the new machiavelli-第4节

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cattle　ranch。〃　　And　I　would　find　a　bright　new　lead　tiger　like　a　

special　creation　at　large　in　the　world；　and　demanding　a　hunting　

expedition　and　much　elaborate　effort　to　get　him　safely　housed　in　the　

city　menagerie　beside　the　captured　dragon　crocodile；　tamed　now；　and　

his　key　lost　and　the　heart　and　spring　gone　out　of　him。



And　to　the　various　irregular　reading　of　my　father　I　owe　the　

inestimable　blessing　of　never　having　a　boy's　book　in　my　boyhood　

except　those　of　Jules　Verne。　　But　my　father　used　to　get　books　for　

himself　and　me　from　the　Bromstead　Institute；　Fenimore　Cooper　and　

Mayne　Reid　and　illustrated　histories；　one　of　the　Russo…Turkish　war　

and　one　of　Napier's　expedition　to　Abyssinia　I　read　from　end　to　end；　

Stanley　and　Livingstone；　lives　of　Wellington；　Napoleon　and　

Garibaldi；　and　back　volumes　of　PUNCH；　from　which　I　derived　

conceptions　of　foreign　and　domestic　politics　it　has　taken　years　of　

adult　reflection　to　correct。　　And　at　home　permanently　we　had　Wood's　

NATURAL　HISTORY；　a　brand…new　illustrated　Green's　HISTORY　OF　THE　

ENGLISH　PEOPLE；　Irving's　COMPANIONS　OF　COLUMBUS；　a　great　number　of　

unbound　parts　of　some　geographical　work；　a　VOYAGE　ROUND　THE　WORLD　I　

think　it　was　called；　with　pictures　of　foreign　places；　and　Clarke's　

NEW　TESTAMENT　with　a　map　of　Palestine；　and　a　variety　of　other　

informing　books　bought　at　sales。　　There　was　a　Sowerby's　BOTANY　also；　

with　thousands　of　carefully　tinted　pictures　of　British　plants；　and　

one　or　two　other　important　works　in　the　sitting…room。　　I　was　allowed　

to　turn　these　over　and　even　lie　on　the　floor　with　them　on　Sundays　

and　other　occasions　of　exceptional　cleanliness。



And　in　the　attic　I　found　one　day　a　very　old　forgotten　map　after　the　

fashion　of　a　bird's…eye　view；　representing　the　Crimea；　that　

fascinated　me　and　kept　me　for　hours　navigating　its　waters　with　a　

pin。





2



My　father　was　a　lank…limbed　man　in　easy　shabby　tweed　clothes　and　

with　his　hands　in　his　trouser　pockets。　　He　was　a　science　teacher；　

taking　a　number　of　classes　at　the　Bromstead　Institute　in　Kent　under　

the　old　Science　and　Art　Department；　and　〃visiting〃　various　schools；　

and　our　resources　were　eked　out　by　my　mother's　income　of　nearly　a　

hundred　pounds　a　year；　and　by　his　inheritance　of　a　terrace　of　three　

palatial　but　structurally　unsound　stucco　houses　near　Bromstead　

Station。



They　were　big　clumsy　residences　in　the　earliest　Victorian　style；　

interminably　high　and　with　deep　damp　　basements　　and　　downstairs　　

coal…cellars　　and　kitchens　　that　suggested　　an　architect　　

vindictively　devoted　to　the　discomfort　of　the　servant　class。　　If　so；　

he　had　overreached　himself　and　defeated　his　end；　for　no　servant　

would　stay　in　them　unless　for　exceptional　wages　or　exceptional　

tolerance　of　inefficiency　or　exceptional　freedom　in　repartee。　　Every　

storey　in　the　house　was　from　twelve　to　fifteen　feet　high　（which　

would　have　been　cool　and　pleasant　in　a　hot　climate）；　and　the　stairs　

went　steeply　up；　to　end　at　last　in　attics　too　inaccessible　for　

occupation。　　The　ceilings　had　vast　plaster　cornices　of　classical　

design；　fragments　of　which　would　sometimes　fall　unexpectedly；　and　

the　wall…papers　were　bold　and　gigantic　in　pattern　and　much　

variegated　by　damp　and　ill…mended　rents。



As　my　father　was　quite　unable　to　let　more　than　one　of　these　houses　

at　a　time；　and　that　for　the　most　part　to　eccentric　and　undesirable　

tenants；　he　thought　it　politic　to　live　in　one　of　the　two　others；　and　

devote　the　rent　he　received　from　the　let　one；　when　it　was　let；　to　

the　incessant　necessary　repairing　of　all　three。　　He　also　did　some　of　

the　repairing　himself　and；　smoking　a　bull…dog　pipe　the　while；　which　

my　mother　would　not　allow　him　to　do　in　the　house；　he　cultivated　

vegetables　in　a　sketchy；　unpunctual　and　not　always　successful　manner　

in　the　unoccupied　gardens。　　The　three　houses　faced　north；　and　the　

back　of　the　one　we　occupied　was　covered　by　a　grape…vine　that　

yielded；　I　remember；　small　green　grapes　for　pies　in　the　spring；　and　

imperfectly　ripe　black　grapes　in　favourable　autumns　for　the　purposes　

of　dessert。　The　grape…vine　played　an　important　part　in　my　life；　for　

my　father　broke　his　neck　while　he　was　pruning　it；　when　I　was　

thirteen。



My　father　was　what　is　called　a　man　of　ideas；　but　they　were　not　

always　good　ideas。　　My　grandfather　had　been　a　private　schoolmaster　

and　one　of　the　founders　of　the　College　of　Preceptors；　and　my　father　

