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ACTA VICTORIANA
Published Monthly during the College Year by the Union Literary
Society of Victoria University, Toronto.
Vol. XXVIII. TORONTO, OCTOBER, 1904. No. i.
NIGHT
BY EDWARD WILSON WALLACE, B.A., '04.
"' he last faint gleams die out along the West ;
Fades now the lingering radiance from the sky ;
The flame'tongued \A/aters hushed to stillness he
In silent calm, with gently stirring breast.
But soft! a glowing globe with ardent rays
Rekindles in the East day s dying flame;
And light returns again, yet not the same.
The tremulous ghost of mid'day's garish blaze.
With wistful memories of departed day
Returned to haunt the slumber of the deep.
Then as the moon mounts higher, pale, serene.
She bends from heaven to kiss the well'loved scene.
While, like a child aweary of its play.
The silent bay lies smiling in its sleep.
Acta Victoriana.
British Columbia Lumbering
BV COTT L. NORTH.
ACCORDING to a man's nature is formed his opinion of the
worth of any country, or section of country. The man of
small mould, small bone, small eyes and small mind sees British
Columbia, its forests and mountains, its lakes and its streams,
its roads, its towns and its people, and
then turns up his lips with a sneer. " It's
just a sea of rock," grunts he, and passes
on. But the small man is not the only
person who visits Canada's extreme West
— the half-way house to the Orient. Cap-
tains of industry, with broad experience
and still broader minds ; engineering
experts, fresh from the halls of science or
tanned by the sunlight of a healthy out-
door struggle with the gnarls spread by
nature's teasing hand in the pathway of
modern progress, and bushy-browed, keen-
eyed globe-trotters make their way to the
Canadian Pacific coast, each one in turn
seeing something that he thinks can be
equalled nowhere else in the world.
The captain of industry sees oppor-
tunities offered on every hand for the
construction of railways^ the inauguration
of steamboat lines, the opening of new
avenues of trade with Japan, China, Australia, Mexico, and . South
America. His eyes fall on the mineral belts, and he is pleased.
They are attracted to the swarming halibut and cod banks, the
salmon runs and the oolachan schools, and he straightway knows
where a mint of money can be made. The engineer understands
that in a land of tangled rock and hill and stream the tracks of
the captain of industry are sure to be strewn with problems for the
solving of which he will be given alluring remuneration. So he rolls
up his sleeves and prepares to work. The globe-trotter glances up at
the snow-covered peaks that flash and tremble in the sunlight until
the impressionable eye gives ihem billowing motion and they become
the " sea of mountains " for which the West is famous. When he
DADDY FREEMAN.
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Ada Victoriana.
writes home he tells his friends he has found the tourist's paradise-
Each sees in British Columbia something the other has not noticed.
All of which goes to prove that the Pacific seacoast province is so
richly dowered by nature that for each who comes to visit it can
provide a tempting fijld of enterprise from which it is difficult to turn
away. Even the pessimist will find pleasure in thj rocks, the tough
stumps and the dis«ial rain.
But be he what he may, a financier or a tramp, a parson or a card
sharper, a scholar or an ignoramus, there is one thing in British
Columbia which must impress everyone who travels through the
province. This is its wealth of timber. The fame of the Douglas fir
•OljRe ^^.TooTMPicKa^
has been spread broadcast, and to the big mills of Chemainus and
Vancouver come sailing craft from Cape Town, Brisbane, Callao,
Yokohama, Liverpool, Honolulu, Mexico and the Indies, seeking
loads of lumber for their home ports. In spite of the salmon, the
gold, the mountains and the fruit of the province, the one thing for
which British Columbia is known above all others throughout the
world is its timber. As a matter of fact, not one acre in a thousand
in the seacoast province is covered with merchantable trees, but
where the forest monsters do grow they attain such a size and gather
so thickly together that but a comparatively small " limit " will yield
a bounteous harvest of " board feet." Mr. Patterson, of the Port
Moody mills, which were so disastrously vis"ted by fire this summer, is
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6 Ada Victoriana.
responsible for the estimated proportion of timbered and untimbered
land throughout British Columbia quoted above.
Naturally, as one of the most convenient shipping centres both for
rail and vessel, Vancouver is vitally interested in the success of the
lumber trade. Her mills are large, their cut extensive and the
number of men employed well up in the thousands. Even before
Vancouver commenced to be a town, the B.C. Mills Timber and
Trading Company and the Port Moody Lumber Company were busy
reducing timber to commercial lumber, and were bidding vigorously
"^ of iKe D ominion '
for foreign trade. But with the advent of the C.P.R. and the
founding of Vancouver, a new market was opened in Manitoba and
the North-West. This market has steadily grown, and with its growth
has come a rapid multiplication of the concerns competing for its
custom. At the present time the coast mills, of which those in Van-
couver, New Westminster and Chemainus form the most important
part, number twenty-one and have a yearly lumber capacity of 350,-
000,000 feet. In addition, there are twenty-eight shingle mills, with a
capacity of 600,000,000 shingles. Both of these outputs could be
doubled in an emergency by running night as well as day shifts.
Ada Victoriana. 7
Although the Territories and Manitoba take the larger portion of
the B.C. lumber and shingle cut, trade has been pushed on into
Ontario. The manager of the Brunette saw-mills- in New West
minster said a short time ago that he found it profitable to ship as far
east as Montreal and there to compete with the mills of the Ottawa
Valley. One explanation of this rather remarkable fact, he says, is that
the B.C. shingles have won such favor with Ontario builders that
even at a much higher price they prefer them to all others, hence the
demand.
In the early days of the industry the rougher grades of lumber
A SALMON CATCH ON THE PACIFIC COAST.
were shut out from the market by the high transportation rates. All
profits had to be made out of the better grades. During the past
four years, however, through the extension of the North-West and
Eastern markets, and the increased demand from the local and foreign
markets, conditions have been materially improved. Lower freight
rates have obtained and better prices have prevailed. The rush to
the Canadian wheat fields has proved a veritable gold mine for the
lumbermen of the Pacific coast. To-day the outlook is bright, for the
lumber barometer (to wit, the North-West) continues to indicate " fair
weather."
8 Ada Victoriana.
Amongst the "sights " shown every tourist when he visits Van-
couver is one or other of the big lumber plants — those of the
Hastings, Royal City or Pacific Coast mills. The latter is the most
recently erected and the most thoroughly equipped. It is an inter-
esting sight to watch a big fir log, measuring anything from four to six
feet in diameter, as it is hauled up out of the water by chains, clamped
on a travelling support, and then run against the rough, rapidly
whirling teeth of an immense band saw. First slabs, then boards are
torn off as the huge car swings back and forth until each of the four
sides has been trimmed down and a "stick" about three feet square
is left. Then this "B.C. toothpick" is ready for shipment or to be
sawn into heavy planks, according to the expressed wishes of the
purchaser. To the mill it makes little difference. Only a few
moments, and the largest of the felled forest monsters passes under
the operating blades and emerges in piles of neatly cut dimension
timber, boards or planks.
Unfortunately for the West, the majority of those employed in these
big mills are Orientals — either Japs or Chinamen. Both work well,
although neither one can get through nearly as much in a day as a
good, sturdy white man who uses his brains and his hands at one and
the same time. But the Orientals work for smaller wages, and so, in
the eyes of the operators, are preferable. Out of their Japs and
Chinamen the mills make money — and help to curse the country by
refusing employment to honest Canadians who would make desirable
citizens of the West. Of course, the millmen cry '• hard times " and say
that if they had to pay white men's wages they would soon close
down. This whimper once was raised on the other side of the Inter-
national Boundary line, but over there it is heard no more. The
employers were forced to do without this cheap labor, and when they
had to, they soon found that they could.
It is some consolation to know that since last January, when the
$500 head tax imposed on incoming Chinamen by the Laurier
government went into force, not a single Celestial has entered the
country save such as formerly were resident in Canada and had re-
turned to their far Eastern homes simply for a visit. Thus is removed
one (and the most serious) phase of the threatened Chinese invasion
of Western Canada. Wherever the Mongol has settled in British
Columbia in numbers he has built up a colony which forms the
nucleus of the most undesirable, filthy and immoral section of the
community in which he lives. As he seldom or never brought
over with him his wife or child the increase of the pure breed is
Acfa Viclortana. g
effectually checked, but the half-breed, the worst breed of all, is
only too common.
While this may seem irrelevant to the subject in hand, it must be
BIG TREES IN STANLEY PARK, VANCOUVER.
remembered that, as the mills of the'province offered employment for
large numbers of the migrating Chinamen, they are responsible to a
certain extent for the presence in the country of many Orientals. In
lO
Ada Victoriana.
this way (a minor point, it is true, wlien compared with the vast
profits accumulated through them by Canadians) the B.C. mills
have proven a curse to the province.
But while the mills have cursed with one hand, they have blessed
with another. Hundreds o\ now prosperous citizens of B.C. owe
their start in the West to early employment given by the lumbermen.
When a new arrival is down in his luck he straightway goes to one of
the lumber yards, and there, if he is not afraid of hard toil and sore
hands, he can secure work at a wage which will at least provide him
with means on which to subsist. Thus he can keep himself alive and
well fed while looking around for an opening, and if he is econo-
mical he can even lay by a few odd dollars as a nest egg.
To day Vancouver's lumber mills are working steadily and yielding
a golden tribute. As population increases and the local demand
provides an avenue through which much of the now wasted lower
grades can be disposed of, the lot of the millmen will be brightened
and the lumber traffic of Canada's gateway to the Orient will grow
with leaps and bounds. British Columbia has the timber ; her sons
are ready to cut it. All that is needed to set in motion a fresh
avalanche of trade is "the world as a market."
Ere closing it might be well to correct a certain popular mistake.
When Canadians of the East speak of the famous Douglas fir, ihey
think too frequently of huge trunks measuring fifty, sixty or even a
hundred feet in circumference. This is wrong. There are, of course,
unusually large trees whose trunks are even as much as thirty feet in
diameter five feet from the ground ; but these are not ordinary
specimens. The average size on the stump of the Douglas fir, cedar,,
spruce and hemlock will not exceed four feet.
MEN OF THE WOOD.S.
Acta Victoriana 1 1
In the 'Dormitories
BY E. ED.VA DINGWALL, '03
THE most momentous question which comes to the average man
or woman to decide is the choice of life work. Whether he
knows it or not, it is most often in this decision that the final
touch is given to the making or marring of character, and the man who
has chosen wrongly has hung a millstone round his neck, whose fall
must, sooner or later, crush both itself and him.
Old as it is true is the saying that work is valuable only through the
spirit that permeates it, yet none the less should it be recognized that
a clear understanding of one's strongest powers and a definite use of
them is permissible — -indeed, imperative — for the highest develop-
ment-of the individual ; and that the man who, intellectually or physi-
cally, does lower work than that of which he is capable is hardly less
in error than he who allows too keen a perception of his own talents
to crowd out the more rudimentary truths of life. A man must live
up to himself, not below, nor yet beyond ; and, above all, he must
live to his level in the spirit of consecration. Rare cases there must
be when the sacrifice of self-suppression is necessary; but of the
average man or woman it is seldom such surrender is permanently
demanded.
In no work is this truth and the need of adaptability and harmony
between talents and requirements more obvious, and in few is it less
recognized, than in the role of boarding-school teacher. The idea
appears popularly to exist that, among women especially, one who has
received a college training, if she can do nothing else, can, as a last
resort, always teach ; providing only an obliging " agency " and a flat-
tering photographer combine in her favor.
If teach she must and will, let her avoid boarding-schools as she
would the pulpit. Firmly should each girl realize that none but a
born educator should set foot in a residence school.
In the first place, look at the class of girls enrolled in almost all
boarding-schools as residence pupils. With few exceptions you will
find them either girls without homes or girls whose homes are so situ-
ated that more advantages are to be obtained from leaving than from
remaining in them. What, then, is the boarding-school forced to under-
take ? Truly a stupendous task ; none less than to take charge of the
character-training as well as the intellectual supervision of its pupils.
Whether it attains even partial success depends entirely upon the
12 Ada Victoriana.
character of those in authority, who have hour by hour more to do in
moulding the young Uves than have the very parents of the children.
Leaving out of discussion the question of the unconscious influence,
what qualities are most necessary in the work of a residence teacher to
produce that conscious influence, quite as unavoidable in her case as
the unconscious ? First and foremost, self-control. Self-control rather
than sympathy ? Emphatically, yes.
To educate the pupils we must, in the nature of things, control
them ; and control without the background of superior strength of
character is worse than useless ; it is positively harmful to the child.
The teacher who has to resort to brute force to win the victory, or who
is forced to bolster herself with varieties galore of purely external pun-
ishments, be she never so excellent a teacher, has not the capacity to be
a child educator, and her place is as far as possible removed from the
boarding-school. Let the teacher once lose control of herself, let her
once allow her sympathies or passions to gain the upper hand, and her
influence has decreased in the exact proportion in which she has
departed from the line of justice. More than any other quality do
children demand justice from those above them ; and justice, above
all, demands self-control. The ordinary school teacher has this
demand made of her in the school-room for a certain number of hours
each day ; the teacher in a residence school must respond unceasingly,
not only in the school-room, where she is more or less on guard, but in
the hours of " duty," also, when she is called upon as a sort of domestic
referee on all occasions, and where weariness of body is often the
keenest of her personal sensations. If her self-control fails her under
even so great provocation, she feels the results speedily, and will have a
hard struggle to regain her lost ground in the minds of those most
exacting of unconscious critics, the children.
Next to self-control and the accompanying sense of power is there
keen necessity for sympathy, but sympathy, be it noticed, well ordered
and controlled. A sympathy rampant can do more to distort the vision
and hinder the usefulness of a residence teacher than can almost any
other four unseasonable qualities. But, on the other hand, the teacher
who cannot win the confidence of those with whom she comes in con-
tact daily will by no means fulfil the demands of a true child-educator.
Too little sympathy, like too much, hinders her from obtaining the
true perspective, and will give rise to actions not on the strict lines of
justice ; and the teacher who does not represent to her pupils the
incarnation of justice is already on shaky ground.
Ada V2ctoria7ia.
13
She who is impersonal that they may realize her power, and personal
that they may learn her sympathy, such a woman it is whom the resi-
dence schools need, and whose hold over the pupils will not cease with
their school days.
Control, sympathy and — humor. " A sense of humor will often
save a woman when religion, training and home influences fail."
And in a large sense is this true of the boarding school teacher. It is
the constancy of the life that is wearing. Every day and all day long
goes on the drain on the teacher's energies, and woe unto her who
misses the opportunities of occasional flippancy ! The future holds
for her sure retribution in the shape of brain fag and large hospital
bills, or else a gradual self-isolation from the good young life around
her. To be filled with a sense of humor so keen that one can even
see the funny side of a study-rnom joke which has fatally upset the
gravity of a situation meant to be serious, this is to save oneself from
the rack and one's pupils from the results of a too intense teacher's
overstrung nerves. Truly, one is almost tempted to say, " And the
greatest of these is humor."
Other qualities there are, volumes of them, but they cannot be
touched on now. For the woman who combines them in the highest
degree what possibilities lie in the life-work of a boarding-school
teacher? The possibilities are as varied as the teachers. For the
woman who combines everything everything is possible. Day after
day she has with her more than a score of young souls in training.
What she makes of them they will make of others, and the chain is
never-ending.
Is it worth while ? Is life worth while, or men, or women ? The
boarding-school teacher need never look for wealth, for her monthly
cheques will at best afford only a competence ; but if she be a true
educator she will find in the lives her hands have helped to fashion
compensation for her many sacrifices, her unceasing toil, her unfalter-
ing zeal ; and her reward will be the dearer to her because she must
have earned it through the purifying of her own character in the educa-
tion and uplifting of others.
Rothesay, N.B., Sept. 30th, 1904.
14 Ada Victoriana.
Our Palace Beautiful
COLLEGE is the pilgrim's stay in the Palace Beautiful, one of the
early stages of his life journey. The sojourner here must
enter the narrow passage and pass some lions, as Christian did, before
he teaches the Porter. If he has slept in fhe Arbor of Indobnce
that stands on the hillside he arrives late.
The grave and beautiful damsel in control is lenient, and, at the
Porter's request, takes the pilgrim into the Palace built for the refresh-
ment and equipment of such travellers. The fresh young visitor's
mind is occupied with himseU and his pilgrimage as he talks with
the inmates and the other guests about his experiences. Later his
thought and conversation are broadened as his interest extends to the
Palace builders, the why and wherefore of its building. Now he is
more ready to abide in the chamber whose windows open to the
sunrising.
He is shown the rarities of the place. He examines the volumes
and records of the acts of the builders and his own predecessors. He
peruses other histories of many famous things, " both ancient and
modern, together with prophecies and predictions of things that have
certain accomplishment, both to the dread and amazement of
enemies and the comfort and solace of pilgrims."
Attention turns next to the armory wherein is all manner of furniture
provided for pilgrims. There is here enough to hatness out as many
for service as there be stars in the heaven for multitude. Also are
shown to him engines with which have been done wonderful things
by earlier pilgrims.
In due time he is taken to the top of the house to view the
Delectable Mountains of life duty which are common to all pilgrims,
and he thinks of setting forward immediately for them. He is not
yet ready, however. He must be panoplied from head to foot with
what is of proof, lest he meet with assaults by the way. With his
mind set upon the Delectable Mountains, he knows not of the
Valley of Humiliation and of Apollyon so near him, but his wise
helpers know of them and prepare him.
Well accoutred, he walks with friends to the gate and to the
dwellers in the palace he says with Christian, "The Lord be with
thee and add to thy blessings much increase for the kindness thou
hast showed me."
A. G.
Ada Victoriana.
15
William Morris and the Roycrofters
BY ETHEL HUME PATTERSON, '05.
WE have been told very often that we are living in a commercial
age, in an age whose ideal seems to be a grasping after
what Hawthorne calls " the big unrealities — money, notoriety,
power." Our teachers, our editors, our preachers, have so often cried
out against "the curse of our generation — the greed for gain," that we
have at last come to believe that there is a maelstrom underneath
THE SHOP.
the foaming mist of bubbles towards which we are whirling.
We believe it is there, but the bubbles are very beautiful, and the
current is very strong, and so we yield to the flow of the river,
and whirl onward and downward. Sometimes we meet a man who is
swimming against the tide, his eyes are fixed on the beautiful City of
i6
Acta Victoriana.
our Ideal away from which we have turned, and he shouts to us
" Back ! back ! " But we say, " No, the tide is too powerful. You are
strong, but we are weak, and the bubbles are so very beautiful ! " And
away we whirl !
Exaggerated ? Perhaps. Nevertheless the plain fact remains that
the danger exists, that many of us are deliberately choosing it, and
that the great strong spirits of the day are the men who are urging us
to turn. All honor then and reverence to these men who, in this age
crammed full of commercial and industrial activity, are holding up
THE RECEPTION ROOM.
the Beautiful before us ,; bidding us open our eyes to beautiful sights,
our ears to beautiful sounds, and our hearts to beautiful thoughts.
We believe in such men, and it will do us good to think about them.
In William Morris and Elbert Hubbard we haye two such standard-
bearers of Beauty, for, just because we are a busy world and must
always be a busy work-a-day world, they have endeavored and are
endeavoring to bring the Ideal into our work, and so make it sincere,
beautiful and joyful.
William Morris devoted his life to the worship of Beauty and to
true Art — "the uplifting of the Beautiful that all may see and enjoy."
Ada Victoriana.
17
He was a man of complex and varied activities — a poet, an artist, a
craftsman, a social reformer, and he blended these gifts into a splendid
personality, so that the poet was never at war with the craftsman, nor
the artist with the social constructor. For, while with pen and brush
he drew beautiful dream-world pictures of primitive and mediaeval
times, he also strove to bring this same beauty into everyday
WILLIAM HUBBARD AND HIS SONS.
life — to give character, and fitness, and grace, to chair, and table, and
cupboard. And to this part of his work he applied the principle of
sincerity which animated that remarkable group of painters to which
he belonged— "The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood," and which included
Madox, Brown, Burne-Jones and Rossetti.
Morris' practical craftsmanship brought him into close touch with
present economic conditions from the point of view of both employer
1 8 Acta Victor iana.
and employee, and, unlike Ruskin, who, though he bitterly denounced
the modern system, would take no part in a revolution, his protests
were active and he joined in heartily with the new Socialist party. His
ideas as to social reform he embodied in the Utopian romance, "News
from Nowhere," a picture of social revolution the outcome of which
will be " a new state of society where work is not divorced from joy
and where the tyranny of machinery is abolished." He gives voice
again to this gospel in " The Commonweal " —
"Then a man shall work and bethink him, and rejoice in the deeds of his
hand,
Nor yet come home in the even too faint and weary to stand.
" O strange new wonderful justice ! But for whom shall we gather the gain .''
For ourselves and each of our fellows — no hand shall labor in vain.
" Then all mine and all thine shall be ours, and no more shall any man crave
For riches that serve for nothing but to fetter the friend for a slave."
And we believe that the promulgating of this doctrine was the
permanent part of William Morris' life work. The fashions will
change, no doubt, and our beautiful Morris windows and papers, books
and hangings^, chairs and cupboards, will pass away, but the impulse
the man gave to the love of the sincere and the beautiful, and to joy-
ful, as opposed to joyless, work, will never die.
Towards the close of the nineteenth century Elbert Hubbard met
William Morris and, to use his own words, "caught it." Being a
man of action, he at once began to put his ideas to a practical test,
and began his social and industrial experiment, which has for its scene
of action the ordinary little town of East Aurora, N.Y. This experi-
ment ought to interest us because its great success has proved it
practicable.
Mr. Hubbard, or Fra Elbertus, as he is called by the faithful, was
one of a large family in an Illinois country doctor's home. He left
school at the age of fifteen, worked on a farm, went West, became a
cowboy, worked in a Chicago printing ofifice, then worked as a sales-
man, then in a soap factory, taught school, went to Harvard, wrote for
the newspapers, tramped through Europe (where he met Morris), came
to East Aurora, where he raised horses and started Chautauqua circles.
No wonder he says of himself, " I am a graduate of the University of
Hard Knocks, and I have taken several post graduate courses."
By means of this educational preparation Elbert Hubbard had be-
come a man of the people, and could understand economic and
industrial problems as an aristocrat like William Morris never could
Ada Victoriana.
19
do. He began to formulate 'deas concerning the nature of man's
work and his place in society which were to be realized later on. He
writes thus : "To think, to see, to feel, to know, to deal justly, to
bear patiently, to act quietly, to speak cheerfully, to moderate one's
voice — these things will bring you the highest good. And, further
than this, it is the best way you can serve humanity — live your life."
And this the Fra hangs up as part of his creed :
" I believe in salvation through economic, social and spiritual
freedom.
" I believe there is no better preparation for a life to come than
this : Do your work as well as you can, and be kind.
THE LIBRARY.
"I believe in sunshine, fresh air, friendship, calm sleep, beautiful
thoughts."
When Mr. Hubbard settled down in East Aurora he began to
write his Little Journeys^ and not being able to find a publisher,
had the first one printed at the local printing office. This led to the
printing of a pamphlet "about things in general and publishers and
magazine editors in particular." Then the Fra procured the printer's
outfit and decided to make the pamphlet a monthly magazine to run
one year. He called it The Philistine because he intended to go after
the chosen people in literature. The success of the little brown
20 Acta l^ictoriana.
pamphlet was enormous: its unique appearance and character
doubtless having much to do with its first popularity.
The avowed intention of The Philistine, as expressed somewhere in
its pages, is "to make men think," and this is accomplished some-
times by ordinary, but often by extraordinary means. The language
is strong and terse, full of energy and fire, and indeed the Fra has a
habit of seizing upon one's most cherished opinions and shaking
them, sometimes roughly and rudely and even without reason, so that
they return in a scarcely recognizable condition. But probably they
are all the better and stronger for this kind of treatment, being,
perhaps, like the well-brought up, nursery-bred boy, in need of a few
hard fights and knocks before he can become a man.
People rather liked getting a new point of view — they rather liked
getting shaken up a bit, so The Philistine grew popular. The
work grew apace and subscriptions poured in. Workers and a place
to work in were needed. Here was a chance for the Fra to practice
what he preached.
" It may be proved with much certainty that God intends no man
to live in this world without working, but it seems no less evident
that he intends every man to be happy in his work. It was written,
* In the sweat of thy brow,' but it was never written, ' In the breaking
of thy heart.'" The Fra took this cry of Ruskin for a text and
preached a sermon, and the sermon took the form of a low, irregular,
grey stone building, like a quaint English chapel. And in the rooms
he put pianos, and books, and curtains, and pictures, and statuary —
all the beautiful things he could — and this was to be the workshop.
The workers for whose needs this building was designed were right
at hand. Before the coming of Fra Elbertus, East Aurora was an
ordinary, plain, humdrum village, with the usual country store, black-
smith shop, sawmill and tavern. The consequence was that, as in
hundreds of other villages, the cramped energies and ambitions of the
boys and girls could find an outlet only in getting away to the big
cities, where doubtless some of them did become shining lights, but
some did not. Now not only is the appearance of the town
greatly changed, but it has become a home place for its boys and
girls — a home where they earn their living in a congenial, healthful
way, and receive a broad, liberal education at the same time.
For it is as natural for boys and girls to want to make beautiful
things with their hands as it is for birds to sing, and, when to the
skill of the hand they can add joy of heart and guidance of brain,
they grow, develop, are being educated. Not only the young people
Ada Victoria7ia.
21
but the young old people find work which is suited to them, and the
interest which these veterans of agriculture and of housework take in
art is amazing to those who do not know the barrenness of some of
these busy rural lives, and the innate love in every breast for that
which is beautiful and true.
These workers have been organized into a corporation, " The
Roycrofters." In choosing this name, Mr. Hubbard says they had in
mind Samuel and Thomas Roycroft, who made and printed very
beautiful books in the middle of the 17th century; but "beyond this
the word has a special significance, meaning King's craft — King's
C^i
1
^^^^^^
'l^^^^l
1^ ^k^H
^^I^Hk^l^
* ^w X '"*jj
" FRA ELBERTUS."
craftsmen being a term used in the guilds of the olden time for men
who had achieved a high degree of skill — men who made things for
the King. So a Roycrofter is a person who makes beautiful things,
and makes them as well as he can.' The shares of the corporation
are held by the workers and by no one else, and this has been found
to call forth the highest degree of diligence, interest, and intelligence.
Anyone who is the fortunate possessor of a piece of Roycroft ware
will certainly admit that the Roycrofters have justified their name.
Fra Elbertus has made a financial success of his experiment because
he began to satisfy the innate love of man for beautiful things. Cheap
22
Acta Victoriana.
books had served their turn, but the art of making beautiful books
seemed dead in America. However, to-day hundreds of book-lovers
are treasuring the hand-made, illuminated, quaintly printed volumes
with the Roycroft mark upon them. They are treasures, for there
clings to each an individuality and a sentiment which could never
come with an article shot out of a machine and like unto hundreds of
others. And the joy that goes into the making of these works of art
comes out again in the joy of the appreciative possessor. Truly joy
is infinite and eternal !
Besides the making of books, the Roycrofters print the two maga-
zines, The Philistine^ and Little /onrneys, and lately, as need
has arisen, have begun such industries as carpentering, terra cotta
work and weaving. And joyful work does not make up the whole of
the Roycroft idea. There are healthful recreations of all kinds, and
in the evenings, concerts, lectures, educational classes. Music is a
very prominent feature, there being over one hundred pupils in
instrumental music. Everything is done that can be done for the
culture and development of the workers.
No, East Aurora is not the millennial dawn, nor yet Utopia !
Patience, kindness, "bear and forbear," are just as necessary there as
elsewhere. Some days, we doubt not, things go crookedwise, and
there are frowns instead of smiles, — as the Fra himself expresses it,
" We are travelling to the Beautiful City of our Ideal. We are aware
we shall never reach it — but the suburbs are very pleasant."
And yet. East Aurora is a Dawn — possibly it will be a long, long,
weary time before the Sun rises in full splendor — but the Dawn has
come ! From the humble little village we can lift our eyes to the
Land of our Dream
" Where only the Master shall praise, and only the Master shall blame,
And no one shall work for money, and no one shall work for fame,
But each for ih& joy of the working, and each in his separate star.
Shall draw the thing as he sees it for the God of things as they are.''
Acia Victoriana. 23,
Ji Double Victory
KATHERINE E. CULLEN, 'o6.
IT was one of those rare evenings of Indian summer when the air
is balmy and fragrant and the sun seems to hnger above the
horizon in a clear blaze of golden glory. The beams of fading light
seemed imprisoned and entangled in the jagged crests of the moun-
tains, changing their dull blue, whence the Blue Ridge Mountains derive
their name, to a bright rosy halo. Farther down the mountain sides,
untouched by the rays of the settmg sun, the characteristic blue haze
softened and broke their bold, rugged outlines.
Against this sombre background arose a large and stately stone
mansion, whose weather-beaten walls were surrounded by the broad
verandahs and lofty columns of the colonial period. On a terraced
lawn in front stood a young woman, whose face, though beautiful,
revealed traces of patient suffering. With clouded brow she eagerly
scanned the crests of the neighboring mountains for some sign of life.
Word had just reached her that, earlier in the day, the Confederate
army had been deleated and that the victorious Northern troops were
scouring the country in search of fugitives. The news came to her
like a thunderbolt and, half beside herself with terror, she repeatedly
murmured, "Oh! if only he would not come to-night." And she
clasped her hands appealingly and gazed wildly about. " If the
soldiers come to night he will be lost ; he does not know that the
battle has been raging near us. Oh, I must send him word not to
come ! "
Running into the kitchen Mrs. Mills asked excitedly for Sam. " Sam
aint routr yere jes dis minnit. Miss Virginny," explained Esther, an
old servant, who had nursed Mrs. Mills when a baby. " Sam's down
at de stables lockin' up de bosses fer de night. He done heerd dat
some ob dese yere free actin' niggahsgwine ter escapade on us to-night
and so he's fixin' up fer to fool 'em."
" Esther," said Mrs Mills, imperiously, " tell Sam I want him at
once. I will be in the library."
" Yes'm," and old Esther in spite of her weight of years almost ran
down the path leading to the stables.
" Miss Virginny, I heah you done want me an' I come jes as fas' as
I could. Is anything happen to Marse John ? " he asked, becoming
suddenly anxious. "You look like you'd heerd bad news."
24 Acta Victoriana.
" Sam, your master sent word he would be here between nine and
ten this even ng to see us all before he leaves for New Orleans," and
here Mrs. Mills tried determinedly to control her anxiety, in order not
to arouse the excitable negro. Now Sam, there has been a skirmish
over the mountains and your master may not have known that it was
likely to take place. The soldiers are coming this way, and if he should
come while they are passing through here what can we do ? " Here
Mrs. Mills could control herself no longer and wept like a child.
" Don't cry, fer de Lawd's sake, Miss Virginny. P'raps Marse John
done heerd ob de battle already an' he aint comin' home. But if he
was, Miss Virginny, we couldn't do nothin', 'cause we don't know
zacktly whar he's gwine ter come from."
" You are right, Sam ; we could not possibly let him know," and
Mrs. Mills relapsed into tears.
Sambo slipped quietly from the room and went to the kitchen, where
the servants were sitting beside the great old-fashioned hearth. Before
the war the Mills' establishment had been the largest and most res-
pected in the neighborhood, but when the war broke out hard times
had come and only the old family servants were retained. And now
as Sambo, the oldest member of the household, entered the room he
found only two old women whispering in awed tones about " de war"
and " pore Miss Virginny."
" Wat you two niggahs doin' yere, settin' by the fiah wastin' yoah
time ? You bettah get to work and fix up fer to hab a big supper ready,
lor shure as youse bawn dose confounded Northern white trash is gwine
ter come heah and demand some suppah. Dinah," addressing his wife,
" You cook all de meat and potatoes in de place, an' Esther, you make
up de pies and cakes, for shure as youse bawn dose soldiers '11 be yere
dis very night." These orders were all given in the tones of the Sambo
of the old palmy day>^, when he was the pompous footman, and with-
out hesitation the two old negro women set briskly to work.
Meanwhile in the library Mrs. Mills was sitting back in the depths
of a great leather-covered chair, holding on her knee a pretty flaxen-
haired child about six years of age. whose clear blue eyes were at once
trusting and persuasive. "Mamma, won't I ever see papa again?"
she asked. " Won't he ever come home again ? "
" Why yes, darling ; I hope so. What makes you ask such strange
•questions ? "
" Because you are crying so hard. I thought perhaps he'd never,
never come back again and let me ride with him like he did last sum-
mer on my own little Dixie." So in her childish way little Alice
Acta Victoriana. 25
prattled on till the sun had long since sunk behind the mountains.
The night had become very dark, with only an occasional star peep-
ing out now and then from behind the clouds.
Suddenly old Sambo rushed in and whispered- excitedly to Mrs.
Mills, who paled and grasped the arm of her chair to steady herself.
A moment of agitation, then, with a great effort, she quietly told Alice
to run up to the nursery and play until she could come to put her to
sleep. Then, as the wondering child ran upstairs, the faithful black
explained that a company of Northerners under General McLellan had
come and demanded food. Orders were at once given to obey the
request, and soon the house was filled with soldiers, who stared rudely
around at the costly mahogany and rare old paintings.
Up in the nursery Alice, child-like, had forgotten the mystery down-
stairs and was playing with her dolls, unconscious of the intruders,
but after a time a strange voice below the nursery window attracted
her attention. Her childish curiosity was aroused, and, as she listened,
the words became distinct and she could hear two of the soldiers
talking.
" Say, wasn't that great grub we had ? Major Mills has great cooks."
"Yes and they say that he had a fine lot of horses, and that some,
if not all of them, are left here at home."
" By Jove ! " broke in the other voice, " won't that be a great haul ? "
" Yes, and as soon as the rest of the fellows have all the grub they
want we'll go to the stables, and then leave by the north gate. Why
there they go now. Hurrah ! "
All this conversation was overheard by two very alert little ears, and
it took but a short time for Alice to realize that her own little Dixie, a
present from her father, would soon be taken from her. All her pas-
sionate Southern blood mounted up in rebellion, and in her anxiety
for Dixie's safety she forgot her fear of those dreadful Northern soldiers,
whose very name she had grown to hate because they were fighting
against her father. With a sudden resolve she sped out of the nursery,
down the broad old-fashioned staircase, and out into the night, heed-
less of the cold damp air. Her golden curls dancing about her
delicately moulded cheeks, she hurried to the stables, fearing she
might be too late to save Dixie.
What a sight met her eyes as she neared the lighted stables. There
were all the soldiers with their torches peering about and leading out
from their stalls the horses that had been her father's pride. Just as
the fairy figure of the child appeared in the doorway one of the rough
soldiers was leading out little Dixie, who whinnied with delight at sight
3
2 6 Acta Victor imia.
of her little mistress. Instantly all was silence, broken only by the
child's cry, " What are you doing to my Dixie ? This is my own
pony and you can't have her." Then, burying her face in the silky
black mane she sobbed as though her little heart would break, "Oh !
Dixie, those cruel soldiers want to take you away, but I won't let them
— no, I won't let them."
On the outskirts of the company of soldiers stood the general, a
witness to the whole scene. At sight of the child his soldier heart was
touched, as his thoughts turned to another little flaxen-haired child in
the North, whom he might never see again. As the child raised her
head and looked around appealingly, he hurriedly wrote something on
the leaf of his notebook and stepped quickly toward her. Stooping
down he folded her in his arms, and said in a husky voice, " You
shall keep your Dixie just as as long as you please and no more cruel
soldiers will come to take her away. If they do, just show them this
slip of paper and they will not touch your pet." The child's eyes filled
with tears, and impulsively she threw her arms around the general's
neck, and, kissing him fervently, she said, "You're almost as nice as
my own papa."' A last embrace and the general put the child down
gently, and then quietly gave orders to march on.
Meanwhile in the blackness of night one could scarcely have dis-
cerned the dark figure of a man crouching behind the stable and
listening with strained ears to the footsteps of the soldiers. He knew
they would soon be marching past him, and must surely spy him as
they passed, yet saw no means of escape, for retreat or advance would
alike expose him. Anxiously he noted the delay at the stables and
listened to their noisy shouts as one by one the beautiful steeds were
led forth, but still the way seemed blocked for his escape. Suddenly
silence prevails, and as he peers through a crack he sees the soldiers
spellbound in the presence of a child. This is his chance. Now or
never he must creep away. Slowly and noiselessly he crawls along till
he reaches a dark and secluded path, when he darts up and runs for
his life. He is safe. Little Alice, quivering with excitement, hastened
back to the house, and rushing into the library was amazed to see
her father talking excitedly to his wife, whose eyes shone with tears of
joy. " Oh, papa ! " she cried, delightedly ; and as her father lifted
her up in his arms and her mother smothered her with kisses, she said,
" I saved Dixie ; those bad soldiers were going to take her away."
Tenderly her father replied, " Yes, darling, and you have saved me,
too."
A eta Victo riana . 2 7
First Things in College Life
THERE was a time when the popular conception of a college man
was a near-sighted and spindle-shanked individual, wearing a
brow " sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought," and carrying in
his hand some volume of the classics or of philosophy. Tetiipota
mutan/ur and to-day the mental picture most readily called up by the
mention of the great universities is, perhaps, that of a husky fellow in
a padded suit with a rugby ball under his arm. As our conception of
education has broadened out, the athletic and social phases of college
life have obtained a prominence that threatens to quite overshadow
the scholastic side. We have come to insist strongly upon the value
of the physical training upon the campus and of the education to be
found in the association with other men in the college societies and in
the different relationships of college life, and the mere bookish
recluse we pity or dispise according to our charity.
While we freely admit the wholesome tendency and the educational
value of those elements of the college life to be found outside the
study or lecture room, may we not also confess that in our anxiety
to avoid Scylla there is a danger of falling into Charybdis, and
that by a too zealous devotion to athletics and the work of the
college societies we may indeed escape the imputation of bookishness
but fail of acquiring the culture which ought to be looked for in the
college graduate ? It is scarcely necessary to remark that there is no
cause-and-effect or any other relation between cramming and culture,
or that the passing of examinations is not necessarily a proof of the
possession of a cultured mind.
There are moral qualities that are cultivated to better advantage on
the campus than elsewhere. There is an alertness that may best be
gained in the college society. But there are also elements of culture
which cannot be otherwise obtained than bycontinuous hard study. The
power of application and of intense thinking, the formation of proper
habits of study for after life — for the college graduate will presumably
always be more or less of a student — the passion for truth, the satura-
tion of the mind with the living and vivifying thoughts that have
inspired men in all ages, the pleasures that come from the power of
appreciating what is fair and noble in all art and the increased sense
of the dignity and responsibility of life that comes from the wider
outlook— to all these, books and study most efficiently contribute.
Let us recognize, then, that, while athletic and college societies occupy
an important, it is yet a secondary place and that the all-round college
28
A da J ^ictoriana.
man is not the man who occupies prominent positions in all college
organizations and crams for his examinations on borrowed lecture
notes, but the man who, while he takes his part in these and perhaps
specializes in one of them, finds time also to become acquainted with
his text-books and indulge as well in some supplementary or general
reading.
Let us cultivate a college spirit that shall not only demand our
attendance at the games in which college teams struggle for champion-
ship honors, but shall also require that we reflect honor on our college
by winning creditable places on the class-list.
Senior.
Ada Victoriana.
29,
A Segment of ^lature
BY PROF. JAS. H. BOWMAN, LONDON.
rHE members of our little Home Circle are in the habit of going
into the fields and woods on Saturday afternoons and there
observing, collecting and carrying home whatever Dame Nature,
in her varying moods and seasons, may provide. The London
district, in which we live, is unusually prolific because of the topo-
graphy of the country and its rich loamy soil. It is at the junction of
the two branches of the Thames whose valleys, with their wooded
ravines, furnish the differences in soil, moisture and situation needed
to produce variety.
As the river drains a large section of the northern country, we have
borne to us, on its spring tides, seeds and spores of flov/er and fern
not indigenous to the soil.
Besides this there is another feature of our local geography which
adds wonderfully to the value of this field to the naturalist. This is
the frequently occuring peat-bogs, giving us a strangely interesting
flora with its fly-catchers and other plant specializations. They seem
almost like small patches of a much more north .rn country, dropped
down among our smiling hills. In extent they are from fifty to one
one hundred acres each, and upon entering them we hear and see
birds and collect flower-blooms quite boreal.
With such alluring iRducements to research, it is not strange that
nature-lovers make frtquent rambles and that their naturalist's
instincts find ample reward.
One of our trips, taken in September of last year, was along the south
branch of the river, two or three miles from the city, where heavy
woods cover the river valley and fringe several ravines long distances
inland.
One of our lads saw something unusual in the fork of a tree about
twenty feet from the ground. It looked like a sponge, was of the
same color and outline and about the size of a cocoanut. Now as
30 Ada l^icto7'iana.
sponges do not climb, and the " weary Willies " who might have
made their spring-time ablutions here would hardly know the use of
such a toilet article, I proposed that someone climb the tree and
bring down the curiosity. No sooner was he under the tree branches
than he started back crying out " why it's raining there " ! As the
sky was cloudless, I said " nonsense, it can't be : try it again ". But
it was so ; there was a steady downpour which had soaked the ground
and be-dewed the grass. The connection between this phenomena
and the sponge was not apparent, but that two such singular things
should be found together and be without relation to each other
seemed unlikely.
Soon the brownish yellow growth was in our hands and we began
our investigation. The resemblance to a sponge, we found, upon
tearing it open, ceased with the outer covering. Within it was like a
close-packed mass of sphagnum moss. This made it no less remark-
able as no growth of this kind is found within several miles of the
place. The memory of another ramble taken through this part of the
country in mid-winter, when the snow was deep, drifted back to me.
Then I had found a black mass attached to the branch of a beech tree.
In appearance it was like a sponge that had been charred with fire
and reduced almost to a cinder. Inside there was this same moss-like
appearance. After much puzzling over the specimen the conclusion
was reached, that campers, troubled by mosquitoes, had made a ball
of moss, and saturated it with coal oil to produce a smudge. This
explanation was not very satisfactory but was accepted for want of a
better. Now it flashed upon me that the sponge and the smudge-
ball were but different stages of development of the same thing.
When the lad came down from the tree he reported the upper
branches covered with a white wool, and declared that it was this that
occasioned the rain. Investigation showed that a mass of the woolly
aphis literally covered the limbs and leaves, their snowy tufts moving
rythmically backwards and forwards and giving the appearance of
wave ripples. These little creatures are provided with sucking tubes,
which they insert into the bark and so sip out the sap. The dropping
of this constituted the ^' rain " which we had noticed. On other occa-
sions I had noticed this spiecies of aphis on tree branches but never
dropping such a shower.
Under the tree there was an ant colony, having the largest ant-hill I
had ever seen. It consisted of a mound of sandy earth, four to five
Acta Victoriana. 31
feet long, two to three feet wide and one and a half feet high, made of
ant holes, if anything can be said to be made of holes.
Now we had been reading a series of interesting articles running
through an Entomological Journal on the aphis as the ants' cow, de-
scribing how the ants herd these little creatures, milking them at will
of their sweet fluid which they consider a most delectable dainty.
The previous fail, when digging my dahlia roots, I found them
shrivelled and worthless. They were infested with milk-white aphis.
In talking it over with an Entomologist, I was told : " If you want to
get rid of the aphis, kill the ants." At first blush this seemed extra-
ordinary advice, yet experience proves its wisdom, for the multiplying
of this insect is greatly promoted by the friendly offices of the ant.
The small rain shower beneath the tree was undoubtedly produced
by the milking operations of the ants from the colony below. One is
inclined to think that they must waste more than they drink, else their
capacity must be enormous. Ants are notorious for having a " sweet-
tooth." They love sweets as a drunkard loves his glass. Having no
sucking-tubes of their own or other means of drawing the sugar-laden
sap from the beech tree, these industrious little creatures tie up to
another species provided with what they lack and so attain their desire.
The gentle rubbing movement involved in the milking stimulates the
aphis in his sucking operations and is apparently very pleasing to
him. The presence of these aphides was likely the cause for which
the ants choose this spot as their camping ground.
But the "sponge"? We had almost forgotten it in tracing the
other phenomena on this beech tree, the home of so many curious
manifestations. The "sponge," which was saturated with the "rain,"
was carefully carried and sections of it were examined under the
microscope. Unable to determine its place in nature, we searched the
neighborhood, and, having found some other specimens, watched
their development during the next couple of months. The outer
layer turned gradually darker, till it finally resembled a coal black
cinder. It was discovered to be covered with minute flask-like bodies
(asci) containing spores, so that we knew it was a fungus and of the
ascomycetes group. Its characters were so marked that there could
be no mistake as to its identity. It was what Mycologists call
Scorias, named from their resemblance to the cinder thrown from the
crater of a volcano. The text books give several American species
but no British ones, and this was our introduction to it. Its
lodgment in the fork of this tree may be accounted for in this way :
32 A eta Vic to via n a .
The spores of this fungus, floating in the air, came into contact with
the branches of this tree, wet with the viscous fluid from the aphis
and were held there and fed by the nutriment thus supplied.
This incident is the arc of a small circle of life. The beech tree
produced the sap. The aphis drew it from the tree but would have
died of their gluttony but for the ants who formed the third sector in
the arc ; while incidentally the fungus used the superabundance and
waste of the other two.
Notes.
SIR WILLIAM RAMSAY, who, though but fifty-two years of
age, has already immortalized himself by discovering five new
elements, is now in America in connection with the annual
convention of the Society of Chemical Industry, of which he was last
year president. His presidential address, which was delivered at the
end of his term of office, deals with the college education of chemists,
and is well worth the attention of all Science students. Sir William
is a wonderfully expert chemist, as is well shown by his recent demon-
stration that radium changes to helium, for in that experiment he
worked for months with a bit of gas considerably smaller than a pin's
head. But there is a still stronger proof of his dexterity, and this not
a chemical one. He can dress for evening dinner in four minutes !
The well-known " kick " of a fire-hose is used for a very peculiar
purpose on some boats recently sent out to Egypt from England for
work on canals. On the boats are fire-engines which throw powerful
streams of water into the air behind them, and the push of the streams
on the air sends the boats forward.
This summer M. Rigolly smashed the " flying kilometre " record
for automobiles by covering five-eights of a mile in 2135 seconds.
This is equivalent to a speed of 102,12 miles an hour.
It is the delight of our southern neighbors to boast that they have,
within their borders, the superlatively best of everything on earth.
Among other things they claim the fastest and best train service in
the world. The Scientific American, in a recent number, gives
the following interesting facts : —
In the United States there are but two daily regular trains that
maintain an average speed of fifty miles an hour or more, including
stops, over the whole of their run. In France there are thirty-five
trains that make an average speed of fifty-five miles an hour over
Ac'hi Victoriana.
Zl>
long distances. In England fifty-three daily trains, making runs
averaging one hundred and one miles each, maintain this speed or
better. Score, John Bull !
Prof. Rigge, of Creighton University Observatory, Omaha, gives
a striking instance of the wonderful exactness of astronomical science
by solving an apparently impossible problem ; one that a Pinkerton
detective might despair of. Required — to find in what year, on what
day, at what minute a certain photo of the Observatory building was
taken. By measuring on the photograph the shadow cast by the
eaves of the building on the brick wall an answer was obtained correct
to a couple of minutes. The photo was taken on May 2nd, 1893, at
3.06 p.m. Prof. Rigge adds that he is surer of the time than the
photographer himself could be !
The weight of the latest Pullman car is so great that there is actu-
ally two tons of wood and metal per passenger. This is a striking
contrast to the economy of weight shown in the bicycle. It is'well
remarked that such ponderous cars are mechanically absurd.
Fogs are not in this country the menace and nuisance they are in
England. Instead of fog-horns and bells, Sir Oliver Lodge proposes a
new remedy for fog— destroy it ! He has proved that with an apparatus
almost the same as now used for wireless telegraphy, small spaces, the
mouth of a river, for instance, may be completely cleared of the
densest fog.
xxviu. c/lda ^idoriana. no. x.
EDITORIAL STAFF, 1 904- J 905.
H. H, Cragg, '05, - - - . Editor-in-Chief.
Miss A. E. Wilson. '05 Uj^prarv ^^^^^s E. M. Keys. '06. »t„„i_
A. E. Elliott. '05 |iviterary. D. A. Hewitt. '06. |ivOcals.
J. S. Bennett. '05, Personals and Exchanges.
\V. A. GiFFORD, B.A.. Missionary and Religious.
F. C. Bowman, '06. Scientific. "* :m. C. Lane. '06, Athletics.
BOARD OF management:
E. W. Morgan, '05, - . . . Business Manager.
J. N. TRIBBLE.'O", _ H. F. WOODSWORTH, '07,
Assistant Business Manager. Secretary.
Advisory Committee;
Prof. h. E. Horning, M.A., Ph.D. C. C. James, M.A..
Deputy Minister of Agriculture.
TERMS : $1.00 A YEAR; SINGLE COPIES, 15 CENTS.
Contributions and exchanges should be sent to H. H. Cragg. Editor-
in-Chief. Acta Victoriana ; business communications to E. W. Morgan,
Business Manager Acta Victoriana. Victoria University, Toronto.
£bitonal
To all our readers — to graduates, undergraduates
GREETING. and theological students — greeting ! A new staff,
full of hope and expectancy, a new year filled with
glowing ideals and bright prospects ! Inspired by the traditions of
a past, rich with ever-enlarging visions and fulfilled prophecies, we
venture to raise the standard one notch higher. Diflicult of attain-
ment ? Yes, perhaps ; yet with Lowell we believe
" Not failure but low aim is crime."'
If success in any measure crown our efforts, we fully realize that it
will not be because of any superior ability on the part of the present
staff, but because those who have gone before us have laid well the
foundations of success. " They have nobly done their duty " ; and
as they have in turn stepped down and out, each has left some con-
tribution to the inheritance of their successors, not the least part
of which is
'• The banner with the strange device— Excelsior."
Acta Vicioriana. 35
Vacations are past, and another year is before us
FACING THE With all its possibilities — possibilities measured only
YEAR. by our application and receptivity. There may be a
great difference of opinion regarding the length of
the University vacation, but so long as the lengthy vacation sends us
back with renewed interest in and courage to face our work and with
keen enthusiasm to be and become the best we can by making the
most of every opportunity to improve ourselves and serve the
interests of others, we dare not say it has been too long. But if it
has taken from us the power of application to our work, which we
can regain only as the approach of examinations compels us to work,
and has taught us to be content with trifling away our time on minor
things, it is to us a bane, and the clamor might well be raised for a
shorter vacation.
However that may be, it seems certain that some men come back
to college with the determination to make academic work subservient
to every other interest in college life, and to having a jolly time ; or,
at any rate, without the fixed determination to make it supreme
throughout the year. A hard "cram "at the end may land such a
man well up in examination lists, and on that result he may presume
for another year. But it is not mere speculation to say that he is
making a tremendous mistake not only in depriving himself of the
fruits of diligent study — fruits obtainable in no other way — but also
training himself to careless and loose habits of life which in the end
must militate strongly against true success in the great university of life.
COLLEGE Many complain that we have too many functions
SOCIETIES. in Victoria — too many claims upon the time of
the students ; and that one who enters extensively
into college life, cannot attend to the duties thus involved, and at
the same time be a diligent student. This is a severe indictment, and
in some cases, only too true. But is it not possible for a man to
enter this arena, without too great a sacrifice, and capture from it
trophies which will be of the most signal service to him throughout
his life ? Let us cite, in illustration, the power of concentration — the
power to deal with one matter at a time, and, having finished it, to
drop it entirely from one's thoughts and give himself to the considera-
tion of other problems. We all recognize the need of such power in
the successful business man who is connected with a great many
36 Acta Victo7'iana.
interests, each demanding a share of his time and thought, for without
it, dire confusion and failure must speedily result. If our multiplied
societies can teach us to develop this power, they will be to us a
blessing — otherwise they must prove a curse.
Nothing alienates the sympathies of men more
BE HONEST, quickly than to realize that a man is not honest
either with others or with himself. The latter is the
greater danger, perhaps, to the college man, and more particularly to
the Freshman. Many a young man comes in from the country
where, as preacher, teacher, or student, he has been the idol of the
community. The result often is a "swelled head,"— an acquisition
entirely out of place anywhere, and particularly so in college. The
deplorable feature stems to be that the victim is often entirely
unconscious of his affliction, and so makes no effort to conceal it,
thus becoming a source, sometimes of amusement, oftener of annoy-
ance and disgust to his fellow-students. Moreover, unfortunately for
him, it not unfrequently requires a good many hard and humiliating
lessons to assure him that there are others who know very nearly as
much as he does, and that, however much his abilities may have been
in demand in rural entertainments, the various societies in college
can, as a rule, at least exist without his aid. And college men are not
slow to teach such lessons, simply because they realize that no man
can do his best, either for himself or others, until he places a proper
estimate upon himself and his abilities, " not thinking more highly of
himself than he ought to think " ; in other words, until he is strictly
honest with himself. If these ne^v associations do no more for
such a man than this, his academic life will have been of the greatest
value to hin), for it will save him from many harsh criticisms — de-
livered in a far different spirit — when he is pushed out into life to
fight his way through the world shoulder to shoulder with his fellow-
men.
V?
The presence of our Chancellor amongst us again
OUR CHANCELLOR in apparent health is indeed a cause for thanksgiving
for all who have learned to love and revere him.
For it was no slight shock to most of us when we read the first brief
despatch which conveyed the news that during his western tour he
had met with an accident which seemed not unlikely to be very^
Acta Victoriana. 2)1
serious in its consequences. It assured us again of the place he holds
in our hearts, and, consequently, the frequent messages assuring us of
his continued improvement in health were glad tidings indeed.
We congratulate him on his providential escape, and pray that he
may long be spared to serve the interests of our beloved Alma Mater,
and the cause of higher education in general.
It is with the sincerest regret that we announce
A VACANcv. a vacancy on Acta board, owing to the inability of
our associate literary editor, Miss A. E. Wilson, '05,
to return to college this year. Combining, as she did, an inexhaust-
able fund of practical suggestions with consummate tact and judg-
ment. Miss Wilson has ever been a tower of strength in every depart-
ment of college life she has entered, and, consequently, our hopes had
been raised very high as we reflected on the services she would render
to Acta. But as she had been in poor health for some time, the
recent death of her father completely prostrated her, rendering her
condition very serious. In her bereavement and illness we extend to.
her our fullest sympathy.
We again draw the attention of the students to
essay contest, to the annual oration contest conducted by Acta
under the auspices of the Union Literary Society.
All competitors must be bona fide members of either the Union or
Woman's " Lit," paid-up subscribers to Acta, or members of the
board. All essays are to be written solely for Acta, become its
property, and must be in the hands of the editor-in-chief by November
30th, 1904. They must bear no name, and contain not less than
1,500 nor more than 2,500 words.
The Advisory Board of Acta and the Professor of English in
Victoria will be the judges with power to set a standard of excellence.
For the best essay reaching that standard, a prize of $15.00 will be
awarded, but no award will be made unless there be competition.
A suggested topic is "Canadian Citizenship: its honors, powers^
obligations and hopes " ; but any subject suitable for publication in
the literary, missionary, scientific or athletic departments may be
selected.
38
Acta Vtctoriana.
EBSONALS
EXCHANGES
THE editor of this department invites the readers of Acta outside
of college to co-operate with him in making the columns as
newsy as possible by contributing any items of interest that
may come under their notice concerning any of our graduates or
ex-students. These may easily escape the editor, and both he and
our readers among the graduate body will appreciate such a service.
Congratulations are due Miss Edith Campbell, '03, who headed
the honor list in the examination for specialists in Moderns and
English at the Ontario Normal College last spring. Miss Campbell
will teach the subjects of this department in the Ladies' College at
Pickering.
Thos. Jayne Ivey, '95, has resigned his position in the Sarnia
High School to accept an appointment as Science Master in Jarvis
Street Collegiate Institute, this city.
N. R. Wilson, B.A., '99, M.A., '02, Assistant Professor of Mathe-
matics in Wesley College, Winnipeg, has obtained a fellowship in
Chicago University, where he has gone with a year's leave of absence
to prosecute his studies for the Ph.D. degree.
Geo. E. Porter, '01, received his B.D. degree this year at the
commencement exercises of Yale University.
Friends of Rev. E. A. Wicher, B.A., '95, M.A., '96, who has
for some years had charge of the English Presbyterian Church at
Kobe, Japan — not a mission church, by the way — will regret to learn
that Mrs. Wicher is in very poor health. Mr. and Mrs. Wicher are
returning to Canada this fall.
F. W. H. Jacombe, '96, until recently on the staff of the Guelph
Mercury, has left for Yale University, where he intends to take a
course in forestry in the forest school connected with that institution.
J. W. Baird, B.A. '97, Ph.D., has been appointed to lecture in
Philosophy in the John Hopkins University.
Ada Victoria7ia.
39
W. F. Kerr, B.A., '84, LL.B., of Cobourg, recently appointed
County Crown Attorney for Durham and Northumberland by the
Ontario Government, is one of Victoria's most energetic and success-
ful sons. He is the eldest son
of Senator Wm. Kerr, also a
Victoria graduate, and was born
in Cobourg, where he was also
educated, entering old Vic. after
the usual preparatory training.
In due course he graduated
with first-class honors in modern
languages, capturing the medal.
He then studied law in his
father's office, and when he was
called to the bar in 1887, headed
the list. Though his legal
practise since then has been
extensive, Mr. Kerr has found
time to take an active part in
politics, and might ere this, had
he so desired, been the Liberal
standard-tearer in his own rid-
ing. A year ago he was ap-
pointed /r^ tern to the position
to which he has just received
the permanent appointment. Mr. Kerr stands for the ideal of the
college man in politics — vigorous, clean and useful citizenship.
We are quite accustomed to seeing Victoria graduates rise to
positions of prominence wherever they may be. A recent issue of
the "Leaves of Healing," published by Rev. John Alexander Dowie,
relates that the first, present and only Mayor Zion City has ever had
was recently introduced at a public meeting there as " the man who
had captured the gold medal offered by a person in Great Britain to
the one having the highest rank in scholarship in one of the great
universities of Canada." The great university so referred to was, of
course, Victoria ; the person in Great Britain was the then Prince of
Wales, now Edward VH., and the winner of the medal was Richard
H. Harper. The Honorable Richard Harper graduated in '67, and
is now not only Mayor of Zion City but a deacon in Zion and General
Manager of the Zion Building and Manufacturing Association.
W. F. KERR, B.A., LL.B.
40 Acta / ^ictoriana.
Rev. J. H. Fowler, '02, has transferred his allegiance from the
Methodist to the Anglican body. He has taken holy orders in the
latter Church, and gone to a western field of labor.
How.\RD Neville, '02, has also left his early love and, after a year's
mission work in the North-West, returned to this city, where he will
go into business.
Students of the college will regret to learn that the exigencies of
the work have compelled the London Conference to take Fred. Lang-
ford, '05, out of college to take charge of the Dresden circuit. Fred's
absence from college leaves vacant the presidency both of our college
Y.M.C.A. and of the Toronto University Y.M.C.A., positions which
it will not be easy to fill so well.
Weddings
" God the best maker of all marriages.
Combine your hearts in one." — Hefiry ]'.
Hymen must have been exceedingly busy this past summer if he
had anything to do with the unusually large number of weddings in
which ex-students of Victoria bore leading parts. It is to be feared
that our list, though long, is not yet quite complete, but we hope to
fill in any omissions next month. To all the newly-wedded couples
mentioned below Act.\ tenders its heartiest good wishes for their
happiness, prosperity and usefulness.
On May i6th, in New York City, Thos. Willoughby Walker, B.A.,
'99, M.D., was married to Miss Jean M. Newsom, of New York.
H. E. Ford, '95, Professor of Romance Languages in Washington
and Jefferson College, Washington, Pa., and Miss E. P. Baker, of
that city, were united in marriage on June 21st.
Rev. D. Bruce Kennedy, '03, of Rouleau, Assa., has found that
it is not good for man to be alone, and on June 7th, at Winnipeg.
Man., took unto himself a help-meet in the person of Miss Maria
Lynch, daughter of the late Rev. John Lynch. The ceremony was per-
formed by Rev. O. Darwin, President of the Manitoba and North-
West Conference, who was assisted in his pleasant duty by Rev. T. E.
Holling, B.A., and Rev. John W. Saunby, '87.
A very pleasant event took place at the home of Mrs. D. Almas,
of Brantford, when her niece, Miss Emily Shaver, became the wife of
Rev. WiUiam Kinnear Allen, B.A., '00, M.A., '04, B.D. Amid a
A eta I ^ictoria na. 41
profusion of flowers, and in the presence of many guests, the cere-
mony was performed by Rev. J. G. Foote, of Delhi, Miss Lena
Broadway, of Seneca Falls, N.Y., assisting the bride, while Mr. Joseph
Seymour, of Hagarsville, and Rev. A. N. St. John, '00, performed
a like service for the groom. The bride is an honor graduate of the
Bayonne Hospital Training School for Nurses, in New Jersey. After
a trip to the St. Louis Exposition, Mr. and Mrs. Allen departed for
Swift Current, Assa., where Mr. Allen is now stationed.
On May 25th, Rev. George W. W. Rivers, '00, and Miss Lottie
Rolley, of Wyoming, were united in marriage at the home of the
bride's aunt, Mrs. R. S. Pritchard. Rev. John Mahan was assisted
in the performance of the ceremony by Rev. J. E. Ford, Rev. G. W.
Andrews, '75, and Rev. G. N. Hazen, '95. Numerous presents
attested the popularity of bride and groom. Mr. and Mrs. Rivers
are living at Morpeth, Kent Co.
On June 29th, Claude. Laing Fisher, '04, and Miss Bessie H.
Pickard, youngest daughter of the late T. C Pickard, of Holmesville,
were united in marriage by Rev. A. E. M. Thomson, M.A., B.D., of
Merlin. It is quite evident that Claude made good use of the time
allowed him by dispensation from lectures. He and his bride are
ensconced in a cosy home in Goderich.
The marriage of Miss Grace Swanzey, '98, to Dr. W. D. Ferrie, of
Edmonton, Alberta, took place on August 24th at the home of the
bride's parents, 353 Euclid Avenue, this city. Rev. T. M. Campbell
officiating. Miss Tess Swanzey, sister of the bride, performed
bridesmaid's duties, and Dr. Fred Cawthorpe, of Hensall, acted as
groomsman. Dr. and Mrs. Ferrie have taken up their residence in
Edmonton.
On September ist, at Vernon, P.E.L, Miss Mabel Gertrude, eldest
daughter of Rev. S. H. Rice, became the bride of Rev. Alfred S.
Rogers, B.A., B.D., of Hillsburg, N.S. The groom's father, Rev. D.
Rogers, officiated, assisted by the bride's brother. Rev. H. C Rice,
B.A. Mr. Rogers is a graduate in Arts of Mount Allison, but took
his Theological degree in Vic. last year, and proved himself an all-
round college man.
The home of Mr. Miles Hartley, Norwich, was the scene of a plea-
sant event on September 7th, when his sister, Miss Mary Annie Hart-
ley was married to Rev. C. P. Holmes, of Shallow Lake. Rev. A. J.
Irwin, B.A., '90, B.D., performed the pleasant duty of making the
4
42 Acta Victoriana.
worthy couple man and wife. Charlie has been up to this year a
member of the class of '05, but has been called out of college by the
exigencies of the work of the conference, and very sensibly has
decided that a preacher's efificiency is increased by marrying. The
good wishes of his former classmates and fellow-students generally
follow him and his bride.
Rev. R. S. Baker, B.A., who was in the B.D. class of '02, and is
now at Walton, and Miss Sara Alice, daughter of Dr. Harvey, of
Wyoming, were married in the Presbyterian church of that place on
August 17th, by Rev. Richard Hobbs, assisted by Rev. G. Gilmore
and Rev. G. W. Andrews, B.A.
Rev. W. S. Smart, of last year's C T. class, and Miss Mabel A.
May, of Oshawa, were married in that place on August 24th, by Rev.
R. Burns, Ph.B. The bride was an active church worker and will be
much missed in her home church. Mr. and Mrs. Smart will reside at
Blairton.
Rev. a. W. Crawford, B.A., '95, M.A., '98, Ph.D., Prof, of
English and Philosophy, and Dean of Beaver College, Beaver, Pa.,
and Miss Nettie Nixon, youngest daughter of Chas. Nixon, of St,
George, Ont., and sister of Mrs. L. E. Horning, were married in Chi-
cago on August loth, by the Rev. Dr. Herben, Editor of Epi^'orth
Herald. Dr. Crawford obtained his Ph.D. at Cornell, where he spent
three years in post-graduate study. Miss Nixon has been pursuing
her art studies in Chicago, and has attained considerable distinction
as an artist. The honeymoon was unfortunately saddened by the sud-
den death of the bride's father, which took place in St. George on
August 1 6th, the very day set for the reception to his daughter. Some
guests arrived only to find that an unbidden guest had come before
them, and called away the host. Mr. Nixon was eighty-three years
old, and a prominent official in St. George Methodist Church.
At 26S EUice Avenue, Winnipeg, Man., on August iSth. at the
home of Mr. and Mrs. G. E. Wrigley, Miss Adeline Rook, of New-
burg, Ont., was united in marriage to Rev. A. H. Hore, '97, of Was-
kada, Man. Rev. R. P. Bowles, '85, of Grace Methodist Church,
was the officiating minister, assisted by Rev. J. W. Coone, of Ross-
burn, Man. Miss Bessie Holmes, of Albany, N.Y., was bridesmaid,
and Rev. R. E. Spence, '97, of Winnipeg, groomsman. Mr. and Mrs.
Hore are residing at the parsonage at Waskada.
On Wednesday, August 24th, Rev. T. A. Steadman, of the C T.
Acta Victoriana. 43
class of '01, now stationed at Point Edward, was married to Miss
Edith Hunter, of that place, the ceremony being performed by Rev.
D. N. McCamus, of Sarnia.
On June 22nd, at " Idylwild," Sandhill, the home of the bride, Rev.
C. Langford, ol Corbetton, united in marriage Rev. J. J. Coulter, of
the C. T. class of '04, now of Chapleau, and Miss Jennie J. Gray,
daughter of Henry Gray, Esq. Rev. H. T. Ferguson, B.A., '90, B.D.,
of Mono Road, and Rev. G. N. Gray, of Gore Bay, assisted.
The wedding of one of the most popular students who ever left
Victoria's halls took place at Stouffville on July 6th, when Rev. A. J.
Brace, of the C. T. class of '04, formerly trooper chaplain with the
C.M.R. in South Africa, took to wife Cora Blanche, daughter of Mr.
James O'Brien. The mystic words that made two one were pro-
nounced by the groom's father. Rev. A. H. Brace, of Peterboro', who
was assisted by Rev. A. P. Brace, B.D., brother of the groom, and
Rev. J. R. Aiwenhead, of Stouffville. Miss Manning, of Brampton,
attended the bride, and Mr. E. G. Brace supported the groom.
Numerous friends were present to tender their congratulations and
good wishes to the popular and worthy couple. Mr. and Mrs. Brace left
for Jackson's Point, accompanied by quantities of rice, marguerites,
old shoes, cow-bells and other tokens, contributed by too-zealous
friends, and in August departed for New Westminster, B.C., where
Bert has charge of the West End church. The sterling qualities that
made Trooper Brace so successful in South Africa and so popular in
college, will no doubt bring him equal success in his chosen field of
labor in British Columbia. Acta speaks for all in college, and a
host of others outside of college, when it wishes him and his bride all
the happiness that health, prosperity, and good work, well done, can
bring.
The home of Mr. James Brandon, 199 Beverley Street, this city,
was the scene of a pretty wedding on August 2nd, when his eldest
daughter. Miss Amy Margaret, was united in marriage to Matthew D.
McKichan, B.A., '98, M.D., of Broadview Avenue. Miss Mary
Hollinrake, of Milton, cousin of the bride, and Miss Marion Brandon,
sister of the bride, attended her, while Edgar T. Brandon gave coun-
tenance to the groom. Rev. J. C. Speer, D.D., who officiated, was
assisted by Rev. W. Gilroy, '97, of Broadview Congregational Church,
and Rev. J. T. Morris, of Clinton Street Methodist Church. The
young couple spent the honeymoon in points East.
44 Acta Victoriana.
Rev. R. J. McIntvre, who spent a couple of years with the century
class, and who is now stationed at Victoria West;, B.C., was married on
September yth, at Sandon, in the same province, to Miss Ada L.
Pound. Rev. Jos. Calvert and Rev. Frank Hardy, '04, performed the
ceremony.
At the residence of the bride's father, 334 McLeod Street, Ottawa,
on June 29th, Miss Lily M. Fawcett was united in marriage to Carl
Engler, '01, of the Government Geographical Survey. The ceremony
was performed by Rev. F. G. Lett, of McLeod Street Methodist
Church. The bride was attended by her sister, Miss Mattie Fawcett,
while Chas. Douglas, B.A., assisted the groom. After the usual
festivities, the young couple left on a trip down the St. Lawrence. Mr.
and Mrs. Engler have taken up their residence at 213 Patterson Ave.,
Ottawa.
At the residence of Mrs. L. Corkill, Sydenham, on July 13th, her
only daughter, Margaret E., was united in marriage to Rev. Jacob J.
Hughes, '03, of Osnabruck Centre. The necessary words were pro-
nounced by Rev. T. C. Brown, of Sydenham, who was assisted by the
bride's uncle, Rev. S. E. Snowdon, of Plessis, N.Y. After the wed-
ding breakfast, Mr. and Mrs. Hughes left for Toronto and points
west on their honeymoon tour.
On the evening of July 6th, the home of Mr. and Mrs. Geo. Carr,
Czar Street, was a scene of festivity, the occasion being the marriage
of their daughter, Maude B., to Rev. F. Albert Magee, of the C. T.
class of '02. Rev. J. A. Rankin officiated, Miss Mabel Carr assisting
the bride, and Mr. J. P. Carr supporting the groom. The bride was
a popular member of the choir of Central Methodist Church. Mr
Magee has returned to British Columbia with his bride, and assumed
the duties of his pastorate at Duncans.
The residence of Mr. John Jickling, near St. Mary's, was the scene
of a very interesting event on June i6th, upon the occasion of the
marriage of his daughter. Miss Amanda Jickling, and Rev. Wm. Con-
way, B.A., '03, B.D. Friends, flowers, feasting, added to the joyous-
ness of the occasion, and Mr. and Mrs. Conway were launched upon the
matrimonial sea under the fairest auspices. The bride is a sister of
Miss Carrie Jickling, '05, and not unknown to Victoria students, hav-
ing spent last year in the city in attendance at the Deaconess Training
School, while the groom, during his years of attendance at Vic, won
the hearty respect of his fellow-students. They now reside at Port
Lambton, of which circuit Mr. Conway has charge.
Acta Victoriaita. 45
Rev. a. p. Stanley, of last year's C T. class, was married, in
Napanee, on June i8th, to Miss Edith Sharp, daughter of the late
Luke Sharp, of Morven, at the residence of John Sharp, Esq., J. P.,
the bride's grandfather. Rev. C O. Johnston, of this city, cousin of
the bride, tied the knot with the assistance of Rev. Mr. Boyce, B.A.,,
B.D., of Morven. The bride is a graduate of Albert College, an
accomplished musician, and exceedingly popular. They will live. at
Echo Bay, Mr. Stanley's field of labor.
On September 7th, at the home of the bride's parents, Bethany,
Ont., Rev. James S. Woodsworth, B.A., B.D., and Miss Lucy L.
Staples, 'or, were united in marriage by the groom's father, Rev. J.
Woodsworth, D.D., assisted by Rev. H. V. Mounteer. The duties of
bridesmaid were performed by Miss Clara M. Woodsworth, '01, while
C. B. Sissons, '01, of Chatham, supported the groom. Mr. Woods-
worth is a graduate in Arts of Wesley College, but obtained his
theological degree at Victoria. His bride was a valued member of
the staff of Lindsay Collegiate Institute. The young couple, after
visiting Muskoka, left for Winnipeg, where Mr. Woodsworth is
assistant pastor of Grace Methodist Church.
Mi?s Mabel Catherine Light, daughter of Mr. W. J. Light,
Sault Ste. Marie, and George W. Goodwin, '97, of Osgoode Hall, were
married on September 20th at the home of the bride's parents. Mr.
and Mrs. Goodwin have taken up their residence in this city.
We regret that we are not able to give in this issue the present
locations and occupations of the members of the class of '04. It was
found impossible to secure the necessary information owing to the
fact that some members of the class had neglected to send in their
addresses to the Secretary of the class. However, we hope to present
in our next issue a full list both of '04 and '03.
The Secretary of the Bible Study Class, Mr. W. A. Walden, '05,
requests us to announce to the graduates of Victoria that the course
of study to be followed this year is that mapped out by Professor
Bosworth, of Oberlin College. The book is entitled " Studies in the
Life of Christ," and may be had on application to the Secretary. The
prices post and duty paid will be 75c. for the paper cover, and $1.05
for the cloth binding. Professor McLaughlin, our leader, is hoping
that many of our graduates will pursue this course in conjunction with
the students.
46
Ada Vidoriana.
Obituaries
Senator James Cox Aikens, whose death occurred at his residence
in this city on August 6th, was one of the oldest ex-students and
friends of Victoria. Born in the County of Peel in 1823, he received
his education in the local schools and in Victoria University. After
leaving college he returned to his native county, where for a number
of years he engaged in farming. His political career, which was to
*®»»i\^
the late senator aikens.
prove so long and creditable, began in 1854, when he was elected as
the representative of Peel Co. in the Legislative Assembly of Canada.
In 1862, he was appointed to the Legislative Council, and continued
to occupy his seat therein until Confederation, when his worth and
prominence were recognized by an appointment to the Senate of the
newly-formed Dominion. From 1869 to 1873 he was a member of
Acfa Victoriana. 47
Sir John A. Macdonald's administration, occupying the post of Secre-
tary of State and Registrar General. During his term of office he
framed and carried through ParHament the PubUc Lands Act, and
organized the Dominion Lands Bureau, which subsequently became
the Department of the Literior. On the return of the Macdonald
Government to power in 1878, Senator Aikens again entered the
administration as Secretary of State, afterwards becoming Minister of
Inland Revenue. In 1882 he retired from the Senate to accept the
post of Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba, but was recalled to the
Senate in 1896, where he continued to serve his country till his death.
In early youth Mr. Aikens identified himself with the Methodist
Church, and throughout his life continued a faithful and consistent
member of that body. While occupying posts of the highest
political and social prominence, he preserved the simplicity of his
Christian character, and his whole career was marked by a conscienti-
ous fidelity to duty and the strictest honesty of purpose. His sound
business judgment was placed at the disposal of the Church, and for
a number of years he filled the position of Lay-Treasurer of the Mis-
sionary Society, displaying the most scrupulous care in discharging
the duties of his office. He was also a strong supporter of the
temperance movement, and was for some time Vice-President of the
Dominion Alliance. In 1892 Victoria conferred upon him the
honorary degree of LL.D.
Charles Walter Chafee, M.D., '84, died of an affection of the
heart at his home, 614 Spadina Avenue, on May 25th. He is sur-
vived by a sister, Miss Chafee, and a brother, Rev. A. B. Chafee, of
Coboconk.
The sympathy of all the students of Victoria will go out to Miss
Alice Wilson, '05, in her recent bereavement by the death of her
father, Mr. Richard Wilson, of Cobourg. Mr. Wilson, who was also
an old student of Victoria, was a man of independent spirit and
unimpeachable probity, a strong supporter of the cause of temperance,
and prominent in both church and civic affairs. The respect with
which he was regarded by his fellow-townsmen is shown by the fact
that for three years he occupied the position of Mayor of Cobourg.
He passed to his reward on August 24th, at the age of 62 years.
N. R. Wilson, '99, is a son. The class of '05 also regrets to learn
that Miss Wilson is compelled by ill-health to abandon, for the time
being, her college course.
48
Ada Victoriana.
5^^
RELIGIOUS
The Lakeside Conference
IN the changeful hurry of our College life we fail to grasp its full
significance. Like the fleeting visions which start and fade as the
tourist skirts the mountain or winds along the river's bank, we
" see or seem to see " visions of a larger life and a truer beauty ; but
lacking the hours of reflection, we fail to print upon our lives the
lasting image of those clearer revelations. It is only as we are lifted
up above the blinding atmosphere of the busy world to linger awhile
in the solitude of our own and God's presence that we can interpret
the clear outline of the heavenly vision, and catch the accents of the
still voice.
Such a season was our visit to the Lakeside Summer Conference.
There on the wooded shore of Lake Erie, for ten days waiting for
another Pentecost, two or three hundred men sat " together in
heavenly places in Christ Jesus." Gathered from the colleges of the
Central States and Ontario, having caught the same vision of life's
service and humanity's need, and animated by the same high purpose
of the noblest living, mustered for a far-reaching campaign, we waited
the marching orders of our Divine Lord. In the early morning hour,
with Bible in hand, we scattered by ones and twos along the shore,
till a hundred quiet nooks became secret meeting-places with God.
And whether in the forenoon's discussion of the practical needs at
home and abroad, or in the afternoon hours of recreation, the very
atmosphere spoke of God's presence, and the conversation echoed His
Spirit throughout. In the still evening hour we sat together upon
the lake shore and faced the question of our life's work, and with the
purposes newly formed in our hearts we concluded the day under
training for personal work.
Those were indeed blessed days, a green spot forever in the memory
of those who were privileged to attend. Their fruitage must be seen,
in the certain testimony of the future,
" That tasks, in hours of insight willed,
May be through days of gloom fulfilled."
F. W. Langford, '05.
Ada Vicioriaua.
49
The Victoria Sand
THOSE who were with us in "Vic" last year will remember the
awakened spiritual life that marked the latter half of the academic
year. The awakening is associated in our minds with the con-
ference of the College Missionary Society, in January, and the visit
later of Sherwood Eddy, on furlough from India, and of Willis R.
Hotchkiss, from Africa. One mark of this awakening was the evan-
gelistic services conducted in neighboring churches by men from the
College Y.M.C.A. Another was the large increase in the number of
those who purpose to serve as mission.iries in the Foreign Field.
Still a third was the formation of the Victoria Band by a committee
THE VICTORIA BAND.
representing the Faculty and the volunteers of the College. Its
permanent members were: W. A. Gifford, B. A., (Leader), E. VV.
Wallace, B.A., J. H. Wallace, B.A., F. W. Langford, A. E. Elliott,
(Secretary), E. W. Morgan. Besides these, A. E. and C. J. Moor-
house, F. H. Langford and J. S. Bennett each assisted for two weeks.
With credentials from Chancellor Burwash, the Executive Com-
mittee of the General Board of Missions and the Editor of the
Guardian^ the Band made its announcement in the columns of the
Church organ, and awaited invitations. More than could be accepted
were soon tendered, and after visiting several Toronto churches on
th- remaining Sundays of the academic year, an all-summer campaign
50 Acta Vicloriana.
was begun in London, June 12, and during the vacation services were
conducted in London, Woodstock, St. Thomas, Chatham, Sarnia, St.
Mary's, CHnton, Goderich and Brampton.
The Summer Schools at Morpeth, Port Stanley and Victoria College
were also visited, and gave an opportunity for combined work and
rest. One week in July was spent under canvas at Port Stanley, and
a jolly week it was, with boating, fishing and enjoying the entertain-
ment of kind people.
The fun, however, lasted but one short week, and the work was
serious enough. One week was spent in each church. For some
time the first services of each week were given to evangelistic work,
and men and women were converted. Later, the conditions incident
to the summer season made it necessary either to lengthen the time
spent in each church or to make the campaign more distinctively
missionary. The Band adopted the latter course, for everywhere
their own position as volunteers seemed to make their missionary
message peculiarly acceptable.
Each week opened with a statement of God's claims upon a human
life, of the privilege and power of Christian service, and of the
immeasurable possibilities of a consecrated church. This was followed
by a presentation, with the aid of maps, of the mission fields. The
week closed with an appeal to the individual to determine his life-
work in the fear of God, and to take as the dominating purpose of
his life, whether at home or abroad, the bringing in of the Kingdom.
Missionary literature was sold. The Epworth Leagues were met in
consultation. Meetings of the whole officiary of the Church were
held to consider the necessity of an immediate forward missionary
movement. At these meetings the churches were urged to choose
and support their own missionary.
Several results are noted. People have been converted. Indi-
viduals and churches have been led to recognize their stewardship
and to increase largely their support of missionary work. The Gen-
eral Board of Missions has granted a request for individual represen-
tation of the individual church, and has thus initiated a new policy.
Several young men and women have determined to enter missionary
work. Classes are being formed for Bible study and prayer and for
evangelistic work at home, while many are observing the morning
watch. The reflex influence upon the Volunteer Band has greatly
increased its activity and devotion. It is confidently believed that it
will speedily become impossible for the Church to experience again
her recent dearth of workers for the foreign field.
Acta J^icioriana. 5 1
Silver Bay
THE Student Conference at Silver Bay, June 24th to July 3rd, was
attended by twenty-eight Canadians, nine of whom were from
Victoria. The strongest point of the Conference was its Bible
Study, conducted by Drs. White, Johnson and Stone.
As at every previous Conference the question of Missions was made
very prominent. Mrs. Pearson, of Japan ; Mr. Carter and Mrs.
Eddy, of India ; Mr. Hotchkiss, of Africa, spoke for their respective
fields, while Mr. Mott represented The Student Volunteer Movement.
During " Association Hour" each day the undergraduates discussed
plans for the coming year's work, while the graduates, in an "Alumnae
Conference," planned to keep in touch with and help the Alma Mater.
Three verses quoted by Mr. Speer at the closing Alumnje Meeting
may well be taken as a motto for the coming year : Rev. iii., 8,
■"Behold, I have set before thee an open door"; 2 Sam. iii., 18,
" Now then do it " ; i Cor. xvi., 9, " For a great door and effectual
is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries."
G. P., '04.
Tleligion in the College
IN speaking of religion in the college we presuppose, without argu-
ment, that its right to some place or other is recognized. Religion
in the college is not an alien. We presuppose that college men
and women believe in God and in a moral law with rightful impera-
tives, in the fact of religion and its uses. Why such a presupposition ?
Because, in the main, college men and women are neither superficial
nor intellectually or morally deformed.
The number unquestionably grows less of such as would write over
the door of their model university the legend : " All knowledge
acquired here except religious " ; or, to elaborate : " Here we investi-
gate physical laws, but it is beyond our province to look into the
relation of the law to God or of man to God. We revel here in
literature, Latin satirists, Greek dramatists, French novelists, but not
in the buried books of Moses and Isaiah, or the sayings of the Naza-
rene. Hume we know, Voltaire, Rousseau and Paine; but who is
Paul ? who John ? and when did Butler live ? Music we love and
cherish, but not for hymns nor for the services of God." This would
be both folly and hypocrisy, the true expression of neither mind nor
5? Acta Victoriana.
heart. Religion has its place with us. We all think so, and if we do
not ^^Z so we will not confess it.
But if religion has a place at all it should be clear and unmistakable,
without suggestion of needed apology or defence, without cant or
cringing. A religion unasserted and merely tolerated, occupying an
ambiguous position, is a farce. The motto of Harvard has not too
little of compromise : '■''Pro Chrisio et Ecclesin."
The man at college stands at the parting of the ways. These are
the days when, from the Temple-cave of his own self, the Nameless
urges him to make his choice. What life is worth the choosing? or
is any ? What life rightfully claims him ? or does any ? It is religion
that ought to illuminate and strengthen here. Mathematics has its
certainties, but not those which give peace to the soul. Literature
and science little move the depths of the heart whence are the issues
of life. Philosophy does not speak to the conscience, nor furnish
motives, nor fashion character, as religion is competent to do. It is
faith in truth and God and Christ which alone can find real worth in
life, and give it noble ends.
And so by every worthy allurement we will commend religion to
the college man We will aim for every man that " whatsoever things
are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just,
whatsoever things are pure," he may during his years with us think
on these things ; and as for the sphere in which through life he will
exercise the virtues here acquired, we will aim that it be determined
in the fear of God.
The Fall Conference of the University of Toronto Y.M.C.A., was
held in University College, Y.M.C.A. Hall, Sept. 28th and 29th.
The attendance was not large, but the men were representative
and deeply interested. "Vic" was well represented on the printed
program, the names of E. VV. Wallace, B.A., W. A. Gifford, B.A., E.
S. Bishop, F. W. Langford, A D. Miller appearing. Because of the
necessary absence of Messrs. Miller, Bishop and Langford, the services
of J. S. Bennett were sought and given.
C. M. Copeland, Y.M.C.A. Secretary for Ontario and Quebec, gave
very efficient aid. The Association officers are preparing for a cam-
paign to be conducted soon in Toronto University, by J. R. Mott.
a
P
>
Di5
W
a
a
54
Acta Victoriana.
QCAL
HURRAH !
" How are you,, old chap ? " — " Glad to see you ! Where did
you get all that tan ? " — " What have you been doing all summer ? " —
" \Vhere do you room ? '"' — " Have you seen the Freshettes? " These
are a few sample remarks of the kind that were flying about the
corridors on the ist of October, and subsequent days, when Alma
Mater received her straying brood under her wings once more. The
rugged endearments of the men, the gentler tokens of the women,
the bright eyes, the hearty hand-clasps and the gay jests— these will
return as pleasant memories while the Octobers come and go and
Latin and Calculus are forgotten.
We met a college grad. away out on the "bald-headed " prairie, as
the Westerner terms it — a man with wife and family and home ties;
but the cycle of the year never brings October's golden days — so he
told us — without a tugging at his heart-strings to return to Alma
Mater.
Freshman to Miss Barker — " Where do the Freshmen register ? "
It is rumored that a Freshette strayed down to the men's reading
room, where she was apprehended by Jimmie Hunter and escorted
back to neutral territory. Later she expressed herself confident that
J. H. was a Freshman. Intuition ?
Freshman (in search of lodging) to A. D. Miller — " Where is the
bureau of rooms ? "
"Fools walk in where angels fear to tread," was the remark of a
Freshman who attempted to enter Dr. I^dgar's class-room where a
number of Freshettes were sitting. The implication is doubtful.
Robert informs us that on October ist, while in the Registrar's
office attired in blue overalls and armed with a broom, a Freshman
entered and without a moment's hesitation put the question : " Are
you Mr. Bain?" Robert says he could not suppress a baneful smile^
Ada Vidoriana. 55
" I THINK I'll take this book, Mr. Aydie." This to A. D. Miller at
the bureau.
Miss J-m-son, '08 (meekly) — " So the girls take turns in waiting at
the table."
Miss Chaple, '08 (specialist), Monday a.m., October 3rd — " It's
perfectly horrid down stairs — there's nothing but men."
Miss P. B. F., '07— " I did nothing but get fat."
Hamilton Adams, '06, has been suffering from a wart on the sole
of his foot, which will probably hinder him from taking part in the
sports on field day. This is his sole trouble, however.
Naturally, to a Freshman, registering is a novel experience.
Having learned how, he perpetrates the deed whenever an oppor-
tunity presents itself. The out-of-date address book, prepared by
the Alma Mater Society and kept in the men's reading room, tempted
one unsuspecting victim, and he signed.
Junior to first year theolog — " I suppose you will hold your class-
meeting soon ? " Spec. — Yes, I suppose so. Will it be in the
chapel ? "
Miss Annie Allen, '02, assures us that she will sometimes climb
the back fence of the Deaconess Home to try our ice.
Miss J-kl-g, '05 (dazed)—" What church do I attend ? " " Why,
I don't attend any." Oh, the passion for classics !
RuDDELL, '05, informs us that he will not take astronomy. There
are plenty of stars in his course already, he says.
Bennett, '05, on hearing that a Freshette will room in same house
— " Won't that be jolly. I'll take her under my wing."
Teddy, M., '06, reports that two theologs. came into the city on
his train accompanied by two young ladies to the great scandalization
of a friend of Ted's, who was a Med.
To.MMiE Green, '02, lately returned from his field of labor in B.C.
reports that he is just aching for the first reception. In the meantime
he has begun the B.D. course.
Bunch of juniors assembled — " Well, girls, what did you do ? "
Chorus — " I kept house." " I cooked." " I entertained my relatives,"
etc., ad infi?iitu>ii.
Grad.— " Annesley Hall filled Robert ? " Robert—" Yes, sirree !
If it had been twice as big it would have been full. It's just like the
bicycle craze some time ago."
56 Ac^a Victoriana.
Miss Cullen — "And then the wedding ! Why, I shouldn't have
felt worse if it had been myself 1 "
The Sophomores thought they had struck pay-dirt sure on dis-
covering a trunk in the upper hall. But it was Dr. Homing's.
James, '05, was observed at the Union by those who arrived on the
same train to phy the gallant very solicitously. He carried her guitar
case and a sweet smile.
Mr. and Mrs. Stevenson, parents of the '07 brother and sister,
have just moved into Toronto. We congratulate George and Miss S.
on the double privilege of being at home and at college at the same
time, a pleasure which we cannot all enjoy.
Clyo to Senior — "You're as unreliable as a Freshette ! "
We are pleased to note the handsome fence about the Hall and
other local improvements. We are glad, however, that
'■ Stone walls do not a prison make,
Nor iron bars a cage," etc.
Charlie Ward, '04, wandered over from the Technical School
where he has, for three weeks, restrained the natural passions of a
class of fifty by his persuasive eloquence k la francjais. Charlie wore
a red petunia and a cane. He has secured a tutorship in the Univer-
sity of Chicago (nos compliments !), but is uncertain whether to
accept it or not.
You can get that book at the bureau.
Prior to the opening of college, George Earnest Trueman, '06,
entered into solemn compact by letter with the local editor (Masc.)
to refrain from shaving the upper lip, each to appear in college, and
the party of the second part to make no mention of former's appen-
dage in these columns. Faithfulness on the part of the local editor
was rewarded by jibes and jeers. Know all men by these presents
the perfidy of George Earnest Trueman.
Apropos of the above we congratulate Copeland and Lamb of '06.
Prof. Laxgford, to Pearl Blanche F., who is registering witfi him
— " This is Miss Faint ? " " Yes." " Miss P. B. ? " " How did jw^
know ? "
Sophomore query — " Tell us — surely we could not have been so
green when we were Freshies ? "
" Oh wad some power the giftie gie us
To see oursel's as ithers see us."
Miss Van Ast-ne, '05 — " I've nothing in my head but a cold."
Acta Victor iana. 57
Knight, '05, could furnish locals for half a dozen college journals
by his manifold experiences of the past summer. He was at the
St. Louis Fair. While doing " The Pike '' he called to see a certain
Philippine lady. Now Jack is a trifle tanned. While conversing with
the wonder from the antipodes, their heads only being visible to out-
siders, one was heard to inquire : " Which is the Philippino lady ? "
On another occasion while dining in a " rice restaurant," where the
Chinese staple took the place of all cereals and vegetables, Jack
called a waitress (they were alone) and complained that a chicken,
which was his meat order, was so muscular and tough that he sus-
pected that it had walked all the way from the rice plantation to the
Fair. This so incensed the lady of the white apron that she had him
put out, after extorting 85c. for the meal which he had not eaten.
Jack said he never felt so put out in his life.
It is with deep regret that we insert herewith an obituary notice of
the late Prince, the noble St. Bernard, who was spoken of as the best
behaved Freshman who came in with '07. Deceased was formerly
the property of Mr. Dunbar, the Sculptor, by whom he was presented
to Robert. Doubtless many have missed him from the side entrance
and the lawn where he patrolled the walks — a vigilant sentry. On
July 1 2th he passed away to the paradise of good dogs (if such there
is), and at midnight of the same day, by the light of a torch, Robert
actmg for the clergy and William as sexton, they laid his great,
shaggy, yellow coat in its last resting place beneath the pines on the
eastern lawn by the side of the lamented terrior Bobs, late of Dr.
Edgar's class-room. Robert loved Prince dearly, and shed tears at
the burial; but William, according to Robert's version, "when the
cock wept thrice, went out and crowed bitterly."
Echoes of the tour of the Victoria University Male Quartette are
still heard. Elmer tells how Lane, at Kingston, took the unsuspecting
Jolliffe and Walden off the boat and introduced them to a couple of
lady cousins whom he had picked up on the wharf five minutes before
Voice from the hall, to bunch of Canadians in room 119, Silver
Bay Hotel — " Girls, you're disturbing the whole corridor." Miss
Beatty, '03 (excitedly) — " Oh ! we are just discussing original sin and
a personal devil."
Prof. Lang, entering suddenly, in the midst of a Y. W. C. A.
Executive meeting — none present but Seniors — " Oh, I beg your
pardon. Is this the Bob Committee? "
58 Acta Victoriana.
Harold Woodsworth, '07, wears that expression which alternates
between exaltation and depression of spirit. Someone told us that
Hal was showing a couple of Freshettes through the building, but we
were relieved to observe upon investigation that they were his sisters>
who will take special work at Vic. and reside in Annesley Hall.
During the summer the fairy wand of the furniture dealer has
been at work in Annesley Hall, with a result which should be gratify-
ing to the committee. The rooms on the ground floor, which last
year were a barren waste, present an appearance of simple elegance
and quiet dignity, which must add greatly to the comfort and pleasure
of the occupants. Many details in the furnishings, which were o\er-
looked in the first plans, have been re-arranged and completed, so
that, in so far as a pretty, comfortable home is conducive to felicity>
the Hall should be a very happy place. Of Victoria students regis-
tered in Arts, there are in residence two Seniors, three Juniors, six-
teen Sophomores and seventeen members of the first year.
Miss Gr-h-m, '08 — " Miss Proctor, please may I dust your room
now ?" Such humility has been seen, no, not among freshmen.
Miss M-s-n, '08 — " Is this the place where you come to get thin ? "
Miss P-rl-w, '08 — "Yes, I hope so ; that's why I came here."
On the afternoon of Tuesday, October 4th, an informal reception
was given by the Executive of the Y. W. C. A. to the girls of the
incoming class, when, under the genial influence of the hostesses, not
to mention apples and fudge, the Freshettes began to feel a little more
at home.
The notice of the student body is called to the book bureau, now
under the able management of Mr. A. D. Miller, '05. After investi-
gation, we can assure everyone of careful attention and prices which
cannot be bettered in the city. Patronize home institutions and
Acta's advertisers !
Harold Kenneth Smith is a handsome, manly freshman, and,
though only seventeen years of age, one who bids fair to make his mark
in college circles. Born in Kent county, he matriculated from Essex
High School. He has registered in Biology and Physics, with a view
to the medical profession. The class of '08 are to be congratulated
upon such a musical acquisition as Mr. Smith, who plays the piano,
the violin and the cornet. While blest with but two incisors in either
jaw he can eat an apple in two bites and expects to cut his wisdom
teeth in the near luture. Smith is a distant cousin of Dr. Horning.
Acta Victoriana. 59
Among the new faces we notice these : Miss Lewis, who comes
with two scholarships, will, judging from her intellectual face, be a
shining light in her two courses of Moderns and Classics. Miss Ada
Wallace impresses one as a girl who might be jolly, and her friends
describe her by a word that doesn't rhyme with angel. Miss Hyland
is registered in English and History. She promises to shine in the
social life of the College. Miss Gowanlock is registered in Mathe-
matics, and seems a thoughtful girl who will be a mainstay in her
class along academic lines. Of the large class of '08, twenty two are
registered in Moderns. How happy Dr. Horning will be !
Remarks of American cousins at Silver Bay : —
" Where is Canada College ? "
" We knew you were Canadians by your French accent and your
rosy complexions " (the sun had done its best during cur trip down
the St. Lawrence).
" You play hockey all year, don't you ? "
" No, I've never heard of Ottawa."
The members of the Victoria Band have some amusing tales to
tell. Having a week off at Port Stanley, the minister furnished a
tent, and they camped beside the church. The first night, while
Alex. Elliott was at his devotions, Ed. Wallace, who, with the other
boys, was already under the covers, inquired in graveyard accents :
" Who ever thought we'd be lying in the church-yard so soon ? "
Alex, may be pardoned if he broke off his petitions abruptly to give
vent to his feelings in a cheerful way.
Echo No. 2. What's in a name ? A good deal when it will induce
a rational being to mistake Edward and Jimmie for brothers.
Park Street Church, Chatham — Rev. Cobbledick, addressing Dr.
F. and turning to Edward: "May I introduce Mr. Wallace?'
Turning to Jimmie : " Another Mr. Wallace — a younger brother." " I
do not exactly recall your mother, but if my memory serves me right
her complexion was very different from the Doctor's. You must take
after your mother'' Jimmie blushed and took after Rev. Cobbledick.
Speaking confidentially, the men of the class of '08, in point of
numbers, looks and reputed intellectuality, do credit to Victoria.
Among those who have come under our notice is Mr. Alex. McLean,
who enters holding the first scholarship in Mathematics and Science.
His home is in Middlesex county where, for three years, he fostered
the " young idea " in a country school house. He will be a favorite
with the ladies.
6o Acta Victoriana.
Tips
IT is hardly necessary to discuss the value of systematic exercise in
the fresh air as a factor in the normal development of a healthy
mind. This question has been threshed out by medical men
and scientists; and results have been of so practical a nature that,, at
the present time, the " daily constitutional " is almost co-essential
with eating and sleeping. The " constitutional " assumes many
different forms, and for the edification of new students, and the
awakening of those more familiar with college " ways and means," it
may be well to point out the manner in which our universities have
taken hold of the question.
