my discovery of england-第9节

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hail　in　his　house　beside　the　campus；　smoking　cigarettes。　When　I　add　that　he　distinctly　refused　to　visit　the　Palaeontologic　Museum；　that　he　saw　nothing　of　our　new　hydraulic　apparatus；　or　of　our　classes　in　Domestic　Science；　his　judgment　that　we　had　here　a　great　institution　seems　a　little　bit　superficial。　I　can　only　put　beside　it；　to　redeem　it　in　some　measure；　the　hasty　and　ill…formed　judgment　expressed　by　Lord　Milner；　〃McGill　　is　a　noble　university〃：　and　the　rash　and　indiscreet　expression　of　　the　Prince　of　Wales；　when　we　gave　him　an　LL。D。　degree；　〃McGill　has　　a　glorious　future。〃

To　my　mind　these　unthinking　judgments　about　our　great　college　do　harm；　and　I　determined；　therefore；　that　anything　that　I　said　about　Oxford　should　be　the　result　of　the　actual　observation　and　real　study　based　upon　a　bona　fide　residence　in　the　Mitre　Hotel。

On　the　strength　of　this　basis　of　experience　I　am　prepared　to　make　the　following　positive　and　emphatic　statements。　Oxford　is　a　noble　university。　It　has　a　great　past。　It　is　at　present　the　greatest　university　in　the　world：　and　it　is　quite　possible　that　it　has　a　great　future。　Oxford　trains　scholars　of　the　real　type　better　than　any　other　place　in　the　world。　Its　methods　are　antiquated。　It　despises　science。　Its　lectures　are　rotten。　It　has　professors　who　never　teach　and　students　who　never　learn。　It　has　no　order；　no　arrangement；　no　system。　Its　curriculum　is　unintelligible。　It　has　no　president。　It　has　no　state　legislature　to　tell　it　how　to　teach；　and　yet；it　gets　there。　Whether　we　like　it　or　not；　Oxford　gives　something　to　its　students；　a　life　and　a　mode　of　thought；　which　in　America　as　yet　we　can　emulate　but　not　equal。

If　anybody　doubts　this　let　him　go　and　take　a　room　at　the　Mitre　Hotel　（ten　and　six　for　a　wainscotted　bedroom；　period　of　Charles　I）　and　study　the　place　for　himself。

These　singular　results　achieved　at　Oxford　are　all　the　more　surprising　when　one　considers　the　distressing　conditions　under　which　the　students　work。　The　lack　of　an　adequate　building　fund　compels　them　to　go　on　working　in　the　same　old　buildings　which　they　have　had　for　centuries。　The　buildings　at　Brasenose　College　have　not　been　renewed　since　the　year　1525。　In　New　College　and　Magdalen　the　students　are　still　housed　in　the　old　buildings　erected　in　the　sixteenth　century。　At　Christ　Church　I　was　shown　a　kitchen　which　had　been　built　at　the　expense　of　Cardinal　Wolsey　in　1527。　Incredible　though　it　may　seem；　they　have　no　other　place　to　cook　in　than　this　and　are　compelled　to　use　it　to…day。　On　the　day　when　I　saw　this　kitchen；　four　cooks　were　busy　roasting　an　ox　whole　for　the　students'　lunch：　this　at　least　is　what　I　presumed　they　were　doing　from　the　size　of　the　fire…place　used；　but　it　may　not　have　been　an　ox；　perhaps　it　was　a　cow。　On　a　huge　table；　twelve　feet　by　six　and　made　of　slabs　of　wood　five　inches　thick；　two　other　cooks　were　rolling　out　a　game　pie。　I　estimated　it　as　measuring　three　feet　across。　In　this　rude　way；　unchanged　since　the　time　of　Henry　VIII；　the　unhappy　Oxford　students　are　fed。　I　could　not　help　contrasting　it　with　the　cosy　little　boarding　houses　on　Cottage　Grove　Avenue　where　I　used　to　eat　when　I　was　a　student　at　Chicago；　or　the　charming　little　basement　dining…rooms　of　the　students'　boarding　houses　in　Toronto。　But　then；　of　course；　Henry　VIII　never　lived　in　Toronto。

The　same　lack　of　a　building…fund　necessitates　the　Oxford　students；　living　in　the　identical　old　boarding　houses　they　had　in　the　sixteenth　and　seventeenth　centuries。　Technically　they　are　called　〃quadrangles；〃　〃closes〃　and　〃rooms〃；　but　I　am　so　broken　in　to　the　usage　of　my　student　days　that　I　can't　help　calling　them　boarding　houses。　In　many　of　these　the　old　stairway　has　been　worn　down　by　the　feet　of　ten　generations　of　students：　the　windows　have　little　latticed　panes：　there　are　old　names　carved　here　and　there　upon　the　stone；　and　a　thick　growth　of　ivy　covers　the　walls。　The　boarding　house　at　St。　John's　College　dates　from　1509；　the　one　at　Christ　Church　from　the　same　period。　A　few　hundred　thousand　pounds　would　suffice　to　replace　these　old　buildings　with　neat　steel　and　brick　structures　like　the　normal　school　at　Schenectady；　N。Y。；　or　the　Peel　Street　High　School　at　Montreal。　But　nothing　is　done。　A　movement　was　indeed　attempted　last　autumn　towards　removing　the　ivy　from　the　walls；　but　the　result　was　unsatisfactory　and　they　are　putting　it　back。　Any　one　could　have　told　them　beforehand　that　the　mere　removal　of　the　ivy　would　not　brighten　Oxford　up；　unless　at　the　same　time　one　cleared　the　stones　of　the　old　inscriptions；　put　in　steel　fire…escapes；　and　in　fact　brought　the　boarding　houses　up　to　date。

