 which obtains in other branches of learning. And that exalta- 
 tion of the spiritually educative value of the Bible without 
 note or comment, is (though it in sometimes attended with 
 an undue disparagement of other means) not the cry of 
 a narrow and illiberal fanatacism but the plain conclu- 
 sion of common sense, warranted by reason, and extorted 
 by experience. As in secular learning, so hero, to despise, 
 or to disparage, the labours of the critical scholar would be 
 absurd. These labours are indispensable, we must know 
 what tho text is, and ascertain its meaning. We must know 
 what the Bible is, and what it says ; and wo must put this 
 into our own tongue. There must be men who can and will 
 do this. Nor may we disregard systematic theology, the 
 history of the faith, criticism, grammar, creed, history, — they 
 arc all useful, — they are all needful, — but for the ripening of 
 the mind in sacred lore there is nothing like familiarity with 
 the text itself, even in a translation. And that is just the case 
 with every other lore. 
 
 And here, aa I am addre.-5sing my juniors, I shall not 
 perhaps be thought egotistical, if I speak briefly of my own 
 experience. Young men, i was brought up at a good school, 
 and I took my degree in the University of Oxford ; but I 
 honestly think that, in all that is valuable in my small stock 
 of acquirement or faculty, 1 am a self educated man. And of 
 my studies, — my secular studies, — I verily believe, that the 
 most influential — the most beneficial to my intellect — were 
 those carried on by myself out of two small volumes, for one of 
 wliich I gave sixpence, and for the other of which I believe 
 
 t 
 
T xfn)i HO cxtravD^nnt ns to oxpctid tiinoponcc. Ono wnn 
 an odd volunio of tlio writin^^s of Dean Swift. The otlior 
 contninod tlio cssny.i of Lord Hacon. It in iiiuny yoarn biiico 
 i had cither of tlu'so volumes in my )iand, but, ut one tin)o, 
 they wero hardly ever out nf my hands. I carried them in 
 my pocket, and at nil times, under hedges, and in lone lanes, 
 I road, and re-road them ; till my mind was saturattul with 
 thoir contents. And burdly a day passes in which I do not 
 feci thoir power. 
 
 Thus much of the feasibility of self education, and of 
 
 its quality. It is not however to be denied that the solitary 
 
 student labors under Homo disadvuntnges, diHadvantagcs which 
 
 it is the object of Huch associations as ours in some degree 
 
 to remove. The solituty student lias not the stimulus which 
 
 carricH him along who forms one of the many congregated at 
 
 a great intellectual centre. To use a metaphor of modern 
 
 date, it is u harder thing for him to " get up the Htcam." Tiio 
 
 dryness of intellectual effort is not felt when wi daily meet, 
 
 and converse with those who have a keen interest in our own 
 
 pursuits. It is pleasant to follow out and easy to remember 
 
 our studies, when these form the subjects for earnest thinking 
 
 and the topics for eager talk with our daily acr{uaintance. 
 
 A very high place amongst educational influences must ever 
 
 be occupied by attrition of thought and collision of mind. 
 
 There are cxcit'. nents of intellectual activity, and corrective 
 
 of its vagaries, which we must procure for ourselves as best 
 
 we may. And even without them we need not despair, 
 
 where there is a will there will always be found a way. 
 
 They are stimulants and correctives, but the solid work must 
 
 still be done within us. If our thought is to be of any value, 
 
 we must acquire and beget a self sustained and independent 
 
 capacity for elaborating thought within the recesses of our 
 
 own minds. And after all, too much reliance may be placed 
 
 upon external aids and excitements. " Conversation " ; says 
 
 one,* (who was himself a con.spicuous example of informa- 
 
 », 
 
 I 
 
 Gibbon. 
 
• / 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
 tiuii »ticl of ^oniuM) ''ooiiTcrsution iiiuy inruriii tlio r;;' , 
 but solitude is the nur.«o of j^oniuH." 
 