The department of physical training is now recognized to so great
an extent by many of our colleges that courses of instruction have
been prescribed and awards made for special merit in the pursuance
of them. Nor has this been brought about through hygienic princi-
ples alone. There are other motives — the natural desire for glory and
the still more natural desire for gain (not Joe). In American and in
many Old Country institutions the athletic team has proven itself the
most satisfactory medium of advertisement, bringing glory to the man
and to the college. As a body, Victoria students do not fully realize
just how much the name of a university or college depends on a
championship in some one line, at least. The spirit of competition is
keen, and is equally legitimate in mental and physical effort. This
statement may seem to have a barbaric ring, but it is undeniable that
Anglo-Saxon history has always savored strongly of muscle, and in all
likelihood will continue to do so. In recognizing the importance of
the department of athletics we can do no better than emulate the good
example of others, and effect for Victoria a more perfect issue.
We are rather limited as to numbers in comparison with rival
institutions, and the desire to enter the whole field of sport has
occasioned our downfall. The necessity of specialization is an up-to-
date fact, and only by adopting it can we hope to cope with other and
larger colleges. That outsiders may credit us with some little spark
Acta Vicioriana. 6t
of pride, let us " get together" and do something. Victoria is not
backward in mental products of a high order — she may even have
harbored abnormalities or monstrosities — but in the athletic world
she is known as the " Ladies' College." There is not necessarily any
scorn in this appellation, just truth, for, verily, the dear girls on the
tennis court and in the ladies' hockey team alone seem capable of
achieving success. Our valiant football teams have marched out
every year under the acclaim of the fairest of patronage ; and notwith
standing this have been whipped like presumptious children. The
position of the Victoria girl might be likened to that of a young
woman dining out with her half-witted brother — horribly mortified but
necessarily apologetic.
In the past we have been justly proud of our religious societies, of
our literary societies, and especially proud of Acta — a publication
pie-eminent in past years in collegiate journalism. When our athletic
teams can compete with those of other institutions as well as our
college organ (not the vocalian) has competed with her rivals, then the
existence of our stomachs will be as irrefutable as the existence of our
brains, and we shall be Wren — men, I mean — in body, soul and
spirit, and as such, worthy of the name. It is necessary for every
student to take part in some out-of door work. Why not assume an
active course in that which shall redound most to the glory of the
ribbon he wears so conspicuously in his hat. Victoria does not beg
her students to assist in this ; she demands their hearty co-operation,
and absolutely no one is exempt.
The question of specialization has been treated of during the past
two years by members of the Athletic Union ; and the rays of opinion
have converged to the one point — rugby. The game commends
itself to UP, first, because it is the child of the university, and secondly,
because it seems to be our only hope. We have no available men
for the Association League, and it would be a senseless thing to train
for, certain deftat. On the other hand we have many of our old
rugby fiends still with us, and also plenty of promising, though raw,
material. With this combination of experience and new blood we
ought to achieve wonders. Why not throw the association balls into
the fire, and thus prevent that diversion from the main issue? It
might not be safe to advise the demolition of the alley board, but we
would suggest incidentally that it be used more as a windbreak than
anything else. Who thinks of attaining fame by this means, anyway ?
What knightly pleasure is there in slapping small rubber balls into the*
Chancellor's back yard, or in like manner raising bumps on the ear of
62
Ada Vidoriana.
the man in front? Of course these remarks are not made in an
absolute sense, but rather to accentuate the need of a concentration
of purpose and effort. We cannot boom rugby too much this year,
as our chances are good and results important. Captain Robertson
expects every preacher to doff his white tie and swallow-tail, every
layman his fancy vest and embroidered hose, and, clad in ferocious
grin and coagulate foot-ball armor, join in the march, not to death
but Victory.
We would urge new men to "enlist" immediately. There are
vacant places on the first team and, mayhap, changes to be made.
College students should understand that success depends to a great
extent on the sacrifice, not of time but of personal comfort, and
sometimes a little pride. We cannot all capture a place, but every
man who attends practices gives invaluable service to the " regulars."
There ought to be thirty men on the field every practice night, each
one determined to do his best; thus two teams may be formed, and
the knowledge gained by the players in occasional contests is practical
and necessary.
For the honor of Victoria, let the men in her halls respond to this
call and prove that the name of their Alma Mater is not a sarcasm on
herself.
(\.
EUGENIA FALLS.
ACTA VICTORIANA
Published Monthly during the College Year by the Union Literary
Society of Victoria University, Toronto.
Vol. XXVIII. TORONTO, NOVEMBER, 1904. No. 2.
November.
BY H. ISABEL GRAHAM.
/^ dreary days and rugged ways,
And bitter winds so fiercely blowing;
O fallen leaves and shiv'ring trees,
And bare, brown fields with nothing growing!
O empty plains and sweeping rains,
O lonely w^ood, a requiem sighing
O'er summer dead and songsters fled,
And flowers in their dark graves lying!
O early night and laggard light,
O glittering frost with fairy fingers;
O glad surprise of sunset skies
Where Heaven's brightest glory lingers!
O changeful time of gloom and shine,
Thy charms my heart will long remember;
In all the year I hold most dear
The cold and colorless November.
64 Ada Victoriana.
The Scotch Church Case.
FRANCIS HUSTON WALLACE, M.A., D.D ,
Dean 0/ the Faculty of Theology.
FREE Churches in Great Britain seem to have fallen on troublous
times. Questions of liberty and justice which were thought
finally settled long ago are up once more and clamoring for decision.
First we had the unrighteous English Education Act, which, while it
delighted the Roman Catholics and Anglicans, outraged the Noncon-
formists and drove half England and practically all Wales into "passive "
rebellion. Now we have the decision of the House of Lords on the
Scotch Free Church Union, practically confiscating the property of
a great Christian body and handing it over to an insignificant recalci-
trant minority, on grounds which virtually deny the spiritual
autonomy of the Christian Church.
The ultimate issue will probably be the quickening of the life of
Free Churches both in England and Scotland. In the meantime
there is great hardship.
The history of the Presbyterian Church in Scotland was for many
generations one of dissension and disruption. From the main body,
the Church of Scotland established by law, various secessions took
place on various principles, and the seceding bodies often subdivided.
Even in these sometimes apparently absurd subdivisions there was a
soul of goodness, a noble love of truth, a loyal adherence to principle.
Take, as the highest example, the origin of the great Free Church.
The issue was that of " patronage," the right of lay patrons to appoint
ministers to churches without the consent of congregations or presby-
teries. For ten years a keen controversy raged, the issue being really
that of the spiritual independence of the Church, or, as it was put,
" the headship of Christ." Finally, in 1843, in obedience to their
consciences and in heroic vindication of their principles, 474 ministers
of the Church of Scotland walked out of the Assembly, abandoned
their churches and their manses, gave up their legal incomes, and,
like Abraham, "went out not knowing whither they went." This was
the more remarkable as these men were not, as the earlier seceders,
" voluntaries." They held the principle of the union of Church and
State, and would have welcomed such an establishment and endow-
ment of the Church as would have left the Church free in spiritual
things.
Ada Victoriana.
65
Their success, under the splendid leadership of Chalmers, was equal
to their heroism, both at home and abroad. They raised, without
State aid, magnificent churches, colleges, mission premises, and en-
dowments. Their relations with the seceders who had preceded them
gradually became more cordial and intimate as they felt more and
more the impracticability of their own ideal of an establishment which
should not infringe upon the spiritual liberty of the Church. Soon
after the " Disruption " of 1843, the centrifugal forces in the religious
life of Scotland began to lo<:e their vitality and the centripetal to
DR. ROBERT RAINY.
Leader of the United Free Church of Scotland.
assert themselves. In 1847 ^he United Presbyterian Church was formed
by the union of the " Secession " Church with the " Relief" body.
Not, however, until 1867 did the idea of the union of the Free
Church with the U. P. Church find expression in the Free Church
Assembly. But a committee on union deemed the question of estab-
lishment to be an insuperable barrier between the Free Church and
the "voluntaries" of the U. P. Church. The movement, neverthe-
less, went quietly on.
66 Acta Victoriana.
In 1874 "patronage" in the Church of Scotland was abolished by
Act of Parliament. But no tendency developed in the Free Church
to return to the bosom of the old Church. The ministers and people
of the Free Church not only had become attached to their own ways
and their own work, but also had weakened in their devotion to the prin-
ciple of establishment. Indeed, gradually, under the sagacious leader-
ship of Dr. Robert Rainy, the majority of the Free Church came to
favor the disestablishment of the Church of Scotland.
This, of course, meant a rapprochement with the U. P. Church.
From 1874 to 1900 negotiations went quietly and carefully on for the
union of the two bodies, and at last, in 1900, they happily issued in
the almost unanimous union of the Free Church and the U. P. Church
in the United Free Church, a body at once as large and as powerful
as the Established Church of Scotland. Of the more than i,ioa
ministers of the Free Church, only twenty-eight held out against this
union, honestly, no doubi, thinking themselves alone true to the
principles of the " Disruption," but probably with " more scruples in
their conscience than conscience in their scruples." They rejected
what the majority claim to have been reasonable offers of compromise
and accommodation as to the property, and attempted to hold certain
churches and manses by force. This little minority, located almost
entirely in the Highlands, called themselves the Free Church of Scot-
land, organized presbyteries and an assembly, appointed a Moderator,
and claimed the whole property of the late Free Church on the ground
that they alone were true to the original principles of that body in
reference to predestination and establishment. The property, so they
claimed, had been given for the propagation of the doctrine of pre-
destination and the principle of Church establishment, and should
now go to those only and wholly who were true to their trust in this
regard.
There is evidently this much truth in this claim of the minority,
that the Free Church has been a living Church, and not a mere trust
corporation, and has therefore inevitably made progress in the con-
ception and expression of truth. The spirit of the Free Church in
1843 w^s doubtless intensely Calvinistic. The Free Church keenly
sympathized with the Secession Church in its expulsion of the able and
learned Dr. James Morison for his doctrine of the Universality of the
Atonement. But "the thoughts of men are widened with the process
of the suns." In 1879 the United Presbyterian Church passed a
Declaratory Act, declaring the sense in which it understood the West-
minster Confession of faith on the matter of predestination, practically
Acta Victoriaiia. 67
accepting the Morisonian or Arminian view. In 1892 the Free
Church passed a similar Declaratory Act. In the present United
Free Church, therefore, the questions of predestination and free will
are open questions. We honor this noble spirit of liberty and com-
prehensiveness.
The minority appealed to law. The Scotch Courts of Session
unanimously sustained the right of the majority. The case was
appealed to the House of Lords, the supreme tribunal of the Empire.
A committee of the House of Lords tried the case. But for the death
of Lord Shand, as is now known, the committee would have been
equally divided, the appeal would have failed, and the property would
have remained with the United Church. The Lord Chancellor Halsbury,
however, on the death of Lord Shand, so constituted the Committee
as to make the success of the minority practically inevitable, as too
soon appeared. Professor Kennedy, of the chair of law in Aberdeen
University, does not hesitate to publicly charge Lord Chancellor Hals-
bury with turning the House of Lords Scotch Appeal into an English
Court ot Law, by ignoring Scotch lords qualified to sit and calling in
Lord Alverstone and Lord James, Englishmen like himself and ignor-
ant of Scotch law and history, instead of following the sound principle
and practice of Lord Eldon, who, as he himself has recorded, feeling
the difificulty of mastering Scotch law, when he had a unanimous
judgment of the Scotch judges to deal with was accustomed to send
the case back to their full court for further enlightenment and fuller
information. A leading Scotch paper bluntly reiterates the charge of
" the packing of the Court by the exclusion of the Scottish judges
competent to sit in it, and the selection by the Lord Chancellor in
their place of English judges as ignorant as himself of the Scottish
conception of a church, if not of the law of Scotland." Only one
Scotch judge sat on the Committee, Lord Macnaghten, and he
declared for the United Free Church, and with him one English
judge. Lord Lindley. Indeed, of the twelve judges who from first to
last have given judgment in the case, all the Scotch judges, seven in
number, have been in favor of the majority of the Free Church. It
is a clear case of Scotch judges against English.
The point of law on which the minority relied, and on which the
Court decided in their favor, is this, that if property was given in trust
to a certain body of men for certain religious purposes, and if the
original legal documents of that body provided for the disposal of the
property in the event of a schism, then the property should be dis-
posed of according to that provision ; but, failing such provision, the
68 Acta Victoriana.
property must belong to the party adhering to the opinions and prin-
ciples on which the body was originally formed. In conformity with
this general principle of law the American Presbyterian Church has in
its constitution a provision for the amendment of doctrinal statements
by a constitutional process. It would be wise for all churches to have
such provision. The contention in the case of the Free Church was
that there was no such provision for a schism and the disposal of the
property, and that therefore the whole property must be handed over
to the insignificant minority as alone adhering to the opinions of the
Church at its origin. On that principle, blindly applied, one dissident
might block all change, progress, reform in any church. This, surely,
is logic making itself absurd. This is law of a sort that the lay mind
can hardly respect.
What was the answer of the defendants? First, that the original
Free Church documents did not make the principle of establishment
a fundamental question, and that the Church had in various ways
long since made it evident that it did not so regard it. Secondly,
with respect to doctrine, that the property had been given to be held
at the disposition of the Assembly, and that the Assembly had exclu-
sive jurisdiction over the formulation of doctrines — given to the
Church for the purposes of the Church, and subject to the whole
powers of the Church. This was felt to be the most important point,
this claim to spiritual autonomy of the Church, and the Court went very
fully into the history of the progress of thought in the Free Church to
ascertain whether the historical continuity had been strictly main-
tained.
At this point emerged the grave difficulty that English judges,
brought up under the English Church Establishment, seemed incapable
of any adequate conception of the Christian Church in its autonomy
and inherent right of development. By reaction from the supremacy
of the pope, supremacy has been given to King and Parliament over
the Church of England, and men have learned to look upon the
Church as if a mere creature of Parliament, and upon " Free '' Churches
as strictly analogous to mere trust corporations. The Scotch (and
New Testament) conception of the Church as no creature of parlia-
ment, as possessing inalienable spiritual independence, as clothed with
inherent prerogative over its own formulation of doctrine in loyalty to
Christ as its Head, was simply caviare to the English judges. In the
report of the trial we read of sneers and sarcasms, and impatient ques
tions, and suppressed laughter on the part of the Lord Chancellor, as
the Scotch counsel developed the claim to spiritual independence of
Acta Victoriajia. 69
the Church. The Chancellor directly denied the claim of spiritual
independence, defined as the " power within the Church to do any-
thing that affects spiritual matters." Let the Church depart in the
least from the original basis and it forfeits its property ! Behind that
principle the court sheltered itself throughout from all appeals to
Scotch Church history and theology. It seemed to those learned
lords a horrible idea that a Church could change its creed without the
sanction of Parliament ! So Scotch religious liberty, as in the old
days, was at the mercy of Anglo-Erastianism. What a premium this
puts upon the hypocrisy which will mumble insincere assent to outworn
formulae for the sake of property, what a stab to the heart of all vital
Christian thought striving to keep abreast with truth !
The decision of August ist, 1904, endorsing in every point the
claims of the minority, and handing over the property of 1,100 minis-
ters and 300,000 communicants to 28 ministers and a handful of peo-
ple, precipitates a momentous crisis in the history of Scotland.
Ninety-seven per cent, of the Free Church lose all their church pro-
perty to three per cent. The property involved includes over $5,000,000
in invested funds, nearly 1,000 church buildings, manses to correspond,
three theological colleges, in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Aberdeen, a
magnificent Assembly Hall in Edinburgh, and most valuable premises
in the foreign mission fields, especially India. It would take fully
$50,000,000 to replace the property swept away from the Free Church
by this startling decision. One of the most iniquitous features of the
case is the fact that the Widows' and Orphans' Fund, created by the
annual payments of the ministers, is taken and handed over to the
twenty-eight ministers of the minority, and the widows and orphans for
whom it was accumulated, are cast upon the charity of the world. In
Edinburgh one congregation remained out of the union of 1900, fifty-
five entered ; the property goes from the fifty-five to the one, 23,000
people are left without churches to worship in, and fifty-five ministers
without manses. In Glasgow the property of 103 congregations and
70,000 people is handed over to two congregations. How can the
twenty-eight ministers of the " Wee Free " man all the churches handed
over to them, to say nothing of the three theological colleges with
their fifteen professors and two hundred students? On the foreign
fields 304 missionaries and 344 native helpers are stripped of churches,
colleges, and homes.
Three-fourths of the property in question has been given to the
Church since 1874, when the Free Church Assembly declared that
there was " no objection on principle to union with the United Pres-
yo Acta Victoriana.
byterian Church." Money given after that is handed over to those
who object to such union. A large proportion of the donors of the
property are aHve, and have gone into the United Church, and yet
their wishes are not to be considered. Is this justice ? Is this faith-
fulness in the administration of a trust ? For instance, out of $685,000
raised in the Free Church during the last ten years for church extension
in Glasgow, all but $75 was subscribed by men who not only approved
but entered the union. Their wishes are ignored. This money is
snatched from them and handed over to a handful of dissidents.
According to the judges the whole matter is one of the administra-
tion of a great pecuniary trust. Yet these same judges did not stop
to inquire what effect their decision would have upon the actual
carrying out of the trust They did not think it worth while to ascertain
whether the twenty-eight ministers ot the minority and their insignificant
handful of adherents would be able to really carry on the great and
vast work which for so many years of splendid success the Free Church
has carried on, but in their haste to express their scorn of the principle
of the spiritual independence of the Church, they risked the ruin of
the whole work which the property had been accumulated to carry on.
The "Wee Free" Church, if it takes possession of this great property
at home and abroad, will do so not to admmister it, but to wreck it.
Scotland remains comparatively quiet under this outrage, because
it cannot yet believe that such a monstrous injustice can be actually
perpetrated. The Scotch courts have yet to give the orders for actual
dispossession. Who can tell what we may see in Scotland if the
attempt be made to actually turn out congregations from the churches
which they built with their own money, and their ministers from the
manses which they provided for them ? It is most tragic that the very
Church, the Free Church, which once suffered the loss of all for con-
science sake, left all to vindicate its spiritual independence, should
still find itself in bondage and peril at the hand of the state. Of
course, this would have been avoided if there had been an explicit
statement of a provision for a schism or a change of creed in the
original constitution of the Church. But surely even law and lawyers
might take some things for granted, and have some regard to justice.
Under the circumstances, compromise on the basis of arbitration
having been offered by the majority and declined by the victorious
minority. Parliament must be invoked to redress the injustice of law.
There is an interesting precedent of the year 1844. The Presby-
terian churches of England had long become Unitarian. The property
was claimed by those who remained properly Presbyterian. The Law
Acta Victoriana. 7 1
Committee of the House of Lords decided for the Presbyterians. But
the very Presbyterians declared they wished no confiscation, and the
very Lords who had decided on strict legahty against the Unitarians
introduced a remedial Act into Parliament providing for an equitable
division of the property. It was then held in Parliament that to
follow pedantic legality in the matter would be practical confiscation
of money contributed for generations by Unitarians for Unitarian
purposes. Men like Sir Robert Peel and Lord Macaulay warmly
espoused the cause of justice and religious liberty, and the Act was
passed. Such, we hope, may be the outcome of the present crisis.
To the honor of Presbyterianism and Scotland be it said that the
great question which is stirring men's souls is not that of the property
but that of the spiritual autonomy of the Church. Robertson Nicoll,
in the British Weekly, makes the issue one between " the living
Church and the dead hand," and declares "a church constituted
according to the judgment of the Lord Cliancellor has parted with
essential liberty." In the discourses of the Free Church ministers on
the Sunday after the decision there was a new passion for the old
Church liberty, a plea for the inherent right of the Church to free
development of creed and polity and work. One happy issue of the
crisis will be a passionate earnestness in proclaiming a broad, free
Gospel, in spite of Lord Halsbury's contention that that is inconsistent
with the Confession of Faith and forfeits the property. The " Wee
Free " Church may be bound by the decision to a strict Calvinism
and to all the dead past. The great, progressive majority will abide
by the Union, assert their liberty, preach a universal Gospel, and take
joyfully the spoiling of their goods, rather than suffer the Word of God
and the Church of Christ to be Ijound.
No one has put the issue better than that leader of High Anglican-
ism, Bishop Gore. He writes to the Times as follows : " That
' Churches ' should be tied by a law of trusts never to vary their con-
victions as expressed in formulas or constitutional methods, except at
the risk of losing;; legal continuity and the corporate property which
goes with such continuity, seems to me to be a state of things which
every lover of truth or freedom ought to shrink from. ... I am
writing simply from the point of view of a citizen of a great nation,
who desires that the nation should be on the side of religious reality
and freedom of spiritual movement. And, though I do not agree in
many important respects with the United Free Church of Scotland, I
cannot but think it is a grave moral disaster that our law should be
such as to lay a dead hand upon a process of normal intellectual and
spiritual growth in an important and noble religious community."
lA
72 Acta Victoriana.
Jimong the J^eal Irish*
BY E. W. STAPLEFORD, '05.
WHEN one strolls down St. Patrick Street in Cork he need not
be told that he is in Ireland. Almost every man he meets
has the map of his native land plainly stamped upon his face, and
" begorrah," "by faith," and " by the howly Mary," are heard on all
sides. The signs over the store fronts show that the MacCarthys, the
O'Donoghues, the Murphys, the O'Sullivans, the Caseys, and many
others of suggestive names, are doing their share in the commercial
life of the town. The most Irish place in the world is Cork. The
most Irish place in Cork is Paddy's Market, just off St. Patrick's
Street. Paddy's Market is carried on partly in the open air and
partly in a massive stone building. Most of the merchants, especially
those who transact business in the open air, are women. The street
is literally covered with wares of every description. The women
squat before their goods and drive hard bargains, filling the intervals
between sales with knitting. Almost everything which the poorer
class of the people require can be purchased here. Cheap meat and
vegetables, fish, eggs and cheese, all of uncertain age, and second
hand rubbish of every kind, abound. If Mike and Biddy determine
to emigrate to "Greater Ireland," as America is called, they bring all
their household effects to Paddy's Market, and sit there until they sell
out, Mike breaking the monotony of business life by frequent visits
to the neighboring public house, and Biddy seeking the same end by
her knitting needles, with an occasional sly visit to the " Pub " herself.
From Paddy's Market we took a walk to the hill which is crowned
by the church made famous by the author of
"The bells of Shandon, which sound so grand on
The pleasant waters of the River Lee."
After visiting the church, which is a very modest structure, we wandered
through the lanes and courts of the parish, for Shandon is in the very
heart of the poor section of Cork. Naples is said to be the home of
the most abject poverty on the continent, but in Naples there is no
such poverty as in Cork. I knocked at the doors of several houses,
presumably to ask direction, but really to get a glance into the houses
themselves. The dirt and squalor is appalling. Meeting a typical
Irishman I asked him the cause of all this poverty and degradation,
* Several of the cuts in this article are used by permission from "Here and There in the
Home Land."
Acta Victoriana.
7Z
rather expecting him to lay the blame at the door of the British
Government. He asked me, however, if I had been in any of the
public houses, and suggested that I call at some of them. I visited
several of the saloons, or "pubs," as they are called, and in every case
they were filled with men and women, and in many instances the
women had babes in their arms. Though for the most part clothed
in rags, still they had money enough and time enough to waste in
drink. The British Government is not altogether to blame for the
distress in Ireland, about which we have heard so much.
The tourist does not tarry very long at Cork. While it is pleasantly
situated on the River I.ee, it cannot be said to be a beautiful city,
AN IRISH COTTAGE.
and its attractions are not numerous. Commercially it is not in a
flourishing condition. Its trade has declined and its population has
decreased. Its quays are lined with unemployed men, who make a
living by earning an occasional sixpence or shilling. If Mr. John
Redmond would expend his eloquence and energy in inducing Irish-
American capitalists to invest their money in establishing industries
in the south of Ireland, he would be a real benefactor, not only to his
own beloved land, but also to the entire British Empire.
With such thoughts as these in mind, I started for Blarney Castle,
which is only five miles distant. The Irish question was forgotten as
soon as the open country was reached. Nature has been very kind
to Ireland and never made a more beautiful spot. England is
74
Acta Victor iana.
beautiful, but her beauty is conventional. Scotland is beautiful, but
her beauty consists in her ruggedness. But Irish scenery, especially
in Munster, is of that quiet kind so restful to the nerves, and yet so
free and unconventional ; for Paddy, unlike the Saxon, has been
content to allow Nature alone to do her perfect work.
About half-way to the castle I left the railway, in order to better
enjoy the scenery. It was a delightful May morn. Erin had donned
KILLARNEY — THE OLD WEIR RRIDOE.
her richest green. The rambling hedges were in flower and the orange
bloom afforded a suggestive contrast to the green. The country seemed
but sparsely settled. Occasionally a maiden passed, carrying on her
broad shoulders a bunch of brushwood, or a woman with her ill-fed
donkey and lumbering cart on the way to Paddy's Market, or a man,
with pipe in mouth and hands in pockets, whose business would be
hard to surmise. I called at several cottages, presumably to inquire the
way to Blarney Castle. Kindly greetings always awaited me. "It's a
Acta Victoriaiia.
/:>
foine day, sorr, and may God bless ye, sorr," was the usual salutation.
(Later an Irish friend of mine told me that the usual greeting of a
visitor to a cottage is, " May God bless all here, barrin' the cat.") It
is interesting to peep into these little stone cottages with thatched
roofs. They are usually of two rooms. The main room suffices for
drawing room, dining room, kitchen and i)edroom lor the children.
The chickens also have a claim upon this room, but the proverbial
KILLARNEV — COLLEEN BaWN PARK.
"pig in the parlor" has, I am told, become a matter of history.
" The gintleman who pays the rint," as the pig is respectfully called,
lives in a sty built against the rear wall of the cottage. The floor of
the cottage is of cobble stones and is usually clean, though the feeding
trough of the chickens occupies a place in the centre of the room.
The peasants were most polite and wished me all the good luck which
usually follows a pilgrimage to Blarney Castle. Some were quite free
in imparting domestic history. One man told that he had " a son
who is doin' foine in Ameriky," while a good old woman mentioned
76
Acta Vicioriana.
\S\dX her daughter Katie was just "killin' hersilf wor-r-kin' in Boston,"
and intended to return home as soon as she could save enough money.
When approaching the castle I met a man walking with a hurried,
nervous step. His features were of the Irish caste, his walk distinc-
tively American. "I've kissed the Blarney Stone," said he, in a tone of
exultation. " Good luck to you," was the rejoinder, as we shook
hands. " You live in America," I continued. " Yes," he said, " I
b^ifc!^/
ENTRANCE TO THE (;aP OF DUNLOK.
left Ireland fifteen years ago. You are an American ? " " No,
better than that," I replied. " I am a Canadian." " Oh, well, it's
just about the same thing," he answered. (Personally, I think there
is a great difference.) We fell to discussing the Irish question.
" What is the cause of the poverty in Ireland?" was asked. " It's the
Government, the wretched British Government," he replied with great
emphasis. It is too true that the Ireland of to-day is sufifering from
the oppressive rule of the last three centuries. The curse of Cromwell
Acta Vzctoriana.
77
is still upon the land. The iron heel of the conqueror has, to a
certain extent, crushed out the fiery spirit of the Celt, and carelessness
and indolence have displaced thrift and ambition. But it is also true
that the British Government, within the last quarter of a century, has
done all in its power to redeem the past, and to-day, under Wynd-
ham's Land Bill, Ireland is granted privileges which no other people
ever enjoyed. It is to be regretted that more of the people are not
VIEW IN THE GAP OF DUNLOE.
availing themselves of the advantages of this Land Bill. If Irish
agitators, instead of wasting their energies in hurling invectives at the
British Government, would use their influence to induce the Irish
people to take advantage of their privileges, they would be true patriots
and a real help to the great masses of the poor. Further, if the fearful
waste of resources through the drink evil could be stayed, and the
capital thus conserved devoted to the establishing of industries, Ireland
would again bloom and blossom as the rose, and the Gem of the
78 Acta Victoriana,
Ocean would once more occupy her rightful place among the countries
of the world.
But are we not standing before that shrine of Irish wit — Blarney
Castle ? A massive donjon tower, one hundred and twenty feet in
height, is all that remains for our inspection. An interesting old lady
was in charge of the castle and told that it was built in 1446 by Cormack
MacCarthy, a descendant of the ancient kings of Munster. During
the days of Queen Elizabeth, it was the strongest fortress in Munster,
often repelling the attacks of besieging armies. It fell before Crom-
well's men in 1646. Later the Lord of Blarney was exiled for Jacobite
sympathies, and the troops of King William destroyed all but this
single tower. The fair keeper of the castle also told us of the virtues
of the famous stone, which is placed high up on the battlements.
" There is a stone there, whoever kisses
Oh I he never misses to grow eloquint,
'Tis he may climb to a lady's chamber,
Or become a mimber of sweet Parliament.'
She pointed out the stone, telling, not showing, how it is to be
kissed, and closed her tale by mentioning that she had been "in
charge of the castle for over thirty years." I remarked that I could
scarcely understand how one so young could have been living here so
long. " I can see, sorr, that the stone is beginning to wor-r-k on ye
already, sorr," she replied. It's impossible to get ahead of the Irish.
After obtaining a magnificent view of the country from the top of
the tower, I went below and explored the dungeons where old-time
prisoners waited in gloom and misery for something to happen. It
was delightful to regain the sunlight and wander among the groves of
Blarney.
The little village of Blarney was close at hand, and the boys and
girls were just coming Irom school. Stopping a bunch of the boys, I
asked them to show me their text-books. They were very polite, far
more so than the average school-boy in the Western Hemisphere.
" What do you know about Canada ? " I asked.
" Canada, sir, is very hot in summer and very cold in winter. Corn,
lumber and apples come from Canada. It's a good place to go to,
for they give away farms free."
Not bad for a Blarney boy of about twelve, is it ? I was very glad
to notice throughout the British Isles that the ignorance which has
so long existed regarding Canada is rapidly disappearing, and the
British school-boy is almost as well informed regarding Canada as the
Canadian school-boy is regarding Great Britain.
Acta Victoriana.
79
But Blarney, wrapped in beauty and mystery, had to be left behind,
for the evening train soon started for Killarney. The compartment of
the car I entered was empty, but soon a guard escorted two ladies to
the door. I withdrew to a corner and hid myself behind a Cork
newspaper, but could not help noticing that one of the ladies had the
English cast of features, while the other was decidedly Irish — a fine-
looking woman, richly dressed, evidently of the " better sort." We
BLARNEY CASTLE.
had travelled but a few miles when the Irish lady, looking over to the
form behind the Cork journal, said : " Excuse me, sir, but would you
object if I should have a smoke ? "
Coming from so fair a petitioner the boon was readily granted.
A beautiful silver cigarette case was produced, and the lady very
kindly asked me to join in the smoke. I was compelled to say that
as yet I had not acquired that accomplishment. But smoking has
8o Acta Victoriana.
some advantages from a social standpoint, and the lady ventured to
remark : " You are from America, I believe ?"
" From Canada," I said.
" Toronto ? "
" Yes, from Toronto."
" Oh, I think Toronto is the loveliest city in America," she said.
" We visited many cities when there, but we thought Toronto the
finest of them all, though we liked Montreal, too."
Cards were exchanged, and I learned that my newly-acquired Irish
acquaintance was the wife of the squire of , while her companion
was the wife of the vicar of the same place. In true Irish fashion I
was invited to pay them a visit, one stating that her husband had
business interests in Canada and would be glad to meet a Canadian.
I was greatly disappointed that my plans were such as to prevent my
accepting the invitation.
It was dark when the town of Killarney was reached, but the next
morning revealed the fact that the town itself possesses few charms. It
consists of a few winding streets, lined with low, squalid-looking
houses. On market-days the town is full of all sorts of interesting
people from the surrounding country, men in long-tailed coats and
knee-breeches, strutting through the crowd and swinging their shil-
lalahs in a dangerous manner ; women enveloped in shawls, carrying
great baskets of produce on their shoulders, or standing beside their
faithful donkeys ; and laughing barefooted colleens, whose black eyes
flash bewitchingly.
Tourists visit Killarney not to see the town but the lakes which
have made the name famous. At breakfast in the morning I had the
good fortune to meet a gentleman from Philadelphia. We arranged to
make the trip of the lakes together. At ten o'clock a typical Irish
jaunting-car was in waiting. We had a beautiful drive alongside a
magnificent demesne, which had recently been bought from its original
owner by a prominent brewer, and is now used merely as a game
preserve. Another cause of Ireland's poverty is here suggested.
How many prosperous homes could be supported if that great game
preserve of thousands of acres were cut up into fifty-acre lots? After
a nine-mile drive through a wild, rugged country we arrive at Kate
Kearney's cottage ;
" O did ye ne'er hear tell of Kate Kearney ?
She lives by the banks of Killarney ;
One glance from her eye.
Shun danger and fly,
For fatal's the looks of Kate Kearney."
Ada Victoriana.
8i
Here we made a stop, for souvenirs and mountain dew are dis-
pensed by the noisy descendants of the bewitching Kate. We also
left our car here, as the road through the Gap of Dunloe can be
travelled only on foot or by pony. It is a four-mile trip. We elected
to walk. It is an interesting trail through the wild narrow pass
between Macgillicuddy's Reeks and Purple Mountain, reminding one
of some parts of the Kootenay country in British Columbia. A small
GLENA I'.AY, KILLARNEY.
Stream called the Lor goes leaping the craggy cliffs and adds beauty
to this rugged scene. We passed a small lake known as Black Lough,
where, our guide told us, " St. Patrick, God rest his sowl, banished
the last shnake in Ireland." Along the trail the traveller is besieged
by natives selling trinkets or begging. Oat from behind bushes and
rocks step pretty colleens selling goat's milk and poteen. Upon being
asked the price, one of them replied, " To foine gintlemen loike ye,
just whatever ye loike." After such blarney we had not the heart to
offer anything less than a shilling.
82
Ada Victoriana.
After a good stiff walk of nearlyan hour the Lakes of Killarney
burst upon our view. It might be mentioned that there are three
lakes — the Upper, the Middle (or Muckross), and the Lower. The
Upper Lake is the smallest of the three, being only two and a half
miles long by one mile wide, but it is the most beautiful and is
magnificently situated amid wild and lofty mountains. Here a boat
in charge of two men was awaiting us. A lunch which had been
prepared was greatly enjoyed as the boat glided by the many little
IN A JAUNTING-CAR.
islands of the lake. The scene before us was one of surpassing beauty.
In the distance could be seen the lofty peak of the Carrantus, the
highest mountain in Ireland. On the right frowned the craggy sides
of Cumaglan. Soon we entered Long Range, the channel connecting
the Upper and Middle Lakes.
After a fine row among islands, beautiful in every shade of green,
we reached the " Meeting of the Waters." We shot the rapids under
the old Weir bridge, and, as we passtd its massive stone arches, one
Ac/a Victoriana. 83
of the boatmen said, ■' Now, gintlemen, this is the owldest bridge in
Ireland, it was built when Adam was a little bowy."
At the head of the Lower Lake is Ross Castle. This ivy-clad ruin
was formerly the stronghold of the great O'Donoghue family and dates
from the fourteenth century. It is celebrated in history as being the
last fortress in Munster to hold out against the Parliamentary army.
It is an interesting old ruin and from the top of the tower a magnificent
view of the lakes can be obtained.
A trip to Killarney would be incomplete without a visit to Muckross
Abbey. It is situated about three miles from the town near the
village of Cloghereen. So next day I strolled out along a beautiful
country road with the abbey as my destination. The monks of old
evidently had a love for the beautiful, for well did they select the site
for the sacred pile. The abbey is built on a hill commanding a fine
view of the Lower Lake. The hill reaches the edge of the lake by a
series of beautiful terraces. It is said that a church, which was
destroyed by fire in 1190, stood upon the site of the present abbey.
The abbey itself was founded by Teige MacCarthy for the Franciscan
monks. In the centre of the choir is the vault of the MacCarthys,
and here also sleep the stormy chiefs of the O'Sullivans, and the
O'Donpghues. The best remaining portion of the abbey is the cloister,
in the centre of which grows a magnificent yew tree which seems to
be as old as the abbey itself.
Strange feelings creep over one as he wanders about these monu-
ments of the past. I thought of the brave Celts who sleep amid these
ruins. Noble men they were. When the now proud Saxon was but
a sea-pirate, the sons of Erin were enjoying a comparatively high state
of civilization. Schools and colleges flourished throughout the land.
If Ireland had been left alone to develop along her own lines, would
the later pages of her history have been brighter? This is a question
hard to solve. Erin has had her dark days, but to-day her prospects
are brighter than they have been for four centuries.
Musing over these things I strolled down to the shores of the lake.
What a picture the Great Artist has thrown upon Nature's canvas !
Standing there, an incident of the previous day is recalled. When
rowing down the Middle Lake we asked our boatmen for a song. One
of them laid down his oar and began to sing :
" Ireland is the most distressful country
That ever you have seen,
For they're hanging men and women, too.
For the wearing of the green."
84 Acta Vicfonana.
I shall never forget that song. The boatman was a big, broad-
shouldered, deep-chested Irishman. He began to sing in a low
tone. Gradually the song took possession of the Celt, his eyes flashed
fire, his great chest heaved with passion, and the song became the
defiant cry of an oppressed but unconquered people. I felt that the
fiery soul of the native Irish is still alive, and that the persecution of
centuries has been unable to quench its flame. These words still
echo and re-echo amid the vales of Killarney,
"They're hanging men and women, too.
For the wearing of the green. '
Funditores Imperiorum.
O SPIRITS tremendous, titanic, austere.
Who founded the empires of earth,
Your fabrics of glory were builded on fear,
The music of swords was your mirth.
Defiant, undaunted, you travelled the path
Where Destiny beaconed success.
And peoples opposing succumbed to your wrath.
And Liberty shrieked in distress.
Like lamps at a feast ye all flamed in your pride,
The pomp of great kings was your prize.
And Lust, your elusive and beautiful bride.
Flashed views of far fields in your eyes.
O Founders of Empire, how massive your tread ;
How crimson the flower of your fame ;
What visions of glory, invincible dead,
Arise at each magical name !
The young Alexander, the gallant, the fair.
With star so refulgent, so brief;
On Indus' far banks Glory weeps for him there.
And Youth still admires his fond grief.
The legions of Caesar advance into Gaul,
And patient is resolute Rome ;
To mightiest Julius the Celts are in thrall,
His ships cleave the westermost foam.
Acta Victoriaria. 8'
Rome withers : her grandeur declines, and her sons
Are nerveless, supine, helpless prey
To Attila, terrible King of the Huns,
The scourge of the world for a day.
The sword of Mahomet in Araby gleams,
The Crescent invades every clime.
But Caliphs and Sultans deterred not with dreams
The dusty siroccos of Time.
As brilliant, as baneful as any of eld
Who founded great empires and fell,
Napoleon's grim star its ascendancy held
Till Europe had tasted of hell.
Yet, Masters of Men, notwithstanding your power,
Death sought you and vanquished you quite ;
Fate suffered you, each for his one little hour,
Then plunged you in nethermost night.
— Williaf?i Talbot Allison.
Ji Plea for the High School.
SELF-DEPRECIATION in matters educational cannot be said to
be one of our national defects. It is true that there are those
in Ontario who urge various minor changes in the course of study,
but in general it is safe to say that even with them any improvement
would partake of the nature of a refinement on perfection rather than
of a step taken to keep pace with the times. Without venturing to
call in question this assumed superiority in school matters, might it
not be safely asked whether on general principles such self-satisfaction
is to our own best interests, especially at a time when Mosely Com-
missions, and Committees of Nines, and Tens, and Fifteens, taking
nothing for granted, are seeking to " formulate improved educational
doctrine " along all lines ?
The all-satisfying proof given by us in support of our claim to
superiority is that the graduate of our primary schoo', high school or
college outshines the graduate of the school of like standing in the
United States. Although this has never been put to a fair or final
test, yet, in view of the severe uniformity of requirement in Canadian
schools and the great diversity of standard of schools in the United
States, it is probably true or, at any rate, quite as true as any state-
86 Acta Vicloriana.
ment so sweeping in character could well be. Indeed the educators
of the United States themselves as a rule quite freely concede our
superiority in this respect, and it is a matter of comment sometimes
with us that they do not pay more attention to our system of
education, with a view to getting a leaf out of our book.
It is rather startling, therefore, for a Canadian to learn that, far
from regarding this as something inviting imitation of our system,
they are more inclined to regard it as a danger signal. The reason
for this is not hard to discover. The travelled "American" — even
the one who has only been across the bridge at Niagara Falls — likes
to demonstrate the keenness of his powers of observation by noting all
the particulars in which we resemble the " English." It is not hard,
therefore, for him to associate our severe examination requirements
with all he has ever heard or read of the cramming methods formerly
in vogue at Oxford and Cambridge, with the life-crushing rigidity of
the German system and thence with empty mediaeval Scholasticism,
Chinese government examinations and all the rest of the unsavory
things connected with rigid intellectual tests.
Nor can this peculiar prejudice to our system be attributed entirely
to their native disdain for all things un-American. A United States
schoolman, in estimating the value of the work of a school, will not
take as the main point the proficiency of individual graduates in the
subjects studied. He is sure to inquire also into the ability of the
graduate to make ready use of the knowledge acquired, and, above
all, he will take into account the number of students entered, the
number of students graduated in proportion to the number entered,
and the degree of proficiency of each before entering and after leaving,
thus judging the school by the cumulative rather than the individual
good accomplished. Their highest aim is to place as good an
education as possible within reach of the many ; the greatest good to
the greatest number is the motto.
Viewed from their standpoint, it is not hard to see which branch of
our system is not doing as much good as it ought to do. There is a
distinct national loss in our aggregate educational attainment from
the fact that our Canadian High School course, except as a prepara-
tion for college or for teaching, has not a more widely recognized
value as a final preparation in itself for entering upon the ordinary
occupations of life. There is something wrong here, even though we
grant that a college education is the ideal equipment for citizenship.
Surely there are grades of advancement short of this, yet in advance
of the public school, desirable of attainment ! It is true that some do
Ada Victoriaiia. 87
attend the High School who afterwards neither teach nor attend
college, but these are mostly those who are counted out before com-
pleting the course — dropped in silence because they could not pass
the examinations. The fact remains that there is no considerable
body of students attending High School for a definite length oi time
for the sake of the education alone.
The. fact of the matter is that we pay so much attention to the
single aim of " keeping up the standard " that we lose sight of other
aims and come well nigh to creating an intellectual aristocracy, thus
denying the benefits of a higher education to many for the sake oi the
few. In the United States the High School is commonly called the
People's College, and in this there is no disparagement of the college
proper, for it gains rather than loses by the popularity of the High
School They graduate from the High School with all the ceremony
of a college graduation. They have their class day, commencement
and baccalaureate sermon, while the nomenclature, freshman, sopho-
more, junior and senior, is quite familiar to every citizen. All of this,
of course, would be quite ridiculous in itself if it did not carry with
it the substantial fact that a very large proportion of their primary
school graduates enter the High School, and then remain there until
they have completed an organized three or four years' course.
Our High School course is not framed with a view to making it an
independent unit in our system, attractive and desirable in itself. In
the choice of subjects, and especially in the prescribing of work within
each subject, too exclusive attention is paid to college entrance
requirements. Not enough attention is paid to giving the course in
any subject aim and purpose. The student is not brought soon
enough to see the practical and therefore interesting side, and too
little attempt is made at giving the student some idea of the scope of
the subject as a whole. We prescribe enough drill in the subject to
enable the student to pursue the subject with ease after he enters
college, tnere to learn the use and beauty of the subject.
We grind away at Latin composition, and then take one book of
Caesar's masterly commentaries and part of one book of Virgil's great
epic, chosen arbitrarily without reference to the poems as a whole, as
exercise for drill on translation, so that after the student enters
college he may read the poem and find out what it was all about.
The practical side to the study of Latin, a dead language, is the
ability to read Latin ; and this, after all, comes mainly by much
practice, and may indeed \>^: acquired without a thorough knowledge
of grammar. This is not a plea for the discontinuance of the study of
88 Ada Victoriana.
Latin grammar, but it is a plea for the reduction of the existing dispro-
portion between the amount of dreary mechanical work and the amount
of Latin literature read in the High School. This should be done
by increasing the amount of translation to at least four books of
Cassar and six books of A'irgil. We might then expect to make
Latin what it may be, but is not now, in the High School, a popular
subject.
Our course in English is open to much the same criticism. We
study scraps and fragments of an author or a poem. The practical
result of a course in literature is not merely the ability to understand
difficult passages of literature, but rather the kindling of a desire for
good literature. A sense of the personality of the author is necessary
to the intelligent comprehension of even detached passages or poems.
It is, furthermore, necessary to the discovering within the pupil of
taste in literature, a predilection for a certain author or a certain type
of literature. This can only be acquired by comparative reading of
an author's works, and by comparison with works of the same type
by other authors. We leave the study of types and periods of litera-
ture over to the college. We too often expect the mature appre-
ciation of a gem of literature in a fifteen-year-old student, and by too
much drilling render forever distasteful what might have been "a
thing of beauty " if some of the " shades of meaning " had been left
to grow upon the student. But, worst of all, we ignore our own
Canadian literature !
Our methods of teaching do not tend to enable the student to make
use of his knowledge. We do not develop sufficiently in the pupil
the power of fluent expression, since the student's ability to recite in
class is not taken into account in estimating his fitness for promotion.
There is not enough independent work required of the student day by
day. The teaching is too well done, and the pupil relies upon that
too much, thus destroying his feeling of self-help.
Too many subjects are studied concurrently, and the interest which
should be concentrated is dissipated over too wide a field. The
pupil who recites geometry twice a week and has seven other studies,
is more likely to hate the subject than if he recited it every day and
had only three other studies.
In spite of the best school machinery the educational standard
must still depend upon the attitude of the people toward education.
Indifference and apathy will defeat the most intelligent efforts. The
efficiency of any school should be its own best drawing card, but any
Ada Victoriana. 89
feature which tends to make it attractive to a greater number of stu-
dents is worthy of attention.
Canadian people are, as a rule, skeptical about " American "
methods. We are probably quite justified in not desiring any closer
union with the United States. We should not, on that account, be
narrow and superficial in our judgment of them. We say they are
over-hasty for visible results ; too practical, and inclined, therefore, to
be crude and immature in their attainments. In all justice let it be
said that any crudity or immaturity in things educational is due to
the rapid changes taking place to satisfy the demand for education,
and that the sin of being practical or over-hasty about visible results
is not unpardonable when it has for its aim, not the cultivation of an
ethereal ideal of education for the few, but the education and uplifting
of the masses. C. E. Auger, '02.
Grunt the First.
Pulpiteers.
CHURCH-GOERS sometimes ask themselves, after listening to a
new, young minister, " How did he manage to wriggle through
his course?" the question arising because the new, young man
mumbles and hesitates and drops his voice, besides making what, by
courtesy, is called his " discourse " not only otherwise uninteresting,
but positively painful to his hearers.
Unfortunately, too, there are examples of new, young men becoming
old, old ones, and clinging meanwhile to all their mannerisms; and
now and again it seems a case of "the older the worse."
Why should a minister have a pulpit voice as distinguished from
his ordinary tones? Some have even a pulpit pronunciation! A
well known D.D., who has no difficulty in saying "Lord," "God,"
"salvation," "power," and some other words, just as they ought to be
spoken, the moment he enters the pulpit, pronounces these as
" Lorda," "Goda," "salivation," "pawoer." This is an extreme
case, but we all know of others equally disagreeable and distracting.
Besides, there are people of quick ear who profess their ability to
distinguish Episcopalian, Methodist and Presbyterian ministers simply
by the quality of tone in common conversation.
Was there ever an example known of a young man being refused
ordination on account of his (let us put it mildly and say) "awkward
ness and the insignificance of his personality ? " Observer.
go
Ac/ a Victoriana.
Grunt the Second.
One Species of Humbug.
PERHAPS the medical profession provides more room and there-
fore offers greater temptations than any other to practice
popular humbug. Not long since a gentleman fearing sciatica con-
sulted a well-known physician, who, after a long and apparently
careful examination of his patient's left hip, said, "Well, of course
you know sciatica is possible, but, in the meantime, I can find nothing
but an acute affection of the seventh nerve." At another time a lady
from a distance called upon " His Sapiency " for advice respecting a
pain in her shoulder, neck, and the side of her head, when she, too,
was informed that she had " Just caught a cold, and the seventh
nerve was somewhat affected." During the past month two other
cases have occurred in which the trouble came from the seventh
nerve, one being in the right sole, the other in the right fore-arm.
Akin to those who believe in palmistry, astrology, osteopathy,
absent treatment and the like, are those who feel a certain amount of
satisfaction not only in being able to inform their friends that the
doctor says, "All the trouble is with the nerves," but to add, "and
it's mostly in the seventh nerve." Seven has always been regarded as
a sacred number, and in some inexplicable manner this bugaboo
gives them pleasure. How long shall these things be ?
Observer.
PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS, TORONTO.
Acta Victoriana.
91
Jilchemy.
ALCHEMY has a rather doubtful claim on us on the ground of
its scientific value, but its annals are so crammed with human
interest that a peep into its gloomy and mystical past is, for such as
were formerly called " ingenious persons," really fascinating.
The general aims and objects of the so-called " sacred art " of
alchemy are probably vaguely known to even the profane — which word
must be taken in its ancient sense— but a short statement of them is
necessary. It was thought that there existed or could be made three
things of the highest value and most wonderful properties — a philoso-
pher's stone, which would change quicksilver to gold ; an elixir of life,
which would give eternal youth and health, and an alkahest or universal
solvent. The elixir and the philosopher's stone were somewhat con-
fused with each other. For these objects many men in the Middle
Ages spent their health and money, and even their lives, and the bane-
ful delusion lived even to times quite modern.
It is a puzzle how such peculiar ideas were ever thought of, much
less believed. There is good reason to credit them originally to the
arm-chair philosophy of the Greeks. Socrates, though so shrewd and
deep a thinker, said that the true nature of external objt;cts could be
discovered by thought without observation, and most Greek philoso-
phers were at one with him in his scorn of investigation. By this
delightfully unscientific method they evolved and elaborated the
doctrine that all things are formed of four elements ; indeed, many
philosophers reduced this number to one. Granted these premises,
the alchemists' deduction, that one element could be changed to
another, was simple and logical.
The alchemists had, however, far difierent theories of the origin of
their art. To them it was clear that Adam must have known of the
elixir of life, else how did he live so long ? Of course he would also
know of the philosopher's stone. And where could he learn these
secrets but from the devil ? Others, more moderate in their claims,
did not trace their art to his Satanic Majesty, but ascribed its beginning
92
Acta Victoriana.
to Tubal Cain, or to Abraham, or to Moses. The most popular and
most credited account named Hermes Trismegistus as the father of
alchemy. He is said to have lived about 2000 B.C., and to have had
the mighty secret of transmutation engraved on a tablet of emerald and
buried with him. Sarah, the wife of Abraham, explored his grave, for
motives unrecorded, and found the tablet and transmitted the inscrip-
tion to us. It consists of thirteen propositions, and we quote a couple :
"Separate the earth from the fire, the subtle from the gross,
prudently and with judgment."
"Ascend with the greatest sagacity from the earth to heaven, and
then descend again to the earth, and unite the powers of things
superior and things inferior. Thus will you obtain the glory of the
whole world and obscurity will fly far from you."
Unfortunately, this lucid statement does not cause obscurity to fly,
for many patient investigators through hundreds of years spent their
lives in trying to read its riddle. It is sad, but necessary, to add that
this legend cannot even claim great antiquity, for it is probably the
ingenious fabrication of monks who had more leisure than was good,
and is an example of that old saw about Satan's ability to find em-
ployment for the idle.
It may be mentioned in passing that to this mythological Hermes
no less than thirty-six thousand books have been ascribed, so that he
must have been a more prolific author than Dumas, as one writer sar-
castically remarks. A memory of him lingers in our common word, her-
metic, for to hermetically seal wa.s originally to seal with Hermes his seal-.
Acta Victoriarm, 93
It would be impossible or useless to select for description any parti-
cular member of the multitude of follawers of Hermes, or to attempt
any connected relation of the fortunes of his art, for all alchemical
history is in chaos, and most of what we do know is not true. A
short description of a typical alchemist by Paracelsus, himself a past
grand master of the cult, would be better : " They are not given to
idleness, nor go in a proud habit or plush and velvet garments, often
showing their rings upon their fingers, or wearing swords with silver
hilts by their sides, or fine and gay gloves upon their hands, but dili-
gently follow their labors, sweating whole days and nights by their
furnaces. They do not spend their time abroad for recreation, but
take delight in their laboratory. They wear leather garments with a
pouch and an apron whereon they wipe their hands. They put their
fingers amongst coals, into clay and filth, not into gold rings. They
are sooty and black like smiths and colliers, and do not pride them-
selves upon clean and beautiful faces." In short, they were plugs.
While Paracelsus is under mention, a word about the death of this
sixteenth century enthusiast. Tradition has it that he fancied he had
discovered the elixir of life, and drank a cupful of the magical liquid.
It was alcohol and, of course, proved fatal.
The peculiar literature of alchemy may be illustrated by an extract
from Paracelsus' works. " The life of all metals is a secret fatness ;
of salts, the spirit of aqua fortis ; of pearls, their splendor.
The life of all men is an astral balsam, a balsamic impression and a
celestial invisible fire, an included air and a tinging spirit of salt. I
cannot name it more plainly." We are forced to admit that even
Browning is crystal clear in comparison with this author.
Such a system of mystification ruled alchemy from first to last. The
simplest facts were hidden in a mist of allegory, lest the uninitiated
should catch their meaning and steal the secrets of the art. The
mysterious dragon that appears on page ninety-four is nothing less than
an allegorical recipe for the preparation of the philosopher's stone.
The dragon (nitric acid) must be obtained from the earth (the ball),
and caused to eat the sun (gold) and the moon (silver) The sun thus
digested gives the red stone, for use in transmuting baser metals to
gold, and the moon gives the white stone, used in making silver.
It is to be hoped that another alchemical recipe will not seriously
strain the reader's patience. We give a method of purifying gold by
fusing it with antimony. The other illustration of our article refers
to this, "The king's (gold) diadem is made of pure gold and a chaste
bride must be married unto him ; wherefore, if ye will work on our
94
Acta Victoriaiia.
bodies,"take the most ravenous gray wolf (antimony), which by reason
of his^name is subject unto valorous Mars (iron), but by the genesis of
his nativity he is the son of old Saturn (lead), found in mountains and
valleys of the world. He is very hungry ; cast unto him the king's
body that^^he may be nourished by it ; and when he hath devoured the
king, make a great fire, into which cast the wolf, that he be quite
burned. Then will the king be at liberty again."
If admirable in nothing else, the alchemists deserve respect for their
ability in lying. Our friend Baron Munchausen would be reduced to
envious^despair could he but hear their modest statements of fact.
Lully said he made by projection — the technical term for a transmu-
tation— about thirty million dollars' worth of gold. Nicholas Flammel
claimed to have built and endowed in Paris three chapels, seven
churches and fourteen hospitals with' the gold he made. Dr. Dee, of
later date, said he found a large quantity of elixir of a power 272, 330,
that is able to change that number of times its weight of baser metals
into gold. The exact detail of the last statement makes it a triumph
in the art of prevarication.
More remarkable than these flights of imagination is the credulous-
ness of the people, who believed them all. In 1404 the English Parlia-
ment forbade the making of gold and silver, probably because of the
economic ditificulties that would arise from its manufacture. Henry VI.
granted several patents for the manufacture of gold and appointed a
commission to investigate the subject. Ornaments and coins of
alchemical gold were for sale in the various countries of Europe. For
the benefit of any who may be inspired with the desire to experiment,
let us say that the law of 1404 was repealed in 1689 and transmutation
is now legal. Also all the patents have expired.
Amongst all these seers of visions that were not and dreamers of
dreams that never came true was a friar, Roger Bacon, born in 1214,
Acta Victoriana. 95
who, though subject to the great delusion of transmutation, has left
on record perhaps the most remarkable prophecy ever made without
divine assistance. In this prediction he saw what was not to be ful-
filled for nearly seven hundred years. " Bridges unsupported by
arches can be made to span the foaming current ; man shall descend
to the bottom of the ocean, safely breathing and treading with firm
step on the golden sands nevei brightened by the light of day. Call
but the sacred powers of Sol (heat) and Luna (cold) into action, and
behold a single steersman sitting at the helm, guiding the vessel, which
divides the waves with greater rapidity than if she had been filled with
a crew of mariners toiling at the oars. And the loaded chariot, no
longer encumbered with the panting steeds, darts on its course with
relentless force and rapidity. Let the pure and simple elements (fire,
water, fuel and air) do their labors ; bind the eternal elements and
yoke them to the same plough."
Science Gossip.
THERE is on exhibition at Honolulu the largest photograph ever
made. This mammoth picture is a panoramic view of San
Francisco and measures forty-one inches by thirty feet ! It was
taken from an automobile by a special camera not much larger than
ordinary instruments. While the picture was being taken, the eye of
the camera swung slowly around the horizon' as a person might turn
about in viewing the landscape from a hill top. Within the camera a
strip of celluloid film moved rapidly and on it picture after picture was
taken, each beginning Just where the preceding one ended.
The film was developed as usual and from it an enlargement was
made on sensitive paper by an apparatus designed for the purpose.
A huge tray was built for developing this print and five men were
necessary to rock it. Five gallons of developer, a barrel of hypo
and other chemicals in corresponding quantities were used in develop-
ing. A single print cost two hundred dollars.
Recently a new "long distance" record for typewriting was made
in New Jersey by Mrs. Cunningham, court stenographer, who wrote
21,089 words in six and a half hours without an error. The
speed is remarkable, but to those who know the fallibility of steno-
graphers, the absence of errors is even more so.
In New South Wales there has been found the body of a shark
three and a half feet long changed to opal. This unique fossil is
attracting much attention. It is strange that of all creatures an
unworthy shark should attain such glorious immortality.
\
cAda ^idoriana.
Vol.
XXVIII. CyiLLd. X^lLLUTldTltL* No.
EDITORIAL STAFF, I904-I905.
H. H, Cragg. '05, - - - - Editor-in-Chief.
Miss E. H. Patterson, '^5\j ■. Miss E. M. Keys, '06. Ir^^oic
A. E. Elliott, '05 j -^"erary. j^ ^ Hewitt, '06. | i-ocais.
J. S. Bennett, '05, Personals and Exchanges.
W. A. GiFFORD, B.A., Missionary and Religious.
F. C. Bowman, '06, Scientific. M. C. Lane. '06, Athletics.
BOARD OF management:
E. W. Morgan, '05, . . . . Business Manager.
J. N. TRIBBLE, '07, H. F. WOODSWORTH, '07,
Assistant Business Manager. Secretary.
Advisory Committee:
Prof. L. E. Horning, M.A., Ph.D. C. C. James, M.A..
Deputy Minister of Agriculture.
TERMS: $1.00 A YEAR; SINGLE COPIES, 15 CENTS.
Contributions and exchanges should be sent to H. H. Cragg. Editor-
in-Chief. Acta Victori.'\na : business communications to E. W. Morgan,
Business Manager Acta Victoriana, Victoria University, Toronto.
EbitoriaL
Elsewhere in this issue will be found a circular
XMAS ACTA, from our Business Manager urging our readers to
order at once any extra copies of our Xmas number
they may require. This is necessary that there may be a sufficient
number printed to meet the demand without leaving a large number
undisposed of. Acta's finances have never warranted enthusiastic
speculation. From the partial list of contributors presented, it must
be clear to everyone that a treat is in store for the readers of our
special holiday number. The Board is making every effort to have
the issue published very early in December, and is trusting to our
friends, and especially to the student body, to give it a large circula-
tion. Nothing could be more suitable for a Xmas gift from a Victoria
student than a copy of his college magazine.
Mark the date — Dec. 2nd ! Don't make any other
THE engagement, and don't forget to be there ! Let
CONVERSAT. every student remember that this is our function,
and that we, and not the Faculty or the Senate, are
responsible for its success or failure. We are glad to think that
Victoria has so many friends deeply interested in her welfare in every
particular, and glad to avail themselves of any opportunity of display-
A eta Vic to liana. 97
ing that interest. They come to this, the greatest event of our
academic year, to be entertained ; shall we not show that we have
some ability in the art of entertainment ? An able and enthusiastic
committee is in charge ; let an equally enthusiastic student body —
and not merely a section of it — hold up their hands !
^'
With the passing away of the inevitable restraint
one's place due to the approach of the " Bob," " The Honorable
IN COLLEGE. Gentlemen of the Class of '08 " will be feeling around
for their place in the life of the college ; in which
effort, doubtless, they will be largely influenced by the advice of
those of the upper years with whom they chiefly associate. And it is
well, perhaps, that they should thus seek advice, but it should be
from more than one class of students, that all ideals may be examined,
in order the better to exercise the judgment in raising a standard.
For one class will be able to see little room for anything but athletics;
another for literary pursuits ; still another for rehgious work ; while a
fourth will say, by word and deed, " We are here for study only, and
nothing else is worth the powder."
No sane man will deny that one who neglects study is making a
fatal error ; but at the same time every student ought to recognize
that there is a place for him in college life which he ought to fill in
justice both to himself and his fellow-students. A man who spends
four years and the required capital to attain a degree positively cannot
afford to content himself with securing only half of what is in store
for him. It is a poor type of economy which will lead a man, while
making an annual outlay of from two to three hundred dollars or
more, to refuse to spend a few dollars extra in order to obtain the
benefits accruing from intercourse with one's fellows. Moreover it is
surely the acme of selfishness to be willing to enjoy the invigorating
tone of our college life, while allowing others — who are perhaps in
even more straightened circumstances — to bear the burden of sus-
taining it. Yet that is just what a good many do, not realizing,
perhaps, that they not only do not assist but even retard the progress
of the college. In corroboration of this remark let us quote The
Outlook of a few weeks ago :
" No man lives or works alone ; the modern world is a vast work-
shop in which men and women are thrown into the closest relations ;
and every man is related not only to his own work but to the work of
others. It is a man's duty not only to hold himself responsible for
the kind of reward his work brings him, but to work cheerfully and
courageously. The atmosphere of the work-room is the effluence of
98 Ada Victortana.
the spirits of those who hve and breathe in it, and the workman must
not only attend skilfully to the matter in hand, but he must put
hope and courage into the air of the room."
These words are peculiarly applicable to college life, for here, too,
the words of the Great Teacher are true, " No man liveth unto
himself." Therefore let every man find his place and fill it to the
best of his ability.
COLLEGE The following letter requires no editorial com-
DECORUM. ment. It will appeal to many as conveying a timely
warning :
" Dear Acta, — Permit me through your columns to draw the
attention of the students to the necessity of maintaining a certain
amount of decorum in our college life. Times have changed, 'tis
true, and lew Freshmen in these degenerate days ever deem it neces-
sary to touch their hats to their seniors in recognition of their superior
dignity. Such was the custom of antiquity. Eut there surely is some
degree of respect to be shown them even yet. For instance, one can
scarcely excuse the thoughtlessness displayed by the Sophomores at
the last reception in their unseemly haste to be first in giving their
class-yell. 1 do not wonder that the Seniors did not care to give
their yell afterwards, and am only suprised that the Juniors did not
follow their example. . One naturally expects that at its own recep-
tion a class should lead the farewell demonstrations, but in other
cases seniority should be respected. This may seem to some a
trifling matter, but these little amenities of life greatly enhance the
spirit of the college.
"Moreover it is becoming a subject of remark among some of the
ex-students that there is sometimes too great freedom displayed by
the men to their lady friends in college halls. In the jollity of recep-
tions a few forget at times that friendliness is not to be confused with
familiarity. And in this connection it might not be amiss to note
the childish frivolity displayed by a few — not all Freshmen — on the
tennis courts, even to the extent of young men and women chasing
one another around with rakes, etc., while the boys demonstrate to
their admiring lady friends that they have not forgotten their public
school antics and can even yet leap through the flames of a bonfire.
" Let us have at least some dignity.
" Yours sincerely,
" Decorum."
Our readers will be pleased to know that the vacancy on Acta
Board has been filled by the election of Miss E. H. Patterson, '05, to
the position of Associate Literary Editor. No words of introduction
are required for one who has in the past so ably contributed to our
columns.
Acta Victor iana.
99
ERSONALS
EXCHANGES
A DESPATCH from Chicago announces that the Executive Com-
mittee of the trustees of the North- Western University have
elected Thomas F. Holgate, M.A., to be acting President. Prof.
Holgate is a native of Ontario, graduated from Victoria with the class
of '84, and received his M.A. degree in '89. He has been a member
of the professorial staff of the North-Western University since 1893,
latterly in the capacity of Dean.
We are in receipt of an interesting letter from Wm. Elliott, '84,
who is at the head of a Normal School in Hiroshima, Japan. He
undoubtedly reflects the sentiments of all Europeans in Japan when
he expresses both the hope and the belief that Japan will win out in
the present war. Mr. Elliott takes occasion to rtmark on the high
degree of excellence Acta has reached, and sends along, by way of
contrast, a copy of the first number ever issued. "Those," he says,
" were the days of small things, even with Clifford Sifton and Prof.
Coleman connected with the institution."
Miss Grace Scott, of Ottawa, who v/as for two years a member
of the class of '03, graduated last spring from Seney Hospital, Brook-
lyn, with highest honors.
D. H. Trimble, '99, is preaching at Marathon, Iowa.
LiSGAR R. EcKARDT, 'o2, is attending the School of Theology,
Boston, Mass.
W. A. Potter, '00, who was recently operated upon for appendicitis,
is, we are glad to know, steadily improving.
Horace Davison, who was with the class of '02, has just returned
from London, Eng., and received an appointment as assistant actuary
with the Manufacturers' Life Assurance Company of this city.
Gen. J. G. C. Lee, who was introduced to the students of the
.college and delivered a short address in the chapel a few days ago, is
one of the many sons of Victoria who have risen to positions of pro-
minence and influence on the other side of the Great Lakes. Gen.
Lee is a native of Saltfleet Township, in the County of Welland, and
loo Ada Victoriana.
was a student at Victoria in the early fifties. On leaving college he
went to Ohio to follow his chosen profession, civil engineering, and
was there engaged in railway construction when the Civil War broke
out. He joined the Northern army and fought in a number of im-
portant engagements in the war-swept States of Tennessee, Kentucky
and Georgia. When peace was secured by the triumph of the
Northern armies, he was transferred to the regular army and rapidly
advanced to the rank of General. As Quartermaster-General he
administered the Commissariat Department until his retirement, about
three years ago, with full rank and a general's allowance. Gen. Lee
is the author of several works on military subjects. He is now
visiting his old home in the Niagara peninsula. Victoria students are
proud to see in our halls the soldierly figure of so distinguished an
ex-student, and hope that the General xnay long live to refiect honor
on his Alma Mater.
Weddings.
Some of the weddings crowded out of our last number are chron-
icled below. Acta's best wishes follow all the happy participants.
Just as the sun rose on the morning of September 28th, Professor
Misener, in the college chapel, pronounced the words that made E. A.
Miller, '04, and Miss Deborah Thorp, of Aurora, man and wife. The
newly-wedded couple left immediately for Mr. Miller's chosen field of
labor in Iowa, U.S.A. Mr. Miller made a splendid record in Vic-
toria, winning the Prince of Wales gold medal in general proficiency
on graduation. We predict for Mr. Miller the success usually met with
by our Canadian students across the line.
The marriage of Rev. H. B, Christie, Port Elgin, who was for some
time a member of the class of '97, and Miss Ethel Preston, daughter of
Mr. T. H. Preston, M.P.P., of Braatford, took place at " Hedgedyn,"
the residence of the bride's parents, on August 3rd, Rev. Dr. Campbell,
of Midland, brother-in-law of the groom, officiating. The bride was
attended by her sister. Miss Lilian Preston, and the groom by Rev.
G. J. A. Reaney. The bridal pair spent the honeymoon at Ocean
Grove, N.J.
On Aug. 31st Miss Eertha Morris, of Bowmanville, was united in
marriage to Rev. J. V. Chapman, '03, by Rev. D. O. Crossley. Mr.
and Mrs. Chapman now occupy the parsonage at Minden, in the Bay
of Quinte Conference, where, as elsewhere. Chappie's oratory and
serene smile will doubtless win him friends.
Acta Victoriana. loi
A QUIET wedding was celebrated in the Presbyterian church at
Bervie on June 15th, when Miss Belle Henderson, daughter of Wrn-
Henderson, general merchant, and Rev. Chas. J. Wilson, B.A. '03,
M.A. '04, were married by the Presbyterian minister. Mr. and Mrs.
Wilson left immediately for Lloydminster, Sask., where Charlie's work
lies for the present Conference year.
''The Old Familiar Faces."
The Class of '03.
Miss Rose Beatty is plunged in church work at her home in
Parry Sound. She is President of the Epworth League, a member
of the Quarterly Board, a teacher in the Sabbath School, and organist
in the prayer-meeting.
Miss S. Bristol is in Vancouver, B.C.
Miss E. Campbell is teaching moderns in Pickering College.
Miss R. Cullen pursues the pedagogic art at Whitby Ladies'
College.
Miss E. Dingwall is experiencing the sorrows of the boarding-
school teacher in the Ladies' College at Rothesay, N.B.
Miss F. M. Eby is on the staff of the Glencoe High School.
Miss S. Jackson is engaged in teaching the young idea at Union,
Ontario.
Miss R. Jolliffe is Associate Professor of English at Walla Walla
University, Washington, D.C.
Miss O. Lindsay finds Y.W.C.A. work does not provide enough
mental exercise, and is now at the Ontario Normal College, Hamilton.
Miss Smith is teaching in the Midland High School.
Miss Alice Will is engaged with the Morang Publishing Com-
pany, this city.
R. C. Armstrong is at Shidzuoka, Japan, engaged in missionary
work.
N. E. Bowles is preaching at Hilliardtown, New Ontario.
J. F. Chapman is stationed at Minden.
J. H. Chown is engaged in the offices of the Methodist Book
Room.
W. Conway occupies the parsonage at Port Lambton.
I02 Ada Victoriana.
R. G. DiNGMAN is with the Toronto Carpet Factory Co.
E. FoRSTER is assistant in the Chemical Laboratory of the Univer-
sity.
A. R. Ford is on the staff of The Financial Inquirer^ New York
city.
R. S. Glass is in the Auditor- General's Department at Ottawa.
G H. Grey is dipping into legal lore at Osgoode Hall.
E. C. IrvIxNE is instructing in the Mathematical Department of
Stanstead College.
E H. JoUiffe is assisting in the Chemical Laboratory of Toronto
University.
D. B. Kennedy is preaching at Rouleau, Assa.
P. M. Kerr is classical professor in Columbia College, New
Westminster, B.C.
John McKenzie is pursuing his theological studies at Knox
College.
Percy Near is attending the S. P. S.
D. P. Rees is travelling for an advertising agency, with headquar-
ters in the city.
D. A. Walker is preaching in the Paisley Street Church in Guelph.
J. H. Wallace has entered upon commercial pursuits, but expects
to come back next year for B.D. work.
C. W. Webb is studying theology at Queen's University.
C. J. Wilson is in charge of the Methodist church at Lloydminster,
Sask.
T. E. Wilson is at Osgoode Hall.
Amos Thomas is stationed at Kinglake, in the London Conference.
R. O. Jolliffe has left for China, to engage in mission work,
accompanying Dr. and Mrs. Smith on their return to that land.
F. L. Barber, after a year in Europe, has returned for B.D. work.
The secretary of the class, Mr. A. R. Ford, care of Financial In-
quirer, 115 Nassau St., New York City, would like all members of the
class to notify him upon changing their addresses.
The Class of '04.
Miss H. A. Grange and Miss M. E. Allen represent Victoria
this year at the Ontario Normal College. Neither of them was able
Acta Victoriana. 103
to resist the temptation of .stealing away from the city by the mountain
to attend Vic's first receptions.
Miss S. M. Baxter, we understand^ is taking a postgraduate course
in domestic science at her home in this city.
Miss A. L. O. Fife is rounding off her university course by doing
the grand tour of the continent of Europe.
Miss B. A. Lixgham is engaged in Y.W.C.A. work in Montreal,
where she is Assistant Secretary of the Association.
Miss J. C Potter now wears the dignified title of Assistant Pre-
ceptress at Albert College. Moderns is her department of instruction.
Miss G. Peterson is in Y.W.C.A. work in this city.
Miss F. E. Watts has joined the noble army of martyrs, being
engaged in the teaching profession at Bruce Mines.
Miss L. E. V. Lloyd is doing postgraduate work in the Univer-
sity of California.
Miss E. A. Weekes is in training at the Deaconess' Home for
foreign missionary work, upon which she expects to enter in the
course of a year.
Miss M. L. A. Jeffery is spending the winter in New York City.
Miss E. V. Danard is teaching at Pakan, Alta.
H. N. Baker is prying into the mysteries of the law at Osgoode
Hall.
J. H. Holmes has embarked upon a journalistic career, and will
help to mould Western opinion through the columns of the Saskatoon
Phcenix, of which he is the Managing Editor.
D. H. Marshall and F. W. K. Harris, keeping manse and kirk in
their mind's eye, are pursuing their theological studies at Knox
College.
E. A. Miller, whose wedding we chronicle elsewhere, has been
stationed by the Iowa Conference at Thompson, la.
W. H. Spence is comfortably located at Lake Mills, Iowa, a town
of some 1,500 inhabitants. We understand that Will will very soon
furnish us with another item for this column.
A. B. Rankin and E. E. Cleaves are now registered in the Faculty
of Medicine.
W. G. Gates is a member of the staff of the Ottawa Journat. We
are informed that Bill is making a great social and musical hit in the
3
I04 Acta Victoriana.
Capital, regaling those present at the functions he is delegated to
write up with college songs, rendered in his own inimitable style.
J. Wilfrid Cantelon has accepted a Fellowship in the University,
and is now Demonstrator of Physics. He is said to be especially
popular with the ladies of his classes.
C. L. Fisher holds a general agency for one of the life insurance
companies, with headquarters at Goderich.
H. W. Brownlee has secured the principalship of one of Ottawa's
public schools. Hugh will now overlook the political situation from
the vantage-ground of the Capital.
F.'W. Hardy is preaching to the miners at Sandon, B.C.
Chas. J. JoLUFFE is Stationed at Port Robinson, in the Hamilton
Conference.
D. M. Perley is baching it and subsisting on crackers and canned
salmon at Phoenix, B.C., where he is preaching.
C. B. Parker is putting in a year at commercial work before pro-
ceeding with his medical course.
J. W. Miller is stationed at Salt Spring Island, between Vancouver
and the mainland.
RoBT. Pearson is pastor of the church at Banff, the membership
of which is two. There will be more when Bob leaves.
W. G. McElhanney is in the Auditor-General's Department at
Ottawa, and in very good graces, so 'tis said, with the powers that be.
C F. Ward has secured a Fellowship at Chicago University, where
he is now pursuing his studies.
H. S. Warren is at Queensville, in the Toronto Conference.
A. J. B^LSON is the junior pastor on the Otterville Circuit, in the
Hamilton Conference.
F. S. Carr is attending Normal at Regina, figuring prominently in
the " Lit." and on the Rugby team of that institution.
S. W. Eakins is engaged with the Dominion Securities Co., this
city.
D. A. Walker is in New York City, where he is utilizing his
mathematical training as an actuary.
D. R. Grey is preaching at Nairn Centre, near Copper Cliff.
C. W. Bishop, A. H. Booth, G. K. Bradshaw, D. R. Clare, W. A.
Gifford, and E. W. Wallace are still with us and putting on the grand-
fatherly airs appropriate to members of the B.D. class.
Acta Victoriana. 105
Obituaries
In the sketch of the "old boys" of Upper Canada Academy that
appeared in Acta last June, there was omitted the name of an early
student who has just passed away in his 84th year. George R. Van
Norman, K.C., was born at Canandaigua, N.Y., on March 12th, 1821.
In that year his father came to Upper Canada, and became a pioneer
iron-founder at Normandale, Norfolk Co. In 1840 Caroline Van
Norman was a student at Upper Canada Academy, as Victoria was
called before the Act granting her university powers, and in 1841 we
find her brother George enrolled as a student. Immediately after
leaving the Academy he began the study of law, completing his course
in the office of Hon. R. B. Sullivan. After practising in Toronto and
Simcoe he settled in Brantford, where, in 1859, he was appointed
Crown Attorney. This office he held for over forty years. He was
an active worker in Church affairs, having been the first Superinten-
dent of the Brant Avenue Methodist Sunday School.
The sympathy of all the students of Victoria is extended to E. W.
Stapleford, '05, who has been called upon to suffer the loss of his
father. Mr. Stapleford, who was a prominent contractor of St.
Catharines, died very suddenly, and was discovered lying across the
bench in his workshop by his family, who had become alarmed at his
failure to return home at his usual hour. He was very active in
church work, and had long been Superintendent ol the Sunday
School. The respect in which he was held by his fellow-citizens is
shown in the fact that his funeral was one of the largest seen in St.
Catharines for many years.
Chas. H. Gooderham, who died at his residence in this city on
Oct. i8th, was, until recently, a member of the Board of Regents of
Victoria University. Mr. Gooderham was born in Toronto in 1844,
but at the age of eighteen removed from the city to take charge of the
milling interests of his firm at Alpha Mills and Meadowvale. Twenty
years ago he returned to the city, where he has been identified with
various financial institutions. Mr. Gooderham was a member of the
Central Methodist Church.
The sudden death on July 22nd of Rev. John Philp, B.A., '61,
M.A., '73, D.D., '93, removed one of the foremost and best known
ministers of Canadian Methodism. A manly and robust type of
Christian character, a scholarly and cultured address, and a logical
method of presenting the truth, combined to make him a powerful
io6 Acta Victoriana.
preacher; whilst his gentleness, attractive personaHty and social
qualities endeared him to hosts of friends. His death, which was due
to cerebral hemorrhage, occurred while he and his daughter were
holidaying at Grimsby Park.
Exchanges.
We are glad to greet once more the first numbers of our college
exchanges. The large number of these is an indication of the
important place which college journalism now takes in academic life.
Every educational institution with any ambition to be known now
publishes some sort of college paper, in most cases of no mean
quality. To each and all of these college contemporaries we wish
another year of unqualified success.
The Exchange Editor of the University of Oliatva Review an-
nounces his intention of meting out judicial praise and blame to the
publications that come within his ken. We hasten to anticipate him,
and get in the first blow, though we have only friendly words to say
of the Review. Ottawa University has risen like a phoenix from the
ashes, and we are pleased to note that the authorities have made room
in the building for an office for the college journal, whereof other
college authorities might well take note. The articles dealing with
the relations between France and t^he Vatican, and the growth of
Catholicity in Japan, are of current interest, especially to Review
readers. It may be unknown to some that Christianity was first
preached in Japan in 1549 by St. Francis Xavier. If we may venture
to criticize we would suggest that some of the material appearing in
the Review is more appropriate to the lecture-room than to the pages
of a literary magazine. We fancy, too, that to the students of most
universities the copious use of Latin phrases indulged in by the
editors would be disconcerting. The Review is, however, a well
edited and well-printed journal.
We are grown so accustomed to commend the industry and perse-
verance of the student who works his way through college and wins
an education and a degree in spite of all obstacles, that we forget that
there may be another, not so assuring, side to the question. An
article in The Harvard Monlhly, entitled, " Working One's Way
through College," raises the question whether such a student ordin-
arily secures, in reality, the culture which is the aim of a university
training. The large proportion of time he must devote to earning
A eta Vic to via na .
107
money, the temptation to pursue methods of money-making which in
strict ethics are scarcely defensible, the necessity of cramming for
examinations owing to time restrictions, are cited as factors that
militate against the self-supporting student's acquirement of real
culture. The standards by which that culture is to be measured, as
laid down by President Eliot in a recent address, may well become
the criteria by which all students, whether self-supporting or not, may
measure their real success. They are " sound health, the power of
prolonged, concentrated attention, the habit of intense thinking, the
critical discernment of excellence, the judicial faculty for the wise
enjoyment of liberty, the passion for truth, and the development of a
dominating idea." We fancy that, judged by these standards, the
elect are few, and that whatever the disadvantages of the self-support-
ing students, quite as many, in proportion, of those who come up to
the requirements are drawn from their number as from their moneyed
fellow-students. For the man who works his way has certain counter-
balancing advantages not possessed by others.
A ROCKY PASSAGE.
o8
Acta Victoriana.
155
RELIGIOUS
T/ie Higher Life.
BY REV. A. H. REYNAR, M.A. LL.D.
SO much of the mystical and magical has been thrown around this
subject that the very title may be to some readers the signal to
turn the page and pass on. Many good people there are to whom
zeal, with or without knowledge, is the principal thing, but the
number is steadily increasing of those who want light as well as heat,
and knowledge as well as zeal. The modern mind is dominated by
the idea of law in the spiritual as in the natural world — it holds that
God is not a god of confusion, but that a spiritual cosmos is the "far-
off divine event to which the whole creation moves." According to an
old conception the physical world came to its present order through a
series of catastrophes. According to the modern conception, it has
grown by the steady evolution .of the forces in matter springing from
the infinite and eternal Energy from which all things proceed. The
same difference obtains as to the conception of spiritual life and
growth. Let it not be supposed, however, that all mystery disappears
with evolution, or that a knowledge of the law by which a power
works explains the origin of the power.
In applying these principles to the higher life, we note that the
origin of the life principle or energy is under the new conception as
under the old ascribed to God alone, the only Infinite and Eternal.
In the physical realm all things were made by the Divine Word ; so,
in the spiritual realm, " In Him was life, and the life was the light of
men."
There is in the physical life itself a higher and a lower, and living
things range up from what seems but an animated sack or stomach to
the most perfect and beautiful of human forms with its multiplicity
and variety of functions. In the intellectual life also, there is a lower
and a higher. It may be traced in the seemingly blind instincts and
sensations of the lowest animals, up through the cunning of beasts
Ada Victoriana. 109
and savage men, to the sublimest reasonings and discoveries of the
human mind. And, in like manner, there is a lower and a higher in
the moral life. Its first motions may be seen in the simplest law that
curbs the selfishness of brutish men, whilst its latest and sweetest fruit
may be seen in the love that leads a man to live and die for his
fellow-men. Again, of these three stages or planes of life, there is a
lower and a higher, or rather a lowest and a highest.
In so far as a man's life is habitually and characteristically on one
or another of these planes, it is a high life or a low life. All who live
for the physical or animal are on the lowest plane, though their tastes
may differ and be called gross or refined. One man may gorge on
bacon and beans and wash his meal down with rum, and another may
fare daintily on canvas-back and champagne, but they are both living
the lowest life — the physical, animal life.
When the man passes from the animal to the intellectual exercises
and pleasures, he rises in the scale of life. Animal life he must
sustain, and animal enjoyments he may take by the way, but the aim
and purpose of his life is higher, and he will submit to plain living for
the sake of high thinking. Yet he may be selfish and criminal— a bad
man, notwithstanding his knowledge and cleverness.
It is o ily when the man lives for love and truth and duty that he
passes into the highest life. And, by whatever name a man maybe
named, when he passes into that life, he enters upon the Higher Life.
"God is no respecter of persons, but in every nation he that feareth
God and worketh righteousness is accepted with him."
What, then, is the advantage of the Christian ? Two chief advan-
tages are his. In the first place, he has the sublime, the supreme
example of the Highest Life in the person of Jesus Christ, who left us
an example that we should follow in His steps. In the second place,
there has come into th^ world through His person and work an
inspiration — an uplifting power by which the souls of men rise from
a sense of guilt and bondage to spiritual peace and to the glorious
liberty of the Son of God. The experience of an innumerable com.
pany of the purest and loftiest souls is that by the grace of God
through Jesus Christ, they have passed as from death into life, and
they have found His Word a true Word : " I am come that they might
have life and that they might have it more abundantly."
I lo Acta Victoriana.
The University of Toronto Young Men's
Christian J^ssociation.
BY J. L. M'PHERSON, M.A., SECRETARY U. OF T. Y.M.C.A.
FOR some years certain members of the faculty and students in
the different colleges and faculties of the University, who have
been interested in the work of the Y.M.C.A. have felt that if a closer
union were effected between the Associations in these colleges and
faculties it would be helpful to the work in all. The time did not
seem ripe for consummating this union until last spring when repre-
sentatives appointed by these Associations came together to confer in
regard to a basis of union. Local autonomy was necessary in order
that the work in any one college or faculty should receive proper
attention. At the same time there were and are certain questions
affecting the moral and religious life of the whole student body, that
might be more easily cared for by a central organization for the whole
University. This conference resulted in recommendations being
made to the Associations in University College, Victoria College, the
University Medical Faculty and the Dental College, which, being
adopted and acted upon by these Associations severally, resulted in
the University of Toronto Y.M.C.A. being organized. It was agreed
that matters of purely local interest should be dealt with, as formerly,
by the college organization, while questions affecting more than one
college or faculty should come under the jurisdiction of the University
of Toronto Association.
Already one of these matters of supreme importance has come to the
front and is being handled by the committee of the University of Toronto
Association in conjunction with the local committees. Mr. John R.
Mott, of New York, the General Secretary of the World's Student
Christian Federation, has consented to give a series of addresses to our
students this month. This is a time of vast importance in the history
of the religious life of the whole institution. Mr. Mott is well known
among students not only in America, but also throughout the world,
and much success has attended campaigns which he has conducted in
other student centres. This fact is so well known to us that there is
a danger against which we must be careful to guard. We may think
that Mr. Mott will accomplish everything desired and that there is
nothing for us to do. The work, we believe, is of God and its success
depends upon divine power. However, human agency must be
brought into exercise, and the important agent in this undertaking is
Acta Victoriana. 1 1 1
not so much Mr. Mott, who will be here but for a short time, as the
Christian man in the University, who, day after day, is associating with
some other man into whose life it is most desirable that the richest
blessing should enter. We should not be satisfied with forming an
outward union merely, but we must unite in prayerful and unremitting
personal cultivation of the field, so that when Mr. Mott comes to us
toward the end of the month the harvest will be ready for the reapers.
If we do faithful sowing and faithful cultivating now, we may with all
confidence expect an abundant harvest.
The Call from the North.
BY G. S. FAIRCLOTH, B.A., B.D.
NO man need hesitate or fear to leave the settled conventionalities
of his home and seek new fields in the North or in the West,
in which to live and labor for his country and his God — for after he
has spent soaie years in such a service he will find the result is full of
satisfaction. The need is great, and Canada, with her fast-increasing
population, cannot prosper as she ought unless the upbuilding in-
fluences are sufficient for the ne.ed. We have a magnificent country,
and if the forces of our land are directed aright, we see the picture of
a magnificent destiny. The eyes of all the world are upon Canada.
Men everywhere are learning of the vastness of our wealth and resources.
It is difficult to put a limit upon our possibilities. No wonder, then,
that we are witnessing a mighty " trek. " into our land, bringing men
and women by thousands from beyond the seas and from across the
49th parallel.
The great question that confronts us is. What shall be the moral
and religious character of these new citizens o( Canada, so heterogene-
ous in their nature? The problem rests with us Canadians. If we
fail it means that these great masses of men and women shall fall
away from those influences which hold in check human passion, and
make good citizens. In the great rush into the United States, it
happened so that it became a common saying that there were no com-
mandments beyond the Mississippi River; in Canada we do not want
it to be said that there are no commandments beyond even our most
distant mountains and rivers. Good men are crowding in upon us
from the United States, but the hosts that come from across the seas
are ignorant of the simple Gospel truths, ignorant often of the prin-
ciples of civil and religious liberty, and devoid of any notion of the
112 Acta Victoriana.
merits of education. The man, then, who with love for God and for
his native land, forsakes his peaceful home to face the difficulties of
unsettled regions, becomes what the Ethological Association calls
"one of the makers of Canada." 'Tis true, a nation is made up of
all its people, nevertheless in every land there is a small number of
influential, right-spirited, strong- hearted citizens, who control in very
large measure their country's destiny, and make its history. Upon the
proper distribution of such uplifting forces depends the moral
supremacy of Canada.
No better training school for the development of rounded manhood
exists in all the world than such a field of labor. ; contact with a host
of varied peoples from different lands, rich and poor, cultured and
illiterate, refined and base, will smooth all rough edges from the life
of any careful, thoughtful man ; and the knowledge of human nature,
and of men, derived from such contact is of incalculable worth as a
preparation for life's duties. The thought of being separated from
one's friends and buried in the wilds among strange people is often
like a black cloud upon the horizon to many men, and yet no man
has greater privileges and opportunities in life than has that man, who
with clear head and strong purpose enters into the new life of his
country, and aims to mould and guide men's wills to what is noblest
and best. It is his hand that lays foundations, to him men look for
precept and example. The very foundations of empire are in his
hands, the education of the young, the cultivation of the home, the
moulding of opinion, and the exaltation of ideals, which shall beautify
the nation. In no other place does a man get so near to his fellows,
the very difficulties in the way creating ties that bind. The divergent
natures and views of his cosmopolitan fellow-citizens of necessity will
broaden his whole conception of mankind and of God, so that he
cannot live there and be narrow ; and thrown upon his own resources
he develops naturally that manly independence and self-reliance which
shall fit him for the heaviest responsibilities of life. And what is more
glorious for any good man than to carry the Gospel message to a
group of men who toil in separation among the hills or fields or in the
forest's heart. None love to sing the hymns of early days more than
these frontier settlers ; no nien appreciate more dearly the message of
hope and peace. The Master often left the glitter and bustle of the
city streets to bear the good news to some lone wayfarer or humble
water-carrier.
In days gone by the tireless backwoods preacher, unmoved by any
thought of gain or temporal reward, traversed the wilderness of Upper
Ada Victoriana. 113
Canada, often guided only by a blaze upon the trees or the sound of
some solitary woodman's axe ; in schoolhouses, frontier cabins, or
underneath the shady trees, he proclaimed the message of mercy,
bringing peace and joy to troubled hearts. We have reaped the
benefits of the pioneer's self-sacrifice, and we honor him. In the
records of Canada, the historian who analyzes the forces that have made
us the most contented, moral, and prosperous people under the sun,
must give full meed of praise to the pioneer who made his way into
the unsettled places of our provinces to educate the people in that
reverence for the Word of God, which is alike the foundation of good
morals and the safeguard of human freedom.
The mission of the early pioneer in days gone by for our develop-
ment is, then, our mission to the undeveloped regions of fair Canada
beyond. Our Prime Minister said just recently, "This is the century
of Canada." But where shall be the glory of our country if Canada
be known only for her broad extent of many acres, or loved only for
the possession of unbounded natural wealth and resources, or revered
only for the number of her peoples ? Rather let us be known from
East to West for virtue and honor, and fidelity to the will of God.
The call echoes across the hills and plains of North and West, let us
hear it, and in loyalty to our native land and to our God go do for
others what our fathers did for us.
** Ji Great Door and Effectual."
ONE does not require the vision of the seer in order to know
that there are great movements — almost world movements —
setting toward Christianity. The time is upon us when Christians
must cease to wait in comfortable inaction for an answer to their age-
long prayer, that the insurmcuntable obstacles in the way of the
Truth may be removed. These have been removed. Greater doors
and more effectual than before are opened to the Church and there
are fewer adversaries. Sadly, enough, she hesitates to enter in. Why?
Because the lives to bear her message are too few, and her revenues
too scant. And why this double dearth ? To face the facts is to
know the truth — the dearth has its root in a defect of spirit ; her
" pillars " are built on rock but not of rock ; her sons and daughters
are found wanting.
What do we seek ? Is it an opportunity to spend our lives in
a great work with great rewards } The opportunity is ours. A
114
Acta Victoriana.
leading educator of the West closes a recent letter to the writer of this
article with the words : " My soul cries out to the living God to send
us men." The spirit of this cry is the spirit of many lands, and seems
to be especially so of the fields entered by the Methodist Church of
Canada.
We marvel that our youth hold back in face of an opportunity
whose magnitude might well have rejoiced the prophets and apostles
of any day. Is the Church no longer giving us such men as have
love to see, and grace to seize, so great an opportunity? Are we
waiting for a vision in the night to convince us of an opportunity, that
is revealed by simple business sense to the materialists of the mart ?
Or have our pastors and Quarterly Boards no eye for our noble
heritage, no heart for its needs, that they are not with prayerful per-
sistency separating our youth unto the work of the ministry ? Can it
be that that " big unreality," legal tender, looms so largely in our
vision field as to really justify the latent logic in the recent assertion—
"The applicants for the Christian ministry are in direct proportion to
the depression in the circles of commercial enterprise"?
These are serious questions for the Christian student. Are we wise
in these things ? There are signs that man is keyed to some purpose
higher than matter, that he is conscious of a Being who made him.
And the abiding joy of men is to find their place in creation ; and
finding it, to know themselves thereby embosomed in God and one
with Him. When we feel this truth we will, now and forever, place
over against self-love, as a motive, with this world as its field of opera-
tion, and the present as its opportunity, that which God commends
— unselfish love as the motive, with the whole human race as its
field of operation, and with all eternity its harvest-time.
One word more : " But if thou forbear to deliver them that are
drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain, doth not he
that pondereth the heart consider it ? And he that keepeth the soul
doth he not know it ? And shall he not render to every man accord-
ing to his works ? "
iiiililPi^^^
Acfa Victoriana.
115
aCAL
The ''Bob."
T^O adequately describe a " Bob " is impossible.
^ Being properly classed among the seven
wonders, like the Falls of Niagara, it requires to
be seen. The Thirty-Second Annual perform-
ance has passed into history, and will long live
in the memory — of the Freshmen, at least.
Every " Bob " has its distinctive features ; the
caldron scene of '04's " Bob," the trial scene of
'05, and par excellence the wax works of '06.
Perhaps the scene entitled " Freshman," being a
modification of "ye morale playe, Everyman," is best characterized as
the distinctive feature of the " Bob " of '07. The acting was excellent,
the theme sustained, and the finale suggestive.
BOB.
dt The
r. "BOB"
0k
^ rn.g^<.^>hOni.
^y
The registration scene was highly amusing, though the main action
was shifted from the Freshmen. The other numbers were all good,
especially the scene at Annesley Hall and the faculty burlesque. In
the former the organist deserves honorable mention, and the render-
ing of the parody "Blest be," etc., was among the most ludicrous
ii6 Ada Victoriana.
incidents of the programme. The personating in the faculty scene
was clever, especially that of the Chancellor, Dr. Bain, Dr. Badgley
and Professor Lang. Of course Ned was incomparable. The class-
meeting was not so good, lacking outstanding features. The " Bob ''
song was long, but well received. Robert's typewritten speech did
not sound right. He is one of Nature's artists, and we prefer the
natural style.
The Freshmen's songs were fair and helped to fill in the inter-
missions which were intolerably long. The staging of the " Bob " is,
considering the unprofessional character of the performance, as a rule
creditable. There is one very serious fault. The platform is too low
by a foot at least. Only those who sit in the front rows can see with-
out contracting stiff neck from craning over picture hats or Parisian
coiffures.
Echoes :
" But to return to my idea."
" Little specs of powder, little flecks of paint,
Make a woman's freckles seem as if they aint."
" If their names are not recorded when the trump the dead shall jar ;
Then they will not be rewarded, which sometimes is better far."
Now that Acta has appeared in new costume, it might be well to
explain some of the trimmings, with a view to greater appreciation of
details. The cut on the cover, of course, represents the primeval forest
known as Queen's Park — the scene of Acta Victoriana. Turning
to the cut which heads the Scientific column, the interpretation is
more difficult. Bringing higher criticism to bear upon the problem
it becomes apparent that the Professor is none other than Dr John
Burwash, who is known to be a close student of science ; and,
despite the riddle of the Sphinx, we can trace the disguised features of
Mr. F.' C. Bowman, the editor of this column.
The cut which introduces Personal and Exchanges is somewhat
puzzling, but becomes transparent when we point out Professor
Misener approaching the desk, from which rises the editor, Mr. J. S.
Bennett, shouting "Copy! Copy!" The MSS. labelled "Poems,"
which protrudes from the waste basket is a superfluous sheet — the
local editor's basket being already filled to repletion.
The idea which adorns Missionary and Religious Notices is of
course patent.
Turning to Locals we find a work of art. On the extreme left is
Mr. W. E. Galloway ; next comes F. J. Rutherford. In the back-
H. V. WOODSU'OKIH, rresnUnt.
W. B. AL1!1:RT.>u.\, S,uyl„n
J. L. RUTLEDGE, Treasuyer.
DAW \VREN.
Acidi, Victoriana. 1 1 7
ground stands G. C. Raymer, as is obvious from his smile. On the
right is a Freshette, for the identification of whom th£ local editors
will offer their congratulations.
The figures in Athletics are somewhat uncertain, except that Mr.
M. C. Lane, the editor, is up in the air.
Dr. Wallace (at prayers) — " — bless us in oiir study of literature,
and philosophy, and theology, and — ."
Stan. Mills (fervently )—" B. and P. S."
Booth (on being solicited to join Glee Club) — " Yes, they say at
home I have a sweet voice — just like a cow's."
Robertson (at 'phone) — " Why, I thought you were a cousin.
Wont you ? "
Henderson (on seeing '08 fair one of magnificent proportions) —
"Is that one Freshette or two?"
Overheard while promenading : Gus. Shaver (referring to relics)
— " Have you learned the names of these curios ? "
Miss Burgess — " Why no ; I have met only one or two Freshmen
to-night."
At prayers, on the morning after the joint C A. reception, a smile
overspread Ned Burwash's face, reaching a climax at the second stanza
of hymn 402, which begins, " I want a sober mind."
Souvenir blotters may be had from Miss Barker in the library.
Also, on application to the same source, the Freshman who lost the
nursery appliance on the front lawn will receive it upon identification.
Robert (viewing the tennis courts) — "Fine outlook of young
ladies ! "
Miss D-ft-n, '07 (after the scrap at Annesley) — "There's
where she bit me." Chorus — " But they were good and wet."
At the regular meeting of the Woman's Literary Society on October
1 2th, Miss Switzer, '05, was elected critic to fill the vacancy caused
by Miss Patterson's resignation.
