tion, but in many respects as distinct his solid advantages are very conas if they formed two separate siderable indeed. By the operation schools. There is the original body of some very wholesome and necesof Queen's scholars,-always forty sary reforms, he now gets his board in number, from Queen Elizabeth's (as ought always to have been the days till now - who are lodged, case) almost entirely free, although boarded, and educated in the he has to pay a sum of seventeen "Grammar School" attached to guineas per annum for his educathe collegiate church of St. Peter. tion.* There can be no question Round them has been gathered, as but that this is an abuse which reat Eton, a body of "foreigners or quires to be at once remedied. Both "pensioners" (now generally known the present and the late head-masas 'town-boys") who are taught ter consider that it is implied by by the same masters, but enjoy no the statutes that their education advantages from the foundation, should be entirely gratuitous, and and are lodged in separate buildings. that it should be covered by the Provision was made in the original stipends assigned to the masters. statutes for their reception; and But while the revenues of the chapfrom a very early period they have ter have very much increased, the considerably outnumbered the foun- surplus seems to have been regudation scholars. The remarkable larly divided among the governing difference is, that whereas at Eton body, while the stipend of the masthe oppidans have, from time im- ters has remained very nearly stamemorial, claimed (whether justly tionary. The head-master at preor unjustly) a higher social status, sent receives from the college estates the town-boys of Westminster make something under £40; a sum which no assumption of the kind; rather, might have made him passing the Queen's scholars take the higher rich" in the days of Elizabeth, but ground, if any such distinction be which is ludicrously insufficient admitted. The seats of honour are now. There is evidence that the theirs, both in the abbey and in the system of receiving fees from the school itself; they alone have the Queen's scholars began at least as privilege of being actors in the early as Dr. Busby's time; but annual Latin Play; and they have, these fees were then small, and besides, a special privilege of ad- were no doubt received (as in the mission to the debates in both similar case of the Winchester Houses of Parliament: in the House scholars) in the way of presents: of Commons they have seats as- time, the great nursing mother of signed them at the back of those abuses, has ripened this system into usually occupied by peers when a fixed charge for every scholar of present. The right is perhaps not a sum about equal to what is paid so highly valued now as it was in under the head of tuition by nonformer times; the lateness of the foundationers at Rugby or Shrewshour at which the most important bury. One very energetic protest debates usually come on being in- had been already made upon this compatible with the school regula- point by the father of a Queen's tions as to locking up. But many scholar, elected in 1860, who went so scholars of an older, generation far as to refuse to pay the sum at all, speak warmly of the interest and until informed that his son "would advantage they derived from it in be removed from the foundation their own school-days when our in default, the chapter pleading the representatives kept earlier hours. sanction of the Queen, as visitor, to the charge in question. He then paid under protest, and applied to the Home Secretary" to be in If the social position of a scholar of Westminster thus entails no inferiority, either real or conventional, The whole cost to a foundation scholar is now about £34 per annum. are awarded every year, by competitive examination amongst the Queen's scholars only, three exhibitions to Christ Church, Oxford, whose present value is £150 per annum, and will eventually be £170, exclusive of rooms in college; and three other exhibitions to Trinity, Cambridge, worth £40 each, usually augmented from other sources, and tenable with a college scholarship. It is not surprising that, with the limited number of competitors for these great prizes, the Dean of Christchurch should complain that Westminster sends him up "but few good boys;" but this complaint of indifferent scholarship has only arisen within living memory, and we should have preferred to have found a remedy for it by such improvements in the college itself, and in the system of election into it, as might have insured a higher class of competitors, than to recommend, as the Report does, the throwing open the election to boys who are not on the foundation. formed what her majesty really did exhibitions of smaller value, there sanction;" and in reply was referred to his solicitor. The complainant, of course, did not lose the opportunity of laying his case before the Commissioners in a letter which will be found in the Appendix,* and received from them an assurance that they "would have regard to the subject in their inquiries." The representative of the Dean and Chapter was pretty closely pressed upon the question by the Commissioners. He contended that the statutes had never been confirmed by Queen Elizabeth; that the funds which might be available for the increase of the master's stipends in some proportion to the increased wealth of the canons are now in the hands of the Ecclesiastical Commission; and refused to admit that, even setting aside the legal and technical questions, the school has any moral claim to a greater share in the capitular revenues. There are very few readers of his evidence who will not agree in the expression of opinion which it draws from Lord Clarendon, and which appears to be shared by the rest of the Commissioners, "that somehow or other, whether by usance, or statutable or any other reason, the school which is allied to the cathedral foundation has not shared in the increase of income to an extent which appears to be proper and right." And the Report most properly recommends that in future "the Chapter should take upon themselves the whole cost of the tuition of the Queen's scholars," such a course appearing to them to be "consistent with, at least, the spirit of the statutes," although they "do not feel called upon to express any opinion" as to the legal statutory obligation.