 Vou will observe that my remarks luivo been chielly directed 
 to literary education. And witli ^ocd reason. Lan<.Min};e i.^ 
 thc^roat instrument of thought. And bc»;idoH no one in the^c 
 days, can pa».s for a hi;^lily educated man, who has not a wide and 
 a Holid a((|uaintanco with litoraturc. It is through litcraturo 
 only that you cati bring your mind into contact with the 
 world's groat mofiters and toachors. Language is not only the 
 instrument of thought, it is the record of mind, ft must not 
 bo supposed however that I moan to say that literature is tho 
 only moans of education. The world is a mighty educator, 
 'riic responsibilities of life, tho demands of ourgocial relations, 
 tho re((uircmonts of official position, the conduct of affairs — 
 theso call out, train, and dcvelopc, tho faculties ond powers, 
 that are within us ; and he is not uneducated thougli ho should 
 bo an ungrammatical man, who, as ho rises in life, rises to tho 
 occasion, und discharges with efficiency tho duties and obliga- 
 tions to which the Providence of God, and his own exertions, 
 liavc called him. This then is one groat mode of mental 
 cultivation — moral and intellectual — the doing of our duty 
 thoroughly and well in that state of life to which it has pleased 
 God to call us. Upon this head, though, it forms no part of my 
 purpose to enlarge. I huvo only mentioned it, to show that I 
 havo not overlooked it. And I shall now revert to that branch 
 of self-education which is derivable from books. 
 
 From what I have already said, yon will perceive that, ia 
 my judgment, to educate yourself is feasible. Determine to 
 doit, and (I had almo.st said) the thing is done. Determine to 
 do it — hero lies tho whole secret. Such an education as will 
 devetope your powers, and put you in possession of thoughta 
 upon which your mind can live and thrive, does not need an 
 expensive apparatus of books ; but it does need thorough 
 determination, inflexible resolve, and unflinching toil. *' Look 
 you now, without labour nothing prospers," was the maxim 
 of the most perfect of the Greek poets; and a maxim that 
 will never die. There is no royal road to learning — or to 
 
8 
 
 anything else that is worth having. There is no royal ^oad 
 to learning ; but there is a broad high-way open to all, and 
 that will bring all who are willing to endure the heat and the 
 dust, and to plod bravely ou, though foot sore and weary, to 
 their journey's end. 
 
 lou all know the story of Benjamin Franklin and the man- 
 ner of his education. There is much in the man that I cannot 
 commend; but his energetic pursuit of mental culture is 
 worthy of all imitation. The story is a little thread-bare 
 perhaps, but it is none the worse for that. Things become 
 trite, only because they are true. I will point your attention 
 however to an example of sel£pducation more fresh, and more 
 entirely of to-day. 
 
 Let me ask you to take in hand, and carefully read, from 
 beginning to end, the not very thick octavo volume, which, 
 under the significant title " My schools and schoolmasters," 
 contains the history of the education of the late Hugh Miller, 
 written by himself. There you will see portrayed the steps by 
 which the poor Highland lad, often over worked and under-fed, 
 drew from his barren opportunities the nutriment which 
 sustained and developed his magnificent intellect. Successive- 
 ly, if I remember aright, a working man in the stone quar- 
 ries — one of a gang living together, in a lone shanty — a clerk 
 in a bank — and the editor of a newspaper — he was, he 
 became, he made himself an adept in science, and a great 
 master in the literar^ art. You will find in his writings, 
 especially in the last great idea — the last grand conjecture — 
 which he projected upon the field of speculation — you will 
 find qualities and excellencies of style which you may look 
 for elsewhere in vain. In all his writings, but more particu- 
 larly in his " Testimony of the Rocks," we are compelled 
 to acknowledge the presence of power. There is nothing spas- 
 modic, but the intense heat of his imagination, controlled but 
 not extinguished by his magaivc common sense, ever smoul- 
 dering beneath the page, flashes through from time to time with 
 an electric light, that reveals clusters of ideas, contingencies, 
 and possibilities which it was never before given us to sec, 
 
yal road 
 
 all, and 
 
 and the 
 
 'eary, to 
 
 ;he man- 
 I cannot 
 ilture is 
 read-bare 
 become 
 ittcntion 
 ind more 
 
 ad, from 
 e, which, 
 masters," 
 ;h Miller, 
 I steps by 
 nder-fed, 
 it which 
 iccessive- 
 Dne quar- 
 — a clerk 
 
 was, he 
 1 a great 
 writings, 
 jecture — 
 -you will 
 may look 
 
 particu- 
 Bompelled 
 liing spas- 
 rolled but 
 sr smoul- 
 time with 
 ingencies, 
 us to sec, 
 
 and leaves an impression upon the mind, not to bo effaced, 
 that by such revelation its stature has been raised. 
 