Flvnn,'o8, C.T.(reciting Hebrew alphabet to Prof.Price)— " Aleph,
Beth, Gimmel, Dammit " — (substituting a German preposition by
mistake).
Knox, '08 (in debate) — " Some say that Chinese cooks are better
than our girls. Let Canadian girls make our pies ! " (Hear ! hear ! —
Ed.).
Coulter, '08 — " The Chinaman has no religion : he's a Moham-
medan."
ii8 Acta Vicioriana.
At the restaurant — " There's a pietty girl : who is she ? "
Price — " Oh, she looms at our place — thinks I'm all right — going
to sit on my knee all next Sunday afternoon."
Well and rightly did Dr. John say: " I shall try to give the B.D.'s
all the discipline possible."
TuRNBULL, '08 — " What offices do those fellows hold who wear
cloaks ? "
At a lecture—" Name, please ? '' " Green." " What's that ? "
" Green." "Oh yes, now I see you."
Dr. Reynar (reading in English class) —
" Where they did spend a sad and bloody hour,
As by discharge of their distillery" (for artillery).
" Theism has stood at that hour ever since the flood."
J. E. Hunter—" And it's still dry ! "
Rumors are afloat that there are some very practical chemists
among the girls of '08. They evidently have discovered the marginal
utility of carbon bisulphide. Ask the Sophettes about it.
'08 POLICY (worked out at Annesley) — " 'Tis ours by craft and by
surprise to gain."
The first meeting of the Union Literary Society was well attended
and of very special interest. Certainly this society is par excellence
the greatest social medium which the men students have. The
speech from the throne, brought down by His Excellency Lord Robt.
Beare, was good ; but Robert's after-luncheon efi"ort was pronounced,
by those who have heard him oftenest, an oratorical triumph. There
is not a man who listened to it who would not give a good deal for
a verbatim copy.
Echoes (Victoria Quartette) — " Thsre was a young man in Havana,
who stepped on an empty banana ; the words that he said when he
lit on his head are not fit for the Sunday-School Banner."
W. A. Gifford, N.M.C.B.G. (No moral compromise, by gum).
^pr^E. W. Morgan, T.E.C (The evangelical cherub).
Leader of the Opposition (G. E. Trueman) — "This ship pf state
has barnacles on her keel, lobsters on the bridge, and dark (K)night
has settled on the prow."
Robert — "Yes, sir, the Chancellor is one of the finest men on
earth — him and Dr. Potts." " At the hend of the year it will pay you
to work 'ard." " Yes, you've been preaching the gospel and — ."
" Stand by the Lit. ; it will do more for you than you will ever do
for it." " When you take a fancy to a young lady don't be afraid to
tell her. Some of the happiest men I hever knew were engaged. It's
a great thing to have your mind made up."
Ada Victoriana.
119
L. L. LAWRENCE.
E. J. JENKINS.
M. D. MADDEN.
E. S. BISHOP.
1 20 Acta Vict07'iana.
Bradshaw, '04 (at the Woman's Lit. reception, to Miss Grange, '04,
who was present from Hamilton)—" Are you coming back to Vic. ?"
She—" What could I take ? " He—" Take B.D." She (bowing her
acknowledgments) — " No, thank you ; I leave that for some other
young lady."
Junior (to Miss W — k — r, '05, who has sat for photo)—" Well,
Edna, did you smile or just look natural ? "
Miss D — f — e, '07 — " I'm looking for a man, yes, a particular
man." But it's the good old Bobbing time.
We are glad to have Miss Peterson, B.A., '04, Back Again.
Miss Graham, '08 (to Mahood, '06)— "You're in Philosophy? I
feel like falling down on my knees before you."
Miss W — l — e, '05 — "You know, Jim, the warning rings for gym,
and then the bell rings for gym, and then the bell rings after gym."
Jimmie — " How funny."
Critic's Report (Woman's Lit.) — "The pedal still squeaks. I
should suggest that some oil be procured for it. Probably there is a
little left at Annesley from last year."
Certain Juniors looked very uneasy.
The annual reception of the Woman's Literary Society was held
on Friday evening, October 21st. Miss Spence and Mrs. Rowell,
our honorary president, received and proved themselves very charm-
ing hostesses to over two hundred guests. The programme was brief
but entertaining. As we watched the gay throng there came to us a
line from somewhere which seemed to fit —
" Beauty and youth.
And sprightly hope and short-enduring joy."
The walking was good.
Every dog has his day, and Paddie his reception nights.
Freshman — ''Miss Williams, '06, is the biggest toad in the Bob
puddle."
It is hereby announced to the readers of locals that certain re-
nowned travellers and explorers of the third year have discovered the
shortest, cheapest and most interesting route to Niagara. Take the
boat at Toronto and the ordinary route to Lewi- ton. Peculiar charm
will be added if a rough morning is chosen. At Lewiston become so
absorbed in a cup of tea that you forget to disembark until the
steamer is under way for Queenston again. At Queenston find a true
descendant of Old Charon of Stygian fame, equally grim and silent
but not unresponsive to jollying, who will row you over the river to
catch a trolley, an hour late for Niagara. For particulars apply to
X. iRir.r.i.K.
c. r.. KF.I.I.V.
H. \V. BAKKR.
\V. T. IM^OWN.
Acta Vidoriana. 121
Misses K. R — c — and Th — p — n, '06, who sometimes like to hear
the song of "The Absent-Minded Beggar."
Lamb (in trouble) — •" There are only two girls on this promenade
card whose faces I remember."
At the first reception Miss Hurlburt, '08, had the names of ten '07
men on her card.
William plays to the gallery. On Saturday morning, Oct. 15th,
those who happened to be in the library were treated to a rare Babel
of tongues. William was dumping ashes just beneath the window
when he was visited by a former tenant of his house — a little man,
decidedly Irish both in accent and appearance. They wasted no
time in preliminaries, but went at it hammer and tongs. It was not
long till the windows were open and books forgotten while the wordy
strife rent the air. A considerable disparity in age alone prevented
mortal combat, and William's assailant finally withdrew, leaving the
contest a draw.
The Victoria Whitby tennis tournament proved very interesting
this year, as always. Our girls played hard and well, and who can
do more ? After several successes, defeat may be a little hard to
bear, but it will stimulate to greater effort next year — but why
anticipate ?
Echoes.
Miss Landen burst a paper bag at a critical moment, causing Dr.
Hare to start visibly.
Overheard — " Yes, she has it down patsy " {re one of the Whitby
players).
Freshman — "Where is this Whitby school? "
During the doubles, Charlie Bishop's ejaculations alternated between^
" Hard luck ! " and " Good play ! "
When the new arrivals from Whitby were duly kissed, all the menj
turned their heads except the Bob Committee.
Perhaps we can blame it on that organ-grinder.
Spenclev (at Alma Mater mass-meeting) — " Why have we not
Punch downstairs ; is it too costly ? " Who can count the cost 1
Editorial Rights Vindicated. — The Local Editor (Masc.) desires
to state that having been taken unawares by those unscrupulous tres-
passers upon the prerogatives of the press, George Ernest Trueman
and Charles Douglas Henderson, he suffered violence at their hands
at the tap. Thereupon Acta Board, having undertaken the prosecu-
tion of the offenders, tapped the former with water and the latter with
wood, to the moral edification of both. Ita pereant omnes sceleraii!
122
Acta Victor tana.
-A-'ii--
VARSITY suffered a well merited rout at the hands and feet of
Queen's rugby aggregation, on Oct. 29th. The score stood
20 to 10 and even at that was hardly an indication of the pla)ing.
The local University team has evidently not recovered from the loss of
her two star men, Baldwin and Beatty, and unless her new material is
promptly whipped into shape there is little hope of success. The
half-line seems utterly demoralized, and Toronto's scrim, has never
been her strong card. It is to be hoped that this " scrimmage game "
will soon be a thing of the past. How any sane man, after watching
both the old and new methods, can prefer to see a disordered fight to
a scientific struggle, is a mystery. The ball is for the most part
hidden under a writhing mass of human beings — occasionally this
breaks up and fifteen individual "scraps" occur, or once in a great
while a player is kicked or punched loose from the general melee and
makes a short run ; this constitutes the spectacular open play vaunted
of by a few infatuated cranks.
Owing to a "sick foot " Adams, '06, was unable to play his usual
winning part at the university athletic meet. Victoria was, however,
well represented by Archibald, a '08 specialist, who gave a rather
startling exhibition of his prowess by dividing first place honors in
the pole-vault and by making a splendid throw with the hammer.
The Athletic Union is in a very flourishing condition ; much is
being accomplished and gigantic plans are being laid for the future.
We had hoped for a report from the committee re the proposed gym-
nasium, but for some unknown reason it has been delayed.
The boys are rejoicing in the possession of new combination locks
in the dressing-room. Besides being of material benefit we believe
that they are providing much amusement for the seniors. Report
Acta Victor! ana. 123
tells us that vast sums of money have been won and lost m trials of
ability to manipulate the combination.
Generally speaking, the weather conditions of this last month have
been very depressing, especially during the first two weeks, and no
one has been more affected than our tennis enthusiasts. Notwith-
standing this fact, the fall tournament has been carried on satisfac-
torily, and interest in the pleasant and somewhat picturesque pastime
does not seem to lag. Owing to the infinite variety of interests during
the fall term, and to the large number of contestants, the tournament
must necessarily be rather long-drawn-out. This fact, however, has
not seemed to worry our players, particularly while engaged in the
mixed doubles, and as the game affords excellent exercise both phy-
sical and social, no room is left for complaint. We regret that results
have not yet been handed in for publication ; a full report is expected
for the December number. ^
October 17th was a gala day in tennis circles. Surely the
Fates must have convened and, and under the pressure of many
earnest supplications, snapped with their shears the chain of boister-
ous winds and chilling rains ; for a more perfect day could hardly lift
the veil of night, infusing, as it did, the autumnal coloring with sum-
mer warmth. Under such favorable circumstances the courts proved
a most attractive spot and a goodly number of spectators thronged
the side-lines, evincing much interest throughout the various contests.
The representation from Whitby, chaperoned by the genial Dr. Hare,
— he of conversat fame,— seemed eminently fitted to fulfil all expecta-
tions. A hearty welcome was accorded them, not only by the fair
ones at " The Hall," but also, if one might judge from their promiscu-
ous wearing of colors — probably inter-college etiquette, — and from
their unusual breadth of smile, by the brethren themselves.
The tournament was well balanced ; each event was closely con-
tested, and the evidence of equality kept the interest of those looking
on at a high point. The singles between Miss Graham and Miss
Campazzi afforded the most excitement.
The much prized shield, though gallantly defended, will adorn the
halls of the W^hitby College until next spring, when we confidently
expect " our girls " to recapture it just as a tonic for examinations.
Following is a list of results :
Miss Graham (Vic.) defeated Miss Campazzi (O. L.C.), 6-0, 6-8, 6-1.
Miss Ogden (O.L.C.) defeated Miss Paul (Vic), 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
124 Acta Victoriana.
Miss Cauldwell (O.L.C.) defeated Miss Maclaren (Vic), 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
Miss Harrison (Vic.) defeated Miss Smith (O.L.C), 6-4, 6-4.
Misses Campazzi and Smith (O.L.C.) defeated Misses Graham and
Harrison (Vic), 6-4, 8-6.
Misses Ogden and Cauldwell (O.L.C.) defeated Misses Paul and Maclaren
(Vic), 6-3, 6-4.
There is a runtior rampant in the corridors these days to the effect
that a new source of amusement has been conjured up in the fertile
atmosphere permeating the "residence." By earnest solicitation we
learn that the new game — new for Victoria, at least — is to thrive
under the dignified cognomen of " Field-hockey." The co-eds. seem
to be the only source of information regarding rules and explanations
in general, but from the few hints dropped the game appears to be a
revised version of shinny, that diversion immortalized by Ralph
Connor, and in which our grandfathers were wont to indulge. Our
only prayer is that the revision has been a radical one. The Athletic
Union has generously donated one dollar and twenty-five cents in
support of the scheme; this is to procure the "object of contention "
— a ball. Would it not be wise for the Union to provide coats of
mail, also — armor, understand — and an up-to-date vocabulary ?
" Listen to the Hum."
Victoria, 12; St. Michaels, i. Victoria, 18; Y.M.C.A., i. A
better day is dawning I
For the little practice the Rugby team has had, it is in rather fair
shape and Vic's chances are rosier than ever before. The two
practice-matches have been regular walkovers, and the boys intend to
keep on walking. Archibald, '06, is not on hand this year, but his
little brother is a regular whirlwind and is a much needed addition to
the ranks. Davidson, '08, is developing into a fast wing man, his
speed is supposed to have resulted from an infatuation for horse-
racing. The line men have nerve and weight enough for O. R. F. U.
company, and their protection is much appreciated by the back
division. " Bill " Walden can tackle as well as he can sing ; the
beauty of his playing lies in the fact that when kicked in the head he
never says anything worse than, " Oh, Martha ! " " Boots " Campbell
has been inconsiderate enough to injure his knee; his loss will be
serious, as a first-class full-back is not easy to find. November 2nd
will tell the tale.
m-^i^'"'
OUATCHOUAN FALLS, QUEBEC
■jVICTORlAE'
"JNIVERSITA5'
ACTA VICTORIANA
Published Monthly during the College Year by the Union Literary
Society of Victoria University, Toronto.
Vol. XXVIII. TORONTO, DECEMBER, 1904. No. 3.
dtristmas
E. S. SMcLeod
I N G out, oh bells of Christmastide
Across the pure white snow ;
Ring out to every listening ear
The tale of long ago.
Peal forth, ye b'lls of Christmastide !
The sweet and glad refrain
Of that new song which stirred the
heavens
And woke Judea's plain.
Ring out, oh bells of Christmastide!
Till home on every breeze
The fragrance of your incense floats
O'er nigh and far-off seas.
Peal forth, ye bells of Christmastide
Till scenes of starless night
Shine radiant 'neath the glory-beams
Of clear, celestial light.
Ring out, oh bells of Christmastide !
Till woe and war shall cease ;
And voices of a ransomed world
Peal forth the psalm of peace.
126
Ada Victor iana.
Schiller in Weimar
BY PROFESSOR G. H. XEEDLER^ B.A., PH.D.
GOETHE had been four years at Weimar when, at the close
of the year 1779, in company with the young Duke Karl
August, he passed through Stuttgart. The visitors were present
at the distribution of prizes in the Military Academy. Prominent
among the prize-winners was Schiller, then a youth of twenty;
LUST uF SCHILLER.
and we may imagine the feelings that filled his breast as he saw
Goethe in person for the first time — Goethe, who had not only
as author kindled his enthusiasm, but whom he saw happy in
the friendship of an enUghtened prince, so gloriously different
from the duke of his own native Wuerttemberg, under whose
tvrannv he had himself suffered.
Acta Victoriana.
1 27
The real beginning of Schiller's relations with Weimar date
from five years later. In the interval he had fled from the
Military Academy and beyond the borders of Wuerttemberg,
had written three successful dramas, and Avas engaged in
Mannheim upon a fourth, " Don Carlos," in which he was por-
SCHILLER.
traying, in the characters of the young prince and ]\Iarquis
Posa, a friendship analogous to that existing between Karl
August and Goethe, when the Weimar duke paid a visit to the
court of the neighboring Darmstadt. Schiller sought an inter-
view with Karl August, before whom and the court circle he
128
Acta Viclonana.
read the opening act of " Don Carlos." His income as a play-
wright had up to this time not been enough to keep the creditor
from the door; while his worthy father was neither able nor,
under the circumstances, willing to assist him. It was thus with
unspeakable joy that his prospects for the future were at this
point brightened, not by money, but by what was to him of even
greater value, a proof of admiration from Karl August ; for he
■
■■
1
■ ^ f^l^B
w\
Km
^J
I^H
CHARLOnE.
immediately received a note conferring upon Dr. Schiller " with
much pleasure," and as a " token of my esteem " the title of
Saxe-Weimar Councillor.
Less than four years after his meeting with Karl August in
Darmstadt we find him setting out on a journey, which he had
doubtless ever since had his heart upon — to Weimar. The pil-
grim to Weimar to-day finds a quiet little city of 30,000 inhabi-
tants. Though the economic progress of the past hundred years
Ada Victoriana.
129
has considerably enlarged it, yet the general change is not so
great as in the case of most German towns of its size. It is
still first of all a residence town, and its atmosphere is not black-
ened by many factories. The old central portion of it preserves
in a large measure the original outlines and general aspect,
while its limits have been extended chiefly by new streets built
up with the stereotyped stucco-covered residence flats, while on
GOETHE.
the outskirts are to be seen a considerable number of detached
homes for the more wealthy. When Schiller first entered Weimar
on the 21 St of July, 1787, and put up at the still flourishing
Hrhprinz, it was a town of some six thousand people. Herder
spoke of it as " dreary Weimar, a miserable cross between vil-
lage and Court Residence." It is situated near the southern
edge of the undulating country that forms the gradual transition
I30
Acta Victor iana.
from the great northern Prussian and Saxon plain to the pictur-
esque hill-country of Thuringia. The town itself lies in a valley
some three miles wide and stretching with fairly regular out-
line indefinitely to east and west. The country round about,
which is fairly fertile, is now pretty thoroughly denuded of its
original wood. Still there is foliage enough in the summer
landscape to contrast picturesquely with the varied patchwork
KARL AUGUST.
of fields cultivated with a careful minuteness tmknown to our
Western land, and make a green setting for the frequent red tile-
roofed villages that dot the gently sloping hill-sides or nestle
by the stream. The highest elevation in the neighborhood is
the Ettersberg, four or five miles away, with its w^ooded crest
skirting the horizon and beckoning the pedestrian rambler to the
domain of pine and linden and beechwood surrounding the ducal
hunting-seat of Ettersburg beyond. Overlooking the town from
Ada Victonana
131
a wooded eminence a couple of miles to the south is the chateau
of Belvedere, still a favorite residence of the ducal family, with
a charmingly beautiful park, in the laying ovit of which Goethe
had a prominent part, and in the still carefully preserved open-air
theatre of which, with its side-scenes and enclosing walls of na-
tural hedge, he frequently trod the grassy stage with other mem-
bers of that gifted court circle in characters of his own creation.
Rising in the mountains to the southwest, the little river Ilm has
at Weimar become a fair-sized stream, though still fordable at
any point and navigable only here and there by the row-boat.
It makes its way in pleasing windings through the beautiful park.
SCHILLER S HOUSE IN WEI.MAR.
which is Weimar's chief external attraction, past the town and
on to join the Saale. In a bend of the stream by the village of
Tiefurt, two miles below Weimar, is the park and little chateau,
originally a farm-house, the favorite summer residence of the
Dowager Duchess Anna Amalia, niece of Frederick the Great
and mother of Karl August. To this gifted little woman of
undaunted heart Weimar owes the foundation of its greatness.
Alarried at seventeen and left two years later a widow and the
mother of two children, she resolutely set to work to meet the
hopes of her people by bringing up her eldest-born to be a fit ruler
for the little State whose affairs she, meanwhile, as regent, con-
132
Ac/a Vicioriaiia.
ducted with consummate skill. Wieland was chosen as tutor
for Karl August, and he became the first link in the chain that
led to Weimar's literary renown. In the park at Tiefurt, which
was created under her directions ; in the little chateavi there,
still kept as when she lived in it and packed with endless
souvenirs of her ; and in the Wittumspalais, the residence in
Weimar occupied by her after her son's accession to the duchy,
and preserved with a like pious reverence for her memory, one
hears, I think, more plainly than amid any of the rest of the
Weimar surroundings the voice of the native genius of the
SCHILLER S ARBEITS UND STERBEZIMMER.
place. In those days Weimar was still a walled town. Round
about the main part of it still ran the line of the original wall
fortified by round towers at short intervals. Along nearly its
whole extent outside was the water-filled moat, and entrance to
the inner town lay through guarded arched gates. As a sort of
separate fort within the fortification stood the moat-encircled
castle, which, however, as Schiller first saw it, was a desolate
ruin from the fire of a few years before.
For nearly two years Schiller is in Weimar or its neighbor-
hood when, as the result of his historical studies and largely
through Goethe's mediation, he is appointed to lecture on history
A eta I ictoviana.
^12>
at Jena, the university town of the Thuringian duchies. His
appointment in Jena was at first purely honorary ; later, Karl
August gave him a yearly allowance of about $150. Back in
Jena once more after travels necessitated by ill-health, he founds
a magazine, in which he invites Goethe's collaboration. The two
greatest men of German literature, who had so long held aloof
from each other, at length come to an understanding of each
other's mind and character, and that close union is formed which
was to bear such magnificent fruit for both. The years 1794
to 1799 show a gradual gravitation of Schiller toward Weimar.
WITTEMSPAL.\IS.
His marriage on February 22nd, 1790, to Charlotte von
Lengefeld had been the iDeginning of years of purest domestic
happiness. His tragedy of " Wallenstein," performed with great
success in Weimar, placed him in the front rank of German
dramatists. Hoping to devote himself more effectively to the
theatre, and also feeling on his own part that he had something to
give to A\'eimar, he turns once more to Duke Karl August for
an increase of his allowance. Expenses also, as he calculates,
will be greater in Weimar than in Jena. The duke responds by
an additional $150 a year, also a supply of wood for the winter.
In December, 1799, Schiller moves with his wife and three chil-
1 34 Acta Victoriana.
dren to Weimar. At this time his total yearly income is hardty
$i,ooo, including his own allowance, Lotte's portion, and the
five or six hundred that his publications bring him. ' In spite,
however, of his occasional lamentations over the expenses of
living, and his first impression that there is " not much Geist
in circulation " at Weimar, he soon feels firmly anchored there.
Things go so well that after three years he ventures to buy a
house for himself. This is the " Schillerhaus " of present-day
pilgrimage, situated on what was then the Esplanade, and is now
Schillerstrasse, the leading street of Weimar. In this house he
spent the last three years of his life. It is a plain structure, with
the prevailing stucco facing. Up one flight of stairs dwelt
the family ; the upper story contained a little ante-room, a recep-
tion-room, Schiller's study, and a diminutive bedroom. In these
apartments of a homely simplicity are still to be seen, along
with many other silent witnesses of his daily life, his plain work-
table and the still plainer bedstead of unpolished wood in which
the great poet drew his last breath. Few, I imagine, have in
later days looked upon them and joined them involuntarily with
the noble thoughts that there first found utterance without
thinking more nobly of humanity.
Goethe's house on the Goethe-Platz (then Frauenplan) is
only some five minutes' walk distant, and the theatre where they
so often met is still nearer. During the six years of Schiller's
residence in W'eimar the companionship between him and Goethe
was the most important part of their existence. At the home now
of one, now of the other, their new productions are read together
and discussed. If either is confined to the house, as Schiller so
frequently was by illness, or if a journey takes one of them out
of town, there is a steady exchange of missives.
Schiller's relations to the court were never intimate. He
practically did not enter at all the inner circle into which Goethe
had been taken from the first. This intimacy, however, Schiller
himself rather avoided than sought. He joins in the literary
circle of Anna Amalia, but rather in the capacity of poet than
as intimate friend after the manner of Goethe, Wieland, and
Herder. At a tea in the palace he finds it wearisome to have to
listen for three-quarters of an hour to the recital of French
verses. Writing to Charlotte von Stein, he says he has been
two years in Weimar without an invitation to court ; and would
Achi Victoriana.
JD
like, indeed, to be omitted altogether; adding, that he seeks no
mark of distinction that is not personal. Schiller's wife was by
birth of aristocratic rank, and had before her marriage been
received with favor at the Weimar Court. For her sake, accord-
ingly, the title of nobility conferred on him in 1802, through
Karl August's mediation at the Imperial Court, is not unwel-
come, as it restores her to social privileges which she had sacri-
ficed on becoming his wife.
As we read in Schiller's letters the record of his daily life, we
are struck most forcibly with his intense activity and the per-
GOETHES HOUSE IN WEIMAR.
sistence with which he kept before him the higher interests of
the soul. "Work," he says, "is the chief thing; for it gives
not only the means of living, but the whole value of life." When
at work on a drama he is " in a sort of fever." " When I am
busy I am well." Impatient over a slow convalescence that pre-
cludes creative work, he translates from other languages in order
to keep in practice. Knowing the necessity of conserving his
energy, he is impatient of the distractions of society. In the
midst of his work on "Tell," the vivacious Mme. de Stael makes
an extended visit in Weimar, and is the cause of much loss of
1 36 Acfa Victoriana.
time. " The disturbance was quite intolerable." After she
departs he feels as if he " had passed through a severe illness."
On one occasion he takes a temporary lodging in the neighbor-
ing village of Oberweimar, in order to have quiet for his work :
his disgust is great when on the first night there he can get no
sleep owing to a crowd of villagers noisely serenading a newly-
wedded couple across the way. \\'ith kindly considerateness, at
another time, Karl August places at his disposal the quietude
of the Ettersburg, where Schiller and his servant live in seques-
tered state during the last weeks of his work on the drama of
" 2^1ary Stuart."
At Christmas in 1804 — exactly a century ago — Schiller was
rejoicing over a case of Malaga wine, presented by his friend,
Cotta, which, after having tried with ill success " all possible
sorts, sweet and sour, white and red, German, French and Span-
ish," he finds to his taste and beneficial. Looking back on the
long illness of the past year, feeling recovery all too slow, he
says in the spring of 1805 : " However, I will be quite satisfied
if life and passable health hold out until fifty." \\"ithin a few
days of this — on May 9th, 1805 — his life had ended at four years
short of this stoic wish.
As was then the custom with those not having a family burial-
place in Weimar. Schiller's remains were laid to rest in a subter-
ranean vault in the churchyard of St. Jacob. At long intervals,
when this vault became full, it was emptied of its contents, which
were then consigned pell-mell, it would appear, to a common
grave. Thus it happened that, twenty-one years after his death,
a like fate w'as to overtake Schiller's bones. At this juncture
the burgomaster of Weimar, feeling that it would be a national
dishonor if this indiscriminate, even though time-honored, treat-
ment should be the lot of the nation's greatest dramatist, suc-
ceeded by persevering scientific methods, v.ith which Goethe
assisted, in establishing beyond doubt the identity of Schiller's
bones. A couple of years later they were, at the wish of Karl
August, placed in the newly-built Fiicrstciigniff, or Grand Ducal
Family Vault. In the same dim chamber rests now also the body
of Goethe, not far from that of Karl August himself — fit con-
tinuation in death of a life-long companionship of prince and
poet-friends.
Ada Victoriana. 137
The HULman's Lass
OVER the field where the grass is cool,
Follow the road who must !
With a song for the beech an' the brown pool
An' the noiseless tread in the dust ;
With a laugh for the lazy hours that go
An' the folk who pass us by.
The trees they grow so broad, so lozv,
They ihut me from the sky.
Here be strawberries wild and sweet,
Folloiv the road who may !
An' here's a rest for a bairn's feet
An' a kiss at the dose o' day ;
An' here's a cloud from the shining seai
Like a white moth in the night.
On the edge o" the barley-field, fnaybe,
The stars would shoiv more bright.
Cut me a flute where the reeds are brown,
Follow the road who will I
O, I'll dress you fair in a green gown
An' a cloak that is finer still ;
Your sleeves shall be o' the fairies' lawn,
Your shoon as red as the rose.
Do you think that the wind which ivakes at dawn
Will bring us a breath & the snozvs f
-f>
O, the world's wide an' the world is long.
Follow the road zvho may I
An' here's a lilt o' the wild song
The Romany pipers play :
An' "Mine," it sings, "is the moon's shield,
An' the cloak o' the cloud is mine," —
Do you think that the lowland clover field
Is s'ivect as the upland pine ?
f^atj(yue.^.(9'^ck/^a^j^
138 Acfa Victoriana.
My Friend the Curate
BY J. C. ROBERTSON^ M.A.
YOU would be charmed, I am sure, with my friend the curate.
Our acquaintance goes back to our undergraduate days,
when he chose to forfeit his more than excellent chance for the
highest honors of his year by indulgence in his one dissipation,
the reading of English literature, and especially of English
verse. A certain unpractical strain has always distinguished
him. a touch of unworldliness ; and to-day he is laboring in the
most contentedly unambitious way in a poverty-stricken parish
of a great city, doing good and making good, but laying up for
himself no treasure — upon earth. Literature and history chiefly
appealed to him at college ; for mathematics and the meagre
natural science of those days he had no love and little aptitude.
Naturally, therefore, he was delighted one day to come across,
in a work b\- Cardinal Newman, a retort to the common
taunt that the study of literature deals with mere words,
science with things ; nay, argued Newman, the truer oppo-
sition is between thoughts and things. And I remember, too, how
he came one night to my room with a new " find " of his. Dr.
John Brown's sketch of Marjorie Fleming, the eight-year-old
child whose conversation and writings so delighted Sir Walter
Scott, and with what gusto he read me good bits here and there,
and how he sympathized with Pet Ivlarjorie's tirade against the
multiplication table : " the most Devilish thing is 8 times 8 and 7
times 7 it is what nature itselfe cant endure." His reading fol-
lowed no beaten track ; he browsed where chance and fancy led
him, having no patience with the idea that certain monumental
works must needs be read by any who would make the acquain-
tance of our English writers. The immortal " Alice " was in
those days not widely known in Canada, and when one day we
were given some stanzas of " The A\'alrus and the Carpenter ''
to turn into Greek (with all the purple patches of Platonic or
Aristophanic idiom we could affix like peacock feathers to our
jackdaw prose) he was the only one of the class in whose eyes
shone the gleam of recognition.
Acta Victoriana. 1 39
It is now many years since he first conceived his curious pas-
sion for England. His wide reading of prose and verse had
filled his mind with pictures of a land whose scenery and whose
history alike drew him with irresistible force. Our psycho-
physicists of to-day might suggest, perhaps, that some impulse of
heredity influenced him, at the insistent call of transmitted cell-
life, which, having for generations developed under one set of
influences, now in an alien environment turned again home.
But as a matter of fact, while, like so many Canadians, he is of
extremely variegated ancestry, there is, I believe, no genuinelv
English blood in his veins. No, it was the call of the spirit, not
of cell tissues. In that chief glory of England, her poetry, which
is not more instinct with moral elevation than with the sense of
Nature's felicities, in histories which spread before him the
pageant and the panorama of a thousand years, and in romances
and novels which depicted for him the very life and habit of
thought of so many epochs, localities and grades of society — in
these he found something which charmed him alike by its beauty
and its human interest.
It was the English country scenery and country life which most
attracted him. True, he is far from irresponsive to the impres-
sions gathered from books or pictures of the wonderful beauty
and soaring sublimity of the English cathedrals, with their long-
drawn aisles and fretted vaults, their storied windows richly
dight, the grandeur of the feudal castles and the stateliness of
lordly halls and manor-houses, the picturesqueness of the old
timbered houses of Coventry or of Chester, the romantic beauty
of ruined monastery or ivy-mantled tower, the impressive vast-
ness of mighty London, the appeal to the imagination made by
Westminster Abbey. He has read and re-read the copy I sent
him of Goldwin Smith's delightful essay, " A Trip to Eng-
land " ; but I am quite sure he has dwelt with the deepest pleasure,
not on the masterly pages in which England is view^ed with the
historian's eye, but on those passages which tell of English country
life and country scenery, such as : " The characteristic beauty
of England, the beauty in which she has no rival, is the beauty of
a land which combines the highest cultivation with sylvan green-
ness, of an ancient land and a land of lovely homes. The coun-
try is rolling and from every rising ground the eye ranges over
a landscape of extraordinary richness and extraordinary finish.
1 40 Acta Victoriana.
Gray church towers, hamlets, mansions, homesteads, cottages,
showing themselves everywhere, fill the landscape with human
interest. There is many a more picturesque, there is no lovelier,
land than Old England, and a great body of essentially English
poetry attests at once the unique character and the potency of
the charm. The sweetest season is spring, when the landscape
is most intensely green, when the ^Nlay is in bloom in all the
hedges, and the air is full of its fragrance, when the meadows are
full of cowslips, the banks of primroses and violets, the woods of
the wild hyacinth. Then you feel the joyous spirit that breathes
through certain idyllic passages of Shakespeare."
Without sharing all my friend's enthusiasm, I can easily under-
stand it. having heard him talk so feelingly of that of which his
heart was full — ^betraying the source of his infatuation by the
constant interweaving in his conversation of lines or phrases
from the English poets from Chaucer to Tennyson. Not that he
obtruded his enthusiasm upon even his intimate friends ; but
when once you did move him to speech, then, like the dying Fal-
stafif. he " babbled o' green fields." With kindling eye he would
talk of the Forest of Arden, of the copsewoods and the lanes,
of the tangled hedgerows, little lines of sportive wood run wild,
and all alive with birds ; of the blithe matins of the lark, the
cuckoo's wandering voice, the nightingale's eternal passion and
eternal pain ; of woody theatres of stateliest view, of immemorial
elms, of churchyard yews, and monarch oaks, those green-robed
senators of mighty woods ; of the soft music of village bells or
the far-off curfew sounding over some wide-watered shore ; of
the springtime when daisies pied and violets blue and lady-
smocks all silver-white, and cuckoo-buds of yellow hue. do paint
the meadows with delight, of fields of dancing daffodils, or of
that delightful season when the broom along the copses runs in
veins of gold ; of waters rolling from their mountain springs with
a soft inland murmur, or of the quiet beauty of lakes and river-
vales, round which meek loveliness is spread, a softness still and
holy. With what evident appreciation he would repeat Brown-
ing's " Oh ! to be in England now that April's there," or the
lines Shakespeare puts into old Gaunt's mouth, " This other
Eden, demi-paradise, this precious stone set in the silver sea,"
and the rest of that famous passage ; while he forgave ]\Irs.
Browning much for her description of England in " Aurora
A eta Vic to riana. 141
Leigh," as " The ground's most gentle dimplement (as if God's
finger touched, but did not press, in making England), such an
up and down of verdure, a ripple of land."
Yet during all these years he has never visited England. He
has given himself to his parish, and the slender income thence
derived would scarce with a decade's saving enable him to go
abroad ; and saving there could be none to a man with his warm
heart in a neighborhood so needy. It has been no case, however,
of chill penury freezing the genial current of the soul. The single-
hearted devotion, the ready sympathy, the ardent enthusiasm of
his early manhood, still abide with him. At times I have scolded
him for so completely sacrificing himself to people who were
often impostors and for the most part critical and ungrateful ;
or, again, I have offered to condole with him on his hard lot and
his deprivations. But at such times he has always met me with
a whimsical smile and a ready retort. In fact he can marshal a
whole battalion of arguments in favor of not visiting the land of
his aft'ection ; feathering his darts, as is his wont, with tags of
verse from his beloved poets.
He will, for instance, remind me of the wonderful power of the
fancy and the imagination to body forth, even out of airy noth-
ing, that which gives to the heart its deepest satisfaction. " Heard
melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter.'' In such
pictures as Rossetti's " Sea Spell," or Watts's " Hope," he would
say, the listening ear of the player stoops to echoes from some
far-off realm of the spirit, and hears music far surpassing that
caught by the senses alone. And, after all, when one finds beauty
in the world about him, does he not half create it, and only half
perceive it? Or, again, quoting Longfellow's lines on Chaucer,
" As I read I hear the crowing cock, I hear the note of lark and
linnet, and from every page rise odors of ploughed fields or
flowery mead," he would ask why the poet's art should not have
the same magic power as the song of the thrush at the corner of
Wood Street to raise amid squalid city streets a vision of trees
and mountains, of green pastures and flowing river. Where,
again, could be fovmd more stirring poems on the sea or on the
joys of Bacchus than those of Barry Cornwall, who yet in all his
life could never muster courage to cross the Channel, and who
was the most temperate of valetudinarians ? Or even more to t'ne
purpose, what writer has given a more perfect picture of the
142 Acta Victoriana.
scenery and atmosphere of Greece than Walter Pater, who }et
never in the flesh visited that land? And, then, he will rally
me on my inconsistency and lack of faith in that, lover of Plato
as I am, I 3-et fail to see that the visions of the spirit are fairer
and more satisfying far than any perceived by the sensual eye.
Or taking another line, he will point out the advantage he
possesses over any actual visitor to England, in being free from
all limitations of space and time. No unseasonable weather can
hamper his movements or circumscribe his enjoyment. Does
he wish to pass from Surrey to the Lakes, or from Kent to
Devon, he can in a moment travel thither. The seasons change
as he desires, nor has any Lapland witch such power over the
moon as he. " The sunrise wakes the lark to sing, the moonrise
wakes the nightingale," but he can listen to their song at any
hour of the day, a great comfort, he adds, to such a slug-a-bed
as he, and one who must be so careful about exposure to morning
or evening dews. All periods, too, are present to the mind's eye ;
nothing he may long to see has passed away from the England
of his vision : the inns and stage-coaches of the time of Dickens,
the spreading sails of Nelson's line-of-battle ships, the mediaeval
castles thronged with knights returned from Chevy Chase, from
Agincourt or the Crusades ; pilgrims such as Chaucer saw wend-
ing their way to Canterbury, or Roman legionaries in their
camps ; the train bands of Old London, the Devon of Drake and
Grenville, the mid-England of George Eliot, the Belford Regis
of ]\Iiss Mitford, the Bow Bells of- Dick Whittington's day, or
the Fleet Street beloved of Dr. Johnson. Moreover, he has no
need to exclaim how rare are the perfect days, or to lament " bare
ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang '' ; rather to the
England of his fancy he might say, " While every fair from fair
sometimes declines, yet chy eternal summer shall not fade " ;
unless, indeed, he choose to have it so, and in a moment, presto,
turns the summer back into the joyous springtime. Browning
complains, " Never the time and the place and the loved one all
together " ; but he has absolute power to make such combinations
as he will, in defiance of space and time or the dull preciseness
of unimaginative science. Your dry-as-dust commentator, for
instance, will remark on the impossibility of finding in simul-
taneous bloom the flowers which ^lilton strews on the laureat
hearse of Lycidas, and object that Shakespeare could not " know
Acta Victoriana. 143
a bank where the wild thyme blows, where oxlips and the nod-
ding violet grows, quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,
with sweet muskroses and with eglantine." Such people, in his
eyes, are but blind leaders of the blind, and in proof thereof he
will quote me from Keats the poem on " The Realm of Fancy,"
which he avers makes with " L'Allegro " a better guide-book to
England than a score of Baedekers or Murrays.
And at yet other times he will speak of the disenchantment that
so often awaits eager expectation, of the violent contrasts between
aspiration and realization, quoting Shakespeare's words, " All
(things that are, are with more pleasure chased than enjoyed."
No doubt, he would confess, his England is largely that of the
poets, upon which has been shed the light that never was on sea
or land. If so, would not actual vision compel the cry, " Whither
is fled the visionary gleam ? Where is it now, the glory and the
dream?" If waking means disillusionment, who would care to
wake from dreams so sweet, dreams which give zest to life, and
do not in the least interfere with doing noble things? He told
me on one occasion that he dreaded Wordsworth's experience
on visiting Yarrow : '' And is this — Yarrow ? This the stream
of which my fancy cherished, so faithfully, a waking dream, an
image that hath perished?" They are on safer ground, he
held, who say with Wordsworth in his earlier poem, " \\'e have
a vision of our own ; ah ! why should we undo it ? . . . Enough
if in our hearts we know there's such a place as Yarrow."
Then he has often reminded me how a visitor cannot but be
distracted by the exigencies of travel, and harassed by the
annoyances of the road or of the inn, petty doubtless, but suffi-
cient to banish the frame of mind in which one would fain see
England. How could one properlv enjoy the most charming
scenery if he were worried about catching his train or losing his
luggage, or if he were in discomfort because of cheerless lodgings
or improper food or uncongenial travelling companions? The
poet who writes immortal verse on some scene of beauty or of
grandeur, does so only when in the proper mood, when every-
thing has conspired to set the object described in its noblest or
most alluring aspect, and simultaneously so to prepare the poet's
mind that he may add the consecration and the gleam. But the
traveller, willy nilly, must see that same bit of scenery just when
it happens to come in his itinerary, perhaps under quite different
144 Acta Vicioriana.
circumstances of sunshine or of moonlight or of weather, quite
possibly at the wrong season of the year, and almost certainly in
more or less bodily discomfort and without the needful prepara-
tion of the spirit.
One day I found him in his tiny back-garden, looking mourn-
fully at the meagre results of his labor. " I am going to give up
gardening altogether," he said. " The shock of disappointment
is too great. When I look through the descriptions and the
pictures of flowers and vegetables in the seedsman's catalogue,
my soul is set on fire, and I wish my garden were a hundred
times as large. But see what comes up. Xo wonder a garden
is associated with the fall of man. the corruption of human
nature and the debut of the devil. Your Plato must be right
when he argues that the seal of imperfection and distortion is
set upon all attempts to realize thought in action, and that what-
ever is material fights against perfection. Now if I can only let
the garden go, I am sure I can henceforth get undiluted satisfac-
tion from the catalogues alone, with all their alluring pictures of
symmetrical tomatoes and luxuriant clusters of early peas, and
their inspiring descriptions of the rainbow coloring of irises, and
the velvety perfection of pansy or of rose. There, my friend, I
have another ground for resembling England to a garden : I must
keep away from each in order perfectly to enjoy it, and must
comfort myself as Keats did the ineffectual lover on the Grecian
urn : ' Vet do not grieve ; she cannot fade, though thou hast not
thy bliss ; forever shalt thou love and she be fair.' "
Yet in all these arguments of his against visiting England
there has been no discoverable trace of sour grapes. If there
has been disappointment, he gives no sign ; and if on Sundays he
speaks to his flock of compensation, of cheerful resignation, and
of faithful attention to the duty next them, that teaching he cer-
tainly has first followed himself. Only once in all these years
have I heard him express anything resembling discontent, or the
wish that things might be otherwise, and then it was only the
mock-disconsolate repetition of Gammer Gurton's doggerel
lines —
" O that I was where 1 would be I
Then I would be where I am not ;
But where I am I still must be,
And where I would be I cannot."
Ada Victoriana.
145
T
GOLDWIN SMITH.
The Proper Materials of the Novelist
'HE materials of the novelist
must be real ; they must
be gathered from the field
of humanity by his actual
observation. But they must
pass through the crucible of
the imagination ; they must be
idealized. The artist is not a
photographer, but a painter.
He must depict not persons but
humanity, otherwise he forfeits
the artist's name, and the power
of doing the artist's work in our
hearts. When we s-e a novelist
bring out a novel with one or two good characters, and then go on
manufacturing his yearly volume, and giving us the same character or
the same few characters over and over again, we may be sure that he
is without the power of idealization. He has merely photographed
what he has seen, and his stock is exhausted. Of course, this power
of idealization is the great gift of genius. It is that which distinguishes
Homer, Sh ikespeare and Walter Scott from ordinary men. But there
is also a moral effort in rising above the easy work of mere description
to the height of art. Need it be said that Scott is thoroughly ideal
as well as thoroughly real .^ There are vague traditions that this mm
and the other was the original of some character in Scott. But who can
I oint out the man of whom a character in Scott is a mere portrait ?
It would be as hard as to point out a case of servile delineation in
Sh ikespeare.
Scott's characters are never monsters or caric itures. They are full of
nature ; but it is universal nature. Therefore they have their place in
the universal heart, and will keep that place for ever. And mark that
even in his historical novels he is still ideal. Historical romnace is a
perilous thing. The fiction is apt to spoil the fact, and the fact the
fiction : the history to be perverted and the romance to be shackled ;
daylight to kill dreamlight, and dreamlight to kill daylight. But
Scott takes few liberties with historical facts and characters ; he treats
them with the costume and the manner of the period as the background
of the picture. The personages with whom he deals freely are the
Peverils and Nigels ; and these are his lawful property, the offspring of
his own imagination, and belong to the ideal.
146
Ada Victoriana.
The Slumber Jingel
BY VIRXA SHEARD.
WHEN day is ended, and grey twilight flies
On silent wings across the tired land,
The slumber angel cometh from the skies, —
The slumber angel of the peaceful eyes,
.\nd with the scarlet poppies in his hand.
His robes are dappled like the moonlit seas,
His hair in waves of silver floats afar;
He weareth lotus-bloom and sweet heartsease,
With tassels of the rustling green fir trees,
As down the dusk he steps from star to star.
Above the world he swings his curfew bell,
And sleep falls soft on golden heads and white ;
The daisies curl their leaves beneath his spell,
The prisoner who wearies in his cell
Forgets awhile, and dreams throughout the night.
Even so, in peace, comes that great Lord of rest
Who crowneth men with amaranthine flowers;
Who telleth them the truths they have but guessed,
W^ho giveth them the things they love the best.
Beyond this restless, rocking world of ours.
Acta Victoriana. 147
The Stormberg l^everse
BY DECIMAL SEVEN.
LAST December I was filled with an indescribable desire to
visit the old folks in the dear land across the sea. They
are getting old now, and, wdth one exception, their children have
taken their departure to various parts of the world. J\lary, the
vounsrest sfirl, is with them, and is the jov of their autumnal davs
and the sunshine of the old manor house.
The sight of a big display of Christmas cards, as I passed to
,my business in New York, attracted my attention. One in par-
ticular ; it contained a picture of an old farm-house which seemed
to me to be an exact representation of home. The robin sitting
on the hedge bordering the long front garden walk, and the
broad glebe facing the house, with the horse-pond in the corner,
fixed my resolve to see the old sweet spot again as soon as pos-
sible. On reaching my office I at once telephoned the White
Star Co., asking for accommodation on the Majestic, which
sailed that week. They offered me the only first cabin berth
that was vacant, which, though in a double room, I promptly
accepted.
Having made the necessary business arrangements which a
month's absence involved, and purchased presents for the old
folks and I\Iary, I went aboard the liner, which was now under
a full head of steam, and only needed her supplementary mails
to allow departure. Early in the afternoon we passed down the
river, and dropped our pilot just before the bugle sounded for
dinner in the evening.
I w^as agreeably surprised to find that the gentleman with
whom I was sharing a stateroom was sitting next to me at the
table, and after exchanging cards we became very friendly ; both
of us had travelled considerably, therefore conversation was
easy and interesting. Until quite a late hour we sat in the com-
fortable library relating our experiences, and then taking a few
turns round the promenade deck, we retired for the night. The
next few days passed very pleasantly. The weather was bright
and invigorating, and walking on the long spacious decks
afforded excellent exercise. Nothing is more exhilarating than
148 Acta Victor iatia.
walking down the weather side deck of a hner when a fresh
morning wind is playing with the long Atlantic waves, and cut-
ting up the spray which the sun seems to dust with gold, and to
feel the occasional lift of the mighty vessel as Father Neptune
disputes the passage with modern science.
J\Iy companion grew less communicative as we drew near
Oueenstown, but on the night before we reached that port, after
the usual concert was over, he suggested a game of chess in the
smoke-room, to which I readily assented. " We shall soon
be at home enjoying the Christmas festivities," I exclaimed, as
1 settled myself for the game. "■ Don't remind me of that, Mr.
Seven," he replied, and putting his head in his hands, he said :
" If you will please excuse me. I would rather talk than play, my
thoughts are too far off for chess. I fear." " If it is not too per-
sonal or painful a subject to introduce, I think you have suf-
fered a severe loss, have you not, friend?" I ventured, as I
returned the chess-men to the box. " If it will relieve your mind
at all. let me hear about it." "" Why do you ask that," he re-
turned, looking u]), "have I been talking in my sleep?" " No;
but your general manner of late has suggested that you are
carrying too big a load, old man," I said. " ^Ir. Seven," he
said, lowering his voice, " you are right, thanks for your sym-
pathy ; we shall not be overheard in this corner." He steadied
himself by the tables as he changed his seat, for the vessel was
heaving considerably under a shore swell ofif the Irish coast, and
leaning back in a lounge chair, he began his sad story:
" When the South African War opened I had 1)cen in that
cotmtry several years, travelling up and down the colony, but
generally making ni}" headqviarters at Cape Town. I was at this
time engaged to a beautiful English girl, Annie Foster, who
was living with an uncle on a farm near Stormberg. The old
man was an Englishman by birth, but had lived so long among
the Boers that he was quite one with them in his sympathies, and
always declared that if war broke out he would fight against
the British. I had promised Annie that if a resort was made to
arms I would take her to Cape Town out of the way. Accord-
ingly, in September of i8(Xj. when there was a suspicious move-
ment of troops up country. I at once sought permission from her
burly old guardian to find her safe quarters in the English capi-
tal. In fact, I suggested that we should marry at once, but he
Acta Victoriana. 1 49
would not hear of it, and after indulging in language none too
complimentary, told me that in twelve months' time she would
be free to do as she wished, until which time he was her legal
guardian, and when the property left by her mother came into
her possession his responsibility would end. In answer to my
vain attempt to point out the danger to which he was exposing
his charge, he boastfully replied: 'Young man, the English
troops will never get this way, mark my words !'
" With a heavy heart I returned to Cape Town and found
that the local volunteer regiment to which I belonged had orders
to be in readiness to proceed up country at short notice. At
the end of October we were drafted into the regulars, and hur-
ried to the front. Our regiment bore a large part of the nerce
fighting with which the war opened, and in the middle of Decem-
ber we camped near Molteno, expecting to meet the Boers in
considerable force at Stormberg. You can quite imagine my
feelings, Mr. Seven, wdien I heard that the place where one
so dear to me was living was likely to be the next object of our
attack.
" We left Putter's Kraal about 2,500 strong, and were follow-
ing guides who knew the exact location of the enemy. Our
Major-General intended to effect a night surprise, and shortly
before dusk we descended a deep ravine flanked on either side
by steep and rocky banks. I knew now that we were but a short
distance from Annie's home, McGregor's Farm, as it was called.
"It had been a very hot day, and the cool evening air was
very refreshing. We halted in this long narrow passage, but
were suddenly disturbed by the advance guards, who came
galloping down the other end of the gully with the information
that the guides had bolted forward with all possible speed. We
were at once ordered out of our dangerous position, but before
that order could be obeyed machine guns commenced a shower
of bullets from both ends of the gully, in which we had been
cleverly trapped by the treacherous guides?" He here passed
his hand over his forehead and paused.
" I don't really know just what happened, to tell you the
truth ; it was an awful mix-up. The horses became unmanage-
able, and the rear road became blocked with ammunition
waggons, many of the mules being killed. But we made a
150 Ada Victoriana.
desperate dash, some forward, and some up the right bank ; the
left was utterly impossible. Just as I was scaling the ridge my
horse went down, and with a bullet in the shoulder, and one
above the ankle — the results of which remain to this day — I
rolled to the bottom, and lay helpless behind a huge boulder,
where I very soon lost consciousness.
" VVhen I awoke I was terribly cold, and felt dying of thirst.
The day was breaking, and the noise of someone approach-
ing caused me involuntarily to attempt to sit up and seek aid, but
I fell back with a cry of pain. I'he steps quickened and in a
moment, to my utter bewilderment, Annie Foster was bending
over me with eager questions as to my condition. ' Oh, Jack !
she said, with her brown eyes full of tears, ' I feared you were
dead ; the British troops reached the farm last night with 700
missing. An officer told me you were not among the wounded, so
he concluded that you had been taken prisoner ; the stretcher-bear-
ers evidently did not see you behind these boulders. I couldn't
rest, Jack, without riding down to the gully to look for you.
I'll go back as fast as I can for help?' As she bent over to kiss
me I asked her to fetch me some water, if any was near at hand.
Snatching up my helmet that was lying near, she ran down the
road. At that moment I saw a head half raised above the op-
posite bank, then the barrel of a rifle was exposed, and the rising
sun glinted it with light ; it was pointed down the ravine.
" I cannot tell you what I felt, j\Ir. Seven, at that awfuL
moment. I shouted as loud as I could, but as I did so there was
a crack, followed by a puff of white smoke. ' Curse the
cowards,' I moaned — ' shoot a defenceless woman !' — and for an
hour I endured a mental torture that cannot be described ; she
might be lying mortally wounded and I unable to help her.
Imagine my joy when I heard her voice, although very weak,
calling to me, ' I'm coming with the water, Jack, but I can't
walk !' A few minutes after she crawled up to me with about a
spoonful of water in the helmet. When I looked at her dear face
I knew the w^orst. ' I'm dying, dear Jack,' she whispered, as
she lay across my left arm, and her frame trembled in pain.
' Someone has made a horrible mistake,' I said, as I wiped the
moisture from her brow ; ' keep a brave heart, Annie, help will
soon come.' She turned her face up to me, and before our lips
could meet her precious life ebbed away."
Ac hi I'icioriana.
I ^i
It was some minutes before he was able to resume the nar-
rative.
" There is but Httle more to tell," he continued; "a company
of scouts found us, and we were taken to the farm. It seems
that an outpost stationed near the gully thought that some of
the enemy were pillaging the dead, and seeing the girl running
with the helmet in her hand, fired at her with fatal effect. How
she managed to reach the \vater and return with it, mortally
wounded. God alone knows. A few days before Christmas, four
years ago, she was buried in the little Dutch Church cemetery
with military honors, and I attended, borne upon a stretcher.
Every year abotit this time, Mr. Seven, I live over again the
Stormberg Reverse, and see that noble little face, \\ ith the sweet
brown eyes, struck with the haze of death, bidding me a silent
farewell."
The throbbing of the screws ceased, the pilot was evidently
coming aboard, and my companion rose to go. I grasped his
hand, my heart too full for speech, and we parted wdthout a
word. A few hours later he left the ship at Queenstown. and
as he limped across the gangway I felt an intense longing for
the day when the principles of Peace and Good-will toward men,
practically applied, will make the horrors of war an impos-
sibilitv.
ON THE MARCH TO THE FRONT.
152
Acta Victoriana.
Reminiscences of Old College Professors
and Old Times
BY HIS HONOR JUDGE DEAN, M.A., LL.D.
WHEN I went to Victoria in June, 1846, Rev. Alexander
McNabb, M.A., was "Acting Principal." The Academic
year in those days was divided into two sessions : the summer session
of sixteen weeks, beginning on the second or third Thursday in June,
followed by a vacation of three weeks, and the winter session, begin-
ning in the last week in Octo-
ber and continuing for twenty-
six weeks, with a few holidays
at Christmas. The winter
session wound up by an oral
examination of all the classes,
held in the College Chapel in
the presence of all comers for
throe days, beginning on
Monday morning at 9 o'clock.
A lecture by some magnate
from abroad was usually given
on Tuesday evening, and the
function was completed with
great eclat by the exhibition
on Wednesday evening. This
consisted of orations of from
five to fifteen minutes' length
by eight to a dozen students,
winding up with the conferring of prizes and degrees (when there
were any to confer), usually followed by a brilliant illumination of the
College building. An announcement of the date and particulars of
the examination 'vas made in the two or three preceding issues of the
Guardian. In the Wednesday's issue next before the examination for
46, a note appeared over the name of the Acting Principal, saying
that, owing to the frequent interruptions of the 'classes from sickness
during the session, it had been determined not to hold an examina-
tion. The paper reached Cobourg on Thursday night. There was
no daily paper in Canada in those days ; the telegraph between
Toronto and Montreal was not put up until 1847, so there was no
means of reaching the public with a contradiction. The effect upon
the attendance, and the demoralization in College circles generally,
are more easily imagined than described.
REV. ALEXANDER .M'NABB.
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Acta Victoriana .
D.>
The letter bore the Cobourg post-mark, and was an excellent imita-
tion of the remarkable handwriting of the Acting Principal ; but it
goes without saying that it was a forgery. Whether it was intended
merely as a practical joke, or was a scheme of some students of more
enterprise than industry to let themselves down easy on examination
day was never explained, for the perpetrator was never discovered.
Rev. Mathew Richey, M.A., was the first Principal of Upper
Canada Academy. Able man as he was, he seems not to have had a
vocation for that sort of thing, and resigned a year or two before the
College charter came into force. Rev. Jesse B. Hurlburt, M.A., of
Yale, and Professor of Latin
and Greek in the Academy,
took Dr. Richey's place and
continued at the head of the
institution until it merged in
Victoria College, when Dr.
Ryerson became Principal.
Mr. Hurlburt, who con-
tinued as Professor of Classics
until the spring of 1847, was
a younger brother of a re-
markable family of Methodist
preachers, no less than five of
them being in orders. His
brother. Rev. Sylvester Hurl-
burt, was for a year, 1847-48,
Steward of the College Resi-
dence. A good many years
before that he was a mission-
ary among the Ojibways.
Stationed in the same village was a young missionary of the Church
of England who afterwards became a Canon in his Church, and was
all his life remarkable for his evangelistic views. Mr. Hurlburt and
he were excellent friends, and were each possessed of logical ability
and powers of argument above the average of their brethren. Enter-
taining Mr. and Mrs. Hurlburt at tea one winter evening, the future
Canon and he fell into argument upon apostolic succession and
kindred themes, each standing to his guns unflinchingly, but without
much show of personal feeling. When the evening was now far
spent the host passed the Bible to his guest, and said, " Though I
can't ask you to read and pray with us as a fellow-minister, I can as a
REV. MATHEW RICHEV, M.A.
154
Ac^a Victoriana.
fellow-Christian." " If I cannot pray with you as a minister of the
(iospel. I cannot pray with you at all," was the reply, and exhorting
his wife to get on her wraps he departed. I have never been quite
able to determine which of these missionaries had, up to that time,
succeeded in escaping more effectually that " meekness " which the
great missionary Apostle so much coveted ; but I have reason to believe
that it caught up to them both later on.
Mr. VanNorman, M.A.,
also from Yale, as I remem-
ber, was Professor of Nat-
ural Sciences in the Acad-
emy ; he, too, remained
through Dr. Ryerson's
regime.
Mr. Jesse Hurlburt and
Mr. VanNorman each
established a ladies'
school in Cobourg, and
shared in the exodus of
the girls from the Acad-
emy. Mr. VanNorman
left the College when Dr.
Ryerson did in 1844, and
founded the Burlington
Ladies' Academy in Ham-
ilton, which institution
flourished under him until
he went to New York to
take charge of a famous
ladies' institute there, over
which he presided with distinguished success during the rest of his
active life. Prof Hurlburt retired in the spring of 1847, ^"d for
some_years had a ladies' school in Toronto.
Wm. Kingston, M.A., who was Professor of Mathematics in the
Academy for some years, occupied that chair in the College until the
fall of 1847, when he resigned, owing to friction in the Faculty, and
established the Provincialist, a weekly Liberal newspaper, which he
removed to Hamilton the following year. He was succeeded by
Prof. Paddock, a graduate of Union College, who remained from the
fall of 1847 to the fall of 1849, when he returned to the States.
Prof. Paddock was a son of Rev. Dr. Paddock, who was a man of
EGERTOX RYERSON. D.D.
Ac/a Victoriana.
155
mark in the American Church half a century ago. I have pleasant
■recollections of this professor, but have been unable to learn anything
of his subsequent career.
At that time, and for a good while after, there were few grammar
schools in the Province, and their work, with some exceptions, was
done in a perfunctory way. The College was much resorted to
by boys and young men who would now be studying at collegiate
institutes. The studies taken up were largely elective, and, as
I remember, there were
then less than half a
dozen who were going in
regular course for gradua-
tion. Up to that time
only one B.A. degree had
been taken, and it was
the first that had been
conferred by any institu-
tion in the Province.
Mr. Cameron, who
afterwards took B.A.,
studied medicine and
practised for a time in
Port Hope, and after-
wards in Rochester, was
English Master.
Mr. Wm. Ormiston was
tutor in classics, and
was reading hard for his
degree ; he was a man of
abounding health, great
physical and mental
strength, and a wonderful talker, but without the faintest idea that
there was any limit to his powers of endurance until he had over-
taxed them'and made himself a life-long invalid. He was haunted for
many years by the terrible spectre, insomnia. He graduated in May,
1848, and was for a year Professor of Mental Philosophy, etc.
John Beatty, M.D., was for some years Professor of Natural
Sciences, and rendered good service as measured by the scientific
standards of the day.
Dr. McNabb, 'who had meanwhile become principal, resigned at
the same time that Prof. Paddock left.
SAMLKl- >. NELL», i).i)., 1.1,.D.
156 Acta Vuioriana.
Prof. Wilson, B.A., T.C.D., who had taken the chair vacated by
Prof. Hurlburt in the spring of 1847, became Acting Principal.
Those who remember Prof. Wilson fifteen or twenty years later — and
in that time he had grown no less active or executive— will readily
understand that he was designed by nature to adorn the classic shades
of Parnassus, rather than to shine as the guide and governor of a body
of tempestuous youths. However, things did not go badly ; as larger
democracies have done before and since, the boys resolved themselves
into a committee of safety. They were at heart very loyal to " Old
Trinity " ;* besides disciplining other unruly ones, they formally
expelled one boy and sent him home.
There was no summer session in 1850. Prof. Wilson accepted the
mastership of a private classical school, and it seemed for a time that
the doors of the dear old house would never more open.
That was just the middle of the Nineteenth Century, the greatest so
far of all the centuries. Let us pause for a moment at that point and
look before and after. What disaster would such an event have meant
to the hundreds who have since passed through those halls, some of
whom have passed beyond, and some are still in active life ! What to
the thousands who are to follow after ! What would it have meant to
the Church !
Happily it was not to be. That matter-of-fact age witnessed a drama
of actual life which had come to be regarded as a fable. They saw
the Phoenix rise into new life from its ashes.
Dr. Nelles who, as an undergraduate, had left Victoria when Dr.
Ryerson resigned to become Chief Superintendent of Education, and
had taken his degree at Wesleyan University, leaving a career as a
preacher, which was then regarded as phenomenal, consented to lead
the forlorn hope. Wesley Wright, who had graduated in 1848, came
with him for classics, and Prof. Kingston, whose department had in
his former incumbency been one of the sheet anchors of the institution,
had had his fill of the newspaper business, and took up his old work
with his old vigor and thoroughness.
Dr. Beatty resumed his work in the Natural Sciences. After two
years' service. Prof. Wright was called to a position in the American
West, and Prof. Wilson came to his own again. All the world knows
the modern history of Victoria, but no one can fully appreciate what
the rare genius, the pathetic patience, the unselfish devotion of Dr.
Nelles and his coadjutors meant to her, unless he knows by heart her
mediceval history.
* Prof. John Wilson, formerly of Trinity College, Dublin.
Acta Victoriana. 157
The Ballad of the True Lover
BY VERNON NOTT.
A
MAIDEN framed in a casement wide —
Her beauty match'd the morn.
" When he comes again I shall be his bride-
But now he fares to the war,"' she cried,
" And leaves me here forlorn."
She heard the trumpets' flaunted pride ;
And watch'd the knights in couples ride
With tarnish'd banners torn.
The maiden leant o'er the casement ledge
Above the motley street;
And her white glove flung for a true-love i)lfdge,
That dropp'd at her true-love's feet.
She mark'd him wave his courtly hand.
She heard his voice of cheer —
Then plume and lance and warrior hand
Blurr'd in a crystal tear.
II.
He whistled a little lilting tune,
For his heart was blithe and gay ;
Full many a catch would he lightly croon —
For he craved of Fortune no dearer boon
Than to ride to the wars away :
By forest land and o'er naked dune,
Thro' foul and fair, "neath sun and moon,
He rode and trill'd his lay :
Ho '. Youth and strength and love are good,
And fond are maiden eyes ;
All these are mine — yet now I would
J I 'in me a braver prize l
I :;8 Acta Victoriana.
Aly szvord is keen, and stout my steed,
Worthy of ivarrior foi :
Oh ! Fame shall cro7V7i 7tiy every deed.
And Death my every bloiv !
III.
The maiden watch'd from the casement wide,
Her face grown pearly white :
" Will he come this morn ? "' she wistfully sigh'd
" Will he come to make me then his bride-
Will he come thro" dark of night ?
Oh, none so gallant as he ! " she cried ;
" God truard him that no harm betide 1 —
Will he come with morning's light ? "
Beneath her window, happy and loud,
The careless throng goes by —
She heeds it not, nor sun nor cloud
That tease the April sky :
From dawn till shadows gather dim,
She will but watch and pray ;
Her eyes have si^ht for only him —
Who comes, perchance, to-day.
IV.
A quiver spreads thro' the quicken'd air —
A word of victory cried I
Forth flames the calling trumpet's blare :
The people run, and the burghers there
W^ith pillion'd good-wives ride —
i-'or a trooper has won to the market-square
And proudly doles his tidings fair
The market cross beside.
" O m:)ther ! an horseman knocks without —
He hath borne great news of fame !
For my galliard knight do the people shout ?
Ff)r him rings the glad acclaim ? . . •
^' Oh, tell me ! tell me, mother dear,
What said he of him I love ? "
" God touch thee, child ! I bring thee here
A blood-bespatter'd glove."
Acta Victonaiia.
•59
V.
The summer days are long and blight,
The winter days are bleak —
^^"hat difiers a cloud from the warm sunlight,
Or the haunted day from the haunted night,
When youth must pine and peak ?
The casement wide is blinded tight
That she may watch close hid from sight.
And his name may softly speak.
Beneath her window wends the throng-
That knows no moie her face ;
She heeds not jest, nor laugh, nor song —
O Mary, yield her grace !
For eyes with searching soon grow dim —
Can stricken heai ts be gay ? —
And ever she waits and looks for him
That rode to the wars away.
i6o
Acta Victoriana.
William Morris, Poet, Artist, and Socialist
BV PROFESSOR PELHAM EDGAR, PH.D.
A GREAT worker, rather than a great thinker, Morris has suc-
ceeded more practically and therefore more profoundly
than his master, Ruskin, in modifying the artistic conscience
of his age. His poetry, rare though its merits are, is read only by
the curious few. His socialism, although not of the vulgar type,
enjoyed the transient popularity that the merest demagoguism can
command, and is now forgotten.
His views on art, if pressed to their
somewhat extravagant limits, would
involve the cancellation of almost
everything that has been produced
in the last four centuries in order
that a regenerated society might
lead back the "Golden Age"; but
his theories, shorn of their bizarre
excess, have in their practical appli-
cation effected a revolution in the
taste of a nation. He reached
maturity at a time when ugliness
was rampant in the houses of the
rich and in the houses of the poor :
but before he died he had taught
his countrymen a new code of
beauty, or one which appeared to
be new because it had been so long forgotten.
Of most poets it may be said that their verse incorporates merely
an imaginative ideal of beauty. There is something essentially trans
cendent about their visions. To Morris this power was not denied of
rising into a world of dreams, and the spirit of pure reverie is not the
least beautiful phase of his many-sided genius ; but it is not the
characteristic phase. While other poets have surpassed him in the
radiance of their visions, to no poet of his century was it given to see
so clearly the beauty of the natural world, and that beauty wrought
by human hands which he no less intimately loved. So that, if we
would realize the nature of Morris's influence upon his time, we must
PROF. PELHAM EDGAR, PH.D.
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Acta Victoriana. i6i
seek it in his exquisite appreciation of beauty and in his no less
scornful impatience of the needless profusion of ugliness which has
followed in the wake of civilization. To extend the sway of beauty
and to press back the encroachments of ugliness were the tasks in
which were concentrated the energies of his genius.
In the formative period of his life Morris was subjected to no extra-
ordinary influences, but the circumstances of his career happily per-
mitted the natural unfolding of his intellectual powers. His school
years were passed at Marlborough during the ineffective head-master-
ship of Dr. Wilkinson. For Morris the slack discipline of the school
was not an unmixed evil, for it enabled him to roam about the sur-
rounding country at will, absorbing in most unboylike fashion its
natural and architectural beauties. The pre-Celtic, C<icand Roman
remains of the neighborhood interested him profoundly, and he used
to say that he left Marlborough "a good archaeologist, and knowing
most of what there was to be known about English Gothic."
From Marlborough, after a year's private tuition, Morris went up to
Exeter College, Oxford, intending at that time to proceed to holy
orders. About the gray towers of Oxford something still clung of the
enchantment of the Middle Ages, and in a passage of deep feeling
Morris has told us of the charm which the place exercised upon his
mind. Scholastically speaking he might, with as much profit, have
been buried with a few books in Central Africa. It was the past
which breathed in the present that alone was eloquent to him. In
this state of confused disappointment and delight he found a kindred
spirit in Burne-Jones, who had come up from Birmingham with
smouldering artistic ambitions that were ready to catch the flame.
Like Morris, Burne-Jones was destined for the Church, but with him,
as with his friend, the passion for art was not slow to assert itself as
the paramount aim of life. A journey which they made together in
Northern France sealed their mutual decision. No country, not even
Iceland, which he came to love so passionately in after years, could
move Morris so profoundly as this land where the quiet beauty of
nature was enriched by the harmonizing beauty of art, and here,
beneath the shadows of those gray old churches, the two friends
resolved to shape their lives as their instincts prompted them.
Shortly after their return Burne-Jones devoted himself ardently to the
study of painting, and Morris, more diffident of his technical ability,
articled himself to Street, the well-known Oxford architect.
Already his facility in verse had proclaimed itself. Canon Dixon
tells the story of how he went to visit Burne-Jones in his rooms
1 62 . Acta Victoriana.
at Exeter. He was greeted on the threshold by the latter in
a state of unsuppressed excitement. "Why, he's a great poet!"
cried Burne-Jones. "Who is?" "Why, Topsy " — the name by
which Morris went among his friends. They then listened to some
lines that Morris had thrown off during the day. Genuine admira-
tion resulted from the reading, but the poet took the praise with
becoming modesty, saying simply, " Well, if this is poetry, it is very
easy to write." Scarcely a day passed, while the poetic mood was on
him, without its tale of verses which, for all their facility, showed no
signs of careless haste, and bore few evidences of immaturity. The
discovery of his poetic ability Morris made in 1854, when he was in
his twenty-first year. In the following year he was instrumental in
founding the Oxford and Cambridge Magazine^ launched, like all
the enterprises of youth, for immortality, and as short-lived as they.
To its funds Morris liberally contributed, and for its pages he wrote a
series of imaginative prose romances, which no less than his poetry
gave evidence of rich creative power.
Immediately upon taking his degree in 1856, Morris, as I have
said, devoted himself to the technical study of architecture. But he
had not been long engaged in Street's office when he made the
acquaintance of the poet-painter Rossetti, upon whose advice, which
he received in the true spirit of discipleship, he determined to devote
himself exclusively to painting.
Mr. Val Prinsep, R.A., has revived many amusing memories of this
young group which hailed Rossetti as leader. It was at this time
that the decorative panels of the Oxford Union were entrusted to
Rossetti and the artists of his choice. The story of the fiasco is fairly
well known, but Mr. Prinsep has for the first time given us the fun of
the enterprise. It was during a casual call upon Rossetti that Val
Prinsep was informed by that masterful man that he expected him to
do one of the panels in the Union. The young man protested vainly
that he could not paint, nor even draw. He was told in answer :
" That makes no difference ; there's one of my friends going to join
us who has never painted anything, but you'll see he'll do a stunning
thing." 'Ihis friend, it is needless to say, was Morris. After a hurried
effort in London to gain the first principles of drawing, Val Prinsep
returned to Oxford to find all his associates hard at work. With his
help we can picture the scene, and revive its confused atmosphere of
paint, medicevalism, and banter. Enter, with. some ladies, a grave
Oxford Don, the head of a college, to see how the work progressed.
Morris was at this time painting the roof, and with his faculty, as
Acta Victoriana. 163
Rossetti expressed it, " of creating and annexing dirt," we may arrive
at an idea of the figure he presented in his daubed smock-frock and
tempera-splashed spectacles. To him the Don in suave tones, —
" My good man, can you tell me the subjects of these pictures ? "
" Morte d'Arthur," roared Morris, and vanished by a ladder into the
chaos of scaffolding. The next day Rossetti received an irate letter
complaining of the excessive rudeness of his workmen.
The sight of Morris standing with legs apart, gazing up at his
roof — his clothes and face yellow and black and green with paint —
inspired Burne-Jones to a highly comic caricature, under which was
written, " O Tempera ! O Morris ! "
Morris endured endless chaff from Rossetti on the subject of his
painting, or rather on his method of treating his subject, which was
Tristram and Isolde kissing among the flowers, while Sir Palomides
jealously looks on. "The drawing of the faces and hands," Val
Prinsep writes, " was what you would expect from a man who had
never paid any attention to drawing. The figures, had you seen
them, would have been fourteen feet high ; but, happily, he covered up
all but the upper part with sun-flowers. What was seen was comic
enough."
"Top," said Rossetti, after gazing at his picture some time, "you
must do that woman's head again."
' Why, Gabriel?" answered poor Morris in an aggrieved tone.
"It's not human; you must get some nature. Now," added
Rossetti, in his most persuasive tones, " like a good chap, you get
your sketch-book and go down and make a sketch of Stunner Lips-
combe, and you'll get it alright."
Stunner Lipscombe (all pretty girls were "stunners ") was a charming
maiden at the neighboring inn, jealously watched over by her mother.
Morris's reception was accordingly most uncordial, and he returned,
Val Prinsep says, " sadly crestfallen," to find tacked up over his
bedroom door a placard, on which was written :
" Poor Topsy has gone to make a sketch of Miss Lipscombe,
But he can't draw the head, and don't know where the hips come.'
In London, during these years, Morris and Burne-Jones occupied
Rossetti's old rooms in Red Lion Square. The problem of furnishing
these lodgings at once presented itself, and to this simple circum-
stance, and to the necessity a few years later of furnishing his own
house after his marriage, we owe Morris's future career as designer,
decorator and manufacturer. The exacting taste of the two friends
could not tolerate the ugliness which then prevailed in all that
1 64 Acta Victoriana.
pertained to domestic art ; so Morris supplied designs for even the
simplest articles of furniture — the chairs, tables and sofas — " tables and
chairs," as Rossetti, with amiable chaff described them, " intensely
medijeval, like incubi and succubi " — tables " as firm and as heavy as
a rock,'' and chairs "such as Barbarossa might have sat in." There
was a settle, too, of enormous proportions. " There were many
scenes with the carpenter," Burne-Jones writes. " Especially I remem-
ber the night when the settle came home. We were out when it
reached the house ; but when we came in all the passages and the
staircase were choked with vast blocks of timber, and there was a
scene. I think the measurements had perhaps been given a little
wrongly, and that it was bigger altogether than he had ever meant ;
but set up it was finally, and our studio was one-third less in size.
Rossetti came. This was always a terrifying moment to the very
last. He laughed, but approved."
Having gained all the advantage that he could derive from the
study and practice of painting, Morris gave his whole energy now to
poetry and to various handicrafts, more especially to stained glass
designing and embroidery. The first tangible result in poetry was
the publication, in 1858, of " The Defence of Guenevere," which met
with but a cold reception. His efforts in the lesser arts resulted in
the formation, in 1861, of the firm of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner &
Co., which became, fourteen years later, what it always had been in
all but name, the firm of Morris e\: Company.
Morris had, meanwhile, married Miss Jane Burden, and had moved
into a new house at Upton — the famous Red House — to the designing
and decorating of which he gave the most loving attention. The
growth of his London business made it necessary for him to abandon
the Red House in 1865. He had spent there five of the happiest
years of his life, and there his two daughters were born.
It is not possible to follow in detail the stages of Morris's subsequent
progress. As poet, craftsman, and socialist he displayed a truly
astonishing versatility, and we may safely say that in the range of his
intellectual activities he is surpassed by none of his contemporaries.
Yet, various as his interests might appear to be, a thorough survey of
his career would reveal a fundamental unity of purpose and ideas
binding together acts and impulses apparently the most divergent.
Leaving his poetry aside, I shall turn, in conclusion, to the
political and artistic aspects of his work and show, if possible, the
logical sequence of ideas which led Morris inevitably through art to
socialism. From the most aristocratic to the most democratic of
Ada Victoriana. 165
the forms of thought, the traHsition would appear to be abrupt to
the verge of absurdity. A glance at Morris's opinions will prove that
this is not the case.
His initial protest is against the constitution of modern society
which has driven art from its true refuge in the minds and hearts of
the people, and has made the natural birthright of the many the
exclusive privilege of the few. " The cause of art is the cause of the
people," and firm in that conviction, Morris would have rejoiced to
see society shaken to its foundations, and modern art swept utterly
away, if at that price we might revive the shaping sense of beauty by
which the hands of the common people reared the great cathedrals of
the Middle Ages, and secure therewith the spirit ot justice which the
Middle Ages never knew. Morris's love of the Middle Ages was not
a blind infatuation. Its cruelty, rapine, and vice he never denied, but
in the midst of it all he saw the individual workman free to follow his
native impulse of beauty. In this modern age of commerce and competi-
tive greed beauty, to the workman, is a word that has no meaning. He
is twice a slave — a slave of the labor-market and a slave of the
machine at which he grinds out the soulless monotony of his work.
Morris was once asked what possible bearing socialism could have
upon art. He replied : " I specially wished to point out in my
lecture that the question of popular art was a social question, involving
the happiness or misery of the greater part of the community. The
absence of popular art from modern times is more disquieting and
grievous to bear for this reason than for any other, that it betokens
that fatal division of men into the cultivated and the degraded c'asses
which competitive commerce has bred and fosters. Popular art has
no chance of a healthy life, or, indeed, of a life at all, till we are on
the way to fill up this terrible gulf between riches and poverty.
Doubtless, many things will go to filling it up, and if art must be one
of these things, let it go. What business have we with art at all
unless we all can share it ? I am not afraid but that art will rise from
the dead, whatever else lies there."
Keen as was Morris's hatred of oppression, his socialism, with all
its unbeautiful accessories rested rather on his love of beauty than
upon his unquestioned desire that justice might prevail.
No single interest ever sufficed to absorb the whole of Morris's
energies, and his vigilant supervision of the artistic side of his business
scarcely relaxed during the years when socialism made such inroads
upon his time. It was his poetry that suffered, for even Morris could
not achieve the impossible feat of preaching a revolutionary propa-
.4
i66
Acta Victoriana.
ganda upon dismal street corners, attending to the artistic detail of a
rapidly increasing business, while at the same time preserving the
freshness of mind which the exercise of the poetic faculty demands.
It is a sufficient tribute to the native strength of his intellect that, when
finally released from the onerous and thankless task of spreading " the
gospel of discontent," his joyous appreciation of the beautiful things
of life was able to find an original and brilliant medium of expression.
The prose romances of his last years are, without doubt, his most
unique if not his finest contribution to letters. Exquisite in their
freshness, buoyant in their joyous vigor, and of striking originality in
conception and execution, they hold a place apart in his own
writings and in his country's literature.
Eight years have passed since Morris died, a sufficient time, there-
fore, to permit us to view his work in just proportion. His immediate
influence was unquestionably most profound in the sphere of the
lesser arts, upon which his genius conferred a quite novel distinction.
So long as he was following his instinct of beauty he made no dis
crimination between the lesser and the greater, and a day's work
spent at his loom, or in executing some original carpet or wall-paper
design, was probably no less satisfactory to himself than a day which
saw some noble poem begun or brought to its conclusion. But his
carpets and chintzes will fade, and though the impulse which he gave
to honest craftsmanship can never wholly vanish, his title to remem-
brance must rest most securely upon his literary achievement. Has
the poetry of William Morris modified in any sensible degree the
course of English poetry, and has it so impressed itself upon the
minds of thoughtful readers that we can predict for it a living immor-
tality, and not that spurious immortality merely which the philologians
and curious antiquarians of the future will confer? The question may
have sufficient interest to merit a careful answer.
Ada Aictoriana. 167
'Brother Jlnthony
BY MARK GUY PEARSE.
Scene : A Motiasfery Garden, May, 1632.
HOW fair a dawn, all things so sweet and calm ;
The gentle dews refresh the flowering earth ;
Each glistening leaf as if with diamonds hung,
And pearls bedeck the grass. From out the elm
The blackbird bravely sings — S. Chrysostom,
As Brother Simon calls the golden-bill ;
The rapturous lark soars high to greet the sun.
But on mv fevered heart there falls no balm ;
REV. MARK GUY PEARSE.
The garden of my soul, where happy birds
Sang in the fulness of their joy, and bloomed
The flowers bright, finds only winter now ;
And bleak winds moan about the leafless trees,
And chiil rains btat to earth the rotting stalks.
Hope, Faith, and God, alike are gone, all gone-
If it be so, as this Galileo saith,
" The earth is round and moves about the sun ;
The sun," he saith, ''is still, the axle fixed
Of nature' s wheel, centre of all the worlds^''
Galileo is an honest soul, God knows —
1 68 Acta Victor iana.
No end has he to serve but only truth,
By that which he declares, daring to risk
Position, liberty, and even life itself. He knows.
And yet the ages have believed it not.
Have they not meditated, watched and prayed —
Greit souls with vision purged and purified?
Had God no messenger until arose
Galileo 1 Long years the Cnurch has prayed.
Seeking His grace who guideth into truth.
And weary eyes have watched the sun and stars,
And heird the many voices that proclaim
God's hidden ways, — did they believe a lie?
The Church's Holy Fathers, were they wrong ?
Yet speaks Galileo as one who knows.
Shrinks all my soul from breathing any word
That dares to question God's most holy Book,
As men beneath an avalanche pass dumb
For fear a sound should bring destruction down.
If but a jot or tittle of the Word
Do pass away then is all lost. And yet
If \vhat Galileo maintains be true ! —
" The sun itself moves not." The Scripture tells
At Joshua's command the sun stood still.
Doth Scripture lie? The bless^'d Lord Himself,
Spake He not of the sun that rose and .set !
So cracks and cleaves the ground beneath my feet.
The sun that fills and floods the world with light
My darkness and confusion hath become I
Oh God, as here about the old grey walls
The ivy clings and twines its arms, and finds
A strength by which it rises irom the eaith
And mounts toward heaven, then gladly flings
Its grateful crown of greenery round the height,
So by Thy word my all uncertain soul
Hath mounted toward Thy heaven, and brought
Its love, its all, wherc^with to crown my Lord.
Alas, the wall is fallen. Beneath it crushed
The clinging ivy lies ; its stronghold once
Is now the prison house, the cruel grave.
There sounds the bell that summons me to prayer.
Acta Victor iana 169
The Theory of Thinking
BY AI.BERT H. ABBOTT, B.A., PH.D.
1"* HOUGH everyone speaks about " thought "' or " think-
ing," very few have taken the trouble to ask themselves
exactly what it is that is designated by these terms. The
purpose of the few remarks which I shall make on the subject
is simply to indicate as w^ell as I can the direction in which
present-day psychology is apparently solving the problem — at
least, facts are being discovered which make it possible to make
certain statements regarding the process of thinking which
point toward a solution of the problem, even if they do not
contain it.
The problem of thought for the modern world arose in a
definite form when Descartes said that thinking was the very
essence or characteristic attribute of the soul or mind. Descartes,
however, went farther than this, and taught that thinking was
the occurrence of ideas, clearly and distinctly perceived, and. go-
ing still farther, even suggested that this was the stamp or mark
of the Creator set upon man, and that by virtue of this faculty of
clear and distinct perception it could with right be said that man
was created in the image of God. When, however, he held that the
animals were nothing but machines — mere automata — ^he pre-
pared the way for a keen criticism of his theory that thought,
" the Natural Light," in man was at bottom supernatural ; for,
is it not evident that, if the animals can do all they do, and be
as intelligent as they are as mere machines, the same principle
can be used to account for at least a good deal in man's psychi-
cal processes? Even Locke held that animals must be allowed
to be conscious, thinking creatures, while he held that man and
man's thought were in a peculiar sense spiritual.
Out of Locke's work grew the so-called " Association "
school of British psychologists, and all of these men, from
Hartley to Bain, teach alike that no " soul " which directs and
guides the thoughts and volitions of men is discoverable. All
occurrence of ideas is regarded by them as regulated by law.
even by purely physical law ; hence one often finds the repre-
sentatives of this school classed with the materialists. In some
1 70 Acta Victor iana.
human mind "* which they advocated, but from the purely meta-
physical aspect many of these philosophers still believed in the
soul — they had only taken away its occupation, so to say.
The problem of thinking has had, then, just about the same
history as its twin sister, the problem of freedom, but with one
rather essential difference: the so-called laws of thought,
logic and the necessary conclusions of science seem to point
directly to a more than mechanical principle in thought, but
neither they nor the alleged absolute laws of morals could be
applied directly to the solution of the problem of the freedom of
the will.
Out of speculations regarding the occurrences in nature, and
in later times regarding thought and volition, there developed the
two views which are commonly called " mechanism " and
" teleology." These terms thus refer most broadly to meta-
physical standpoints from which the problem of the actual hap-
penings or events in the universe is attacked and solutions pro-
posed, but for the purpose of our present discussion we may
regard the problem in its narrower aspect and thus confine the
theories expressed in the terms " mechanism " and " teleology "
to the problem of the nature of the happenings in consciousness
or, briefly, in thinking.
If we were to formulate this problem of thought in a very
general way we might say that the question is. Do the events of
consciousness — ideas — occur according to merely mechanical laws
or does man strive toivard some goal or ideal in his thinking?
The problem thus formulated is discussed in the metaphysics
and ethics of T. H. Green, and a teleological solution is in the
main strongly advocated by him. But in an essentially specula-
tive solution, such as Green proposed, one may very well find
grave difficulties, and hence it may be of interest to know what
experimental research has brought to light in the direction of a
solution for the problem of thinking.
In the first place, the standpoint of experimental psychology is
very significant ; there is but one question here, viz.. What are
the facts? If they occur in consciousness they can be discovered,
maybe not this year or the next, but if w^e are conscious of that
stream of ideas, which is often called " thinking," we have the
main facts, and the problem which has to be solved is simply :
* €/. Hartley, " Observations on Man, Vol. I., for the terminologj'.
Acta Victoriana. 171
Under what conditions do ideas arise and combine (both simul-
taneously and successively) with each other? There is no reason,
so far as the general principle is concerned, why the facts thus
sought cannot be discovered ; the only difificulty lies in the dis-
covery of a suitable method.
Two experimental investigations along the line here proposed
have come directly under my notice, and as the results of these
have a possible significance far beyond the particular questions
investigated, it seems in place to give them a wider publicity
than the purely scientific journals ofifer.
The first series of experiments was conducted by Professor
Kuelpe, of Wuerzburg, for the purpose of discovering something
about the selection, or abstraction from certain factors, which is
found in the actual facts of sense-perception. The results were
made public at the Congress for Experimental Psychology, in
Giessen, in April, 1904. For the purpose of the investigation
a series of lantern-slides was prepared, on which, at equal dis-
tances from the centre, certain nonsense-syllables were written,
such as " lix," duj," " boq," " maf." It is hardly necessary to
say that every point in connection with such a series of syllables
was considered with the greatest care, so that duplication, too
great uniformity, etc., should be avoided. Each word was written
in a special color, e.g., red, green, blue, black, etc., and the colors
o arranged that no two syllables on any slide should be of the
■same color. These were then exposed to the observer on a
screen by means of a projection lantern and photographic shutter,
for a definite time, e.g., one-eighth of a second. It is evident that
several questions could then be asked the observer: (i) What
colors did you see? (2) What general arrangement (square,
rhomboid, triangle, etc.) did the colored syllables have — in other
words, what figure did they suggest? (3) How many elements
(letters) were there? (4) What letters did you see? Now, it is
evident that it would be, in general, easy to answer some of these
questions, and more difficult to answer others, and hence that,
were the experiments tried without giving the observer any
suggestion as to what he should expect or try to perceive, it
would be expected that, in general, questions i and 2 would be
answered, while questions 3 and 4 could not be. This expecta-
tion the results fully justified. But this was not the special aspect
investigated. Professor Kuelpe wanted rather to discover how
much this normal condition could be changed or influenced by
[72 A eta I ^ictoria na,
definite suggestions, and so the same series was shown to the ob-
server on different occasions. The first time he was asked to
concentrate his attention on the determination of the colors—
that is, he was given that particular task, or ""Aufgabe" ; the next
time on the determination of the general figure formed ; the third
time he was asked to tell the exact number of elements (letters) ;
the fourth time he had to distinguish as many of the letters as
possible, and a fifth time he was shown the series without being
given anv special task at all. On each occasion answers to the
whole four questions were asked, and hence the results ought to
show the influence which the task, or " Aufgabe "' set, had on the
perception of the observer.- That is, each time a particular slide
was used he was asked to abstract from certain factors as equally
present and possible as the one singled out for emphasis.
The result of the investigation showed definitely : ( i ) That
the perception was strongly influenced by the task set, e.g., when
the determination of color was the task, this could be done with
considerable accuracy, but for the three other questions the
answers were very indefinite or could not be given at all : and
the same result was obtained when the task was the distin-
guishing of the letters — this could then be done to a certain
extent, but often even the color of the letters could not be
given. (2) Some of the tasks set were found to be easier than
the others, though even in this considerable individual differ-
ences were discovered, which were characteristic for the
general trend of the mental habits of the person concerned. For
example, one found it easier to determine the colors and the
letters seen, while another found the more abstract tasks, as one
might call them, of determining the figure and the number of the
letters easier — in this latter case it was often possible to give the
exact number of letters seen without being able to tell a single
letter. (3) When no task was set only the questions which the
person found easiest could be answered. (4) In most cases the
observers found it more agreeable, even if it demanded more
effort, to work when a task was set. To work absolutely with-
out a task was found to be well-nigh impossible — at least, more
difficult than might be supposed would be the case.
Before discussing these results in relation to the theory of
thinking it will be well to outline the second investigation. These
experiments were carried out by Dr. H. J. \\''att, of Aberdeen,
Scotland, under Professor Kuelpe's direction, at Wuerzburg, and
Ada Vicioriana. 173
the results are published in the " Archirfuer die gesamte
Psychologie," Vol. I\'. The problem here investigated was that
of the association of ideas. It is clear that if a word, e.g.,
" horse," be shown to a person another word may be in some way
called up, or, to speak exactly, reproduced in consciousness — this
word may then be spoken or called out and the time between
the showing (or seeing) of the first word (the stimulus) and the
calling out of the associated or reproduced word can be. by ap-
propriate means, measured. There is also a possibility of carrying
out such an investigation with or without definite tasks or
" Aufgaben," e.g., the observer may be asked simply to call out
the first word that occurs to him, and this was the method fol-
lowed by Muensterberg and others, or he may be asked (i) to
give a word of broader or more general significance than the one
used as stimulus, e.g., for "horse" such a word as "animal"
would suit; (2) to give a word of narrower or less generrl
significance, e.g., for " horse," " carriage horse," " Clydes-
dale," would suit; (3) to give the name of a whole of which the
stimulus-word is the name of apart — i'."., for " leg." " horse,"
" man," etc., would be suitable; (4) to give the name of a part
when the stimulus-word designates the whole — e.g., for
"house, "roof," would be correct; (5) to give a word. of co-
ordinate significance to the stimulus — e.g., for "cat," "dog,";
(6) to give the name of a co-ordinated part to that
designated by the stimulus, e.g., for " hand," " foot."
" head," etc., would be correct. Dr. W^it carried out
the investigation of association with these six tasks or
"Aufgaben." The time required for the reaction, or the
lapse of time between the showing of the stimulus and the call-
ing out of the reproduced word was measured and all other
details regarding his experience during the interval which the
observer could give were noted. The investigation gave a great
many interesting results, but one aspect only of these can be
noticed here : ( i ) The influence of the task set on the character
of the association was decidedly evident in the fact that but very
few wrong answers were given during thousands of experi-
ments; (2) the task w^as found to considerably shorten the re-
action time, i.e., a word could be called out sooner after seeing
the stimulus-word when a definite task was set than it could be
without any such limitation of the possible scope of reproduction ;
(3) so far as the observers could determine, the task operated
174 Acta l^ictoriana.
in a perfectly " mechanical " way to determine the nature of
the reproduction, i.e., it happened but seldom that the observer
had to choose between several words which were reproduced,
the first being almost always a correct or suitable fulfilment of
the task set.
Now just a word should be said as to the significance or mean-
ing of the results reached in these two investigations, and others
of a similar nature, and which show similar results, by Dr. Ach,
of jMarburg, Prof. Schumann, of Berlin, and others, are here of
necessity omitted.
The first general conclusion which I should draw from these
results is that the theory that thinking is the result of purely
physical, mechanical laws can not be substantiated from this
research. It seems well-nigh impossible, no matter how fanciful
a brain or nerve physiology one may construct, to find a con-
sistent or satisfactory mode of expressing the facts above
stated. How a general mental preparation of the nature which
these tasks demanded is at all possible is not yet clear from
any point of view, but it is doubly difficult to conceive of such
in terms of physiological processes.
The second conclusion which these results seem to me to war-
rant is : if the teleological view of the thought process really
demand that some definite end be represented in consciousness,
these investigations show it to be a false theory, for in no case
was the observer conscious of anything which could possibly be
called a definite end. In Prof. Kuelpe's experiments the only
preparation which could be discovered was at times a tension of
certain muscles of the head and chest, i.e., certain muscular sen-
sations, the stoppage of the movements of breathing, and some-
times the repetition (generally acoustically) of the word, e.g.,
" color," " figure," " number," " letters " — according as the task
set was one or other of these. Dr. Watt's experiments gave the
same kind of result on this point. When the stimulus-word was
not known even approximately, how could an observer prepare in
any definite way to reproduce or call up the word designating, let
us say, a part or a whole of the object designated by the word
shown ! Teleology in this sense is an impossible theory. If, on
the other hand, the teleological view be so interpreted that it
emphasize only the fact that what is in consciousness, whether
as idea or a more indefinite condition of consciousness for which
Prof. Marbe has suggested the name " Bewusstseinslage," in-
^Acta Victoriana. 175
fluences the succeeding reproductions by other than merely
mechanical means, these investigations seem to offer some sup-
port to the theory. Nevertheless, in possibly an entirely different
sense than that usually understood, the " task " seems to operate
purely mechanically. In one word, these investigations make it
more and more difficult to make any sharp line of demarcation
"between that which occurs " mechanically " and that which occurs
■" teleologically," or under the influence of an end or task pro-
posed. The whole question of mechanism and teleology, if it
is to have a place any longer in the discussions of thinking and
volition, must be more critically analyzed and the terms more
accurately defined than has generally been the case. And per-
haps, even more important than all this, it will now be neces-
sary to show that the facts of consciousness support the position
taken by either side. The problem of mechanism and teleology
as applied to the facts of nature has become exceedingly nebu-
lous through the discussions of Driesch * and others. If the
standpoint proposed by these writers be adopted and conscious-
ness (in, e.g., animals) be taken to be the source of teleological
actions, and vice versa, the occurrence of actions suited to ends
to imply at once a consciousness or an adaptive being, an entirely
new aspect will be given to the question. It will then be neces-
sary, as Kuelpet has shown, to re-examine many widely
accepted views regarding the causal relation, the condition of
there being values — which the strict causal relation can never
explain, the question of purposiveness in general, and many
others.
This brief discussion shows, then, that a purely mechanical
view of thinking is not satisfactory, and that a teleological theory
of thought is the only possible one if the old lines be followed.
If the old lines be not followed afid the old strife between mechan-
ism and teleology be regarded as settled in favor of the latter,
the spirit of truth and honesty must, however, at once protest tnat
it is not the old teleolog}- which has conquered. It is rather an
entirely new body of fact which has been drawn into the discus-
sion and which solves the old problem only to hold within itself,
as has been suggested, a new view of both mechanism and teleol-
ogy. This, however, is rather stimulating than depressing, and
is in reality nothing but still another illustration of the old say-
ing that every advance brings with it a corresponding duty.
*" Die Seele als Naturfactor " (1903).
t " Einleitung in die_Philosophie," p. 2i6ff. (1903).
176
Acta V id 0 nana.
FLoradora Wllloughby
Ji Tale of Physical Culture
BY J. \V. BENGC U(;H
.C^^-
M
ISS Floradora Willcughby was very s'ror
and fat,
With a figure which, quite truthfully,
might be described £s squat ;
And though her face was pretty, it was marred
by discontent,
Fcr her thoughts were alv/ays cweliing on her —
well — " embodiment."
When she saw tall girls around, her it made her
almost wi'd,
Nor to her dumpy figure could she be reconciled ;
" Oh ! ■' cried she, " I'd: grudge no sacrifice if I
could only be
Tall, and slight, and supple, and slim and
willowy I "
in.
And then she wailed and sorrowed, and in her
plight so sad,
She took to special dieting, en food as well as
fad;
But 'twas in vain, apparently, the problem thus
to solve,
He "too, too solid fiesh " refused to "thaw,
melt or dissolve."
IV.
Not even all her grieving o'er her figure made
her thinner.
Nor did she lose an ounce of weight by goirg
minus dinner ;
So she at length was on the verge of sheer ard
blank despair.
When by a happy chance she read an article
somewhere.
Ada Victoriana.
177
V.
It told of Physical Culture and the marvels it can do
For cases such as hers ; oh joy ! she read it through
and through ;
And digested all it said of calisthenics and Delsarte,
Until from end to end she knew the w'nole thing off by
heart.
VI.
As they sometimes say in dramas — you'll please to
understand ^^
An interval elapses here ; 1 cannot take in hand i^C^;
To tell the weary story of Miss Willoughby"s long course
Of dumb-bel's, weights, and swinging clubs and other
forms of Force.
VII.
Let it suffice to say, in brief, her faith and enterprise,
Her persevering efforts, and her strenuous exercise
Were splendidly rewarded ; her triumph was complete.
She was tall, and thin, and wiry, and most active on
her feet.
VIII.
Alas ! few earthly blessings are pure without alloy ;
Miss Floradora Willoughby was now brimful of joy ;
But the calisthenic habit and the system of Delsarte
Had become a second nature, from which she couldn't
part.
IX.
And when, at length, she married a meek, bald-headed
man,
'Tis safe to say that trusting person's testing time
began ;
For, though a worthy character, he was not overfine.
And high aesthetic culture was scarcely in his line.
1/8
Ada Victoriana.
Yet, while they sat at breakfast and chatted tete-
a-tete,
She'd pass the butter to him in a scientific way ;
That is— she'd take the platter, and, with fine com-
mand of nerve,
Deliver 't when she had described a graceful, sweeping;
curve.
XI.