had　assisted　him　in　his　school　until　increasing　competition　and　

diminishing　attendance　had　made　it　evident　that　the　days　of　small　

private　schools　kept　by　unqualified　persons　were　numbered。　　

Thereupon　my　father　had　roused　himself　and　had　qualified　as　a　

science　teacher　under　the　Science　and　Art　Department；　which　in　these　

days　had　charge　of　the　scientific　and　artistic　education　of　the　mass　

of　the　English　population；　and　had　thrown　himself　into　science　

teaching　and　the　earning　of　government　grants　therefor　with　great　if　

transitory　zeal　and　success。



I　do　not　remember　anything　of　my　father's　earlier　and　more　energetic　

time。　　I　was　the　child　of　my　parents'　middle　years；　they　married　

when　my　father　was　thirty…five　and　my　mother　past　forty；　and　I　saw　

only　the　last　decadent　phase　of　his　educational　career。



The　Science　and　Art　Department　has　vanished　altogether　from　the　

world；　and　people　are　forgetting　it　now　with　the　utmost　readiness　

and　generosity。　　Part　of　its　substance　and　staff　and　spirit　survive；　

more　or　less　completely　digested　into　the　Board　of　Education。



The　world　does　move　on；　even　in　its　government。　　It　is　wonderful　how　

many　of　the　clumsy　and　limited　governing　bodies　of　my　youth　and　

early　manhood　have　given　place　now　to　more　scientific　and　efficient　

machinery。　　When　I　was　a　boy；　Bromstead；　which　is　now　a　borough；　was　

ruled　by　a　strange　body　called　a　Local　Boardit　was　the　Age　of　

Boardsand　I　still　remember　indistinctly　my　father　rejoicing　at　the　

breakfast…table　over　the　liberation　of　London　from　the　corrupt　and　

devastating　control　of　a　Metropolitan　Board　of　Works。　　Then　there　

were　also　School　Boards；　I　was　already　practically　in　politics　

before　the　London　School　Board　was　absorbed　by　the　spreading　

tentacles　of　the　London　County　Council。



It　gives　a　measure　of　the　newness　of　our　modern　ideas　of　the　State　

to　remember　that　the　very　beginnings　of　public　education　lie　within　

my　father's　lifetime；　and　that　many　most　intelligent　and　patriotic　

people　were　shocked　beyond　measure　at　the　State　doing　anything　of　

the　sort。　　When　he　was　born；　totally　illiterate　people　who　could　

neither　read　a　book　nor　write　more　than　perhaps　a　clumsy　signature；　

were　to　be　found　everywhere　in　England；　and　great　masses　of　the　

population　were　getting　no　instruction　at　all。　　Only　a　few　schools　

flourished　upon　the　patronage　of　exceptional　parents；　all　over　the　

country　the　old　endowed　grammar　schools　were　to　be　found　sinking　and　

dwindling；　many　of　them　had　closed　altogether。　　In　the　new　great　

centres　of　population　multitudes　of　children　were　sweated　in　the　

factories；　darkly　ignorant　and　wretched　and　the　under…equipped　and　

under…staffed　National　and　British　schools；　supported　by　voluntary　

contributions　and　sectarian　rivalries；　made　an　ineffectual　fight　

against　this　festering　darkness。　　It　was　a　condition　of　affairs　

clamouring　for　remedies；　but　there　was　an　immense　amount　of　

indifference　and　prejudice　to　be　overcome　before　any　remedies　were　

possible。　　Perhaps　some　day　some　industrious　and　lucid　historian　

will　disentangle　all　the　muddle　of　impulses　and　antagonisms；　the　

commercialism；　utilitarianism；　obstinate　conservatism；　humanitarian　

enthusiasm；　out　of　which　our　present　educational　organisation　arose。　　

I　have　long　since　come　to　believe　it　necessary　that　all　new　social　

institutions　should　be　born　in　confusion；　and　that　at　first　they　

should　present　chiefly　crude　and　ridiculous　aspects。　　The　distrust　

of　government　in　the　Victorian　days　was　far　too　great；　and　the　

general　intelligence　far　too　low；　to　permit　the　State　to　go　about　

the　new　business　it　was　taking　up　in　a　businesslike　way；　to　train　

teachers；　build　and　equip　schools；　endow　pedagogic　research；　and　

provide　properly　written　school…books。　　These　things　it　was　felt　

MUST　be　provided　by　individual　and　local　effort；　and　since　it　was　

manifest　that　it　was　individual　and　local　effort　that　were　in　

default；　it　was　reluctantly　agreed　to　stimulate　them　by　money　

payments。　　The　State　set　up　a　machinery　of　examination　both　in　

Science　and　Art　and　for　the　elementary　schools；　and　payments；　known　

technically　as　grants；　were　made　in　accordance　with　the　examination　

results　attained；　to　such　schools　as　Providence　might　see　fit　to　

send　into　the　world。　　In　this　way　it　was　felt　the　Demand　would　be　

established　that　would；　according　to　the　beliefs　of　that　time；　

inevitably　ensure　the　Supply。　　An　industry　of　〃Grant　earning〃　was　

created；　and　this　would　give