 B"t you may say, " This is an exceptional case. I do not 
 pre tend to have the genius of Hugh Miller, and therefore 
 it does not follow, that what he did I can do, under similar 
 circumstances." Perhaps not (but let me observe in passing 
 that strength of will and capacity for work arc the best parts 
 of genius.) You may not attain to the scientific and literary 
 eminence of Hugh Miller ; but this I can promise you, that 
 if you will go through the same course that he went — with 
 the same steadfastness — the same thoroughness — you will 
 come out of it with right and title to call yourself an educated 
 man. Further examples 1 shall not adduce. The case I have 
 cited is at once a proof of the fact that self-education is 
 possible, and an illustration of the manner in which it may 
 be accomplished. That this is a desirable consummation, I 
 need not maintain. The worth of education is fully recog- 
 nised. It is not however so much for its practical com- 
 mercial value, (though that is by no means to be overlooked) 
 that I urge self-culture upon you. I urge it for its own 
 sake. It is ifc«» own exceeding great reward. It makes you 
 more of a man. 
 
 There is a saying of Lord Bacon's, in one of his Essays, 
 to the effect that studies serve for use, for ornament, and for 
 delight. Now, that ignorance is ungraceful — that a cultivated 
 mind is an ornament to the person — few, I suppose, will be 
 inclined to deny. I need not stop to argue that point. 
 Equally unnecessary would it be for me to dwell, at any 
 length, upon the pleasures attendant upon mental culture. 
 Since, however, the allurements of pleasure exercise an 
 influence so powerful, so constant, and at times so far from 
 beneficial ; I would gladly linger for a few moments, upon 
 those which are pre-eminently the pleasures of a man. " Man" 
 wo are told, " is a being of large discourse, looking before 
 and after " — a being, that is, who remembers, imagines and 
 reasons. The pleasures of the imagination I can very well 
 leave to the care of the poets, 
 
 ' The blood of Douglas can protect itself.' 
 
10 
 
 , fiat what an unfailing sourco of satisfaction does that 
 man carry about within him, in whoso memory lie stored 
 the great facts of nature and of history ; and whose 
 mind has acquired the habit of reasoning upon those facts ! 
 What an unfailing resource against v^eariness and vacivty 
 has he, whose knowledge, and whose mental activity enable 
 him, looking around, to apprehend the order of nature and 
 to inspect the mechanism of the universe ! What ; n unfail- 
 ing resource against weariness and vacuity has he, whoso know- 
 ledge and whose mental activity enable him, looking back, to 
 reanimate the past ! Beneath whoso eye, as he unroils the 
 records of time, the spirits of our fathers start from every page 
 in their habit as they lived, to re-enact for his gratification and 
 instruction the story of the world ' Young man, though your 
 means may not command social distinction — though the acci- 
 dents of fortune may have placed you in an uncongenial 
 sphere — you never can be at a loss for good society, if you 
 have made yourself a fit companion for yourself, if you 
 have grown familiar with the wise, the great and the good, of 
 other days — if you have learned to hold " midnight converse 
 with the mighty dead — " if you have made yourself master of 
 the spell that can '' create a soul under the ribs of death," and 
 ca'l up Sbakspcare, or Milton, or Addison, for your entertain- 
 ment and delight. 
 