When she walked into the drawing-room it was indeed
a sight
That filled all casual visitors with rapture and delight.
Such poetry of motion, such a sylph-like, fairy air —
They'd never seen such picturesque cake-walking
anywhere I
XII.
And then her fetching attitudes ! She'd do a pose
plastiqiie ,
Artistic, though unconscious, whenever she would
speak ;
With " Susan, bring the dinner in ! " she, with an out-
stretched hand,
Would be a Grecian statue that personified command.
XIII.
With " Post this letter, Samuel," — in a spesch quite:
commonplace —
She'd do the pose that meant beseech with most
pathetic grace ;
Or when, perchance, the door-bell rang, she'd sternly
wave her comb
(If she were doing up her hair), and say, " I'm not
at home ! "
Acta Victoriana.
179
XIV.
But oh ! the way she'd say it, and the gesture she
would make,
It knocked poor Susan every time, and made her
fairly quake,
Till at length the creature had to leave her well-paid
situation,
A hopeless case of heart disease mixed up with nerve
prostration.
XV.
When Mrs. Floradora walked out upon the street
With her unassuming husband, 'twas esteemed a public
treat.
As a lesson in deportment, free — "pro bono
publico,"
And the general population turned out to see the
show.
XVI.
But not to lengthen out the tale, I only need to tell
How a strange — and p'r'aps instructive — "denoue-
ment " befell|;
The lady, by excess of curves, quite wore her system
out,
And then, for want of exercise, once more grew mon-
strous stout ! !
XVII.
And contemplating with despair her doubly cruel fate.
In rage and piqued abandonment, she ate, and ate,
and ate.
Till, 'mongst fat woman freaks, she was a prodigy so
rare.
That her husband " showed " her in a tent at every
County Fair,
I So
Ada Virloriana.
The Hon. James Cox ^ikins, LL.iy.
BY REV. NATHANAEL BURWASH, M.A., S.T.D., LL.D.
URING last vacation our country lost one of its
most useful and honored citizens, and our
College one of her oldest and most eminent
sons by the decease of the late Senator Aikins.
Mr. Aikins was descended from that North
of Ireland people which has taken so promin-
ent a part in the building of Canada. His
father emigrated from Monaghan in the year
t8i6 and after a brief sojourn in the city of Philadelphia settled
CH.ANCELLOR BURWASH.
in the Township of Toronto, about thirteen miles west of the
town of York in the year 1820.
Mr. Aikins. sen., had been educated in the Presbyterian faith,
but in that early day the itinerant Methodist preachers were the
only evangelists of the country, and as they visited his neighbor-
o
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3- - 5
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Ada Vic tori ana. i8i
hood he opened both his heart and home to them, and his house
became a centre of rehgious Hfe and influence. Here, in 1823
was born his eldest son, James Cox Aikins. He grew up in
the midst of the simple strenuous life of the farm, shared in all
the toil and hardship of those early days, was blessed with the
moral discipline and fervent religious influence of his Presby-
terian-Methodist Christian home, and himself became at a very
early age a decided Christian, rejoicing in the clear consciousness
of spiritual life. After this spiritual birth God gave him nearly
seventy years of life, during which his religious spirit was not
suffered to decline, and his simple, unassuming, Christian pro-
fession was consistently maintained.
At the same time other foundations for future usefulness were
being laid. The people from whom he came were an intellectual
people who valued education, and from reformation times hac
built their schools on the same lines as their Presbyterian breth-
ren across the Irish Channel. The schools of Upper Canada,
in the thirties of the last century, were still very rudimentary,
but of these he availed himself to the fullest extent. When he
was yet but thirteen vears of age, Methodism opened to her
sons and daughters the doors of the Upper Canada Academy.
Here a liberal curriculum of more advanced studies was offered,
the services of able and thoroughly qualified teachers, most of
them university men. others trained in the classical schools of
the Old Land, were secured, and the most modern and effective
methods of instruction were introduced. The new^ institution
at this time divided with Upper Canada College the honor of
furnishing the best education then available in the Province.
Here, in 1840. ]\Ir. Aikins joined the scores of young Cana-
dians who then filled its classes, and pursued a most successful
course of studies for the next five years.
At the end of Mr. Aikins' first year in college the Upper Can-
ada Academy had emerged from its lower stage of academic
work, as it had been endowed by Act of Parliament with univer-
sity powers, and at its head was placed Dr. Egerton Ryerson,
already famous for his labors on behalf of civil and religious
liberty, and soon to be equally widely known in the work of
education. To the young college and its new president were
gathering the strongest young liberal spirits of the country ; and
Mr. Aikins found himself in company with, as fellow-students.
1 82 Acia Victor iana.
such men as Xelles, Ormiston, Springer, Hodgins, MacDougall,
Brouse, Biggar, and Dennis, who have all borne a prominent
part in the subsequent history of our country, and many of
whom were afterwards his associates in the halls of legislature.
As a student he was fully their peer, carrying ofif from year to
year some of the highest honors of his class.
But while college life had inspired many of his fellow students
with ambition for professional or public life, his love of the quiet
country home remained unchanged, and on coming of age he
returned to the farm in the County of Peel which was to become
the beautiful homestead of after days, and which was to be his
home for the next twenty-five years. Thither he brought, in
1845, his young bride, Miss ^lary Elizabeth Jane Somerset, a
lady whose beauty of person and of Christian character, and
whose refinement and intelligence fitted her to be the companion
of an educated man, and to grace the high stations to which in
after years they were to be called.
The next ten years were given to the quiet life and the duties
of home, neighborhood, and church, to which he gave his ener-
gies as class-leader, Sabbath School superintendent, and trustee.
But even then premonition of his future duties were
not wanting in municipal honors, and a nomination for par-
liamentary honors, which he at first declined. In 1854 he was
elected in the Reform interest as representative of the County
of Peel in the Legislative Assembly, and for the next seven years
devoted his attention to the important questions then before the
country, such as the settlement of the clergy reserves, the estab-
lishment of the municipal system, and the improvement of edu-
cation. In 1861 he was defeated on a local issue by the Hon.
John Hillyard Cameron, but the following year was elected to
the Legislative Council for the Home District, including the
Counties of Peel and Halton, from which he was called at Con-
federation to the Senate of the Dominion of Canada.
The political life of a member of Parliament, whether in the
Upper or Lower House, from 1862 onward was a stormy one,
and when the "double majority" failed and a deadlock of par-
ties was imminent, the leaders of both parties consented to unite
their forces to carry into efifect the great national measure of
Confederation, as promising relief from their present political
difficulties, as well as a nobler destiny for their country in the
future. In the ministry which was thus formed the Hon.
Acta Vicfofiana. i 83
George Brown, the leader of the party with which Mr. Aikins
had thus far acted, the Hon. Wm. MacDougall, his former
fellow-student, and the Hon. Oliver Mowat, were members on
the Reform side for Upper Canada, with the Hon. John A. Mac-
donald, James Cockburn, and Alexander Campbell, Conserva-
tives. This coalition government ended with the completion of
Confederation, and the entrance of the old provinces into the
new Dominion. It was the desire of Sir John A. Macdonald
that the union of parties should be continued, but Mr. Brown
and Mr. Mowat declined and the Upper Canada Reformers
were represented in the first Dominion Cabinet by Messrs. How-
land, Fergusson-Blair, and MacDougall. During the autumn
several changes took place and on the 9th of December Mr.
Aikins was called to the Cabinet as Secretary of State. In the
same month Mr. Fergusson-Blair died and henceforward
Messrs. Aikins, MacDougall, and Howland continued to act in
Parliament with Sir John A. Macdonald. He held office for the
next five years, until the fall of the Macdonald government, in
1873, on the Pacific Railway charter. During this time among
the important measures carried into effect in his department
were the organization of the Dominion Lands Bureau in the
North- West, and the passing of the Public Lands Act in 1872
In the preparation of this Act he was largely assisted by his
friend and former fellow-student. Colonel J. Stoughton Dennis,
then Surveyor-General. When the Macdonald administration
returned to power in 1878, Mr. Aikins was again included in the
Cabinet, and continued in office until 1882, when he resigned his
place in the Senate and was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of
Manitoba. At the close of his term in 1887, he returned to On-
tario, and in 1896, was once more appointed to the Senate, in
which he continued to discharge his duties to the end of his life.
Throughout his whole life, he not only maintained his char-
acter as a consistent Christian man, but also found time find
opportunity for Christian work, and took a prominent part in
all the interests of the Methodist Church. For many years he
was lay treasurer of the Missionary Society of our Church ; and
his influence, experience, and ability in public affairs were al-
ways at its command for service. He closed a long and useful
life in the quiet of his own home and in the peace of the Chris-
tian faith on the 6th of August, 1904, in the eighty-second year
of his age.
184
Acta V^tctoria7ia.
^,-...#^^%^
^^;,^^^?.<^^
T
The Eternal Path
IME whips us on along the eternal way,
And as we strain towards the unknown goal,
We hail with joy or grief the new-born day :
We bless or curse the seasons as thev roll.
But this our Earth is doomed as well as we ;
She holds her course unwearied round the sun,
She spins along the path, unwitting she.
If ever her long journey will be run.
And he, our central foice, our life, our light,
Sun of our suburb of the universe ;
He plunges on into the infinite,
Unknowing what far fields he must traverse.
And other suns, a million suns beside,
With frightful, unimaginable force,
Are whirling through aerial deserts wide
To unknown goals on the eternal course.
Secret the way, far-off, unknown the goal.
And yet the Father holds us in His care ;
He guides His worlds. He li'ts the weary soul ;
He knows the way, He hears thy feeblest prayer.
Acta Victoriana.
i8^
The Barricade
BY S. FRANCES HARRISON ("SERANUS").
ERBERT LORING was a young barrister of promise and
Han intimate friend of the family. He possessed a spon-
taneity and fertility of humor, and a vein of inconseqence
and generosity which, while delightful to share in, con-
tributed chiefly to his suddenly renouncing his home and
profession and taking to mining. In other words, the
Klondike fever caught him — held him fast.
For six months he was absent— none knew whether he
had been successful ornot— when, as suddenly as he had
gone, he returned. That return was dramatic. It was
New Year's Eve and the hour seven, with the gas lighted and a plenti-
ful table laid for five. The meal being " high tea," both white and brown
bread were on the trencher, and a good-natured quarrel reigning
be'iween two boys as to the relative merits of the loaves. From sport
they proceeded, as youth will, to earnest. The loaves were snatched,
held on high, grabbed, thrown down, caught again. Next they
changed hands, and in the midst of calls to order, rapping, laughter,
shouting, the brown loaf crumbled in two, and the white being a twist,
resolved itself into a long yellow shining braid lying across the table.
" Children, children, this is going too far ! Leave the bread alone
at once !— do you hear ? It is a sin to waste it so."
Like an echo came from behind my chair the words, " It is indeed
a sin to waste it so ! "
I started and looked around. Herbert Loring stood at the door,
the very ghost, as we say, of his former self. His dress had sufifered ,
his features were sharpened ; his eyes sunken. His gay, confident
manner had vanished and, more like a suppliant than a friend, he
held up one hand as if in protest or invocation. For a moment this
strange impression affected us, then we crowded around him, and he
grew more natural. Apologizing for the broken bread, I was sending
for a fresh loaf when he put his hand earnestly on mine and begged
me to do nothing of the kind.
" I heard you say that it was a sin to waste the bread, and I repeated
your words. Did you hear me ? "
I told him I had.
"But you could not understand why I — I — Herbert Loring, re-
peated them. And I do not wonder. There was a time I, too, might
have wasted good food ; but not now — not now ! "
I 86 Ada Victoriana.
This transpontine speech amazed us, but we forbore to question
him just then. When the meal was over we asked as to his success.
For answer he drew a canvas bag from a small hand valise and put it
on the table. It appeared to be full, and we were naturally delighted.
" You reappear after a respectable interval," I said, " like the regula-
tion miner of fiction, in shabby clothes, but with dust and nuggets in
the regulation bag. Your friends will envy you."
Herbert smiled rather sadly. " I hope not, though I have not done
so badly. I have no nuggets, as you call them, but I have cleared
$i,ooo in dust and two bars valued at $500 apiece."
" Are you going back ? "
" Never ! I would pave roads sooner."
"But think of what you have done already! If you went again
knowing the ground better — "
Herbert struck his hand fiercely on the table.
" Never, I tell you ! Heavens ! You sit here and — and — waste the
bread, the daily bread of peace and work and plenty together, and
yonder there are men starving — stairving — do you know, can you
tell what that means? "
We were silent.
" I left here," Herbert resumed, " late in June, as you know. We
got up without any accidents. The trail was an old and frequented
one ; we had summer on our side, and our provisions were well
chosen and plentiful. The air was so invigorating that all our por-
taging and walking failed to fatigue us, and we were among the first to
try our luck near Dawson City. In fact, our success was extraordin-
arily simple. We just took pans and shovels, dug and washed, and
washed and dug, and cleared any amount of stuff. But the scenery
was monotonous, and the life rough and drear. Scurgis, a surveyor,
whom I had taken a fancy to, and an American named Dyce, were
my only companions, and by the middle of November we had enough
of it ; so wi started for home. Sturgis wished very much to try the
other side of Plymouth Pass than the one we had come by, as at a
place called Fort Mellon, we had heard there was a small settlement
working a richer and newer claim, and Dyce and I, eager lor adventure,
arranged that we would accompany him. We were warned against
proceeding by a trail so little known so late in the year, but with bags
full of money, two canoes, fair weather, and plenty of provisions, we
started without a misgiving.
" At our first Portage, the Portage de la Mauvaise Musique — and a
bad music it turned out for us — a dreadful thing happened. We lost
Acta Victoriaiia. 187
Dyce. I was on ahead with tools and provisions. Sturgis followed
with one canoe, while Dyce was some distance behind with the other.
The river ran here in a wild rapid, too furious to freeze — a most
dangerous channel, even for the skilful Indians of the district; but
Dyce, lake-bred (he belonged to Ohio), could never be brought to
understand the peril of seething waters. As we paused a moment,
the devil seemed to enter into him. He ran to the shore, launched the
canoe, and was off and away towards the centre of that turbulent
stream before we knew what he was doing — with a smile upon his
face — poor old Dyce ! Sturgis and I dropped canoe and burdens »
shouted and swore. He only shook his head and pointed to the
opposite bank.
" ' He'll not reach it ! ' cried Sturgis. ' And, by God, there he goes
now ! It's all up with him ! '
" The canoe was caught on the tip of icy, sparkling waters, hoisted
high on a crest of silver as a ball on a spout, was overturned, and sent
spinning into the rapid. We heard a cry, caught a glimpse of some-
thing being torn and tossed on the half-submerged rocks, and that was
the last of Dyce. You can understand how this incident aflfected us,
as, in addition to the loss of companion and canoe, we lost our chart,
which Dyce had upon him. It was impossible to reach him, and the
already too cold nights precluded all ideas of waiting till the body
floated out into the stream.
" We proceeded next day by water, and soon found that the less of
the chart was indeed very serious. Between the Portage du Rocher
and the Portage du Chien we were to make land at a spot opposite a
large blazed tree hanging over the water ; but whether we went too
far or whether some storm had uprooted the landmark I do not
know ; we never saw it. On the second afternoon the current was
rapidly increasing and Sturgis moodily reviewing our position, when
under our bow a long cascade of rapids revealed itself, and in a
moment we were drawn into the deadly threads of glittering surge.
Sturgis threw out the heavier packages. We knelt close, and felt the
canoe oscillate, quiver, strive, scratch — then fly straight as an arrow
over and through the seething crests to smooth water. We got safely
to shore, but the canoe was good for nothing ! "
" Did you turn back ? "'
"Turn back? You never knew Sturgis, it is plain. No; we went
on without a chart, with food for only a fortnight, calculating, however,
that we would reach Fort Melton in about three days, keeping due
south by the stars at night, and in the day-time watching the crests of
io8 Acta ]^ictoriana.
the Rockies on our left. On the third evening Sturgis stumbled
against a stout rope, twined many times around a still stouter tree,
knotted and tied in a profusion of twists and convolutions that would
have baffled us long had we thought of undoing them. Sturgis,
always intensely alive, alert and curious, was for following the rope: T
preferred to let it alone."
"' Don't you see,' he said, ' it's not loose, lying along the ground,
but taut, strained, and evidently leading somewhere. I wwi-/ follow it.'
" For a quarter of an hour we followed the rope where it led, ovtr
branches, around boulders, and between trees, when Sturgis suddenl\
grasped my arm.
" ' Listen ! ' he said. ' I hear voices.'
" In a moment I heard them too — a strange sound in the wilderness —
that of hymn singing, and not by one or two voices, but by a multitude.
The sounds came nearer and nearer, till without any warning — it was
dark by this time, and painfully cold^we toppled over a treacherous
sandy bank into a vale or plain below, still following the rope. Above
us rose some kind of white, uneven wall or 1 arricade through whose
interstices we saw by the glare of several rude camp fires a hundred
or more pilgrims of the Klondike.
"Our feelings were those of extreme bewilderment and consternation.
An hour before we had deemed ourselves the only human beings in
that remote and inclement region ; now we were face to face with a
hundred of our species, among whom we might even find old friends
and acquaintances. But we hesitated to enter the strange enclosure.
Sturgis particularly — and this was unusual — hung back.
" ' I don't understand it in the least,' he said, peering through the
apertures formed by the angles in the barricade at motley groups
around the camp-fires. ' I never saw anything like it. What are
these people doing here ? '
" I had no explanation to offer. As yet we were too far off to note
the expression or attire of those who sat clasping their knees and
raising a doleful song by the ruddy and orange fires.
"'And what in heaven's name is this wall built of? It looks
uncommonly like — bones.'
" Groping about in the half light, the cold moon on one side,
and bonfires on the other, we at last discovered that the barri-
cade was constructed out of the bleached skeletons of many
horses, presumably fallen by the way, in shape an irregular oval.
The people inside it were grouped near the centre ; and now,
as we looked more closely, we could perceive that many of them
Ada Victoriana. \ 89
were lying on the ground covered with cloaks and coats, while those
who were chanting scraps of hymns and psalms were horribly
emaciated. One or two, stronger than the rest, rose from time to
time and plied the fares, but in a listless and peculiar manner.
"'It's a case of giving up," muttered Sturgis, 'caused, I suppose,
in the first instance by famine. Look at their poor hands and fingers!
Herbert, what are we to do ? '
" It happened that, just as he asked me that question, a portion of
the barricade on which we were standing fell in, and we were imme-
diately revealed to the people round the fires, being precipitated
almost into their midst.
" In an instant and with one accord the demeanor of the pilgrims
altered. Those who were awake lost their languor and took on fresh
and awful strength. Those who had been sleeping awoke, dazed and
frenzied, although many of the forms stiffly outlined beneath cover-
ings never moved at all. These were they who, alas ! had already
succumbed to cold and hunger. Sturgis and I were surrounded,
beaten to the ground and stripped of our packs and bundles. We
saw only one woman, but of all that demented throng I thought her
eye the sanest, although it held, too, a torturing fear. The rest were
men and boys of all ages, and mostly of the artisan class, with a
sprinkling of a rougher element. Sturgis and I fought for our lives.
We had food for a fortnight at least, and in that time we might
accomplish our return. What were they after ? The attack was
puzzling at first, and we both felt for our gold. But it was not gold
they sought. Finding it, they threw it aside and would have stamped
upon it.
" ' Gold ! gold ! ' they ciied ; ' what have we to do with gold ? We
had gold; we have it yet, but we want what gold cannot give us — -at
least here — we want food.'
" Then it broke upon us that it must be for our provisions that these
poor demented people had assaulted us, and, indeed, on rising from
the ground where we had struggled for breath and liberty, we found
our bags in possession of the strongest of the rabble. The disorder
was so great that in ten minutes or less nothing remained, and half
the food had been wasted by being spilled or otherwise destroyed.
Much of it was not in a condition to be eaten, requiring preparation
and cooking, and when this was the case it was flung away in mad
derision.
"Oaths resounded on all sides, and in the glare of the bonfires the
seekers after gold and fortune resembled some savage tribe engaged
190 Acia Victor iana.
in fearful and unnatural rites. Consumed with wonder and pity, we
were thinking of our future movements and how we should maintain
life for the next few days, when the woman I had noticed touched me
timidly on the arm. I turned and met her eyes, melting with con-
flicting emotions.
" ' Can we do anything for you ? ' I said. ' I am afraid these
cowards have left scarcely any food. See! they have taken everything.'
" "^ Don't call them that, sir,' she replied, 'or at least not till they
have proved themselves so.'
" ' What do you mean ? ' I asked, for there was a hurried change in
her manner.
" ' Besides, I am not so badly off as the others,' she answered,
irrelevantly as I thought. 'See! I am not at all reduced, not thin
and worn like the men are.'
" It was true. She had managed to preserve more of the appearance
of health than any of the singular camp, and was by nature a pretty
and plump woman of about twenty-five.
" Sturgis was the first to perceive her meaning.
" ' My God ! you don't fear that they will — ah, I can't name the
thought ! '
" Like a flash I saw her meaning, too, and recoiled. ' Oh, not that;
not that ! ' I cried. ' Anything but that. They might sink low,
become desperate; but these are Englishmen — Americans — civilized
— even religious men. They are not savages — brutes — cannibals.'
"Why do you not try to escape?' said Sturgis. 'Once at Fort
Melton you will be safe.'
The woman smiled grimly.
" ' This is Fort Melton,' she said, and for the first time I felt
genuine fear — ' least, what there is left of it. My — my husband,
Jack .\Iacy, was the first to come here. That's why I stand it so well.
I know the climate, and I can go without food better than most people.
But Jack's dead. This cold spell finished him ; he had a weak chest,
and so I'm alone. And, sir, I've done my best to make a cheerful
camp. I've brought in food for them, and I've shown them where to
look for it ; and the wall there was my idea, to keep off wolves and
wildcats, and I've even tried to lead the nightly singing round the fire,
but I can't keep it up much longer.'
" She coughed to hide a dry, choking sob.
" ' I should think not ! ' exclaimed Sturgis. ' Why don't your people
make some effort to move on down, if possible, nearer civilization ?"
" ' They're too far gone, sir. They can do nothing till they get food.
Acta Victoriana. 191
Everything's been against us. In September last the bush fires spread
and destroyed twenty-five shacks — all there were. We've had scurvy
since then, and many, many deaths, yet you can't move them. When
things are a little better then it is all 'rose' with them, and they
think of the gold. But I'm afraid, sir, at last — and for myself."
" Sturgis and I were silent a moment, contemplating the men.
'■■' I might speak to them, I think,' said he. ' It can do no harm
to tell them how we are situated ourselves, and as we are the fresher
we might propose to start at once for Cariboo, the nearest station, and
send back help.'
" ' Be careful, sir ! ' said the woman.
" ' Are they armed ? '
"'No guns or powder to speak of; it's all used up. But they have
a few knives, sir.'
"'That's all right,' said Sturgis, heartily. ' Look after Mrs. Macy,
Herbert, while I interview these chaps.'
"'You had best call me Ellen,' said she, trembling and panting a
little, ' there's a real Mrs. Macy somewhere in the town, and she
might be uneasy if she heard about me.'
"You may be certain that neither Sturgis nor myself cared a button
about the social standing of this heroine of the Klondyke. A braver,
better woman, never breathed.
" Sturgis stepped into the circle of unknown men, and Ellen Macy
and 1 withdrew where it was easier for her to tell me more of her
story. We had been talking only a few minutes when a commotion
arose around my comrade, and I judged it my duty to go forward.
"I rushed across the ground, stumbling over three or four prostrate
bodies as I ran, just in time to see a long arm raised holding a knife,
and the next moment to see that knife plunged into Sturgis. Yes;
they killed him — murdered him — then and there. I have suffered
enough, G^d knows ! Then the men closed round me, and I saw,
and neve shall forget, their wizened, sharpened countenances ; their
long claw-like fingers ; their voracious expressions; their glittering, yet
dull, eyes.
"'What are you going to do next?' I cried. 'You'll gain nothing
by killing me. I've no more food left.'
" I might as well have talked to the rocks and the ground. Across
the red glare I caught Ellen Macy's eye, and it widened with new
terror.
"There seemed to be some conferring among the crowd. A few
burst into hysterical tears, others called wildly for food, swore, and
192 Acta Vidoriana.
babbled in half delirious accents, and before I could elude their con-
certed action, they caught me up and tossed me over the ugly
barricade.
" But, although bruised and stunned, I still retained sufificient
consciousness to think of Ellen Macy — of the probable terrors of her
position. I could only hope that aid might still come, if not by me,
then through someone or something else. During my conscious
intervals that night, I heard groans and shrieks, mingled with oaths
and snatches of hymns, but I could detect nothing definite. So I
deserted her, if it can be called desertion, and crawling from boulder
to boulder, from crag to crag, faint, bleeding and in pain, I at length
reached, on the third day, a straggling camp or settlement, known as
Paradise Alley. In warm weather this was a beautiful spot by the
shores of the Pelly River, but now it was looked on as the last outpost of
civilization, numbering about twenty Indians and a dozen rough miners.
" I knocked at the door of the chief shack, and when it was opened
fell on the floor without a word. That was the beginning of a low
fever, through which I was nursed by the miners for six weeks.
When I could speak coherently, I told them of the barricade, of the
lonely woman, of my fears for her, of the end of my friend Sturgis.
"For some time they would not believe me. Then, in spite of the
severe weather, seven of the men started north. They found the spot,
and many, many corpses, but no trace of the woman Ellen Macy."
Herbert stopped for a moment, drawing his hand over his eyes
then went on again.
"You see the wreck I am. You can imagine, perhaps, the effect
all this has had on my mind and my sympathies. I have lost two
companions; I have starved; I have seen murder done and dreamt far
worse, and you ask me if I'm going back. Never ! "
We had one question to ask : " What do you suppose became of
Ellen Macy ? "
" I do not know," said our friend, but with a tremor in his voice
and a great awe upon his face. Outside the bells were jangling
merrily in the crisp wmter air, but around the table our faces grew
grave. " I have not told this story before, but when I entered and
saw you all so merry, and also — forgive me — so heedless and extrava-
gant, everything came up again in my mind.
" Bread or gold, which do you choose? "
And Herbert, with a tinge of his old manner, held up in one hand
his canvas bag, and in the other a loaf which had just been placed
upon the table.
Acta Victoriana.
193
Manual Training
BY CEPHAS GUILLET, B.A., PH.D.
NY thorough course in manual training must involve a
/jL study both of nature and of human history. It cannot
^ ^ ignore the past and it must draw new inspiration from
nature, the perennial source of beauty. The goal never
to be lost sight of is the marriage of beauty and utiluy.
In my own school, in which I had an opportunity of
applying, unhampered by outside interference, the best
methods I could discover or devise, I at first adopted a
modification of the sloyd system. I taught my boys to
use the knife and the tools of the carpenter in making
various sim[ le objects connected with their interests ; as a marble-
stick and other playthings, a pen-holder, a moth-drier, a bird-house, a
set of shelves for specimens, and the like, most of this work fitting in
well with their work in nature study.* Realizing, however, that this,
while good as far as it went, was very elementary work of limited
educational value, I supplemented it with work involving higher
faculties and appealing to more permanent interests. This was in
large part the method of J. Liberty Tadd, as outlined in his "New
Methods in Education."
* For an account of the work of my school in the study of their environment, see The Peda-
gogical Seminary for March. 1904, " A (llimpse at a Nature School."
194
Ada Victo7'ia7ia
I shall briefly describe a year's work of my school in this higher
manual training. First we worked with the traditional units of design,
as they have been created by the finest artistic minds — the scroll and
anthemion, the shell, the leaf and bud and rosette. We learned to
draw these with facility with both hands and then studied how to
arrange them in beautiful patterns.
The illustration on page 193 shows the designs invented during
the Fall term by nine boys from eight to fourteen years of age)
except three of the designs which are by myself. They are variously
executed in crayon, common ink, India ink and water colors. The
boys invented from three to six patterns each, mainly head pieces,
centre pieces and borders.
The boys were also taught to model both conventional and natural
forms in clay. Clay has been used by man from time immemorial as
a means of expression, and nothing is so suitable for the expression of
the child's artistic conceptions as this wonderfully plastic material.
The illustration on page 194 shows clay models made by nine boys in
the winter term.
Frequently the boys were taken to the Zoological Museum and
trained to draw some of the animals from memory. One was first
allowed to scrutinize the animal selected until he thought he had a
good mental image of it. He then went into another room and drew
it. This proved to be an excellent means of training the powers of
observation and memory. The same animal form was sometimes
Ada Victoj'iana.
195
also modelled as well as drawn from memory at the school the next
day or several days later. It thus became fixed in the mind.
In March we sometimes took advantage of the thaws to model out-
doors in snow from memory the animal forms we had learned to draw
and model in clay. On page 195 are several groups of boys model-
ling in snow on Cartier Square. I one day took them to Parliament
Hill and had them model in snow a large lion's head on each side of
the great steps leading up to the Parliament Buildings.
As soon as a boy can model a good scroll he is taught to carve it in
quartered oak (see illustration page 196). He is then encouraged
to carve an original design for some article of furniture. As a means
of at once arousing and giving a beautiful direction to energy, carving
in the tough oak is a splendid exercise, both physical and intellectual.
It gives grip and grasp.
In the illustration on page 197 are the designs of carving for furni-
ture, many of them (nearly all the more elaborate) original, carved in
oak and other hard woods during five months by nine boys. There
are panels for a coffer, a mirror-frame, the top of a plant stand, the
ends of table book-racks, and several picture and photo frames. Some
of the work there was not time to finish, but the pupils are both able
and willing to finish it without further oversight. Such work gives
boys confidence in themselves, the true confidence that comes from
knowing that one can do things worth doing. All too much time is
spent by our youth in mere sport.
196
Acta Vicforiana.
In the spring, in connection with the work in nature study, the boys
are taught to draw and paint our native plants. I have found that
this work reveals to them beauty ihey had never observed before.
'■ Why I never knew the wild ginger was such a beautiful fiower ! "
was the exclamation of one of the boys after studying it in this way;
and the others echoed his opinion. In the illustration on page 198
they are painting plants on the Gatineau River at the beautiful Chelsea
Rapids.
Several of the plants are conventionalized and used in designs.
The boys spent the last day of school at Rockliffe, by the Ottawa
River (where they may be seen in the illustration on page 199), painting
designs from the beautiful wild ginger and the graceful little twin-
flower vine.
'I'he manual training I have tried to picture develops something
more than mechanical accuracy. It develops taste and inventiveness,
qualities that are of the highest importance to society and which are
yet hardly thought of in our ordinary systems of education; for these
inculcate both the conservative and the critical at itude of mind, but
rarely the constructive. What would not our manufacturers give for
young men who had been trained in this way for a number of years
to turn out work of high quality and finish? If we are to compete
with the nations of the world as a manufacturing country, our educa-
tional systems will have to be revised.
Again, in all the exercises I have described of drawing, modelling and
carving (and, indeed, of writing also), the pupils are trained to use both
A eta Victoriana .
197
hands with equal facility. Consider the advantage that a race trained
to be two-handed and symmetrically developed in brain and body
would have in all the arts both of peace and war.
But these more or less utilitarian results are not the only ones.
The boys' eyes are opened to beauty of form and color wherever it is
to be found in nature and art, as their parents have testified. Their
minds are enriched, their experience broadened, their higher interests
aroused, their capacity for happiness enhanced. The child can be
truly educated not through books alone, nor even through nature
study by mere observation and talk, but through the incorporation of
the environment by the participation of the whole organism of the
child in its apprehension and appreciation.
The utilitarian test, however, is not to be despised. For, in the last
analysis the products of a people, whether the immediate work of
artists or of artisans, or indeed of any class of workers, are the
resultant, not alone of the skill and frugality, but also of the
wisdom, the culture and the character of that people. And in this
lies our truest ground for optimism in the struggle of races. On
these terms the honest man will only welcome the competition of other
races, whether they be white or yellow,
A great deal is being said these days about the importance of manual
training, but in general all too narrow an idea prevails of what manual
training is or might be, and often the nature and needs of the child,
body and mind, are quite overlooked. The strong point of the sloyd
system is its appeal to the simple interests of the child, in that it has
6
198
Acta Victoriana.
him make a finished object in which he takes a real interest. Its
weak points are its narrow interpretation of the child's interests, and its
insistence upon a logical system based on a study of tools, rather than
upon a psychological system based upon a study of the child. I may
illustrate the latter point by pointing to the first object that the child
is taught to make. It is a tiny wedge about three inches long and
about an inch wide, and one-quarter of an inch thick at the thick end.
This tiny object is to be made by a knife in the child's clumsy hands.
It recalls the mistakes of the kindergartners. Now it is a well-known
fact of child growth, as of racial growth, that the large muscles of trunk
and limbs develop first, the finer muscles of the hand last. The child,
therefore, should at first be set to make large objects roughly with
such tools as the saw and the hammer.
The sloyd system's narrow interpretation of the child's interests, to
which reference is made above, is seen in its exclusion of the instinct
for beauty, for ornamentation, an instinct possessed by the child in
common with primitive man and his present representative, the
savage. This instinct Mr. Tadd's system exploits in a very beautiful,
but possibly too highly developed way.
The Japanese exercise their decorative skill upon the common
objects of daily use. The Persians used to do the same; and to this
day the Persian artisans make their own designs. Every true manual
training teacher will strive to encourage and guide his pupils in hke-
wise ornamenting with ever increasing art the things they like to make.
The excellence of Mr. Tadd's system lies in its insistence upon
freehand drawing and designing as the base and centre of the work.
Acta Victoriana.
199
The ability to design is the key to all the minor arts, to clay-mode ling
wood-carving, the work of the goldsmith and silversmith, embroidery,
repousse work, and many other beautiful arts to which our Canadian
youth are unfortunately strangers. Here is a field well worth the
attention of our manual training teachers and our technical schools.
It is not another system we want ; it is men. There is too much of
"system" in all our educational effort, and too little of man, of
the live, enthusiastic, courageous, original teacher. For all true
educational work, whether manual training, or nature study, or
history, or any other culture material employed to inform and develop
the body-soul of the growing child, we need not departmental regula-
tions or curricula, but men — men of insight and enthusiasm, men of
culture and special training. Here we »^ouch the weak spot in our
public system of education — the dearth of men thoroughly trained
for their work. For all other skilled work based on science a long and
severe special training is essential. Of the physician, dentist, lawyer,
minister, engineer, years of direct preparation for their work is required,
while we in Canada require of the teachers only a few months' crude
training. What we need is a College of Educators, or, rather^ several
such, in affiliation with our universities. Until we have these and
require our teachers to attend them, grading them and paying them
according to the number of successful years there spent, teaching will
not be a profession and the public will, in the main, continue to be
badly served by those who should be the most important and valued
servants of the state.
200
Ada Victoriana.
The Wreck of the ''Little Lion"
BY AGNES C. I.AUT.
EACH fisher hamlet on the north shore of Newfoundland and that
part of the north known as "The Labrador " has its village bard
to-day as two hundred years ago, who goes from house to house
AGNES C. LAUT ON HER OWN ESTATE.
-on winter nights chanting in rude minstrelsy the adventures of the
fishermen's perilous life. This episode was told to me off Labrador in
1898 and done into verse to the sing-song of the endless croon which
* Written off St. Battle Harbor, Labrador, October, 1898.
Ada Vicioriana. 201
that wild northern sea always chants. This sing-song, four part
measure, by the way, is the almost uniform measure of the hamlet
minstrel's verse, with the exception that nearly all songs begin with the
words, "Come all ye Newfoundlanders"; hence the^name, "Come
all ye's," by which fisher folk songs are known.
The crimson sun shone red as wine
'Mid golden glory of the west ;
The milk-white spray's swift wavering line
Tossed up in sheets from waterjj crest.
The angry sea was gilded bright
In one long endless amber trail ;
The billows rose in thund'rous might
And broke their strength with mournful wail.
Newfoundland's cold gray rampart shore
Of lofty rock was lined in ice —
A coat of steel the island wore.
The glittering mail of winter's vise.
The coastal ship skimmed past the edge
Of ice-fields vast and grim and hoar ;
She forced her prow, a narrow wedge,
Through crystal gaps of splintering floor.
At times she rode the billows' swell.
Or reeled away from curling tide,
Or felt the breakers as they fell
To freeze upon her shivering side.
'"Tis twenty years, come Christmas Eve,''
The old mate mused and gazed to sea,
" The Litt/e Lion was booked to leave
Saint John's Harbor for Trinity.
" That night the sky was studded bris^ht
With countless stars and full round moon —
Beneath, the land lay glistning w'hite —
'Twas clear as day at cloudless noon.
" The cheer of Christmas Eve flowed free,
Friends lingered round the Lion's pier ;
But out, at last, she rode to sea —
Ho-ho ! The crew they scoffed at fear.
202 Acta Victoriana
" No ripple ruffled the harbor breast —
The shadowy narrows lay quiet and still,
A sea asleep in glassy rest,
With pencil lines of snow-clad hill.
" The lights a-bubbled in foamy glass,
But a beacon glinted from yonder place " —
The old mate waved toward a jagged mass
Of sharp-toothed reefs as white as lace,
Whose breakers tossed their seething spray
With cry, or moan, or long, low wail ;
Whose white wolf-packs ran down their prey
Where weird ghost-arms flung back the gale.
" That night,'" the mate resumed his ;ale,
" Yon treacherous ridge lay calm as death \
The light-house beacon did not iail —
But wine-fumes tainted the sailor's breath.
" The hours dragged leaden at Trinity,
Men watched pale dawn turn deep-dyed red —
Tired eyes strained hard for ship at sea. —
The welcomes home remained unsaid.
" At Christmas noon poor women came
And thronged the wharf and scanned the sea ;
At eve, the Little Lion's name
Was breathed in prayers at Trinity.
" Untouched the ready banquet fare.
The coast was searched for sign of wreck ;
Unfilled the hamlet cotter's chair —
The watchers spied nor spar nor speck.
" Though twenty years have passed away.
The fisher-folk with gruesome awe
See wraiths amid the jagged reef's spray,
And tell in whispers what they saw.
" When winds wail doleful there in storm.
And waves moan low beneath yon cross,
You can almost fancy some ghostly form
Bemoaning in sobs the Lions loss."
Acta Victoriana.
203
Jimhrosia beetles
P.Y REV. CHAS. J. S. BETHUNE,
Editor of The Canadian Entomologist.
THE lives of God's creatures, even the most obscure and humble,
are full of interest to anyone who takes pleasure in observing
the world of nature about him. Patient watching of any particular
species of animal life will usually reveal habits and instincts that seem
to us marvellous, because they are so unexpected and so different from
what we had learned about others. This is especially true in the case
of insects, whether living in solitude or in communities, though we
find most to interest us, no doubt, among the social kinds, which have
GALLERY OF WOOD-ENGRAVING BEETLES.
a highly organized mode of life, and where the work of the individual
is subservient to the welfare of the community.
Many insects live in societies during their larval, or caterpillar, stage,
but without any apparent organization, merely feeding and taking
shelter together, like a flock of sheep or herd of cattle ; these usually
separate when about to enter the chrysalis state, and fly about inde-
pendently when they have arrived at their perfect condition ; they can
hardly be included among social insects, though they perform some
actions which are for the common weal. As a rule the species that
form organized societies belong to the great order Hymenopteray
which includes the ants, bees and wasps ; it is therefore somewhat of
204 Acta Victoriana.
a surprise to find anything of the kind among the members of any
other order. The Termites, or white ants, however, belong to the
Neuroptera. I propose now to give some account of a curious family
of beetles (order Coieoptera), whose life-history was revealed to us a
few years ago by the late Mr. H. G. Hubbard, an able and most
painstaking entomologist.
When the bark is removed from the trunk or larger limbs of a dead
tree, the surface of the wood is often found to be marked with
singular patterns, such as those shown in the accompanying figures.
These are the work of the Wood-engraving beetles, tiny species of the
family Scolytida, who often do an immense deal of damage to forest
trees by causing the bark to dry up and separate from the wood,
stopping the flow of sap and gradually killing the tree. Some kinds
§1
GALLERY OF WOOD-ENGRAVING BEETLES.
also injure the timber by sinking their burrows into it and opening
the way for fungous diseases and rot. To this family belong the
Ambrosia beetles, who may be included in the latter class, as they do
not engrave the surface of the wood, but bore deeply into it.
In Canada there are four genera of Ambrosia beetles recorded in
our lists, and to these belong fourteen species ; but no doubt many
more remain undiscovered, as owing to their habits and their minute-
ness they are seldom collected. Our species vary in size from two to
five mm. — one-sixteenth to less than one-quarter of an inch in length.
They are elongate, cylindrical, compact creatures, with very short
legs, in color of a dull brown ; in many of them the end of the body
is sloping and armed with thorn-like teeth. This armature is appar-
ently intended to protect the insects when in their burrows from any
attack in the rear.
Acta Victoriana. 205
The members of the different genera vary somewhat in their habits
as well as in their structure and appearance. We may, however, take
the genus Xyleborus as typical of the family. A solitary
female starts the colony by boring through the bark of the
tree she has selected into the solid wood, leaving a small
round opening usually termed a " shot-hole," from its
resemblance to the perforation made by a small shot. The
boring goes deeply into the wood for some distance and
A scoLYTiD then branches are formed in different directions which
BEETLE. ggj.yg ag brood gallerics, and in each are deposited five or
(Ijreatly mag- ° '^
nified.) gjx tiny eggs. The young hatch out in a week, and at
once begin to feed upon the ambrosia provided by the action of
the mother-beetle.
The Ambrosia (so called by a German naturalist many years ago) is
a minute fungus which is grown and cultivated in special galleries.
The mother-beetle starts the growth on a carefully prepared bed of
fine chips, which is afterwards manured by the excreta of the larvae.
The beginning of the grov/th is entirely controlled by the insect, but
it requires a certain amount of sap in the wood, and this in a state of
fermentation. Consequently the conditions are somewhat precarious
owing to the drying up of the wood, and the life of a colony of these
beetles in a particular tree is often restricted to a single generation.
There are two kinds of ambrosia — one, the stylate, grows erect and
has at the tip swollen cells (conidia); the other, the moniliform.
forms tangled chains of cells like the beads of a broken necklace.
The fungus is succulent and tender and glistens like pearls or drops
of dew ; it is produced in great abundance and causes the walls of the
galleries to look as if covered with hoar frost. The young larvae eat
the tips only, but the older ones and the adults devour the whole
growth, which soon springs up again like asparagus. It requires to be
constantly cropped in order to remam succulent and edible. If
allowed to ripen the cells burst and discharge their granules and the
plant disappears, to be succeeded by a dense growth that soon would
choke up the galleries and cause the suffocation of the inmates.
There is thus a danger to the colony, for if its numbers do not
increase with sufficient rapidity it may be overwhelmed in the super-
abundance of its food supply. If the galleries are disturbed and
opened to the light the beetles fall to eating the ambrosia as rapidly
as possible in order to save as much as they can of their precious
possession, just as bees when alarmed fill themselves with honey.
Indeed, this food-fungus is just as important to the ambrosia beetle
2o6 Acta Victoriana.
as honey to the hive, and is the object of its greatest care and solici-
tude. Its work in arranging for its production, when we consider the
size of the creature, is enormous, and the difficulties and dangers
attending upon its growth require constant toil and supervision.
One can imagine that the mother beetle must have a very anxious
life !
In some species the larv.^e move about and procure their own food;
in this case it is the erect, stylate fungus which is grown for them.
In others the larvae are kept in small chambers, excavated at right
angles to the main galleries ; these are fed by the mother, who packs
the entrance with the bead-like growth of the moniliform fungus.
The supply is renewed from time to time, and the refuse in the cells
is carefully cleaned out and employed for enriching the fungus beds.
In populous colonies the dead inmates are laid away in deep recesses
and carefully covered in with a mass of chips. After about a month
from their hatching, the larvre change to the pupa state and shortly
after to perfect beetles : the colony will then contain about a score of
adults, all females but one or two. By this time the drying of the
wood, and the consequent failure of the food supply, causes the young
females to migrate and start fresh burrows and colonies. The males
are left behind, and being wingless are unable to join in the migra-
tion to ano'iher and fresher tree ; when left alone they are usually too
few in number to keep down the rapid growth of the ambrosia and so
perish from suffocation. Sometimes, however, they assemble from
the different colonies in a tree and form bachelor communities in a
selected gallery, as many as fifty and sixty having been occasionally
found, and thus by their united efforts they are able to prolong their
existence by devouring the rapid growing ambrosia. Their fate is a
melancholy one, as they are either overpowered at length by the over
supply of food, or perish of starvation from the failure of the crop,
which must sooner or later take place.
The Xvleborus affects many trees — the maple, ash, oak, etc. — and in
the West Indies injures the sugar cane. Healthy, living trees are
seldom attacked by these beetles, as they do not provide the neces-
sary conditions of fermentation for the growth of ambrosia, but those
that are already dying from other causes are selected. They do not,
therefore, kill trees, but they do much injury to timber. The growth
of the fungus causes a deep black stain to penetrate the wood for
some distance around the galleries, and the borings when numerous
weaken the timber to such an extent as to render it useless for
structural purposes. Staves for barrels and casks, and shingles for
Acta Victoriana.
207
roofing, are often badly perforated and spoiled. In the Southern
States, where the climate is moist and warm, casks of wine have been
attacked and serious leakages caused by these minute beetles.
In the Eastern States the genus Corthylus is very injurious, as some
of the species kill shrubs and young trees by running their galleries
entirely round the stem beneath the bark and causing death by
girdling. They attack healthy plants and destroy young maples,
sassafras, dogwood, etc., and smaller growths such as the huckleberry.
Some species of the genus Xyloterus are abundant in this country,
and attack coniferous trees from the Atlantic to the Pacific ; others
the aspen or poplar. These are more sociable in their habits, several
pairs of the beetles forming a colony with a single entrance, but each
family occupies its own " flat," as we may term it, which consists of
one or two branch galleries. Each female attends to her own brood,
which are reared in cells at right angles to the main passage way, and
feeds them with ambrosia grown near by. The entrance to each cell
is kept constantly supplied with a mass of this food.
From the foregoing outline it will be seen that the lives of even the
most minute and obscure insects are well worth studying. Each one
has its own duties to fulfil and its place in the great economy of
nature. While these ambrosia beetles are sinking their burrows,
growing the food-fungus and feeding their young, they are helping on
the work of disintegrating dead and dying trees and hastening their
removal and decay. But for the unconscious labors of these and
other tiny creatures the forests would become blocked with fallen
timber, and the growth of young trees and other plants would become
impossible. The borings of the beetles admit the rain and moisture
into the heart of the wood ; fungous diseases then find a suitable con-
dition for their spread ; rot sets in, and by degrees the fallen tree
crumbles into dust. An obstruction is thus removed and the useless
material is converted into a fertilizing substance for the living mem-
bers of the forest.
Surely we may say, "O Lord, how manifold are Thy works: in
wisdom hast Thou made them all."
2o8 Acta Victoriana.
Saint Ignace and the Vision
BY H. ISABEL GRAHAM.
t
THERE dwelt a monk in cloistered solitude.
His reverent gaze fixed on the sacred rood.
His attitude devout, his soul aflame
With noble impulse and a god-like aim.
A great ambition — to be purged from dross
And changed into the likeness of the Cross —
Had led him from the world's gay haunts away
Where he could read and meditate and pray ;
His highest hope the blessed Christ to see
And touch the hem of His Divinity.
Morning and evening, passing, found him there.
The midnight hours were spent in secret prayer.
His days in penance, fasting ; low he bowed
Before the crucifix, for he had vowed,
His prayer unanswered, none should see the face
Or listen to the words of Saint Ignace.
Bright butterflies peered through the grated pane,
The birds sang sweetly down the linden lane,
And children touched the monastery bell,
Then started at its melancholy knell.
But Saint Ignace oblivious was to earth,
He counted ail its joys of little worth,
For higher things the heart within him pined,
No mortal dreams disturbed his holy mind.
And as he wept and his misdeeds confessed,
A benediction breathed within his breast ;
From the unseen some spirit seemed to say,
"Thy prayer is heard, thy wish fulfilled to-day."
His gaunt eyes glowed with new, unnatural fire,
High heaven had deigned to grant the monk's desire.
He rose, prepared the Eucharist with care
Lest glorious guest should greet him unaware ;
Then hurried for the Pontiffs robes of state
And thus attired sat down to watch and wait
There came a gentle tap upon the door,
A child's voice broke the stillness heretofore,
Ada Victoriana.
2C9
And pleaded to be fed and taken in.
Her feet were cold, her clothing scant and thin,
But Saint Ignace was busy with his beads,
He had no time for others or their needs.
The heavenly vision would appear to him
With early matins or the vespers dim,
But as the dreary hours dragged by, the place
Grew more deserted, light forsook his face.
The tapers lower burned, he was dismayed —
Why was the vision thus so long delayed }
L'Envoi.
Unhappy monk, thou mayest pray for aye.
The answer to thy prayer was sent that day,
It lingered long, then sobbed and turned away.
2 lO
Acta Victoriana.
Across ^lew Brunswick in a Canoe
CY DR. C. U. HAY, ST. JOHN.
ET US make our next trip the
best of all!" was the burden of
my friend G.'s letters all the win-
ter from his home in Massa-
chusetts.
Thus, when the forests of
New Brunswick were clad with
snow and its rivers and lakes
locked in ice, did we delight to
recall the memories of bygone
canoe trips and plan new ones,
with the prospect of making
our way without guides through
the wilderness, paddling on the
quiet waters of woodland lake,
or dashing down long series of
rapids.
The glint of our camp-fires
had shot athwart the noble
stretches of the St. John, from
the highlands of Maine to the Bay of Fundy. We had listened
to the music of purling rivulets on the Madawaska, with their
promise of cooling draughts and their wooing to delicious slum-
ber. The Restigouche, with its evergreen borders, its hundreds
of sinuous curves, and the impetuous current gliding swiftly over
the pebbly bed, had been our delight for a whole fortnight. We
had raced down the Tobique Rapids when swollen by a summer
freshet. The wondering eyes of moose and deer had followed
us as we toiled, weary, but delighted, to the remote sources of
the branches of that sportsman's river — the Gulquac, the Mamo-
zekel, the Serpentine. We had heard the loon's weird cry awak-
ing the echoes of the forest near the sources of the Miramichi.
In imagination we had pictured the exhilaration of riding on the
" bore's " back as its crested tidal wave is borne along the
Petitcodiac River from the Bav of Fundv.
Acta Victoriaiia.
21 I
But for this particular season that I speak of, my friend G.
wanted a " bang-up " trip as he expressed it, and we decided
to enter the Nipisiguit River on the eastern side of New Bruns-
wick, make our way to its source, cross a portage, and come
down the Tobique to its mouth, where it unites with the St. John.
This would lead us through a wilderness over a hundred miles in
extent, up a river eighty miles long, true to its Indian meaning
of " rough waters," and falling a thousand feet from its source
to its mouth.
HORSES PULLING THE "DUG-OUT" AND SUPPLIES.
On Monday, the 8th of August, we started from Bathurst
with a canoe, camping outfit, some scientific instruments, and
a four weeks' supply of provisions. We were driven as far as
Grand Falls, twenty-one miles along the roughest part of the
river. The names of " Rough Water," " Chain of Rocks,"
'■ Round Rocks," " Pabineau Falls," are suggestive of some of
the perils of navigation in a frail canoe on the lower Nipisiguit.
The Pabineau Falls, about twelve miles from Bathurst, is a wild
and beautiful spot, the river tumbling over a granite ledge into
a deep pool beneath — a chosen spot for the anglers of salmon.
P
B
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6
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A eta Vi'cto j'iana . 213
At the Grand Falls the river, after a drop of seventy-five feet,
pours swiftly through a narrow gorge, three-fourths of a mile
in length, with opposing walls of rock, the space between which,
in times of freshet, becomes a seething tumultuous rapid, obliter-
ating the falls for the time being.
Two rough-looking guides, who proved to be as rough as
they looked, were on hand to convey us from Grand Falls to
Indian Falls, thirty miles farther up the river. We began the
ascent in a large " dug-out," a familiar craft on northern waters.
In this we were placed with our baggage ; our birch canoe was
towed alongside ; a horse furnished the motive power, with one
guide on his back, and the other in the " dug-out " to fend us
and our valuable possessions off the rocks and shoals. For an
hour or two the chief interest lay in watching the horse flounder-
ing over the rough bed of the stream, or, where it was too deep,
picking his way among boulders along shore. Then we con-
cluded that sitting in cramped quarters in a dirty dug-out, and
being hauled up a picturesque stream w^as a very uninteresting
proceeding. We longed for more action. It soon came.
A few miles up stream w-as a bit of dangerous water, where the
river was confined within the " narrows," a gorge formed of
nearly precipitous walls of rock. The current foamed among
boulders. The horse and dug-out mode of travel was exchanged
for another more congenial, perhaps, for us — certainly so for the
horse. Our lighter baggage was portaged across a woodland
path to a point farther up river ; the remainder was entrusted to
the guides who undertook to pole the half-loaded dug-out
through the rapids. Loud shouts, mingled with a large share
of profanity, rising above the roar of the waters, quickly brought
us to the edge of the cliff to see two very excited men endea-
voring to right the upturned dug-out, which lay firmly wedged
between tw^o huge boulders, defying every effort to dislodge it.
The heavier portion of its cargo had gone to the bottom, while
the lighter articles danced merrily on the turbid stream amid
tantalizing breakers. Fortunately our birch canoe had not been
carried across the portage, and wnth it we rescued ham, butter,
pork, fishing tackle, etc. But there were some things dear to
our hearts that the greedy waters would not yield up. and these
were baked beans and the aluminum outfit containing cooking
utensils and dishes.
,#'.
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Ac/ a Victoriana 215
Guides are an encumbrance, if not of the right kind, and we
decided to dispense with ours. We took counsel after we had
gathered the remnants of our suppHes together. Our greatest
loss was tlie supply of canned beans and our cooking outfit and
dishes. The beans, in spite of a long and anxious search, were
not destined to grace our wilderness banquets, and for aught
we know still lie buried in some pool at the bottom of the
Nipisiguit — sincerely mourned. The bright sunlight of the next
morning revealed our aluminum outfit in a pool about a mile or
so from the scene of the wreck. In the meantime a weary tramp
to the fishing lodge below Grand Falls, seven miles distant,
secured for us a small cooking outfit and some dishes, generously
placed at our disposal by a sympathetic sportsman.
Fortune seemed to smile on us after our gruff and careless
guides — a sort rarely met with in New Brunswick — had taken
their departure. Left to our own resources we pictured the
delights of making our way unaided through the wilderness
ahead of us, taking our own time, and examining whatever we
chose, with a prospect of abundance of physical exercise and
ingenuity in overcoming the obstacles that undoubtedly lay before
us.
On Saturday afternoon, the sixth day after leaving Bathurst,
we reached Indian Falls, nearly fifty miles from the mouth of
the river, having poled our canoe for three days without any
mishap through twenty miles of very bad water. But we
rejoiced in the prospect of a Sunday's rest in one of the wildest
and most picturesque spots on the river, and the opportunity to
review the events of the past week, estimate our resources of
strength and provisions, and form plans to reach the second
haven of rest — the Nipisiguit lakes — more than thirty miles be-
yond Indian Falls. We had devoted ourselves almost entirely
during the past three days to the task of getting our canoe up
through the rapids and among boulders that strewed our path-
way, " thick as autumn leaves in Vallambrosa."
But the delights of this wilderness journey far outweighed
its trials. We seemed to plunge deeper and deeper into the
solitudes. The hills became higher, and gradually closed in upon
us as we ascended the river. Cool springs and gurgling rivulets
of ice-cold water were refreshingly near us ; in their cool, mossy
retreats Droseras and Utricularias were busy capturing their
w
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z
<
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o
Acta I'lctoruma. 217
insect prey ; purple and white-fringed Habenarias peeped out
from many a shady retreat ; Mrgin's Bower and Joe-Pye weed
crowded all the vacant spots in a tangle of white and purple.
And what a charm there was about that camping-ground at
Indian I'alls, with the light of the full moon coming to us over
the dark hills of spruce and pine! There was no sound except
the rushing of waters, which fell continually on our ears. A
spirit of contentment was in the air. The coffee never gave out
a more delightful aroma. The flapjacks, as they were sent with
a dexterous turn in the air, turned and came down in the right
place in the frying-pan, sizzling musically, with a well-browned
surface good to look upon. W^e enjoyed with all the high spirits
of boyhood the charm of outdoor life in the woods. A\'e talked
of everything under the sun. There was no clash of opinions
except on the point. How many should compose a camping
party? Pour and three were suggested, but these numbers were
rejected as introducing too great a variety of interests which
would possibly clash; there might even be an objection to tivo.
This suggestion rose from experience of the past week ; the
rivalry might become too keen in the deftness of turning a flap-
jack or in producing its richest brown. Again, if one of the two
should tumble from the canoe and go sprawling upon the flood.
should the other laugh or maintain a proper gravity under such
trying curcumstances. Thus we whiled away the hours until
the fragrance of fir boughs and the mnrmur of the waters grow-
ing fainter and fainter lulled us to sleep.
On Monday morning we made a portage of about half a mile
to get round the rapids, of which Indian Falls forms the lower
end. These portages are among the delightful troubles of a
journey through the wilderness. One wished at such a time that
the camping party consisted of four instead of two. But we
took it as a pleasure, over that pretty woodland path, well
tramped for centuries past by voyageurs — aborigines, a motley
host of hunters with their guides, and wavfarers like ourselves.
First, we took the canoe, binding our coats on the benches near-
est the bow and stern to prevent chafing our shoulders, then
raising and turning it dexterously so that it was carried bottom
upwards over our heads. Indian style. Xext the baggage was
taken as far as we could at once ; then we put it down and rested
as we walked back for more, after the fashion of Klondikers.
O
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H
o
EC
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Acta Victoriana. 219
Next day we climbed Bald Mountain, one of the highest peaks
on the river, from the summit of which a beautiful panorama
was presented to the view. The outline of the river could
be traced from our place of starting to its source in the Nipi-
siguit lakes. The scenery was picturesque, even grand in many
of its features. Lofty mountains — some covered with foliage to
the summit, others bare and rocky — were in sight, rising in height
towards the source of the river, with innumerable valleys and
ravi<ies between, through which glistened the silvery threads of
their winding streams.
Several Alpine plants rewarded us for the toilsome ascent of
Bald Mountain, and the air was bleak and cold, reminding us
of past glacial conditions. The temperature in the valley below,
we found on our return, was grateful, even sultry.
At the end of another week we reached the second haven of
rest — the Nipisiguit lakes, four in number, and connected with
each other by navigable thoroughfares. After a fortnight's
vigorous striving against the waters of a rough stream, we
could enjoy the rare luxury of sitting down and paddling our
canoe. The sun never shone on a fairer picture of mountain-
embosomed lakes. In the clear, cold streams that found their
way here and there amid quiet nooks and bays, the trout rose
in fierce eagerness to seize the fly ; the moose swam lazily out
of our way or floundered along the oozy bottoms near the shore ;
and the deer watched us with indifference from a distant point
of land, but resented our nearer approach. Two days after we
" carried " across the portage, which separated the Nipisiguit
and chain of lakes from Tobique Lakes. The largest of the
latter is Lake Nictor, four miles in length, from which rises
Sagamook Mountain, 2,700 feet, the highest in New Brunswick.
The scene from the top is strikingly wild and beautiful, with
virgin forests as far as one can see, the abode of moose, caribou
and deer.
After a week's mountain climbing, fishing, and exploring, we
began the descent of the Tobique with its hundred miles of rapids
and quiet meadow-skirt stretches, rendered all the more enjoy-
able from our toilsome ascent of the Nipisiguit.
2 20 Ada Victoriana.
In Jircadie
BY HELEN M. MERRILL.
THE sea is green, the sea is grey,
The tide winds blow, and shallows chime ;
Where eanh is rife with bloom of May
The throstle sings of lovers' time,
Of violet stars in lovers' clime.
Love fares to-day by land and sea —
On the horizon's utmost hill
The mystic blue-flower beckons still
Beneath the stars of Arcadie —
Love fares to-day, and deftly builds
To melodies of wind and leaves ;
Castles in Spain yet brightly gilds,
And song of star and wood bird weaves,
And flowers, and pearl and purple eves.
With roofs of ever-changing 5-kies,
And fretted walls with time begun,
Its portals open to the sun.
On dream-held hills a castle lies.
No proud armorial bearings now,
But God's white seal on every leaf ;
No sapphires gleaming on my brow,
Deep in my heart a dear belief;
No grey unrest, no pain, no grief.
By day a forest green, and fair.
Where veeries sing in secret bowers,
And lindens blow, and little flowers,
And bluebirds cleave the shining air.
By night a quiet wayside grove
Where Aldebaran lights the gloom^
And silent breezes idly rove
About a shadow-painted room
Builded of many a bough and bloom —
A wafted air of myrrh and musk.
The music of slow-falling streams,
A whitethroat singing in its dreams,
And thou beside me in the dusk.
Acta Victoi'iana. 221
The Christmas Message
FROM out the Eastern country, so runs the story, where by day
princes shone in the busy splendor of their gold and purple
and precious stones, and by night sages won from the quiet skies the
secrets of the stars, there came, some nineteen hundred years ago, three
philosopher kings, bearing in their hands rich and royal gifts and in
their bosoms wise and reverent hearts. Through the smiling plains of
fertile provinces, over mighty rivers laden with the commerce of the ■
nations, past the marts of merchantmen, the schools of the wise
and the palaces of princes, steadily they journeyed on until they
came to an obscure provincial town among a despised and conquered
people, and the star that guided them paused over the place where a
young child lay. Then royalty and riches bowed the knee to poverty
and the wisdom ot many studious years did reverence to the helpless
ignorance of infancy. For the child, though very poor, was a great
king, and the worship of the wise men was but a symbol of what he
should bring to pass in aftertime. For when the child grew his
people received him not and for long years he was buffeted with dis-
tress and poverty ; his garments were coarse^ his fare was scant, his
friends were few, and of his own he had not where to lay his head.
But at the last he was seated upon his Father's throne, and because he
had been poor and evilly dealt with, he made proclamation that his repre-
sentatives in especial in all places should be the needy, the sick, the
ignorant, the outcast, the sorrowful, and the oppressed. And he made
a decree that the rich should succor the poor, the wise teach the
ignorant, the powerful relieve the oppressed, the lighthearted cheer
the sorrowful, those in honor and in health visit the outcast and the
sick, the strong bear the burdens of the weak, and if any should do
service to these his representatives, it should be as if they had done it to
the king. And the king's people did so. And though very many years
have passed the king still reigns, and when he hears of any who delight
to do the biddings of his decree he prepares for them mansions
in his own house, and when he has summoned them to come to l^m he
says : " Inasmuch as ye have done it to the least of these my breth-
ren, ye have done it unto me. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."
And these are always with him. J. B.
22 2 Ada Victoriana.
Upper Canada Jicademy
r.Y C. C. JAMES, M.A.
].
T is probably known to all the readers of this journal
T that during the first five years of its career, 1836
*■ to 1 84 1, Victoria College was known as Upper
Canada Acadeni}'. The story resolves itself into
two parts : first, the causes that led up to the or-
ganization of the college or academy ; and, secondly,
the account of the institution in its struggle into life.
The story of one of the pioneer educational institu-
tutions of this province should appeal to a much
wider circle than the students and graduates of
Victoria College, and it has a bearing much broader than merely
an educational sketch, for it forms an important part of the great
struggle of 1830 to 1840 that changed most radically the politi-
cal, religious, and social life of our people. While writers on the
events leading up to the troubles of 1837 do not, as a rule,
enlarge upon the organization and early working of this academy
or college as a necessary part of the study of that question, I
am firmly convinced that a thorough acquaintance with the early
history of the institution would greatly assist in a proper under-
standing of the struggle for civil and religious equality.
Half a century had elapsed since, in 1784, the first bands of
Loyalists had crossed the rivers and lakes and settled down to
make their homes in the primeval forests of Upper Canada.
The passing of this half century had carried off the majority of
the sturdy veterans who had left their comfortable homes in
New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina to
support the royal standard. Here and there remained one to
counsel and encourage, but the men of the time must, of neces-
sity, have been of the second generation. Some had been car-
ried into Upper Canada in the arms of their fathers and mothers,
some had dim recollections of the privations of the early clear-
ings, the hungry years, and the increasing struggle with the
forest and its unfriendly denizens. Properly to approach our sub-
ject, therefore, we should make a study of the conditions of
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Acta Victoriana. 223
these fifty years that we may know how the people w^ere trained,
what advantages they had, and what were the defects that they
endeavored to remedy.
From the summer of 1784 to the end of 1788 the httle groups
of colonists were wholly engrossed- in the clearing of patches
from the forest and the erection of log-houses, under the leader-
ship of their old military officers and the direction of the com-
manders of the several military posts. They were dependent
for their supplies upon the distribution of military stores. The
only government that they knew was that which was centred in
the military commanders at Forts Cataraqui, Niagara, and De-
troit. Education must have been of secondary importance, if
it received any consideration at all. The military Chaplains may
have endeavored to conduct schools, but these would be limited
in their influence. Early in 1789 the four districts were formed,
land boards were appointed for the settlement of disputes and the
location of later arrivals, and courts of law were constituted. In
this same year we find the first trace of a movement for schools.
A petition for educational help was sent to Lord Dorchester, the
Governor at Quebec. He ordered that portions of land be set
aside for endowing schools in the new townships, but we do not
find that this brought any benefit before the new Province of Up-
per Canada was set apart on the 26th of December, 1791. Eight
years had passed when Lieutenant-Governor Simcoe arrived.
The children were growing up, assisting their parents in the stern
struggle, with no opportunities for schooling outside of the
limited assistance that they might receive from their fathers
and mothers. There were few books saved from the wreckage
of their southern homes, there was little leisure, there was a
daily demand upon the full energies of all, young and old, in the
strenuous struggle for existence. That the rising generation
did not degenerate may appear a marvel, but the sterling quali-
ties that came by inheritance and the education acquired from the
active development of hand and eye and ear compensated, to a
certain extent, for the lack of that education that comes from the
ordinary school-house. An examination of such records of those
early days as are available shows that the settlers of a century
ago wrote with an uncertain hand, spelled words with quaint-
ness and originality, and took liberties with the King's Eng-
lish that would not be tolerated at the present day ; but they
2 24 Acta Victoriana.
maintained virtues and displayed mental activity that are not
surpassed in this later age. When we consider that the majority
of the people of this province were, for the first forty or fifty
years of its history, to a large extent deprived of the advantages
of common school education, our admiration for their progress
must be aroused and our interest in their history greatly quick-
ened.
Simcoe's coming into the new province must have infused
new life and hope into the isolated settlements. He came to
introduce a new form of government, and he came with his mind
fully made up as to lines along which that government w^as to
be administered. Two questions were very dear to his heart —
the education of the people and the building up of a Church. As
far as possible he proposed to reproduce Old England in Upper
Canada. To him the State Church of England was funda-
mental ; it must be continued or reproduced here. The univer-
sity was the right arm of the State Church of England ; Upper
Canada must have a university. Several months before leaving
England he wrote as follow^s to Sir Joseph Banks about his new
field of work : " Schools have been shamefully neglected — a col-
lege of a higher class would be eminently useful and would give
a tone of principle and manners that would be of infinite support
to government." Later, waiting from Quebec to the Secretary
of State, he said : *' But the question of higher education is of
still more importance ; lower education, being less expensive, may
in the meantime be provided by relatives and, more remotely, by
school lands." Simcoe's dream was for a University at York
under Church direction, but he got no' encouragement from Lon-
don. In June, 1796, the Duke of Portland (Secretary of State)
suggested that his ideas of the schoolmaster best adapted to the
needs of L^pper Canada w^ere " such as are thoroughly com-
petent to teach reading, writing, accounts, and mensuration."
Simcoe in his reply reiterates his desire for a university, " from
which, more than any other source or circumstances whatever, a
grateful attachment to His ^Majesty, morality, and religion, wall
be fostered and take root throughout the whole province."
Simcoe returned to England in 1797, no doubt deeply disap-
pointed that some of his most cherished plans had not been
matured. Nothing of importance had been done in promoting
a general scheme of popular education. The people were left to-
Acta Victoriana. 225
their own resources. Here and there vohintary schools had
been started, but they must have been rather crude and Hmited
in their influence. Schools, that might be dignified as classical,
had been started as follows : At Kingston, by Rev. John Stuart
(1785), and at Newark, by Rev. Mr. Addison (1792), Rev. Mr.
Burns (1794) and Richard Cockerel. Mr. Cockerel soon trans-
ferred his school to Ancaster. There was also a school of some
sort at Fort Niagara, which up to 1796 remained a British post.
Just as Simcoe was leaving the plan of district schools was
taking shape. He sent forward the recommendation in 1787 to
the Duke of Portland, who returned a favorable reply, addressed
to Simcoe's successor, Hon. Peter Russell. The chief civil
officers of the Crown (the judges, law officers and executive
councillors) prepared a report that recommended the setting
apart of 500,000 acres of land, also $12,000 for each district.
Schools were to be started at once at Kingston and Newark,
later at Cornwall and Sandwich ; York w'as to be the seat of the
university. This was in 1798. On 31st of December, 1799, Mr.
John Strachan arrived at Kingston to assume the presidency of
the new university. But, meanwdiile, the plan had been aban-
doned, and, after a couple of years teaching at Kingston, Mr.
Strachan opened his famous classical school at Cornwall. Tust
before this Dr. Baldwin opened his classical school at York.
Down to 1807 no progress was made in establishing schools for
the people. The young people were growing up with the limited
schooling supplied at home or in the voluntary schools. Again
we ask. Why did not the province degenerate?
In 1807 a fresh start was made. On the loth of March there
was passed An Act to establish public schools in each and every
district of this Province. This provided for one school in each
of the eight districts; iioo was to be paid to each school. The
Lieutenant-Governor was given power to appoint a board of not
less than five trustees for each district. It is noteworthy that this
bill originated in the Assembly. In the previous year an educa-
tional bill had passed the Assembly, but was lost in the Legisla-
tive Council.
Some of these grammar schools were fairly successful, but
others were limited in their influence, owing to their location.
Disputes and jealousies arose, and various attempts were made
in the Legislature to have them transferred to more favorable
2 26 Acta Victor 7 ana.
locations. That they suppHed only in part the demands for edu-
cation is evident from the starting of other private schools, the
most noted of which was the Ernestown Academy at Bath,
under the care of the talented and distinguished Barnabas Bid-
well, a man as learned as his more distinguislfed son, Marshall
Spring Bidwell. The War of 1812-14 closed effectively the few
grammar schools in the country for these three years. Education
was still having a most discouraging time in Upper Canada.
It required a year or more for the people to resettle themselves
after the close of the war. This brings us down to 18 16.
The year 1816 is one of the divisional years in Upper Canadian
history; with it opens a new chapter in our career, for then
began the rapid settling of our vacant lands by the home-seek-
ers from over the sea. It opens a new chapter also in our edu-
cational story, for then, for the first time, provision was made
by the Legislature for the general education of the common
people — $24,000 was granted annually for four years for common
schools. The people were to erect the school-houses and to elect
trustees, who had the power of appointing teachers and super-
vising the work. Thus it will be seen that now for the first
time the control of the common schools was entrusted to the
people. That the new plan was not a brilliant success may be
surmised from the fact that on the expiration of the four years
the grant was cut down to $10,000. Judging from contem-
porary reports the people were somewhat dissatisfied with the
provision made for the education of their children. The popu-
lation continued to increase very rapidly by the yearly additions
of settlers from England, Scotland, and Ireland, who brought
with them new ideas from the Old Land as to the necessity of
schools. It should be remembered, as bearing upon the second
part of this paper, that the grammar schools of this period were,
as a rule, in charge of men closely associated with the Church of
England. Several of them were clergymen. Dr. Hodgins, in
one of his works on the history of our educational system,
entitles one of his chapters as follows : " Fitful Progress from
1 822- 1 836," and this describes the state of affairs in a terse and
suggestive manner.
Time and space do not permit a detailed survey of this period
that immediately precedes the founding of Upper Canada Acad-
emy. Let me refer to a few things that contributed to the
Acta Victoriana. 227
unrest and contentions that so deeply stirred the people at this
time. The Executive Council applied to the Home Government
for permission to introduce the national, or Church of Eng-
land, system of schools. Mr. Thomas Appleton was the com-
mon school teacher at York. His supplies were cut off, his
school closed, and, at a large increase of expenditure, a national
school was established at York. For eight years (1820 to 1828)
this was a source of contention between the Assembly, on the
one hand, and the Executive on the other.
In 1827 the charter for King's College was obtained, and
though the college was not opened, the Assembly and the Execu-
tive kept up a continuous sti^uggle over the conditions of that
charter limiting its control to members of the Church of Eng-
land. Sir John Colborne, of his own motion, or rather without
consulting the Assembly, obtained a grant of land and started
the college, known at first as Minor College, later as Upper
Canada College. This also was a cause of contention between
the people's representatives, on the one hand, and the Executive
on the other.
Year after year the struggle was kept up and the cause of the
education of the common people suffered. The ten years, 1827-
^'^Z7i were the most momentous in the history of this province.
The question was being worked out as to who were to control
this province, the representatives of the people or the Executive
appointed by the Home Government. Working along one line
through one set of men, it resulted in the rebellion of 1837;
working along another line, it solved the Clergy Reserve question ;
along another line, it produced Upper Canada Academy, Queen's
College, and other independent educational institutions. But the
great question that concerned all classes was, Who are the
government of this province? Having thus briefly referred to
the struggles and contentions that disturbed our people for the
' first fifty years of our existence, I purpose in the succeeding paper
to follow up its sequence in the story of Upper Canada
Academv.
228
Acta Victoria7ta.
The Garden of Peace
BY BERTHA JEAN THOIMPSON.
/^1f), tbc oav^cn of peace! tbe cool of its sba&e
Spreads out to tbc passionate beart tbat bas
pra^cD ;
BuD wben wc bavc Kariic& to breatbe witb tbc blest
5t comes witb tbe promise of infinite rest.
®b, tbe Garden ot peace ! 5 bave sat in its sba&e,
Hn& learne^ ot tbe prater in Getbsemane prape^ ;
/IDy> beart up to Calvary's cross bas been prest
Hn& calmeb witb tbe knowlc^QC ot infinite rest.
\ -^
Acta Victoriana.
229
Ji Greek Christmas Service
Micosia, Cyprus.
Decoitber 2j/h, i8gb, O.S. = January 6th, iSgy, N.S.
BY REV. H. T. F. DUCKWORTH, M.A,, DEAN OE THE FACULTY
OF ARTS, TRINITY UNIVERSITY.
IT was only three hours and a half past midnight, but the bells
of the Metropolitan Church of St. John the Divine, in
Nicosia, were already summoning the Orthodox to assemble for
the celebration of the Liturgy.*
Dark it was at that hour, of course, but not nearly so cold as
it would have been in this country. By four o'clock I was in the
FAMAGUSTA, LOOKING EASTWARD OVER THE SEA.
cathedral, and found a place in the stalls on the south side of the
building.
These stalls run along both sides of the church, -as far as the
" Iconostasion " or " Templos," i.e., the screen which separates
the sanctuary from the part where the congregation stand. In
* The Greeks always speak of the Order of the Communion as "the Liturgy." They have
two " Liturgies " now in regular use. viz., (i) ihe " Liturgy of St. Basil,' used on the vigils of
Christmas and Epiphany, on the ist of J an Mary, the first five Sundays in Lent. Thursday before
Easter and Easier Eve ; (2) the " Liturgy of St. Chrysostom," used at all other times.
8
230 Acta Victoriana.
the cathedral at Nicosia, as in almost every Greek church I have
ever seen (except one in Manchester, England) the sitting
accommodation is scanty. Yet the congregations will stand
quite contentedly for two or three hours at a time while the
Liturgy is in progress. The stasidia — as the stalls in Greek
churches are called — might, in the case of the cathedral church
in Nicosia, accommodate some sixty persons. They were all
occupied that morning, but besides their occupants there was a
multitude that thronged the whole building. The only other '
seats to be found were in the " gynseconitis," or women's gallery,
at the west end, but not a few women preferred to stand on the
floor of the nave, in company with the men-folk.
The name stasidia indicates that the stalls are meant for stand-
ing in, rather than for sitting. In each one there was a seat,
moving up and down on a hinge. But the niost convenient way
of using the stasidion was to rest one's arms on the sides, if one
felt tired of standing.
On the south side there was a special stasidion for the Arch-
bishop, distinguished by its gilded canopy. Opposite, on the
north side, there was a less conspicuous stall, appointed for the
ecclesiastic next in dignity to the Archbishop. It was occupied
on that Christmas morning by the Hegoumenos (Abbot) of
Kykkos, the most important monastery in Cyprus. The principle
on which the rest of the stasidia were occupied appeared to be
that they were the proper places for persons of distinction, in
which class the Orthodox were good enough to reckon the writer
of this paper. The stasidion to which I found my way was
indeed voluntarily given up to me by a Greek, who did not wait to
be told to "give this man place." I should have been just as
much pleased had he kept his stasidion, b«t it was evident that
he wanted me to take one of the " first seats in the synagogue,"
so I did as " the Romans " would have me do.*
The " metropolis," as the Orthodox call the cathedral, is not
by any means a large or* magnificent church, but it is solidly
constructed, the material being a kind of sandstone, which is
quarried close to Nicosia. It was built during the primacy of
Archbishop Nikiforos (A.D. 1660-1672), the date of its com-
pletion, according to an inscription over the western door, being
* In the Middle Ages the Greeks spoke of themselves as " Romaioi" and the Turks in Cyprus
still give this name to their Christian fellow-islanders. " Roumi, in Egypt and Palestine, means
a ( ireek.
Acta Victoriana.
231
A.D. 1662. In the course of the last century (though whether
before or after the British occupation began, I do not know) a
campanile was added at the south-east corner.
The church stands in a large courtyard, the buildings occu-
pied by the Archbishop and his attendant clergy and lay monastic
brethren flanking it on the north, west, and south. Behind these
buildings is the " perivoli " (;r£pzy5oAz, from nepiftoXoz) oi the
ST. NICHOLAS CATHEDRAL, NOW A MOSQUE, BUILT
A.D. 1311, FAMAGUSTA.
archbishopric, planted with palms, olives, and orange-trees. The
architectural features of the cathedral are simple, the ground plan
being an oblong, with an apse at the east end and a porch
(narthex) at the west. There are no aisles. The outer roof, of
red tiles imported from Marseilles, is new ; the inner roof is a
waggon-vault of stone, ribbed at intervals with transverse arches.
The vault and the side-walls are covered with frescoes, which
232 Acta Vicloriana.
date from the primacy of Silvestros (1718-1732) and Philotheos
(1734-1759) ; the first series, viz., those in the Bema or Sanctu-
ary, was painted in the time of Silvestros (1731), the rest in the
days of his successor. The effect they produce is sombre, but not
without a certain degree of gorgeousness. Alanv of them repre-
sent scenes from sacred history, and there is a series which por-
trays the Seven CEcumenical Councils, whose authority is
recognized by the Orthodox Communion.
On that Christmas morning, as it was yet dark, a great while
before the day, the " metropolis " was irradiated with the mystic
glow of a multitude of lamps and candles, an illumination very
different from the blaze of gas or electric light familiar to us in
our churches. Most of the radiance came from the great brass
candelabra, and the hanging lamps, some of brass, some of silver,
in front of the Iconostasion. Each of these hanging lamps held
a small vessel filled with olive oil, in which was a floating
wick. The effect of these lamps and candles would probably
have been greater, but for the sombre tints prevailing in the
frescoes upon the walls and roof, in which a considerable propor-
tion of the light was absorbed, instead of being reflected.
The Iconostasion is a screen or partition of wood, covered with
icons or sacred pictures, which form an indispensable part of the
equipment of every Orthodox church — Greek, Russian, Servian,
or Bulgarian — from Archangel to jMelbourne, from Trebizond
to San Francisco.
Originally adopted by the Eastern Churches " for example of
life and instruction of manners," as " the books of the un-
learned," they have unhappily become associated with a vast
amount of superstition, which, it is much to be hoped, the
progress of education will remove. It is also much to be hoped
that the same progress will not result in the uprooting of good
wheat along with the tares.
On every iconostasion you will find representations of the fol-
lowing subjects: (i) The Virgin ]\Iary with the Christ-child;
(2) Christ robed as a High Priest, enthroned as a King, and
holding a book (representing either the Scriptures as a whole, or
the Gospel) in token of His office as Prophet and Teacher;
(3) St. John the Baptist (the Prodromos, or Fore-runner, as the
Greeks generally call him), and in most cases, if not all, you will
also find St. George and St. Nicholas in prominent positions.
Ada Victoriana.
233
In the screen are two (sometimes three) doors, the one in the
middle being called the " Holy Door."
The " Divine Liturgy " of the Orthodox Church falls into the
following main divisions :
1. The preparation of the ministers, including the mystic
washing of hands and the vesting.
2. The preparation of the bread and the cup for the holy
table. This is called the Prothesis. These preliminarv rites are
performed out of sight of the congregation, behind the screen.
The preparation of the elements takes place in a specially-
appointed part of the Bema or Sanctuary,* called the Prothesis.
CYPRIOTES.
3. The Enarxis (preliminary office), with the Antiphons, led
by the deacon standing outside the Iconostasion.
4. The "Little Entrance'' or "Entrance of the Gospel;' in.
which the Gospel-book is brought forth from the Holy Table
into the nave, to be read by the deacon. In this part of the ser-
vice, which answers to the western " Missa Catechumenorum/'
comes the reading of the Epistle and Gospel for the day.
5. The Disiiiissal of the Catechumens — a mere formality
nowadays, when adult baptism occurs so seldom.
* Bema : a platform. The floor on which the iconostasion and the altar siand is raised above
the floor of the nave by one or more step^. .\nother name for the B^ma is " Thysiasterion."
2 34 Ada Victoriana.
6. The " Great Entrance/' in which the deacon, carrying the
bread, and the priest carrying the chalice, come out from the
north door of the Iconostasion, and walk round the church,
entering the sanctuary again by the middle, or " Holy Door."
This is accompanied by censing, and the singing of the " Hymn
of the Cherubim," by the Psaltai or choristers.
7. The Creed.
8. The Anaphora, or offering and consecration of the bread
and the cup on the Holy Table,* including, inter alia, the recital
(by the bishop or priest officiating) of the Words of Institution,
as in the Prayer of Consecration in the Anglican Office, and the
Invocation, i.e., the prayer that the Holy Spirit may descend and
make the Bread the Body of Christ and the Cup the Blood of
Christ. Then follow the Intercessions for the living and the dead,
the Paternoster, the breaking of the bread and the Communion,
first of the clergy, then of the people. In the Orthodox Church
the communicants receive the Sacrament standing. The clergy
receive the elements separately. For the people, the bread is
placed in the chalice and given to the communicant in a spoon.
9. The Thanksgiving.
10. The Dismissal. " Let us depart in peace in the name of the
Lord."
To which must be added, though it can hardly be a primitive
feature of the liturgical order,
11. The Antidoron. This is bread blessed, but not conse-
crated upon the Holy Table. The bread offered upon the Holy
Table has been cut out of a loaf which, having been broken up,
is distributed afterwards to the people. According to Nicolas
Bulgaris, the relation of the Antidoron to the bread consecrated
upon the Holy Table is the exact analogue of the relation of the
Virgin Mary's body to the body of her Son. This practically
makes of the Antidoron a secondary sacrament, which indeed
is rather the signification of its name.
The Psalmody of the Greek Church is not melodious to a
Western ear.f It is quite evident that there was a conception of
music prevalent in the ancient world which differed widely from
* The Greeks always call it the Holy Table. The name Thysiasterion denotes the space
within the screen, i.e., the Bema. At the same timf , the Greeks regard this Holy T..ble as an altar.
t This does not apply to the psalmody of the Ru-sian Church.
Ada Vicloriana.
235
ours. On the other hand, the intoning of the Gospel had a pleas-
ing effect. The deacon entrusted with this function had a good
voice, and used it well. The portion of Scripture appointed
for the Gospel on Christmas Day in the Greek Church is the
same as the Epiphany Gospel in the Anglican Church, viz. : St.
Matthew ii. 1-12. In the Orthodox Church, Christmas com-
bines the feature of the two Western festivals of Christmas and
Epiphany, and before 1900 the Greek festival of the Nativity
MOSQUE OF ST. CATHERINA.
coincided with the Western Epiphany, the difference between the
old style and the new being just twelve days.*
The Gospel was read from the pulpit, which stood high up
against the wall on the north side of the church, and was reached
by a long ladder.
The celebrant on that Christmas Day was the Archbishop
himself. During the earlier part of the Liturgy he was in his
' The ye.-ir 1900, old style, wa^ .1 leap year. This increased the difference to thirteen days.
236 Acta Victoriana.
'■ throne " — the specially-adorned stasidion mentioned above,
and it was in the nave that he was solemnly robed before enter-
ing the Bema for the Anaphora. The prevailing color in his
robes was a kind of " dead gold." Several vestments had to be
put on and adjusted. These were (i) the stldxarion, a long
robe reaching to the feet; (2) the stole or cpltrachelion, a broad
strip of silk, with an opening at one end for the head and neck
to pass through, worn hanging in front; (3) the zone or girdle,
confining the stole and the sticharion ; (4) the sakkos, a loose-
sleeved coat; (5) the epimanikia, or cufifs ; (6) the omophorion
or pallimn, a long scarf marked with crosses; (7) the crozvn,
answering to the mitre of a western prelate.
The crown worn by the Archbishop of Cyprus is of silver, in
shape like that of the Russian Emperor. The original of both
crowns is the tiara worn by the East-Roman or Byzantine
emperors in the Middle Ages. The spaces between the hoops
are filled in with red velvet, which serves as a backing for medal-
lions bearing miniature pictures of saints. A cross surmounts
the whole.
Finally, there is the Archiepiscopal stafif, which is quite dif-
ferent in form from the ordinary Episcopal staff. As a mark of
special favor and esteem, the Emperor Zeno (A.D. 474-491)
authorized the Archbishop of Cyprus to carry a staff fashioned
in the same manner as the imperial sceptre. Thus it is that the
Cyprian primate's staff or sceptre is surmounted with a ball
instead of the usual serpents' heads.
The part taken in the service by the congregation generally
was not a large one — little, if any, more than joining in the Creed
and the Lord's Prayer, and repeating, " Remember me, O Lord,
in Thy kingdom," as the priest and the deacon passed through
the church in the " Great Entrance." Yet, if they were mainly
spectators and listeners, and even if there was a degree of move-
ment and unrest, and an amount of talking, that we should con-
sider scandalous, I do not think they ought to be accused of
deliberate irreverence, or of insensibility to the fact that they
were present at a great and solemn ceremony. Very few com-
municated. For communion the Greeks are given to substituting
regular attendance at the Liturgy, and reception of the Antidoron.
The Orthodox Church allows the communion of infants (on the
strength of St. Tvlark x. 14) and there must be many
Ada Victoriana.
^2>T
Orthodox who have hardly ever communicated since the days
when they were brought to church in their mothers' arms.
The celebration of the Liturgy lasted altogether about three
hours. It was after y. a.m. and a lovely spring-like day had
dawned, when the Dismissal was pronounced, " Let us depart
in peace." While the service was in progress the impression
grew upon one that /zco services were being performed — one by
VICTORIA ROAD, KICOSIA.
the clergy within the Iconostasion and the veil drawn across the
Holy Door, the other by the psaltai or choristers without, in the
nave. The psaltai might be regarded as the congregation's
deputies or delegates, participating in the service on their behalf.
They certainly did participate, and that with vigor, but their
doing so was due to a knowledge of the liturgical books not
possessed by the people in general. The number of separate
books employed in the performance of the Liturgy (and other
238 Acta Victoriana.
services as well) is a serious obstacle in the way of anything
that might answer to our idea of congregational worship.
The power and influence exerted in the past, if not in the
present, by monasticism in the Eastern Orthodox Church shows
itself in two ways : ( i ) In the reservation of bishoprics and all
posts of dignity for monks; and (2) in the monastic character
of the whole system of worship. The services are such as pre-
suppose a monastic community in connection with, or in charge
of, the churches where they are to be performed, and this con-
dition is far from being everywhere fulfilled. An episcopal resi-
dence is practically a monastery or coenobium, and a " college "
of priests and deacons may be maintained in charge of a parish
church, if the endowments be adequate. But this, again, is far
from being the case everywhere.
Such being the character of the services, to be present at their
performance is to be brought face to face with the life of ages
and generations of men whose ways and customs Western Chris-
tendom has left far behind. The Eastern Orthodox Church has
not undergone a Reformation, and in this respect it stands
separated by a wide chasm, not only from Protestant Christen-
dom, but from the Roman Church as well. We are, perhaps, in-
clined to think of the Roman Church as pervaded by " mediaeval-
ism," but Roman mediaevalism seems as modernity in comparison
with that of the churches of Greece and Russia. Rome, equally
with Protestantism, is condemned by the Orthodox as guilty of
heretical " innovation," both in doctrine and in ritual.
It is an old world, indeed, that one enters into contact with on
such occasions. The language of the prayers and antiphons is
the language familiar, in ages long past, to Chrysostom and
Basil, to Cyril and Athanasius. The passages taken from the
New Testament are read in the very language, if not in the
very words, in which they were first penned,* and those which
are derived from the Old Testament are recited in the language
of the oldest known version, the Septuagint. In the Eastern
Orthodox Church, the Byzantine Empire may be said still to
survive. Of this survival one had several reminders in the
course of that Christmas morning. The very shape of the archi-
episcopal mitre was that of the tiara worn by the Byzantine
emperors. The pastoral staff reproduced the imperial sceptre.
•Textual critics will perhaps refuse to allow the ipshsima Z'erba.
Ada Victoriana.
239
The dragon-headed brackets on the Iconostasion, from which hung
the brazen and silver lamps, and the double-headed eagle carved
on the Holy Door, were insignia of the Empire. In the person
of the Archbishop one saw the successor of Epiphanius, of
Rheginus, whose independence of the x\ntiochene throne was
solemnly recognized by the Council of Ephesus in A.D. 431 ; of
Germanos, who chose exile rather than submission to the Latin
prelate to whom Papal aggression subjected the hitherto self-
governing Church of Cyprus (A.D. 1220- 1250). The Arch-
bishop, indeed, might be regarded as the representative of an
MONASTERY OF THE PANAGHIA, KYKKOS, FROM THE EAST.
order of things yet more ancient than the Byzantine Empire, for
did he not claim St. Barnabas as the first of his line, the founder
•of his spiritual dynasty ?
The stubborn conservatism of the Orthodox Church finds, in
part, at least, its explanation in the sense of historical continuity,
of an age-long corporate life, of permanent connection between
the present and the past, the living and the departed, by which
it rightly enough sets great store. Anything that serves as a
reminder and a testimony whereby this sense may be main-
tained and quickened is valued and venerated. Again, it must be
240 Ada Victoriana.
remembered that the rites and ceremonies of the Greek Orthodox
Church are endeared to her people by the remembrance that they
have been preserved through the stress and strain of persecu-
tion and misgovernment. " This is the Lord's doing, and it is
marvellous in our eyes '' might well be the thought of every
Orthodox Greek who calls to mind the conflict sustained by his
forefathers and predecessors down into modern times. The
rites and ceremonies upon which the unaccustomed or unreflect-
ing spectator is too ready to look with aversion or contempt are
to the present generation of Greeks things venerable, if only be-
cause they were practised and retained by those who fought for
Hellenic Independence against the barbarous Osmanli, by those
who stood up against Roman aggression in the terrible age of
the Crusades, by those who flung back the Saracen from the
walls of Constantinople, and by those who won victories even
more glorious by making Scythian and Greek actually, as well as
ideally, one in Christ.*
With the Greeks — and the same thing has come to pass, in vir-
tue of similar causes, with the Russians — those forms of Christian
belief and ceremonial which may be conveniently summed up as
" Orthodoxy " (just as another system is denominated " Cath-
olicism ") have become, for the immense majority of the people,
the very pillar and ground of nationality. Into such a mental
atmosphere it is difficult for us to enter, even in imagination.
But neither we nor our forefathers ever knew what a Moham-
medan conquest meant. Having been spared that calamity, let
us be tolerant in judging our fellow-Christians in the East.
But — manum de tabula! These reminiscences and reflections
must close. Let their conclusion be made with a citation from
the Liturgy of St. Chrysostom, with one of the constant prayers
of the Orthodox Churches —
TtTSP Tt/5 sipT]VT]Z TOV GV fJ-TiaVTOZ HOffJUOV,
ev()Tadsia> Tc^v ayiaov rov QeoZ SHuXt/ffK^v,
uai Tfjs T(^y TravToiv svojffsoj^, rov xvpiov
*Colossians iii 11. Tha kusslan Orlhodox Church is the offspring of the Church of
Constantinople.
A eta Vic to nana.
241
The Tiecluse
BY ISABEL E. MACKAY.
THE world's broad highway runs not by my door.
Long since I turned my weary steps aside,
Seeking some refuge where I might abide
All undisturbed by noise and dust and glare,
See with clear vision thro' a purer air,
And struggle onward with the throng no more.
Here will I dwell, I cried, and breathe content
And think high thoughts and utter words wnose flame
Forever shall enshrine a noble fame ;
And they who still the hurrying highway choose,
Hearing, shall ease their feverish haste, and muse
"Are these things good for which our souls are spent?"
So dwelled I many years. And so I thought
To serve humanity, yet dwell apart ;
Till one came by, fresh from the busy mart.
And, wond'ring, said, "Fair sir, the distant plain
Hears not your message. You are wise in vain ;
On the far highway, travellers heed you not ! "
242
Ada Victoriana.
Classical By-ways'
BY PRINCIPAL AUDKN, OF UPPER CANADA COLLEGE.
I WANT to discuss the question, Does not a classical training,
more than any other, lead on a man to intellectual interests ?
Has not a classical man more than any other man a chance
of being stimulated to other
branches of learning, of follow-
ing up those intellectual paths
which may lead him to that
happy position where he can say :
" My mind to me a kingdom
is. I have interests which I can
follow up in my leisure time ; I
have resources in myself of which
' the slings and arrows of out-
rageous fortune ' cannot rob me.
I have a hobby and I am happy
in it."
The only true view of educa-
tion is that it is a training, as the
Greeks said, " the askesis of the
mind," a practising or exercis-
ing ; something which will train
and discipline the mental faculties and secure a synoptic view
and a standpoint from which we can estimate impartially the
relative importance of the details of existence in this world.
Education is a thing for life, not for livelihood. A liberal edu-
cation in the proper sense is that which furnishes the mind,
equips it, expands and stimulates, and helps man to lead a fuller,
richer, more interesting, and more useful life. Now the classics
are not useful in the ordinary and lowest sense of the term ; they
are not an utilitarian study, and anyone who judges them by the
standard of the return he shall get in dollars and cents will
be disappointed. Classics must be judged from their merit, not
their market. As John ]\lorley said the other day, Greek will not
directly stimulate the manufactures of a country.
*Part cf an address delivered before the Classical Association of Victoria College.
PRINCIPAL AUDF.N.
>
n
a
a
>
a !_
3-
O
-1 ^
■
^:.}
t
■^
•^
^ ^~^^ ^n|i
^^^
Ada Victoriana. 243
But to come back to my subject, education is a training for
life, and life we are glad to believe is not made up entirely of
working days ; there are also holidays and days of leisure, when
a man has time to look around him and to consider what his own
resources are. Now I want to try to show that it is for these
times of comparative leisure that a classical training is of sur-
passing value. There are many men who simply do not know
what to do with their leisure ; they have no interests, intellectual
or otherwise, and many a man, when he comes to the time when
he is able to retire from work, whether it be professional or
commercial — a time to which he looks forward for many a
tedious year — has no interest in life. His heart is still in his
office. He wanders aimlessly hither and thither, because as a
young man he has not followed any of the side-paths of interest
which ought to have been pointed out to him in his early educa-
tion, and he has thus laid up for himself in a great many cases a
miserable old age. The man with intellectual interests is the
happy man. And among ordinary professional and business
men those with a classical training usually are far better equipped
in this respect than those trained on any other system ; it is
undoubtedly the case in England and in Germany. A man who
has been brought up on Greek and Latin is usvially a man of
resources, provided, of course, that he has not regarded classics
as merely a means of obtaining a high position for himself in the
examination list.
The man of intellectual resources is usually the man who
reads, and Bacon's dictum, " Reading makes a full man, confer-
ence a ready man, and writing an exact man," is true for all
time. Moreover, reading is to the mind what exercise is to
the body; and without reading mental development is impos-
sible. Bacon's phrase, " a full man," is not very far off from the
definition of the man whose training we are discussing now — I
mean the man of wide intellectual interests. Such a man has a
more satisfying life, he has obtained for himself wide fields of
meditation and reflection, fresh and inviting to him, whilst to
others they seem brown and barren. He is a man who will find
himself the least alone when quite alone. He is a man to whom
a good book and " his ain fireside " are a haven of happiness
from the storms of this modern hustling life. I believe most
firmly that classical training does help to equip a man with
244 ' Acia Vic dorian a.
these intellectual interests— interests moreover that are often
easily pursued, by-ways which a man can follow without heavy
impedimenta, going light, we might say, and without long
portages. Science often equips a man with splendid intellectual
interests, but so often they can be pursued only with elaborate
apparatus and at rare opportunities. It is not every man who
has a private laboratory at his own fireside.
I think we may consider this question of classical training as
producing intellectual interests under two headings — firstly, the
general habit of mind produced by good classical training, which
may make a man receptive of intellectual influences ; secondly,
the specific branches of the classics in detail which may lead on
to the study of larger subjects.