† The most important advantage, however, which a Westminster scholar enjoys, is the assistance which is offered him, if he shows fair ability and industry, towards a university education. Besides some Appendix, p. 78. The present form of a boy's election as a Queen's scholar is a very peculiar one, and must have existed almost unchanged from very early times. Quaint and old-fashioned as it is, with a flavour of scholastic pedantry about it which would have delighted Queen Elizabeth herself, it is not without many points of recommendation. It is, as Dr. Scott remarks in his evidence, "probably the only living relic of the old disputations," - those tournaments of Latin and logic in which Queen Bess was wont to reward the suc cessful champion with a purse of gold from her own virgin hand, and her successor James distributed liberally the more economical guerdon of royal applause and criticism. We will give the late head-master's (Dr. Liddell) description of a "challenge," as the competition is called, - premising that no boy can compete for election on the foundation + Report, p. 169. who has not been already a member of the school, either as a boarder or a town-boy, for at least one year previous; a restriction inherent in the nature of the present mode of examination, but which we agree with the Report in considering prejudicial to the best interests of the school, as it seems certainly unwarranted by the statutes. "All the candidates for vacant places in college are presented to the master in the order of their forms; there were commonly between twenty and thirty, from the fourth form upwards. The two lowest boys come up before the head-master, having prepared a certain portion of Greek epigram and Ovid's Metamorphoses, which has been set them a certain number of hours before. In preparing these passages they have the assistance of certain senior boys, who are called 'their helps.' The lower of the two boys is the 'challenger.' He calls on the boy whom he challenges to translate the passage set them, and if he can correct any fault in translating, takes his place. The upper boy now be comes the challenger, and proceeds in the same way. When the translation is finished, the challenger (whichever of the two boys remains in that position) has the right of putting questions in grammar; and if the challengee cannot answer them, and the challenger answers them correctly, the former loses his place. They attack each others in this way till their stock of questions is exhausted. The first challenge is called the unlimited challenge,' in which they may ask any number of questions they like. These questions are all in grammar, and sometimes the boys were so well prepared that I have known two boys go on until nine o'clock at night, having begun early in the morning. After this unlimited challenge, by which a clever boy, who is low on the list, may get to the top, what is called the limited challenge began, in which the questions are limited to a certain number, the challenge ceasing after these questions were exhausted. Of course, a great deal depended upon the ability of the boys, and also on the ability of the 'helps, who could train an inferior boy so as often to enable him to take places beyond his merit and position. The helps' stand by during the challenge, and act as counsel to their men,' in case there be any doubt as to the cor rectness of a question or an answer. The head-master sits as moderator, and decides the point at issue." These challenges went on sometimes for six or eight weeks consecutively before the places were finally settled, and the candidates spent weeks, or even months, beforehand in the preparation. "It was very hard work," says Dr. Lidhad his usual school-work to do dell, "because every one of them besides." receive from his pupil £5 in books, The "help" is allowed to if he is successful in the competi tion. Sometimes, it is confessed that the severity of the trial had this bad effect, that after the strain was over, and the places awarded, the successful boys relapsed into idleness. For this placing lasted virtually during the four years of their college life, until they moved off in succession to the university, until the present master introduced a regulation by which those who were notoriously idle were formally degraded. There used also, as Dr. Scott observed, to be a tendency to "special pleading and quibbling" -no doubt a relic of the old scholastic system-but this has been checked, and has disappeared. The great expenditure of time, both on the part of boys and master, is another admitted drawback, almost the other hand, its advantages are inseparable from the system. not less obvious; and we do not wonder that even apart from its historical interest, which we think with Dr. Scott forms "a strong reason in its favour," the challenge is so popular with Westminster men, old and young, that he would shrink from even suggesting its abolition. The connection between the senior boys and those to whom they act as helps" in this examination is wholesome and advantageous to both; and while they appear to get out of their pupils while in traina greater amount of bona fide work ing, than could be secured by any other kind of private tuition, they are themselves benefited by being compelled to keep up an accurate knowledge of grammar, and it gives On them, in Dr. Liddell's opinion, ergies in fostering these valuable "habits of teaching and organisa- qualities, so long as university extion which are most valuable.' But aminations remain what they are? its greatest advantage is that it is Both in the scholarships and in the calculated to give a boy in some honour-classes, nearly the whole measure the training in which most weight is given to the work done on of our public schools, and even our paper. The vivâ voce examination universities, seem to have become tells upon the. final result in scarcelamentably deficient, which is yet so ly any perceptible degree. It is said necessary and valuable in after-life in defence of this admitted prepon-the habit of bringing out acquired derance of the paper-work, which knowledge aptly and readily on the has gradually and steadily increased spur of the moment, of putting within present memory, that it is questions and expressing answers the best test which can be applied with ease and clearness, not upon as to a candidate's real acquirepaper, but to a living and speaking ments: that when a young man opponent, in which many of our comes to stand up face to face with highly-educated men so commonly three or four examiners, he gets nerand so miserably break down, while vous and distressed, fails to do himthe half educated so often succeed. self justice, and, in