 But enough of this : education has, as I intimated just now, 
 though I do not care much to insist upon it, a practical and 
 commercial value. The first thing we have to do — be our 
 calling or profession what it may — the first thing we have to 
 do is to put ourselves in possession of the experience of 
 preceding generations. This is the law of civilization. This 
 is the condition of progress. This is no less the condition of 
 individual siT'cess — we must bring ourselves abreast of the 
 intelligence of the day. And you will find, young men, that 
 a finished education is a profitable investment. Are you 
 touched by that last infirmity of noble minds ? Would you set 
 your mark upon your generation ? Do you covet power ? Then 
 cultivate your mind. Would you bear yourself manfully in 
 
the conflict of opinion ? Make yourself master of your weapon. 
 Before ever you are callcJ upon to stand upon your defence, 
 for the maintenance of your convictions, or your credit, make 
 yourself master of your weapon. Use will give it edge. 
 Science will give it strength and temper. Literature will give 
 it polish and point. Only do your part thoroughly, strenu- 
 ously, now ; and, take my word for it, the weapon when wanted 
 will not be wanting ; when called upon to hold your own in 
 the struggle of life, you will find that your previous training 
 has given you power — that the discipline to which you have 
 subjected the forces of your mind has rendered them prompt 
 to your necessities, and amenable to control — you will find what 
 an invaluable ally in the conduct of business, what an incom- 
 parable instrument for the elucidation of afi'airs— is a mind mas- 
 ter of itself — a mind tried and trained, and therefore not to be 
 cajoled by cunning nor daunted by effrontery ; but able to 
 think through an emergency ; and ready to speak out its 
 convictions with no faltering lip nor stammering tongue. 
 
 But there is a caution to be observed. Books (and this 
 is another saying of that same Lord Bacon who was so 
 eminent both as a man of learning and as a man of business) 
 books cannot teach the use of books. That is a lesson to be 
 learned in the school of the world. You must bring modesty 
 as well as industry to your studies. Book learning, bear in 
 mind, when unmodified by a just observation of life, obtrudes 
 upon business, is ever pedantic and futile. But do not for- 
 get, on the other hand, that mere personal experience, unaided 
 by research, must — with all its adroitness — must, of necessity, 
 be incomplete, and empirical. The two should never be dissever- 
 ed. It is their union — their interpenetration — their fusion — 
 that makes the capable man. Welded into one they produce a 
 ripeness of judgment, a fertility of resource, and a ready tact, 
 which will command the confidence of men. 
 
 These, young men, are some of the advantages of education, 
 and you may attain them. You may educate yourself, but you 
 must be in earnest. Nothing comes of triflin^^ Earnestness is 
 one of the foremost of qualities. It is noble and beautiful in it- 
 
12 
 
 self and it gives power to the other virtues. Without it there 
 can bo no greatness in character, no permanent success in life ; 
 a fickle, frivolous, sauntering disposition being contemptible in 
 itself, and generally bringing a man to sorrow. Unstable as 
 water thou shall not excel, is written on the forehead of such 
 an one. In the struggle of life, the idle and the incapable 
 must of necessity be swept away, to sink lower and lower in the 
 depth of insignificance and helplessness, if not of degradation. 
 Take, then, the wise king's advice, and, whatsoever thy 
 hand findeth to do, do it with thy might. Keep in mind that 
 old saw " without labour nothing prospers." And (you 
 aro a christian) recollect this too, without Christ nothing 
 prospers. " Whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the 
 name of the Lord Jesus." Let this principle bo the 
 guidini!; light of all your conduct. This, this alone, it is, 
 that turns the primeval curse into a blessing — upholds the 
 dignity, and developes the meliorating influences of labour. 
 Without this ycu will find the work that you set yourself fruit- 
 less, or producing bitter fruit, — you will find the world's work 
 that lies before you a dreary, toilsome task, which must bo 
 done whether the spirit flag in failure, or revel in the fever 
 of unsubstantial success. But penetrate your mind with the 
 spirit of those divine words, and you will find that it hallows 
 every occupaiion, ennobles every calling, that it eliminates 
 failure ; for, whatever be the result, in the very effort 
 there is success. God's good hand will be upon you, and 
 you will go on from strength to strength, and prosper. 
 Or, should misfortune come, you will be prepared for that too. 
 In the tranquil trust of a good conscience before God, you 
 will stand, amid your broken projects and fruitless efforts, 
 disappointed but not disheartened. Give but the apostle's 
 golden rule a fair trial. It will supply tone and elasticity 
 to the mind, which no disaster can daunt, nor long drawn ill- 
 success wear away. You will be educated in your spirit, as 
 well as in your intellect. And anything better than this, 
 I can neither wish for you, nor recommend to you. 
 
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