Firstly, the general habit of mind :
With regard to the comparative value of studies as making a
" full man " in after life, I think that the habit of mind, the
attitude which should ideally be produced and often is produced
"by classical training is admirably summed up in the comment by
the Spectator on Mr. Balfour's speech last spring on the occasion
of Professor Butcher's giving up the chair of Greek at Edin-
burgh. Mr. Balfour had modestly stated that he had learnt
comparatively little classics, meaning that he had never attained
such high honors as Professor Butcher at Oxford or Cambridge,
but, as his reviewer says : " What would ]\Ir. Balfour be if he
had not been familiarized in early life with the spirit of the
classical literatures? Would his books have shown their large
and tolerant judgment and their grace of form, and his argu-
ments their remarkable dialectical power if he had been nourished
solely, let us say, on German philosophy and modern science?
His mind, as Professor Butcher said, is of the true Hellenic
order, and it is in this formative influence and not in the
acquisition of technical learning that the value of classical litera-
ture is to be found. Order, lucidity, and balance are qualities
with so great a practical value that, however low our view of
the end of education, we must acquiesce in the system — the
classical system — which labors to create them. And there ii
another side: to a man who has once felt the charm of the
Greek world, a new possession has been created, a whole world
to which he can turn for refreshment without fear of satiety."
^^^hatever educational agent has been used in giving a man
Acta Victoriana. 245
his mental training, when he has been for some time at his
hfe work (whether he be a lawyer, a minister, a business man or
what not), he usually forgets the educational agent, but the train-
ing remains. Speaking generally, I think that in ordinary life
the man trained on classical lines is more interesting, more easy
to get on with, than a man whose main training has been given
by science or mathematics. I am talking, as you will readily
understand, of a comparativelly extensive course of classics, not
of a boy who spends a year or two on the Latin Grammar and
snippets of Caesar, and then, with the connivance of his mother,
deserts the classics for the comparative ease and quiet of the
modern side. We know that the classics are full of good things,
of beautiful ideas exquisitely expressed. But we know that
not ten per cent, of boys ever get, as hoys, within three fields of
the ideas or three miles of recognizing the beauty of style and
expression of the ancient writers ; though I do believe that by
teaching the classics in a more natural and humane way a good
deal can be done to make boys more appreciative of the Greek
and Roman spirit. But to more mature students the spirit of
Greece, as Professor Butcher once said, stands for the things
of the mind above all material possessions, for fearless inquiry,
for wisdom, which is the union of intellect and heart. It is the
sense of proportion, adjustment and organic unity. In action it
is the foe of all fanaticism, and at the same time it stands for
public spirit, citizenship, devotion to the common good. It is
the preservative against all intellectual narrowness and con-
tracted sympathies ; yet Greek is but one-half of classical cul-
ture, and the Roman world has many lessons for a nation of
wanderers and State-builders like our own. Rome shows us the
value of practical achievement, and the strenuous and patient
up-building of the Empire, and the austere citizenship of the
great Romans are noble examples for the world to-day.
It is worth remembering, too, the vast scope there is for per-
sonal enthusiasm in the classics. In the classical department
of a university, no research worthy of the name has ever been
done except by men who did it because they loved it, and none
has ever been done except for its own sake. As Professor Burnet
puts it : "A man is led by some feeling of kinship for what is
greater than himself to devote his life to the interpretation of
poet, philosopher, historian, to the elucidating of language on
9
246 Acta Victoriana.
its purely linguistic side, or to that of the art or institutions of
antiquity, and such a man will freely give himself up to the most
arid and laborious investigations." It is this research for some-
thing more which makes the real scholar. The importance, too,
of personal interpretation in classical training is sometimes
under-estimated. Classical education is concerned with the
interpretation of the highest products of the human mind ; pro-
ducts of which the significance is inexhaustible. The classics
are htiman. Each fresh soul has to understand the masterpieces
for itself, as if no one had ever understood them before, and
the most our teaching can do is to give our pupils the key by
W'hich they can unlock for themselves the great treasure house
of mankind. People talk about the classics being dry and unin-
teresting ; they talk about a classical education as a valley of dry
bones — but at least they are human bones.
The habit of mind, then, the attitude which is or can be pro-
duced by a good classical course intelligently pursued, may, I
think, be stated to be the contemplative and receptive attitude,
one of interest in every branch of knowledge, in every sphere of
human activity. A classical man has a fair chance of deserv-
ing in later life the title, " A well-read and well-informed man."
To pass on now to some of the special by-paths which often
lead a classical man to take interest in other studies. Dr. John-
son used to say, " I hate by-ways in education," but he meant
that he objected to an education which was superficial. Our
motto is, I think, rather that saying of Thoreau, " I like a broad
margin to my life."
The first by-path is that of art. A classical student is bound
in his course to come into more or less intimate contact with the
spirit of classical antiquity by studying its manifestations in
art. Again, take the case of language. A man may branch off
from the elementary knowledge of the science of language, to
which he was introduced in his work on Greek and Latin, into
the wider realms of comparative philology. Language study
may become his hobby, and it is an intensely fascinating study.
Another side-path is that of anthropology, ethnology, and the
study of comparative customs, and I have found very frequently
that classical men are very interested in ethnology and anthropol-
ogy, especially if they have first been interested in the history
of language. The history of language leads to the history of
Ada Victoriana. 247
the races that spoke the various forms of it. Such questions as
the origin of our Aryan ancestors, their civiUzation, their distri-
bution, afford fields of endless interest. Or, again, the study of
the religious customs of Rome, or of the mythology of Greece,
may make our classical student a disciple of Andrew Lang, whose
charming book, " M}th, Ritual, and Religion," is the outcome of
the scholarly mind applying itself to comparative mythology.
There is not much room for archaeology in this continent.
Necessarily, as regards local work, it is confined to Europe. In
England you will almost always find that the best archaeologists,
whether interested in Roman ruins or ecclesiastical architec-
ture, in prehistoric remains or matters of more local interest,
have usually been stimulated in taking up these studies by the
interest given them in classical archaeology. A by-path rarely
followed, but which, when followed, seems always to prove of
enthralling interest, is that of palaeography and the study of
manuscripts. A man may make his first acquaintance with the
subject in dealing with some question of various reading, but
he may be led on to more detailed study of, or the search for,
original manuscripts. Two friends of mine, for instance, spend
almost all their summer holidays burrowing in the musty
libraries of various Greek monasteries north of the ^gean Sea.
Or our student may become interested in mediaeval documents,
charters and roll-books ; may take up what Germans call
diplomatik, and help to decipher some of the original records
which are every day throwing light on the sources of English
history and causing us in several cases to alter our views and to
modify our prejudices. Or it may happen that a man devotes
his time to the more mechanical branches of palaeography — for
instance, the deciphering of papyri by photography and by the
use of chemical reagents. Splendid work in these departments
has been done by two Oxford men, Grenfell and Hunt, to
whose painstaking industry we owe such discoveries as the
Logia, the Sayings of Jesus, together with many interesting
documents included in their volume of " Oxyrrhyncus Papyri."
In the realm of history the possible divergencies on lines of
interest are very various and hardly need to be enumerated. I
think that perhaps the two most attractive periods of history
to which a classical man is likely to be attracted are, firstly, Alex-
ander's times, his campaign in India, his methods of strategy
248 Acta ]^ictoriana.
(which no less a general than Napoleon thought extremely up-
to-date\ and his influence on European civilization. The second
division, which is peculiarly interesting because so many people
know very little of it, is the period of the fall of the Roman
Empire, the time of the Huns and Goths, and the vast movements
of civilization over Europe and Asia. The topography, too, of
Greece and Rome finds a place here. The classical man cannot
but be anxious to know something of the environment of the
authors he reads, and the surroundings of the great actors in
world history whose exploits he studies.
In philosophy there are difficulties for everyone who has not
had a classical training. Aristotle is still a text-book and a
philosopher who has to read Plato in a translation is very
seriously to be pitied. It is pleasant to think that Toronto
University has taken a prominent part in emphasizing the study
of the subject matter of the philosophical classics. As to
theology I need say nothing. Not only is nearly every good
theologian a classical man, but in nine cases out of ten his
interest in the " study of studies " has first been stirred by his
knowledge of the Greek language. It would be hard to imagine
a Lightfoot, a Westcott, or a Wellhausen who had not received
a good training in classical scholarship. I have known men, too,
who are now authorities on the Italian Renaissance and the
progress of the revival of learning, whose interest in it was due
to the work that they had done in a brief set of lectures on the
history of scholarship.
These few instances that I have taken are, as you will see,
drawn mostly from the study of the subject matter of the
classics. There remain the side-paths to which the study of
their form may lead. Here is opened up the vast field of com-
parative literature and the study of literary form, such as the
history of Epic and its various manifestations among different
nations, from the Mahabharata of ancient India to the epics of
our Teutonic ancestors. The ancient drama, again, looked at
from the point of view of its literary form, often proves of the
greatest interest, and a man who reads the " Electra " and
studies it will read " Macbeth " with all the greater appreciation.
These, then, are a few of the by-paths which a student may
follow after his classical course. The list is, you will see, very
incomplete, and I have only indicated very cursorily their possi-
Acta lictoriana. '^49
ble developments. A good deal depends on how he follows his
course. The attitude that I think he should adopt and the point
of view which should be taken by teachers should be that of
the comparative and historic method. Everything in classics is
interesting if viewed, not as isolated and detached, but as part
of development.
Method in classics suggest the choice of matter, and in the
selection of authors I should like to emphasize the importance
of Homer. Nearly all the side-paths that I have mentioned may
start from Homer if he is thoroughly and intelligently studied.
There is some truth in the Duke of Buckingham's lines —
" Read Homer once and you can read no more,
For all books else appear so mean and poor ;
Verse will seem prose, but still persist to read.
And Homer will be all the books you need."
May I venture to give you some advice on the methods of study-
ing classics ? The first piece of advice is contained in the maxim,
" Collect and compare." When you are beginning to read any
author, or the part of any author, consider before you begin
what are the points of interest running through the book ; what
are you likely to come across that is specially worth study ; be
purposeful in your readings, do not wander aimlessly through a
classical author. If you go a walk into the country it makes
a great difference in the enjoyment of your walk if you are pre-
pared to keep your eyes open as you go along ; if you expect
to be interested and know what to look for ; and the same applies
to classical reading.
My second piece of advice is this, never read zvithoiit a pencil
in your hand. I do not mean that you should scribble on the
margin of books that are not yours ; this I always consider to be
a kind of mild lunacy (if you remember. King David, when he
wished to play the part of a madman, scribbled on the wall).;
but I mean this, that if you wish to appreciate the subject. matter
of anything that you are reading, a judicious mark here and
there, or a note taken in your own note-book, will make a great
deal of dift'erence, because it helps you to cultivate the habit of
mind of summarizing and really appreciating the content matteii.
I think that there is a great deal to be said for the old custom of
keeping a commonplace book in which were copied from any
250 Ada Victoriana.
author who was being read those passages which seemed worthy
of preservation.
The conclusion of the whole matter seems to be this : any
mature student who is in doubt as to what course to choose, who
stands " this way and that dividing the swift mind," uncertain
as to whether he should follow the classics or decide for a course
in political economy, history or what not, will, I think, with con-
fidence choose the classics ; if, that this, he looks forward and
asks himself the question, What wnll give me the best mental
training? What will give me an aptitude for intellectual in-
terests? What will develop my literary sense and make me a
*' full man " ? In everyone's life there may come the cudden
awakening of this literary sense, a flash of revelation, the growth
of a literary soul ; and how many a man can date that awakening
from the day (an epoch-making day in his literary education)
when first he really appreciated some line from Homer, or from
Virgil, or when he first grasped the full significance of some
clear-cut, crystal phrase of Horace, one of those
"Jewels five words long
Which on the stretched fore-finger of all Time
Sparkle for ever."
Lastly, we cannot put from us the classical spirit, even if we
would ; it is within us. The hidden bonds which connect us
with the Grseco-Roman civilization are so deep-seated, so univer-
sal, that they are part of our nature. We Anglo-Saxons are,
though we are often unaware of it, intellectually the direct
descendants of the Greeks and Roman:. Ot:f taales, our ideas,
all the hidden inainsprings of modern thought and art, all the
moulds of our expression of thought in speeech, are Greek or
Roman ; the Teutonic element is but an overgrowth. We cannot
be unclassical even if we will. The civilization of the Greeks
and Romans has made us what we are in thought and feeling.
It is a heritage which we ought thankfully to acknowledge, a
gift which we should foster and develop, for to it, I believe, we
owe that heaven-born instinct in our heart of hearts which makes
us believe that after all there is something in the Intellectual
Life, something worth living for, perhaps worth dying for.
Acta Victoriana.
251
Nance Pat hern's Votu
BY JOANNA E. WOOD.
RETTY NANCE PATHERN lived with her
two sisters in a tiny cottage just beyond the
northern limit of a Scotch mining village.
She was a tall, slight girl, with a firm-lipped
mouth and soft Scotch eyes. She and her
two sisttrs were stay makers ; they made a
very comfortable living, for the farmers'
wives and daughters were very particular
over the " set " and fit of their " bodies."
Nance was of a shy, reticent nature, and
when the farmer of The Bloom asked her to marry him she kept htr
own counsel, but said him " Yea," and went about, her firm lips
softened into sweetness, her grey eyes tenderly thoi ghtful, her deft
hands more skillful and tireless than ever in helping with the stay-
making.
Nance saw her lover very seldom, for he had a mother noted far
and near for her masterful ways, and her desire to get her son a well-
to-do-wife. But Nance was patient with the patience born of secret
happiness.
One spring night, when the sun was down and the soft Scotch gloam-
ing brooded over the village Nance came walking through the street.
Her steps were light, her color came and went. As she passed the
women knitting or nursing their babies in the doorways, the men
sitting in characteristic miner fashion, their knees drawn up, their
backs against the cottage walls, she gave them the modest salutation
of a country lass. More than one young man locked after her wist-
fully, she was so fresh and fair skinned. That night she told her
sisters of her lover, and they were glad in her joy. She had tcken
home a pair of stays that day, and coming back she had encountered
her lover. They had had a long talk whilst his horse cropped the
grass and first blue-bells by the wayside. He was great in inches this
lover of hers ; but even one poorly skilled in the reading of faces
would have judged him sadly lacking in stability. But to Nance he
seemed all perfection.
"She's sore on me to take Weaver's Maggie," he said, speaking of
tiis mother's ambitions for him, " but I have other thoughts."
252 Ada Victoriana.
Nance smiled shyly at him in blind security. Was not she his
choice ? What more could mortal woman desire ? '1 hen he had told
her something so much more important than anything else. At
Martinmas his mother was going to live with his sister at Dolar.
" And then, Nance," he said. " Then — ! '
" Then," she assented sweetly ; her soft eyes filled with happy tears,
and her lips were tremulous as he pressed them. They parted. No word
was said of their next meeting — so far chance had served them well.
The summer came, but Nance had never seen her lover alone since
that spring night. She was content in the fulness of her failh, though
sometimes returning from her errands she felt a sore disappointment
that chance had not been kind to her ; but she stayed her heart, saying
to herself, "At Martinmas ! ' But JVIartmmas was as yet afar.
One day when Nance was absent upon an errand her sisters, white-
faced, discussed something which evidently they had often canvassed.
"Is Nance much taken up with him ?" asked Bess in the tone of
one who knows the answer to her query, but hopes against hcpe for
contradiction.
" Is she ! " echoed Mary, " I should think she was ! ''
'"Deed I think she is," said Bess, answering her own proposition.
" You must tell her, then ! "
" Me ! Not for worlds ! " ejaculated Mary.
" Maybe she'll have found it out to-day ? " hazaidcd Bess.
" I doubt it," said Mary dubiously.
"Why not ? Everybody knows it ! ' said Bess almost fretfully.
" I've a feeling that she'll not hear it," said Mary ; then, with a
vicious tightening of the lips, a vicious twist ot the stout stay she was
making, "I wish I had the combing of his head!" And just then
Nance entered, fresh, young, blooming, evidently unconscious of any
impending change in her world.
" Bess," said Mary, returning that same evening from an excursion
down the village street, " Where's Nance ? "
" Outside with Jeanie Campbell," said Mary. " What is 't ? "
" It's not the day after to-morrow — it's to morrow ! "
" God guide us ! She must be told ! "
" I can't tell her. You do it ! '•'
" I daren't ! "
Nance reentered the little dwelling, the two elder sisters cast
appealing looks one at the other, but the heart of each failed her ;
and soon the lights were out and the three sisters sought sleep, but
only Nance, found it.
Ada Victoriana. 253
It was ten o'clock next morning when ihe bells in the grey old
tower rang out with what was their nearest approach to gaiet)'.
" Who's married to day ? " queried Nance looking up from her sew-
ing. " I didn't hear of a marriage." Hei sisters sat silent. " Don't
you know ? " she went on. " But there's Jeanie Campbell. I'll ask
her." She went to the door with her work gathered in her apron,
and stood waiting whilst Jeanie filled her pails at the village hydrant.
Nance Pathern remembered all her life how the street looked as she
saw it that day.
A tame starling stalked gravely in the middle of the road, two boys
played marbles, themselves almost of a color with the dust in which
they " knuckled down " ; far away she saw the ,tops of green trees,
and a hawker's cart was disappearing up the hill.
"Ay, Jeanie," called Nance, as her friend, laden with her water pails,
came within hail, '• who's the bells for to day ? "
"My certes ! " said Jeanie, "you're not up with the times ! Don't
you know it's Weaver's Maggie gotten the farmer at The Bloom ?
There's a dinner at her father's and a supper at The Bloom to-night."
With the last words Jeanie disappeared sideways with her pails into
the cottage which was her home.
The bells rang on, the starling cocked its head from side to side,
and aired its one accomplishment by crying, "Jock! Jock! Jock!"
The boys came to blows over their marbles, the sun shone goldenly
in at the door, but Nance still stood. Her sisters reached out and
caught each other's hands. Minute after minute passed, audibly
mourned by the old clock which had ticked away three generations
of Patherns, yet Nance stood — shading her eyes with one hand, hold-
ing her work with the other — her form casting a long black shadow
on the sunshiny floor. Still the bells rang intermittently — then came
silence. Her sisters watched her with dilated eyes. The bells had
ceased. Xance turned from the sunshine and went to the little bed-
room which she had occupied alone. Upon the threshold she paused,
looked back, and said to her sisters : "That's his wedding bells ! I'll
never cross this door till these same bells toll for his corpse."
She passed in, closed the door upon her youth and kept her word.
She lay down a young, strong woman ; lay there through long
winters, sweet summers, budding springs and heathery autumns, deaf
to all remonstrances, indifferent to all events save those chronicled by
the bells, working at her trade with a skill never equalled by any stay-
maker in the country, in her odd moments carving out a spinning-
wheel with a horn-handled jack-knife.
2 54- Ada J 'icUi ria ii a .
"I have taken a vow upon my head before the Lord," she said to
her sisters, and they dared not gainsay her. The minister got word
of it, came to see her, and left discomfited. He came periodically
before the fast days, year in and year out, to point out the error of
her way ; when he died his successor took a like course, and he
passed ; and another assumed his charge and performed the yearly
visit to Nance Pathern's bedside.
The ministers changed, the churchyard wall was rebuilt, the church
reseated, but the bells remained unchanged ; and Nance kept her vow.
Mary married. Bess was left alone with Nance. Their thrift and
industry had earned them a competency. Mary's son was sweetheart
length, and Bess was an old, old woman, though hale and strong, when
one day there came across the village the tolling of death bells. Bess
came up the street from the flesher's, her old face working.
The farmer of The Bloom was dead, and was even then being laid
in his grave.
Bess entered the living room of the cottage ; framed in the lintels
of her bedroom door stood Nance, looking out upon the world in
greeting as she had looked forth upon it in farewell thirty years before.
" I know ! ' she said, " / know I ! "
" Who told you ? ' demanded Bess.
" Nobody. I knew," replied Nance — and so it was.
No mortal tongue had told her the tidings, for long she had known
every secret of the bells, and she knew when they rang out her vow.
Nance was a young woman when she lay down, an old one when she
rose. During all that time no human eye had seen her save on her
couch. Did she ever in quiet midnights steal to the window to watch
the far-off glare of the blast furnaces against the sky? Did she ever
softly swing her window wide to breathe the sweet spring savor of new
leaves ? Did she ever stretch forth her hand that the rain might beat
upon it, or gaze upon the mindful stars which shone above the bells,
and cry " How long? How long?" No one knows.
So she made her vow ; so she kept it ; so she rose and went upon
her way. Upon her face there was ever a strange hushed look, as of
one whose experiences had been arrested though her years went on ; or
rather, perhaps, of one who had lived through such an experience that
it erased the traces of all others from her face forever, as acid eats
away the traceries on metal.
In fulness of time Bess died ; Nance lived on alone. To such a
woman the day held no dreariness, the night no dread ; sometimes,
too, the bells rang out, and then she felt least of all alone.
A eta Victoriana. 255
UigUia Media
ABOUT the middle silence of the night
Out of the spaces something as a flame
Through my cosed casement came.
And filled my chamber with no earth.y light
Of fire or flower or snow,
But colored like the smoulder at the heart
Of b ood-dark rubies cut with antique art.
Throbbing and flushing till the morning glow.
There passed a pale procession of the dead.
Bearing down sunless and memorial ways
Forsaken dreams and days,
And many memories disinn rited.
And obscure ghosts of gloom,
In sacrificial silence, sombre-eyed ;
And in the fervor of the flame they died,
Leaving a phantasm of frail perfume.
The giant vault above loomed inky-black.
Where daring dreams that struggle and rebel
Smite on its iron shell
That gives but dull and deathlike echoes back,
And one by one they die.
But in its deep, inexorable grace
The splendid symbol flamed b-fore my face,
And asked no confirmation from the sky.
It was not granted by the lords of fate ;
But my own longing in that midway hour
By some divine, strange power
Had drawn her spirit through the Ivory Gate,
Her dark-winged, subtle soul,
That I shall never know by night or day.
That dwells in mystic music far away,
And called it through the dark to my control.
The vision faded as the night grew less ;
I saw upon the untransfigured skies
A rainy dawn arise ;
The city woke again to weariness.
But all day long to me
Life's discords sounded vague and strangely far.
Like echoes of waste waves that wail and war
Moon-whitened on some unimagined sea.
uc.^^ jr /ii^c^
256
Acta Victoriana.
Sable Island and Its Inhabitants
BY \V. F. SAUNDERS.
HE majority of people who have any
idea at all about Sable Island think
of it as a desert sandbar, over which
shaggy ponies glean a scanty sub-
sistence from the tough native
grasses, and on whose shores many
lives have been sacrificed by ship-
wreck during the past three hundred
years. But I viewed it from an
ornithological standpoint, and, as
usual, the point of view made all
the difference in the world. It had
for several years been known to me
as the only breeding ground in the
world of the Ipswich sparrow, and,
SD far as I knew, only one ornithol-
ogist had enjoyed the privilege of
seeing this bird at home. When an
ornithologist has an opportunity of
visiting a bird whose home is so little known, there is small wonder
that he should forget all about the reputation of the island as a desert,
and think only of the rare treasure it contains for him. Consequently
I very gladly accepted the invitation to be one of a party that was to
reach Sable Island on May i6th, 1901, and remain until the 23rd, to
plant it with hardy evergreen trees in order that it might become a
more conspicuous mark to storm-tossed mariners.
The island lies about one hundred and fifty miles a little south east
of Halifax, at the junction of the two ocean currents from Baffin's Bay
and the Gulf of Mexico, which are constantly throwing up huge and
dangerous sandbars, extending scores of miles into the ocean. It is
in the form of an elongated crescent, with its concave side to the
nonh, and is nearly twenty-five. miles long, and only about a mile wide
in most places. Each end tapers down to a point, which is entirely
devoid of vegetation, as the sea sweeps over it at every high tide, and
with every stormy wind. All along the north side are bare cliffs of white
sand_, varying from forty to nearly one hundred feet in height, broken
Acta J'lctoriittia.
257
occasionally by gullies which the wind has made. In one of these we
landed, and found near the west side of it a conical pyranaid of sand.
Apparently the gulley had been made in two parts, and when the
second one had been excavated this pyramid was left standing between
the two, a perfect cone of about thirty or forty feet in height. This
gives one a good idea of the power of Sable Island winds, which,
according to the records, often reach a velocity of forty, sixty, and, at
times, even eighty miles an hour. Often, we were told, they scoop
out holes of considerable depth around the telephone poles and fence
posts ; or, if in a building mood, they pile up the sand around the
poles, so that once the line had to be moved to prevent the wires
LANDING.
from being buried. Some of the i)oles we saw had only about six feet
left projecting out of an original height of twenty-five or thirty feet.
Our first sight of the interior of the island at once dissipated the
idea of its being a desert. From the hill-tops on the north the land
sloped away southward in an undulating manner until it almost
reached the level of the ocean, and while the higher hills were but
thinly covered by a long creeping grass, there was a variety of plant
growth on the lower ground which was as green as it would have
been in any other part of the world, before the new spring shoots
become conspicuous. The front yard of the house of the super-
intendent of the island consisted of an acr^ or two of timothy
258
Acta Victorian a.
and clover, which was as green as an Ontario field. From east to-
west the island is of the same general character, except that, towards
the east, there are many large patches of cranberry and crowberry, the
former of which is gathered in q lantities for the market.
The vegetation on Sable Island is strongly modified by the fierce
winds, which blow the particles of sand with great force and in such
quantity that there seems to be a stratum of mist just above the
beach. The effect of this assault on soft-leaved plants can readily be
guessed. The superintendent told us that his willow tree, which is
planted in a fence corner and grows three feet above the fence each
year, is killed back in the winter to the level of the protection, as the
THE SUPERINTENDENTS HOUSE.
exposed leaves turn black and die after these strong winds. Another
result is seen in the dwarfed growth of all the plants of the island-
The common juniper curls and twists its trunk around on the ground,,
while the little branchlets grow more or less upright to the height of
a foot or two. Even the blackberry creeps along the surface, and
the blueberries, which are large and numerous, are quite frequently
lifted completely free of the sand in which their mother plant is grow-
ing, but very often the sand has to be blown or washed off before
eating. The meadow rue, which had its first leaves unfolded at the
time of our visit, showed no sign of any intention of leaving the eartb
any farther beneath it than was absolutely necessary.
Ada Victoriana.
259
Yet it would be unfair to condemn the vegetation of the island by
its appearance at that period of the year, when the maximum day
temperature had barely reached 60° ; for the residents told us that
the grasses, golden-rods, etc., are "waist-high" in the late summer,
and Prof. John Macoun is reported to have found over 190 species
of flowering plants there. With all this variety present it will be
readily understood that in the lower and more fertile parts of the
interior the upper layer of soil has become turfy and black, and could
doubtless be used to grow fine crops were it not for the reason that
ii it were turned under and cultivated the wind would probably blow
a great deal of it into the Atlantic during the succeeding winter.
A PYRAMID.
The temperature, while not high, is extremely stable. Our visit
lasted seven days, during which time the thermometer varied only 21
degrees, namely, from 38^ to 59°, the variation for each day being
only about 12°, and the greatest daily variation we experienced was
only 17"^, from 42'^ to 59°. Fogs are of almost daily occurrence, and,
while we had the good fortune to have sunshine on three days of our
seven, there was only one on which we did not have fog, and on
some we had nothing else. There is a record of nine consecutive
weeks of fog at about that time of the year, but we were told that
later on in the summer, during August and September, the weather
2 6o
Acta Victoriana.
is all that one could wish, and the bright, warm days are exceedingly
enjoyable.
More than forty persons have their constant residence on Sable
Island, the men being employed in the work of the life-saving stations
and the two lighthouses. Every morning and evening the ent re shore
is inspected from end to end. In bright weather this inspection is
made from the look-out by means of field glasses, but when a fog lies
over the land the inspection is made on horseback ; so that no person
could, when wrecked upon the island, remain undiscovered for more
than about twelve hours. Immediately after the completion of each
A GULLEY.
inspection a telephone message is sent to t:.e main station, reporting
the result.
The superintendent, Mr. Robt J- Boutilier, has now been in ofifice
for about seventeen years, during which time he has brought the life-
saving work up to a high standard of excellence, and he is certainly
entitled to the highest credit for the present efficient state, which is
in marked contrast to the condition of affairs before his mcunitency.
^'hen he went th re he had the landsman's dislike of drinking surface
water, and, instead of settling down to use the rain water from the
roof, he sank a well to some depth m order to get pure water. What
was his surprise to ^ind that the fresh surface water was merely floating
Acta Vict ori ana.
261
upon the salt water beneath, and no matter how deep the well was
sunk only salt water was obtained.
As the inhabitants are all government employees, there is no com-
merce on the island. All supplies have to be brought from the
mainland, and most of these are provided by the government, which
sends a vessel twice a year to supply the needs. Sometimes these
visits are postponed, as was the case in October, 1900, when it was
found impossible to send supplies at allj and the boat which should
have reached the island at that time landed its cargo, after two attempts,
in the month of March. This delay caused a waste of one hundred
barrels of cranberries, which had been picked for the market, and
which are about the only agricultural export the island yields.
( To be continued. )
THE LIGHTHOUSE.
10
262
Ada Victoriana.
Landmarks of 1857
BY E. E. BALL, 'o6.
V
THE district between Toronto and Richmond Hill is par-
ticularly rich in landmarks of that memorable struggle,
which, though at the time unsuccessful and fraught with such
disastrous consequences to the leaders of the revolt, has never-
theless had a great and permanent influence upon the govern-
ment of our country. The people living along this part of
Yonge Street were almost entirely in sympathy with ]\Iackenzie's
cause. Some of his most active supporters had their farms in
GOLDEN LION HOTEL — LANSING.
the vicinity of tTie present villages of Lansing and Willowdale,
and here some of their children and grandchildren still reside.
One of the earliest settlers in the neighborhood of Newtonbrook
was Alexander Montgomery, and on this account the village
was formerly called jMontgomeryville. His son, John, w^ho
owned a tavern at Eglinton, acted a very prominent part in the
rebellion. This tavern was a rendezvous for the patriots in
1837, ^"<J became famous as the scene of the only serious
skirmish of the revolt in the vicinity of Toronto.
Acta Victoriana.
263
The building stood on the west side of Yonge Street, only a
few feet south of where the hotel known as the Oulcott House
now stands. It was a large, low, wooden structure, with a broad
verandah in front ; and, if the .pictures of it which still exist are
reliable, it must have been very similar to the buildings one may
often see now used as hotels in little, old-fashioned, country
villages. Smith Avenue, Eglinton, now runs west from Yonge
Street, over the identical spot where the tavern stood, and the
country in the immediate neighborhood, which was then chiefly
covered with forest, has become a pretty residential suburb of
Toronto.
If
THE CASTLE AT LANSING.
Here .the insurgents assembled to prepare for their contem-
plated attack on Toronto. Col. Lount, and the greater number of
those intending to participate in the action, reached here on
December 4th, 1837, but Mackenzie determined to wait until
the following Thursday, as he expected reinforcements. His
vacillating nature, however, induced him to make an expedition
into the city on Tuesday night. This attack was repulsed by a
small body of troops, and Mackenzie withdrew to Montgomery's.
The insurgents remained here until Thursday, the day originally
planned for the attack, when their designs were brought to a
sudden termination.
During this time the authorities had not been idle, and on
Thursday morning, more than one thousand troops set out on
264
Acta Victoriand.
the march for ]\Iontgomery's. Towards noon they came upon
the rebels to the number of two hundred, stationed in the woods
on either side of the road a short distance south of the hotel.
The result is well known. The rebels were scattered, their
leaders captured or forced to leave the country, and the rebellion
was ended so far as Toronto was concerned. By order of the
Governor, Sir Francis Bond Head, the tavern was set on fire,
and as darkness came on its red glare announced to the people of
Toronto the success of the Government forces.
IMontSfomcrv did not live in the hotel himself at that time, but
THE SHEPARD HOUSE BUILT IX l8l2.
had rented it to a Mr. Linfoot, and was living on his farm about
half a mile to the west. The house on this farm is still standing,
having escaped the fiery vengeance which Sir Francis took upon
others of his opponents.
The tavern, known as the Golden Lion Inn, situated about
three and a half miles north of Montgomery's, had been built
some ten years before the rebellion, and in 1837 was occupied
by the builder, a man named Sheppard. This man was no rela-
tion to the Shepard family mentioned later, and but little is
known of him except that he was an eccentric individual and
Acta Vicioriana. 265
was an expert wood-carver. The hotel still stands at Lansing,
and a magnificent wooden representation of a Hon, which has
done duty as a sign-board for three-quarters of a century, bears
testimony to Mr. Sheppard's skill.
A short distance to the west of the hotel is a peculiar struc-
ture, known as the " Castle," which bears out the popular idea
regarding the eccentricity of this man. He built the wails
entirely of huge blocks of dried mud, and the barn near bv is
constructed of the same material. The general form of the
building reminds one of pictures he has seen of Chinese temples,
and as it is now partly in ruins, it presents a very picturesque
appearance.
A little north of the '"' Castle " there still stands the frame
house which, at the time of the rebellion, was occupied by I\Irs.
Shepard and her three stalwart sons — Thomas, Michael, and
Joseph. They were all staunch patriots, and thoroughly in
sympathy with jNIackenzie and his cause. After the battle at
Montgomery's Tavern ]\Iackenzie and the aged Col. Van
Egmond took refuge here, but were not long left undisturbed by
the Government forces. \\^hen the soldiers appeared, Mrs.
Shepard managed to keep them engaged in conversation until
Mackenzie escaped, but Van Egmond was too exhausted to get
away, and was taken as a prisoner to Toronto, where he died a
few days later.
■Mackenzie hastened to the vicinity of Shepard's mill on the
River Don, about a mile to the west of the Shepard house. Here
he remained concealed in the branches of a huge elm tree for
two days or more, while the soldiers were searching for him.
At one time, indeed, they passed immediately under him without
seeing him. While here he was supplied with food by Mrs.
Shepard's youngest son, Joseph, who lived on the farm initil
the time of his death in 1899. Of late years his tall stalwart
figure, betraying the ravages of time onl\- by his snow-white
hair and beard, was quite familiar around the village, and al-
though he was too old to perform manual labor, his spirit had
lost none of that fire that had characterized his youth. Shepard's
mill was a frame structure, and was a rendezvous of the patriot
leaders. The spot is still marked by a few decayed timbers and
by the embankment and sluice of the old dam. Here the rebels
stored their arms and ammunition and held their councils of war.
266
Acta Victoriana.
After Mackenzie's escape Sir Francis Bond Head sent troops
to set fire to Shepard's house, but although they applied the torch
in a score of different places the flames were always extin-
guished by the dauntless Mrs. Shepard, who followed the men
with a pail of water. Although she succeeded in saving her
house, this adventure had the eft'ect of lessening her ardor for
Mackenzie considerably, as he discovered when he returned to
the house after his forced sojourn in the tree. He found Mrs.
Shepard busy in the kitchen, but although he stood at the door
for some time she paid no attention to him. At last he said,
"Don't you know me, ]Mrs. Shepard?"" "Know you," she
PRESENT GIBSON RESIDENCE, WI LLOWDALE.
retorted, " I know too much about you " ; and Mackenzie must
have felt that his welcome there was worn out.
The second farm north of that belonging to the Shepard's
was, in 1837, owned and occupied by the patriot, David Gibson.
He was a pronounced Reformer, and his house was a rendezvous
for party caucuses. The historian, John Charles Dent, in his
" Story of the Upper Canadian Rebelion," says of ]Mr. Gibson :
" He was an honorable and high-minded man. much esteemed
by his neighbors, and in high favor with his party."
At the beginning of active hostilities Mr. Gibson first learned
of the meditated attack on Toronto from a message sent to him
by Dr, Rolph for transmission to Mackenzie. Not knowing
Acta Victoriana. 267
where Mackenzie was at that time, he forwarded the message
to Col. Lount at Holland Landing, and hastened himself to
Shepard's mill. There he found a number of patriots busy cast-
ing bullets in preparation for the attack. At Montgomery's
Tavern he was placed in charge of some fifty or sixty prisoners
that had been taken by the insurgents and so was not directly
engaged in the skirmish. As soon as the fight was over he
allowed the prisoners to escape and then made the best of his
way to the home of a friend near Oshawa. He remained con-
cealed there for a few days and then escaped across the lake
in a small boat.
But although he had escaped with his life, he was not so
fortunate with regard to his property. At the same time that
the attempt was made to burn Shepard's house, the Government
forces succeeded in burning down Mr. Gibson's house and barn
and in capturing a large quantity of provisions. Mrs. Gibson,
with four small children, was forced to take refuge in the
Willowdale parsonage near by, a building which is. still standing
and still used for the same purpose. j\Ir. Peter S. Gibson, son
of David Gibson, and the present owner and occupant of the
farm, who was then a small child, is very fond of relating how
his mother, being unable to climb the parsonage fence with him
in her arms, threw him over into a soft snowbank, and then
got over herself.
She remained here for a short time and then went to join
her husband at Lockport, N.Y., where they resided for some
years. In 1843 the exiles were pardoned and Mr. Gibson
returned to his farm at Willowdale. His son, as we have noted,
is now in possession of this farm, and occupies a handsome
brick residence on the exact site of the one that was burned.
Mr. Gibson died in 1864, and a white marble monument in the
south-west corner of the Willowdale churchyard marks his last
resting place.
Just north of the Willowdale Church stands a frame cottage
which in 1837 was occupied by a Mr. Poole, also a staunch
Reformer. He allowed Mackenzie to place his printing press
in this house, but only one issue of the paper was printed here.
When the Government offered amnesty to the rebels who would
give themselves up, Poole surrendered, but was imprisoned. He
escaped, however, and went to the United States. When he
268
Acta Victoriana.
uas gone, for fear that Mrs. Poole should get into trouble
through having the press in her possession, her brother, Wx.
Johnson, who lived directly across the road, put the machine
in an old well, from which it has never been recovered. The
Johnson farm is now occupied by Mr. Johnson's son, whose wife
is a daughter of the Joseph Shepard mentioned above. Quite
recently some of the type belonging to ^Mackenzie's press has
been found in their house and they have a butcher-knife made
from a piece of his sword. Another portion of this weapon was
recently rescued by them from its perilous position as brush-
wiper in a whitewash pail.
OLD POOLE RESIDENCE.
At the north end of the village of Richmond Hill there is a
frame house, a\ hich was formerly the residence of the loyalist,
Col. Moodie. He noticed the patriot vounteers passing down
Yonge Street about the ist of December, 1837, ^'i'^ ^^'^s not
long in guessing the cause of their movement. He set out at
midnight on the. 4th with a small party of loyalists to interview
the Governor personally. As they journeyed down Yonge Street
in the darkness they were stopped by a guard placed across the
road about two hundred yards north of 3iIontgomery's. They
broke through these only to encounter a second line immediately
in front of the hotel. These they also broke through, but the
insurgents in the hotel were aroused by this time, an<l when they
Acta Victoriana. 269
came to the third guard, about two hundred yards further south,
the opposition had become quite formidable. ^loodie and his
companion, Stewart, tried to force a passage, but Moodie w-as
shot, and Stewart was captured. The colonel was carried into
the tavern, where he lived only a short time. His grave is at the
north-west corner of the English Church at Richmond Hill, and
is covered by a single flat stone, from W'hich the inscription is
almost effaced. It is a peculiar example of the irony of fate that
this man, who had passed safely through the Peninsula \\"ar in
Spain and the War of 1812 in America, should at last end his
career in a paltry uprising in the forests of Upper Canada.
A strong element of pathos lingers abovit the story of Col.
Lount and his friend, Capt. Matthews. The latter took refuge
in the Duncan house, near Newtonbrook, but in the night, as
he slept, overcome with the troubles and fatigues he had passed
through, the foe stole upon him. Before he was roused from
his slumber the bayonet of a soldier was pointed at his breast,
and he awoke to find himself a prisoner. In anger he seized
the man who stood over him, and with his mighty strength
hurled him across the room, but he was soon overpowered by
numbers and taken as a prisoner to Toronto. The rest of the
story is well known. On the 12th of April. 1838, Matthews and
Lount died as martyrs to a cause in which they conscientiously
believed, and for which thev bravelv fought.
Their bodies lie in one grave in the Necropolis Cemetery,
Toronto, where for many years a simple white stone inscribed —
Samuel Lount,
Peter Matthews,
1838.
recalled to the passer-by the story of their tragic end. In 1893,
however, a magnificent monument was " erected by their friends
and sympathizers " beside the little tombstone. This bears, to-
gether with their names and date of death, a short sketch of
the life of each, and forms a fitting tribute to the memory of these
brave men.
'.JO
A eta Victoriana.
Little Wild Breeze
BV ANXIE CAMPBELL HUESTIS.
O LITTLE wild breeze, wait for me, wait for me,
Catch me up, toss me up, fling me up high !
The tree boughs, they sway about, drearily, wearily.
But never a one is so weary as L
Strange little wild breeze, here you are, there you are.
Your voice it is sweet and your arms they are strong.
I call to you, come to me, lift me up, bear me far,
No fear shall I feel as you whirl me along.
Little wild breeze, when you sing to me, sing to me
( How many a mortal your voice has beguiled !),
I tremble and burn with the thoughts that you bring to me.
Thoughts that are restless and wistful and wild.
O little breeze, is it wrong of me, wrong of me?
I know I have life, and to earth I belong.
But the spirit of change and unrest it is strong in me,
And I hear all my wishing cried out in your song.
Little wild breeze, won't you wait for me, wait for me?
I have never a wish for a heart or a soul.
But it's O to be you, flying airily, merrily,
High, high, where the thunder clouds mutter and roll,
Or far where your voice waileth bitterly, bitterly,
. O'er plains which no human foot ever hath trod.
And out in the stillness where space is supposed to be,
And voice never comes, save the strange voice of God.
Halifax, Canada.
o
Acta Vidoriana.
271
Book Reviews
The Prisoner of Mademoiselle. A Love Story, by Charles G. 1).
Roberts. Toronto: The Copp Clark Co. 1904. 265 pp.
ROBERTS knows Acadie and its history thoroughly, and makes it
the scene of his latest novel. We are introduced to the
"Bastonnais," Lieut. Zachary Cowles, who had left his ship, God's
Providence, in search of adventure in the Bay of Fundy, and who,
because of the turn of the tide and the dense fog, found himself alone
CHARLES G. D. ROBERTS.
in the enemy's country. He is cleverly trapped by Mademoiselle de
Biencourt, the niece of the gouty governor, and surrenders his sword
to her. There follows a rush of hairbreadth escapes from discovery
and hanging, of rescue from a hated marriage to Monsieur de Viron,
arranged for Mademoiselle by her uncle, and an equally rapid course
of love at first sight between the Mademoiselle and her prisoner, in
which she is abetted by the kindly old priest, Father Labillois, with
2/2 Acta Victorimta.
the maid, Lisette, and her lover, Gil Beaudy, as most efficient aides-de-
camp. Of course, the lovers triumph, but do so only by running
away in the night under the guidance of Gil, who is the hunter of all
Acadie most skilled in woodcraft. In all, it is a very pleasant story,
told in beautiful language, and will help while away an evening very
agreeably by the grate-fire ; but of modern life or of character-drawing
there is nothing.
The Watchers of the Trails. A Book of Animal Life. By Charles
G. D. Roberts. Toronto: The Copp Clark Co. 1904. 361 pp.
This collection of stories is a fine companion volume to " The
Kindred of the Wild," and is distinguished by the same sanity and
reserve, by the same painstaking observation of the habits and actions
of the wild, and the same great love for field and wood, as we find in
all of Roberts' work in this particular field. Simply, beautifully, and
directly told, they appeal strongly to all real lovers of animal life, and
will be a very valuable addition to this kind of literature. Roberts is
a poet who at times givcs us good work, and writes a fairly interesting
novel, but he is decidedly at his best in the modern animal story, of
which he is one of the truest and best writers. In this collection the
best stories, to my mind, are " The Freedom of the Black-faced
Ram," "The Alien of the Wild," "The Rivals of Ringwaak," and
"The Passing of the Black Whelps." The witchery and uncanniness
of the forest at night is splendidly brought out in "The Laugh in the
Dark."
Steps of Hoitor. By Basil King. Boston : H. B. Turner tS: Co.
1904. 286 pp.
This is a story of Harvard University circles and contains some
very striking likenesses. Anthony Muir, Assistant-Professor of Eng-
lish, the betrothed husband of the perfect New England girl, Agatha
Royal, is making a name as a lecturer, and fame as the author of the
fast selling book, " Conscience and Society." His rival, Paul Dunster,
has found out that this work has plagiarised one of 183 1 by an old
Scotch Professor Love, a friend of Muir's father. So has Christopher
Campbell Love, grandson of the old man, and Professor of Greek in
the University of Detroit. Muir denies all knowledge of the older
book and will not answer the charges of plagiarism published in The
National, Boston's literary paper. He has even gone so far as to give
" his sacred word of honor " to Agatha that he knows nothing of it.
Because of his reticence, he finds his friends all turning their backs
Acfa Victoriana. 273
upon him. Johnny Charterhouse, a poor student who has been
guilty of the embezzlement of some $2,000, is put under Muii's
guidance, and it is while setting this boy on the right track that Muir
himself is brought to a conscioui^ness of his own guilt. He confesses
to Agatha in the house of his older friend, Professor Wollaston, the
guardian of Agatha. The only one who does not openly desert him
is Persis Wollaston. Aluir takes refuge in Roxbury, in the house of
Mrs. Brooks, whither Charterhouse has also retired, and begins to
make expiation by devoting his great gifts as teacher to Charterhouse,
now a clerk in a business house in Boston, and the many other ambi-
tious, but poor and handicapped, students. He is loyally aided by
Persis Wollaston and secretly by her uncle, Professor Wollaston. His
students succeed, and he himself is getting remunerative work to do.
While the winter thus passes for him, bringing gray hairs and ill-
health, the Busy Bees of Harvard Society are trying to bring about a
match between Dunster and Agatha. But Paul and Persis become
engaged, and poor Agatha is left alone in her misery. Charterhouse
comes to her for help and becomes the medium of a meeting between
her and Muir. She finally determines to go down the steps of honor,
as a true woman, to help Muir up again, but he will none of it.
However, she is not to be denied when Muir falls very ill, — and the
end is the union of the two lovers.
The story is well told, the character-drawing clever, and the quiet
humor of the descriptions of the foibles of professors and professors'
wives, and of the Busy Bees, is delightful. What a fine old splutterer
Professor Wollaston is, and yet what an immense amount of sage
wisdom is to be found in his speeches !
Basil King is Canadian born and educated, though he has lived for
a number of years in Boston and Cambridge. He makes one more
good writer to our credit, and should not be overlooked. We shall
look forward to his next with pleasant anticipation.
Gabriel Fraed's Castle. By Alice Jones. Boston : H. B. Turner &
Co. 1904. 380 pp.
Miss Jones, the daughter of Lieut. -Governor Jones, of Halifax, is
the Author of "The Night-Hawk " and "Bubbles We Buy." which
latter book I reviewed in the Acta for June, 1904. The promise of
that work is fully lived up to in her latest novel, and she now takes a
front rank in the rapidly increasing list of talented Canadian authors.
The scene of this story is Paris and Brittany. Gabriel Praed, a
British Columbia multi millionaire has gone to Paris with his "divine"
274
Acta Victoriana,
daughter, Julia, and has there fallen among thieves. Madame
Mallock, Britski, a dealer in paintings and antiquities and a
thoroughpaced rascal, and his wife, Madame Marcelle, a fashionable
dressmaker, and others, take advantage of the ignorant monied man
to palm off upon him antiquities — old, but mostly new — and they are
ably seconded by Virginie Lapierre, a model from the Latin quarter.
The good angel of the story is Alexander Garvie, a successful artist,
who, by Herculean efforts, unmasks all the rogues, and saves Praed
from a most fatal step. His reward was Julia, upon whom Praed
settles the castle (chateau) in Brittany. The happiness of Rupert
Thorpe, an unsuccessful artist friend of Garvie's, and of the brave
Sylvia Dorr is also made complete by Garvie's efforts.
While we read of so much fraud and deceit we are conscious of the
truth of the story, and owe our thanks to the clever writer. She is
one of our best.
Brave Hearts. By W. A. Fr.aser.
Toronto: Morang & Co. 1904.
307 pp. $1.50.
The title of this book is the plural-
ized form of the equine hero of the
first story. Most of the stories are
from East Indian racecourses, one
from Saratoga, one from Toronto, and
one, " The Remittance Man," from
our North-West. In my review, some
years ago, of " The Eye of a God,"
I said that Eraser should stick to
just such stories, for here he is a
master of no mean order. This col-
lection will further enhance his fame
in this direction. However, his horses must not talk, but let their
owners do that for them.
T}ie Mianac ; or. The Ribboned Way. By S. C.'\RLET0N. New York :
Henry Holt & Co. 1904. 234 pp.
"S. Carleton" is the sister-in law of Alice Jones, and, if I mistake
not, the sister of Mrs. Pasque, who as " Helen Milecete " takes her
name from the other great tribe of Nova Scotia Indians. " The
Micmac " is the enlargement of a story that appeared in Ainslies
Magazine, and the scene is Nova Scotia. Billy Moulton is camping
for the summer on Little Lake Team. Four miles away, across an all
W. A. FRASER,
Acta Vidoriana, 275
but impassable swamp, is Big Lake Team, on which are summering
James Kilgore, a wealthy American lumberman, and his daughter
Molly, whom he is anxious to have " break into society." He, there-
fore, looks with favor upon Lygon's suit for Molly's hand, and she, to
escape the hateful suiter, explores the swamp, and blazes her way with
red ribbons. In doing this she stumbles upon Moulton's camp, and
saves him from death in the treacherous swamp. Mrs. Marescaux,
also a guest at Kilgore's, hears of the death of Moulton's friend, Lane,
and, for reasons which the story sets forth, is anxious to get possession
of a bundle of letters consigned to Moulton's care. She asks Molly
to get them for her, and the girl undertakes the dangerous journey.
Lygon has followed her and taken away the ribbons, so that Molly on
her return loses her way, and is only saved by the heroic efforts cf
Moulton. The result one can guess. Mrs. Marescaux gives up her
slight claim on Moulton, and solaces herself with the wealthy
lumberman.
The story is uneven but is very interesting, and we are glad to add
"S. Carleton " to our list of Canadian authors.
The Hound from the JSorth. By Ridgwell Cullum. Toronto:
The Copp Clark Co. 1904. 344 pp.
This book, by the author of "The Story of Foss River Ranch," is
like its predecessor in having its scene laid in Canada, and also like
its predecessor in being a travesty and a slander on our country and
our Western life. Sensational stories they are both, reeking with
fraud, and deceit, and blood, having few redeeming features of out.
line and little probability of truth in the sketching of character. This
second book is more sensational and thinner in plot than the first.
What is dignified by the name of hound is but a revengeful husky,
which becomes the instrument in the hands of fate to carry off the
big criminal. Heavy Mailing, alias Zachary Smith, who stops not at
bloodshed to accomplish his nefarious designs. We are not let into
the secret of how such a rascal can be own brother to the sweet
heroine of the story. We are hurried from the Yukon to Manitoba,
to Toronto, to California, at a moment's notice. Such books do a
great deal of good if they are not read. Trash they are of the most
wretched kind.
Dr. Luke of The Labrador. By Norman Duncan. Toronto :
Fleming H. Revell. 1904. 327 pp.
Those who have read " The Way of the Sea " know how familiar
Duncan is with the fisher folk of Labrador and Newfoundland, and
know, too, how narrow the horizon, how circumscribed the outlook,
2^6
Acta Victoriana.
how leaden the skies, how hard the life to be found there ; and yet
there the flowers bloom, though sparse ; and no matter how merciless
the sea, love and hate, tragedy and comedy are to be found. " And
the glory of the coast — and the glory of the whole world — is mother-
love, which began in the beginning and has continued unchanged to
this present time — the conspicuous beauty of the fabric of life ; the
great constant of the problem." These words from the preface of
Duncan's latest book are the keynote of his first novel. 'Twas
love that bound Davy Roth and his mother so strongly together ;
NORMAN DUNCAN.
love that caused Dr. Luke to live a grand life in The Labrador in
expiation of his former wickedness ; love that united Bessie Roth to
him, and love for the people of the Harbour that made the lad Davy,
later the " Dr. Davy," beloved.
As a novel, pure and simple, judged from the standpoint of tech-
nique, this work cannot compare with a great number of other works
of the same kind, but as a picture of the life of a small people it is a
work of the highest art, running all the notes in the gamut of the
circumscribed life found there.
Ada Victoriana.
277
By the Queen's Grace. By Virna Sheard. Toronto : Wm. Briggs.
1904. 274 pp.
This is Mrs. Sheard's longest story, set in the same times as her
dainty little " Maid of Many Moods." Davenport, an arch-criminal,
was justly condemned to death for his many crimes, but was pardoned
"by the Queen's Grace " on the accession of the young Queen Eliza-
beth, and made toll-keeper. His very pretty daughter^ Joyce, had
received from the Queen a thumb-ring, with the admonition to present
MRS. VIRNA SHEARD,
herself at the palace if in distress. Davenport was an illegitimate son
of Lord Richard Caverden, and finally meets his death when attempt-
ing to rob the palace, but before he dies he is pardoned and knighted
by the Queen. Joyce, to escape an odious marriage, had recourse to
the Queen and is made lady-in waiting. Before this, however, she
had attempted to drown herself in the Thames because of unhappy
love for Lord Yelverton, who had first attracted her attention
as a juggler. He had received a large fortune on the death of one
11
■■^I
2/8 Ac^a Victoriana.
Fraser, on condition that he should marry Fraser's ward, which he
does. However, death frees him of his unsuitable wife, after which
he woos and wins Joyce, and the two " live happy ever after." The
story is slight but well told. Indeed it is very much on a par with
the latest novels of Sir Gilbert Parker and C G. D. Roberts.
A Chicago Princess. By Robert Barr. New York : Fred. A.
Stokes Co. 1904. 306 pp.
Robert Barr writes frankly to entertain, and succeeds always by the
aid of some astounding adventures. " The Chicago Princess " is Ger-
trude Hemster, the daughter of a wealthy Chicagoan, Silas K.
Hemster. They have an immense yacht, in which they are sailing
Eastern seas, and reach Nagasaki in Jap in. Here Rupert Trem.orne
comes aboard. He had been in diplomatic service, resigned because
he had fallen heir to a large fortune, out
of which he was swindled by John C.
Cammerford, and was looking for a posi-
tion in consequence. He became private
secretary to Hemster, and was able to
* '/ help the spoiled daughter in her "king-
quest " by introducing her to the Corean
Court. The Corean King aimed to make
her the " White Star " of his harem, and to
do so had the yacht attacked by an old
hulk, with the purpose of sinking it and
saving Miss Hemster from the wreck.
The timely aid of a passing tug prevented
ROBERT BARR. , . ^^ , ^ \l-
this. However, the Corean Kmg soon
hid enough of the "White Star's" temper, and was glad to be rid of
he-. Cammerford, in the meantime, had been trying to get Hemster
into a trust he had projected, but Hemster laid down the condition
that he should refund to Tremorne what he had swindled him out of.
Then Tremorne was enabled to marry Hilda Stretton, Miss Hemster's
companion, the daughter of an old friend of the Hemsters, who had
been a poor Episcopalian clergyman. The story is like so many of
Barr's, very thin, but well told and very entertaining for the time.
A Ladder of Swords. By Gilbert Parker. Toronto : The Copp
Clark Co. 1904% 291 pp.
This last work of Gilbert Parker is an enlargement of a story in
Harpers' s Magazine some four years ago, called " Angele and Michel."
\Phe happiness attairied by the two lovers in the troublous times of
Acta Vidoriana.
279
Queen Elizabeth was in truth by a ladder of szvords, and in this
extended form it does seem a pity that the last chapter should tell
of such a brief compensation for such
weary waiting and watching. The second-
ary figures — the Fool, Lampriere, Seigneur
de Rozel and the pirate, Buonespoir —
are cleverly sketched, and " the Duke's
daughter," a mysterious personage, new to
the story, serves to carry the added interest.
It goes without saying that the story runs
well, but it is without that absorbing life-
interest which is found on every page of
"The Right of Way." I had hoped that
Parker's late work would maintain the level
of that, by far his best work, and I am sorry
to see him wasting his time with these so-
called historical romances. He ought to
give us better work.
GILBERT PARKER.
How Hartman Won. A Story of Old Ontario. By Eric Bohn.
Toronto : Morang & Co. 1903. 269 pp.
The village of Linbrook, the River Powan, the pine forests of
Muskoka and North Dakota, furnish the scenery of this wholesome
Canadian story by a doctor for that he must be from his clean cut
descriptions of surgery and fever cases. Robert Thornton and his
bosom friend. Dr. Hartman, are both in love with the fine little
school teacher, Winifred Finlayson, and while Thornton is away in
Dakota and in Muskoka trying to retrieve the shattered fortunes of
his family — partly due to a miserable Uriah Heap, Pettigrew — Hartman
keeps faith with him and never allowed himself to take advantage of
his absence to push his own advantage with Winifred. And he
had plenty of opportunities during the long and severe illness of her
mother, who alone knew how hard a battle Thornton was waging with
himself. He won the fight, was groomsman at the wedding, and
then went off to Europe to prepare for his first year as college profes-
sor— a fine character. The author is to be congratulated heartily on
his clean, wholesome story, a success for a first.
Songs of the West. By Marion E. Moodie.
Rhyme Thoicghts for a Canadian Year. By Annie L. Jack.
4 Song^ of f)ec€mber, and Other Poems, By H. Isabel Graham.
28o
Ada Victoriana.
Between the Lights. By Isabel Ecclestone Mackay.
Poems. By James A. Tucker.
These three booklets and two small books are published by the
good fairy of many a budding Canadian singer, Wm. Briggs. The
first and second show some graceful and slight work. In the third
there is some stronger work, especially are the Scotch pieces, " Love
Lightens the Creel," "There's a Something," quite promising. " Be-
tween the Lights " has some graceful lyrics, such as " Dream," " A
JAMES A. TUCKER.
Woodland Streamlet," ''A Sea Song," "Pansies," " Love and Loss,'
and the children's poem, " Compensations." Here is the concluding
verse of " Love is like a Rose " :
" Love is like a rose,
Tend'rest flower that blows, —
Waking with the morning sun,
Fading ere the day is done, —
Love is like a rose."
Acta Victoriana. 281
Graceful, musical lyrics many, of them in the sixty-five pages. It was
to the last-named volume, " Poems," by James A. Tucker, that I
turned with greatest interest, for I had known him slightly as a
student at Toronto University, when he was editor of Varsity,
Afterwards he was rusticated for conflict with the authorities, and
finished his course at Leland Stanford. True Canadian, he returned
to take up journalistic work, and at the time of his death Was assistant
editor oi Saturday Night. He was "agin' the Government," so to
speak, but no one who knows of his last game fight with disease and
death, can fail to find the heroic in his make-up. These poems are
edited by his literary executors, J. T. Clarke and R. Butchart, and
prefaced by a memoir from the pen of Arthur Stringer. From the
manuscript work he left these poems have been selected, and they
show work of high quality and great promise. It was a pity to have
to part with such a man of thirty-one years. The shorter poems are
real gems. For instance, " Shower and Song " :
The summer showers are falling
Out on the furrow'd main ;
But ocean's fields are barren, —
The showers fall in vain.
A dreamer's songs fell fruitless.
The world brought forth no grain ;
It was the field was barren,
The songs were potent rain.
From these reviews it will be seen that the Canadian novelist is
becoming an important person in our literature, but that poetry^for
the most part has fallen on evil days, as it has the world over. Miss
Jones, Arthur Stringer, Basil King, and Miss Dougal, are in our
front rank along with Fraser, Barr, Roberts, and Gilbert Parker. We
cannot afford to be ignorant of these writers, and our Canadian
librarians will do well to take note of them. Several books by Carman,
Seton and others must needs be reserved for notice later.
282 Acta Vic to ria na.
Victoria College Library Publications
BY A. E. LAXG, M..\.
THE library of Mctoria College has made a good beginning
in a special field with the publication of two valuable
contributions to the study of Canadian literature. The
first number, entitled, " A Bibliography of Canadian Poetry," by
C. C. James, ]M.A., was issued a few years ago, and was imme-
diately recognized as the only comprehensive work of the kind
in existence. To this has now been added a second volume, en-
titled, " A Bibliography of Canadian Fiction," by Professor
L. E. Horning, of \'ictoria College, and Vlx. Lawrence J. Burpee,
of the Department of Justice at Ottawa. It forms a handsome
octavo of 82 pages, and follows the lines that were adopted in
the earlier work. It represents a vast amount of patient research
and arduous labor, how arduous is best known to the authors
themselves. It covers the whole field of English-Canadian
fiction, from the appearance of the first volume printed in Upper
Canada in 1824 to the present day. The authors are to be con-
gratulated on the completeness and general accuracy of the in-
formation they have given us.
That there is room for works of this kind, and that they are
appreciated at their proper value by competent judges, is shown
by the flattering words that have reached the library, both through
personal communication and through the press. A large public
library in the United States, to which a copy of the second
number was recently sent in the ordinary course of exchange,
immediately ordered three more for use in its branches. Besides
having a great practical utility to students of the present day,
such works are of inestimable value to the future historian, and
form an important document of our intellectual development and
progress.
The Library Committee, which is responsible for the project,
has several other bibliographies in contemplation. There is in
the college library a great body of Canadian Methodist litera-
ture, some of it of great historical value, which could probably
not be duplicated anywhere. A descriptive catalogue is urgjently
needed to make it accessible. It is to be hoped that the committee
will receive sufficient encouragement to go on with the work.
V- O -r ^
^-
o ^
."" e-, ^
: " =; C S >
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V: o ^
c
1=1
Vol.
XXVIII.
c/lda ^idoriana*
No.
J8bitorial6
" O blessed day which giv'st the eternal lie
To self, and sense, and all the brute within ;
Oh ! come to us amid this war of life ;
To hall and hovel come I to all who toil
In senate, shop, or study ! and to those
111 warned and sorely tempted —
Come to them, blest and blessing, Christmas Day !
Tell them once more the tale of Bethlehem,
The kneeling shepherds, and the Babe divine ;
And keep them men indeed, fair Christmas Day ! "
HAT prayer by Charles Kingsley touches
a responsive chord in every earnest heart.
For men are becoming increasingly conscious
that they receive the power which enables
become "men indeed" only as they "kneel at the
manger-cradle where a little Babe reveals the philanthropy
of God." There, touched by an unseen Power, the eyes are opened
to perceive the Divine, and hence true, idea of life. Having caught
the spirit of the child they go in-to the busy world with a new spiritual
vision, and with a new, living inspiration. Henceforth they will give
their lives to patient, loving ministries of blessing and deliverance to
all the sorrowing and oppressed sons of men, in the name and for
the sake of the holy child Jesus.
This renewal of the childhood of the heart-life attunes the ear
to hear the strains of the angelic anthem —
" Fear not, for behold I bring you glad tidings of great joy,
For unto you is born a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord,"
and loosens the tongue to join the swelling chorus —
" Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men."
This, surely, is the true Christmas spirit — this the spirit we covet for
2^4 Acta Victoria7ia.
all our readers, that they may indeed have a Merry Christmas and
a Happy New Year.
7X^E could scarcely find a better illustration of this spirit than that
^^ afforded by the late Principal Caven. His greatness — for he
was a truly great man — was the greatness which coniis from superior
natural ability sanctified by the religion of Jesus Christ. In remark-
able humility he lived the strenuous life. Like his Master, " he went
about doing good." The interests of the kingdom of God were of
paramount importance to him. To its advancement all other things
were made subservient. Hence he could not be bound by the narrow
confines of any church or creed, but was broad enough to sympathize
intelligently with every labor of love and every effort to establish
righteousness in the earth. He sought to raise the ideals of the people,
and that not by precept only, but by a life, simple, unselfish and true
to all that was highest and best. He was " an IsraeHte indeed in whom
was no guile." His memory will long serve as an inspiration to many
to place " first things first," and to seek their self-realization in the
only possible way — the way pointed out to us by the Great Exemplar
— the way of the Cross.
J-
^^HE poem on "November" published in our last issue should
Vr have been attributed to Mrs. Ecclestone Mackay, instead of to
Miss H. Isabel Graham. We regret the oversight and gladly make
the correction.
TN presenting our Christmas issue to our friends we d.esire to express
•I* our deep gratitude to all who have so kindly contributed to our
columns. Indeed, the response to requests for articles has been so
hearty that we are forced to leave over for later issues, contributions
by Dr. A. C Courtice, Principal Hutton, Professor Coleman, Mr. David
Boyle, Mrs. Jean Blewett, Rev. Wm. Elliott, Rev. R. W. Wright, Miss
A. A. Will, Miss E. A. MacLean, and Miss A. F. MacCollum. This
announcement will ensure good things to come.
For the use of the four plates of Schiller, Goethe and their houses
used in the article, " Schiller in Weimar," we are indebted to the
Germania Press, Hamilton, N.Y., publishers of Moore's " History of
German Literature."
The efforts of our friends at the Book Room also deserve mention,
for they have very materially assisted us in making the number
attractive, and in presenting it at an early date. VV^e thank you
one and all.
Acta Vidoriana.
285
EXCHANGES
Jin Academic Jubilee
VICTORIA is to be congratulated upon the unique fact that the
class now entering upon its fiftieth year of academic standing
is still unbroken. Very rarely, we imagine, does it happen in
the history of academic institutions that half a century goes by and
leaves all the members of a graduation class hale and vigorous, as are
those who graduated from Victoria's halls in '55. It would be worth
while recording such a fact in any case, but the personnel of the class
is such as to lend it additional interest, for they are, each and all, men
of more than ordinary ability, and have, in the fifty years that have
elapsed since their college days, each in his own sphere, made their
mark upon their times and exerted a real influence upon the affairs
of the country which they have seen make such Avonderful progress.
These veterans of '55 are four in number, and include Dr. M. H.
Aikins, of Burnhamthorpe, for many years connected with the Toronto
Medical School, and a physician of more than local reputation ;
Senator William Kerr, eminent alike in legal and political circles ;
Dr. E. B. Ryckman, one of the most prominent ministers of the
Methodist Church ; and Dr. Albert Carman, who has, ever since the
union of the Methodist bodies, held the office of General Superinten-
dent of the Church. The class of '55 was just twice the size of that of
the previous year, which consisted of Reuben Hickey, now dead, and
William Watten Dean, now the honored judge of Victoria County,
who enjoys the distinction of being Victoria's oldest living graduate.
These members of the classes of '54 and '55 have always been apostles
of the strenuous life, and have, by their examples, disproven the theory
that the college-bred man is not fitted for leadership. Now, though
they are all in the neighborhood of three-score years and ten, and
have for fifty years been fighting in the forefront, they show no desire
to lay down the weapons of their warfare, and are still engaged in
active work. To all of them Acta tenders its heartiest congratulations
upon their long, useful and honorable lives, and expresses the hope
286
Acta Victoriana.
that they may each Hve to celebrate many more anniversaries of their
graduation. May they have, as Oliver Wendell Holmes wished his
class-mates :
" All earth can give that earth has best,
And heaven at four-score years and twenty."
MOSES HENRY AIKINS, B.A., M.D.
Moses Henry Aikins was born in 1832, at Burnhamthorp?, in the
County of Peel, where he has now been practicing medicine for many
years. After the usual primary and secondary education he entered
Victoria College and graduated
in Arts with the class of '55.
His Arts course finished, he
entered the Toronto University
Faculty of Medicine. He
graduated with the medal and
the degree of M.B. in '58. It
was not until 1888 that Dr.
Aikins wrote for and obtained
the M.D. degree, a proceeding
in the nature of a formality
which he and a large number of
other physicians went through
with to please tl.e authorities
of the Medical Council. In
1859 Dr. Aikins was elected a
member of the Royal College
of Surgeons. For many years
he was connected with the staff
of the Medical Faculty. As a
practicing physician he has attained more than ordinary success,
the fame of his skill having travelled far over the countryside, so
that it is no unusual thing for him to be called to consultation many
miles from Burnhamthorpe. A fellow-physician has described him as
"the oracle beyond the Humber." His great popularity is not indeed
to be wondered at, for he unites many of the qualities which go to
make up the beau ideal of the medical profession. He is a man of
professional skill, cool and level-headed judgment, of exceeding kind-
liness of disposition, of the nicest honor, and of great modesty withal —
a Peel County McClure. More than once Dr. Aikins has had the
candidature in a political election offered him, and he could undoubt-
M. H. AIKINS, V,.k., M.D.
Acta Victoriana.
287
edly have swept the riding, but he preferred not to thrust himself out
into the turmoil of political life. Dr. Aikins has accomplished a
wonderful amount of work, but is not of the sort to do his work to be
seen of men, and prefers to spend in his apple orchard whatever
leisure the exercise of his profession gives him, rather than be in the
public eye. We trust that he may long live to be the "beloved
physician " of Burnhamthorpe.
HON. WILLIAM KERR, M.A., LL.D., K.C.
William Kerr, the son of the late Francis William Kerr, was born in
1836 at Ameliasburg, Prince Edward County, being, upon his mother's
side, of United Empire Loya-
list descent. He was pre-
pared for college at Newtcn-
ville by Rev. Dr. Ormiston,
a Presbyterian divine who
conducted a school in which
were educated some of On-
tario's foremost public men.
Dr. Ormiston, by the way, was
one of Victoria's earliest
graduates, taking his degree
in Arts in 1848. His pupil
was enabled by his tuition to
en'er the Sophomore class at
Victoria, and when he gradu
ated in 1855 was just nine-
teen yeais of age. On grad-
uatin^f he entered the law
office of Smith & Armour,
the former of whom, after-
wards Hon. Sidney Smith,
became Postmaster-General
of Canada, and the latter
Chief Justice of Ontario. In 1859 Mr. Kerr was called to the bar,
having in the previous year, while pursuing his legal studies, won his
M.A. degree. While in the office of Smith &: Armour Mr. Kerr was
also employed as a lecturer in Victoria College and, as the staff was
small and the work was great, some of his lectures were delivered at
six o'clock in the morning. Those, it seems, were strenuous days.
On being called to the bar, Mr. Kerr began practicing in Cobourg, and
HON. WM. KERR, M.A., LL.D., K.C.
288 Ada Victoriana.
for many years conducted the largest legal business in Northumber-
land and Durham. In 1862 he entered the Town Council, and in
1867 became Mayor of Cobourg, a position which he held until 1873,
being re-elected by acclamation each succeeding year. For twenty-
five years he was the most acceptable stump speaker in the Liberal
cause in the political campaigns of his riding, and represented the con-
stituency in Parliament from 1874 to 1878, defeating the speaker of
the House and a minister of the Crown respectively at the general
elections and the ensuing by-election. He was, however, unable to
stand against the victorious sweep of the N.P. in 1878, and in that
year, in 1882, and in 1885, was defeated by narrow majorities, since
which date he has consistently refused the nomination. In 1876 he
was created a Q.C., in 1887 was admitted by his Alma Mater to the
degree of LL.D., and in 1896 became a Bencher of the Law Society
of Ontario. In 1899 he was appointed Senator by the Laurier Govern-
mentjin succession to Sir Oliver Mowat, and in the session then ensu-
ing was selected to move the address in reply to the speech from the
throne. Since his elevation to the Senate he has taken an active
part in its deliberations and has served on some of its most important
committees. Senator Kerr is a member of the Board of Regents and
the Senate of Victoria University, and lias been Vice-Chancellor since
the creation of the office in 1885. Three sons and one daughter of
Senator Kerr have graduated from Victoria with honors, two of them —
William F. and Frank D. — being medallists. It is a ra" her singular
coincidence that Senator Kerr and Dr. Ryckman of the class of '55,
life-long friends, should each have a son in the class of '87, namely,
E. B. Ryckman and C. ^V. Kerr, who, in turn, are friends and partners
in the same legal firm.
REV. ALBERT CARMAN, M.A., D.D.
Dr. Carman comes of sturdy United Empire Loyalist stock, being
the son of the late Philip Carman, of Iroquois, Ont., where the subject
of our sketch was born on June 27th, 1833. He was educated at the
Dundas County Grammar School and at Victoria University, where
he obtained his Bachelor's Degree in Arts in 1855. In i860 he was
admitted to,the degree of M.A. For two years after his graduation
he was head-master of the Grammar School he had formerly attended
as a pupil. In 1857 he was elected Professor of Mathematics in
Belleville Seminary (now Albert College), and in the following year
became Princi[)al of the Seminary. Thus, at the very beginning of
his career, he became identified with the cause of education, in which
Ada Victoriaiia.
289
he has ever since taken so deep an interest. It was through his
instrumentality that the College received a University charter in Arts
in 1866, and in all faculties in 1868. He was appointed the first
Chancellor of Albert University, and maintained an active and official
connection with the institution till 1874. Meanwhile, in 1859, he
had been ordained as a deacon in the Methodist Episcopal Church,
and an elder in 1863. He was elected Bishop of the Church in Can-
ada by the General Conference. The foundation of Alma College
was largely due to Dr. Carman's energy, and he has been a member of
the Board of Management of that institution from the beginning.
RKV. ALBERT CARMAN, M.A., D.D.
After the Union of the various Methodist bodies in 1883, Dr. Carman
became General Superintendent of the Methodist Church in Canada,
a position which he has retained until the present time. He was one
of the representatives of the Canadian Church at the Ecumenical
Conference of Methodism in Washington in 189 1. In the same year
his Alma Mater conferred upon him the honorary degree of D.D.
His work as an educationist has been recognized by his election to
the Senate both of Victoria University and the University of Toronto.
290
A eta Victoriana.
He has won a high reputation, not only in educational lines, but also
as a preacher and writer. A specially distinguishing characteristic is
his pre-eminent ability as a presiding ofificer, a qualification very
apparent in his direction of the work of the General Conference. He
has always been a stalwart champion of the prohibition cause, and has
not been afraid to denounce in scathing language the political corrup-
tion of the day. Strong convictions on moral questions, and a fearless
and vigorous outspokenness have made Dr. Carman a positive force,
not only in ecclesiastical, but in national life. To day, though he has
passed his seventy-first birthday, neither his intellectual nor his physical
vigor have abated, and Acta may speak for all when it expresses the
hope that he may long be spared to his Church and country.
REV. EDWARD BRADSHAW RYCKMAN, M.A., D.D.
Edward Bradshaw Ryckman was born on a farm near Hamilton, of
Dutch-American United Empire Loyalist stock. " This fact of race,"
says a newspaper writer, " may
to some extent account for his
exceptionally healthy and vigor-
ous constitution and patient love
of work and study." He was
fortunate in having the tuition, at
Public School, of Robert Spence,
who afterwards became Postmas-
ter-General of United Canada.
Later he attended a High School
in Hamilton, where his master
was David Beach, M.A., a Vic-
toria Alumnus. It was in 1850
that Dr. Ryckman entered Vic-
toria College, intending, at first,
merely to improve his education
by a year's work, but finally
deciding to go through to gradu-
ation. His course in College
was an exceedingly creditable one, and each year he succeeded in
winning the highest honor of the institution, the " red badge " for
general proficiency, the era of gold medals not having yet set in. At
graduation, in 1855, D*"- Ryckman was chosen to be the class Vale-
dictorian. He remained in college for another year as tutor in
REV
EDWARD BRADSHAWJRYCKMAN,
M.A., D.D.
Ada Victoriana. 291
English, Classics and Mathematics. He afterwards received the degree
of M.A. in 1868, and that of D.D. in 1879. During his College
course he had been converted, and had decided to enter the ministry
of the Church. Accordingly, in 1856, he presented himself, with forty-
six others, for ordination into the Wesleyan Methodist Conference,
the largest class ever received. Of this large number only two still
remain in the ranks of the effective — Rev. Stephen Bond, of the
London Conference, and Dr. Ryckman himself. Those were the
days of large circuits, and the Yonge Street Circuit, to which Dr.
Ryckman was first appointed, is now divided into six. Since then he
has ministered to congregations in many of the larger towns and
cities of Ontario, including Chatham, London, Brantford, Kingston
and Ottawa, where he was pastor of Dominion Church. He is now
stationed at Cornwall. He has also received high honors at the hands
of his brother ministers. For twenty-seven years he was Chairman of
the district in which he was stationed until, two years ago, he
declined any further repetition of the honor. Three times he has
occupied the President's chair at an Annual Conference, being Presi-
dent of the London Conference in 1878, and again in 1884, and of
the Montreal Conference in 1894. In 1880 he was Fraternal Dele-
gate from the General Conference of the Canadian Church to that of
the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States at Cincinnati.
He was also a representative of the General Conference at the first
and second Ecumenical Conferences of Methodism, held in London,
Eng., in 1881, and in Washington, D.C, in 1891, respectively. He
is also a member of the Board of Regents of Victoria University.
Dr. Ryckman is now in the forty-ninth year of his niinistrj', but his
physical health is as good as ever artd his vigor unfailing, as is indi-
cated by the fact that he recently walked twelve miles in two hours
without special fatigue. May he long be able to do so.
HIS HONOR JUDGE WILLIAM WATTEN DEAN,
M.A., LL.D.
William Watten Dean is the son of a Methodist minister, Rev.
Horace Dean, and is of United Empire Loyalist descent on both sides
of the family. He was born in London in 1830, and after preliminary
preparation at Barrie Grammar School, entered Victoria University.
After graduating in 1854, he entered the law office of Hon. Lewis
Wallbridge, Q.C., who afterwards became Chief Justice of Manitoba.
He W^s galled to the bar in 1858, and opened up an office in the
Ada Victoriana.
tovsrn of Belleville. Here he took his first step in me line of promo-
tion, when he was appointed a Master in Chancery. Subsequently he
was, for a short period, acting Deputy Minister of Justice under Hon.
Edward Blake, but gave up that position on his appointment, in 1874,
to be Judge of the County Court of
Victoria, a position he has now
adorned for thirty years. In 1883,
Judge Dean was given the M.A.
degree, and in 1892 the degree of
LL.D. was conferred upon him by
his Alma Mater. He is one of the
most prominent lay members of
the Methodist Church, and has
attended many General Confer-
ences of that body. He now serves
his Alma Mater as a member
of the Board of Regents. Last
spring, in recognition of the fact
that Judge Dean was about to cele-
brate the jubilee of his graduation,
he was invited by the students of
Victoria — and did them the honor
of consenting — to preside at the
Annual Senior Dinner. Though his years have passed the limit of
threescore and ten prescribed by the Psalmist, it cannot yet be
said that his strength is labor and sorrow, for he is still hale and
strong. No better wish can be formed by those of us about to gradu-
ate than that, when we have worn our academic honors for half a
century (if we should live so long), we may look back upon lives as
useful and as honorable as that of Judge Dean.
SOME OF OUR CONTRIBUTORS.
We give below a short sketch of the principal contributors to this
number of Acta, who are either graduates or members of the teaching
staff of Victoria University.
Rev. Nathanael Burvvash, M.A., S.T.D., LL.D., Chancellor of
the University, was born near St. Andrew's, P.Q., in 1839. He gradu-
ated from Victoria in 1859, and received his M.A. degree in 1867.
He was ordained to the ministry in 1864, and in 1867, after a course
of study at Yale, became Professor of Natural History and Geology in
his Alma Mater. Later he attended the Garrett Biblical Institute at
HIS HONOR JUDGE WILLIAM
WATTEN DEAN, M.A., LL.D.
C. C. JAMES, M.A.
PROF. J. C. ROBERTSON, E.A.
C. GUILLET, B.A., Ph.D.
Ac^a Victorimia. 293
Evanston, whence he obtained the degree of B.D. in 187 1, and that
of S.T.D. in 1876. He became, in 1873, Professor of Theology and
Dean of the Faculty of Theology, and, on the death of Dr. Nelles, in
18S7, Chancellor of the University. In 1892 the degree of LL.D. was
conferred upon him, honoris causa. To Dr. Burwash, more than to any
other one man, may be attributed the consummation and subsequent
success of the federation scheme for the University. He is the author
of several valuable works in theology, and is recognized as one of
Ontario's leading educationists. His intellectual acumen and his
deep and rich spirituality have won for him the respect and love of
hundreds of Victoria's alumni.
C. C. James, M.A., was born at Napanee, and educated at the
High School of that town and at Victoria University. When he
graduated in '83 he captured the Gold Medal in Natural Science.
In 1S86 he was appointed Professor of Chemistry in the O.A.C., and
in 1 89 1 was promoted to be Deputy Minister of Agriculture, a
position in which he has won credit both for himself and for the
department. He is a member of the Senate of Victoria, and takes a
deep interest in his Alma Mater. He has written largely for
technical periodicals, and has also prepared a bibliography of
Canadian poetry, published by the Victoria University Library.
Prof. J. C. Robertson, B.A., is a graduate of Toronto Univer-
sity, and was Gold Medallist of his year ('83) in Classics. After
graduation he held a classical fellowship in University College for
three years. In 1887 he entered upon a post-graduate course in
Johns Hopkins University, and after his return to Canada taught for
some years in the High Schools of Owen Sound and Toronto
Junction. In 1894 he was appointed to his present position as
Professor of Greek Language and Literature in Victoria. Prof.
Robertson has edited a number of text-books in Latin and Greek.
In his professional work he has discovered the secret of uniting with a
painstaking thoroughness the power to interest and inspire his students.
C. GuiLLET, B.A., Ph.D., was Silver Medallist in Moderns when he
graduated in 1887. For a number of years he taught at Ottawa, and
then, after travelling some time abroad to perfect himself in modern
languages, he spent three years in Clarke University, at Worcester,
Mass., under Dr. Hall, obtaining a degree in Pedagogy. He is now
in the Technical School in Toronto, and is one of the best qualified
men in Ontario on pedagogical lines.
12
294
Ada Vtctoriana.
Prof. Pelham Edgar, B.A., Ph.D., comes of a literary family, his
father, the late Sir James D. Edcjar, being not only prominent in the
House of Commons, but also a poet of exceptional merit, while his
mother, Lady Edgar, also gained distinction as an authoress. Dr.
Edgar is a graduate of Toronto University, where he won the highest
honors, and also of the Johns Hopkins University, where he obtained
his degree of Ph.D. He was appointed Professor of French in Vic
toria University in 1897. He is an enthusiastic student of English
Literature, and has published, in addition to magazine articles along
the lines of literary criticism, annotated editions of some of the poets
for school use, and has edited a work consisting of selections from
Parkman. He has also written a number of poems, which have been
printed privately.
Prof. L. E. Horning, M.A., Ph.D., is a native of Norwich, Ont.,
and was educated in the
Brantford Collegiate Insti-
tute and in Victoria Uni-
versity, whence he gradu-
ated in 1884 with the Prince
of Wales' Gold Medal for
General Proficiency, and the
Silver Medal in Philosophy.
He has also taken a post-
graduate course in the Univer-
sities of Breslau and Gottin-
gen, taking his Ph.D. from the
latter in 1891. In 1886, after
teaching two years in Peter-
boro' Collegiate Institute, he
was appointed to the staff of
Victoiia University, and, after
two years and a half spent in
Europe on leave, assumed
the duties of his present posi-
tion as Professor of German
and Old English. As a lecturer
Dr. Horning is exceedingly
popular, having the faculty,
in an eminent degree, of
clothing dry bones with flesh
and blood. He has made a special study of Canadian literature, and
is a recognized authority upon that subject.
prof. L. E. horning, M.A., Ph.D.
Acta Victomaiia.
295
QCAL
.errv? Cbristmas an^ a full stocl^tno !
W^s We hesitate to recall ante-Bob scenes, but that function
demanded so much attention in our last i-sue that the account of an
adventure, of all most amusing, was crowded out. But it reads well
yet.
After Cliarter Day exercises the Freshmen, believing that the " Bob "
Committee were in session, planned a nad. Robert was just on the
point of seeking much needed rest (though the sequel fails to show it),
when Coatsworth, '08, arrived and asked breathlessly if any first y, ar
men had yet come. Robert tumbled, and seeing an opportunity to
play a joke, sent his assistant upstairs post haste to light up Alumni
Hall and bang on the piano. Presently they" came, every man with a
white 'kerchief tied about his left arm for the purpose of identification.
At first, so he says, Robert fancied it was w^hite crepe, and that they
had come to bury William. Locking the door, he gave chase to one
man, who, finding the Czar Street fence too high, cut across the tennis
courts and nearly broke his neck falling over a net, while Robeit pur-
sued him with a ponderous club, but laughing so hard that his victim
escaped.
Accordingly he returned to the side entrance, and, mingling with
the crowd, made the buttons fly as he ripped the Freshmen's coats
open in a manner quite atrocious. But through it all "they acted
like gentlemen," so he says. But it was time for another coup. So,
unlocking the door and drawing a horse-p'stol (it's a fact), he dared
any man to enter. Those on the outskirts vanished in terror ; the rest
were rooted to the ground. Next Robert lowered his weapon and
agreed, if they promised to be good, to let them in. After some hesi-
tation they gave their word and entered, whereupon Robert ran to the
foot of the stairs and shouted uo to the imaginary Sophomore host
(still banging lustily on the piano) :
" Here they are, boys ! Turn on the hose I "
Hearing this, the Freshmen retreated precipitately to the door, only
to find this way blocked by two stalwart j^olicemen. For once they
296
Ada Victoriana.
realized the force of that quaint expression, " Between the devil and
the deep sea." The embodiment of the law asked peremptorily :
" What are you doing here ? "
" We're Freshmen," a voice replied, "and — "
" You look it !" answered the other, cutting him short: "Get out
of this " ; and they went. Score Robert !
Miss Bearman, '08 — " Oh, he's much older than I — he's eij,hteen."
(Ah!)
Overheard in the Library — Miss Pearl B. F. has occasion to
depart. Then spake one C. T. in awed whispers to his fellow, " It
would gD hard with the serpent's head if she happened to put her heel
on it."
During the Woman's Lit. reception, an unknown man, who had
been celebrating Bacchanalian rites, attempted to enter, Robert
slipped as he was assisting him down the steps, at which the other
quaintly asked, " 'Scuse me ; have you (hie I) been 'dul^in' ?"
The Alma Mater Society wishes to
acknowledge the receipt of a kitten, duly
boxed, bedded and labeled. The donor,
it is strongly suspected, is a fair lady
whose name almost rhymes with " muf-
fin," to whom thanks are conveyed — but
the poor, dear thing escaped. The box
and the — what shall we call it ? — placed
therein for the cat's comfort, may be had
on application.
Pres. Knight (at Lit.) — "If, in my
Freshman year, I had heard any man
speak as I do now, I should have
thought him a fool and may be he would
have been."
Overheard in Annesley. — Miss Philp
— "Say, Pearl, have you Bots'"ord's Greece?"
Miss Faint — " No, I have only glycerine."
Trueman, '06 (to Belt Line conductor, Sunday night)— "Let us off
at Annesley Hall, please."
Miss Hvland — ''Yes, they tell me m / name should be^Mary, and
then I'd be Highland Mary."
Dr. McClennan — " Miss Rice, are you too shy to put your name on
your exercise ? Just sign your first name; that's good enough for
me."
e. l. luck, '06,
Our Cartoonist.
Acta Victoriana. 297
Messrs. Harley and Kirby participated in the Medico-Science
scrap and were duly painted.
At the Glee Club practice. — "Any sweet accustard bliss!"
(accustomed).
Connolly No. 2 (on looking over Annesley Hall register) — "Say,
Bill ! how is it your name isn't here ? "
Nameless (after the scrap) — " Whether did the somersaults Of
Freshettes beat?"
In the study. — Miss Wallace — " You know 1 have that holy hockey
at 2 o'clock, and field scripture at 3."
Freshman (the day of first-year affair at Annesley Hall) — " What
kind of a thing is it anyway ? Can you take a girl with you ?"
Edward's effusion, —
He sent it to The Varsity,
To Acta, and the Lit.,
And then he sent it to his Chloe,
And she accepted it.
The conditions governing the Impromptu Oration Contest have
been varied this year. Subjects are placed in a box on the President's
table, from which the victim draws and instantly begins his speech*
At the recent contest, Mr. Cahoon surprised everyone by the facility
of speech which he displayed. Mr. Conron, in developing his speech,
remarked that " in Anne's reign they wore shoes which curled up a
foot or two in front. But now shoes are worn to a greater extent ! "
Mr. Morrow was manifestly not at home with the subject, " The hand
that rocks the cradle," etc. Mr. Wilson, after discoursing three
minutes on " Our President," frankly confessed that he had exhausted
the subject.
Corrigendum — " Clifford Douglas " for "Charles D." in the No-
vember issue.
It seems Miss OTlynn's given name is Susie. Can you wonder,
then, at her consternation as a Freshette on first hearing the B.D. yell .?
From Vox Col/egii, the O.L.C. official organ, we copy the follow-
ing : "The young ladies who attended the tournament and the recep.
tion following report that they met several celebrities, among whom
was a Bishop, the Kaiser or the stuttering poet (Teddy), and the boy
professor, Jimmie W."
On Sunday, November 13th, the Victoria Band held special meet-
ings in the Hamilton churches, with great acceptance.
298 Ada Victoriana.
Small boy (in Hamilton parsonage, to Barber) — " How do you
cut your own hair ?" *
Aftermath of the election. — Mayor Urquhart failing to "get in,"
Henderson, Connolly and Lane entertained Trueman, Campbell and
Robertson at the King Edward.
The Delineator is be-'ng sent to the College as an exchange. Shade
of Aristotle !
Luck (tfter a grand opera) — "After all, Sh a's is lo's of fun."
At a lecture — Stapleford (stuck) — " Cicero doesn't seem to be very
clear on that point."
At the Lit.— Connolly (excitedly)— " But, Mr. Squeaker ! "
We bear witness that that ornament of the B.D clas> and editor of
matters religious and missionary for this journal, to wit, W. A. G.ff)rd,
B.A., received a package by mail marked, " Vlother Seigel's Soothing
Syrup," which nevertheless proved to be a flask of Seagram's ''^■^ dis-
tillino;.
"To Wm. Stu<rt U»\cli£r|and bisters :—
"Befor-* u.%\^^ ^O""- valuable Kair -gi-oje.-.
le^T noa (ooK ^r ~v« !
Htbdf S. H
Rathman is said to be a— but let us illustrate, —
Friend — " Fine girls in your German class ? "
Rath — " Don't know ; I never saw any of them."
The Green-eyed Monster. — Lane was undergoing the o. erition of
having a mote removed from his eye when Dr. Re>nar, who hid
approached unseen, interrogited, sotco voce, " Do y )u see any green in
it?"
Dialogue in an upper room (prolonged ringing of do r-bell) — ist
Plug— "Who's that?" 2nd P. — " I suppose it's Knight." ist P.—
Blinkety-blink-blank it anyway. The (k)night cometh when no man
can work."
From the Newmarket Era of November i,'Ca^Caput, "Our Toronto
Letter": "The Freshmen and S ph ,more stut'en s of Victoria Uni-
versity are having a rather rough time. The nuthorities s oul 1 stamp
Ada Victoriana. 299
this relic of a bygone age out of existence. Jailing the guilty culprits is
the right thing." We leain th it the editor of this provincial journ il is
the father of W. E. Williams, '08, U.C, who weekly contributes "Our
Toronto Letter." Now that the attention of "the authoriti- s " has
been brought to this matter {via Newmarket), we feel ceitain that they
will recognize their deep obligation to the correspondent for his valu-
able suggestion so gratuitously proffered.
It is told that, after the Freshettes' reception at the Hall, Butcher,
"08, went home and played " Sweet Hour of Prayer " upon the piano
1 11 a quarter to one.
We regret that a gambling epidemic has broken out, and it is whis-
pered that even the gentler sex are not without a tincture of it.
Couples may be seen matching coppers amid a crowd of abetting
■onlookers. Hip pockets serve the universal use of recept.cle- for
ready coin, and every man wears a perpetual challenge in his counten-
ance. Ora pro nobis !
Messrs. Connolly and Bishop are engaged, we are happy to an-
nounce, in instructing girls' S. S. classes. Mr. G. E. Trueman, who
hias lately undertaken similar service, reports that at 10.30 Saturday
night, upon appealing to these veterans for information as to the mor-
row's lesson, he discovered a condition amounting to total ignorance, in
"which he himself shared.
*^Te<i^'s IdcWc Kas ^t-owjn steacl\la ,snA<r« j+s
close shawe just before fhe BOB , last
_v)ear. We tire <all v/erjj Viroud of it.
The open meeting of the Union Literary Society, held on Friday,
November nth, was largely attended. I'he programme, which centred
about the theme, " The British Empire," proved to be scarcely as profit-
able as had b.en hoped ; but honorable mention must be made of Mr.
J. A. Spencel y's paper on " Colonial Government." However, the busi-
ness session redet med the situation. Theleadeis of both Government
and Opposition displayed a delightful facilty in rrpartee. As usual,
the Kids' Corner rose to the occasion, but a serious mistake was made
in admitting several Freshmen to this sacred precinct, to one of whom
300 Acta Vidoriana.
aquce remedium has since been administered, while several are at large .
on suspended sentence.
" Kelly and Baker arc in Heaven " {i.e., in the Ladies' Gallery).
" But it is somewhat hot for them " (Tune : L. M. Dox.).
Stan. Mills says he feared to open his tennis prize for fear it might
be a pair of suspenders.
There's a night for Open Lit — at Victoria,
When you bring your girl and sit — at Victoi ia.
If you have no girl at all, then you sit along the wall,
Longing even for a doll — at Victoria.
The inauguration of the new government under the leadership of
Mr. G. E. Trueman was the occasion of much mirth. From the
speech from the throne we quote as follows :
" Even as Lucifer the golden, shining out from Night's abysmal
gloom, portends the glorious coming of the orb of day ; even so the
morning star of political purity and righteousness, bursting through
the rank and nauseating fog of the past administration, points to a
new era when gentle Peace and fair Prosperity locked in each other's
arms shall slumber on, unawakened even by the hoarse croakings and
atrabilious outpourings of the Leader of the Opposition and his army
of boodle-grafters, self-confessed."
The following honorary degrees were conferred : Jacob Zurbrigg,
M.LG. (made in Germany) ; E. G. Saunders, K.O.B. (Knight of the
Bath); D. W. Ganton, T.N.LT.E.T.C.W. (the next individual to
experience the cold water); Senator Salter was appointed to a seat in
the Ladies' Study.
The following are the important members of the various year
executives: Bachelor of Divinity — Pres., R. J. McCormick ; Sec-
Treas., D. R. Clare. Class of '05 — Pres., J. S. Bennett; Sec, A. L.
Fullerton : Treas., E. W. Stapleford. Class of '06 — Pres., J. B. Lamb ;
Sec, J. H. Adams ; Treas., J. G. Brown. Class of '07 — Pres., A. D.
McFarlane ; Sec, H. B. Dwight ; Treas., Miss P. B. Faint. Class of
'08 — Pre?., E. G. Sanders ; Sec, Miss E. C. Jamieson ; Treas., A. Fore-
man.
The official yell of the class of '08 is as follows :
Tik-a-rik, tik-a-rak, tik-a-rik-a-roo !
Zikatee, zakatee, zikatee, zoo !
Ay-atee, ay atee, ay-atee, ah !
'08 : '08 : Victoriah !
rr S-
C
• 2 t-
O o P
Acta Victoriana. 301
TICS
\\
Jithletics and Morals
BY EDWARD WILSON WALLACE, B.A.
MUCH ink has been spilled and many tempers spoiled over
the vexing question of the relation of athletics to morals
in our university life. On the one hand, it has all but
been contended that morality is based upon sport, while in re-
joinder it has been declared that our sports are the cause of much
of the non-morality of the present time. The problem is no easy
one to settle. Is some middle ground tenable between the grid-
iron and the ascetic cell, or must we make an irrevocable choice ?
The presentemphasis on athletics in our universities is undoubt-
edly a revolt against the cloistered intellectuality of former days,
when pale faces, weak limbs, and unsocial minds were wont to
typify the collegian. What a shock would he receive could the
century-old shade of some disciple of the former order of things
visit a modern university on the occasion of a hustle or a foot-
ball match. One can imagine him shrinking back as though fear-
ful lest even his incorporeal nature should not be proof against
the dead-weight of the Sophomores' rush, and lest his ghost ears
be deafened by the unearthly uproar, while he mutters :
" Non ego hoc ferrem tepidus inventa
Consitle Planco."
The padded and petted half-back is the twentieth century's
protest against over-balanced studiousness.
So much for the historical significance of the gospel of sport.
What is its moral significance? In other words, do athletics
necessarily make us moral. As has been already suggested the
question has been discussed with more vehemence than candor.
Each party has claimed all the ground for itself and has
endeavored to drive its opponent from the field.
The advocates and exponents of athletics have taken as their
starting-point the admitted truth that matter does, to a certain
302 Ada Victoriana.
extent, affect mind ; that the diseased or weakened body often
influences the whole intellectual and moral tone of a man ; on
their banners they inscribe the motto: "Mens sana in corpore
sano." From this base they have despatched whole armies of ar-
guments that have truly covered the land. They have adduced the
benefits of the systematic training so requisite nowadays to success
in athletics, as also the undoubted (?) moral value of all com-
petition. Broad generalizations have followed to crown the
elaborate fabric of statement which they have built up to show
that the greatest moral force in our colleges is the training we
receive on the athletic field. The extreme of this line of reason-
ing was demonstrated in a remarkable article that appeared in
The Independent not long since, in which a clergyman of repute
in New England cited a score or so of moral virtues which had
been produced in his son through his football training. The
evident lesson of it all was this : " If you wish to be moral, don't
come to church and listen to my preaching. Just step out on the
football field and tackle Jim. An ounce of muscle is worth a
pound of moralizing."