But　Henry　VIII　being　dead；　nothing　was　done。　Yet　in　spite　of　its　dilapidated　buildings　and　its　lack　of　fire…escapes；　ventilation；　sanitation；　and　up…to…date　kitchen　facilities；　I　persist　in　my　assertion　that　I　believe　that　Oxford；　in　its　way；　is　the　greatest　university　in　the　world。　I　am　aware　that　this　is　an　extreme　statement　and　needs　explanation。　Oxford　is　much　smaller　in　numbers；　for　example；　than　the　State　University　of　Minnesota；　and　is　much　poorer。　It　has；　or　had　till　yesterday；　fewer　students　than　the　University　of　Toronto。　To　mention　Oxford　beside　the　26；000　students　of　Columbia　University　sounds　ridiculous。　In　point　of　money；　the　39；000；000　dollar　endowment　of　the　University　of　Chicago；　and　the　35；000；000　one　of　Columbia；　and　the　43；000；000　of　Harvard　seem　to　leave　Oxford　nowhere。　Yet　the　peculiar　thing　is　that　it　is　not　nowhere。　By　some　queer　process　of　its　own　it　seems　to　get　there　every　time。　It　was　therefore　of　the　very　greatest　interest　to　me；　as　a　profound　scholar；　to　try　to　investigate　just　how　this　peculiar　excellence　of　Oxford　arises。

It　can　hardly　be　due　to　anything　in　the　curriculum　or　programme　of　studies。　Indeed；　to　any　one　accustomed　to　the　best　models　of　a　university　curriculum　as　it　flourishes　in　the　United　States　and　Canada；　the　programme　of　studies　is　frankly　quite　laughable。　There　is　less　Applied　Science　in　the　place　than　would　be　found　with　us　in　a　theological　college。　Hardly　a　single　professor　at　Oxford　would　recognise　a　dynamo　if　he　met　it　in　broad　daylight。　The　Oxford　student　learns　nothing　of　chemistry；　physics；　heat；　plumbing；　electric　wiring；　gas…fitting　or　the　use　of　a　blow…torch。　Any　American　college　student　can　run　a　motor　car；　take　a　gasoline　engine　to　pieces；　fix　a　washer　on　a　kitchen　tap；　mend　a　broken　electric　bell；　and　give　an　expert　opinion　on　what　has　gone　wrong　with　the　furnace。　It　is　these　things　indeed　which　stamp　him　as　a　college　man；　and　occasion　a　very　pardonable　pride　in　the　minds　of　his　parents。

But　in　all　these　things　the　Oxford　student　is　the　merest　amateur。

This　is　bad　enough。　But　after　all　one　might　say　this　is　only　the　mechanical　side　of　education。　True：　but　one　searches　in　vain　in　the　Oxford　curriculum　for　any　adequate　recognition　of　the　higher　and　more　cultured　studies。　Strange　though　it　seems　to　us　on　this　side　of　the　Atlantic；　there　are　no　courses　at　Oxford　in　Housekeeping；　or　in　Salesmanship；　or　in　Advertising；　or　on　Comparative　Religion；　or　on　the　influence　of　the　Press。　There　are　no　lectures　whatever　on　Human　Behaviour；　on　Altruism；　on　Egotism；　or　on　the　Play　of　Wild　Animals。　Apparently；　the　Oxford　student　does　not　learn　these　things。　This　cuts　him　off　from　a　great　deal　of　the　larger　culture　of　our　side　of　the　Atlantic。　〃What　are　you　studying　this　year？〃　I　once　asked　a　fourth　year　student　at　one　of　our　great　colleges。　〃I　am　electing　Salesmanship　and　Religion；〃　he　answered。　Here　was　a　young　man　whose　training　was　destined　inevitably　to　turn　him　into　a　moral　business　man：　either　that　or　nothing。　At　Oxford　Salesmanship　is　not　taught　and　Religion　takes　the　feeble　form　of　the　New　Testament。　The　more　one　looks　at　these　things　the　more　amazing　it　becomes　that　Oxford　can　produce　any　results　at　all。

The　effect　of　the　comparison　is　heightened　by　the　peculiar　position　occupied　at　Oxford　by　the　professors'　lectures。　In　the　colleges　of　Canada　and　the　United　States　the　lectures　are　supposed　to　be　a　really　necessary　and　useful　part　of　the　student's　training。　Again　and　again　I　have　heard　the　graduates　of　my　own　college　assert　that　they　had　got　as　much；　or　nearly　as　much；　out　of　the　lectures　at　college　as　out　of　athletics　or　the　Greek　letter　society　or　the　Banjo　and　Mandolin　Club。　In　short；　with　us　the　lectures　form　a　real　part　of　the　college　life。　At　Oxford　it　is　not　so。　The　lectures；　I　understand；　are　given　and　may　even　be　taken。　But　they　are　quite　worthless　and　are　not　supposed　to　have　anything　much　to　do　with　the　development　of　the；　student's　mind。　〃The　lectures　here；〃　said　a　Canadian　student　to　me；　〃are　punk。〃　I　appealed　to　another　student　to　know　if　this　was　so。　〃I　don't　know　whether　I'd　call　them　exactly　punk；〃　he　answered；　〃but　they're　certainly　rotten。〃　Other　judgments　were　that　the　lectures　were　of　no　importance：　that　nobody　took　them：　that　they　don't　matter：　that　you　can　take　them　if　you　like：　that　they　do　you　no　harm。

It　appears　further　that　the　professors　themselves　are　not　keen　on　their　lectures。　If　the　lectures　are　called　for　they　give　them；　if　not；　the　professor's　feelings　are　not　hurt。　He　merely　waits　and　rests　his　brain　until　in　some　later　year　the　students　call　for　his　lectures。　There　are　men　at　Oxford　who　have　rested　th