fact, loses his We could wish that the Commission- head. Undoubtedly this is very ers in their Report had noticed in true, and is likely to become more stronger terms a defect, as it seems and more true every year, in proto us, in modern high class educa- portion as vivâ voce examination betion generally, which the present comes less frequent; but nervous system of examination in our uni- awkwardness in a young Englishversities is likely rather to aggravate man is a defect rather to be correctthan to amend. That they do them- ed than indulged, and inasmuch as selves recognise the importance of the work of his after-life will cersome such training, is evident from tainly not have to be done wholly some of their remarks by the way. upon paper, and as he will most They quote with approval the opin- probably be called upon to show his ion of Dr. Hessey of Merchant Tay- knowledge and his ability in some lors', that the public speeches there, other way than in writing books, it to which he pays great personal is well that he should learn betimes attention, are "a most valuable not only to acquire and digest his means of bringing out boys' talents knowledge, but to have it readily and character, and of giving them producible on demand; and that ease and self-possession; and they he should learn to face manfully recommend the adoption of similar positions which may be quite as recitations at Charter-House. Lord trying to a nervous man as the Lyttelton endorses Dr. Moberly's tes- candidates' side of an examinationtimony that the speeches at Win- table. The young student who canchester improve the boys' utterance not answer with tolerable grace and and articulation, by the suggestion self-possession the calm questionthat it also takes away a great ing of a gentleman, who, after all, deal of their false shame;" and has not the least wish to puzzle or Mr. Commissioner Thompson no- set him down, and whose only postices in the course of this inquiry sible object is to get him to do his at Westminster, that there have best, will be very apt to make failbeen "complaints on the ground of ures in any line of moderately pubthe system of examination at other lic life, whatever may be his powers schools, that they neglect to provide in the closet. The independent any means of encouraging presence voter who catechises the county of mind, self-reliance, and fluency of member, the dissenting cobbler who speech." But what inducement can attacks the parson, are commonthe authorities of public schools ly as much their inferiors in good have to spend their time and en- sense as in learning; but the train ing of the tap-room and the conventicle has given them a coolness and a power of fence which our high-class education neglects more and more to cultivate. The nervous diffidence which unsteadies the memory and fetters the tongue may be very interesting, but will be found highly inconvenient in practical life. The scholar is so much in danger, even under the most favourable circumstances, of becoming conversant with books rather than with men, that if he is to bring the power of his knowledge and his intellect to bear in any useful way upon society hereafter, we must not abate him of any help that we can give to make him not only the full man and the exact man, but also the ready man of the philosopher's axiom. But even the power of fluent and graceful oral translation from one language into another -"a good construe," as schoolboys used to term it-a practice of which even statesmen and orators have acknowledged the value in after life has grown a rare thing at our universities. The art is not cultivated, because it does not pay. It will not affect, except in the remotest manner, a man's place in the class-list, or his chance for the "Ireland." And the admiring crowd of young students who were known in older times to rush to the Oxford schools to hear the examination of some candidate of repute, no longer think it worth their while to attend. The outward and visible glory of the arena has departed. The veriest hum-and-haw bungler, whose performance would not be tolerated in the first class of a national school, may have secured his Oxford first already-upon paper. He is a wellread and intelligent scholar, no doubt; but you do not wonder that if he emerges from his chrysalis undergraduateship into a country parson, his church is commonly empty; or if he has to make a speech hereafter as a county magistrate, his friends mercifully pull him down by his coat-tails. Westminster is right, therefore, in maintaining that the challenge system has the great re commendation of promoting that readiness of scholastic fence which the taste of the age carried to excess in the old disputations, but which has its value none the less as an element of training, and for which modern education provides no efficient substitute. On the same grounds, and not without justice, the Westminster men defend another of their peculiar institutions-the annual "Play." Every one knows that the Queen's scholars present a Latin Comedy, by royal authority, just before the Christmas holidays every year; and those who have been amongst the audience know how cleverly, on the whole, it is acted. Objections have been made to the custom, and there have been rumours from time to time of an intention to abolish it. But independently of the familiar acquaintance which it gives a boy with the most elegant form of colloquial Latin, it is fairly argued that it encourages a wholesome confidence and readiness in the actors, and has a tendency to form good readers and speakers. Sir Robert Phillimore's evidence on this point is decided and emphatic. "I think the advantages of that play have of late years been very much underrated. Such boys as took part in the play soon got accustomed to speak with great fluency. Everybody knows that the Westminster play was always well sustained and acted; and Lord Granville once said that he never understood Terence until he saw the plays acted by the It was not more the discipline of the boy's mind which Westminster boys. resulted from the study of the play, which was advantageous to him, than the readiness in speaking and replying which it produced. Dr. Hawtrey, when Provost of Eton, often said, 'I wish I could get Eton boys to speak as well as the Westminster boys do;' and I have always attributed that fluency and readiness to the discipline and training which the boys undergo in practising the speaking of the lines which they have to repeat at the play."-Evidence, 997. The school (consisting of the |