If this sounds somewhat extreme, what shall we say of those
who decry all sport, and bitterly deplore our evident preference
of brawn to brain? In their eyes this tendency is responsible
for most of the vices of our students : for their rough manners,
their stridency, and their brutality, on the one hand, and, on the
other, for the laxness of their moral principles, their selfishness,
laziness, and dishonesty, if not for worse evils. Men have given
themselves over to the domination of their lower nature and the
result has been inevitable and disastrous. The examples they
adduce are often irrefutable. We may ridicule but we cannot
deny the fact that it is the fashion in ultra football circles in the
United States for the defeated captain to leave the field in tears.
We must admit from experience that brilliant athletes are often
TDUt dull students, and athletic idols in truth mere " idles." It is
unfortunately true that occasionally one hears a captain bid his
men, " Get through their line by fair means or foul — get through
anyhow, and take your chances of being caught by the referee."
Yet one refuses to believe that such is the general tone of college
sport and clings to the conviction that the majority of our men
are sportsmen rather than sports.
When facts so utterly opposed to one another, yet claiming to
he facts, are placed before us, and we are bidden judge, what
Ac/a Victoriana. 303
can we say? The mind revolts from athleticism as the be-all
and end-all of life, while it refuses to attribute all the spots on
•our college life to our healthy bodies. Can it be, then, that our
error is fundamental ; that we are wrong in assuming that
morals — or immorals — are the jruit of athletics? Is it nearer
the truth to speak of athletics rather as one field for the exer-
•cise of our moral nature, where every impulse is made manifest,
whether it be good or evil ? If this be admitted, a flood of light
is thrown at once upon the discussion, and we recognize that we
have called that a cause which is but a field for the development
of qualities already present in a man. We see that the man
of ingenuity, pluck, and endurance does not pick up these virtues,
as it w^ere, on the campus, but, like growing muscles, he there
strengthens them and trains them for future usefulness. In the
same way, a man with a vile temper, or one that is crooked, and
mean, and dishonest finds there ample scope for the exercise of
these characteristics.
The objection will be raised that athletic training may cure
a man of many little faults. That this is often true we gladly
acknowledge. But it is equally true that men, generally consid-
ered above reproach, stoop to petty dishonesties to win in a con-
test. We would not pretend to argue that here, any more than
elsewhere, the degenerates are all-powerful. Neither can we
"blindly believe that all the influences surrounding athletics tend
to improve and elevate. One man of strong character can pro-
foundly influence for good the men with whom he plays, wdiile
another of vicious tendencies ruins the other men on his team.
We cannot argue, then, that athletics universally promote
morality any more than we can assert that they are the cause of
great immorality. They merely furnish an opportunity for the
testing and development of a man's good or bad qualities. The
moral value of athletics is not inherent ; it depends not on the
athletics themselves, but on the men who take part and the use
they make of their opportunities.
Athletics are but one of life's moral battlefields, not to be
shunned because of possible defeats, but to be approached with
honest heart and earnest pvirpose, because of the victories over
self that can there be won.
This view brings athletics down from the lofty eminence to
which some devotees of sport would raise them to their proper
304 Acta Victoriana.
place as a legitimate, but by no means all-important factor in
education. On the other hand, those who from fear of evil con-
sequences would utterly suppress all sport are placed in a peculiar
position. Their arguments hold with equal force in proof of the
advisability of suppressing life itself : which idea few of us
would venture to advocate.
T
College Gymnasium
HE Editor of this column has been requested by the Athletic
Union Executive to give for the benefit of new students
and others a short account of work done in the matter of secur-
ing a college gymnasium. Perhaps there is no institution in the
Dominion, approaching the size and importance of \'ictoria, in
which the provision for athletics is so utterly inadequate, and
it was to meet this need that this movement was inaugurated last
spring by the A. U. Executive, under the presidency of R.
Pearson, '04. A strong committee was appointed by the Union,
and, after consviltation with a sub-committee of the Board of
Regents, was taking definite steps towards the immediate
erection of a suitable building.
At this juncture the agitation for a men's residence was started
by the Alma Mater Society, and the Gymnasium Committee was
induced to act in unison with the Residence Committee. After
several lengthy discussions, the movement was temporarily
shelved. This happened tow^ards the end of May, and so it was
impossible for the Gymnasium Committee to take further steps
last session.
The A. U. Executive for the year 1904-05, on assuming office,
at once took up the question and a new committee was appointed,
which has undertaken and expect to see the completion of their
task. The Union now has to its credit approximately $1,100, and
this year's Rink Committee promise another thousand. With
this $2,100 as a basis, and an additional $5,000, which they hope
to borrow from the Board of Regents, the committee expects to
be in a position to finance the scheme next spring. The running
expenses, estimated at $750 per annum, along with the interest
on $5,000, can be met by the Union, if necessary, although the
Executive is justified, we think, in expecting generous treatment
at the hands of the Board of Regents.
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Green
" 5-7, 6-2, 6-3
Ro' ertson.
6 4, 6-4
Green ....
6-1, 61
Mahood . .
6-3, 6 0 j I Green
Jackson i ,~ Del.
6 0, 1-6, 6 3
Robeitson . .
3-6, 6-0, 6-4
Moore | Moore |
Fullerton f 0-3,1-6,6 3 | Moore.
Brecken I Brecken "8-6, 6-8, 12 10 j
Connolly / 6-3, 6 2
Hineks Bowman .
Bowman f Def.
Richard on . . ^ Stapleford
Stapleford .... ) Def.
Wallace \ Mills ^
Mills / 6-2,3-6,6 2 | Henderson
Green
6-1, 6-2
6-2, 3-6, 6 :
Henderson .... 1 Henderson .
Ferguson . . . . I Def.
Jenkin-i ) Stockton . . .
Stockton / Def.
Truenian .... ICmiphell ...
Campbell / 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
Connor I Clarke
Clarke / Def.
G fford ) GifTord
Knox f 6-3, 6-3
Hewitt I Harlev . . . . .
Harley J 6-3] 12-10
San'lers I Sanders
Kellv *' 6-4, 6 4
D*iirht ' Dvvight
Bradshaw < 6-3, 7-5
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Gifford
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Sanders
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enderson .
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Def.
Henderson
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/ 6-3, 5-7, 6-0
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ders . . . ."\
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7-5, 6-0
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Sanders 1 Sanders
Harley f 6-4,3-6,6-4
Mahood \ Mahood
Kellev / Def.
Mills t Campbell ...
Campbell / Def.
Wallace | Henderson ... j"
Henderson I . 7-5, 7-5 J
Stapleford \ Gifford ^
Gifford / 7-5,6-0 I Dwight
D\dght ( Dwight I 9-7, 6-1
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Knox ) Knox "j
Burwash / 6 0,6-2 I Bishop
Bishop \ Bishop f 6-2, 6-1
Moore. / 2-6.6-1,6-2 J
Robertson ) JolliiTe \
JolliflFe I 6-4.8-6 I JolifTe
Fullerton i Connolly I 7-5,6-4
Connolly f 6-3, 4-6, 7 5 /
Stockton I Stockton ^
Hineks / Def. I Brecken
Brecken » Brecken j" 3-2, 6-2, 6-3
Ferguson i" Def. J
Hewitt \CIarke bye
Clarke f 6-1, 5-7, 6-0
Trueman \ Green ^ „ j u ...
Green | 6-4,6-4 ^ f f U' ' •
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COLLEGE CHAMPIONSHIP.
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I'ierson
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4-6, 6-1, 0-2
JoUifTe
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Henderson
6-2, 6-4
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Def.
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6-4, 6 8, 6-3
JoUiffe.
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JoUiffe 1 Dawson.
Dawson (holder of championship) j 6 2, 6 4, 6-2
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TWIN FALLS, NEAR FIELD. B.C.
AMONG THE CANADIAN ROCKIES
31 AC ! IIMH/CDCITnc'
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ACTA VICTORIANA
Published Monthly during the College Year by the Union Literary
Society of Victoria University, Toronto.
Vol. XXVIII. TORONTO, JANUARY, 1905. No. 4.
Love and Life
BY ELLA A. MACLEAN, 'o2.
T
WIN sisters, Love and Life —
Love wreathed with flowers and (air
Doth lightly dance along the way ;
Life's troubled eyes are dark and dusk her hair.
" My sister stay with me ;
'Tis pleasant in the vale."
" Ah, yes, I know, " doth Life reply,
" But here's the path the heights above to scale."
Together up they climb :
Capricious Love halts oft,
To scatter flowers or lift a briar,
To clear the road and make the pathway soft.
Life's eye is fixed abcve,
In purpose true but stern ;
She heeds not flowers, she tramples them,
And Love's sweet ways doth spurn.
They journey on and on —
Love ceases wilful wiles ;
Life, half regretful of her deeds.
Caresses Love and on her sweetly smiles.
They reach the mountain top,
They find God's plain above.
Their faces like to like so grown.
No man can tell which Life is and which Love.
o8
Acta Victoriana.
Our Western Heritage
BY TROOPER A. J. BRACE.
OUR last good-byes were said ; Ontario and the College life were
behind ; before us lay the great golden West and the responsi-
bilities of our life work. Flying visits to former students of our Alma
Mater had " dragged with each remove a lengthening chain," but
beyond Winnipeg we plunged fairly into the West and found in it a
new absorbing interest.
A GREAT GLACIER.
The vast stretches of prairie, undulating and largely devoid of trees,
stirred again in our breast the old memories and warm feeling of the
South African veldt. Through force of habit our eyes swept the plain
and the distant skyline, happily to see nothing worse than a pic-
turesque "cow-puncher" ride into view. Vast herds of cattle and
boundless fields of waving wheat testified to the immense wealth of
Canada's growing Territories. The innumerable small lakes swarmed
with wild duck, indicating a veritable sportsman's paradise.
Acta Victoriana.
309
Entering the great Bow Valley we felt the charm of the foothills
made famous in Ralph Connor's stories. For many miles the railway
closely followed the bank of the Bow River, and we looked down into
the milky-green, sediment-laden waters of the turbid stream. As we
pressed onward the skirting foothills grew higher and higher, graduat-
THE SNOW-CAPPED MOUNTAINS.
ing into vast terraces and lofty mountains. Herds of bronchos in the
lower valley gave place to thousands of cattle on the terraces and to
fiocks of sheep cropping the short, sweet grass on the hill tops. We
passed transverse valleys — the grooved courses of ancient glaciers —
and caught a glimpse of the remnant of the Bow River glacier, occu-
J
lO
Ac^a Victoriaiia.
pying a field of nearly three hundred square miles. Beyond rose suc-
cessive ranges of rugged heights, hacked by snow-capptd giants that
mingled with the clouds.
The Rocky Mountains were entered through a deep pass called The
Gap. Great masses of rock, ragged, grooved and torn by past gLcier
MOUNT BURGESS.
action, rose almost vertically on both sides to a prodigious height.
One was given the impression that a great eruption had shaken the
continent and that this conglomerate mass of irregular and jagged
mountains of colossal dimensions is the result of the upheaval. It is
the consensus of opinion among tourists that the panoramic view of
Ac/a Victoriana.
311
ranges, torrents, valleys, gorges and glaciers to be seen from the obser-
vation cars cannot be excelled in the world for continuous, natural
and inspiring grandeur.
At Banff the mountain scenery eclipses all seen before. It is truly
sublime. Here are the well-known Hot Springs, a medicinal watering
place and pleasure resort, and an immense national park of over five
thousand square miles, embracing parts of the Bow, Spray and Cas-
cade rivers. About the picturesque little village tower the highest
snow-capped peaks of the Rockies. Most curious and interesting to
THE ANGRY CATARACT.
the traveller are the isolated and weatherbeaten conglomerate earthen
pillars called " hoodoos," standing like giant sentinels often sixty feet
in height, monuments which have successfully withstood the erosion
that obliterated the surrounding bank.
As we steamed into Rocky Mountain Park, Castle Mountain lifted
its sheer perpendicular face five thousand feet high and eight miles
long, an imposing spectacle, a giant fortress crowned with rugged tur-
rets, bastions and battlements. And as the thought of the omnipo-
tence of the Creator came upon us there was mingled with it admira-
r J
Acta Victoriana.
tion for the brilliant engineering skill of the C P. R. that had found a
roadbed through this chaotic sea of mountains.
We crossed the great Divide and saw that remarkable phenomenon,
a sparkling stream separating into two that it might contribute of its
freshness to both Pacific and Atlantic. Then, with mingled pleasure
and amazement, we began the descent into the Kicking Horse Canyon,
reaching the lower levels by curves and unexpected turns, where from
narrow ledges we looked sheer down hundreds of feet. Following the
serpentine course of the river canyon, we revelled in the roar of the
mountain cataract that, deep below, angrily tumbled and foamed
-ji
PASTORAL SCENE.
through its narrow, rock-ribbed channel to the distant sea. As
we sped along the steep odd-colored clifTs of the Thompson River
Canyon we refreshed our eyes with the sparkle of its clear, green,
swift-coursing waters. Before us the mountains seemed suddenly to
draw together again and oppose an impenetrable barrier to our
advance, but the train wound and twisted as it closely followed the
wild and accelerated current to its confluence with the mighty Fraser.
The blending of these two waters presented a most suggestive and
striking scene. The little Thompson struggled to retain its identity
amid the turbid flood of the voluminous Fraser. Tenaciously it held
Acta Victoj'-iana.
to the northern bank, but all too soon its prominent pea green color
faded away and the huge muddy Fraser, proud of its prodigious
wealth of gold and fish, took full possession of its far famed canyon
and rolled on majestically to the Pacific. Turning from its dark,
dizzy depths we gazed up on our left and contemplated the terrific
altitude of the mountain cliffs that lost themselves in the clouds and
the eternal blue. Try as we might we could hardly keep the heart
from beating faster as, between such heights and depths, we crept
along the narrow rocky ledge or through tunnels of various lengths.
SALMON FLEET — FR.\SER RIVER.
Then the old stage road, niched out of the opposing mountain side in
the early sixties as the highway for carrying Her Majesty's mails,
caught our eye, and as we watched its course we grew more and more
ready to believe the hair-raising experiences related of the stage
drivers during the early days of the rush for gold. Then down in the
river we saw numbers of Blackfeet and Flathead Indians spearing
salmon from projecting rocks and timber cribs especially constructed
for the purpose. From the enormous racks of red-fleshed fish drying
in the sun we gathered some idea of the wealth of the Fraser fisheries.
Next we were attracted by numbers of Chinese washing on the sand-
314 Acta Victoriana.
bars for the coveted gold which has made this fair province famous,
and ever as the canyon widened we turned with fresh deh'ght and
admiration to catch a ghmpse of snow-crowned peaks silhouetted
against the fleecy clouds.
But as we neared our destination we saw new charms in British
Columbia. Prosperous looking farms, well-fenced, and with credit-
able buildings, bore harvests rich and promising. Fruits and trees in
great variety attained an extraordinary development, and flowers of
remarkable variety and prolific growth had a quiet charm most grate-
ful after the inspiring grandeur of the mountain scenery.
Presently we swept into New Westminster, appropriately called the
Royal City. Up the slope we climbed to our little parsonage and from
the verandah looked down over the town and the Fraser and its
broad delta away to the Pacific. It is a delightful view at all times,
whether a hazy atmosphere dims its outlines, or a clarified air
reveals the majestic glacier-crowned Mount Baker eighty miles away,
and the extensive serrated snow-capped range on the Olympian pen-
insula one hundred and fifty miles distant. Here we live and here we
taste the pleasures and share the burdens of this strenuous Western life.
VANCOUVER ISLAND SCENE.
Acta Vidoriana. 3 1 5
The Six Old Maids
BY ALICE A. WILL, '03.
THE street was a long, narrow, noisy one; one of those
streets which show, perhaps, better than anything else, the
gradual growth of a great city. On one side were the small
liy-blown shops, which in an earlier time had saved the
suburbanites a long, weary trip into the centre of the city ; on
the other were the quickly grown, tawdry rows of red brick
houses, the fruits of a sudden boom. One side of the street was
symbolic of the old suburb, the other of the insidious encroach-
ment of the modern city. The six old maids belonged to the city
side, and there, gaunt, straight, prim, they lived their secluded
lives, undisturbed, apparently, by the sordid, feeble cares of
one side of the street or the other. In reality, however, a certain
curiosity — as it is called in spinster ladies — or a spirit of investi-
gation— as it is called when it exists in the heart of man — burned
fiercely in the bosoms of these old maids. Their interest in all
about them was keen and kindly, and often when a fortunate
wind seemed to blow things in the wav of some unfortunate
human, the influence might have been traced to the old maids,
whose only outward and visible sign of their sympathy was a
certain nervousness under observation, an access of embarrassed
agitation or a flutter of low whispering.
Each of the near neighbors had a very marked individuality to
these six. There was the young Englishman, a man who did his
nationality no honor, and whose purest content seemed to co-
exist only with the augmented misery of someone else, misery
augmented by himself — a bully, braggart, and coward. There
was the superannuated Yankee, who kept a " shop," and whose
native keenness was tempered with a beautiful tenderness to
children. His wife, who was all shrewdness, used to say that
"Jim would give one of them dirty kids his pipe if she wanted
it," and everyone knew that Jim's pipe was his first and last love.
There was a struggling young doctor, unskilled in his practice,
but with such a noble care of his querulous old mother as marked
him at once a man, if not a doctor. There was the little, half-
paralyzed woman who sold papers on the next corner, and whose
cheery humor from that twisted little body was one of God's
miracles. There was the big, fat policeman, whose absolute
o
1 6 Acta Victoriana.
vacuity of mind was only exceeded by his slowness of gait ; and
there were the children ! and, as the grocer's wife remarked,
"'Heaven knows where they come from in the morning, much
less where they are packed at night." A poor and dingy com-
pany these friends of the old maids, but, unlike the prosperous
and care-free, life was a brimming, strenuous thing to them.
Living right under the eye of these six misjudged maidens
was a numerous family of young children. For hours together
the six old maids would watch over the children's play with the
most intense personal enthusiasm. They would nod and bend in
time to the music of " King William was King George's Son,"
and put their heads together in whispered discussion of the
intricacies of " cross tag," and the children, though still pre-
serving towards them such a spirit of deference as is proper from
young to old. felt always their ready understanding and pro-
tection. A spirit of camaraderie grew up between them until
at times, even, some of the more daring, in defiance of the
modern superstition which assigns austerity as a characteristic
of spinsters, would run to lean lovingly against one or other of
them, and would stroke their rough garments comprehendingly,
if wordlessly.
It was too apparent, however, that the little family the old
maids were in a sense mothering had fallen on very evil days.
To the eyes of the old maids things seemed to go from bad to
worse in the afifairs of this household in which their most
familiar interest was centred. There was no abatement of the
irrepressible spirits of the children, but each morning now the
father started out, pale and weary and discouraged, while the
wan mother stood at the door trying to smile cheerfully as he
looked back to wave his hand from the next corner. And one
morning that which the old maids had feared and discussed in
subdued murmurings was voiced with the boldness of child-
hood, "Mother, where's father going?" "Shut up, kid; he's
looking for work and can't get none," said the older brother.
So the skeleton stood revealed. This was why the children did
not run about with the neighbors' families ; this was why there
w ere no lights in the house at night ; this was the reason of the
father's weariness and the mother's pallor. And the old maids
moaned and muttered among themselves.
Their sympathy, however, was as far as possible of a practical
turn, and for several days their thoughts never strayed far from
Acta Vicioriana. 3 i 7
the unhappy family near them. One day their ahiiost painful
interest was, if possible, increased by the action of one of the
children. She was an odd, quiet child with great, mysterious
eyes, a head too wise for her tiny body, and very charming, sweet
ways. One day little Grace stretched her arms as far as they
could go about the somewhat unwieldly form of one of the old
maids, from whose figure all the supple slenderness of youth had
long departed, and said, sighing, " Dear old maid, why doesn't
someone come ; the little mother cries and father looks so tired
and we have only potatoes for dinner? Why doesn't Uncle
Ned or somebody give us some money?" And the old maids
could only return sigh for sigh.
And winter came, and the old maids made their natural pre-
paration, put ofif their summer vesture, and donned their winter
garb, but the family beneath made no such preparation.
The children were playing hide-and-seek happily one day when
the climax of all misfortunes came, as it seemed to the little
mother. Grace, the little favorite, was " it." When she had
faithfully counted two hundred she cried with the causeless
exultation of a careless child, " Ready or not, you must be
caught, all round the goal or not," and then, with eyes still
blurred with the thoroughness with which she had dug her
knuckles into them in the intensity of her desire to be honest, she
gave a blind, excited bound into the street. The car was passing
at full speed, and Grace ran, head down, into the side of it ; was
bounced back by the force of the blow and fell into the open,
newly-dug ditch by the side of the road. The old maids, who
alone saw the catastrophe, seemed rooted to the spot in horror.
They had watched the repairing of the street, and could now
look down into the deep, muddy drain, with a few inches of
stagnant water at the bottom. The children by-and-by, grown
weary of hiding, came out from their corners and decided that
Grace was " real mean to go in and never let them know. They
might have stayed there till tea-time." Meanwhile, Grace lay at
the bottom of the ditch, quiet and white and still, and no one
across the road had seen, because she was hidden by the car, and
on this side no one seemed to have seen either. Dusk came, and
tea-time came, and still no one missed Grace. Would they never
miss her? At last the poor little family sat down to their very
sparing meal.
"Where is Grace?" the mother asked, and no one could
o
1 8 Ac^a Victoriana.
answer. The father went to the door and called, but no one
came. Then he went around to the doctor's and the grocer's,
and even appealed to the stolid policeman. Finally they began
a thorough search, and a strange instinct kept the father from
straying away from the house in search of the child. Gloved by
a strange impulse he suddenly snatched up one of the red
lanterns left beside the ditch and jumped down into the
unpleasant-looking hole. There was Grace, with her head torn
by a jagged stone against which she had fallen. The grocer and
the father carried her carefully into the house, while the poor
mother wrung her hands and the old maids tried to express their
sympathy. With an unconfessed, desperate and horrible wonder
in the hearts of mother and father as to how he should be paid,
the father called in the doctor.
A long night of watching followed, while the doctor sat
patiently beside the bed holding the child's hand. Is there any-
thing more ghastly, more absolutely heart-weakening than the
night watch beside a sick bed. Perhaps you are stunned by the
weight of the sudden blow, and only this bare, dark night brings
the bitter realization to you. You lean forward and look, and
the dear face seems strange and awful to you and a desperate
agony that longs for movement, yet cannot move, presses heavily
down upon you. You bend forward at last, gazing the more
intently, thinking, perhaps, that the very force of your intensity
will draw forth an answering look, but there is none ; then you
touch that quiet form fearfully and your last hope ends in
horror, for there is no response to your touch. And the
moments grope on, pallid, dank, cold, and the full misery of
futureless death is upon you in the grim dawn.
At the time of crisis near morning the old maids, who still
watched tirelessly, saw the mother run into her own empty room
and fling herself across the bed, with her hands clasped high
above her head in an ecstasy of dumb agony. Would the time
never pass ! Could the child not even speak or look at them !
Just as dawn crept coldly across the floor Grace at last opened
her eyes and looked at her mother. To the doctor it seemed
that his tense, tortured nerves gave an audible rebound at this
flicker of hope. He was at once full of energy, resourceful and
strong.
Through the weary nights and days which followed the com-
mon people who were the neighbors vied with each other in
A cia Vic to riana . 319
kind benevolence. The doctor had his chance and showed him-
self not only a man, but also a physician. He had had his first
real case, and his success warmed afresh his discouraged heart.
His devotion was tireless. The grocer, out of the kindness of
his heart, brought in appropriate daily gifts of succulent bull's-
eyes, doubtful lozenges, and other childish delights. The old
news' vendor squandered her too scant earnings on some
luscious grapes ; the policeman, moved out of his grandiose im-
becility, donated an apologetic-looking guinea-pig, and the
doctor's mother sent a pair of brilliant scarlet mittens, knit by
her own rheumatic hands. Later Grace enjoyed all these things,
but just now her strength was only sufficient to listen to the low
song of the old maids, who soothed her to sleep more than once.
To them she turned constantly and their silent sympathy seemed
to appeal to her more than words.
And Christmas drew near ; Christmas, the holy time of the
year, Avith its peace and charity for all men. And in spite of
everything the six old maids could do things grew steadily worse
and the gaunt wolf of hunger clawed restlessly at the frail door.
The neighbors were themselves taxed to the utmost and could
give little further help, and the whole household was weakened
with watching and hunger.
At last one night a gruff heavy countryman came toiling up
the street, stopping often irresolutely, and looking hither and
thither questioningly. The old maids swayed and beckoned
and whispered together in tense expectancy. Forgetting all
their maidenly modesty, they boldly did their very best to attract
the attention of this man, and who knows but that they murmured
one to the other how shamed they were. The man seemed to
recognize their insistence, and came uncertainly on till he stood
in front of their home and looked long into the whirling trees
above him. Now that he was so near, the excitement of the
spinsters was almost unbearable, for had they not looked in on
wnat thev had come to consider their family, and had they not
seen the children hang up their stockings with the unquenchable
hope of childhood, while the parents looked on with uncertain,
quivering mouths and strained, hopeless eyes. At last, in re-
sponse to their frantic signals the countryman turned in at the
house, and, as he rang the bell wondered at himself, and with a
man's unknowingness cursed his pains. Finally the door opened
slowly, and with an unwilling groan, for the hall was too bare
320 Ada Victoriana.
a place for any self-respecting door to expose without protest.
There was a little cry of " Oh, Ned!" and the woman was in her
brother's arms.
" Why, Fan, how did you get here ? I've been searchin' for
you all over town."
Then she told him her story, the old, old story of sickness, and
pain and discouragement, and while Ned wiped his honest eyes
furtively he muttered, " And me with lots, wdiile poor little Fan
is half starved." And when Fan had finished her story she
must learn his. This was a brighter tale, of adventures by sea
and land, travels in strange countries, and the final buying of the
old house, where he was to live with Fan and her family. And
now it was the woman's turn to ask, "But how did you find me?"
Womanlike the happy fact had been enough for her for a time,
but now the first flood of happiness was over, she would return
to reasons.
" It was them poplars brung me," said Ned.
" Oh, the six old maids ?"
" Do you remember, Fan. that row of poplars so straight and
stiff in front of the old house? You called them the 'old maids,'
and used to talk to them and make so much of them. You had
strange fancies. To-night I was strolling up the street wonder-
ing where you had moved to, and them six old maids kept up
such a rustling and bowing and beckoning that I looked at them
even oftener tlTan I do at most poplars. They acted like they
was crazy, and I don't believe the other trees was carryin' on
like that. I felt clean silly goin' into a strange house, because
an old maid poplar seemed to want me to. Fan, I thank the Lord
for poplars ; them trees have always meant good to me."
And joy was born that Christmas Eve. The grocer got such
an order as he had never before received, and the father, mother
and Ned worked far into the night, filling little stockings and
preparing for the morrow. Fan noticed that Ned stopped longest
by Grace's bed, and she remembered a sweet, frail friend of
hers whom Ned had loved and lost. The doctor and his mother,
the grocer and his wife, the news' vendor, and even the police-
man sat down that Christmas day to a dinner such as they had
never had before, " with all the trimmin's," as Unce Ned said,
but no gift was fully and appropriately received till it had been
carried to the window for the six old maids to see. And can we
doubt they saw?
Acta Victoriana. 321
War: Its Substitutes and Cure
BY REV. A. C. COURTICE, M.A., _.D.
THE title of this article indicates a method of approach to the
subject which is both positive and constructive, and this
method should become increasingly prominent in the advocacy
of peace. The other method which is
negative and destructive, also critical and
belligerent, has played a large part in the
advocacy of peace up to a recent date.
The evils of war are so obvious that they
invite attack and deserve it ; the proper
substitutes for war have not been so plain
and well-established as to command pub-
lic confidence, but this defect is passing
away.
REV. A c. couRTicE, This truth may be put in concrete
M.A., D.D. form. The promotion of peace after the
manner of '\lr. \\ . T. Stead's " War Against War," is the old
method in vigorous operation, but the promotion of peace after
the manner of King Edward's arbitration treaties and through
the Hague Court and its provisions is the newer method.
The negative side of the subject should receive some atten-
tion. Is War a Blessing? Can this view be maintained?
Very few will attempt it. Most men and women admit that
war is always to be regretted, and as much as possible to be
avoided. There are some, how^ever, who claim that occasional
war is essential to the happiness and prosperity of nations and
that war preparations are a necessary feature of every growing
nation's life now and forevermore. Captain Charles Ross, an
English writer, sets forth this view in cxtenso in a book entitled,
" Representative Government and War." He takes the
ground that the human race would quickly degenerate
without the stimulus of war, and goes the full length of
approving all the immorality and brutality involved. He says :
" Nations are potential robbers ; there is no law or police force
to prevent robbery ; fear of the intended victim or of other nations
will alone deter." The " preparations for war " involve the
establishment of " an efficient intelligence in the adversary's ter-
322 Acta Victor iana\
ritory and elsewhere, by means of which not only shall good
information be forthcoming, but false information circulated,
sedition and disunion caused in the ranks of the adversary, and
that adversary brought into disrepute throughout the civilized
world." Civilized world? Mark the phrase and then reflect
on the picture. Thanks be unto God it is not the Bible picture
of civilized society, patriarchal, prophetic, or Christian. If war
is in any genuine, valuable, and permanent way a blessing, it is
difficult to understand why the Old Testament Patriarchs and
the Old Testament Prophets were so markedly men of peace ;
or why the great prophets of Judah and Israel were inspired to
picture the ^^lessianic Kingdom as marked by the absence of
war and the prevalence of industry and peace ; or, above all, why
Jesus Christ and His apostles and the early Christians took their
stand so clearly and firmly against carnal weapons and military
methods. Lesser lights count for little after the authoritative
teaching and example of Jesus Christ, God's Son and the world's
Saviour. He commanded His fighting disciple. " Put up thy
sword," and under the light of His teaching made plain and
powerful by His example war should disappear from human
history.
Is war a blessing? Note in this connection a voice from one
of the present century's rulers. Theodore Roosevelt, in a
presidential message, says : " The true end of every great and
free people should be self-respecting peace. !More and more
the civilized peoples are realizing the wicked folly of war, and
are attaining that condition of just and intelligent regard for the
rights of others which will in the end make world-wide peace
possible."
What other view can be held? That war is an evil without a
remedy ! This view has been stated thus : " War is an evil
which human effort can never entirely eradicate from this
world." Or thus : " The most effective preventive of its dire
consequences is a thorough, constant readiness for its terrible
prosecution." This is the attitude of the Emperor of Germany.
He says in effect : " I keep Germany and Europe in peace by
keeping myself so strong that no one dare attack me."
On this basis Europe is an armed camp to keep the peace.
But the competitive development of armies and navies in times
of peace in order to preserve the peace has proved to be a ruin-
A eta Victoriana. 323
ous policy. The Tsar's Rescript and the Hague Conference and
Court of Arbitration are the outcome of the intolerable burden.
A very eloquent and effective address at the Hague Conference
was given by a military general, General Den Beer Portugael
(Holland).
He said, concerning armed forces on land and sea and war
budgets : " You know, gentlemen, that these have now reached
gigantic, disquieting, and dangerous proportions. Four millions
of men (since increased to five millions) under arms and the
total military budgets up to five milliards of francs a year. Is
it not frightful ? I know that these soldiers are only kept under
arms for the maintenance of peace. The Sovereigns have only
in view the safety of their peoples. The States believe sincerely
that these forces are necessary. But they are mistaken. It is to
their inevitable loss, to their destruction, slow, but sure, that they
labor along this path. Please, understand me, gentlemen, I
am far from being a Utopian. I do not believe in an eternal
peace. But the more armed forces accumulate, military budgets
are swollen, populations are crushed under the weight of taxa-
tion, the more the States are pushed to the edge of the abyss
into which at last they will fall. They will ruin and destroy
themselves. Let us stop on the edge of the abyss, otherwise we
are lost. Let vis stop ! Gentlemen, it is worth while to make
this supreme effort. Let us stand fast (Tenons ferme!). The
price of peace, when burdensome armies and navies are the
price, is serious enough, and the price is ever ascending. The
civilized nations did say : ' There is a better way and we will
try.' "
Neither of these views have satisfied the great and good men
of the ages. The prophets of the Christian centuries have been
against war. In the English-speaking and Protestant world this
is true, as well as in the broader Christian world. Amongst
those who have written or spoken against war are John Wyclifife,
George Fox, John Wesley, Dr. Adam Clarke, Dr. Chalmers,
Lord Brougham, founder of the Howard Association, Lord
Falkland, John Bright, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Hugo
Grotius, Victor Hugo, Wm. Penn, and Elihu Burritt. In the
United States of America there is a distinguished list of peace
prophets : George Washington, Russell Lowell, Dr. Ellery Chan-
ning, Gen. Grant, Charles Sumner, George Dana Boardman,
324 Ac^a Victoriana.
Dr. Edward Everett Hale, President ^^lark Hopkins, President
C. C. Bonney, and Cardinal Gibbons, whose words have been
often quoted, " God is the God of Peace to the individual, the
Father of Peace to the family, and the Prince of Peace to
society."
War is not a blessing from God to humanity in the judgment
of these men. By the true prophets the sword is classed with
famine and pestilence as judgments. War is not an evil to be
hopelessly endured to the end of time. Some settle the matter
finally thus : " All war is wicked, having its origin in sinful
passions, and being always prosecuted by violent, immoral, and
wicked methods." Others will not go so far, but will take their
stand thus : " War is a worn-out method ; it is barbaric ; it be-
longs to the ages of passion and force ; it has no rightful place
in the ages of reason and conscience ; it must disappear. Still
others are concluding from the study of history that war is in-
efifective ; it is futile. A consideration of great importance should
be made most clear to this efifect; it is the province of history
to sit in judgment on individual wars and not the duty of peace
advocates."
Whatever may be the line of approach, and there is divergence
of view on the negative side, certainly, on the positive side, there
should be unanimity and co-operation. On the constructive side
there are three main factors at work: (i) The Peace Societies,
(2) the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and (3) the Hague Court.
Peace Societies have grown in Christian countries in Europe
and America, and these have joined in a remarkable series of
International Peace Congresses, the last of which was the thir-
teenth, recently held at Boston, the largest and most influential
of the series. The Inter-Parliamentary Union is made up of
members of the Parliaments of Europe devoted to Peace by
Arbitration. A large American group has been recently added
to this Union. As these parliamentarians are all from Sovereign
States, colonies like Canada and Australia are not represented.
This is to be regretted.
The Peace Societies and Congresses constitute the popular
element in the movement. The Inter-Parliamentary Union con-
stitutes a body of experienced, expert, and responsible men who
give practical wisdom and solidity to the movement. The Hague
Conferences (a second one is being called) deal with Inter-
Acta Victoriana . 325
national Covenants and Commissions, International Law and an
International Court.
The Peace Societies belong to the nineteenth century, and
there are hundreds of them now (about 450). The largest and
most influential of all is the Inter-Parliamentary Union, with two
thousand and fifty (2,050) members. This Union held its last
meeting in St. Louis in September, and the International Con-
gress held its last meeting at Boston in October. Over one
thousand delegates from the civilized world registered at Bos-
ton, and two hundred members of European Parliaments were
entertained by the American Government, Congress having voted
fifty thousand dollars to provide suitably for the Inter-Parlia-
mentary Union. The President of the United States delegated
two distinguished members of his administration to welcome
these bodies. The Hon. Francis B. Loomis welcomed the Union
to St. Louis, and Secretary of State, John Hay, welcomed the
Congress at Boston.
Notwithstanding the good work that has been done there are
sincere peace advocates who are impatient and belligerent when
a special war is under consideration. When the Boer War broke
out Mr. W\ T. Stead became impatient. Concerning the Inter-
Parliamentary Union and the ' Peace Societies, he wrote thus :
"A Conference constituted to secure peace by arbitration that
cannot even condemn a power which has deliberately appealed
to war, and rejected arbitration, stands self-confessed as im-
potent. We must, therefore, look further afield for the head-
quarters staff of the Peace Army. Where shall we find it ? The
existing Peace Societies are earnest, but they themselves bitterly
deplore their impotence. They have neither funds, interna-
tional organization, nor influence. We have been too nambv-
pamby in our Peace War. We have not been half military
enough, we have not been bellicose enough." The organized
Peace forces bore this undeserved criticism patiently and have
done some of their best work this very year, in moving Presi-
dent Roosevelt to call a second Hague Conference, and in stimu-
lating binding Treaties of Arbitration which are now so
prevalent.
What is the practical, accomplished record for Peace by Arbi-
tration? Not dreams or visions, but facts constitute the answer.
Within the last one hundred vears there have been more than
o
26 Ac^a Vuto7'ia7ta.
two hundred cases in which international differences have been
adjusted by arbitration. The Government of the United States
has been a party to seventy of these. The most notable case of
the Rind— one that has had the most profound and beneficent
results — was the Treaty negotiated at Washington in 1871, which
provided for four Arbitrations. On this treaty Mr. John JMorley
says : " The Treaty of Washington and the Geneva Arbitration
stand out as the most notable victory in the nineteenth century
of the noble art of preventive diplomacy, and the most signal
exhibition in their history of self-command in two of the three
chief democratic powers of the Western World !"
The march of events moved forward to the Hague Confer-
ence, called by the Czar of Russia. The famous Rescript was a
plain, carefully-considered indictment of militarism. There is
no escape from its facts or its practical conclusions. The gist of
it is in this sentence : " The system of armament a ontrance, and
the continual danger which lies in this massing of war material
are transforming the armed peace of our day into a crushing
BURDEN."
The Hague Conference was called for two weighty reasons :
( I ) first, because " it would converge into one powerful focus
the efforts of all the States which are sincerelv seeking to make
the great conception of universal peace triumph over the ele-
ments of trouble and discord"' ; and (2) secondly, because "it
would cement the agreement by a co-operate consecration of the
principles of equity and right, on which rest the security of
States and the welfare of peoples."
Only the briefest summary of the result is possible.
The opening clause authorizes the agreements and arrange-
ments in the name of the Sovereigns or Heads of Independent
States and their Plenipotentiaries. The names are fully given
in both cases. In this clause the following ideals are set forth
as guiding principles : the empire of right ; the sentiment of in-
ternational justice; permanent institution of arbitral jurisdiction;
regular organization of arbitral procedure ; consecrating by inter-
national agreement the principles of equity and law.
The first article indicates the purpose :
" In order to prevent as far as possible the recourse to force
in international relations, the signatory powers agree to employ
all their efforts to bring about the pacific solution of the differ-
Ada Victoriana. 327
ences which may arise." Then follow the three methods: i.
Good Offices and ^Mediation. 2. International Commissions of
Enquiry. 3. The Permanent Court of Arbitration.
The mediation of friendly Powers has proved very helpful in
the past. This is approved and provided for.
The second provision is very important : " In cases in which
differences of opinion should arise between the signatory powers
with regard to the local circumstances which have given rise to
a disagreement of an international character and in which
neither national honor nor vital interests are at stake, the
interested parties agree to have recourse to the institution of
International Commissions of Enquiry in order to establish the
circumstances which have given rise to the dispute and to clear
up all questions of fact." The report of such a Commission,
limited to the statement of facts, has in no way the character
of an arbitral decision.
International Arbitration has for its object the settlement of
disputes between States by judges of their own choosing on the
basis of respect for right. The agreement to arbitrate may be
for existing or eventual disputes. The arbitral convention im-
plies an engagement to submit in good faith to the arbitral de-
cision. Each of the Powers designate four persons of recognized
competence and of the highest moral standing to be arbitrators.
The term of appointment is for six years. When a case is
referred to the Court each disputant chooses and appoints two
arbitrators from these, and the four choose a chief arbitrator.
Thus the Arbitral Court is constituted, and then the Arbitral
Procedure is outlined.
What has happened since to bring this Court at the Hague
into recognition? The United States and Mexico referred a
long-standing diplomatic dispute (the Pious Fund Case) to the
Court and it was settled.
The Government of Switzerland had become a recognized
umpire in international difficulties, but now declines to act and
refers the nations to the Hague Court.
President Roosevelt pursued the same course in the Vene-
zuela case. He was asked by three European Powers, Britain,
Germany, and Italy, to arbitrate their differences with Vene-
zuela. It was flattering to his impartiality and ability. He
courteously declined and referred them to the Hague Court.
328
Acta Victoriana.
It was a memorable event, which testifies to the progress of the
world in the appeal to reason as against force, when those
powerful nations stopped their coercive operations against a
weak foe, recalled their navies and agreed to arbitrate. Volun-
tary and binding Treaties of Arbitrations have formed the great
nations of Western Europe into a peaceful brotherhood of States.
The King of England has taken a leading part in negotiating
these treaties, and is already referred to as Edward, the Peace-
maker. Similar Treaties are being announced almost faster
than one can keep them in mind.
While these practical provisions are established and opera-
tive as the rational and Christian substitutes for war, and they
are just such substitutes as have been found effective in abolish-
ing private and civil wars, yet the real cure for war lies deeper.
It lies in the fuller apprehension of God and His Law and His
Love ; His Law as ultimate Righteousness, and His Love as the
sufficient motive in fulfilling His Law. The law which is to
rule the world, the human world, and all worlds, is and must
be the Law of God. The Divine Law and Condition, as made
known through Christ, is not war — it is peace. Peace is not
stagnation— it is not mere negation — it is the wise and benevo-
lent balance of forces. The fundamental principle and spirit of
the Christian Religion, whether viewed theologically as Atone-
ment, or ethically as Righteousness in all human relations, or
Spiritually as New Life, is Peace based on established Good-
will. " Blessed are the peace-makers."
IHK AKMOKIES, TORON'IO.
Acta Vicloriana. 329
Grunt the Third
ONE of ihe few remaining male members of the teaching profes-
sion (save the mark) in this Province, recently warned his
pupils, in a county model school, against the use of slang and other
forms of bad English, which he declared were " almost inewV-ably
picked up owing to our living in the neighboring vicinity oi the United
States." He had recently attended a Normal School.
Another teacher (a lady, this time), told her friend that although
she was only "gittin' two hundred and fifty this year" she expected
"a rise next year."
Almost every teacher, so-called, in Ontario, tells her pupils to
" reduce down," and that she doesn't think an answer as given isn't
right. Her pupils imitate her, and the Model School man, and the
High School man, and, not seldom, the professor, so that eventually
we hear this sort of thing from the lips of lawyers, doctors, and — and
— and even from legislators ! The rising generation is becoming
thoroughly accustomed to this abuse of our English language. It is
folly to expect figs of thistles or grapes of thorns, and unless some-
thing is done to stem the tide there will soon be no such thing as
purity of language in the speech of our people — and to use a political
stump orator's phraseology, "what are we going to do about it ?"
Observer.
Pin^ Pong
WHEN the shades of eve are falling, and the stars are peeping out,
And the silver moon is shedding her bright glances all about,
Comes stealing to my tired ear a most famili?.r song, —
'Tis the ping of the mosquito and the June bug's merry pong.
Oh ! the nightingale sings sweetly, and I love the merry lark,
And I've heard the whip-poor-will proclaim the coming of the dark;
But one sweet strain the summer through within my ears doth ring, —
'Tis the June bug's happy ponging, and the skitty's cheerful ping.
— E. W. W.
330
Ada Victoriana.
Falls of Burleigh
BY ALMA FRANCES M'COLLUM.
FALLS of Burleigh, Falls of Burleigh,
Where the foaming waters bound
O'er a winding granite stairway
With deep harmony of sound,
Like prophetic voices chanting
Paeans infinitely clear,
Ever some great truth revealing
To the comprehending ear.
Soothing strains steal through the senses
Gazing on thy ceaseless flow,
Languor, sorrow, pain unheeded,
. Vanish in the deep below ;
Life becomes a dream untroubled,
Like the fluted, restless lake
Calmed and stilled to tranquil motion
In thy current's placid wake.
Falls of Burleigh, time and distance
Cannot still thy wondrous song,
Neither dim the perfect vision
Of thy waters hurled along ;
Faintly floating, like an echo
Wafted from a spirit shore,
Steals the chant my soul enton.th
Evermore and evermore.
Acta Victoriana. 331
Upper Canada Jicademy, 1856-I84t
BY C. C. JAMES, M.A.
II.
IN the preceding paper I gave a brief summary of the educational
conditions and the political contentions that existed in the Province
previous to the year 1837. My purpose now is to follow the working
out of this movement as it resulted in Upper Canada Academy,
which, arising primarily in a demand from the Methodist ministers,
was, at the same time, brought forth through the hearty assistance of
many men of other denominations, especially those of the Church of
England, who were struggling for the recognition of the rights of the
Legislative Assembly as opposed by the Executive stubbornly striving
to hold on to their exclusive power.
From 1 79 1 down to 18 10 the Methodist ministers or missionaries
laboring in Upper Canada were attached to and under the direction of
the New York Annual Conference. From 1810 to 1824 they were
members of the Genesee Conference. Owing to the growth' of the
work and the changed relationship arising out of the war of 18 r 2, a
separate Canadian Conference was organized in 1824 at Hallowell
(now Picton). Four years later the connection was permanently
severed and the Canadian Methodist Conference established as an
independent organization.
The Conference at once began the consideration of three questions :
ist, The maintenance and expansion of missionary work among the
Indians ; 2nd, the establishment of a journal ; 3rd, the founding of an
independent college or academy. This was the natural order of their
undertaking. At the first conference, in 1824, a missionary society was
organized. The missions on the Credit and Grand Rivers, on the Bay
of Quinte and Rice Lake, and, later, in far away Hudson's Bay, were
the beginniniis of work that has spread over the entire Dominion and
across the Pacific to Japan and China. Accompanying the mission
work was the establishment of Indian schools.
In 1829 the Christian Guardian was established, with Egerton
Ryerson as editor, a young man twenty-six years of age, lately a teacher
in the mission school on the Credit.
The older men were beginning to wear out under the vigorous strain
of circuit work ; the supply of young men from the parent conferences
in the Unites States was either cut off or undesirable, because of the
feeling among the people. It was necessary to take volunteers from
among the Canadian people. These must be trained. There were
3
332 Ada Victoriana.
also promising young Indians, whose services should be utilized as
preachers and teachers among their own people. For a time some of
these must be sent to ihe seminaries to the south, but the need of a
college at home was imperative. Our preliminary sketch has shown,
I think, that there was no college in Upper Canada that was suitable
or available for the training of these youn j men for this work.
Upper Canada College had just begun work at York, with its staff
of masters from Cambridge and elsewhere. Five members of the staff
were clergymen of the Church of Englnnd, and it was practically under
the direction of the Board of King's College, of which it was the minor
college or preparatory school. This college, of course, would not, in
many important particulars, do the work then so urgently needed.
There was only one thing to do— to build up such a college as was
needed.
In 1830 a committee was formed and a subscription list started. In
two years j[^'],ooo had been subscribed and the site at Cobourg
selected. In 1832 the corner stone of Upper Canada Academy was laid.
The work of construction was carried on as rapidly as available
funds or the credit of the energetic ministers would permit. The fact
that it took four years to complete is suggestive of the struggle to sup-
ply funds. This six years' effort to build the college was, however,
quite limited in comparison with the continuous struggle of the next
ten years to pay debts, meet yearly expenditures and keep the institu-
tion going.
The statement has been made and, I think, with reason, that when
the college building was completed in 1S36 it was the finest bit of
architecture then standing in the Province.
Rev. Dr. Green, in his reminiscences, tells us how, on the i8th of
June, 1836, multitudes of people gathered in Cobourg to witness the
opening of the Academy. A service was first held at the church,
where Rev. Joseph Stinson preached the sermon. A procession was
then formed and the Trustees, Board of Visitors, ministers and others
walked to the College, where Dr. Green handed the keys to the new
Principal, Rev. Matthew Richey. Dr. Green says that it was a day of
anxiety ; there was a debt of $16,000 on the building, and the students
were asking for furniture for their rooms. The ceremony over, he
mounted his horse, rode to Kingston, and discounted at the banks the
notes of himself and other poor ministers. Returning at once, he
went to Niagara and bought a supply of furniture. Under these cir-
cumstances classes were organized that for sixty-eight years have been
carried on without a break. Upper Canada Academy has grown into
Ada Vtctoriana. 333
Victoria University, and King's College has become the University of
Toronto. What would Sir John Colborne or Sir Francis Bond Head
say as to their federation ?
What about the charter? It should be remembered that the whole
financial undertaking was on the personal responsibility of a few
Methodist ministers, whose faith must be admired. In 1835 the Con-
ference made formal application to the Government of Upper Canada
for a charter and for assistance, but without avail. Egerton Ryerson,
then stationed at Kingston, was their emergency champion. On No-
vember 20th, 1835, he started for England. Week after week, and
* month after month, he labored. On October 12th, 1836, the Royal
Charter was signed, and the day before he sailed for home he received
a promise from Lord Glenelgthat the grant of ^4,100, that had failed
to carry in Upper Canada, would be advanced out of the Casual and
Territorial Revenue, still controlled by the Lieutenant-Governor, and
that Sir Francis Bond Head would receive instructions to that effect.
Private subscriptions, amounting to $5,000, were collected in England,
including £^\o from the Queen's mother. The detailed story of this
mission to England will be found in Ryerson's "Story of My Life,"
and in Vol. II. of Dr. Hodgins' " Documentary History of Education
in Upper Canada."
Egerton Ryerson returned early in 1837 with the Royal Charter for
the Academy, which, in his inaugural address later on, he referred to
as "The first institution of the kind established by Royal Charter
unconnected with the Church of England throughout the British
Colonies."
What of the grant ? On Ryerson's return to Upper Canada he
wrote to Dr. Alder in England, " We have not yet received a farthing
of the Government grant to our Academy. The Governor's reply still
is, there is no money in the treasury ; but he has given us his written
promise, and offered his word to any of the banks that it will be paid
out of the first money which had not been previously appropriated.
But, strange to say, there is not a bank or banker in Upper Canada
that will take the Governor's promise for ^i^ioo. Mr. Receiver-Gen-
eral Dunn kindly lent out of his own pocket to my brother John about
^1,200 for the Academy upon my brother's receipt, remarking, at the
same time, that he did it upon his credit and out of respect to the
Methodists, but that he could place no dependence upon the word of
Sir Francis in the matter." ("Story of My Life," p. 166.)
The obstinacy of the Governor was the cause of a long dispute
between him and the Legislative Assembly. On February gth, 1837,
334 Ada Victoriana.
the mitter was fully considered by a committee of the House, and in
their report, urging the payment, the committee made this statement :
"The erection of this Seminary is, your committee beh'eves, the great-
est undertaking hitherto successfully prosecuted in Upper Canada upon
the plan of voluntary contributions alone. ' This report was signed
by W. H. Draper, and was supported by several other prominent
members of the Church of England. It will thus be seen that the
struggle for responsib'e self-government and the recognition of the
powers of the Assembly, played no small pait in the early history of
the College. One-half of the grant or loan was paid in November,
1837, and the other half in February, 1838. Had we time a very in-
teresting chapter might be written on the financial struggles of this
pioneer college — a chapter that has been repeated in the history of
other educational institutions of Ontario — how the ministers struggling
on small salaries paid their liberal subscriptions, and secured assist-
ance from the none too wealthy laymen ; how they set aside by resolu-
tion their marriage fees to increase the fund, and how the banks dis-
counted the notes of poor preachers, whose financial backing consisted
of faith and enthusiasm. In this day we can hardly do full justice to
the men who sacrificed so much for the institution that they had
founded. One incident may be worthy of repetition here. When Dr.
Ryerson resigned his position as Superintendent of Education, he
addressed a communication to Hon. M. C. Cameron, Secretary of the
Piovince. Arnong other things in review of his public career, he says :
" During the last four years I had accumulated and invested two
thousand dollars ; but recently the claims of two objects seemed to
be so strong (the one the purchase of McGill Square, for benevolent
purposes, the other the endowment of Victoria College) that I divided
the two thousand dollars between them. With the exception, there-
fore, of the house I occupy, I have no more material wealth than I
had twenty-five years ago."
A few words as to the students of the early days may be of some
interest. Practically all ofificial records of the first years of the Academy
and College have disappeared. Down to 1845, that is for the first ten
years of work, all that we have are three thin pamphlets, the circulars
for the years 1840, 1841 and 1845. We have to search elsewhere
therefore, for our accounts of the students of sixty and more years
ago. After a somewhat extended correspondence and searching of
papers and reminiscences there have been found living to-day at least
twenty-two persons who were students at Victoria and Upper Canada
Academy prior to 1845. There are probably others to be added to
Acta Victor iana. 335
this band of octogenarians. In this Hst are the following : Hon.
Matthew H. Richey, formerly Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia,
Hon. James C Aikins,* formerly Lieut.-Governor of Manitoba ; Col.
Walker Powell, of Ottawa, formerly Adjutant-General of Canada; Hon.
William McDougall, of Ottawa; Judge Weller, of Peterboro' ; Dr,
John George Hodgins, who has completed sixty years of Public Civil
Service; Dr. James H. Richardson, the venerable surgeon of Toronto
Gaol; James Adams Matthewson, the well-known wholesale merchant
of Montreal : Judge Thos. A. Lazier, of Belleville, and Allan McLean
Howard for fifty years Clerk of the Division Court at Toronto.!
These names and those of others who have passed away show that
the students were not all Methodists, but that many young men came
from Presbyterian and Church of England homes to receive their
education at an institution that was open to all and that prescribed no
religious tests.
Tne co-education of the sexes was provided for in the first four
years, before the Academy was elevated into ttie degree-conferring
College. What were the rules ? How did they dififer from such as
would be enforced to-day ? Strange to say I found a copy of the first
rules in the Journals of the Legislature. The Committee of the House
investigated the Institution in its dispute with Sir Francis Bond Head,
and in a Report to the House, printed the rules, thereby uninten-
tionally contributing to an historical investigation.
A condensed statement of the chief regulations may be interesting
in these days when Victoria has returned to the original system of
co-education.
1. Hours of rising : 5 in summer, 6 in winter. Hours of retiring : g in
summer, 10 in winter.
2. Due respect and subordination to teachers and officers.
3. Conduct of students to be in all respects distinguished by moral pro-
priety. All profane, obscene and indecent language, garr.es of chance and
fighting or wrestling are among the grosser violations of this law.
4. All indecencie'=, such as writing upon the walls, loud speaking, whist-
ling or laughing within doors, playing in the halls or rooms, entering the
house with dirty shoes, slovenliness of person and dress, lushing to or
from meals, unbecoming conduct at table and the odious practice of spit-
ting on the floor are strictly prohibited.
5. Permission very rarely given to spend the evening out, and that only
when it is known where and how they will occupy it. Must be back at 9
o'clock.
*Senator Aikins died Aug. 6, 1904. See Christmas Acta, pp. 180-183.
tSee Acta Victoriana, April and May, 1904.
2,^6 Ada Vic tori ana.
6. Each student to sweep out his room before breakfast. No gossiping,
unnecessary visiting, or assembhng in groups in each other's rooms will be
by any means tolerated.
7. Front of edifice for females, rear for males. No corresponding or
conversing, save brothers with sisters.
8. Privilege of studying in rooms allowed as reward of good conduct.
9. No students are at liberty to go to the village, to take excursions, to
contract debts or dispose of anything without permission. It is to be
treated as an offence peculiarly revolting and ominous in youth their using
ardent spirits or visiting taverns.
10. 1st Monday in each month for letter writing. All letters to pass
through hands of Principal or Preceptress.
1 1. .All must attend church and be orderly on Sabbath.
12. Day scholars go home after regular hours.
13. Students must keep away from steward.
14. Stoves inspected at night. Any students detected kindling fire after
inspection will forfeit fires for one week and, on repetition, will forfeit the
use of stoves altogether.
15. Daily reading of Bibles and prayers enjoined.
One word more, the college was started to assist in mission work by
the training of promising young Indians as teachers and missionaries.
In the report of the spring closing in 1837 the editor of The Cobourg
Star stated that the poem by \Vm. Wilson and the oration by Henry
Steinhauer most impressed him. He says :
" The speakers were Indians. Yes, two individuals were before us
holding our thoughts enchained as qualified and accomplished teachers
in the land — children of a race which, in the pride and prejudice of his
heart, the white man has for ages held to be irreclaimably degenerate
and barbarous. It was an event at once to humble and delight us,
and one which will not readily pass from our memory."
This opinion has lately been corroborated by Mr. Matthewson, who
informs us that the two Indians far outranked the rest of them. On
the same occasion, one of the Latin orations, was delivered by Robert
Palmer Howard who, for many years, was the distingtiished Dean of
McGill Medical College.
This paper is submitted partly with the hope of contributing some
facts to the study of the most important period of the history of our
province and partly with the hope of suggesting to others the advisa-
bility of making careful study of other early educational institutions,
such as Bath Academy, Grantham Academy, Newburg Academy, the
Friends' School at Bloomfield and those institutions that have grown
into the colleges and universities of the present day. The stories of
these institutions, plainly told, may some day assist a Canadian Green
in the writing of a worthy h story of the Canadian people.
A eta Vic to r?a na.
Z?^1
Sable Island and Its Inhabitants
{Concluded.)
BY W. E. SAUNDERS.
AS I said at the beginning of this article, I viewed Sable Island from
the standpoint of an ornithologist, and, consequently, was inter-
ested not so much in the island itself as in its inhabitants, and parti-
cularly the Ipswich sparrow. Hence my first thoughts on landing
were not for the success of the forestry experiment, but for these little
birds who make this strange island their only home. They proved to
be very common, and their song could be heard at almost every
moment of the day.
They belong to an insular race of the Savanna sparrow of eastern
North America. In the struggle for existence for thousands of years
on this bleak little islet, the bird has become considerably larger and
much paler than the continental species, its increase of Itngth being
about eight per cent. The breeding-ground of this bird was for many
years unknown, and not until 1894 was the bird fully studied and
written upon. Previous to that time it was known as a migrant from
Georgia to Mair-.e and Nova Scotia, and as a straggler in Newfound-
land, but it then disappeared from sight. Some shrewd guessers sur-
mised that it must breed on Sable Island, but Dr. Dwight, of New
York, was the first to brave the inconveniences of the passage to the
island to study the habits of this interesting bird. I found that the
time intervening since his visit had been very auspicious for the
sparrows, as they were much more abundant than he represented them
to be.
I was fortunate in finding many nests, most of them incomplete, but
seven containing sets of eggs. The variations in the colors and mark-
ings of the eggs is very great. Some resemble those of the Savanna
sparrow ; others, with a lighter ground and larger blotches, those of
30^
A eta Vic tor mil a .
the Vesper sparrow, while one set has very small spots and is ot a
general slaty hue, like the eggs of the horned lark, and yet another
closely resembles some sets of the bobolink.
The nest itself, like that of the Savanna sparrow, is placed in an
excavation of nearly an inch in length made among long, fallen gtass
of last year's growth, and built up about an inch above the ground
level. It is well concealed, and would be difficult to find were it not
that the bird is very particular as to the proper condition of grass.
But though there are a great many of these sparrows, by far the most
numerous of all the birds on the island are two terns — the common tei n
and the Arctic. These are the sm.ill gull-like birds with the forked tail.
PREPARING FOR THE PLANTATION.
whose skins have been used so much in the past few years for the decora-
tion of hats. Thecommon tern probably outnumbers the Arctic by about
two or three to one, but their habits are very similar. The nesting
places of the two terns are scattered all over the island — as a rule in
communities. We were too early for the height of the breeding
season, but the birds had begun to lay, and perhaps every third cr
fourth nest would have from one to three eggs in it. These are used
very largely for food by the inhabitants. A hungry man can dispone
of a good many such small eggs, but the birds are in such numbers,
and are such persistent layers, that it is not long before the inhabitants
tire of such diet, and the birds are then allowed to raise their yourg
Acta V2ctoriana.
v309
in peace. Although too early for the main crop of eggs, )et three of
our party one evening gathered over a hundred eggs in about twenty
minutes. The nests are usually very close together, and the majority
of them are merely holes scooped out of the sand, but a fair number
have more or less straw and dry grass as a lining, and a very few have
quite a compact and thick lining of the same material.
After the terns and sparrows, the most numerous bird is the scmi-
palmated plover, which is well known through most parts of the coun-
try in the migration, but w'hich is absent in the breeding season, except
in the more remote regions of the north. Sable Island is perhaps the
most southerly breeding ground. Along the edges of the large inland
A STARTLED FLOCK.
lake there is cast up in the spring a fringe of eel grass varying from
one to four feet in width, in which the plover places its nest. Each
pair excavates three or more nests as a rule — sometimes lining them
as well with the same material. But I was too early for the main
nesting season, and found only two nests with eggs.
The only other plover breeding upon the island is the belted piping
plover. This is the western variety of the piping plover, and Dr.
Dwight noted as one of the surprises of Sable Island that this bird,
whose main breeding-ground is in the western plains, should be found
so far to the east, while the eastern part of the continent is almost
entirely inhabited by the other variety. These birds excavate their
340
Acta Victoriana.
nests in the bare open sand, which makes them exceedingly difficult
to find, as the bird leaves the nest at the sight of an intruder. Later
on, I was told, the bird lines its nest very extensively with pieces of
shell, but the two nests I saw contained only a small piece of shell
and a small bone respectively, though the nests seemed complete.
Hence I concluded that the shell was merely for ornamentation. The
eggs have a beautiful creamy buff ground dotted with small spots of
black, and harmonize very well with the color of the sand in which
they are laid. The same, indeed, is true of the color of the bird itself,
which is almost light enough to persuade one that a running bird is a
fleck of foam being blown along the beach.
WILD PONIES.
Two species of sandpiper (the least and the spotted) and two species
of duck (the red-breasted merganser and the black duck) complete the
enumeration of the ten breeding birds of Sable Island. None of these
birds are found in very large numbers, the ducks being particularly
scarce, although none are ever killed by the inhabitants. Indeed they
are protected as much as possible against their greatest enemy, the
fox. A few were liberated on the island some years ago, rapidly
multiplied and became the worst pest on the island, making great
devastation upon the birds. A systematic attempt has been made to
exterminate them, with the result that their numbers are greatly
Acta Victoriana.
341
reduced. For the sake of the birds it is to be hoped that these efforts
will not falter until the foxes are utterly destroyed.
There are no native land mammals on Sable Island. A few wild
horses are still found — the progeny of some that were placed on the
island years ago. The walrus was formerly abundant on its coasts,
but was long ago hunted to extermination.
Two species of seal are common, the larger one of which, the harp-
seal, we frequently saw off shore among the dozens of the harbor
seal, which are very common. The inquis liveness of the latter is
A TAME SEAL.
very great. Unless the sea is very rough, one cannot valk any distance
along the beach without assembling an admiring crowd of these crea-
tures, which swim along the shore with their heads constantly above
the water, staring at the intruder. When one captures a pup of the
harbor seal the mother swims close to the shore with evident anxiety ;
but when the pup belongs to the other species the anxiety changes
places and falls on the captor, who must run fairly fast to make good
his escape.
XXVIII. cAda ^idoriana. no.
EDITORIAL STAFF, 1904-1905.
H. H, Cragg, '05, - - - - Editor-in-Chief.
Miss E. H. Patters jn, '^sIt-^^^^^ Miss E. M. Keys, '06. W^^^i
A. E. Elliott, '05 |i.iterary. ^ ^ Hewitt. '06. |ivOcais.
J. S. Bennett, '05, Personals and Exchanges.
W. k. GiFFORD, B.A., Missionary and Religious.
F. C. Bowman. '06. Scientific. :\[. C. Lane. '06. Athletics.
BOARD OF management:
E. W. Morgan. '05. ... - Business Manager.
J. N Tribble, '07. H F. Woodsworth. '07,
Assistant Business Manager. Secretary.
Advisory Committee:
Prof. L. E. Horning. M.A., Ph.D. C. C. James, M.A..
Deputy INIinisterof Agriculture.
TE^.VIS: $1.03 A YcAR; SINGLE COPIES, 15 CENTS.
Contributions and exchanges should be sent to H. H. Cragg. Editor"
in-Chief, ^cta Victoriana ; business communications to E. W. Morgan,
Business Manager Acta Victoriana. Victoria University, Toronto.
lEbitonaL
Rev. \Vm. Dawson, of London, England, while in
THE COURAGE Brooklyn recently, delivered a sermon on the sub-
TO FORGET, ject, " The Courage to Forget," based on Paul's
famous words, " Forgetting the things which are
behind." He showed the necessity of forgetting the failures and sins
of the past if one were ever to succeed in life, and asserted that it
required a great deal of courage thus to forget. There is another side
to this great problem of forgetting which often requires as great
courage as does the former, viz , forgetting the successes ot life ; and,
perhaps, College men require to exercise courage in that way as much
as in the other. There is too often a tendency to be content with
our past achievements and rest on our oars. We need constantly to
remember that the world demands our best at all limes, and that that
best ought to become steadily better.
" Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp.
Or what is heaven for ?"
Paul's words may well serve us as a good New Year's resolution :
" Forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward unto
the things which are before, I press on toward the mark."
Acta Victoriana. 343
Our greatest annual function is now merely a mem-
THE CON- ory, but one which many of us will long recall with
VERSAZiONE. pleasure. The Committee in charge had certainly
exerted themselves to have every detail attended to
in order to make the evening thoroughly enjoyable, and it is much to
be regretted that other events transpired which greaily detracted from
the attendance. Yet that very fact probably tended in no small
degree to a fuller measure of enjoyment for those who were present.
There is one feature, however, in nearly all such events which is
greatly to be deplored, and was not absent in this. We refer to the
utter disregard on the part of the audience of the feelings of those
who are taking part in the concert. For most of the numbers excel-
lent attention was given, but when our Mandolin and Guitar Club
were giving their share of the programme many considered it a most
opportune time to engage in conversation. Such discourtesy is not
only annoying to those who do desire to listen, but must be very dis-
couraging to the performers. Even though there were no great merit
in their playing, common courtesy demanded that they should have a
patient hearing to show what they were capable of doing. Asa matter
of fact the members had worked long and arduously at their practices
and really merited attention. At the Conversat. last year the treat-
ment accorded to our Club was even worse than this year. What is
the cause of this? Is it not worthy of a hearing ? If so, future com-
mittees, in all fairness to the friends who support us, ought not to
engage it again. But few of us would be willing to admit the charge.
We have reason to be proud of our Mandolin and Guitar Club. The
lack of attention is due entirely to thoughtlessness, particularly on the
part of the students. We see the same lack of courtesy shown at
almost every public function in our College where instrumental music
is being rendered. Indeed it is now almost an insult to ask a pianist
to entertain us at an open meeting, for the announcement of that part
of the programme is almost invariably taken as a signal to engage in
tete-a-tetes. It surely is " time for a change."
Rev. Dr. Newell Dwight Hillis, in a recent article
MORAL entitled, "A Lord Shaftesbury for Brooklyn," seek-
EDUCATiON. ing an explanation of the lack of great leaders
and prominent men, declared that the decline of
leadership is largely traceable to the home. " Nothing is more start-
ling than the absolute decay of moral and religious instruction in
the family. The Christian life is a trade and occupation that has
to be learned. A child must be drilled, and drilled , and stil
344 Ada Victoriana.
drilled, in the Christian life if he is to become a leader in morals
and philosophy and reform. Even Huxley, in his plea for the
study of the Bible, finds the explanation of the lessening number of
great men in the lessened interest in these great religious themes that
feed greatness and heroism in the human heart. The time has come
when the moral instruction of the children is confined to a brief half-
hour upon one day in seven. Men who would not think for a moment
of allowing a neighbor to shape their boys' ideas of commerce have
no hesitancy in giving the training of conscience and the moral senti-
ments to any stranger in whose class the child may chance to be
placed."
The truth of these words is apparent to any intelligent observer.
The carelessness of parents in instructing their children is becoming
almost appalling. And if, as we believe, the greatness and stability of
a nation depend upon the character of its people and that, in turn,
upon the moral and religious teaching imparted, it becomes impera-
tive that the lack in the home should be, as far as possible, counter-
acted by the increased diligence of those "in whose classes the child
may chance to be placed." And yet how often we see the Sabbath-
school teachers treating their responsibility very lightly, putting no
preparation on their lessons, and depending so entirely upon their
helps for needed inspiration in imparting the truth that they almost
fear to raise their eyes from the printed questions lest they should
lose their place. Under such circumstances we can expect very little
moral strength to emanate from the Sabbath-schools.
It may seem to some out of place to discuss such a theme in a
college journal, yet college men are expected, and rightly so, to be
leaders wherever they are. And as leaders, if we stand for truth and
righteousness as we ought to, we must face this great problem some
day. Every intelligent man recognizes that " righteousness exalteth a
nation," but there can be very little righteousness in a nation where
the principles of righteousness are not the very foundation of the
education of the people. How are we going to ensure such education ?
It will take long years to get the parents to recognize their responsi-
bility, though we believe that must eventually be done. Meanwhile
we must have Sunday School teachers with sufficient interest in the
truths they are supposed to present to the growing minds to be willing
to devote enough time to its study to make it part of themselves.
Only thus can they instruct and influence others. It is a healthy sign
to see that the Sunday School teachers of Toronto Methodism have
realized the need of greater preparation and have engaged Rev. Dr.
Courtice to conduct normal classes for them, in which they take the
Ada Victoriana. 345
liveliest interest. Such teachers must inspire the coming generation
with a love of truth and righteousness. It is to be hoped that many
of these normal classes will be started throughout our c untry that
teachers may learn to assume the proper attitude toward the great
responsibilities laid upon them. And who should be more capable of
encouraging and conducting these normal classes than those who have
had the opp'jrtunities we enjoy ?
This youngest of our college societies is showing
THE ALMA beyond doubt that there is a place for it in our almost
MATER SOCIETY, overcrowdcd life. Already it has grappled with many
much discussed problems, and has shown a power to
meet many needs which have long been felt to be urgent, but which
no existent society was ready to cope with.
One of these was the securing, furnishing and maintaining of gen-
eral reading and reception rooms for the men students. It was mani-
festly wrong that a man should have no place to receive friends or to
sit down himselt, except in the Library, where conversation is forbid-
den, or in a class room from which he might be ousted at any minute.
Especially was the need for such rooms felt in justice to our science
students, who seldom or never in their course take a lecture in the
college building, and register with us only because of our denomina-
tional character, and the unquestioned value of our social life. To
keep these men as a broadening factor in our student life, and to meet
the charges of some of our ignorant detractors, who claim that we are
merely a theological institution, or a ladies' college ; the Alma
Mater Society has seriously faced the problem, and before the end of
the month will have two large rooms in the basement ready for use.
In spite of the fact that the Society has to undertake the whole
expense of installing the heating system, and renovating, decorating
and furnishing the rooms, it has been decided to do the whole work
in a substantial and artistic manner, to inspire the respect of the men
and insure against rough usage. The looms will be heated by hot
water ; the decorations will be in Oriental style, and the furniture
chiefly in weathered oak with upholsterings in pantasote and velours.
The total cost will exceed $1,000, of which about $600 is expected
from friends in the city, while the society is looking to graduates and
the friends of its present members to meet the remainder. It is hoped
that Mr. J. F. Knight, the chairman of the committee having the
matter in charge, may, through the kindness of our many friends, be
able to report at the formal opening of the rooms that the whole
expense of our undertaking has been met. a. e. e.
;46
Acta Victoriana.
EXCHANGES
C\V. WEFJB, '03, who was in attendance at Queen's last year, is
. finishing his theological studies at Knox.
W. H. Wood, '01, is taking a course in the Yale Divinity School.
E. FoRSTER, '03, Junior Assistant last year in the Chemical Labora-
tory, has succeeded Mr. C M. Carson as Assistant.
J. H. Faull, '98, University Lecturer in Botany, is now entitled to
write the letters Ph.D. after his name, having taken his degree at
Harvard, ^^'ith a view to the requirements of the Botanical Department
of the University, Dr. Faull spent some weeks before the year's work
began at the Universities oi Harvard and Pennsylvania, the Botanical
Gardens of New York, and the Marine Biological Station at Malpeque,
P.E.L The classification and labelling of the trees in the University
grounds was done under his direction.
Rev. a C. Courtice, M.A., D.D., was born at Prince Albert,
Ont., and educated at Toronto University, where, on graduating
in 1880, he took the Gold Medal in Philosophy. On taking his
B.D. degree from \'ictoria in 1885 he carried off the Sanford Gold
Medal, and in the same year was ordained to the ministry. He
was unusually successful as a pastor and preacher, and occupied
important pulpits until he became editor of the Christian Guardian
in 1894, a position he retained until 1902. He is well known for
his literary contributions to various periodicals, and for his interest
in social questions.
E. Benson, M.D., who graduated from Vic's old Medical School
in '66, died in the month of September at Winnipeg.
Miss L. E. V. Llovd is taking her post-graduate work at the Leland
Stanford Junior University, instead of at the University of California,
as we stated in our account of the class of '04.
Horace Davison, who was with the class of '01, is now Superin-
tendent for the Manufacturers' Life Assurance Company at Port of
Spain, Trinidad.
Acta Victoriana. 347
Douglas Thom, '00, is practising law at Regina.
George Morris, who entered with '06 and will be remembered as
one of the mighty men of valor in that class when, as freshmen, they
battled with the Sophomores, is now ranching and keeping store at
Gladys, Alta.
G. B. Henwood, '96, is practising law, and is a K.C. at Wetaskiwin,
Alta.
George Watson, late of the freshman year, is now a commercial
traveller in the West, with headquarters at Calgary.
Miss Sadie Bristol, '03, has been appointed to the Moderns De-
partment of Columbian College, New Westminster, B.C.
We are in receipt of a copy of the Saskatoon Pha-nix, the managing
editor of which is J. H. Holmes, '04. We congratulate Joe upon his
journalistic enterprise and success.
Rev Newton Bowles, '03, of Blanch River, paid a brief visit to
college halls just before the Christmas holidays.
On December 27th, Mrs. Simon Fennel), celebrated her looth
birthday at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Geo. O. Stanton, Mont-
real. She was born in Ireland in 1804, came to Canada in 1819 with
her father, Thomas McCamus, who settled in Cavan, Durham County.
In 1824 she was married at Cobourg. Her two sons were students at
Victoria in 1857 and 1859, and both are still living, one, Mr. James
Fennel], being a hardware merchant at Berlin, and the other, Rev.
Joseph Fennell, an Anglican clergyman at Hamifton.
Mr. John Richardson, who has for several years represented
East York in the Legislature, has retired, and been appointed Clerk
of the County of York. He was a student at Victoria in the sixties.
Mr. John Bell, K.C, of Belleville, after long years of honored
service as Chief Solicitor for the Grand Trunk Railway System, has
retired. He was a student at Victoria in the early days of '47 and '48.
His successor is Mr. W. H. Biggar, who, though not a graduate of
Victoria, has "good connections." His father was the late James
L. Biggar, one of the earliest students at Victoria, and his mother,
Miss Hodgins, a student of the Academy days, and sister of the
veteran Dr. J. G. Hodgins.
Rev. Dr. Davidson Macdonald, who died on January 3rd, and
who was for forty-one years connected with medical missions in Japan,
was a student at Victoria in the early sixties.
34^ Acta Victor iana.
Several Victoria graduates are candidates for the Ontario Legisla-
tive Assembly in the elections now pending, viz., J. W. St. John, B.A.,
'8i ; M.A., '84, LL.B. (Con.), in West York; W. A. Dowler, '80
(Lib.), in South Oxford; VV. L. Brewster, '82 (Con.), in South Brant;
" and F. M. Field, '84 (Con.), in West Northumberland.
In our sketch of Senator Kerr in the last issue, we gave the date of
his birth as 1836. The correct date is 1829.
Rev. Robert Hughes, C.T., '04, writes us that the Victoria
graduates of British Columbia are about to organize a "Victoria Club,"
so as to keep in touch with one another and with their Alma Mater —
a good idea, which other graduates elsewhere might adopt. Mr.
Hughes was lately awarded second place in a lecture competition
arranged by the Victoria League of England, through the London
Times, for his MSS. lecture on British Columbia. As the competition
was open to Britishers throughout the world, Robert deserves con-
gratulation.
The sympathy of the student body will go out to Miss E. L. Chubb,
'06, whose mother died recently in Toronto Junction, of diphtheria,
after a very short illness.
Miss Annie M, Smith, 02, is teaching Moderns in Port Perry High
School.
Weddings
In Stratford, on November 9th, Rev. W. H. Spence, of Lake Mills,
Iowa, who was for three years a member of Acta staff, took to wife
one of the most popular and gifted young ladies of the Classic City,
in the person of Miss Hope Morris. The ceremony was performed
by Rev. Dr. Langford, in whose church the bride was an energetic and
earnest worker. We are pleased to know that the abilities that brought
Will to the fore in college life have secured him a good charge in
Iowa, the land of his adoption. Acta joins Mr. and Mrs Spence's
many friends in best wishes for their success and happiness in their
new home.
A pretty and elaborate wedding took place in Lima, N.Y., on De-
cember 27th, when Miss Alma Clark, of that city, became the wife of
Cephis Guillet, B.A., '87, Ph.D., teacher of Modern Languages in the
Toronto Technical School. Dr. Guillet, after graduating from Vic-
toria, took post-graduate work at Harvard and Clark Universities, and
Ada Victo7'ia7ia. 349
is specially qualified on pedagogical lines. Dr. and Mrs. Guillet have
taken up their residence in Toronto, and have the good wishes of
many friends with whom Acta begs leave to join.
In Grace Church, Brampton, on December 28th, Miss Violet
Isabel, daughter of Mr. J. W. Main, and Rev. Robert Wallace
Dalgleish, B.A., B.D., of Carstairs, Alberta, were united in marriage
by Rev. R. N. Burns, B.A. The groom is a graduate in Arts of
McGill University, but took his theological work at Victoria in '01
and '02, and proved himself a good college man. His bride was one
of the most energetic workers in Grace Church and a valued member
of the choir. Mr. and Mrs. Dalgleish are followed to their home in
Alberta by the sincerest good wishes of all who know them.
We are pleased to make good some omissions from the list of sum-
mer weddings that appeared in our October number, which lack of
space prevented us from doing in our last number.
At Hamilton, on October 19th, Miss Sarah Mills, of that city,
was married to Rev. Thomas Poole, '97, pastor of the Methodist
Church, in Shefifield, Ont.
In London, on June 22nd, Miss Jennie Smith-Taylor and Rev.
Amos Thomas, '03, were married by Rev. R. D. Hamilton, of the
Wellington Street Church. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas are residing at the
Methodist parsonage at Kinglake.
On August 1 6th, in the Princess Street Methodist Church, Van-
couver, B.C., Rev. R. N. Powell, united in marriage Miss L. E. Teresa
Ryerson, formerly of Sunshine, Ont., and Lieut. Victor W. Odium, city
editor of the Vancouver World. Mr. Odium spent some three years
at Victoria with the Class of '03, and was one of the under-graduates
who represented Victoria in South Africa. After a honeymoon spent
in St. Louis and Toronto, the young couple returned to Vancouver,
where they now reside.
Exchanges
One of the brightest and most ably edited of the exchanges that
reaches us is The O. A. C. Review. Its neat and tasteful exterior is
always an index of good things to be found between the covers. Nor
is the subject matter of its articles confined to technical questions only;
we find in the last number to hand, among other articles of general in-
terest, a very clear resume of the causes of the Russo-Japanese war.
350 Acta Victoriana.
written by Mr. Nog-Tany, a native Japanese, in attendance at O. A. C.
The Christmas number of the J^eviezu is particularly deserving of praise
for its well-written articles and beautful cuts. An editorial suggestion is
that a Canadian College Journalists' Association be formed, after the
manner of that recently formed by the editors of American college
magazines, assembled in convention at St. Louis. The suggestion is
one worthy of consideration though there seem to be practical dififi-
culties in the way of its realization. The college paper is now a recog-
nized institution in every college of any note and its importance cannot
be denied. Nor is it to be doubted that college journalism would be
improved if editors and business managers could compare ideas and
ideals. On the other hand, college journals are not, as a rule, run with
any profit and could rarely afford to pay the expenses of delegates to
such a convention. Then, too, the personnel of the editorial boards
changes every year, so that the convention would be composed either
of inexperienced men or men about to lay aside the editorial quill.
These difficulties, however, are perhaps not insuperable, and we should
like to see a further discussion of the idea by our contemporaries.
Two articles that appeared in The Varsity a few weeks ago, one of
them entitled "Charon Redivivus," and one, "Co-education," ex-
cited a good deal of comment among the undergraduates of the
University. The former was a clever satire on some members both of
the staff and of the student body, written over the modest pen name of
"Oudeis, '05." The publication in The Varsity of the reflections on
the powers that be contained in this article, is sufficient indication
that the dissatisfaction with the situation of affairs in the University,
shown in the appearance of a number of letters in the public press,
has its counterpart within the walls of the University. The other article,
that on "Co-education," is a plaintive plea on behalf of the women
students, by "One of them." The writer believes in co-education
with the CO in large capitals. We do not believe that the majority of
women students in Toronto would subscribe to her sentiments, that
they chafe in "the humiliating position of co-eds," or that they feel
that they are " barely tolerated " because they are not admitted to
the men's literary societies and glee clubs. We know that it is not the
case in the federated colleges at least. Our distressed Co-ed, disap-
pointed that she cannot debate and sing with the men, perhaps fence
and play hockey with them, concludes her article very naively by
giving three cogent reasons why a Varsity man should marry a Varsity
woman ; it would be uncharitable, however, to suggest that this is One
of Them's idea of the end of co-education.
Ada Victoriana.
Zl^
We also wish to congratulate The Varsity on the issue of a very
interesting Christmas number. An article by Armstrong Black on ''The
Indebtedness of Tennyson," a story by Jean Blewett,a poem by Goldwin
Smith, and a translation into Greek verse of Tennyson's "Crossing the
Bar," by Principal Hutton, are among its most readable features.
The Presbyteria7i College /ournal is published by the students of
the Presbyterian College at Montreal, a fact which, perhaps, justifies
the exclusively theological character of its contents. The November
number contains an appreciation of the late Prof. Campbell, by Dr.
Ross, a former colleague. The Argument for Religion, by Dr. Fraser,
is logical and will commend itself to those who care for apologetic
reasoning. We cannot approve the false economy of the Journal in
disfiguring with an advertisement a front cover that would otherwise
be neat and unostentatious.
We are pleased to note that Vox Wesleyana continues to improve
both in size and quality. A commendable feature about Vox is the
fact that its different departments give an adequate reflection of every
phase of college activity, for, in our opinion, the college paper ought
to give expressions to all sides of college life. Students who are look-
ing forward to journalism will find, in the December number of Vox,
some interesting interviews with Winnipeg newspaper men on the
value of a university training for that kind of work.
We gladly welcome as a new exchange the Acadia Athenceum.
Our Blue nose contemporary is bright and readable.
ALONG THE G. T. R. SYSTEM.
352
Acta Victoyiana.
1 RELIGIOUS
V
The Personal Consecration of the Individual
BY C. B. KEENLEVSIDE, '92.
" Find your place in the world and then burn to the socket." — Principal Hastings, to his
Graduating Class.
THE campaign shall yet be won and Jesus crowned as King from
the rivers to the ends Of the earth. But victory lingers. The
King tarries. The Eastern skies are not yet aglow with the dawn.
Nay, midnight is still upon us. Heavy are the burdens and dim grow
the eyes of the watchers. And why ? As the Lord liveth before
whom we stand ours is the blame. We have forsaken the command-
ments of Jehovah.
His orders are : — " Seek ye first His Kingdom." And we disobey.
We seek our own kingdom first. If we have any spare strength or
time or loose change left, that goes to His Kingdom. And this is
God's truth.
It ought not to be, but every soul redeemed by the blood of Jesus,
saved by His sacrifice, born by the second birth into His army, ought
to be out and out, body, soul and baggage, in the campaign for the
coming of the Kingdom.
The idle and selfish camp-followers do more harm to an army than
the enemy's quick-firing or long range guns. Only the soldier who
holds himself ready to go down to the firing line, garrison the forts or
guard the supplies, as the leader may command, is of value to the
flag. All others bring ruin to the army and shame to its banners.
And in the army of Jehovah the conditions in no wise differ.
Every soldier ought to be willing to go or to stay, to be or to do, as
He commands. When that time comes, then lift up your eyes to
the East, for lo ! the skies will be lurid with the coming dawn.
Thus, and thus alone, can the world be evangelized in our genera-
tion. Let every Christian, yes, or every second Christian, hearken to
God's command given through His servant Paul (Phil. 2. 5) : " Have
this mind in you that was also in Christ Jesus, who, existing in the
Ac fa Victoriana. 353
form of God, counted the being on an equality with God not a thing
to be grasped, but emptied himself."
Let us do this. It is Jehovah's will, for we were foreordained to be
conformed to the image of His Son. Let us do it, and oh, what a
tale the twentieth century will tell of victory for the Cross.
The first and greatest of Christ's missionaries, who had much of the
mind of the Master, said (Phil. 3. 7) — "What things were gain to
me these have I counted loss for Christ ; yea, I count all things to be
loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord ;
for whom I suffer the loss of all things and do count them but refuse
that I may gain Christ.
Before God, my brother, you and I bear as great a responsibility to
spread the gospel as did St. Paul.
If we but had the spirit and zeal of that immortal man, the record of
shame and unfaithfulness now being written by the Christian Church
would end in one grand burst of victory and one eternal hallelujah.
Jesus said (Luke 14. 33): " Whosoever he be of you that renounceth
not all that he hath he cannot be my disciple."
" Whosoever " of a certainty includes you and me.
We cannot too strongly emphasize this, for our failure during
nineteen hundred years may be traced to the fact that the individual
Christian has not felt his personal responsibility to be out and out,
body, spirit, soul and baggage, in the campaign. Too many of us, I
fear, are like one or the other of two children well known to the writer.
There is a little maiden, barely five, to whom the writer was talking
about missions. He told her how Jesus commanded His followers,
just before He went to heaven, to go all over the world and tell all the
men and women everywhere, and the little boys and girls about Him,
and about the heaven Hs was preparing, so that they might love Him
and go with Him to heaven. " And do you know," said he, " ihey
haven't done it, and so there are millions of little boys and girls who
have never heard of Jesus."
And then, to interest her still further, he said : " And we are trying
to get a number of good men and women to go and tell these little
boys and girls and their fathers and mothers about Jesus, so that
when you and your little brother and sister, and father and mother
get to heaven, all these little boys and girls and their fathers and
mothers will be there, too. Won't that be splendid ? "
And she raised herself on her elbow, with eyes fairly dancing with
joy at the prospect, and said, " Oh, yes \ but father, don't you send
them all a ticket through the post ? "
354 Acta Victoriana.
How like that is to the plan we adopt. We do not send them a
ticket through the post, but we Christians who have received eternal
life at the pierced hand of Jesus, we give the price of one concert
ticket each to save a billion heathen. And the dismal part of it is we
are content so to do ; nay, rather we are proud of our givings, and
seem really to think that we are generous.
There is a little boy who came into possession of a few coppers not
long ago and at once set off with a business-like air down the street.
To his mother's question as to where he was going, he replied, "To
the grocery store for candy."
" But George," said his mother, " hadn't you better save the money
for the missionaries ? "
Now, he had been well taught, and therefore sympathized with the
missionaries, and did not want them to suffer, but he was only a boy,
and so wanted the candy and wanted it badly.
He was puzzled. His face showed it. But a bright idea struck
him and he looked up with a smile and said : " Oh, that will be all
right, mother ; I'll tell Mr. Van Luven, the grocery man, to give the
money to the missionaries."
And so we wish the heathen well and would like to see them saved,
and we are in favor of foreign missions and want more missionaries
sent out and all that, yet we do so want the sugar sticks that are so
dear to maturer years.
I do not mind confessing that my hope lies, not in the well-to do
and the rich, in the middle-aged and the elderly, bur, under God, in
the children and the youth of the country.
By middle life a man's mode of thought is fixed, his habits formed,
and in many cases avarice has fastened its deadly fangs upon his soul.
But the young, like the plastic sea beach of ages past, are open lo
impressions which time will harden into the solid rock of holy living
and unshaken conviction.
Therefore, I write unto you, young men, because you are strong and
free from the demon of avarice. Your life, with all its infinite
capacities and boundless possibilities, lies before you.
Ah, my brother, this is your day of visitation. This is your
opportunity. Not since the days of Peter and John have young men
and women faced such a glorious call. No other generation since
Christ has stood under such pricele.^s burdens, or had opening before
it such visions of wondrous glory.
You have only one life. Make the most of it. Make it tell for the
Kingdom.
Acta Victoriana. 355
Notes from Anneslry Hall.
Two well-known Christian workers visited the Hall last term —
Mrs. Thurston and Miss Rouse.
The former, a graduate of Mt. Holyoke, spent some years missioning
in Persia and China, and is now a travelling secretary for the Student
Volunteer Movement. The story of her own work and her plea for
mission work will not be forgotten.
Miss Rouse, a graduate of Girton, and at present a secretary of the
World's Student Christian Federation, brought a story of Christian
student life and work in many lands. She addressed the women
students of University College, Victoria College and several of the
ladies' colleges. The residents of Annesley Hall were especially
favored, as she made her home with them and was always ready to
talk with the girls individually, or in groups. a. e. d.
John R. Mott was with us again — strong, logical, searching
Pauline. He came at the close of the week of prayer. It had been
a good week, and we were looking for results to appear. Mott held
men's meetings in Wycliffe Convocation Hall on Saturday, Sunday
and Monday evenings, preached the University sermon on Sunday,
and addressed the women students on Monday afternoon. Many
men will always remember the Sunday evening meeting. It was
grand. More than ninety men entered upon a new life.
Every Vic. man and woman ought to attend the College Missionary
Conference, January 20th to 22nd. A wider outlook, a larger
opportunity, and a truer life purpose are large returns from the invest-
ment of two days. Besides, the missionary work has an undeniable
claim upon us. Consult the programme.
The Y. M. C. A. has organized a department for evangelistic work
outside the college. On one Sunday evening recently the services in
three of the city churches were conducted by bands of Victoria men.
When possible the men are visiting churches outside the city also,
and during the first two weeks of January a successful campaign was
conducted in First Methodist Church, London. Mr. E. S. Bishop
has the work in charge, and with him are associated as leaders,
E. W. Wallace, B.A., and W. A. GifTord, B.A.
356
Ada Victoriana.
QCAL
T'
'HE frost is here, the fuel is dear ;
The woods are sere, and the fires burn clear ;
The frost is here, and has bitten the heel of the going year.
— Tennyson.
" The Tempest." — Resolved, That I will never again absent
myself from prayers. — ist yr. C. T.
"Measure for Measure." — Resolved, That I will not go to Shea's
any more — after leaving College. — 2nd yr. C. T.
"Comedy ot Errors." — Resolved : i. That I will give up milk diet.
2. That I will skip one lecture a week. 3. That I will have my
revenge on '09. — Freshman.
"Much Ado About Nothing." — Resolved : i. That I will not work
between meals. 2. That I will begin to use calling cards. — Sophomore.
"As You Like It." — Resolved: i. That resolutions are a bore.
2. That I will not make any. 3. That I will be popular. — Junior.
"All's Well That End's Well."— Resolved : i. That I will be
good. 2. That I will wake up. 3. That I will be dignified. 4. That
I cannot get married just yet. 5. That I will decide what I am going
to be. 6. That I will take first-class honors ; — and ninety-four others
for which we haven't room. — Senior.
" A Mid-Winter Night's Dream." — Resolved, That I shall ad-
vance by degrees. — B.D.
When Robby and Boots again partake of walnuts, lemon sour,
raspberry tarts, and " nice big, green bulls'-eyes," all within an hour,
the institution hopes to be able to offer better facilities as an emer-
gency hospital.
Someone reports seeing Booth on his way to dinner with a list of
Arabic roots in one hand and a dyspepsia tablet in the other.
C. D. H. (packing up) — "There'll be something doing in the
wash tub when I get home."
Acta Victoriana. 357
Dr. Potts having prayed for rain at the evening service, December
1 8th, escaped from the city Monday morning before the Rink
Committee could register a protest. And it rained.
Mr. Geo. G. Stephenson, now on circuit, and Rev. Bert Dal-
gleish, B.A., from Alberta, made us a visit lately.
If the Conversat is rightly called the social function of Victoria,
everyone will agree that we are justly proud of this year's event. The
whole affair was conducted with a harmony and charm which
reflected credit on the Committee. Especially delightful were the
concert numbers. The Glee and Mandolin-Guitar Clubs achieved a
brilliant success ; the other talent was of a high order and equally
appreciated.
An amusing story is told of a young lady who apparently came
unaccompanied. Having purchased a ticket, when the caterer offered
to relieve her of it, she cordially grasped his extended hand and was
" pleased to meet him."
Junior co-ed (as the bugle announces a new promenade) — "There's
the call to arms."
Madame President (after the Conversat) — " I tried so hard to be
dignified and to behave myself, but once I went and sat behind a
door."
Miss P-tter-n, '06 (speaking of the Scotch representative) — "Yes,
Ned brought him over from Athens." Her Senior Sister — " Oh ! is
he one of the Egyptian curios ? "
The room where limelight views were exhibited proved to be a
popular rendezvous. It was dark there.
Someone to Jenkins — " I hear you're in love, Jenks." Jenkins —
" Oh ! I know where you've been. Over to the Hall to see Miss ."
"No, I haven't." " But you must have been ; she's the only one that
knew it."
Kelly — " There's a thought which hasn't struck you yet.''
The following bulletin lately appeared : " Notice — A good dog to
be given away, suitable to a country home." (Signed) Robert.
On the night of Wednesday, December 7th, the Woman's Literary
Society held its open meeting. The business was good and expediti-
ously despatched. In the literary session interesting papers were read
on " Foreign and British Universities," which received merited appre-
ciation. The event was unprecedentedly successful. The Kid's Corner,
as ever, filled in the gaps with happy hits at the Ladies' Gallery.
358 Ada Vicioriana.
" Red as a rose is, Stapleford's nose is."
The Chancellor came back from the front pew to sit in the Corner.
They were so orderly.
Prof. Robertson to Dr. Horning (on seeing their engravings facing
each other in Xmas Acta, with the text re Dr. H. ) — " ' He has the
power in an eminent degree of clothing dry bones with flesh and
blood.' How do you do it, Horning? Give me the recipe."
On the evening of Dtcember 5th the Glee Club and Symphony
Orchestra gave a successful concert in the Town Hall, Acton, before
a large and enthusiastic audience. It is fair to say that a large share
of the success is due to Mr. E. J. Moore, whose home is in Acton.
Several amusing incidents occurred at the concert. The first
number was scarcely concluded when a bouquet of carnations was
brought up to the platform inscribed, " F. J. Price, B.A., from two
ladies of short acquaintance.^'' These are talented and vivacious mem-
bers of the teaching profession, who reside at the home where Mr.
Price was entertained. Later, while the club was singing, "By the
Light of the Moon," the audience (and Teddy Moore) were surprised
by a stanza ending " When we haven't Teddy any more, Oh my, my,
how we'll weep. By the Light," etc. Needless to say it made a hit.
A little child in the audience sent up a vigorous protest while " Doan
Ye Cry, Ma Honey '' was being rendered.
Our estimable Juniors seem to merit beyond all equivocation their
distinctive characteristic, originality, self-arrogated as it is. Instead of
the stereotyped promenade concert, their annual reception this year
took the form of a masquerade. The afifair was exclusive, and held at
the home of Miss Ashall, who extended her hospitality to the class.
Some amusing incidents have come to our ears. Adams, who was
masked complete as witch, rode in one of the carriages furnished for
the ladies, but gave it away by his chuckling. Gus Shaver, who also
was attired a lafemme, was escorted thither by Mark, whom he utterly
scandalized by his unladylike conduct. Boarding a crowded street
car, a man (deluded mortal !) politely offered the personation his seat.
The last meeting' of the Union Lit. for the fall term, with a good
literary programme, spicy business, election of ofificers, and "bun
feed," could not but be enjoyable. There was added interest in the
fact that several recent graduates were present, Messrs. Aikins, Rees,
Gray and Ogden, who, by recounting reminiscences, made bearable
the otherwise tedious delay of the election returns. There having
arisen a suspicion amounting almost to certainty that the scrutineers,
Acta Victoriana. 359
and others whom we may term bucaneers, were devastating the pro-
visions deposited in the annex, it was moved that Messrs. Trueman
and Bennett be a committee to investigate the alleged piracy. An
additional clause was proposed that they be muzzled before being
turned loose. The Speaker objected to this for the (spurious) scrip-
tural reason, " Thou shalt not muzzle the ox nor the ass," etc. One
of the committee named instantly claimed to be the ox, on the ground
that Balaam had only one ass ; to which it was replied that he, in the
nature of the case, must be the ass, because he was the one that kicked.
Pursuant of the order-in-council of the Alma Mater Society, several
consignments of books, bags, etc., were removed from the window at
the side entrance. Colliss, "08, (meeting A. D. Miller in hall) —
"Who took my books?" Miller (in explanation) — "The notice
says " C. (carried away with indignation) — "If you've got those
books, Miller, produce them at once ! "
FuLLERTON whiles away the time in Dr. Reynar's lectures by writing
couplets, e.g. (taken directly from his note-book) — " All people that on
earth do dwell. Come join in our delicious throng."
Trench, '08 (at lecture in Greek)—" Epi — ep— ,eh~ Dad ! I don't
know what it is."
Jerry was a trifle uncertain regarding the identity of one of the
girls who entered the rink with a bunch of freshettes ; so looking into
the ladies' apartment he caught her eye, and the following dialogue
took place : He — " Victoria ? " She—" No, Marguerite ! "
Mjss Van A — ne, '05 — " I wish someone would solve the problem
of cold hands " (To a Junior, but she wouldn't let him.)
Miller, '08 {re essay) — " The Prof, said my matter was good, but
my form poor."
Bennett (after the Med. Coll. At Home) — "I enjoyed it better
after I got into the swing of it." How are the mighty fallen !
Nancekeville (after trip to the Hall) — "Yes, I know the dog, but
he didn't remember tne."
Among the ladies Friday, December i6th, saw the closing frivolity
of the Michaelmas Term, the '05 luncheon. As the guests entered
the reception-room, softly brilliant with myriad lights, dimly shining
beneath elaborate decorations of holly, they were received by the
President of the class. Miss Walker, and the remaining members, with
the exception of Miss Spence, who, in stentorian tones, announced
through an improved and artistic megaphone the arrivals. After it
360 Acta Victoriana.
was over, and the last toast drunk (the nectar of the gods wasn't in it
with that Hquor), as we peeped into the recesses of our snowballs we
appreciated the fitness of Miss Thompson's words concerning our
hostesses,
" To those who kn^w them not, no words can paint ;
Those who know them know all words are faint."
Armstrong, '07 (to a couple of Sophettes) — " Which one of you
wants to skate with me ? " (Strange lack of avidity to seize the oppor-
tunity. It takes more than an Ar7fiy to capture two Sophettes.)
What might have been. Hurrah for the Rink Committee ! How-
ever, one plan did not pan out. It emanated from the fertile brain of
the secretary, whence many of the other more successful schemes have
issued. There was to have been a special hockey rink for ladies' col-
leges, with a ten-foot board fence. Here in nun-like seclusion the
dear girls might gambol while their jealous governesses did picket duty
at the knot-holes. Still it is possible that a few secret orifices might
have been bored where, for a small consideration, the curious could
have enjoyed the peep show. But, after the most fetching letters had
been despatched, the replies did not, alas ! warrant the prosecution of
the scheme.
Overheard on the rink, — "What a luscious armful ! " " He skates
like a pair of stilts." " She takes the curves like an automobile."
" Did you see the ice rise up and smite me." " I could feel her heart
beating through my coat-sleeve."
We copy the following from a post-card : " Kindly send me a pro-
spectus of the Scotch Widow's Fund, and particulars of the Societies
Life Assurance." (Signed) M. E. Conron.
This year's oration contest was by no means a misnomer. The
standard of oratory educed v/as very high, and the whole affair inter-
esting and profitable. The speakers were : A. R. Maunders, who
chose as his subject, "Citizenship"; J. McCormick, B. A., who spoke
on "The Power of an Idea"; G. E. Trueman, on " The Rise of
Japan"; F. J. Johnston, B.A., on "The White Slaves"; G. J. A.
Reaney, on '^ Our Country"; and E. W. Stapleford, on "One of the
Underlying Principles of Missions." The judges, Rev. Drs. Smith and
Badgley, and Hon. Mr. Justice Maclaren, awarded the prize to Mr.
Reaney.
Mr. G. A. Archibald gave a reception to the members of his
class, '06, at his home on the evening of December 15th.
Acta Victoriana. 361
The prospect of going home, with the world of meaning which
attaches to this event at Xmas-tide, set loose the too long fettered
spirits of the men on Tuesday, December 20th, when all comers,
including the B.D.'s, were initiated into a new order of mysteries by a
ride on a broomstick.
It seems that in a moment of apple-pie weakness, Jane made a pro-
fession to one of the waitresses at the Elm. Not sitting regularly at
her table, when those who do were preparing to give her a Xmas pre-
sent, Jane's speech cost him 50c. Other men have said less and paid
$5,000.
We hope the recording secretary of the Woman's Lit. will find her
breath before the end of the year. It would avoid a certain amount
of bald repetition in the critics report.
Here's a tale of the hermit Cohoon,
Who plugs by the light of the moon ;
Said he, " It's a bore, all this classical lore.
But a boon to a coon about June."
The following representatives were lately sent to outside functions :
G. A. Cruise, to the Lady Meds At Home ; W. J. Salter, to the Den-
tal School ; J. S. Bennett, to the Medical School ; W. G. Connolly, to
Queen's ; T. P. Campbell, to the Arts Dinner ; J. A. Spenceley, to
McMaster Dinner.
They were sitting in an ice-cream parlor.
Dave — " What will you have. Miss ?"
Miss — "I will take a David Harum, please."
Dave — " How about a David Hewitt ?" — and they had met only
three days before. Business Manager.
ALONG the G. T. R. SYSTEM.
Acta Victoriana.
m-A-^-'4r-
DAME FORTUNE has favored the members of the Rink Com-
mittee with a smile which, though chilly, is so truly beneficent
that their hearts are beating high with hopes of an unprecedented
success. The skating season opened unusually early this year, and
the prompt and efficient action of the management in taking immedi-
ate advantage of the opportunity is a sufficient guarantee of a satis-
factory treasurer's report in the spring. Aside from the present
advantages derived from the business-like operations of a capable
committee, there is another and more important one — that outsiders,
individuals and clubs, interested, will have perfect confidence in the
stability and permanence of this annual enterprise, and have assurance
of thoroughly satisfactory treatment. The committee has received as
many applications for "ice" as they can well handle, and the finan-
cial basis thus afforded is a perfectly adequate one.
Victoria's Athletic Union is the wealthiest, or rather the least poor,
of her many organizations, and^the rink is practically her sole source
of supplies, as, unfortunately, her foot-ball teams, unlike those of
other universities, are never blessed with the patronage they so un-
doubtedly merit, and rarely clear more than sixty cents in gate
receipts. For this reason let everyone take an active interest in the
rink, and talk about it when they are out.
The old reliable Jerry is again on duty, and his care of things in
general is most paternal. Incidentally, the necessity of a very care-
ful selection in the appointment of the rink committee is quite obvious ;
the men behind the wicket, the receiving tellers, are marvellous draw-
ing cards, for their ability to smile seems infinite. Surely some of
these men have missed their vocation — had a mistaken call.
Note. — Robert is plying a brisk trade in sharpening skates. (This
is not an advertisement.)
It may be well to say here that the proceeds from the rink will be
of material import in the erection of a gymnasium should one ever be
built. In this regard it is hard to express doubt, and yet what else
can be done when it seems that various members of the student body
Acta Victoriana. 363
and of the faculty believe that the installation of Whitely exercisers in
the rooms of the various students, and of a large wash-tub in the
dressing room, would meet all requirements. We might at least add
a lung-tester and a sponge.
It is to be devoutly hoped that Varsity's recent victories over Yale
presage for her a dignified hockey campaign this year, just to relieve a
little the humiliation suffered last winter. Of course, we cannot tell
whether she has undergone a change of form or simply met a second-
rate antagonist in the American College, but let us hope for the former.
Surely the editor of this column will be pardoned if he refrains from
all prophesying in connection with the hockey team. Owing to some
misunderstanding, a slight mistake was made last fall with regard to
a Rugby championship, by which he was proved a false prophet, and
the feeling of chagrin has not entirely passed away. However, it is
safe to say that prospects were never better, for pucks and sticks are
even lower in price than they have been in the past, and so there is no
pecuniary reason why the boys should not win out.
A vast amount of interest is centred upon the Ladies' Hockey
Team this season. From varied and interesting conversations we
learn that the Misses McLaren, Hunter, and Bearman are attaching
new glory unto themselves every day, and that these, together with our
other tried and proved players, should constitute an absolutely invin-
cible seven. For some occult reason there is evidently some misunder-
standing among three of the boys as to who is the real coach of the
team. We understood that W. G. Connolly had resigned the position
— an almost impossible action — and yet he seems to be taking much
more than a passive interest in it. Reggie Davidson is the legal
trainer, yet it appears that his rights have been usurped by S. G. Mills ;
Stan, admitted that he had on several occasions been handing out
gratis hints on scientific checking to the fair stick-handlers. We would
suggest that these three gentlemen come to some definite understand-
ing by mutual self-sacrifice.
Mr. Douglas Henderson has just had installed a plant for heating
his locker. It is not of ordinary construction and yet we cannot
believe that it is altogether new, for we have memories of a remote past
in which similar contrivances were used. We welcome the innova-
tion joyously, as it forms the one bright spot in the dressing room,
and Mr. Henderson is generous enough to allow us to watch it.
Besides the dressing room is very cold, and this machine looks so
really and truly warm that, with a strong imagination, one can almost
believe himself comfortable. Talk about progress.
IX
Acta Victoriana.
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ACTA VICTORIANA
Published Monthly during the College Year by the Union Literary
Society of Victoria University, Toronto.
Vol. XXVIII. TORONTO, FEBRUARY, 1905. No. 5.
J\[eighbors
All day within the mine's deep grave,
Amidst the heat and gloom he bore
Right valiantly, a willing slave,
And won a little heap of ore.
His neighbor on the hill-top stood
And let the winds blow on his face.
Or roamed within the silent wood,
Lost in the beauty of the place.
Of nature's handicraft a few
Frail blossoms gathered by the way.
Some grasses and a shell or two
Were all he had at close of day.
Adjudge, ye wise, which of the twain
On that sweet summer day won most.
How shall we measure loss or gain ?
On what achievement make our boast ?
Oh, is there not a place for each ?
One wins his soul by sweat of brow,
Another by the inner reach,
And God hath need of both, I trow .
c.
366
Ai'fa I ^icforiana.
The War As Seen from Hiroshima
BY \VM. ELLIOTT.
HIROSHniA (he-ro-she-ma), a city of 130,000 people, is
situated on the south-western coast of the main island of
Japan, about half-way between the well-known " treaty port " of
Kobe (ko-o-bay) and the famous Shimonoseki (she-mo-no-
sav-ke) Straits. It is built on the delta of a seven-mouthed
river, which empties, more than a mile beyond, into a bay of
the beautiful Inland Sea. The deepest part of this bay consti-
IN FULL KIT.
(Drawn by Japanese boy of fifteen years.)
tutes the harbor of Ujina (00-je-na), where large steamers can
come close up to the coast to a village of the same name.
Both the city and the port assumed unusual importance with
the outbreak of hostilities last February. And, in fact, before
that ; for, as everybody now knows, the clash of arms was by no
means unexpected on this side of the Japan Sea. Almost simul-
taneously with the first war news — of the exciting fate of the
Koreetz, Varyag, and other Russian vessels — we learned that
our harbor was already full of transports, and its village
'Ida i^ictoriana.
67
enlarged and enlivened by the erection of six large storehouses
and the filling of them Avith tons of rice and other provisions ;
that enormous quantities of horse-fodder had also been accumu-
lated and placed under cover; that whole regiments of soldiers
had been sent through under our very noses, but so secretly and
quietly that the fact broke upon us like a revelation.
\\^ith the first report of naval success, however, and the formal
declaration of war, military activity became open, and, though
never noisy or spectacular, very stirring and impressive in both
city and port ; for this is the chief point for the muster, training
and despatch of troops. The Fifth Division — the local garrison
ARMY AND HOSPITAL SURGEONS AND NURSES.
(The nurses are both American and Japanese.)
— welcomed in rapid succession the Imperial Body Guard and
three other divisions, so that at one time there were nearly
100.000 soldiers here, quartered on the citizens and in barracks,
hotels, temples, everywhere, until every available space was
full to overflowing; while thousands of horses pawed and
whinnied in temporary stables or tied to posts in the open ; and
parade grounds, school grounds, and many other places specially
utilized, were covered with field guns, pontoon boats and their
waggons, and other waggons bearing electrical fittings, ammuni-
tion, and all the varied apparatus of modern warfare.
o
68 Ac/a Victoriana.
In a few weeks Hiroshima and Ujina were joined by a mile
of new shops and other buildings erected on either side of the
main road. At the latter extensive docks and freight sheds, also
recently built, are alive with men and women almost day and
night, transferring goods from trains to junks, from which they
are passed on to the transports. To us one of the most interest-
ing sights is the hoisting of horses by cranes from the junks
up over the sides of the transports, and the lowering of them
down within. Their feet are covered with woven straw, so that
they may inflict less injury on each other.
The good order and respectful bearing of our swarthy knights
of the gun is marvellous, surely unexcelled, if equalled, the world
over. The social evil, no doubt, prevails to a considerable
extent — at least, did prevail early in the campaign, before strict
regulations were put in force to stop it. But drunkenness is
quite rare ; and even when drunk the men are wonderfully
harmless. Foreign women walk freely along past thousands of
them on the streets, and almost never, even when off drill, are
they guilty of any objectionable utterance or suggestion. How
far this is due to a suppostion that all these foreigners are Eng-
lish-spoken, I know not. Certain it is that just now the Anglo-
Saxon peoples ^re in their eyes " all right." This sometimes
comes out in unexpected ways. On a recent Sunday, while on
my way from church, a stranger soldier overtook me, and sud-
denly shot me with —
"igirisu ?" (English?)
" Hai " (yes), I said, thinking it unnecessary to be more
explicit as to my native land. Immediately he gently pressed
my little girl's hand out of mine, and heartily shook it — my
left hand — as it hung by my side, before I fairly realized what
he was doing. It was onl}- a few days later that my wife was
suddenly accosted, in a railway station, by a tipsy marine :
"Are you Englishman ?"
" No (tentatively) ; I'm not a man at all. I'm a woman."
This, however, proved too deep a plunge into English for the
daring fellow, and he simply rejoined, " I am very like English-
man " (fond of Englishmen), and went on his happy way.
It is simple justice to say that Japan never forgets her alliance
with England, and her duty to try to live up to it. Even the boys
think of it constantly, with pride and high purpose.
Acta Victoriana.
369
Japan's care of her sick and wounded is a first study by many
at home, as well as by an unusual number of globe-trotters here.
Happily it is a first study also with the local government : and,
happily for Christianity, the chief organization is the Red Cross
Society. Not. indeed, ostensibly chosen as a Christian organiza-
tion, but practically Christian neyertheless, and a mighty John
the Baptist to the larger coming of Jesus Christ to these islands.
Not strange, then, that its Hiroshima head is a Christian, and
that all its chief nurses sent to the front are Christians. In
fact, it ' may be parenthetically added, all the official inter-
preters belong to the same class, deliberately selected by the
DR. M'GEE, WOUNDED OFFICERS AND NURSES.
military authorities, because in the campaign ten years ago many
interpreters proved too susceptible to alcoholic persuasion and
gave away too many army secrets.
The Red Cross Society here is an imperial institution, sup-
ported partly from the national treasury and partly by private
subscription. There are many life members, who pay a single
fee of $12.50, or ten annual fees cvf $1.50. The president and
all the chief officers are of high rank, and the society is rich,
strong, and finely equipped and managed. It has two excellent
hospital ships of its own, which were ample at first to bring
370 Ada Victoriana.
home all who had been rendered unfit for service ; though, later,
more than twice as many more were chartered, and, still more
recently, in addition to what all these can accommodate, each
transport, on its return journey, has brought hundreds of pitiable
heroes from the field — enough to more than crowd all the mili-
tary hospitals in the. land. The delectable glories of war!
The Hiroshima hospital consists of eight divisions, in various
parts of the city, each of which has from ten to fifty wards.
These are single, separate buildings, with cots for between forty-
five and fifty patients, ^^"hat impressed me most — next to the
pitiable glory aforesaid, and I have not been into even the ante-
chamber of the "hell" of war — is the roominess and cleanliness,
the thoroughness and efficiency, manifest ever3^where, whether
on hospital ship or in city ward. The directors have been sadly
puzzled to find room for the newer buildings ; yet, resolute
against anything like half measures, they keep right up to date,
and challenge the admiration of everybody ; including, among
others. Dr. ^McGee — daughter of the well-known astron-
omer, Newcomb — and the nine American nurses associated with
her. And they have had the best opportunities for judging.
They have all been as far as Manchuria by hospital ship, and
have just completed their six months' engagement — most of it
in practical everyday work — seven days a week — in the wards
of this city. Each woman is quite proficient in her own line, and
they are thoroughly competent judges of what is being done.
Their praise of it is unstinted.
It has been a rare privilege to be in close touch w-ith these
ladies socially ; while to see them dressing the head of this grate-
ful Japanese, the knee of that, or the poor riddled body of an-
other, has been a beautiful object lesson in what is at once the
best in humanity, and the final test of acknowledged fellowship
with divinity. " Inasmuch as unto these least, unto Me." Their
doing has evidentlv been Verv largelv unto Him.
A very happy thought, indeed, the sending of these nurses, and
one that has worked out very smoothly and successfully! En-
thusiastically welcomed and feasted when they came, they are
now", in the middle of October, being most warmly feasted and
farewelled. . It is by no means simply a question of help ren-
dered the local Red Cross, though that, too, will bear close
inquiry. It is the fact that America and Japan are further
Ac^a Victoriana.
371
bound together by one of the strongest bonds, the noblest phil-
anthropic principles given an outstanding illustration, the world-
spirit broadened and bettered.
Earnest, systematic effort is being made to utilize a unique
opportunity for Christian work in the hospitals. Books, Scrip-
ture portions, tracts, flowers, etc., are given, and special services
are held. Now, a baby organ is taken from ward to ward, and
a little playing and singing is done ; then the paiients who are
able are gathered into the " social room " to hear short, crisp
addresses and prayer, in addition to the music ; and, again, per-
sonal heart-to-heart conversation is held with the men in their
MINERAL BATH HOUSE, MATSUYAMA.
(For Kussiaii sick and wounded.)
cots. Most of the patients are very grateful. A few days ago,
as one of our ladies approached a poor, emaciated fellow, he
strained eagerly towards her, tears ran down his cheeks, and
after an effort, she caught the words, " Sambika — ga — arimasu
— ko?" (Have you a hymn-book?) — it is close to the Bible in the
estimation of the Japanese. Not that he was a Christian, but
he knew a little about " the way," and was hungry to know more.
A few days earlier I had something like the following conver-
sation with an officer :
" Can you speak English ?"
372 Acta Victoriana.
" Yes, a little."
My wife then handed him a Christian paper from Canada.
" Thank you," he said, heartily. " We are very glad to get
reading matter to pass away the time. I am a graduate i)f a
mission school in Tokio. Later, I graduated from the Sapporo
Agricultural College ; and I am now, when off duty, a teacher in
the Yamaguchi Agricultural School. My name is Koma. I
am a nephew of Count Hirosawa. I've been here about three
months. I've lost a leg," and he showed us a very short stump.
" But I am nearly well now, and will soon be out."
" What mission school did you graduate from in Tokio?"
" The Azabu Toyo Eiwa Gakko, connected with the Canadian
Methodist Mission."
"Oh. indeed! We are Canadians and Methodists, and know
that school very well. Did you know Dr. Cochrane?"
" Yes ; and Wx. Large, and i\Ir. Whittington. and i\Ir. Saun-
by." And we found that he was a faithful Christian — good fruit
cultivated by noble men who were wont to sow beside all waters.
Most of the Russian prisoners are not far away — at IMatsu-
yama, in Shikoku. They are well cared for, and are given much
freedom. I have not seen them. But I saw here, through car
windows, over five hundred men, of those gallantly rescued by
Admiral Kamimura after the sinking of the Riirik , and I have
also seen over a hundred army prisoners. The former were
fair, average-looking men, but the latter appeared unexpectedly
coarse and ignorant. Hundreds of Japanese keenly eyed them,
too, but there was not the slightest sign of hate or even reproach ;
only a rather expressionless look, or one of pity.
Some of us had hoped that Port Arthur would have fallen
some. time ago, or that we might even have seen the last of the
war b}- this time. But the mighty fortress is still holding out
most stubbornly, and both countries are making elaborate
preparations as if the . terrible struggle were to be indefinitely
prolonged. But " God's in His place," and we look to Him, that
a genuine peace, with justice to all concerned, may soon and long
prevail.
Acta Victoriana. 'i^']'^
Ji; Backwoodsman' s Graduation.
BY AUGUSTUS BRIDLE.
A COLLEGE course is largely a glorified sort of farming. Readers
of the " Georgics " will remember that Virgil said a lot of
velvety things about farm life. Some of these "grateful" passages
have made us sweat under the landlady's reluctant gas jet many a
midnight when the miseratus agrestes down on the old homestead
were already in the third hour of sleep. Many a time have we
sighed for the plough-handles and pitchfork again. We got insomnia,
likewise neurasthenia ; our vest lost its comfortable snugness ; water-
lilies bloomed in our cheeks that once wore July roses in the hay-
mow ; and at bed-time there was, alas ! no pantry.
Failing to carry the spirit of farming into our studies, and aspiring
to a share in the foibles and fashions of city life, we became the
victims of our own caprice, often destroying one day the pleasures of
the next. Let us, therefore, discover a few analogies between the
farm and the college, and, in the contemplation of these, driving out
the forensic shouts of Cicero, listen in fancy to the limpid cadence of
the hooting owl on the old oak in the lane.
We shall begin with a logging. Back agam to the old five-acre
" slashing " which our strenuous dad had chopped into "jam-piles."
Here many an evening we rambled, when we were but " knee-high,"
hunting the cows. And one spring, just when our voice was turning,
we drove the horses to log that slashing. Dad and the hire4 man
wielded the handspikes. We ourselves lifted on our print shirt-
bosoms. When the bottom logs were soggy, "Pick 'er right up,
Johnnie !" said dad, and we did. Then with a clammy shirt we went
back and forth, carrying chunks to the log-heap, while the men
chopped the log-lengths for the next.
That done, we turned to the resting team again, wishing that we,
too, were a horse. The double-tree caught in a stump, and the
clumsy nigh horse backed up on to it. What a satisfaction it would
have been could we have sworn at him. But we did not, for dad was
a class-leader. We merely jammed the " big hook " under the log,
and tore our fingers in the act. " Whoa, back ! " we yelled in a
young rooster baritone ; but it was of no avail. The horses were on
the other side of a cradle-knoll with a pond beneath it, and there was
nothing else to do but let out the chain. We did so, and, before we
2
374 Acta I ^icto via net .
had the lines well in hand, the brutes started with a jerk. One line
fell in the pond, and we grabbed it just in time to get our leg-boots
full of water and make a high jump over a black ash top. Our straw
hat falling off, we snatched at it, butj losing our footing, fell down in
the brush and let go the lines. The horses dashed on with the log,
which nearly went over our " dry goods," till dad yelled " Whoa-oa-oa ! •'
We scrambled up and longed for the dinner hour, but in vain ; the
sun showed it only eleven o'clock.
Is there a Freshman in Victoria this year who already, standing
before the " jam-piles " of his own profound ignorance, has not wished
that his cognomen had been Hercules ? If there be, let him not go
to bed until he has started to log up. If he does not, he may find
that procrastination does not make the work lighter, and be found
burning log heaps in the smoke in '08 when he ought to be hauling
in corn.
Ploughing among the stumps was our next circus specialty. This
was not easy. Dad required ''a land" fourteen feet wide. We paced
it off, and stuck up a pole with a paper semaphore at the north end.
Then keeping our left eye on the white spot we started the horses and
stuck in the plough. But there were at least seventeen full-grown
stumps in that virgin furrow. The plough-point dug under the roots
and the horses " straddled " a stump. Being rather " big feeling," we
yelled, with a flip of the reins, " Get down to it. Bill ! What in the
Sam Hill ? " Then there was a crash as the white ash double-tree
went all to pieces and we, with the lines about our back, were hauled
hastily over the plough-beams. Then we walked to the barn to get
the waggon double-tree, thinking out on the way the version of the
affair which we should rehearse to dad at dinner.
When we were ready to go on again there was a root on the plough-
point and the off-horse had his off-hind foot over the trace. Four
rods farther on the horses jumped a little pond and we let go the
plough to go round. With seventeen stumps, three cradle knolls,
four "subterranean" soggy logs, and a cow-trail all in our wake, we
headed into the semaphore. That inaugural furrow in his corn-field
made dad (class-leader though he was) say " darn," and really the
proverbial dog's hind legs were not to be compared with it for
crookedness.
Are there any young men of the Second Year who put their hand
to the plough and do not figure on the snags and the water-holes ?
Do they deem it a " cinch " to jerk out green habits by the roots ? Do
they pack whole chunks of crude knowledge into their craniums, and
Ada Victoriana. 375
think they have obtained wisdom ? In the Third Year they will look
back on this year's furrow, and lo ! they become dismayed, cross eyed
at the prospect. Wherefore, " Doth not wisdom cry ?"
Planting and cultivating, a one-horse job, came next. Usually we
were allowed the slow, old, flatfooted roan mare for this purpose.
Gazing at the old, wooden cultivator in the hot sun made us sleepy,
so we left the ragweeds and foxtail close to the corn-hills untouched.
" Dad would never notice them," we thought. But in hoeing-time we
were obliged to bow our backs and pull up the ragweeds by sheer
strength, for were they not too big for the hoe? This was slow work.
The corn grew knee-high long before we were through and the haying
was upon us before we were half done. In harvest-time we found
those ragweeds half as high as the corn, and the pigweeds large and
tough as young trees.
Many a young man in his Third Year, failing in his cultivation, finds
some hard scrabble hand-hoeing in his work. Let him guard well the
seeds of truth, of knowledge, of industry and research, let him tear out
the sprouting weeds of falsehood and presumption, of radicalism and
of indolence, and his will be a happy and successful harvesting.
Husking was the final test. Dad took one side of a shock and we
the other. We were amused as the old dog snapped up the mice,
and pleased by the blackbirds that lisped their ABC's over in the
snake fence. The days had the balmy charm of Indian summer.
The partridge drummed in the woods and the shot-guns cracked
dreamily after the distant quail. In a neighbor's lane a wagon rattled
peacefully along as he hauled in the yellow pumpkins to save them
from the October frosts. But when the shock was husked and the
fodder bundles were tied father's words were clear and chilling.
" Only half a bushel an' most 'v 'm nubbins," he said, " 'D orta been a
bushel an' a haf. Young man, such work as you've made of this
cornfield 'ud not be long a-starvin' you."
Are there any Seniors and graduates of Victoria who are finding
their husking a disappointment ? We hope not. Yet it is whispered
that there are some graduates running ranches and insurance offices
out West — some, too, in more menial employments — who at the
Fourth Year examinations were able to husk out only thirty-three
per cent. And most of that was " nubbins."
^yt Acta Victoriana.
Running the Gauntlet.
BY AL. MARR.
THE sun sank low in the western sky. Great masses of cloud
hung all about it, their deep purples and grays just tinged with
yellow light, and all betokening the coming of a dark and stormy
night. Yet the stillness of evening in the vast, primeval forest per-
meated the soul. The perfect serenity of the lake's surface, unbroken
by laughing ripples, or leaping fish, or swimming bird, inspired a deep
sense of solitude. The long line of richly timbered hills along the
west, unreheved by clearing, house, trail or any other sign of human
habitation, increased the same impression. Beneath their darkening
shade stalked ghostly night, silent and wrapped in a misty coat of gray
gloom. The sun disappeared, the shadows deepened and with a
gathering rush night came on apace.
Suddenly out of the silence came the shrill uncanny laugh of a loon.
I started involuntarily and in the act I became, in turn, a subject of
alarm. I caught a passing glimpse of a fox's brush as he vanished over
an uprooted pine; beneath me there was a single summoning bleat
of a startled doe before she was lost with her tiny, spotted fawn among
the cedar scrub ; then came quiet — complete, all-embracing, dark.
With a shudder I turned and peered at the imperfect path, and
thought of the five miles of unbroken forest that lay between me and
the little clearing where was my temporary home. What a fool I had
been to loiter here while the sun was up I A stranger, a green youth,
fresh from the city and ignorant of the bush and its denizens and
their ways, — why did I tarry for nothing more than a mere quiet
evening scene? Why did I not realize then as now the grim dangers
of that dark, lonely way. I was startled anew at the unfamiliar sound
of the whistling flight of an invisible flock of wild waterfowl ; then
laughing at my fears, rallied my fainting heart, struck up a religious
tune, and decided to brave the darkness.
One hundred yards from the entrance I was in pitchy blackness.
Trees, dense and towering, shut out every glimpse of the sky, every
ray of starlight. Even a white handkerchief held aloft was quite
invisible. Yet I trudged on rapidly, almost breathlessly. Then a
queer sniffling and a rustling of decayed leafage fell upon my ear.
Some animal was directly in my path and I stopped abruptly. What
could it be ? Not deer, for the gait was too shufifiing ; it was more like
bear, but at this distance he would be moving more rapidly than that,
one way or other. Presently the noise changed to a scrambling one,
Acta Victoriana. t^jj
and began to mount rapidly upwards, and concluding that it was only
a porcupine, I pressed on, singing in a loud but quavering voice the
courage-quickening, martial strains of "Onward, Christian Soldiers."
Somehow the weird and ghostly calls and the great gleaming eyes of
those old owls and the shrill piercing cry of a distant wild-cat, while
they startled, did not prey upon the imagination so much now. The
song died away, but the silence was not long continued. Only a few
yards from me there was a sudden stirring of brush followed by much
beating of wings upon a dry old log. Some reynard had chosen a
partridge for his evening meal.
Weary and excited I found it impossible to shake off the depressing
effect of this incident. Perhaps the darkness had a similar fate in
store for me. There was that hillside just ahead, of which Don, my
host, had warned me. Two months ago it had been the scene of a
tragedy. Was there to be another to-night ? That runway was the
general highway of the wild animals of the district. Should I brave
it, or sit down here and await the light ? Suddenly I came upon a
bit of slippery, springing bog. The special danger zone was just
ahead. I faltered ; then, with a wild nervous whoop, started up " The
Campbells are coming " in a pitch to frighten every grizzly within two
miles, pressed on across the morass and gained the opposing slope.
At its crest a blood-curdling snarl bursts upon the ear, there is a
sharp gnashing of teeth, and a hot breath on my cheek, and in the
darkness bruin and I are face to face. Yet I am not now unnerved.
Every fibre is under command. Mindful of Indian custom I leap to
get my back against a tree and avoid the fatal hug. In an instant my
great knife is out and open. " You may exult in victory, but not without
a struggle," I think with lightning despatch. A snapping twig betrays
his advance. My knife is raised for his reception. There is the crackle
of a parlor match, a little blaze of light, and Don's eyes meet mine.
But what a transformation did that momentary glare reveal. A
merry, mischievous face grew foolish, then pallid with emotion. We
were both glad when it went out, and silent, side by side, trudged
home. "That might have cost my life and your fair name," he said
passionately after a long pause, and I could only reply with my hand
upon his shoulder, as we broke into the clearing five minutes later,
" Well, forget it, Don, my good fellow." But Don never forgot it,
and has often declared that next time he goes to meet a belated city
youth in the wild woods' depths, he will take along the Highland
pipes and make hill and valley scream afar with the martial strains of
"The Campbells are coming."
Victoria College.
7^
Ada Victoriana.
Some Oxford Types
BV PROFESSOR MAURICE HUTTON.
I PREFACE these few words I have to say of some Oxford types,
as I have knois-n them, by the warning that I am not pretending,
or intending, to describe the Oxford of to-day, or any other Oxford,
except the Oxford of some twenty-seven years ago. There were, I
think', roughly speaking, three main currents of thought in those days
converging to form the river of University Hfe.
There was first and fore-
most, the school which had
resisted and reacted from the
so-called famous Oxford move-
ment, and the teaching of
Newman ; the school which
had outlived the Oxford move-
ment, and more than any other
single school, dominated Ox-
ford : the Rationalist School,
of which the best known
names were Jowett, the Master
of Balliol, and Pattison,
Rector of Lincoln : often the
name of Mr. T. H. Green is
added, though he was perhaps
too many-sided, too actively
beneficent, too practically
devout, to be in entire sym-
pathy with its negative dialec-
tic and sterile criticism. Not,
of course, that the ordinary undergraduate saw much, if anything, of
these great names. Jowett and Pattison were elderly men, and the latter
in particular had withdrawn in a great measure from the work of teach-
ing ; but it was their influence which had moulded most of the men
he did see. Besides, if he did not see much of them, he heard a great
deal ; he knew all that there was to know about them, and a great
deal more ; more even than the angels knew ; that is, not only more
than the bald historic facts, but more also than the unrecorded facts
or even than that illuminating fiction, which is often spiritually and
PRIN'CIPAL HUTTON.
Acta Victoriana. 379
ideally truer than fact ; for there had gathered a vast accretion of
legends round the name of each, many of them neither literally nor
spiritually true. Than the rapid growth of such myths nothing is
more curious or interesting, unless it be the antiquity of some of them,
which yet purport to be historical accounts of quite recent events and
persons. Jowett himself on one occasion asked a friend for the
anecdotes told of him, and after listening quietly to a long list, " All
of those," he remarked, " were told by me and my contemporaries of
my predecessor except one, and that is not true of me." However —
as Herodotus would say — I am not bound to believe all the legends I
heard in Oxford, I am bound to record them.
Of Pattison, then, it was told that he never spoke to undergraduates
unless they showed marked ability, but he made one exception, in
favor of anglers. With an undergraduate of either of these types he
would walk and talk of philosophy or of fish, but even with them he
was austere. One of them, more ambitious than the rest and deter
mined not to sink below the level of the occasion and the Rector,
began the conversation one day the moment they issued through the
college gateway with the sufficiently abstruse remark : " The irony
of Sophocles, Dr. Pattison, is finer than the irony of Euripides."
" Quote," was the dry retort, but quotation came there none, only in
its place a silent walk. A weaker mind when engaged in the hazard
ous joy of a walk with Jowett — says another legend — lost its self-
possession in presence of his silence, and exchanged silence for vacuous
speech : " It is a fine day, Master," stammered ingenuous youth. For
answer came a reproachful look, but no further speech on either side
to enliven or belie the peaceful prospect of nature till, as they reached
the College gate again, after the student's constitutional was finished,
came a parting echo of the unhappy overture : " That was a foolish
remark you made." Nor did the voluble and self-possessed orator
always fare better. One such there was who talked, and talked, and
talked, only to reap at the walk's conclusion the chequered verdict,
" That will do, but too much conceit." Yet another had the bad taste
and the bad judgment to suppose that the Master would welcome
cheap second-hand agnosticism, and he finished a lively discourse in
the style of Col. Ingersoll to find his companion gently humming,
" Rock of Ages, cleft for me." This was indeed one of the most
interesting and charming features of Jowett's character, that he never
paraded religious difficulties, or talked of them except in sincerity to
persons who could appreciate and understand. He never gratified the
sensation-loving superficial public by oratorical fireworks of this kind.
380 Acta Victortaiia.
The fashionable world flocked from London and the provinces on a
summer Sunday into Oxford and packed the University Church, all
agog to hear or to tell some new heresy. Then would the Master
in his piping voice pronounce a mild eulogy upon friendship, or read
an essay on the lost art of conversation. His contempt for affected
and precocious infidelity showed itself again on another occasion when
some flippant youth reported that he could not satisfy himself of the
existence of Deity. " You will satisfy yourself by ten o'clock
to morrow morning, sir, or leave College," was the unsympathetic
answer. A deeper answer was granted to well-meaning irreverence
of a deeper type. " Master," said a converted pupil, " I have found
the Saviour." " Then don't tell anybody," was the quiet rebuke.
Another anecdote, not less characteristic of this side of his mind — the
theological side — was told of an occasion during my own term in
Oxford : A student of the College went to ask him for the use of the
College Hall for a meeting to promote missions to the Hindoos.
"Certainly," said the Master, and added to his visitor's alarm, " I will
take the chair myself," which he did with an opening address delight-
fully frank and typical. " A missionary's career," he said, "appears to
me a singularly attractive one ; it gives to a man so admirable an
opportunity of studying the picturesque religions of the East." It
was this open-mindedness to religious systems other than Christian
which formed the basis for another anecdote by no means so authentic,
according to which a distinguished Hindoo — a convert of the mission-
aries— after hearing the Master preach, announced himself reconverted
to Buddhism.
Jowett was much more of a man of the world than Pattison, and
aimed far more at completeness of life and interest. He was not so
intolerent of small things. "I must apologize, Master," said a youthful
philosopher, who had been deputed, very much against his will, to
approach, or reproach, the Master concerning the quality of the potatoes
served by the college cook, " I must apologize for distracting your
attention to such trifles." " Don't apologize," was the unexpected answer
of the philosopher more mature, "life is made up of trifles " ; and so, on
another occasion, he astonished a particularly laborious aud hard read-
ing student, who sat with straining ears expecting some aphorism
on Plato, with the eminently practical and worldly advice, " Be
young, my young friend, be young." Again the sceptic's apprehensive-
ness, which has played so large a part in the lives of scholars, and
sometimes — in reference to marriage and its perturbing risks — a part
so tragic, was, if another anecdote be true, unnecessarily keen in even
Acta Victoriana.
381
Jowett's mind on one occasion. " Dr. Jowett," said a young lady to
whom he had shown great kindness, and who was encouraged thereby
to hope that he would grace her approaching marriage, " Dr. Jowett
I have a great favor to ask of you ; will you marry me ? " " Perhaps
we should not be happy," was his hasty and irrelevant ejaculation.
He was a great friend of George Eliot, and she, too, in a pessimistic
spirit was accustomed whenever she heard of an approaching marriage
BENJ. JOWETT.
in her circle to say soltly, " Yes, he is very good, and she is very good,
but will they suit? "
I have left myself little time for notice of other schools of
thought, but other schools of thought there were. One second in
influence to this Rationalist and Classical School was a Theological
School : the school of Oxford High Churchmen, the school of which
Dean Church, and Canon Liddon, and Canon King were the leaders,
the two latter living largely in Oxford. The school included Church-
men of every degree of Anglicanism and Ritualism ; it covered also —
382 A eta Victoriana.
therein lay its strength — not merely the moral fervor and apostolic
devotion which has gathered hundreds of men and women in the
squalid slums of great English cities into Anglican or Ritualist
churches, but also almost invariably a breadth of view and a
liberality of thought which had once been associated only with
the names of Dean Stanley and the Broad Church. Nor was this
the only point of contact between the High and Broad Churches.
There was a second : they both loved moderation and sweet reason-
ableness, and they both disliked ostentation and the slightest approach
to advertisement or publicity. This is where even Cardinal Newman
fell short of the ideal of these Anglicans ; he was too fanatic and
extravagant (especially in his " Loss and Gain "), I had almost said
ribald. They believed emphatically in the trivial round and the common
task : they disliked intensely all sensational and dramatic changes ;
their real type was Isaac ^Villiams, the unknown, self-obliterating
country rector, or John Keble, rather than Newman, still more
than Ward, the most extravagant and whimsical and self-opinion-
ated of men. In short, all the arbitrary and high-handed action
which attracts the world offended these men of the student type,
just as oiher worldly considerations offended other students. The
spirit which moved Keble, in fact, was the same spirit at bottom
as that which — in another department of thought — maiked Henry
Smith, the Oxford mathematician, a most singularly accomplished
man of Jowett's generation. In addition to his extraordinary breadth
of interest, he made some discoveries not inconsiderable, I believe, in
mathematics, bi4 his especial satisfaction in them was this — -that there
was not a farthing to be made out of them by hook or by crook ; they
belonged just where they professed to belong, to pure mathematics ;
they were L,olden, but not with the gold of this world ; rust and
exposure could not tarnish them, thieves would never care to break
through nor steal.
But to return to the High Churchmen, the men whose names are
now well known in the Church, Holland, and Gore, and Jayne, and
many others belonged to this school. Its influence has spread not
over England only, but to this continent, perhaps especially the
influence of the highest of its High Churchmen, Canon (now Bishop)
King, who exercised in Oxford then, as he has exercised since over a
wider field, a marvellous personal charm, whom but to see was a
religious education. If the Dean of St. Paul's was at that time the
brain of the School, and Canon Liddon its eloquent tongue, Canon
King was already becoming its heart and soul.
Acta Victoriana. 383
And last, and perhaps in point of number least, there was in Oxford
a remnant of the old Evangelicals, fallen on evil days and with a
scanty following, with their principal stronghold of old, the most
beautiful college in Oxford — Wadham College — wrested from them
by an upstart handful of Positivists, who, of course, ran the college
down to the ground, whence it is only now painfully uprising. There
were never, by the way, more than thirty Positivists, I suppose, in
England, all told, and they have had three disruptions T am informed,
and are now divided into four churches — three, that is, besides the
original church (the church of the Marrow, let u? call it). At their
worship it is understood they solemnly commemorate " Space," a
euphemism, I conjecture, for the solitude which they wrought in the
quadrangles of Wadham, and in those gardens where for long years
after the cedars of Lebanon wasted their sweetness on the desert air.
And yet the old Evangelical School — as I, at least, am especially
bound to remember— still had their saints in Oxford. In Dean
Burgon's book, " The Lives of Ten Good Men," one of the first lives
is the life of Richard Lynch Cotton, Provost of Worcester College. If
the other nine men were, all taken together, as good as Dr. Cotton
the world was not worthy of them. For the Provost of Worcester
was an adorable old man ; he used to tell us how Dean Burgon once
stooped down and kissed him on the top of his head. I do not think
we were merely amused to hear it; he was a very little man and
Dean Burgon was very tall, but in fact the feat was easy for moral as
well as physical reasons. Apropos, however, of his smallness of
stature, by the way, Mr. Goldwin Smith has told me that his keenest
recollection of the Provost was on the occasion of the Prince of Wales
taking his degree. There was a great function and the Provost — as
it so happened — was Vice-Chancellcr that year. Mr. Smith beheld
him in his scarlet robes standing in the Natural History Museum
between the front legs of the giraffe.
He was a man of the most unaffected and simple piety it has ever
been my good fortune to meet ; so pleasant is the memory of it that I
should be sorry now to see his pre-eminence challenged by younger
men. It may be there is no fear of that. With the newly-elected
scholar, fresh, perhaps, from a small country grammar school and
country rectory, green, and young and hopeful, launched upon the world
like a lamb among wolves, he would begin the acadenuc life with a
few words of private prayer between them two only — or, at least, I mean
between them two and One Other, whom, as Herodotus would say, it
is not lawful for me to mention — such prayer rose naturally to his lips
84
Acta Victoriana.
and therefore fell naturally upon his hearer's ears. From this first
introduction to him to the end of one's course he left the same impres-
sion on one's mind, that of one who never neglected his college duties as
he conceived them, but was as faithful a Provost as any in Oxford.
Foremost among these duties in his opinion was to send for any one
whose attendance at chapel left something to be desired. If on these
occasions one chose to po to him in the morning hours one would
find him studying the Bible, generally, I think, the Old Testament.
DR. COTTON.
Elaborate but futile endeavors were made to calculate the number
of verses which he covered in a morning's reading. In the afternoon,
on the other hand, he seemed usually to relax his mind with Davison
on Prophecy ; he gave me a copy of the book, and thereby hangs
another tale. He had once printed a volume of sermons in his younger
days; they had not been financially a success; in point of fact the edition
was left on his hands. Ultimately he disposed of them by presenting
one copy as a gift to each freshman as he entered the college. When
Acta Victorimia. 385
the edition was exhausted he did not like to withdraw from the pre-
cedent established and he was too modest to print a new edition and
Davison succeeded to the vacant place. I wish I had been before the
days of Davison; I would rather have had his own sermons; they would
have recalled more vividly the once familiar scene of the college chapel,
with the white-haired old man sitting in the corner, holding a lighted
candlestick askew upon his knee, to follow better the reading of the
lessons for the day, and dropping wax over his white surplice ; or
again, on a warm summer Sunday afternoon preaching to a recum-
bent and somnolent audience discourses of which the toothless utterance
prevented a large part thereof from reaching our ears, though ever and
again one would catch the name of Aristotle sandwiched between
those of the Apostles.
Nor was he less careful of lighter and less solemn duties. He
asked us all to breakfast every year, ten or twelve at a time. At these
same breakfasts he retailed personal anecdotes manfully, often under
great difKiculties, often across the coflfee pot and the whole length of
the table to the senior man at the other end, when the freshmen near
him, as happened not unfrequently, kept silence even from good words.
His anecdotes were entertaining, but he was not a man of varied
accomplishments ; his ideas of music in particular were elementary
and his own. One of us died in my time, and we had a funeral ser-
vice in the college chapel and the Dead March in Saul was played ;
as we emerged said the Provost to the Vice-Provost, " What an
inspiriting air." He had the most pathetic and the most sincere belief
in the efficacy of these chapel exercises. "Stupendous," he once
said to me (it was one of his favorite epithets), " stupendous, is it not,
the influence of chapel ? I always know what a man's character is
when I look at his chapel list. Most remarkable ! (another favorite
epithet) ; do you know I received yesterday a request for a
testimonial from a man I had not seen for thirty years. I could not
remember his face or anything about him, but I turned to his chapel
list and found he had been a regular attendant, so I sent him, with
full confidence, a hearty testimonial ; most excellent young man."
On another occasion I recollect he sent for an athlete, a very worthy
fellow, fonder of running the secular races set before him than the
apostolic race to chapel, as the Provost conceived it. " I don't see,
Mr. Provost," grumbled this young gentleman, " the use of all these
chapels." " Oh, Mr. Holt, Mr. Holt ! " said the Provost, grieved
beyond expression, " How can you say so, Mr. Holt ? What will you
do in heaven, Mr. Holt ? It is one endless chapel there."
386 Ada Victoriana.
Naturally his belief in the goal at the other end was not less
uncompromisingly literal. It is reported that on one occasion, having
an offender before him, he solemnly lighted a candle and held the
offender's finger for an instant in the flame, with the laconic appeal,
" It will be worse than that." The younger Dons loved to draw him
out about Dean Stanley. He was perfectly polite to them, but very
non-committal. " Yes," he said on one occasion, "there was much I
liked about his sermon ; he quoted very many beautiful texts."
So, then — in conclusion, to revert for a moment to the two types of
men of whom I have said most, in the one case because they were most
influential, in the other because I happened to see most of them — there
were in the Oxford of those days, so far as my college was concerned,
the three men and the two types (if we may regard the Master and
Rector as varieties of the same type), the Master, the Rector, and the
Provost ; the Humanist, the Sceptic, and the Pietist ; the Man of the
World, the Cynic, and the Saint ; Wisdom, Learning, and Religion ;
and the most eminent of these was the first, the Master of Balliol ; the
most characteristic of his times was the second, the Rector of Lincoln ;
while the third, obscure and without special gifts, toiled patiently
after the Christianity which his system of thought set before him as
his goal.
Each filled his place and realized — as far as a man does — his type.
The first two were names throughout the land, echoing — shall we say 1
■ — as a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. But the third enjoyed at
least this compensation, that he was enabled both by his temperament
and by his school of thought to retain through all the depressing dis-
illusionments of life a larger measure of those very elementary and
yet invincible graces which seemed to ebb away or flicker out of the
lives of his more gifted colleagues, the three graces of the Christian
dispensation ; and, therefore, because the weak things of the world, as
we know, are apt to confound the mighty, and revelations have been
made to babes which are denied to the wise and prudent, I doubt
whether, after all, the Provost was not the best beloved and the most
missed in his college, and whether, after all, it is not his acquaintance
which his college looks forward with the liveliest interest to renewing
in another world ; if ever, that is to say, they are tempted to hope that
even for the least of his disciples, and those who are not worthy even
to be called his disciples, his prayers and his piety may furnish a
passport to that " endless chapel " of the Heavenly Jerusalem upon
which his imagination loved to dwell.
Ac la Vic to riana. ■i,'^']
Things we Want to Know about Early Man^
BY DAVID BOYLE.
[,NE of Toronto's professors is down for a lecture
this winter on "Palceolithic Man." This being
a subject about which most students know
little, and care less, it is earnestly hoped that
as many of them as possible will go to hear
Dr. A. B. Macallum. To the ladies, man of
somewhat recent date might prove a more
alluring topic, but even they cannot fail to
profit by giving a little consideration to their ex-
tremely remote ancestors, for the subject can
scarcely be more than alluded to in a single lecture, while a thousand
two-hour-long discourses would fail to cover all the ground.
It is mainly in view^of the latter condition that one is driven to
wonder how /le would tackle " Palceolithic Man " in a single lecture if
he had the temerity to think himself capable of doing so at all.
What should be the starting point ? When is it safe for us to say
that man became man ? Was it when he assumed the erect position?
or when he acquired the power to articulate ? Or, was it at a still
earlier period when instinct became fairly well-advanced reason, or
even before that, just where reason begun and when, in all probability,
he walked quite as much all-fours as upright ? Queries of this kind
may be brushed aside as trivialities, but it must be admitted that until
we have not only settled when man became man, but .whether there
was at first only one kind of man, or were more than one, and, if the
latter, whether one kind had precedence, or all appeared about the
same time, we cannot, in a truly scientific sense, discuss " Primitive
Man." The fact is that the expression " Primitive Man " has never
been defined either directly or inferentially, and we are, meanwhile,
satisfied to accept the lowest known conditions of human society as
those which characterized man primevally.
Physically — and this, too, inwardly as well as outwardly — there is
much that distinguishes the savage from ourselves, and mentally there
is still more. It has been pointed out that considerable modification
in the proportion of arms and legs, in the vertebral column, and in
the organs of respiration and digestion must have resulted from the
moment that our far down ancestors began to walk on two, rather
than on four limbs, and it is allowable to assume that some corres-
•By request of the Editor.
388 Acta Vidoriana.
ponding changes affected the intellect. But the physical differences
between uncivilized and civilized man, are, as a rule, in favor of the
savage, because his mode of life tends to maintain a higher, general
standard of muscularity. Mentally, the conditions are reversed, and
it is altogether with these that the study of paloeolithic man, or even
the more recent savage, is concerned.
How did he think ? This is all we are trying to find out.
We are toleraby sure that he has always been a social being — more
or less gregarious — but we are unable to say whether he was a mono-
gamist or a polygamist, and we are profoundly interested respecting
the origin and development of his religious or supernatural notions.
In accordance with the theory of evolution it is utterly impossible that
he could have come even by his fetishistic ideas as a result of inheri-
tance ; and how did he reach the higher planes of religious thought ?
How came he to conceive of the existence of good and bad spirits —
preferably of bad ones — and what could have suggested to him that it
was possible to invoke the favor of the former by the performance of
certain acts and to avoid the influence of the others by means of
charms ?
Perhaps disease, accidents and natural phenomena had something
to do with it. If there was no visible agency there must be an invisible
one, or if the symptoms were visible but inexplicable, then, too, the
"trouble" must have been brought about by something that could
not be seen. Success or non-success in procuring food might have
sug2;ested occult interference, but we know not.
Primitive treatment of disease has probably always been conducted
on the supposition that evil spirits, or other malignantly disposed
beings, were at the bottom of the mischief, and power has been exerted
either to frighten the spirit away, or to remove the object it has placed
in the body of the patient. " Absent treatment," too, is sometimes
employed, and specimens of the talismans used for this purpose in
Africa may be seen in the Provincial Museum, as part of a shaman's
complete " outfit." Only a few weeks ago the newspapers contained
an account of a peasant woman in Ireland, who was conducting a
make-believe wake over a straw man, whose form she had filled with
pins and splinters of bone. She said the straw man represented a
thief who had taken some of her belongings, and that, whoever he was,
he would suffer on account of her treatment, for she was going to bury
the effigy, and as it decayed, the thief would become ill and speedily
die. Surely this was an inheritance from paganism, although part of
her performance consisted in reading one of the psalms backwards.
Ada Vicloriana. 389
Again, what of tabuisin and totemism? Notwitlistanding all that
has been written regarding these institutions (they are really worthy
of being so dignified) no thoroughly satisfactory explanations have
been ofifeied. Governed by a belief in the former, it was highly
reprehensible to eat particular foods, or to perform certain acts ; so
much so that at times the death penalty followed ; and according to
totemic rules (a comparatively moderate form of tabuism) family
relationships were rigidly prescribed.
Ceremonialism and symbolism are of vast importance in primitive
society. In the very lowest stages of savagery they exert a powerful
effect on every-day life, and we desire to know the why and the
wherefore. They are usually associated with dancing and feasting,
and all cf them seem to possess some so-called religicjus significance,
although the connection is not often very clear.
It might be difficult to find a people so low, socially and otherwise,
among whom gambling in one form or another did not, or does not
exist, and, strange as it may appear, the latest authoritative opinions
ascribe its origin to divination. It is needless to say that practices of
this Icind are not now confined 10 primitive peoples, and it is equally
su[)erflaous to remark that gambling 13 no longer conducted with any
religious motive.
Volumes have been written, and there is room for many more, on
tiie birth, minhood, marriage, and mortuary customs of primitive man
as we know him, but of these, and of many others as carried out by
departed peoples, we shall remain forever ignorant.
One would quite naturally suppose that the language of primitive
peoples would be little better than jargon, but the student soon dis-
covers that the forms of speech emplo)ed by even the lowest nre rich,
often too rich, in niceties of declination and inflection ; and an ex-
amination of the methods of counting may be regarded as a diversion
fully as much as a study. It is o'ten in the matter of numeration that
man's lower or higher estate may be estimated, lor when we find people
who cannot count beyond two, and some not higher than ten, we may
rest assured that they are not philosophers, in the Newtonian sense.
Tnese are a few, amon^ many subjects, that await conclusive discus-
sion relative to early man, and perhaps the lecturer will refer to some
of them, if only cursorily. In any event, it is satisfactory to know
that so scholarly a gentleman will do all that can possibly be done in
the short time at his disposal to arouse academic attention along lines
which ought to prove fully as attractive and instructive as is the
anatomy of a crawfish or the annulation of a worm.
3
390
Ada Victoriana.
Grunt the Fourth
PERHAPS the medical profession provides more room, and there-
fore offers greater temptation than any other, to practice popular
humbug. Not long since a gentleman fearing sciatica consulted a
well known physician, who, after a long and apparently careful exam-
ination of his patient's left hip, said, " well, of course you know, sciatica
is possible, but in the meantime, I can find nothing but an acute affec-
tion of the seventh nerve." At another time a lady from a distance
called on his sapiency for advice respecting a pain in her shoulder,
neck and the side of her head, when she, too, was informed that she
had "just caught a little cold, and the seventh nerve was somewhat
affected." During the last month other two cases have occurred, in
which the trouble came from the seventh nerve, one being in the right
sole, and one in the right forearm.
Akin to those who believe in palmistry, psychiatry, astrology, osteo-
pathy, absent treatment and the like, are those who feel a certain
amount of satisfaction, not only in being able to inform their friends
that the doctor says, " all the trouble is with the nerves," but to add,
" and it's mostly in the seventh nerve." Seven has always been re-
garded as a sacred number, and in some inexplicable manner people
who think themselves affected in this way, seem to regard the trouble
as one that connects them with the book of Revelations !
Observer.
ALONG THE G. T. R. SYSTEM.
A eta Victoria na.
)9i
iBiC^
Temlscamlng District
BY H. L. KERR; B.A.
ONE of the most interesting and important parts of New Ontario
is that region popularly known as Temiscaming District. A
great deal has been written of recent years, chiefly in Government
reports, setting forth the various valuable resources of this part of
Nipissing. The following article does not attempt to deal with any
of the subjects treated excepting in the most cursory manner. For
those desiring fuller information I would recommend the report of
Dr. A. E. Barlow, published in Vol. X., Part i, of "The Geological
Survey of Canada," as well as reports which will be out in the spring,
by the Geological Survey and Bureau of Mines. Most of the infor-
mation given below w?s obtained while doing geological work during
the summer.
That part of Nipissing about which I speak more particularly may
be roughly defined as embracing most of the country adjacent to
Lake Temiscaming, north of the Montreal River and taking in the
watershed of the White River.
At the present time there is in building a railroad from North Bay
to meet the Grand Trunk Pacific in the neighborhood of Abitibi
This road has been completed within the past few months as far
north as New Liskeard, the largest town of the region and the centre
of the chief agricultural district. The old route by C.P.R. by way of
Mattawa to South Temiscaming and thence up the lake by steamer,
was, [particularly during the warmer weather, a more enjoyable, though
longer journey. From Mattawa to the foot of the lake the road
follows'the Ottawa on the Quebec side, and here, as well as on the
lake itself, the scenery, though perhaps monotonous, is most
picturesque.
After leaving South Temiscaming, the first stop of importance was
made at Haileybury. Here is a good Government dock, which,
unfortunately, owing to the unprecedented high water of last spring,
was covered by three feet of water when we arrived. This made
39-2 ^cla Vicforiana.
landing in a rough sea rather exciting work. Since then the dock
has been raised beyond the possibility of inundation. New IJskeard,
six miles further north, is as far as the larger steamers go. However,
there are three or four small boats that do a big business carrying
passengers and (reighc from here to Tom's Town on the White River.
This small village, the head of navigation, is between twenty-five and
thirty miles north of New Liskeard, and about three hundred miles
from Toronto. If one wishes to go farther by water, he must take to
the canoe. Two miles above the village the first rapid is met, and
from here un, on all the branches of the river, the rapids are frequent,
and some of the portages long. Until the completion of the railroad
farther north, all supplies for surveyors and contractors must be taken
in by canoe, (lood portages are cut through the forest at all the
rapids. Some of them have probably been used by the Indians for
thousands of years.
Recent discoveries of valuable mineral deposits within five miles of
Haileybury have brought this place prominently before the public.
It is a village of two or three hundred people, and, besides the
Government dock, boasts of an excellent school, good churches, fair
hotel accommodation and a weekly paper. Here, too, is si'.uated the
most southerly Hudson Bay post in that part of Ontario.
The mines are about five miles south-west of the village, in the
township of Coleman. All the dcpos'ts, so far reported, are within a
radius of a mile-and-a-half to two miles of Cobalt Lake. All those
being worked are close to the lake, and within a few hundred yards
of the new railroad, over which shipments of ore have already been
made. The first discovery was made by a blacksmith, working on
railway construction, near a rock cut on the right of-way. This prop
party, which is probably the most valuable of all, is known as the
La Rose mine, being named after the discoverer. The ore here is
chiefly niccolite (NiAs) and native silver. Besides, several other
minerals occur in lesser quantities, smaltite (CoAs^) being the chiel.
Silver nuggets may be pi:ked up quite frequently in the talus at the
base of the cliff. One nugget found during the summer weighed
nearly five hundred pounds. Of course this one was altogether unique.
The niccolite and smaltite, both very valuable ores in themselves, are
here literally full of small stringers and leaves of native silver. A
shaft has been sunk over bixty feet, and the vein seems to be improv-
ing with depth, so that this promises to be one of the most valuable
properties in the country. It is, as the owners term it, a poor man's
mine, as it costs so little to realize from it. The first shipment of ore
Ada Victoi'iana.
393
to New York averaged $1,900 per ton, the twenty tons bringing
$38,000 to the owneis.
Besides this there are four other locations near the lake, from which
ore has been shipped. Two properties, in one of which the ore is
smaltite, in the other silver, hav<- recently been sold, I have been
informed, for $250,000. The latter is known as the Little Silver
Mine. An average sample of the sand and mud on the lake from
THE LITTLE SILVER MINE, COBALT.
another of the mines assa)ed 750 ounces per ton in silver alone. From
another properly, for the expenditure of the first $io,oco, made up
largely in putting in equipment and buildings, $100,000 was realized.
These figures speak for themselves. If the deposits prove at all
extensive Cobalt will be oie of the most valuable mining districts of
the world. Other discoveries have been made in the neighborhood of
394 Acta Victoriana.
Giroux and Cross Lakes. None of these are being worked, but some
of them bid fair to be quite valuable.
Undoubtedly, many more discoveries will be made during the
coming summer. Last summer the prospector, with his hammer
and "specimens," was ubiquitous. All through the forest they could
be seen, hammering away at every rock in sight and eagerly looking
for traces of nickel and cobalt stain. These stains, by the way^
are very noticeable, the former being a vivid green —annabergite,
Ni3As20s + 8H._.0 — while the latter is a bright pink — erythrite or
cobalt bloom, Co.,As.jOs + 8H._,0. iVIany spent weeks prospecting and
found nothing ; a few, more fortunate, spent only a few days and
found a fortune.
Rumors of similar ores being discovered near Round Lake have
reached us. Iron occurs near this lake in Boston Township, which is
about seventy miles north of Cobalt. We do not know as yet how
valuable these deposits are. There is also a copper mine upon which
work has been done on the north branch of the White River. It is
apparent, then, that from the mining standpoint, the country
possesses great possibilities.
As stated above. New Liskeard is the centre of the chief farming
district. This is a wide-awake town of probably from 800 to i,coo
inhabitants. Everything- in the place is modern and up to-date.
Although a larger town than Haileybury, the shipping facilities are
not so good. The Wabi River, which flows through the town, fills
the bay so quickly with sediment that constant dredging must be
carried on to keep a channel open for the larger steamers. The
country is settled, more or less, from twenty to thirty miles back from
the town. Radiating through this settlement areanumber of splendid
government roads to which more are being constantly added. The
soil is principally clay, which in places is overlain by clayey or sandy
loam. There are here and there in the heart of the farming land areas
of rocky or gravelly country unsuifed for agriculture. On the trip
from Haileybury to Tom's Town, settlements are seen on both sides
of the river. Beyond Tom's Town, after the first two miles settlers
are more scattered, although they occur as far north as Round Lake
When properly opened up this promises to be one of the important
farming communities of Ontario. The latitude is about the same as
that of Southern Manitoba or Northern Minnesota, so that with the
clearing of the land and proper cultivation all the ordinary crops of
the rest of the province may be grown. Good crops of hay and oats
were seen during the summer. No wheat is grown as yet. Some of
Acta Vicloriana.
395
the best land seen during the summer was between Round Lake and
Kenogami ; so that there is still plenty of room for more settlers.
In addition to the arable land there are large areas unsuited for
agriculture. On this land, however, some of the best timber in the
world grows, and by proper conservation of the forest, it must always
remain a large asset in the wealth of the province. The folly of de-
nuding such lands of forest is proven by the abandoned farms in
many parts of the Eastern States. It is the duty of the Government
to see that such mistakes are not repeated.
Until recent years the only industry of any importance in this dis-
trict was lumbering. This is still extensively carried on. Large tracts
of practically virgin forest still exist. On the other hand large areas
TOMS TOWN — HEAD OF STEAMER NAVIGATION ON WHITE RIVER.
have been burnt over during the past few years, and on the far north-
ern branches of the White Rivet a great forest fire did much damage
thirty or forty years ago.
The most important trees from a commercial standpoint are the
white and red pine {Pinus strobiis and P. resinosa). During last win-
ter much of this kind of timber was cut in Coleman township, in the
neighborhood of the mines. The abundance of waterways all through
this district furnishes extremely cheap transportation. In the spring
months during high water all the rivers and tributary streams are
carrying logs down to the mills by the thousands. Lumbering em-
ploys hundreds of men all through the winter and spring.
396 Acta Victoria7ta.
Another tree frequently encountered on the more rocky and barren
soil is the Jack pine. It is of little importance commercially. Other
common trees are white and black spruce, cedar and the balsam. A
few scattered elms were seen as far north as the township of Catharine,
while the soft maple {Acer nihrum) is present in considerable numbers
as far north as the head of the lake. One of the most important
trees, from the Indian's standpoint, the white or canoe birch, is of
very com-non occurrence. Three varieties of poplar {Popjilas haJsami-
fera, P. tremuloides zxi^ P. _i:;ra/ididentata) are found throughout the re-
gion. Occasionally they gain considerable size and form stately for-
ests, as, for instance, on the north of Round Lake.
Of the larger trees those mentioned are the chief. Others occur
but are unimportant. Many smaller trees and shrubs of interest are
found, but those we must pass by. Of the wild fruits the blueberry
is perhaps the most abundant, but the red raspberry, wild strawbeny
and high bush cranberry are frequently met.
Game is abundant throughout the forest and large numbers of
sportsmen from other parts of Canada and the United States visit the
district annually. The moose is the most plentiful of the larger ani-
mals, and is the chief attraction for outside sportsmen. These animals
were commonly seen in the lakes and rivers. In places their tracks
along the shores of the rivers were as thick as those of cattle in a barn-
yard. The red deer, although not encountered very often, are never
theless numerous, but they are more timorous than the moose and thus
harder to see. Several splendid specimens of the black bear were
seen. Although no wolves were encountered during the summer,
they are quite plentiful throughout the forest, as is also the Canada
lynx or wild cat. Of the more valuable fur-bearing animals, the otter
and beaver might be mentioned. The close season for the last few
years has led to the large increase of the beaver. Their work was
seen everywhere along the rivers and streams. Of the birds, various
species of wild ducks and partridges are common. Most of the lakes
and rivers abound in fish. The lake and brook trout, perch, pickerel,
pike and black bass are ail exceedingly plentiful.
Many other interesting features of the district might be dealt with,
but space will not permit. Its beautiful clear water lakes, teeming
with fish, and surrounded by forests full of game, made it an ideal
place to spend a summer's holiday. With its splendid resources of
mine, forest and farm, its future is assured and we shall soon be able
to point to Temiscaming district as one of the most prosperous por-
tions of our province.
Acfa Victoriana. 397
Jottings
A FRENCH watchmaking firm has just completed for Count
Monteiro, of Lisbon, and Rio de Janeiro, the most complicated
watch ever devised. It gives the time in hours, minutes and seconds,
shows the phases and ages of the moon, the day of the month and
week for the next four hundred years, the year for the next one hun-
dred years, the seasons, the solstices and the equinoxes. It has a
chronograph that records fractions of a second : on pressing a spring
one may hear a bell announce the hour and minute ; touching another
spring informs us at what time the watch was last wound. The watch
also gives the mean solar time, the equation of time, the hours of sun-
rise and sunset at Lisbon, and the time of day in one hundred and
twenty-eight different cities of the world. One might think these
accomplishments sufficient for any watch, but this marvel shows also
the nightly position of five hundred and sixty stars visible at Paris, of
six hundred and eleven visible at Rio de Janeiro, and of a similarly
large number at Lisbon. In the same watch-case are a mariner's com-
pass, a hygrometer, to show the moisture of the air, a thermometer
and a barometer, and an altimeter to show the height above sea-level.
The case of the watch is as elaborately beautiful as the best jeweller
of Paris could make it. In view of the fact that seven years were
required to make this watch, the price — four thousand dollars — seems
moderate. The happy possessor of such a time-piece would scarcely
need a copy of Mother Siegel's Almanac.
Another French firm has introduced a novelty in bicycles, a two-
speed wheel. For one speed the rider pedals forward, and for the
other one, backward, which is said to be the more effective direction.
It is an old saying that Nature abhorreth a vacuum, but few know
how strong her abhorrence is. Only quite recently Prof. Gates, of
Washington, succeeded in making what is claimed to be the first per-
fect vacuum. He poured a hot, hard glass tube, closed at one end,
full of melted soft glass, heated it for thirty hours, and sucked out the
softer glass with a pump. As it retreated from the closed end of the
tube, it left an absolute vacuum behind it.
As so many of our departments include lectures on light, many of
our readers will be familiar with the luminiferous ether by name.
Mendelejeflf, the eminent Russian scientist, states his belief that the
ether is really an element, a million times lighter than hydrogen. It
would thus be so light that the force of gravitation would scarcely
affect it, and it would spread through all space.
XXVIII. cAda ^idoriana. no. 5.
EDITORIAL STAFF, 1 904- 1 905.
H. H. Cragg.'OS. - - - - Editor-in-Chief.
Miss E. H. Patterson, '05) x ■._„__ Miss E. INI. Keys, '06. It_„„i„
A. E. Elliott, '05 |l.iterary. D. A. Hewitt. '06. f locals.
J. S. Bennett, '05, Personals and Exchanges.
W. A. GiFFORD, B.A., Missionary and Religious.
F. C. Bowman, '06, Scientific. :M. C. Lane, '06, Athletics.
BOARD OF MANAGEMENT:
E. W. Morgan, '05, . . . . Business Manager.
J. N. Tribble.'O", H. F. Woodsworth, '07,
Assistant Business Manager. Secretary.
Advisory Committee ;
Prof. L. E. Horning, M.A., Ph.D. C. C. James, M.A.,
Deputy Minister of Agriculture.
Ebitonal
Within a few weeks we shall again have selected
COLLEGE those into whose hands we desire to commit the
ELECTIONS. management of our local affairs for another year.
The matter is one which does not, we think, always
receive from the student body the attention it deserves. We cast our
ballots very often with little consideration for the adaptability of the
men to the ofifices concerned. Let a man be a "jolly good fellow," a
personal friend, a member of our year, or perchance one of those
unfortunates who go down to defeat many times, and our sympathies
are aroused, and though he be pitted against one who is eminently
fitted for the office, we give him our vote, and thus often cripple the
machinery for the whole year. That system may be'permissible where
there is no great responsibility attached to the office ; but many of the
positions now in control of the students are growing in importance
every year, and the holders of them should be selected with the great-
est care. Efficiency and willingness to perform the duties involved
should be our criterion in deciding between candidates. Let men
stand or fall upon their merits.
Yet here again caution is necessary. Very often a student comes
to college a perfect stranger to all, and, through natural timidity, fails
to give his fellows a chance of testing his metal. The consequence is
that, though of sterling ability, he passes through his course without
more that a very few discovering his true worth. Thus the college
loses a useful man because of the lack of a little " prospecting " on the
part of some who ought to have done it. On the other hand, a man
Ada Victoriana. 399
may come well known by a few, who at once begin to " work " him,
and his course is a triumphal march through college, even though he
may have less ability than the other, for even college students are
deceived at times by appearances. The consequence usually is that
twelve or fifteen men do the greater share of the work and get all the
practical training, but at the same time are not able to devote them-
selves to their intellectual development. The unfortunate result is
revealed in June. Surely where there are two hundred men there is
no need to heap three or four duties upon the shoulders of one man,
as has been done in the past. By all means let us have efficiency, but
may we not with that secure also a more equal distribution of honors ?
Once more our Missionary Conference has brought
THE MISSION- before us the great need of workers in the various
ARv APPEAL, fields our Church has entered. Those who were suf-
ficiently interested in these things to attend the meet-
ings must have felt to some extent that this was a personal matter.
Many, doubtless, who had previously mapped out a course in life which
was most in harmony with their inclinations have had their ideals
shattered as there came to them that old but still powerfully persua-
sive appeal, " Follow me." And now, in the secret chambers of their
lives, they are facing once more the great and serious question of their
relation to the great problems of life. For many there will be a mighty
struggle before there comes the calm of an unshakable resolution.
Meantime it seems to us that it is the duty of our Church to remove
every obstacle in the way of a right decision. But is it doing so when
it sends men out to our home mission fields and then does not provide
them with sufficient means to live honestly before all men ? A lay-
man of our Church not long ago cited an instance which came under
his own observation, where a young man was sent to a mining region
in British Columbia, and when he had paid his moving expenses, he
had $245 to live on for a year, in a place where men were obliged to
pay one dollar a day for board alone. Is this fair? Few men in Vic-
toria who have offered their services to the Church are asking for large
salaries and lives of ease and luxury. Most of them have forsaken
walks of life which held out large inducements, because they realize
that "a man's life doth not consist in the abundance of the things
which he possesseth " and that there is something to them more worth
while than the laying up of treasure on earth. Nevertheless, in this
matter-of-fact world the problem of finance will insist on intruding
itself, sometimes rather rudely, and always in a way to enforce attention.
400 Acta Victoriana.
And a question which many are asking themselves is, why is it that
our Missionary Society can pay $800 a year and nrovide a house for a
man in China while the men on home fields are forced to struggle
along on a starvation salary ? The cost of living cannot make the
difference, nor is the work more arduous. That is generally admitted.
If the Society really cannot pay these men better salaries, why does it
continually open up more fields and so make the difficulty greater?
These are live questions among young men to-d.iy. There is no spirit
of carping criticism. We recognize that the leaders realize the
difficulty and sympathize with the men, and we would do nothing to
make their task more irksome. But surely until some new system is
adopted which will adequately meet the actual needs of the home mis-
sionaries, the Church can hardly be surprised if there is a constant need
of men. Let our Church demonstrate that it does take an intelligent
interest in the young men and that it is prepared to deal justly with
them, and there will not, we think, be the same difficulty as of yore in
securing the very brightest and best of them to enter the very hardest
fields. Surely it is still true, "The laborer is worthy of his hire."
^«?
Considerable discussion has been raised lately by
THE DECLiNt: articles appearing in the Christian Guardian under
OF THE the caption, "The Dangers and Needs of Today."
CHURCH. Inasmuch as in its later developments it has afTected
our own College, we, as students, are peculiarly inter-
ested. For some years the friends of Victoria have been trying to
convince our Methodist people that there is here no hotbed of
unbelief, nor any disposition to undermine the foundations of Metho
dism. Young men and women are here surrounded with influences
which tend only to the upbuilding of the strongest Christian character.
Consequently anything which will prejudice the minds of the people
against our institution will be justly resented by the majority of the
students. And there have been impressions conveyed through pulpit
and press, whether intentionally or not, which are certainly mislead-
ing. Rev. Mr. Hincks, in his recent letter to the Guardian,
inferred — and in his sermons, we are told, more explicitly stated
— that our colleges were losing the evangelistic spirit, and that
the young men sent out were unable to lead men to Jesus
Christ. It was rather strange, to say the least, that, while he
was giving utterance to these sentiments, a band of young men
from Victoria were conducting in one of our largest churches
an evangelistic service in which a large number, kneeling peni-
Acta Victoriana. 401
tently at the altar, were directed into the way of salvation. Moreover,
anyone cognizant of the life here, knows well that there is a strong
spiritual atmosphere which is not confining itself to our own narrow
circle, but is expanding and infusing itself into the life of many of
Toronto's churches. Many a young man and woman have the
students helped into that life which means so much to us. This is
said in no boastful spirit, but merely to vindicate our college in the
minds of our friends. There is here no heresy nor idle controversy,
hut only a holy zeal to extend the kingdom of Christ.
And is not this the secret which the Church needs to-day? Did
such a spirit animate the members of our Church, would men now be
crying out that Methodism is on the decline? Nay, rather, she would
be going with flying banners from conquest to conquest. And if we
have read aright that very excellent paper by the Rev. Mr. McMullen,
it is just such an end he has in view when he sounds the clarion note
for deeper consecration, and the placing of first ihings first. The
average minister's time and energy are so expended in attending to
the great multiplicity of duties devolving upon him that he enters his
pulpit with a great many minor details of policy, but with no great
message for the intelligent men and women whom the preacher of
to-day must face. So instead of wheat he gives them chaff. Under
such conditions, how can a man stir men ? Let men be filled with
the Spirit, let them be swayed with a mighty enthusiasm to preach
Cnrist, and lead men ualo Him, let them be free to employ every
faculty in that great work, let them be willing to go anywhere only
that they may bring to this degenerate age the old message, "Repent
ye, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand," and everywhere men and
women will be crying out, " What must we do to be saved ?''
This seems to us to be the stand Mr. McMullen has taken, and a
most reasonable one it must appear to most thinking men and women.
But Rev. Mr. Hincks does not seem to be satisfied with that conclu-
sion ; or else he has mistaken Mr. McMuUen's idea. It may
be, indeed, that we have misinterpreted his letter ; for it scarcely
gives the reader a clear grasp of his position. The latter part
would almost appear to contradict the first statements. He begins by
regretting the decline of the old type of evangelism and ends
with apparent rejoicing that it has been replaced by a more eflfec
tive one. Moreover, his statements with regard to God in creation
do not, we think, represent correctly the views our fathers held, and
are surely not an indication of those of the writer. We are, we
confess, at a disadvantage in not having heard the two sermons of
402 Acta Victoriana.
which the letter is a synopsis. But we are in the position of the vast
majority of the readers of the Christian Giiardiafi, and, Hke them,
we must draw our conclusions not from what ought to have been
in the letter, but from what was.
Now, in this letter it is certain that to a great extent Mr. Hincks
charges home upon the Higher Criticism the blame for the decline of
the evangelistic spirit. After asserting that the colleges adopting that
method owe it to the Church to show how to evangelize under the
changed conditions (a challenge which displays a lamentable lack of
interest in our college life), he goes on to give in three short paragraphs
" sufficient of the results of Higher Criticism to reveal what a different
book this school of interpretation proposes to give us as our weapon
in evangelism ; and to compare it with the book with which our
fathers wrought the glorious evangelism of their day." Later on
he refers to " the extreme wing of Higher Criticism " with no word of
qualification to cause the reader to infer that our colleges do not ad-
vocate any such views, but only those of "the moderate wing."
Now, one cannot but be surprised that any fair-minded man should
offer as the basis of a discussion a few disjointed facts as "sufficient
of the results " of an opposing system. It is easy to appeal to the
prejudice of people by entirely destroying the spirit of an opponent's
work ; but only calm, persuasive argument, which presents fairly
all the pros and cons, will appeal to the Judgment of reasoning men.
We have passed by the age when men will unhesitatingly accept every
word the preacher says. Mere declamation can no longer supersede
argument. Thus to state that our fathers believed a thing to be true
is not a sufficient guarantee that it is true. Surely Mr. Hincks does
not believe, as he says our fathers did, that all the Psalms were written
by David, nor all the Pentateuch by Moses.
The age is past when men are going to believe every statement in
the Bible merely because it is there. If it does violence to their
reason, it will undoubtedly be rejected. Hence many intelligent men,
who knew no method of interpretation save the old one, have cast
aside a great part of the Old Testament as unworthy of credence.
Even some of our own ministers apologize for it, and congratulate
their congregations that they never take a text from its records. But
there is no need for that. Could Mr. Hincks and others who are so
alarmed about our college training sit for a while at the feet of some
of our teachers in Victoria, they would find new cause for enthusiasm
for the old Book, and believe more truly than ever that it is indeed
the inspired Word of God. Every day it would become more pre-
Acta Victoriaiia. 403
cious, as it revealed more fully the true character and will of God.
These very books of the Old Testament which Mr. Hincks declares
have, under the new treatment, lost all their efificacy, would be seen
to be throbbing with life and to be vitalized by the same living Spirit
of Truth that gives potency to the New Testament writings. So the
Bible becomes one book, fused into one harmonious whole, revealing
with growing clearness, as men were able to receive it, the Divine
attitude toward His creature — man. Here, then, is something which
we can present to men as worthy of their best thought — worthy of
being incorporated into their highest life. Acting under its inspira-
tion, students to-day as never before — not only in Victoria, but the
the wide world over — are facing life and its responsibilities with a com-
plete consecration of all their powers to the intelligent service of God
and man.
"To grow old holding fast whatever has proved itself to be good,
and at the same time to give the new a fair chance to prove itself also
good, is the truth-seeker's ideal" (Bos worth). Then let us have the
Truth whatever it may cost. "The Truth shall make you free ;" and
if Higher Criticism has anything to give us to reveal more truth, let us
have it by all means. And if in simplicity ot heart we follow after
the Truth, we " shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God." At
any rate let us not be too hasty in discarding the spirit of wise old
Gamaliel : " If this counsel be of men, it will be overthrown, but if
it is of God, ye will not be able to overthrow it, lest haply ye be found
even to be fighting against God."
In his eagerness to criticize those who are earnestly, reverently
searching after truth by means of every aid that the thought of the
centuries has revealed, Mr. Hincks apparently has failed to catch a
vision of the need of the Church. It is not a reversion to old methods
of interpretation and work that we need, but, as Mr. McMuUen well
and sanely points out, a return to the old spirit which animated the
workers, and sent them forth with irresistible power. Ministers and
people need again and again, in the humility of the penitent Psalmist,
and out of " a broken and a contrite heart," to pray his prayer :
" Create in me a dean heart, O God ;
.\nd renew a right spirit within me.
Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation ;
.-\nd uphold me with a free spirit.
Then will I teach transgressors Thy ways ;
And sinners shall be converted unto Thee.''
4^4
Acta Victoriana.
ERSONALS
EXCHANGES
REV. E. A. WICHER, '95, late of Kobe, Japan, has accepted a
call to St. Stephen's Presbyterian Church, St. John, N.B.
Miss M. L. Bollert, B.A, '00, M.A., '02, lady principal of Alma
College, St. Thomas, is resigning her position there to accept a fellow-
ship in Columbia University, New York.
W. H. Wood, '01, was successful in capturing a prize scholarship of
the value of fifty dollars at the Christmas examination of Vale Divin-
ity School.
AxGlenwood, on November i6th, Ri;v. A. E. M. Thomson, B.A., '00,
M.A., '02, B.D., was married by Rev. H. F. Uren, of Tilbury, to Miss
Hattie Estabiook, daughter of William Carey Estabrook. AcT.v
offers its congratulations.
Ox October 26th, at the residence of the bride's father, Miss Kalh-
erine Van Arnam, of Havelock, Ont , and Rev. K. E. Hagar, of Port-
age du Fort, Que., were married by Rev. J M. Hagar, father of the
groom. Though an Arts graduate of Queen's, Mr. Hagar took his
Theological training at Victoria, and is followed by our good wishes.
Following the practice instituted by preceding editors of this de-
partment, and beginning at the point where they left off, we propose
to give, as we have room, the names and addresses of the graduates of
successive years. In some cases our information is incomplete, and
anyone who can supply the missing items or correct any inaccuracies
there may be, will do a favor not only to the editor but also to the
College authorities, who are desirous of keeping a full and accurate
catalogue of our graduates.
The Class of '95.
Miss H. S. Albarus.
J. W. Baird is preaching at Sarnia.
Jos. Barnes is Methodist minister at Ameliasburg.
Acta Victoriana. 405
R. H. Bell has charge of the Hickson Circuit.
J. F. Boyes is at Red Deer, Alta.
W. A. Chant is living in the city, at 34 Howard Ave.
M. R. Chapman is looking after the interests of Methodism at Gra-
ham, Ont.
W. G. Clarke is at Honeoye Falls, N.Y.
W. J. Conoly is preaching at Leduc, Alta.
A. W. Crawford, M.A., '98, Ph.D. (Cornell), '02, is Professor of Phil-
osophy and English and Dean of the College Department in Beaver
College, Beaver, Pa.
H. E. Ford, M.A., '00, is Professor of Romance Languages in Wash-
ington and Jefferson College, VVashington, Pa.
P. D. Harris is in Winnipeg, his address being 714 Croydon Ave.
G. R. Hazen has charge of North Street Methodist Church, in
G:)derich.
C. E. Hollinrake is practising law at Woodstock.
Mrs. G. M. Jones (71'ee Miss C. Horning) lives in Hagersville.
Mrs. I.. E. Homing's home address is Cobourg.
T. J. Ivey is Science Master m Jarvis Street Collegiate Institute,
this city.
J. McNiece is a high school teacher at Welland.
L. W. Patmore.
C. W. Service, M.D., is a missionary of the Canadian Methodist
Church at Kiating, China.
S. Shannon is in Atwood, Ont.
R. A. A. Shore, M.D., is a practising physician on corner of Robert
and Bloor Streets, this city.
W. J. Sipprell, B.D., '97, is Principal of Columbian College, New
Westminster, B.C.
H. S. Spence, B.D., '98, is the Methodist minister stationed at
Bath.
Miss M. H. Sutherland is at 132 East Ave. S., Hamilton.
A. J. Terrill, B.D., '03, is preaching at Cambray.
A. J. Toye, B. D., '99, is stationed at Ravenna.
F. W. Varley, M.A., '96, is the Methodist minister at Sutton West.
H. E. Warren, M.A., '96, B. D., '98, is preaching at Lennoxville,Que.
E. A. Wicher occupies the pulpit of St. Stephen's Presbyterian
Church, St. John, N.B.
F. W. White preaches in the Methodist Church at Grafton.
4o6 Acta Victoriana.
The Class of '94.
Mrs. Hogg {nee Miss J. M. Barber) lives at Preston, Ont.
J. Bowering has charge of the Methodist cause at Kelowna, B.C.
F. H. Clarke is teaching in the Jarvis Street Collegiate Institute,
this city.
A. C. Eddy, B.D., '99, is minister at Springford.
W. K. Foucar, M.A., '02, is head master of the Bradford High
School.
B. J. Hales.
Miss M. E. Henwood is at Welcome, Ont.
F. W. Hollinrake, B.D., '99, preaches in Dundas Street Church,
Woodstock.
H. T. Lewis ministers to the Methodists of Cobourg.
E. E. Marshall occupies the Methodist pulpit in Ingersoll.
R. G. Martin, M.A., '99, B.D., 98, has charge of the church at Ems.
T. J. Parr, M. A., '98, preaches to the people of Dublin Street Meth-
odist Church, in Guelph.
A. J. Paul, B.D., '96, is stationed at Elmvale.
A. A. Shepard, M.B., is a practising physician at Sault Ste. Marie.
The Class of '95.
J. G. Bowles, B.D., '96, is stationed at Huttonville.
C. M. Burwash, M.A., '97, B. D., '03, is private secretary to the
Chancellor of Victoria University.
E. W. Hayden, M.D., is a physican at Roseneath, Ont.
E. B. Hutcherson, M.A., '02, is at Regina, Assa.
J. F. Kay is Methodist minister at Glenallen.
Mrs. J. L. McDougall, Jr. {nee Miss F. Gertrude Kenny), has her
home in Ottawa.
W. T. Keough, M.A., '97, is pastor of the Methodist Church at
Hartley. Que.
R. S. E. Large, B. D., '99, is one of the associate pastors of Elm
and Agnes Street churches, Toronto.
M. L. Leigh is preaching to the people of Glenora.
W. R. Liddy is head master of the Port Dover High School.
G. H. Locke, M.A., '96, B. Paed., is on the staff of the University
of Chicago.
A. Y. Massey, M.D., CM., is a medicaljnissionary at Benguela,
West Africa, though at present on furlough, visiting in Great Britain.
Ada Victorimia. 407
J. H. McBain has charge of the Methodist cause at Stoney Creek.
G. A. Mcintosh, B.D., '95, is preaching at Marbleton, Que.
W. F- Oibjrne, M.A., '01, is a professor in Wesley College,
Winnipeg.
M. C Peart is the Methodist minister at Arkwright, Ont.
T. E. E. Shore, M.A., '96, B.D., '96, is pastor of the Toronto June
tion Methodist Church.
A. B. Wallace is at Enderby, B.C.
A. G. Wilson, M.A., Ph.D., F.G.L.A., is on the staff of McGill
University in the Department of Geology.
Obituary.
The wife of Rev. J. P. Wilson, '72, of Bridge Street Church, Belle-
ville, and President of the Bay of Quinte Conference, died at her
home on January igih.
Victoria has special reason to mourn the departure of Mrs. Geo. A.
Cox, who died of pneumonia at her home, 439 Sherbourne Street,
this city, on January 22nd. Mrs. Cox has always been noted for her
earnest devotion and for her active interest in all forms of charitable
and philanthropic work. To the erec ion and equipment of Annesley
Hall as a ladies' residence for Victoria, she gave lavishly, not only of
her means, but also of her time and energy. We offer to Senator Cox
and the bereaved family our sincerest sympathy.
Rev. J, F. German, B.A., '64, M.A., '67, D.D., has been called
upon to mourn the loss of his father. Rev. Peter German, who died
on January 29th, at the ripe old age of eighty-eight years. He was
one of the pioneers of Canadian Methodism, into whose labors we of
today have entered.
Rev. Davidson Macdonald, M. D., whose death on January 3rd, we
noted in our last issue, had the honor of being one of the first pair of
Canadian missionaries to set foot in Japan, which was the first foreign
field the Canadian Church invaded. He was born about sixty-eight
years ago, was converted in 1857, and entered the work of probation
in i860. He subsequently took a medical course at old Vic's
medical school, and graduated in 1873. Japan had just been opened
to Western civilization and the situation required great tact and judg-
ment on the part of the foreigners. The choice of the Church was
justified by Dr. Macdonald's success in the new field. His integrity of
purpose, purity of motive and professional skill won the confidence of
4o8 Acta Victoriana.
the Japanese, and at Shidzuoka he built up what is still the strongest
church in Japan. As Superintendent of the Mission at Tokyo he
showed great executive ability, and he also acquired a large practice
in the capital city, whose poor he treated freely. Generous, modest
and capable, he was a fine type of Christian gentleman. Both his
pioneer work in a new and foreign field and his high personal character
entitle him to be remembered by the Church with gratitude and honor.
Exchanges
The Queen'' s University Jou/nal T^xQS&nts its readers with a special
Endowment Number for January, with cuts and letter press giving a
comprehensive picture of the Queen's of to-day. While we may not
be of one mind with our Queen's friends as to the wisdom of their
refusal to enter with us into the federated University of Toronto, we
may admit that the semi-independent position has not been without
its advantages and we can heartily congratulate them on the story of
growth and progress which the Journal's Endowment Number tells.
A very interesting series of cuts shows the different buildings occupied
by the University, from the modest frame house of 1842 to the present
group of beautiful stone buildings. Naturally the name of the late
Principal Grant figures prominently in this story of Queen's, its present
position being due in no small part to his energy and ability. Queen's
men, who are noted for their attachment to their Alma Mater, may well
be proud of her progress and her position in the educational world of
to-day.
On reading 77/1? Studenf, the journal published by the students of
Edinburgh University, one concludes that student life and feeling is
much the same in the land o cakes as it is on this side of the
herring-pond. There are the same student organizations, the same
spicy local happenings to be recorded, and it would appear that there
are also "plugs" in a Scottish university. The Student is a good re-
flector of Edinburgh life and contains a number of readable skits.
We are always glad to welcome the weekly visit of our exchange
from the University of Xotrc Dame, Indiana, namely. The Notre
Dame Scholastic. The Scholastic is a bright and readable paper and
is to be the more commended in that its articles are almost entirely
contributed by undergraduate students. Verse, short stories and
literary criticisms, all of no mean order, testify to the valuable work a
college journal, when properly conducted, can do in the literary educa-
Ada Victoriaita. 409
tion of its contributors. In the last number to hand we note especi-
ally the appreciation of the poet Bryant.
The journals published by the students of the large American
universities make fiction a much more prominent feature than do
those of Canadian colleges. The January number of The Cohivihia
Mo>ithIy contains a number of short stories of a good grade, presum-
ably contributed by student writers. An article on " The Habit of
Responsibility " is one that most college men might read with profit.
College is a proper place for the formation of habits, says the writer
and the readiness with which some men accept new positions in
college life without definitely thinking whether they have the time for
the work entailed or are willing to make the time for it, does not
contribute to the growth of this habit of responsibility which is so
essential in and out of college.
The January number of the Manitoba College Journal is a class
number, in which the novel plan is adopted of devoting a separate
part of \\\Q. Journal to the contributions of each class. The result of
the emulation of the classes is an abundance of racy material. The
Journal is growing in size and improving in quality, and appears in a
tasteful exterior. There appears in the current number an apprecia-
tion of the late Principal Caven, of Knox College.
Wise Junior — " I guess I know a few things."
Proud Freshman (not to be outdone) — "Well, I guess I know as
few things as anybody." — Ex.
At the Reception. Charming Freshette (emerging from crush in
rendezvous room) — " Oh, my, I was nearly squeezed to death."
Second Freshette — "So was I ; let's go in again." — Queen's Uni-
versiiy Journal.
Scene — A country church.
Minister — " Deacon Jones, will you lead us in prayer?" (Deacon
still snores peacefully).
Minister — "Deacon Jones, will you lead?"
Deacon (waking suddenly) — " 'Taint my lead, I dealt." — E.\.
" You say your washerwoman reminds you of a good preacher."
" Yes ; she is always bringing things home to me that I never saw
before." — Yale Reconl.
4IO
A eta Vic to nana.
RELIGIOUS
The Great Learning
A Testament of the Throne/ess King.
Bv J. L. stp:\vart, b.a.
IN these days when we are striking away the superstructure of
superstition which admirers of ages have builded about past
moulders of history, and are asking solely for the man and his mes-
sage, it should be of no small interest to us to inquire into the testi-
mony as to the meaning of life's mysteries by the so-termed Throne-
less King of China, Confucius. The treatise termed "The Great
Learning " may well serve this purpose, at least as a primer, since the
Chinese commentators themselves put it first, glorifying it as " Virtue's
Gate."
To understand in a measure the message of this work, we must
first review tersely the man and his times. In a paragraph, then, the
formative facts seem these. Like many a youth of meditative mood,
Confucius was fond of poetry, and this, as in others, led readily over to
a love of ceremonial movement and music. But poetry for him had
more than harmony. It held up to hero worship or warning the his
tory-makers of his country's past. It told, as in many another nation's
dreams, of a Golden Age, and in it of how men fell and rose by follow-
ing or being rebellious to the great rules of righteousness.
Now the life lot of the Teacher fell in days of faction and friction.
They were the old feudal days of China, the times when the then tiny
Empire was divided into at least thirteen smaller squabbling states, in
each of which in turn the great families fought for preference and
power. Confucius could not but contrast his own evil times with the
brave days of old, nor help but feel that he held in the history of the
past healing for his country's ills. His preponderating purpose, then,
seems to have been the peace and perfecting of his people, teaching
them to revolve in rhythm and harmony in their various spheres of
Ac^a J^zctoriana. 411
life like the poetry of the sages and music of the songs he so loved.
This he deemed could be done, as of old, through the careful culture
of the persons of the rulers and the alchemy of their influence.
Feeling, then, that his mission was primarily to the rulers, his message
is also principally to them, but in practice it was to permeate all
ranks in the realm. Let us turn to the treatise. The key paragraph
reads :
" The ancients —i.e., rulers — who wished to illustrate illustrious virtue
throughout the Kingdom first ordered well their own states. Wishing
to order well their own states, they first regulated their families.
Wishing to regulate iheir families, they first cultivated their persons,
they first rectified their hearts. Wishing to rectify their hearts, they
first sought to be sincere in their thoughts. Wishing to be sincere in
their thoughts, they first extended to the utmost their knowledge.
Such extension of knowledge lay in the investigation of things."
We have, then, but to reverse the reading to trace the teaching from
the stage of a youth aspiring to be a ruler seeking truth, to the climax
in a realm where all ranks have grown great in virtue, and peace and
happiness reign. The process thus viewed may be readily divided
into two parts, namely, steps in character culture and investment of
influence.
STEPS IN SELF-CULTURE.
To each of these a short chapter is given explaining and exhorting.
We turn to the first step.
1. To extend knowledge to the utmost. Chu Shi, the authority since
the twelfth century, thus construes it : " We must investigate the prin-
ciples of all things with which we come in contact, for the intelligent
mind of man is pre-eminently formed for knowing and there is not a
single thing in which its principles do not inhere." He, however,
presses this to an extreme when he says that, after long investigations!
"the qualification of all things, whether external or internal, the subtle
or the coarse, will all be apprehended and the mind, in its entire sub-
stance and its relations to things, will be perfectly intelligent." It
seems reasonable rather to interpret it as urging that as a first step the
student ruler investigate things in general, possessing himself as far as
possible of a knowledge of their principles. In doing this he will
secure correct criterion and a proper point of vision to see as in
perspective while cultivating the second prerequisite urged, viz.:
2. Make his thoughts sincere. That is, he must allow no self-decep-
tion, but have his thoughts cleave clearly between right and wrong.
To attain to this, " the superior man is most watchful over himself
412 Acta Victoriana.
when alone," living constantly as though "ten eyes beheld or ten
hands pointed him out." He knows that '" what truly is within will
be manifested without '"' : that true men will see through him as though
they saw his heart and veins ; while for his encouragement he realizes
that " as riches adorn a house, virtue adorns the person, that by it the
mind is expanded and the body becomes at ease." This accomplished,
3. He must rectify his heart. That is, he masters his emotions; other-
wise they will master him, and bias all his judgment. We know well
" when the mind is absent we look, but do not see ; hear, but do not
comprehend : eat, but do not know the taste of what we eat." Some-
what similar is the man sidetracked through emotion. Sorrow, dis-
tress, fond regard, terror or passion ovei power him, and his conduct
is accordingly incorrect. He must master his emotions.
These, therefore, seem the three simple yet all-essential principles
in the so-styled " upbuilding of the body," or, as we have termed it, the
three steps in self culture. This completed, there opens out to the
ruler-reformer three successive stages for the second great secret of
- successful government, viz. :
THE INVESTMENT OF INFLUENCE.
The key to all influence in upbuilding the state is, as already
developed, first, last, always, to be. Other things all follow naturally
from example. The first stage for this example is that great institu-
tion the wide world over, the home.
I. The Ho;ne. H^ regulates his family — that is, the Oriental
family. We would possibly say, the clan. Here, then, he must avoid
self-deception. He must master his emotions, for in few places as in
the home will he be impelled to partiality, by conflicting passions.
Avoiding all such proneness to partiality, let him with vigilance culti
vate the home virtues. Each holds in embryo later essentials.
"There is filial piety — therewith later the sovereign is served. There
is fraternal submission — therewith elders and superiors should be
served. There is kindness — therewith the multitude should be
treated."
2. The State (that is the small feudal province). He orders well
his own state. This is, of course, if he has already shown his capacity
for such by properly regulating his family, for " it is impossible for
one to teach others while he cannot teach his own family." If he has
done this well, he is not really entering a radically new sphere. Heie
one has simply to apply family discipline on a wider scale. Moreover,
most emphatically in assuming the control of the province he does
Ada Victoriana. 4 1 3
not step out of his own family. He brings it and its all-powerful
influence with him. Therefore, his previous investment here will
bring compound interest. " From the loving example of one family
a whole state becomes loving, and from its courtesies the whole state
becomes courteous, while from the ambition and perverseness of the
man the whole state may be led to rebellious disorder. Such is the
nature of influence."
3. The Kingdom. The whole kingdom becomes peaceful and
happy. Here again he enters by no means alone. He comes with
home and state trailing clouds of accumulated influence. As before,
personal example is the supreme sceptre. For his guidance in this
he has a great principle, a negative Golden Rule, " What a man dis-
liked in his superiors, let him not display in the treatment of his
inferiors — what he disliked in his inferiors let him not display in the
service of his superiors ; what he hates in those who are before him
let him not therewith precede those who are behind him ; what he
hates in those that are behind him let him not therewith follow those
who are before him ; what he hates to receive on the right let him not
bestow on the left ; what he hates to receive on the left let him not
bestow on the right ; this is what is called the principle with which,
as with a measuring square, to regulate one's conduct. Here, then, is
the ancient and ageless invitation for the " Man Wanted." Let me
have but one minister, plain and sincere, not pretending to other
abilities, but with a simple, upright mind ; possessed of geneiosity,
regarding the talents of others as though he himself possessed
them, and where he finds accomplished and perspicacious men, loving
them in his heait more than his mouth expresses, and really showing
himself able to bear them and employ them ; such a minister will be
able to preserve my sons and grandsons and black-haired people, and
benefits likewise to the Kingdom may well be looked for from him.
" Only such a truly good man can without fear raise men of worth to
office, or banish bad men far off among the barbarous tribes deter-
mined not to dwell with him in the Middle Kingdom."
In all things, therefore, virtue is the root. Many a ruler, mistaking
the fruit for the root, seeks wealth, later to find that " if he make the
root his secondary object, and the result his primary, he will only
wrangle with his people and teach them rapine. Accumulation of
wealth is truly the way to scatter the people." In short, to lose virtue
is to lose the people, and to lose the people is to lose wealth.
But more disastrous far than losing the people is to lose the decree
of heaven by which he holds right to rule. Let him who thinks he
414 Acta Victorian'!.
holds it by other right listen. '' The decree, indeed, may not always
rest on us. Goodness obtains it. Want of goodness loses it." The
pulse of heaven is the people's heart. " Before the sovereigns of the
Yin dynasty had lost the hearts of the people they could appeal before
God. Take warning from the house of Yin. The great decree is not
easily preserved." From all which the conclusion is plain. " In a
state prosperity will be found in righteousness."
One cannot but feel as he reads this and other writings attributed to
Confucius that the sage never intended they should be a national phil-
osophy of religion. His fault was rather that by them he thought re-
ligion would be unnecessary. His mission and message were mainly
to the rulers and would-be rulers of his time. From that point of
view it is open to wholly different criticism, namely, that of inadequacy.
Example is truly a good government. So far as the treatise touches
upon ethics we may accord freely our admiration. That man has in
him possibilities for virtue, that virtue can be cultivated, that the in-
fluence of the individual is the root factor in society, that public opinion
will uphold the righteous ruler, that the right to rule is conditioned on
the will of the people, that good government and the peace and hap-
piness of its citizens is a great goal — all these we appreciate and ap-
plaud. It is when we probe these sayings for a philosophy of life, a
source of life power, that it seems weighed in the balance and found
wanting.
Should we pause to ask what might be the real aim of this strongly
urged process we are told " To illustrate illustrious virtue both in
ruler and people till all rested in the highest good." By this he means
our aim must be to bring out the best that is in us till all attain "peace
and happiness." Should we seek a step further back and ask when
this capability for virtue comes, how it is man has good in him to be
illustrated, he is vagije or silent. He takes it for granted that all agree
it is there. It seems to be from heaven, but whether such a term is
personal or an impersonal, impassive essence is indefinite, and purposely
so. He has no firm religious foundation of a Father all-wise, all-
powerful, all-compassionate, whence we are and nfter whose likeness
and image we are formed. Should we further press him as to the
climax of this social perfectioning which he preaches, he again is dumb.
He has no whither bound. The system seems almost solely one of
political ethics. Again, he has no vision of a Father in whom we live
and move and have our being, and to whom, through life's polishing
and perfectioning, we are growing. Lacking these his system, though
clear and beautifully practical, lacks the very vision which alone could
Acta Victormna. 4 1 5
give it power to push from behind and allure from before. There is no
strain sublinae instrengthencouragingthe strugglerafter self-culture to —
'■ Speak to Him, then, for He hears,
And spirit with spirit can meet ;
Closer is He than breathing
And nearer than hands and feet,"
nor thoughts to throw a vast horizon before the ruler-reformer seeking
his people's happiness,
" When that which came from out the boundless deep
Turns again home."
China herself has written the true commentary on all this in seeking
religious foundation in Buddhism and Taoism. These, too, have failed
to provide the power sought, until too often to-day the sayings of the
sage are but mere phrases and platitudes which no one thinks to per-
sonify. For Confucianism, then, as Christians, we come in the main
not to destroy, but to fulfil. We seek to show what is before and be-
yond illustrious virtue and good government, the Father whose is " the
Kingdom, the Power and the Glory."
Notes.
The College Missionary Conference, January 20-22, was the best
within our memory. Among the speakers whom we have not had in
other years were Rev. R. B. Ewan, M.D.,on furlough from Sz-Chuan,
C. B. Keenleyside, B.A., '92, and Harlan P. Beach, M.A., F.R.G.S.,
Educational Secretary of the Student Volunteer Movement.
Dr. Ewan's reminiscences of hospital work in Chentu were illumi-
nating and touching. Mr. Keenleyside, who is a hindered volunteer
for the foreign field, speaks as a college man to college men and
women, and his words were searching and moving.
And who will forget Harlan P. Beach, missionary statesman, educator
and author ? We have had no more graphic, comprehensive and stirring
descriptions than his of Chinese condition, of missionary work and
method, and of the compensations of the missionary's life. Dr. Beach
dwelt much on the compensations, and to him they are many and great.
He pleaded particularly for an immediate effort to provide teachers for
the Chinese. Such appeals must bring results in any body of Christian
students.
41 6 Acta Victoriana.
The happenings around Chentu, the centre of our mission in
SzChuan, are startlingly rapid. The Mission Room recently received
a cop^ of the first issue of the Chentu Daily — probably the first daily
paper in China west of Shanghai.
An accompanying translation by J. L. Stewart, 'oi, is significant of
the awakened interest in foreign topics, and the strategic importance
of educational work. Two things are immediately before our Church
— she must equip a school for the training of a native pastorate, and
she may, if she will, provide teachers for those who in the next
generation will be the officials of the province. What relation this
would establish between Christianity and the governing body of
Sz-Chuan must be apparent. Already Mr. Stewart has abcmt him the
brightest youths of Chentu. Teachers are wanted for mathematics,
physics and chemistry, natural science, and practical science. The
failure to find men, women and funds to seize such an opportunity
could only be adequately explained by some such word as decadence.
And we think our Church is not decadent.
o o o
The work carried on by the students under the direction of the
Evangelistic Band Committee of the Y. M. C. A. is being conducted
with vigor and success. Several churches of the city and suburbs
have been visited, and the visits have been a great source of inspira-
tion to the churches visited. As mentioned in January Act.\ a Band
of eight men conducted a campaign covering three Sundays in the First
Methodist Church, London, and the stamp of the divine approval was
unmistakably put upon this work. The students are lending to this
work a very hearty support and it is they who are receiving the greatest
amount of good from it. During February, services will be held in
some of the larger city churches. E. s. i;.
ALONG THE G. T. R. SYSTEM.
Ada ]'^ictoriana.
417
QCAL
GIVE me a home 'n the Northern Zone,
Where the zephyrs breathe through the forests lone,
And the sunbeams dance in the grassy glades.
And the brook's sweet murmur swells and fades,
And the song-birds carol the livelong day.
And the twilight lingers to hear their lay.
Give me a home in the Northern Zone,
Where the wild winds roar and the forests moan,
And the sunlight gleams on the snowdrifts deep.
And the lakes are locked in the ice king's keep,
And the sleigh bells chime on the winter air,
And the skates ring sharp on the frozen glare.
D.A.H.
The delicious languor of the summer, with " the ping of the mos-
quito and the June bug's merry pong," seems very far away from us
at this strenuous winter season, but it's coming. Who said " New
Year's resolutions ? "
Speaking of skating, what glorious sport it is ! especially with the
inspiration of good music. Why do all rink orchestras, good, bad,
and indifferent, persist in playing in such impossible time ?
Someone (at the mail box after Christmas vacation) — " It would be
a great boon to the H's if Hunter would come back. Here are two
love letters overdue, and a danner, and several ads." Another — " Pos-
sibly the dunner is overdue also."
Some wag placed the sporting section of the Milwaukee Sunday-
Sentinel on the same file with the Christian Guardian in the reading
room, bearing the inscription, " Compliments of the Sec. Bible Study
Com."
The first meeting of the Union Lit, with the prospect of a jollifica-
tion, induced a large attendance. The following honorary degrees
were conferred : E. L. Luck, Ph. A. (Phenomenal Artist) ; J. F. Knight,
W.W.N.S.T.L. (We will now sing " 'Tis Love ") ; R. J. Davison, D.D.
(Dolly, Dear !).
41 8 Acta Victoriana.
We subjoin a partial list of officers for the Spring Term : Pres., W. J.
Salter, '05 ; ist Vice., G. E. Trueman, '06 ; 2nd Vice., F. W. H. Arm-
strong, '07 ; Critic, J. S. Bennett, '05 ; Ass't Critic, E. W. Morgan, '05 ;
Cor.-Sec, Homer Brown, '06 ; Treas., W. G. Bull, '06 ; Rec. Sec,
W. L. Hiles, '07 ; Leader of Gov., A. M. Harley, '06 ; Leader of Op.,
J. G. Hunter, CT.
Jane, while at home at vacation, attempted to sell tickets for the
Glee Club concert at Oshawa to an old lady. Said she, " A glee club !
eh ? Are they colored ? " Salter (promptly) — " All colors, madame I"
Third Year Classics (to Secretary Rink Committee) — "How much
would it cost for me to skate some afternoon this month ?" Puzzle —
" Who was it ? "
The library is daily crowded by students ostensibly keeping New
Year's resolutions. The ostentation becomes apparent about four
o'clock — if the ice is good.
The report of the '05 class meeting which comes to us is about like
this, " It was wild." Some of the officers are : Ass't Marshall, W. F.
Green ; Chaplain, J. A. Spenceley ; Chaperone, Miss E. H. Patterson :
Prophet, J. A. M. Dawson ; Hockey Capt. {n.b.), A. D. Miller ; Cura-
tor, A. E. Elliott ; Ass't Curator, VV. E. James.
Luck (trying to make rhymes) — " Curse the elusive muse ! "
Not often brothers contemporaneously hold the highest offices in
two academic year associations. J. G. Brown is President of '06 and
his brother, W. T. Brown, President of '07. Someone has suggested
that these years are engaged in a " brown " study.
Miss H — M — LL, '07 (Jan. 19th) — "The College is like the deserted
village since the Glee Club went away."
The annual tour of the Victoria Glee Club and Mandolin-Guitar
Club this year, under the energetic management of Messrs. Robertson
and Campbell, may be described as a progression of artistic triumphs.
Mr. McNally and Mr. Chase were engaged as conductors, and gave
their best interest to the work. President Connolly spared no pains
in the development of a creditable repertoire. The places visited
were Oshawa, Peterborough, Lindsay and Stouffville.
Out of the many incidents of the trip worthy of mention we select
the following : At Oshawa about thirty young ladies from the O.L.C.,
Whitby, with Miss Rose Cullen, '03, as chaperone, occupied the front
seats, much to the conductor's annoyance, because of wandering eyes
in the chorus numbers. After the affair one hostess remarked quite
Acta Victoriana. 419
in earnest, " I never knew Dr. Hare played a mandolin " — re Ned
Burwash. One called Bishop " Mr. Organ." remembering that his
name had some ecclesiastical connection. Another designated Moore
as " the grinny man," and little Johnstone " the choir boy."
At Peterborough Mr. Whitney spoke to an audience of men the
same night, with the result that the concert audience, though large,
showed a plurality of the other sex. This gave rise to a remark from
Lane, that as at Oshawa the audience was " mostly men," and at
Peterborough " mostly women," he expected "mostly children" at
Lindsay, inasmuch as there the entertainment was under Collegiate
Institute auspices. It was at Peterborough, where Ernie JoUiffe lives,
that he was victimized by a bogus newspaper reporter (Connolly), to
whom Ernie gave a detailed account of the concert by telephone. At
Lindsay the concert evoked immense enthusiasm.
Throughout the tour that old favorite, " By the Light of the
Moon," was hard worked to supply local hits on members of the Club
whose home happened to be at any of the places visited, and on
matters in general, e.g. :
"The Whitby girls are here, my boys,
We'll see them home to-night,
By the light," etc.
" Oh my ! what sweet delicious joys.
When we get out of sight !
By the light," etc.
Returning to Toronto on Saturday the boys fell in with the editor
of the Globe and gave him three cheers prefixed by a " What's the
matter with Macdonald ? He's all right ! " etc. Later, acceding to
their request to make a speech in the private car he assured them that
it was indeed comforting to learn " that he was all right ; he had be-
gun to have grave doubts about it." This was prior to the election.
" Only a woman's hair ! " was the remark of one of our venerable
seniors, as he drew it tenderly out of a book he had taken home before
Xmas.
Ford (at the '07 reception) — " Sorry we have no more ice cream
ladies, but to-morrow you will be cream on the ice."
Victoria was pitted against Trinity this year in the debating series.
Mr. G. A. King and Mr. G. J. A. Reaney, both of '07, defended the
affirmative of the proposition : Resolved, that Canada would have a
greater development by being an independent nation than by continu-
420 Acta Victoriana.
ing her colonial relationship. Trinity was supported by Messrs. Allen
and McMillan. Mr. Fraser, in giving the judges' decision in favor of
the negative, offered the criticism that the affirmative indulged in too
much assertion and too little argument.
Wren (reporting for the '07 refreshment committee) — " At our first
meeting we did little business as we were in the dark." (Instant ob-
jection on the part of the lady members.)
Sophomore. — " Did the Chancellor forbid your reception ? "
Coliss, '08 (politely) — " Excuse me, but you're a Soph and we are
net telling our business to the Sophomores.'"
It is truly marvellous how many cogs the machine found for its wheel
from the student body in Victoria. Messrs. Harley, Archibald
and Hewitt acted as deputy returning officers ; Messrs. VV. G.
Connolly, C F. Connolly, Woodsworth, Smith, and Wtlls as poll
clerks ; Messrs. Lamb and Shaver as constables ; Messrs. Rutherford
and Luck as scrutineers ; and over all as grand canvassers and or-
ganizers were Messrs. W. G. Connolly for Blain and J. R. Davison
for Nesbitt.
The night of the election the Glee Club were engaged to give a con-
cert at Stouffville. A private wire brought the returns of the voting
to the music hall, with the result that partisan enthusiasm quite eclipsed
musical appreciation. After the finest numbers a frequent response
would be, Hurrah for Whitney 1 or something similar.
The Women's Oration Contest for the prize awarded annually by
Dr. Bell, took place in the College chapel before a large and ap-
preciative audience, on the evening of January the 19th. The con-
testants were Miss E. H. Patterson, '05 ; Miss K. R. Thompson, '06 ;
Miss E, M. Keys, '06 ; Miss N. M. Dafoe, '07. The judges, Profs.
McLay, Young and Keys, decided in favor of Miss Patterson, who
spoke on the subject : " The Value of Ideals."
The Sophomores held their annual reception on Friday evening,
January 2 7Lh. The programme consisted of several musical numbers,
and bright addresses from the various representatives present. The
host and hostesses were untiring in their efforts to entertain, and the
event passed off most felicitously.
Stranger (from across the park, to Freshette) — "May I go home
with you?" She — "Certainly. I'm staying at Annesley Hall." He
— " Well, I guess you can go that far alone." And she went.
Apropos of the above, we have it on the best authority that after
every reception this year there were ladies of academic distinction and
Ada Victoriana. 421
personal charm who were compelled to go home alone. And they
didn't live at Annesley Hall either. Gentlemen !
Miss L — d — n, '07 — "I plugged mathematics all holidays, and I
think if there had been three weeks more I might have had some idea
of what a straight line was."
Prof. Lang (meeting a couple of Seniors distributing Y.W.C.A.
literature) — " Is this a Xmas box ? " Seniors — "Yes, Dominion Ties."
Prof. L. — -" Oh, a new kind of neck wear."
Knox, '08 (referring to the prospective Freshman's reception)
— "Now, we must not act like children in this.'"
In the Study (Miss M — s — n, '08) — " Does the president take the
vice-president to the Senior Dinner?" Junior — "Are you vice-
president, P. ?" Miss M-s-n — " No, that's the point ; I wish I were."
Shaver (in Church History) — " Dr. Reynar, before you leave pur-
gatory, will you tell us some more about it? " Later — " It isn't such
a bad place, after all." Beware, A. W.
Miss W-l-ce, '08 — "Oh, all those fellows are engaged when they
come up here from the country, but — they don't remain so long."
Mr. a. E. Elliott (to Miss H-lt-n, '05, at Peterboro' depot) — " A
very merry Xmas, Miss P-tt-s-n ! "
Miss Grange (to Miss H rr-n) — " No, I wouldn't want you for a
sister-in-law." Miss H. (turning in defence to Miss Woodsworth) —
'^ Now, wouldn't you like me in that capacity ?" and she wondered
why they laughed.
At the Hall (Freshette No. i) — " Have you paid your fees this
term?" Freshette No. 2 — "No, my last cheque vanished into thin
air, since a laugh is bid up to ten cents."
The girls of '05 gave an informal skating party to the men of their
year, on Saturday night, January 28th, serving light refreshments at
the Hall afterwards.
At the Hall. — " I shouldn't like to wear an engagement ring about
college. Think of the jollying one would get." Miss M-kl-d, '07
— " I wouldn't mind the jollying. Think of the sweet inner conscious-
ness ! "
The Senior Dinner Committee has been constituted, as follows :
Pres. J. G. Brown. From '06— Heber Mahood, W. E. Galloway, Miss
Proctor. From '07 — G. B. King, M. D. Madden, Miss Cunningham.
From '08 — C. F. Connolly, A. Foreman, Miss Parlowe. From B.D.
class— R. W. Hibbert, B.A.
42 2 -. Acta Victoria7ia.
The date of the Senior Dinner has been fixed for Friday, February
24th. The attention of graduates is called to the preparation of a
table for their special use. Those desiring to attend would confer a
favor on the Committee by notifying the Secretary, Mr. W. E.
Galloway, at their earliest convenience.
The B.D. class, at their meeting to elect officers, gave themselves
eight days in which to contemplate the advisability (or perhaps, we
should say, the feasibility) of holding a reception. We fear the
matter will end in contemplation, although several who have been
" baching it " on circuit volunteered to make sandwiches.
G. E. T., '06 (singing while attiring himself)—" ' Sweet hour of
prayer, ... And shout while passing through the air' — bhnkely
blank it ; there, I've broken a collar-button."
The following representatives to attend outside functions were
recently appointed by the Alma Mater Society : E. V. Ruddell, to the
O.A.C. At Home ; Clyo Jackson, to the Trinity College Dance ; F. J.
Rutherford, to the McMaster Dinner ; Homer Brown, to the Vic.
'07 Reception.
Dr. R£VNar (viewing the new Alma Mater Society Club Rooms)
— "This furniture is gorgeous, Mr. Knight. I fancy I see Dr. Potts
and Dr. Carman enjoying a smoke in these easy chairs."
The burglary at Annesley Hall appears to have been a very daring
piece of business. The thief entered ostensibly as a plumber with a
bag of tools on his shoulder, walked upstairs, and proceeded in a
most deliberate fashion to investigate the contents of the ladies' rooms.
Discarding jewelry, as open to suspicion, he appropriated only such
treasure as bore the image and superscription of the powers that be.
In all about $25 in cash was stolen, the heaviest loser being one
of the maids. It was not long after his entrance, however, before the
culprit realized the awful hazard of his attempt. Alone and defense-
less in a woman's residence ! Overpowered with visions of himself
hairless, and strangled in a sheet, with his mouth full of castor oil, he
struck for life and liberty, and escaped.
Someone had evidently been taking notes from a missionary
address on the back of a hymn book. After cataloguing the various
religions of the world, the equation was set down : Christianity = Sun-
light. This opened up new possibilities to some wit, who proceeded
to equate the other religions, as follows : Buddhism, Brahmanism,
Mahommedanism = Gaslight. Shintoism, Fire- worshippers = Candle-
light. All others = Matchlight. Where is electric light ?
Acta Victoriana.
423
TICS
APROPOS of Victoria's undignified position in athletics in general,
and more particularly of her poor record last fall, we have for
some time been in receipt of a letter from one of the college's most
esteemed graduates, a man greater in wisdom than in years, and one
whose interest is unimpeachable, namely, "Jimmy" Wallace, the
" Boy Professor." Jimmy's grasp of local conditions is comprehensive,
to say the least, and any suggestion on his part is worthy of our most
serious consideration. The idea he has so recently formed has pro-
bably been developing in Brother Wallace's gray matter during these
last three or four years — great ideas are not the products of a momen-
tary convulsion, as the famous inventor of "Chalk Talk" would say —
but the immediate cause of its publication was the disastrous result of
the Mulock Cup series. Every year we have regularly sought for the
reason 7i.'ky, but now Mr. Wallace offers a remedy, which, though pro-
bably not feasible at the present time — we have not yet made an ex-
haustive enquiry into the matter — still seems reasonable and quite
possible. Would not a Methodist preparatory school solve most of
our difificulty ? The question is almost too broad for this column ; in
fact, the prominence given it here is for the purpose of gaining for it a
more worthy position. Victoria has but one preparatory school,
Albert College, and we are quite safe in making the unqualified state-
ment that the influence of that institution does not tend toward the
building up of all-round university men. Had Methodism in Canada
an up-to date academy for the training of her youth, corresponding to
Ridley or Upper Canada, there could ba no doubt but that Victoria
would be more representative of the church, and as such rank much
higher in every department of work, not excluding athletics. Our
material comes to us absolutely raw, and so our teams are always two
or three years behind in experience.
Mr. Wallace assures us in most poetic language, that on receiving
news of our contest with Senior Arts last November, his breast
heaved with great waves of sorrow. The editor of this column admits
424 Acta Victoriana.
that he was almost flooded himself upon that occasion, and, lest any
drowning accidents should really occur in the future, he prays that all
concerned will spend some time in contemplation of the proposal.
000
We most penitently, abjectly and profusely apologize to Mr. Doug-
las Henderson for an article published in our last issue to the effect
that that worthy gentleman was responsible for the innovation in the
dressing room. We learn on most positive authority that the Junior
in question, like Dr. Nesbitt in that other regard, merely countenanced
the proceeding, having neither dictated it nor subscribed to it. Acta
is always anxious that justice be done, even though the Rev. Macdon-
ald is not at the head of the Board.
000
A few days ago, at a meeting of the class of '08, their annual recep-
tion was voted down and out. We understand that since that time
there has been a reconsideration, recount, or something whereby the
issue has changed front, and there is general rejoicing. One may
wonder why mention is made of this on this page ; exactly, it is a
wonder. Has it occurred to any one that the attempted burial of this
time honored custom was largely due to the influence of a certain very
independent and important member of the class who last fall attempted
all by himself to exhume Association football from its newly-made
grave, and then failed to capture a place on the intermediate team,
the result of his efforts? Can any one affirm that the age of miracles
is past while one Freshman can accomplish the burial of one college
custom and the resuscitation of another, all in a scant five months ?
000
The hockey boys made good in their first match, having the pleas-
ure of administering chastisement to our old enemy. Senior Arts. The
game, though rather scraggy and under form, still meant a victory for
a newly-formed team, and we extend to the players the heartiest con-
gratulations. The seven lined up as follows: Goal, Sa'ter; point,
Robertson ; cover-point, McFarland ; rover, Hamilton ; centre, Old-
ham ; right, Campbell ; left, Davidson. Mr. Joe Gain ofticiated as
referee, and proved himself efficient and fair, as the final score, five
to two in favor of Victoria, plainly shows. As shown in the line-up,
two new players are wearing the crimson and gold this year—Davidson
and Oldham. Both men are on the forward line, and are ambitious
and capable ; they form a much-needed addition to the team. Of the
old men it is hardly necessary to speak ; " Jane " Salter still wears
his impregnable smile between the posts, and Bobbie is as heavy as ever.
Ada Victoriana. 425
Is it not rather significant of retrogression when we reflect upon the
fact that, of the seven men on the team, five are '05 men ? This
means that the last three years have brought only two men to the
front, and that we must depend on the incoming year, for at least five
good hockey men.
The hockey season has had a very auspicious opening this year ; not
only have the boys excelled themselves, but the team from Annesley
Hall has drawn upon itself unlimited praise for the brilliant way in
which it contested a tie game with the Havergal seven. Although the
result was a draw, and although the visitors seemed to have a wee bit
the best of it, still we look upon it as a win, for the Victoria girls evi-
denced more ability and less practice than their opponents. The two
teams were as nearly matched as possible and the play was fast and
interesting. For Havergal, Miss Ross the captain, was the bright and
particular star, and we rarely have an opportunity of witnessing such
skillful stick-handling. The Misses Carman, Harrison, Griffin, Bur-
wash, Proctor, McLaren and Norsworthy held up Vic's side of the
argument, and in the face of such an array of talent 'tis hard to
particularize. The play of the home team was brilliant but a trifle
spasmodic; a little experience is the requisite. Congratulations, Reggy.
Have you decided 2
Students wishing Vacation Emploj^ment
will do well to call at our office, or write
us immediately. We offer a good salary
proposition to suitable men, and added
commissions for special work.
The late election campaign occupied our
attention through January, but we have a
good class of men now under contract and
a superior proposition for any man not afraid
of hard work. Would you be willing to ' ' hire
out " for the vacation at a salary of $250 ?
EXCLUSIVE TERRITORY GUARANTEED.
Call or write to-day
A. C. PRATT,
La^e Manager 603 Temple Building, TORONTO
The King-Richardson Co.
IX
Acta Victoriana.
Can You Study One Hour
Without your eyes feeling tired or causing a severe headache ?
This condition is due to some refractive error, and can be reheved by
wearing Glasses properly fitted. Our optician is an expert in such
cases ; our prices are very reasonable ; call or 'phone for appointments.
WATCH REPAIRS RECEIVE CAREFUL ATTENTION,
College Pins
in great variety.
Special designs made
to order.
'PHONE N. 1152.
W. W. MUNN
lewder and Optician
800 VONGE ST.
We carry a full line of
the Ideal
Waterman Fountain Pen.
Call and try the points.
ist door North of Bloor Street.
\Jrkder^vear Umbrellas
Ha^tters and FtimisKers Fi**e NecK-^vear
J AMElrvS CRANG, 788 Yonge Street,
3 Doors Belcw Bloor.
StoUery's
For - - -
Students
THE- MEN'S AVEAR
STORE
750 Yonge Street
READERS,
When buying, don't
forget our adver-
tisers.
Correctly designed, carefully finished, with
strict attention paid to the smallest details.
Our Haikcltti.vg is guaranteed to give
SATISKAfTIOX.
E. M. KENNEDY & CO.
Barbers
464 Spadina Ave.
(j doors south of
College St.
The College Shaving Parlor
664 YONGE ST
SrUBENTS
South of
St. Mary's St.
For a Rugby Hair Trim in up-to-date
style. Shaving, Shampooing, Mas-
saging, etc., come to
JOS. B. SCARLETT
ec/i v*_~« c* We use only purest lotions and
66A Yonge^t. instruments. Strictly hygienic
ACTA VICTORIANA
Published Monthly during the College Year by the Union Literary
Society of Victoria University, Toronto.
Vol. XXVIII. TORONTO, MARCH, 1905. No. 6.
7 he Call of the Wild:
The Lament of a Methodist Minister's Son
w
BY ARTHUR FORD, 03.
HEN the first mild wind from the sunny south
Blows over the meadows sere ;
\Vhen the first gay chirp of the robin is heard,
And I know that spring is here,
My Methodist blood is roused once more,
And I crave to move as in days of yore.
When the streams break loose from their icy bonds^
And the sap stirs in the trees ;
When the world is roused from its troubled sleep
By the touch of a gentle breeze,
My Methodist blood is roused once more,
And I crave to move as in days of yore.
Yes, I am a Methodist minister's son,
And reared in the orthodox way ;
Each spring we moved to pastures green.
And still in the month of May
My Methodist blood is roused once more,
And I fain would move as in days of yore.
The Norse of old, when south winds blew.
Set forth across the sea ;
So a restless spirit, a wandering mood
The itinerant system has bred in me,
And now my blood is roused once more,
And I fain would move as in days of yore.
JVew York, February 2, igo_$.
428 Acta Victoriana.
Ji Month In Scotland
BY F. LOUIS BARBER, 03.
HOW can one describe the feelings of mingled admiratfon and
curiosity with which one approaches the land of Bruce and
Wallace or unravels the warp of history and the woof of romance that
form the fabric of one's imagination concerning the land and the
people that Burns and Scott have touched with their magic wands ?
And as we cross the border at Berwick-on-Twecd on the east, and pass
into the kingdom of the Tartans, it is like waking from a dream to
find that the people of dreamland, the wonders of their lives and the
beauty of their surroundings, have a foundation in real fact. Then,
when we cross the Esk and pass into Carlisle on the west, we go back
to dreaming of the beauties of sleepy lochs and angry cairns, rugged
Bens and ivied castles.
To begin our tour. We step into a compartment at Newcastle-
on-Tyne, and settling down into the cushions are soon rolled
smoothly into the other land — the land of our earliest admiration.
The train skirts the coast, so that from the small window we have a
fine view of the sea and the rugged shore. Before reaching Berwick
we pass that part of the coast off which lies Fame Isle — home of
the brave Grace Darling.
Between Berwick-on-Tweed and North Berwick we passed the
Roxburn, where Cromwell defeated the Scots at the Battle of Dunbar
(1650). Battle-fields are numerous in Scotland, so we do not stop
here, but, changing at Drem, go north to the coast where, three miles
east of North Berwick, is Tantallon Castle, the Douglas stronghold
Scott describes so minutely in " Marmion." Just off the shore here
is Bass Island, upon whose rugged top stand the ruins of the castle
prison of early English prisoners and Covenanters, now visited only by
solan geese — and tourists. Back to Drem and on to Edinburgh we
go, the rolling hills of the " Bride of Lammermuir " to the left and
the broad Forth to the right. Just before we reach Prestonpans our
attention is attracted by a monument, quite near the railroad, erected
to Col. Gardiner, who fell at the battle of 1745, the main part of
which was fought on the other side of the track.
In a few minutes we hurry by the castellated prison at the foot of
Calton Hill, and pass under the roof of the great Waverley Station.
The hurrying crowds and the rushing porters tell us that we are
\ Note. — The cuts in this article are used by permission from '" A U. E. Loyalist in Great Britain."
Acta Vicioriana.
429
somewhere. We hurry up the steps to the right and, as we look west
down the long, wide main street, we get our first view of Edinburgh.
After the first strangeness has passed we stroll into the gardens
adjoining the North British hotel and feast our eyes upon this most
beautiful of cities. Here is Princes Street. The Scott monument in
the foreground reminds us, loo, that it was and is the home of men of
letters. Beyond, in the valley, lies the park and farther the "Mound,"
SIR WALTER SCOTT S MONUMENT.
with its Grecian-styled National Gallery and Royal Institution.
Behind us stands Calton Hill, from whose heights we can get a fine
view of the city, which Nature and art have combined to make
beautiful. One cannot see everything in a week, nor can one describe
in a paragraph what one sees in a week. Simply to mention the
names of Adam Smith, Robert Burns, Dugald Stewart, Chalmers and
David Hume fills us with the desire to know more of the scenes of
430
Acta Victoria7ia.
their labors. Personally, we had always a peculiar desire to see the
tomb of the philosopher in whose consistent mind Locke received
such a sifting. So on our way to the brow of Calton Hill, where,
amid the monuments to Burns and Nelson, stands the expensive and
unfinished imitation of the Parthenon at Athens, popularly known as
" Scotland's disgrace," we steal into the quiet old Calton burial-
ground, off Waterloo Place. Within its quiet walls stands the monu-
ment to the Scots who fell in the American Civil War, and near by
••a.
EDINBURGH, FROM CALTON HILL.
the tomb of Hume, a two-storey hollow circle of grey stone. But
nowhere upon it would one expect to find the sarcasm :
" Within this circular enclosure,
Commonly called a tomb,
The Ideas and Impressions lie
That constituted Hume."
Out from the "silent city " we pass into the busy street, and, climb-
ing the stone steps of the Scottish Acropjlis, stand wondering at the
Acta J ^ictoriana.
431
beauty of the scene. As we turn our back upon the broad Firth and
the sea-coast lined with the smoke, the houses and the docks of
Granton, Leith, Portobello and Musselburgh, we see the city beneath
us and the grey Pentland Hills in the distance. If we follow the
course of the Forth for a few miles to the right, we see the angular
outlines of one of the greatest modern feats of mechanical skill, the
Forth Bridge, whose three great spans cover a mile and a half of
HOLYROOD PALACE.
water. M. Eiffel pronounced it the " greatest construction of the
world." From our present position, too, we get a fine view of the
gloomy old castle on the cliff to the left. A little lower down on the
hill St. Giles Cathedral, the scene of some epoch-making gatherings,
raises its lantern tower above the surrounding buildings. Here John
Knox often preached, and just outside on the pavement is a rude
stone inscribed, "J. K., 1572,' marking his grave. Here the Solemn
432
Acta Vicioriana.
League and Covenant was signed in 1643. Here it was that Charles
I. tried to reestablish the Scottish Episcopal Church, and it was here
that, during the service, Jenny Geddes threw her stool at Dean
Hanna. From where we stand we cannot see much of the old town ;
it is just down the hill from St. Giles.
In this section are some houses of great interest. For instance, a
projecting building in a narrow street is pointed out as John Knox's
EAST WINDOW, MELROSE ABBEY.
house. Beyond is the University, with its St. Paul-like dome. In the
valley at our extreme left stands the battlemented Palace of Holyrood
and the ivy-clad ruins of the Gothic Abbey. Beyond this and forming
a background of charmmg beauty, Salisbury Crag rises abruptly, and
farther away is the bold top of Arthur's Seat.
A few miles south of Edinburgh is one of the most fascinating parts
of the country, the Waverley District. As the train pulls in at
Acta Victoriana, 433
Melrose how strange it seems to hear the guard call out the place that
even in our childhood we associated with the buried heart of K.ing
Robert the Bruce. Walking from the station we catch a glimpse of
an ivied ruin. We hurry to the door of the sacred precincts, where a
sixpence admits us within the walls — those walls that David I. built,
that Edward II., of England, destroyed ; that Bruce, in the Fourteenth
Century, restored, and that to-day, even in their crumbling condition,
are the finest ruin in all Scotland. The variety of design is remarkable,
even the columns and arches varying in position and width, yet
in all this there is a fine sense of appropriateness and unity. Passing
down the nave toward the famous east window, we enter the tran-
sept, the roof of wh'ch is richly groined. Sculptured corbels
support the ribs, at whose intersections are beautifully-carved groups
of flowers.
To-day some of the corbels and fallen keystones lie heaped together
near the centre of the chancel. One stone is worn smooth ; upon it
Sir Walter Scott used to sit and think as he gazed out into the blue
sky through the slender carvings of the chancel-window, or at night
watched the shadows fall upon the floor, as the pale moon filledthe dark
corners of the Abbey with romance and strange stories. Upon this
seat thousands of visitors have sat since, and, of course, we, too, sat
there, looking at the same sky through the same ruined window, but
you will not be surprised to hear there is yet but one Sir Walter Scott.
This is not the only memento of the Scotts in this strange old pile.
Just at hand is a weird stone figure against the wall, with the inscrip-
tion : "Michael Scott's Tomb," and as from here I can seethe split
Eildon peaks, rent by that wizard's power, I recollect the lines :
" I buried him on St. Michael's night,
When the bells tolled one, and the moon was bright ;
And dug his chamber among the dead.
When the floor of the chancel was stained red,
" That his patron's cross might o'er him wave
And scare the fiends from the wizard's grave."
o'
With a glance at the cloister door, whose posts are so delicately
chiselled that we can stick a grass-blade between the leaves, and with
one more look at the stone over Bruce's heart, we leave Melrose as
we found it. But we have changed. We are better for its memories.
From the stones upon which Scott sat and thought we go to the
home in which he wrote. It is a beautiful walk of two miles to
Abbotsford, where the palatial home of the baronet is open to his
434
Ada Victoriana.
admirers — that means everybody, for who does not admire him ? Our
photographs are but poor substitutes for a beautiful day spent in these
delightful surroundings. Leaving the kind hearted old Irishman,
who showed us around, we stroll through the wooded country lane to
the ferry, so that we^may get a view of Abbotsford from the west bank,
as its turrets nestle among the trees and its lawns sweep down to the
water's edge.
Our next side trip from the capital is to Stirling. Space will not
ABBOTSFORD, FROM THE G.^RDEN.
permit an account of all places of interest passed through, for every
spot seems hallowed by brave deeds of love or war. At Falkirk,
Wallace was defeated by Edward I. in 1298, and here Bonnie Prince
Charlie was victorious over the English the >t-ar succeeding Preston-
pans Nearing Stirling the level plain and the blue outline of the
Highlands make a charming setting for the bold bluff and castle of
that historic city, while the tall lantern-topped Gothic Wallace menu-
Ada Vtctoriana. 435
ment is a constant reminder that near by, in 1297, the Scottish hero
turned back the enemy. We visit the Douglas room of the castle,
where James II. stabbed the rebellious Earl Douglas. The panes of
of the window out of which the body was thrown were replaced
with stained glass by our late Queen Victoria. The history of the
siege of Stirling by Edward T., and of its recapture by Bruce, and of
the battle near the burn of Bannock are too familiar to be rehearsed,
but to sit on the "Bore Stone" where King Robert planted his
standard, fires the imagination to re-people the plain with contending
armies. And how different this from the peaceful memories of Allan
Waters a little to the north. We leave Stirling to spend a quiet
Sunday in the hills at Kippen The charm and the peace of the
scene and the people on this Scotch Sabbath leave a memory to be
revived with pleasure.
The mountains that could be seen from the churchyard at Stirling
are now more distinct. Not only Ben Lomond and Ben Venue, but
the cloudy peaks of Ben Vorlich and Ben Ledi make us anticipate
with delight our Monday trip to Balloch, to begin our tour of the
lochs.
On our way up Loch Lomond we alight on the east shore at
Rowardennan for an ascent of Ben Lomond. Rowardennan is one
of those places that consist of a name and a hotel. The landlady
tells us it is a bad day for the ascent, for we may get lost in the fog
which now hovers thick about Ben's head. But we start. Through
long winding paths in the bracken wet with the mist, from place to
place we climb until the roar of a distant waterfall attracts our atten-
tion to where its white spray leaps out from amidst the foliage in the
ravine. The music of the cairn and its veil-like folds as it falls from
crag to crag for two thousand feet and silently loses itself in the over-
grown vale below, takes us back to the times when such were the
haunts of the nymphs. In the meantime we realize that we are getting
wet, and that in climbing we have ruined our umbrella. So, after
taking a survey of the country which, three thousand feet below,
stretches for miles like a great raised map, we descend, and we bury
one end of our umbrella with this inscription on the other :
" I throw my umbrella
Out upon Ben Lomond rocks
For I've spoiled my disposition,
And have wet my feet and socks,"
to show to the next climber that if he supposes we could not dry our
clothes by a true poetic fire, he is mistaken.
436
Acta Vidoriana.
The next morning we take the boat to Inversnaid, near Rob Roy's
Cave. Here there is another beautiful cairn, of which Wordsworth
writes :
" And these giey rocks,
This household lawn,
These trees, a veil just half withdrawn,
This fall of water that doth make
A murmur near the silent lake."
ELLEN S ISLE, LOCH KATRINE.
Following the road and the Arklet Water we pass Helen Macgregor's
cottage, and come at last to Stronachlachar, from which we go aboard
the Rob Roy, to cross Loch Katrine, the paradise of Scotland. The
lake is surrounded by mountains, and on its bosom rests the little
island —
" Where Ellen's hand had taught to twine
The ivy and Idacian vine,
The clematis, the favored flower
Which boasts the name of virgin-bower."
Acta Vicioriana.
437
As the boat winds in and out we can picture the Lady of the Lake as
she rows the Knight of Snowdown to the Isle. The silver strand
cannot be better described than in Scott's own language :
" From underneath an aged oak
That slanted from the islet rock,
A. damsel guider of its way,
A little skiff shot to the bay,
That round the promontory steep
Led its steep line in graceful sweep.
Eddying in almost viewless wave,
The weeping-willow tree to lave,
And kiss with whispering sound and slow
The beach of pebbles bright as snow."
A drive through the Trossachs, along I^ochs Achray and Ven-
nachar, brings us beyond Rhoderick Dhu's safe conduct, to Callandar.
Then from the city of the " Fair Maid of Perth " to Glamis, the home
of Macbeth, to Kinermuir or Barrie's " Thrums," and on to Montrose,
gives us a fine trip through the north. The coast scenery is fine on
the return via Arbroath, opposite Bell Rock Island, the scene of the
" Inchcape Bell," and across the long Tay bridge at Dundee. Con-
cerning the good time spent in going to Glasgow and visiting xA.yr, it
is unnecessary to speak, as these places are made familiar to the
reader by frequent visitors.
MARBLE CANYON, VANCOUVER ISLAND.
438 Acta Victoriajia.
The Price of Honor
BY EDWARD WILSON WALLACE, J^A., '04.
THE chief glory of the Happy Lark village was Grandfather Lark.
In a land where old age is always honorable, his four-score years
and fifteen would have been anywhere a source of pride. But he was
noi only a very old man — he was the oldest man in his neighbor-
hood, and his long, white beard was the proudest boast of his fellow-
villagers. In the neighboring city on a market day one could distin-
guish a Happy Lark by his jaunty air and his patronage of farmers
from less favored villages ; and, sooner or later, into every conversation
he interjected a remark about "the most honorable old man, Grand-
father Lark."
The old man had long ceased to engage in any kind of labor, and
he spent his days sitting at his doorway, placidly receiving the homage
of the passers-by. At his side often rolled a smiling, sprawling great-
grandchild, clothed in nature's modest garb. To this child would some-
times appear, in the doorway, a shrill-voiced woman, who would scold it
in the heartiest manner ; but when one of his daughters-in-law or grand-
daughters-in-law addressed Grandfather Lark, her voice softened, in so
far as that term is applicable to a Chinese voice. Unlike the prophets
of olden-time, Grandfather Lark was honored, not only in his own
village, but most especially in his own household.
Now, it happened that a few // off was another village, called The
Village Where They Wear Pug Noses. Whenever a Happy Lark met
a Pug Nose, he add^d to his usual greeting these words: "And the
Grandfather is increasing in years." Should the Pug Nose be the bet-
ter man, he repudiated the statement by chastising the Lark ; other-
wise he contented himself with shrill vituperation of all the Larks,
beginning with the present representative, and extending as far into the
past and the future as his breath and imagination could carry him.
Needless to say, these taunts cut. Many vows of retaliation were
registered before the family tablets of the Pug Noses ; but it remained
for one clever member of the village to discover a way of relief, a solu-
tion that promised to deal a crushing blow to the unbearable preten-
sions of the despicable Larks.
One warm summer evening the usual noisy crowd was gathered in
the narrow street of the Village of the Happy Larks. On the gossip-
ing, laughing gathering suddenly fell a thunderbolt in the shape of a
Acta Victoriana. 439
breathless young man, who burst excitedly into their midst and gasped
out :
" The Pug Noses have a new grandfather, who is older than Grand-
father Lark."
Imagine a child — a very small child, if you please — informed on
good authority that there existed a greater man than his father. His
mingled incredulity and rage and despair could not exceed the feelings
of the astounded Larks. A greater than their patriarch ! Treason !
Assassination! Foreign devils ! The good name of their village was
gone forever if such a vile slander were allowed to live. The story
must be denied at once. But, alas ! denial does not necessarily dis-
prove, even when backed by all the emphasis of the Chinese vocabu-
lary and volubility. The story spread that a Pug Nose had returned
home from a far off city, bringing with him an ancestor who was so
old that the hitherto oldest man in the village declared that as a boy
he remembered this man, even then an old man, with a white beard,
leaving the Village Where They Wear Pug Noses. No one dared
compute his age. He could not be less than a century old. It is
true he looked much younger ; but the evidence was conclusive
enough for those who wished to accept it. The unpopularity of the
Larks was shown by the readiness with which the neighbonng villages
did accept the story. They dubbed one village. The Village of the
Little Old Man, and the other, The Village of the Very Old Man.
It was not long before Grandfather Lark heard what had taken
place. All his family looked to him for help. Surely he, with his
years and wisdom, could discover some means of dispelling the fearful
cloud that darkened the fame of the once proud village. He, if any-
one, could vindicate the surprising magnificence of the Happy Larks.
If nothing else could be done, he could at least . He was old,
anyway, and . So they whispered to one another.
For several days the patriarch did nothing but sit in the sun and
nod. You would have said the old man was in his dotage and cared
not a cash for the honor of his family ; but you are not Chinese. His
anxious family knew better, and they whispered as they watched him :
" The Grandfather is consulting with the spirits of his ancestors. He
will devise utter discomfiture to our enemies and increased glory to
our family."
One evening, at his usual hour, he rose and entered the house. He
spent some time before the tablets of his ancestors. Then he climbed
upon the big brick bed and soon, to all appearance?, was asleep. But
later, when the rest of the family had joined him and all were peace-
440 Acta Victoriana.
fully slumbering, he cautiously rose, made his way over the sleeping
forms stretched upon the family bed, clambered to the floor, and stole,
with cat-like tread, to the door. He paused a moment, silhouetted
against the midnight sky, then he slipped out, and was gone.
He had roused all the family but not one stirred, until the old man
had left the house. Then they sat up and whispered together, and
hugged themselves for joy. The Honorable Grandfather had devised
a scheme, and had gone to vindicate his family. No sorrow at the
probability that they would never see him again intruded itself to mar
their happiness. Through the long hours of the night they slept a
peaceful sleep, enjoying in anticipation the coming triumph over their
enemies.
Grandfather Lark passed noiselessly down the long crooked street,
slowly picking his way amid the refuse and filth that often well nigh
blocked his path. Not a dog barked, not a soul stirred. The gods
favored the old man's enterprise, and helped him on his way.
At last he was clear of the village, alone in the stillness of the night.
A cold wind swept over the paddy fields. The old man shivered and
drew his coat closer to him. Now and then he stumbled into a puddle
of chilly water, and his felt shoes became cold and heavy. The road
was uneven and treacherous, and more than once he fell headlong,
soiling and wetting his garments. The pitiless stars seemed to sting
him with their chilly points ; the icy moon smiled scornfully on his
miserable plight. A more wretched figure could not well be imagined.
You would have pitied him could you have seen Grandfather Lark
then. Yet he felt the need of no pity. He scarcely realized the dis
comforts of his journey. Like a great cat drowsily basking in the
sunshine, the old man's mind basked in the glow of the supreme pur-
pose he had formed. No need now for thought, or care, or anxiety.
The die was cast. His family would be avenged. .
Of a sudden he heard confused noises before him. He had barely
time to crawl into the water by the roadside before a noisy party came
along. They were disputing, and when they came opposite where the
old man crouched, one of their number stopped and refused to go
farther. It was the old grandfather of the Pug Noses.
" I will go no farther," he declared. " I promised to come and live
for you ; not to die for you."
" But we hired you to avenge our family honor. In order to do
that it is necessary that you die. Do you think they will be able to
hold up their heads before us if you are found dead in their village ?
We did not pick you up off the street — a man with no name or family
Acta Victoriana. 44 1
— and pay you money that you should merely eat the roof off our
house. We bought you ; now, do your part. Son of a pig go on.
They still declare that their old man is older than ours. You must
prove our superior greatness by drowning yourself in their well."
The old man protested again ; then he broke out into pitiful whin-
ings and pleadings for mercy. Two of the men seized him. They
stuffed part of his old blue cotton coat into his mouth. Then they
grasped his arms and began dragging him forward. The others
followed to the outskirts of the village, calling him a "pig going to the
butcher." The wretched man was dragged toward the village well at
the other end of the long street.
They had nearly reached their destination when a dog barked.
Almost instantly the whole village was awake. Dogs, men, babies,
children, women, pigs rushed from every house, and the unfortunate
Pug Noses were set upon by a crowd of excited Larks. In the rough
handling that followed, the gag was torn from the old man's mouth.
He gasped out his story, and begged to be saved from his impending
death.
" Ha ! " cried the headman of the village, pushing his way to the
centre of the crowd, " these snout-nosed swine would force you to
commit suicide in our village, and make men believe a lie ! We shall
satisfy you."
He gave a few directions. The three were carried outside the vil-
lage where the two Pug Noses were forced themselves to put a noose
round their "grandfather's " neck and hang him to a tree. When the
deed was done they fastened a placard to his queue, " The Sixty-Year-
Old Pig of an Impostor." The two Pug Noses shorn of their queues
and cruelly beaten and maltreated, were finally turned out to seek
their companions.
Bitter was the outcry when they joined the waiting group. For
some time they consulted whether they should, few as they were, fall
on the village of the Happy Larks and annihilate its inhabitants, or
return and rouse their own villagers. The latter counsel, though
violently opposed by the two queueless disgraced ones, finally pre-
vailed, and some hours after they had left their own village they began
to retrace their steps.
Where, in the meantime, was Grandfather Lark ? When the noisy
band had passed him he climbed upon the road and continued his
journey. He had not comprehended what the men had said, but
some instinct made him press forward more rapidly, as though his
time were short. He stumbled on, a feeble, tottering old man, nerved
442 Acta Victoriana.
by the one dominant feeling that in his hands lay the family honor,
which he must vindicate. Before him lay a shining goal. He dimly
felt rather than foresaw his body honored by his family, his tablet
worshipped most reverently of all in their home, his name living on
for centuries among the great ones of his line. He could not foresee
the bitter feud that this night's deeds were to originate, nor the pitched
battle of the following day, when his fellow-villagers attempted to bear
him in triumph to his home, nor the many sad events of the years to
come. Even could he have foreseen these he would have held to his
purpose. All the instincts of his race urged him forward, and no
power could turn him. He was about to do the noblest deed of
which his creed knew.
He entered the village of the Pug Noses, and crept down the
street until he reached the house where the headman lived. He put
his hand to the door. It yielded. The men were away, though he
did not know it, and the women were sleeping. The old man
entered noiselessly and closed the door. Then slowly, carefully he
crept, inch by inch, across the earthen floor, until he reached the
brick bed. He crouched down beside it with a sensation of comfort
in its warmth. He fumbled for a few moments in his clothes. When
he had found what he sought he held it aloft in his trembling hand.
There was no light to shine upon that sharp blade. There was no
light to sparkle in the old man's eye. But he uttered a sigh of
complete contentment as his hand drew down across his face and
throat, and he fell into a huddled mass at his enemies' bedside.
See?
" If A is B, then B is C"
Prove it ! " Well, A is, you'll agree.
Then if A is, and A is B,
You must conclude that B is, see ? "
— X. V. z.
Toronto, A.D. 1905.
Jingle, jangle, trolley car.
How I wonder where you are,
In my house or in my shop,
Will you never, never stop ?
— X. Y. z.
Ada Victoriana. 443
The Jimerlcan College of the West
BY RUBY M. JOLLIFFE, '03.
IN this article I will try briefly to express a few of my impressions of
the American College of the West as typified by Whitman College,
and contrast or compare some of the salient features of its life and
government with those of Victoria, or the University College of the
East.
One of the essential differences is in the course of study oflFered.
The election system in vogue at Yale and Harvard Universities has
been adopted very largely by the smaller American colleges. A
student upon entering college chooses his major department. In
addition, he is required to pursue throughout his course a number of
minor or pass subjects, which broadens his course and lessens the
tendency to over-specialization. For his major work he elects what-
ever courses he may wish out of a number outlined in the catalogue.
This gives the student greater freedom in mapping out his course, and
has been found to be of greater advantage to him than the method of
prescribed work, where the electing and selecting is solely in the
hands of the professor, whose choice must govern all alike. In a small
college every course outlined is not given each year, but only such as
are most generally elected. The aim of the college is to provide a
broad, liberal education as a foundation, not only for the special,
technical education of the University, but for the fuller experience
and education which life everywhere affords.
Three courses are offered, leading to the degrees of Bachelor of
Arts, Bachelor of Literature and Bachelor of Science. The first two
stand for almost equal scholarship, the A. B. degree requiring more
of the classics. The question is much discussed as to whether the
standard A. B. degree, with its world-wide recognition, should not be
adopted for all three courses, but at the present time most of the
colleges of the United S:ates grant the three distinct ensigns.
Yet, though the freedom in the choice of work be greater, the
student is in some ways more restricted than in a University college,
where he is under University regime. Attendance upon lectures is
compulsory and a satisfactory excuse required for each absence. The
writer wonders if " ping-pong tournaments," " hockey practices," etc.,
would have been judged " satisfactory " in the days of '03. Yet a la
High School as this may seem, the stringency of the requirement is
444 Acta Victoriana.
somewhat mitigated by the fact that the lecturer loses no time in
covering as thoroughly and concisely as possible all the work promised
in his calendar, so that the student does not find toward the close of
the term that two-thirds ot the work remains for him to master alone.
Also the plan of daily recitaion, which most of the colleges pursue,
tends to limit the student within a certain routine of daily study and
to prevent individuality in the mastery of his course; but it obviates
the necessity, in the student's mind at least, for the final cram. Plug
season is unknown ! The disintegration of mental and physical powers
in May a phenomenon ! Aegrotats unheard of ! Yet, who of us would
not endure the strain for the inner joy and satisfaction of "skipping "
and procrastinating ?
Yet, in spite of such precautions against neglect of study, every
institution recognizes the danger of athletics becoming the " be-all
and the end-all here " ; of athletics neglecting the " higher branches "
in cultivating the " lower limbs." Here the student is encouraged to
keep his growth symmetrical by Intercollegiate laws, which forbid
participation in a game until his scholarship has reached a required
grade.
The spirit of the college is essentially Christian, and, though
denominational in its foundation, its development has necessitated a
broadening out from and beyond sectarianism. The spirit which is
inscribed upon the banner of Victoria, "The Truth shall make you
free/' is one with that which has made the ideal of Whitman College,
" Culture and Character." The Faculty are men and women who
have sought and found "the best things," and are endeavoring to
show their students where they may find them.
Residence or dormitory life, you will admit, plays a great part in
the development of the student. It is within these walls, the home of
the student body, that their solidarity and college spirit is fostered.
It is here, and not in the lecture-room, that students learn to know
one another ; it is here a student learns that man cannot live for
himself alone and truly live ; it is here he finds opportunity to learn
lessons which the class-room or library does not teach. For here he
can put theory into practice and study life itself. In the dormitory
he develops a breadth of character nowhere else attainable. It is
only with the help of the dormitory that the ideal of the American
college — that of a liberal education — can be realized, and so the
dormitory is an integral part of these institutions. Every college in
the United States has its dormitories for boys and for girls, and every
student not living at home is required to live within them.
Acta Victoriana. 445
The American college also fosters a closer bond of friendliness
between faculty and student. This is particularly marked in the
West, where the spirit of the college, as of the West itself, seems
broader, freer, more independent and more natural than that of the
more conservative East. Co-education is more in advance. The
faculty do not stand aloof from the students, bending only upon
solicitation, but each member shows himself interested in each
individual student. He knows each student personally, and the
progress he is making. He is ready to reprimand neglect of work, or
to encourage and aid those who are in difficulty. He makes the
enthusiasm of his own personality contagious, and is in every way
a help and guide to those entrusted to his care. So that not only
does a student bear away with him the indelible impressions of
friendships with fellow-students, but of strong and helpful friendships
with those who have gone over the road before.
The college of the West, too, is less exclusive and more
democratic in spirit. There are less class distinctions and more
independence and freedom from conventionalities among the students.
The majority of those who are attending college are supporting them-
selves. The sons and daughters of wealthy landowners vie with their
less fortunate classmates in proving their independence of cheques
from home. The college, to encourage such a spirit, offers clerical
work, work on the campus and in the dining hall to those who wish
to earn their tuition or board. And there are few who do not avail
themselves of the opportunity.
The students as a body are loyal, enthusiastic and strong. They
have come to college, not because their parents did, not because
ambitious parents send them, not because it is the fashion or the
passport to society. But they come, many of them struggling against
hostile winds, to test the value of an education such as their pioneer
grandfathers did not have, to make use of the opportunities, now
being so freely offered, of an education which will make them better
and nobler citizens of the nation of which they are so proud.
Whitman College,
Walla Walla, Wash., U.S.A.
44^ Acta Victoriana.
Idle Letters of an Idle Student
I.
Victoria College Library, Februarys 1905.
CHERIE, — You are not to have a newsy letter this week, for you
will see Eleanor very soon, and she will tell you all there is to
tell. Instead, I am going to have a chat with you about a very
idle half-hour I have just spent in the library.
Away down in the hazy depths of my memory is a quotation about
eyes being the windows of the soul. This last half hour I have been
gratifying my old-time childish desire to peek into other people's
windows. Come with me and I'll tell you what I saw.
At the end of my table sits a little Freshette. You would say that
her eyes were blue — delicious blue — " violets transformed to eyes,"
but I assure you they are of a distinctly roseate hue. What a glorious
delightful world Miss Freshette sees through her windows, but how
unreal I The rosy-colored panes catch and reflect the light in a way
distinctly dazzling and bewildering to herself and to us. Blessed
little Freshette, with all her troubles to come I May it be long, long,
before cruel storms or rude hands shatter the pretty rose windows !
Opposite me you will see a pair of stained-glass windows. They
belong to Miss Sophomore, and she has really had a very trying time.
She began with rose-tinted panes, but after a year's time the storms
came, and the pretty fragile things couldn't withstand the blasts.
Here a little crack crept in, and there another, until one day they fell
with a crash I Poor Miss Sophomore, in her sorrow she decided to
retire from the world, and so she put in blue glass windows. That
could notjast, however, for her natural curiosity in the life around
her revived, and so she tried to remedy matters by putting in little
pieces of colored glass^red and yellow, and purple and white. She
told me that it was a decided improvement on blue glass, and she is
very hopeful of the final result, but at present the whole effect is
rather bewildering. She cannot see clearly herself, and "the white
radiance of eternity " is all stained and discolored before it reaches her.
The Master Workman came and offered to take out the colored
and give her clear glass, but she thought she would enjoy her windows
very much better if she made them herself. Perhaps it is better so,
but think'of all the glorious sunshine she is missing !
Ada Vicioriana 447
I feel still sorrier for a pair of windows farther down the table.
Their owner hadn't patience to work with the stained glass, but after
her rose windows broke, she just put in frosted panes at once. It is
really dreadful, for she can't see into God's great beautiful world at
all, and only a pale shadowy sunshine can force an entrance. Per-
haps she won't be obdurate much longer. To-morrow I am going to
coax her out for a long walk, and I shall grow quite eloquent regarding
the cheer and healthfulness of clear glass and plenty of sunshine.
Wasn't it Jo in "Little Women " who used to leave the blinds of
their cheery little sitting-room undrawn so that the passers-by might
have a glimpse of the inward comfort and l:ght ? I always did love
Jo for that. There are some little housekeepers like Jo at this very
table, and on some of the " days that must be dark and dreary " it is
comforting to look in and see the cosy warmth and the bright clear
fire on the hearth wilhin.
But do you know there are some who insist upon drawing the blinds
tight and fast. Perhaps they are afraid of the best parlor carpet or
something equally precious, or perhaps — and I shall only whisper it —
perhaps some of the little home-makers have spent so much time and
money on the hangings and curtains, that if we could see in, we should
find an empty House Beautiful. What a pity !
I have saved my best till the last. Dear Lady Senioretta ! Nature
gave her beautiful silken curtains and hangings, and for four years she
has toiled and hoped, until now she has clear, pure, transparent
windows.
"True eyes
Too pure and too honest in aught to disguise
The sweet soul shining through them."
And how we love her for it ! How we love to look in and catch a
glimpse of the light shining deep and strong, and feel assured that
some day ive may possess just such a House Beautiful.
Cherie, I have been almost guilty of a sermon, haven't I ? But
unlike most of those who are compiling sermons near me, it has been
written for myself. I am going to have a spring house-cleaning right
away. I shall take off my double windows of Prejudice and Indo-
lence, and clear away all the smudges of Conceit and Grumbling, so
that the Blessed Sunshine may come in.
I am, carissima mia, ever thy
Betty.
44^ Acta Victoriana.
Book J^e V ie ivs
The Earthly Purgatory. By Miss Lily Dougall. Toronto : Lang-
ton & Hall, 1905 ; pp. 345.
THIS novel, called also "The Summit House Mystery," is the work
of the author of " Beggars All," " What Necessity Knows," "The
Mormon Prophet," etc., who is, as I have said elsewhere, the best of
our Canadian women novelists ; indeed, her work is on a par with that
of any of our novelists. This last work is the story of a mysterious
crime which centres around two young ladies named "Smith," who have
left New York and taken refuge in the mountains of Northern Georgia
to escape from scenes that were hateful. Neil Durgan, a Southern
gentleman who is forced to work, is mining near the "Summit," and
gets acquainted with them. His wife had left him and taken up with
a Spiritualist medium or charlatan by name of Charlton Beardsley, and
he it was that was mysteriously connected with the events, or supposed
to be, in the "Smith" family. Even the lawyer, Mr. Alden, who was
an old lover of Miss Hermie, had never been able to fathom the mys-
tery surrounding the Claxton (alias Smith) case, and the author clev-
erly conceals it from the reader up to almost the last page. Then we
understand what an "Earthly Purgatory " Hermie Claxton has for
years endured, and yet we must also feel that it was hardly worth the
while. Miss Dougall excels in characterization, searching out the
motives of action. In this she is easily our best writer. The descrip-
tions of natural scenery are also in places of the finest quality, and
everywhere good. As a tale of mystery the book ought to be popular
and successful, and that on its merits.
Monarch, The Big Bear of Tallac. By Ernest Thompson Seton.
Toronto: Morang & Co., 1904; pp. 213.
This work is a sort of historical novel of the grizzly of Golden Gate
Park, or rather, as the author sa)s, "a composite picture," of which
the central figure is aw abnormally clever grizzly. Needless to say,
the story is very interesting, as interesting as it could be were a clever
"human" put in the bear's (lace. Indeed, I don't see any difficulty
in doing so, and that is the objection I have to Seton's animal stories.
The illustrations are in much the same old Seton style we are all
acquainted with. How would a book of his look without them ? I
fancy we should enjoy a change.
Acta Victoriana. 449
The Nibelungenlied : Translated in Rhymed English Verse in the
metre of the Original. By George Henry Needler, Associate
Professor of German in University College, Toronto. New York :
Henry Holt & Co., 1904 ; pp. XXXV.-349.
Dr. Needler's translation is a most excellent piece of work, easily
first among English translations and a great credit to Canadian scho-
larship. There is an introduction of some thirty pages, of which the first
part deals succinctly but clearly with the origin of the Nibelungensaga,
its northern form, its preservation in the Nibelungenlied itself and the
mythical and historical elements. The second part discusses manu-
scripts, evolution of the poem, the character of the poem, later forms
of the saga, the poem and saga in modern literature, modern German
and English translations and editions of the Nibelungenlied. This
introduction is distinguished by its sanity, the only possible objection
being that in the attempt to be brief some parts are so cur-
tailed that they really are of little value. This could be urged against
the section on manuscripts and on German translations. Objection
might also be taken to the statement, under "The Northern Form of the
Saga," that it had early become part of the national saga stock in Eng-
land because it is mentioned in "Beowulf" and the "Wanderer." Its
mention there is rather due to the fact that both of these poems go a
long way back in the history of the English, to the home on the con-
tinent, where even then the love of travel, so characteristic of English"
men, made them the natural news-medium between the northern and
southern Germanic tribes.
It is, of course, necessary and allowable to a verse translator to make
use of archaic words such as hight, holpen., eke, ween (the past tense
weened strikes one a bit more strange), mickle (dialectic), and possibly
most unknown of all, wood {—xx\2l^). Sometimes the archaic quality
of the vocabulary, combined with the forced, unnatural order of the
words, makes one stop and think before understanding, as for instance
in the line —
" The thing, behold, I eke full fain."
These remarks, howiver, are not to be considered as wishing to
decry Dr. Needler's work. They rather prove that the author had a
great many difficulties to overcome in giving us a fairly literal verse
translation in the oiiginal metre. He has succeeded admirably, and,
as I have already said, the work is a great credit to him. The pub-
lishers have done their part, the net result being a very tasty book.
L. E. Horning.
450
Acta Victoriana
Ji Biological Study in Orchids
M
BY J. HORACE FAULL, PH.D.
R. DARWIN tells us in his " Origin of Species," that on a piece
of cleared ground, three feet by two feet, 357 weeds sprang
up, and out of these 295 were destroyed in the struggle for existence
— mainly by slugs and insects. In another place he observed that
out of twenty species growing on twelve square feet of lawn, nine were
killed in competition with the remaining fourteen when the lawn was
left uncut. He selected in a third experiment forty heads of red
clover {Trifo/ium pra(ense), of which twenty were protected from the
visits of humble bees. From the twenty unprotected heads he reaped
2,750 seeds, from the protected ones not one. Now, it is quite
evident that the majority of the sixty-two survivors in the first experiment
and the fourteen successful species in the second po'-sessed superior
qualifications over their fellows, which enabled them to maintain the
occupancy of the common station where they happened to begin life
together, and that red clover cannot reproduce without the aid of
humble bees. The oecologist seeks to find out why-these things are so.
In other words, he is a student of the social problems of plants and
animals or their life relations, and the adaptations that are favorable,
or otherwise, in the life struggle.
Orchids provide many opportunities and much material for such re-
search. And once having made their acquaintance, who is there that is
not fascinated by them, and once having studied their adaptive struc-
tures has not been allured still further, as under a magic speil, to delve
more deeply into the mysteries of their existence. The mere species-
hunter simply finds an Elysium here, and is ready to go in search of
that fabled orchid, whose deadly perfume poisons the breath of its
ill-fated discoverer.
From one point of view, orchids have not been successful in the
struggle for existence. In structure they exhibit the acme of speciali-
zation, but, withal, are found in small numbers. Perhaps their very
Ada Victoriana.
451
specialization should prepare us for this, as being an indication of the
severity of the conditions to which they are subjected. Their flowers
are shaped, and painted, and scented and endowed with nectar
sufficiently, one would think, to attract their favored insect friends.
Morever, if visited, they make sure that their visitors carry off a packet
or two of pollen grains. Yet they seldom reproduce by seed, in fruit-
fulness not to be compared with a thousand humbler plants that have
W
NEW AND OLD TUBERS OF AN ORCHID.
no apparent special attractions. The facts are that pollination is
exceptionally successful, and that if fertilization is effected, their seeds
are provided with little or no food for the microscopic embryos.
Gardeners and horticulturists rarely sow orchid seeds.
Nevertheless, though individuals are scarce, and the naturalists has
to search far and long for specimens, the number of species is very
great, and from this point of view their struggle has been eminently
3
452
Acta Victoriana.
successful. Altogether there is the astounding number of 6,000
distinct species, and some reckon 10,000. An overwhelming majority
of these are inhabitants of the tropics, few having been able to eke out
an existence in colder regions. In Canada and the North Eastern
States there are but sixty species. It is, indeed, a prolific family ;
in fact, there is but one other family that contains a larger number of
species.
Two reasons may be assigned for this abundance of species : First,
by vegetative methods of reproduction, nearly every individual is
certain of at least one offspring, so that a species once established is
SECTION OF ORCHID ROOT.
(The infected cells are dark.)
perpetuated, if not greatly increased, and second, they show a remark-
able plasticity, adapting themselves to fit into all sorts of places and
conditions.
Figure i illustrates one type of vegetative reproduction {Hnbenarta
viridis). Each year a sort of bulb is produced, which replaces its
exhausted parent in the following year, and so preserves the race
from extinction in case the seeds are useless.
Every plant, and almost every organ, is an illustration of the
plasticity of the family. Many observations have been made,
Ac fa Victoriaiia.
453
especially upon the flowers in this connection, but, though less
frequently studied, the roots are likewise of great interest, and we shall
speak further of thtm alone.
An acquaintance with orchid roots appreciably broadens our con-
ceptions of those organs, for not only do they fill unusal roles, but
many of them have practically ceased to act as absorbing organs.
Thus, the epiphytes possess certain elongated roots that dangle in the
air, and that may even contain chloroph)!), thereby serving as organs
of assimilation (the work of leaves), Further, the outer layers of cells,
the so-called velamen, are so modified as to be able to take up and
condense moisture and gases from the surrounding atmosphere.
FUNGUS GROWING IN ORCHID ROOT.
But t!ie roots of our native orchids are equally wonderful, though
they are hypogenous. Noticeably they are all greatly reduced, consist-
ing of only a few coarse strands, which are devoid of rootlets — a few
inches, or, at most, feet of roots if they were placed end to end, instead
of scores or hundreds of yards as in most o.her plants of equal size.
Indeed, reduction is carried to such an extreme that the coral root pos-
sesses no roots at all, underground stems functioning as such. How,
then, does the plant secure the necessary nouiishment from the soil ?
The answer to that question forms a chapter by itself.
454 Ada Victoriana.
It is with faint surprise that we discover that in some way certain
fungi have been induced to make their home in earth-dwelling orchid
roots or stems, and that they secure to their host a supply of food. Of
course they get a return, and are not unpaid servants. They receive
protection, and certainly such carbo-hydrate food as starch. There is,
indeed, a true symbiosis between orchid and root fungus or mycorhiza.
The fungus makes its first entrance when the roots are young, and
takes up its abode in the cortical tissue, filling up the cells as can be
seen in illustration 3, and passing from cell to cell as may be detected
in one or two places in the same photograph. Illustration 2 shows the
infected area. At the same time the fungus maintains external con-
nections, for a considerable portion of the mycelium is quite outside
the plant. Frequently the connection is by way of the root hairs,
sometimes their cavities being crowded with hyphse.
This is an interesting feature, for root hairs are usually only absorbing
organs, increasing the absorbing area of roots many times over ; but
here their formation has been shown in some cases to be connected
with the development of the fungus, and their function to serve as a
path outward.
With a greatly diminished and modified root system, the plant is
very dependent upon its symbiotic guest. Just how it derives its food
from this source, however, is a difficult question to solve, but almost
certainly in two ways. The external portion of the fungus extracts
nutritive salts from the soil and transmits them to the internal portion,
where they are traded off to the host. Then the parts of the fungus living
in cells, depleted of substances essential to its existence, die, and the
remains constitute an available mass of highly-organized plastic food.
Its debt is thereby fully paid.
A further differentiation in the system can be seen in illustration i.
The main part of the tuber consists of greatly thickened roots of
unique internal structure, that contain quantities of reserve matter, to
be used in the following spring by the new plant until connections with
its symbiont can be established. The working roots are developed
later, and are arranged in a circle just above the tuber. It is interest-
ing to note that the latter house the fungus. Indeed, it may be that
the store roots were never intended for its domicile, though it sorne-
times intruded upon them. It is obvious that if the tuberous organs
are storehouses, it would not do to permit entrance to a hungry visitor.
How the fungus is so generally kept out is a subject for further inquiry.
A eta Vic to ria na. 455
Jottings
ONE day Tyndall noticed that the air above a red-hot poker is
free from dust. This interested him, and he tried to form a
theory to explain his observation, and concluded that the currents of
hjt air dropped the dust as they rose.
Some years later Sir Oliver Lodge and Lord Rayleigh repeated the
experiment, and had all but arrived at the same conclusion when a
happy accident suddenly showed them that their theory was wrong ;
they electrified their poker strongly, and found that it cleared the dust
from the air much better. Lodge followed this new clue until he was
stopped by lack of a dynamo that would furnish the current that he
required. Then he waited, perforce, for some years until one was
invented.
Lately he has put his idea into usable form. At Liverpool a high
wire, carefully insulated, was charged with electricity at a million volts
on a foggy day, and it cleared the fog for a distance of one hundred
and eighty feet. Lodge said that such an instalment at each side of
a harbor mouth would keep the channel clear of fog and countless
accidents could be averted.
Other and equally striking uses have been suggested for Lodge's
invention. Workmen in paint and arsenic factories suffer from lead
and arsenic poisoning, and many of them die of it. Lodge's
invention would lay the poisonous dust and make the air quite whole-
some. So the dust of flour mills could be abolished, and if the inven-
tion were applied to a factory chimney, it would collect and save all
the smoke.
In the last few weeks automobile races have been held in Florida,
and many records have again been broken. Mr. Bowden now holds
the mile record, for he covered that distance in 32!^ seconds, which is
equal to a rate of almost a hundred and ten miles an hour. The car
that he used was an imported one, of course, for no American auto
has yet covered a mile in less than forty seconds. Brother Jonathan
is still far behind his trans-Atlantic rivals in the making of autos.
The auto races were followed by motor boat races at Palm Beach.
This form of amusement is newer and more expensive than motoring
on land, and is growing fast in popularity. The fastest time yet made
by a motor boat was over a stretch of eight miles at the Palm Beach
races ; the Challenger covered this distance at a speed of twenty-nine
miles an hour.
cAda ^idoriana.
Vol.
XXVIII. C/ILLd. LJlLLUritirid.* No. 6.
EDITORIAL STAFF, I904-J905.
H. H, Cragg, '05. - - - - Editor-in-Chief.
Miss E. H. Patterson, '^5 1 -r •^__„_, Miss E. M. Keys. '06. It„-_i,
A. E. Elliott, '05 |iwuerary. D. A. Hewitt, '06. | i-ocais.
J. S. Bennett, '05, Personals and Exchanges.
W. A.. GiFFORD, B.A., Missionary and Religious.
F. C. Bowman, '06, Scientific. il. C Lane. '06, Athletics.
BOARD OF management:
E. W. Morgan. '05, - - . - Business Manager.
J. N. Tribble. '07. H. F. Woodsworth, '07,
Assistant Business Manager. Secretary.
.\dvisory Committee:
Prof. L. E. Horning, M.A., Ph.D. C. C. Jamf.s, M.A.,
Deputy Minister of Agriculture.
TERMS: SI. 03 A YEAR; SINGLE COPIES, 15 CENTS.
Contributions and exchanges should be sent to H. H Cragg, Editor-
in-Chief, .\cta Victoriana ; business communications to E. W. Morgan,
Business Manager Acta Victoriana, Victoria University. Toronto.
lEMtoriaL
The Separate School Question
" It is this double aggression by Roman Catholic bishops and their supporters,
in assailing, on the one hand, our Public Schools and school system and invading
what has been acknowledged as sacred constitutional rights of individuals and
municipalities, and, on the other hand, in demanding the erection and support, at
the public expense, of a Roman Catholic hierarchical system, which has aroused to
so great an extent the people of Upper Canada against permitting the continuance
any longer of the provisions of tlie law for Separate Schools.'' — Dr. Ryerson.
HISTORY repeats itself; and to-day we can take the words of the
revered founder and defender of our National Schools, uttered
nearly fifty years ago, and apply them to our own time. For another
crisis in the history of our Dominion has been reached. Another of
those circumstances has arisen which have in the past so roused the
passions and prejudices of men, and have thus been largely respon-
sible for the cleavage which exists between different sections of our
Canadian population. Of such circumstances few have engaged the
minds of men as much as has the question of Separate Schools.
Acta Victoriana. 457
Indeed, we cm safely say that since this question became a vital issue
in our political life it has been as fruitful a source of fear, suspicion
and jealous intrigue as any which our country has had to face. This
statement is fully borne out in a short review of the history of
Separate Schools in Ontario, a history almost co-extensive with that of
National Schools.
Prior to 1841 there were no well-defined enactments for the regula-
tion and conduct of primary schools. To be sure temporary measures
were passed and grants were made now and then, but they were
spasmodic and had little influence on the educational life of the
people. Consequently the state of education at the time of the
Union of 1840 was deplorable, and in the first session of the United
Parliament it was determined " to make provision for the establish-
ment and maintenance of Common Schools throughout the Province."
Opposition at once sprang up to the proposed bill, both from the
Catholics and Protestants, and petitions were sent to the Houses,
presenting the claims of each party to introduce religious teaching
into the schools. As the two parts of the new province had equal
representation, a deadlock ensued and the bill was referred to a
special committee of the House, on which Lower Canada had fifteen
members and Upper Canada only eight. The result was to be
expected. Acting hastily and under undue external pressure"^from
the advocates of dogmatic religious teaching, the committee amended
the bill in many important particulars. Among other things it pro-
vided for the establishment and support of Separate Schools " when
any number of persons merely dissented from the regulations, arrange-
ments and proceedings of the Common School Commissioners."
Thus arose under most peculiar circumstances that principle of
Separate Schools which has since given rise to so much prolonged
and bitter controversy and discord.
It was soon found that the bill was not acceptable to either
province, as it was felt that the grounds for dissent from the Public
Schools were too general, and were provoking rivalry and division in
many neighborhoods. Consequently a new bill was passed, granting
Separate Schools upon a different and much more limited basis.
Not until 1852 was any demand made for the extension of the
principle of Separate Schools. In that year Bishop Charbonnel, of
Toronto, made certain representations on the school question to the
Rev. Dr. Ryerson, the Superintendent of Education in Upper Canada,
to which the latter replied, in part as follows : " It is here claimed
that the Pope and bishops of the Roman Catholic Church are the
45^ Acta Victor lana.
only persons authorized by God himself to direct the education of
youth, and therefore that all others undertaking that work are
invading the prerogative of God ; that all legislation on the subject
must have the sanction of the bishops with the Pope ; and that they
have done and will do all in their power to overthrow or modify
every system of public instruction from the school to the university
which is not under their control. . . . The claims set up by your
Lordship are not merely for ' religious liberty and equal rights,' but
for the absolute supremacy and control on the part of your bishops,
with the Pope, in our system of public instruction." This statement,
which was not denied, accurately describes the whole attitude of the
Roman Catholic hierarchy from that day down to the present issue,
when the Papal ablegate is exerting such sway in our national
councils.
Such being the avowed position of the Roman Catholics, one can
readily understand how difficult was the task imposed on Dr. Ryerson
in doing all in his power " to resist — come from what quarter it may —
every invasion of ' the blessed principles of religious liberty and
equal rights ' among all classes of Upper Canada." Subsequent
events fully showed that had there been a less determined and able
exponent and defender of our National System of Education, the
hierarchy would have made vast inroads into it. Would that we now
had a Dr. Ryerson to meet and offset their insidious advances !
By keeping up an active struggle for the extension of the Separate
School system Bishop Charbonnel succeeded, in 1853, in securing a
revision of the law whereby all supporters of such schools were
exempted from local or municipal school rates, and each Separate
School was to share in the legislative grant, though not in the
municipal assessment. But even yet he was not satisfied, and with
unabated vigor continued his agitation for still more generous facilities
for the support and organization of schools in order to secure absolute
authority over the education of Catholic children. In 1854 the
bishops presented to the Government a draft of a bill they wished
carried on the subject, which received a careful analysis by Dr.
Ryerson, the conclusion of which is worthy of consideration at the
present juncture : " The features I have exhibited sufficiently prove
that it contemplates the complete destruction of our Public School
system, and the subjection of the school funds, municipalities and
property, and the whole population of Upper Canada, to a religious
domination such as is without a parallel in any age, and is incom-
patible with the free government or liberties of any country. I doubt
Acta Victor iana. 459
whether the ingenuity of man could devise under meeker pretensions
and in fewer words the destruction of the educational institutions
and the constitutional liberties of a whole people and their prostrate
subjection under the feet of a religious denomination."
Shortly afterwards a private member introduced a bill in favor
of Separate Schools, which, owing to Dr. Ryerson's influence, was
defeated, "for doing which the Roman Catholic members of the
Government and others were denounced and excommunicated by
Bishop Charbonnel, who thus employed the highest power of the
priesthood to control Upper Canada school legislation and Govern-
ment."
In this same year Bishop Charbonnel, in a pastoral letter to the
clergy and laity of his diocese, said : "Catholic electors in this country
who do not use their electoral power in behalf of Separate Schools are
guilty of mortal sin. Likewise, parents who do not make the sacrifices
necessary to secure such schools, or send their children to mixed
schools. Moreover, the confessor who would give absolution to such
parents, electors or legislators as support mixed schools to the
prejudice of Separate Schools would be guilty of mortal sin."
In 1863 Mr. R. W. Scott, now Senator Scott, succeeded in passing
a Separate School Act through Parliament, after it had been greatly
modified, but it was done only by members from Lower Canada
voting down the majority of the Upper Canada members. Dr.
Ryerson gave his consent to the bill, but only on a thorough under-
standing from the heads of the Catholic Church that the bill would
be considered by them to be a final settlement of the question. In
two years they were again complaining and agitating.
In explanation of his support of the bill Dr. Ryerson, in 1865,
published a narrative of the events leading up to it, concluding as
follows : " I affirm, therefore, that the passage of the Separate School
Act of 1863 was an honorable compact between all parties concerned
for the final settlement of that question ; and that the renewed
agitation of it, in less than two years, is not only a violation of that
compact, but a warning to the people of Upper Canada that if they
are compelled again to legislate on the subject, their peace and the
safety of their institutions will require them to sweep the last vestiges
of the Separate School law from their statute book, and place all
religious persuasions in the same relation of equality to their schools
as exists in the New England States."
In 1866 another attempt was made to extend the privileges of the
Separate Schools, but it proved abortive and Ontario entered into the
460 Ada Victoriana.
Confederation in the condition in which she was placed by the Act
of 1863. The education clauses of the B.N. A. Act of 1867 are well-
known to all and need not be repeated here. Since that time until
lately matters continued much as they were then. During the last
few years the exponents of the Separate Schools have again become
aggressive in their agitations for larger liberties for the system, as
witness the recent Downeyville school case.
We have entered thus fully into these aspects of the history of the
Separate School question in Ontario to show beyond doubt what is
the attitude of the hierarchy on this great matter of education. A
similar study in the case of other provinces would reveal the same
spirit at work unceasingly. We have not space here to consider
them, but everyone remembers the stand taken by the Roman
Catholic clergy on the Manitoba School question, and that there also
they did not hesitate to use their spiritual powers to intimidate their
people and compel them to fight not for any national ideal, but for
the interests of the Roman Catholic Church.
The question with which Senator Power prefaced his pamphlet on
the Manitoba Remedial Bill is a fair index of the attitude of the
Roman Catholic Church : " Would the passing of the Remedial Bill
be a benefit to the interests of our religion in Canada ? " It was not
a question as to whether it would be a benefit to Manitoba. The
same spirit is manifested in a recent article appearing in The North-
west Review, where we read concerning the present issue : '• Let no
true Catholic allow his political bias to overshadow his religious con-
victions. Conservatives who are Catholics first of all will understand
what we mean."
After seeing so many proofs of the presence of such a spirit among
the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church, it is not surprising^that
Protestants should be shocked and mortified to find the Prime Minister
of our great free land submitting to the dictation not merely of the
Canadian prelates — that in itself would be humiliation enough — but
of the Papal ablegate — a foreigner — and that in matters concerning
the whole people, and not the Catholics only. Here is the acme of
ecclesiastical domination, a domination peculiarly galling in that it is
exerted by aliens utterly ignorant of those great principles of liberty
so dear to every true Canadian. This principle of outside interference
Dr. Ryerson rejected with characteristic strenuousness : " I deprecate
the interference of bishops and priests in Lower Canada or their
representatives with the school system of Upper Canada, the wishes
of whose inhabitants and their representatives are entitled to no less
Acta Victoriana. 461
consideration than those of Lower Canada, especially when the fun-
damental principle of our school system is equal and impartial pro-
tection to all religious persuasions and equal educational advantages
for all." On this principle, at least, we think all Canadians should
be united, the principle of true autonomy.
When we ask ourselves the question as to whether the law should
abolish Separate Schools altogether, we face a serious problem. To
do so would be to crush out freedom, the freedom that a man has to
have his children educated wherever he wishes. As private institu-
tions Separate Schools undoubtedly have a right to exist in any free
land. Perhaps even their supporters ought to be allowed exemption
from Public School rates, though many refuse to admit that. In the
United States such a privilege, we understand, is not granted. At
any rate it does not seem consistent with the public welfare to go
farther and make a grant out of the public revenues as an endowment
for the exclusive teaching of the Roman Catholic Church. It was
here Dr. Ryerson took his stand, describing such action as " never
heard of in any free country, and subversive of the right of individual
liberty and choice among the Roman Catholics, and inconsistent with
the rights of municipalities and of individual property among the
Protestants."
Most strongly do we feel that when a country has laid the founda-
tions of a splendid National School system, and raised the super-
structure, it would be suicidal to give any encouragement to reaction-
aries whose whole aim appears to be to place creed first and a strong,
united, well educated and loyal nation second. It is, we know,
objected that unless some religious instruction be given in Public
Schools the morals of the nation will deteriorate. But one cannot
well understand how the morals of any people could degenerate to a
lower state than those of the European countries where national
education had not until recently been introduced. And we feel
quite safe in risking a comparison of the moral natures of the
children in our Public Schools with those in the Separate Schools
of either Ontario or Quebec. Protestants, we venture to say, are
quite as anxious about the moral status of the community as are
Catholics, and yet they do not hesitate to send their children to the
Public Schools. And the advantages accruing from them are enor-
mous. Provided with a mental and social preparation equal to that
of his companions, the youth goes out from the Public School into the
great struggle of life acquainted with " the habits, views and associa-
tions of those with whom his pursuits and fortunes are linked," and
462 Acta Victoriana.
prepared to meet them on their own ground. But, if the children of our
land are to be cooped up in separate communities, each representing
some ecclesiastical or racial prejudices, it can hardly be expected that
they will become amalgamated and learn to respect one another's
liberties and views. " We will grow Protestants and grow Catholics
and degrade seminaries for the universal mind of the country into
rival garrisons of faction." Childhood is the impressionable age, and
if the growing population are kept separate until they have reached
the age of maturity they will never be able to shake off prejudice and
suspicion and unite to advance the interests of Canada and civiliza-
tion. What, then, could we do with such a conglomerate mass as
Canada is yearly receiving into her borders. Almost our only hope
of assimilating these into good Canadian citizens lies in the great
National School system, wherein " the common lessons of a free
citizenship are received, sympathetic relations established between the
various elements of the population and a common spirit of patriotism
engendered."
Along this line Dr. Ryerson says : " I think that no one will main-
tain that Separate Schools are expedient for the interests of the State.
Nay, those interests are more or less injured by every act of class
legislation ; and its strength is weakened by every sectional division
which its citizens have created by law. ... It was a source of
individual pride and of strength to the State in ancient days for a man
to say ^ Romanus sum.' So would it be to us now under a legislation
of ' equal rights and privileges,' without distinction in regard to sect
or party, for a man to say ' Canadensis st/m,' standing in all respects
upon the equal ground of right and privilege with every other man in
Canada in relation to the State and to the law. The tendency of the
public mind and of the institutions of Upper Canada is to Confedera-
tion and not to isolation, to united effort and not to divisions and
hostile effort, in the things in which all have a common interest. The
efforts to establish and extend Separate Schools are a struggle against
the instincts of Canadian society, against the necessities of a sparsely
populated country, against the social and political present and future
interest of the parents and youth thus separated from their fellow-
citizens."
Archbishop Ireland (R.C.), of St. Paul, some years ago said : " It
is idle for me to praise the work of the State School of America in
. imparting secular instruction. It is our pride and glory. The Republic
of the United States has solemnly afifirmed its resolve that within its
borders no clouds of ignorance shall settle upon the minds of the
Acta Victoriana. . 463
children of its people. The Free School of America ! Withered be
the hand raised in sign of its destruction ! " And, adjusting his
words to our own excellent Public School system, we cry " Amen."
Note. — We are largely indebted for material for this article to the work of Dr.
J. G. Hodgins on Separate Schools in Upper Canada. We have quoted Dr. Kyerson
to such an extent because he is generally recognized as the greatest authority of his
day on school matters in Canada, and because his utterances are matured and
thoughtful, displaying a comprehensive grasp worthy of so great a statesman.
And in the matter of Separate Schools, as in many other things, " he 1 eing dead
yet speaketh," and that in no uncertain or compromising tones.
The judges who have examined the essays and
ESSAY AND stories Submitted in the competitions conducted by
STORV CONTEST. AcTA have awarded the prize in the Essay Contest
to Mr. J. L. Rutledge for his essay on " The Prince
of Ballad Makers " ; and at the same time commended very highly
Miss Switzer's essay on " The Gospel of Work." In the story con-
test, for which a prize of ten dollars was offered by Acta Board,
first place was given to "The Price of Honor," by Mr. E. W. Wal-
lace, B.A., with commendation of "The Transformation of Mary
Baldwin," by Mr. A. E. Elliott.
Acta Board desires publicly to express its gratitude to the Com-
mittee of Judges who have kindly consented to act for us in that
capacity despite the fact of their time being so fully occupied.
It is a matter of regret that more of our students are not willing to
enter these contests. The prizes are offered to stimulate effort, but
fur some reason they seem to have little effect. Other College journals
can secure an abundance of essays and stories from the students,
while Acta has tJ struggle hard to persuade three or four to enter a
contest, even though a fairly substantial reward is offered. On behalf
of our successors we trust that the students will see in these contests
an oopprtunity worthy of being seized, to develop their own literary
style and at the same time encourage those who are struggling to
keep the columns of Acta filled with bright, readable material.
464
Ada Victoriana.
EXCHANGES
M
ISS CLARA M. WOODSWORTH, '01, has been appointed
lady Piincipal of Alma College in place of Miss Bollert, M.A.,
who goes to Columbia University, X.Y., to enter upon the work of
the fellowship lately awarded her. Miss Woodsworth has been on
the teaching staff of Alma for a year, and her rapid promotion is the
reward of her excellent work.
The resignation of Miss Bollert also left vacant the position of
instructor in modern languages. This has been filled by the appoint
ment of Miss Alice F. Henwood, '99, an honor graduate in that
department, with successful experience in teaching.
The address of D. A. Walker, '04, is 324 East 12th Street, Flatbush,
Brooklyn, New York. Mr. Walker is engaged in actuary work.
Rev. T. Wilbur Price, '01, has taken to himself a wife in the
person of Miss Frances Sherwood, of Medicine Hat. Mr. Price is
stationed at Elm Creek, in the Manitoba Conference.
P. D. Harris, '95, has charge of the History Department in the
College Institute, Winnipeg.
Victoria Graduates in Legislative Halls
IN all walks of life the graduates of Victoria are to be found in the
forefront. It is, therefore, no matter of surprise to find that when
they enter politics they rapidly rise into the very highest prominence.
Victoria is now represented by two members in the Ontario Legisla-
ture, Hon. J. W. St. John and Hon. W. A. Willoughby, and has also
two of her graduates in the House of Commons at Ottawa, Hon.
Clififord Sifton and Dr. A. A. Stockton, K.C We present below a
brief sketch of each of them.
Hon. Joseph Wesley St. John, M.A., was born in the Township
of Brock in 1854. His education was received in local schools and in
Victoria University at Cobourg, from which he graduated in 1881,
being granted his M.A. degree in 1884. After practising as an
attorney for some years, Mr. St. John was called to the bar in 1894,
and has practised ever since in the City of Toronto. He was elected
Ada Victoriana. 465
a member of the Legislative Assembly in 1894, but was defeated in
the elections of 1898. He re-entered the House in 1902, and was
again successful at the recent elections. He has shown marked
ability in the debates of the House, and was one of the foremost
fighters of the Conservative party while in Opposition. The Premier
has now designated him as Speaker of the Assembly, the duties of
which office h^ will undoubtedly discharge with dignity and honor to
himself. Mr. St. John is a well-known Church worker, with a special
interest in the Sunday-school. He is also a member of the Senate of
Victoria University.
Hon. William Armson Willoughby, M.D., is, like so many other
good men, of Irish extraction, and was born in the Township of West
Gwilhmbury, in 1844. After the usual Grammar School training he
enrolled in the Medical Faculty of Victoria College and graduated in
1867. He entered municipal politics in the village of Colborne, and
after serving that municipality in various capacities became warden of
Northumberland and Durham. In 1886 he was returned as member
of the Legislative Assembly for East Northumberland, and has been
successful at every general election since that time with the exception
of that of 1898. He soon became known as one of the most aggres-
sive and effective debaters on the Opposition side of the House
during the Liberal tenure of power. When Hon. Mr. Whitney was
entrusted with the task of forming a new ministry. Dr. Willoughby
was chosen by him to enter the Cabinet as Minister without portfolio
He holds the post of surgeon in the 40th Battalion of Volunteer
Militia.
Hon. Clifford Sifton, B. A., K.C, is also of Irish descent, his birth-
place being London Township^ Middlesex County. After preliminary
training in the London High School and the Dundas Boys' School,
he entered Victoria University, from which he graduated in 1880 with
the Prince of Wales gold medal. It was while Mr. Sifton was in
College that the first number of Acta Victoriana was published,
and the name of C Sifton appears therein as first Business Manager.
In 1882 he was called to the Manitoba bar and began the practise of
his profession in Brandon. He was created a Q.C. in 1895. In 1888
he entered the Manitoba Assembly as Liberal member for North
Brandon, and in 1891 entered the cabinet of Mr. Green way as
Attorney General. It was during the conflict between the Govern-
ments of Manitoba and the Dominion over the question of provincial
control of education that Mr. Sifton came especially into prominence
as a staunch opponent of the coercion policy of the Tupper adminis-
466 Ada Victoriana.
tration. It was Mr. Sifton who introduced into the Manitoba Legis-
lature the resolutions refusing to carry out the Dominion Govern-
ment's Order-in-Council for the restoration of Separate Schools and
protesting against the passing of the Remedial Bill. In 1896, when
Sir Wilfrid Laurier came into power as the champion of provincial
rights, he invited Mr. Sifton to enter his Cabinet, which he did,
resigning his post in the Manitoba Government to become Minister
of the Interior under Mr. Laurier. The development of the west is
the work nearest to Mr. Sifton's heart, and he has shown conspicuous
ability in that field, bein; recognized, in fact, as one of the strongest
men in the Liberal ranks in Dominion politics. That he is a man
whose devotion to principle comes before his loyalty to a party leader
is seen in his manly stand on the Provincial Autonomy Bill and his
resignation from the Cabinet of Sir Wilfrid Laurier. Mr. Sifton has
the congratulations of his Alma Mater on his championship of the
principle of provincial control of education and his opposition to
forcing Separate Schools on the West.
Alfred Augustus Stockton, M.A., LL.D., Ph.D., K.C., comes of
United Empire Loyalist stock, and was born in New Brunswick in 1842.
His education was received at the Academy and the University of
Mount Allison, where his course was an extremely creditable one.
He graduated in 1864 at head of his class, and was granted his M.A.
in 1867, and was also given the degree of D.C.L. by his Alma Mater
in 1884. After graduating in Arts he took a course in the Faculty of
Law, Victoria University, taking in 1867 the degree of LL.B., which
was made LL.D. in 1887. In 1868 he was called to the bar of his
native province and began the practise of his profession at St. John,
where his forensic ability and legal knowledge soon won him an
eminent position in the courts. He became a lecturer in Constitu-
tional and Admiralty Law in the law school of New Brunswick, and
besides having edited several volumes of law reports, is the author of
a number of works on legal subjects. He was created a K.C. in
1891. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of New Bruns-
wick in 1883 and continued to serve the city of St. John as its repre-
sentative for some sixteen years. Though he had entered the
Assembly as a Liberal member he presently found himself out of
harmony with the views of his party and was elected as the Leader
of the Conservative Opposition in 1892. During his term in the
Assembly he was named as one of a commission to examine into and
report on the law, practise and constitution of the courts of the
province. Entering the field of Dominion politics in the recent
Ada Victoriana. 467
elections, he carried the city and county of St. John in the Con-
servative interest. Dr. Stockton is a prominent member of the
Methodist Church and has sat in the General Conference of that
body. In 1883 he was granted the degree of Ph.D. by Illinois
Wesleyan University. His wife is the daughter of Dr. Pickard, late
principal of Mount Allison University. Ronald Stockton, '08, is a
son.
Years Gone By
WE continue below the list of the names, addresses, and profes-
sions of our graduates by years begun in our last number.
As we stated then, we shall be grateful for any information that will
correct inaccuracies or supply the gaps in the list below. In this con-
nection it may be stated that a card catalogue of the graduates, prepared
at the cost of no little labor by Professor Lang, has been placed in the
Library Annex in the College building, where it may be consulted by
those desiring information as to the whereabouts of Victoria's alumni.
From our '94 list in the last number the name of Rev. J. A. Ayearst
was inadvertently omitted. Mr. Ayearst is pastor of the Methodist
Church at Lucan :
The Class of '92.
Gilbert Agar is pastor of Westmoreland Avenue Methodist Church,
this city, and resides at 270 Westmoreland Ave.
W. F. Allan is a Presbyterian divine at Innisfail, Alta., N.W.T.
W. H. Barraclough has charge of the Methodist interests at Daw-
son City, Yukon.
J. Nelson Brown is at Franklin, Man.
H. S. Dougall, M.A., '99, B.D. (Yale), is the Methodist minister at
Walkerton, Ont.
Egerton R. Doxsee is classical instructor in Albert College, Belle-
ville.
E, S. Howard is teaching in the Collegiate Institute at Owen Sound,
Ont.
A. G. Hudson is pastor of the Methodist Church at Gravenhurst,
Ont.
Clifford B. Keenleyside, B.D. (Yale), is in business in London, Ont.
G. E. Kennedy is head master of the High School at Stirling, Ont.
F. D. Kerr is practising law at Peterboro, Ont.
F. J. Livingstone, M.D., is a medical missionary in South Africa,
residing at Durban, Natal.
4
468 Ac^a Victoi'iana.
S. E. Marshall, B.D. (Yale), is pastor of the Norfolk Street Method-
ist Church, Guelph, Ont.
J. J. Morgan is on the staff of the Simcoe High School.
John Robson is Methodist minister at Fernie, B.C.
G. F. Rogers is head master of the Seaforth Collegiate Institute.
W. L. Rutledge has charge of Central Methodist Church, in Wood-
stock.
C. T. Scott is pastor of Dundas Street Centre Church London.
vAddress, 484 Dundas Street, London).
B. R. Strangways, B.D., is pastor of the Methodist Church at Parry
Sound.
L B. Wallwin has charge of Empress Avenue Methodist Church.
London, Ont. (Address, i St. Andrew Sr., London).
R. Whiting is pastor of St. Paul's Methodist Church, this city, and
resides at 1 1 Avenue Place.
Norman Williams is practising law at Los Angeles, Cal.
The following members of the class of '92 have died since graduat-
ing : Arthur Allin, Ph.D.; Rev. P. H. Allin, W. M. Doxsee, Rev. F. E.
Fletcher.
The Class of 'P/.
Robert B. Beynon is the Methodist minister at Innisfil, Ont.
F. L. Brown has charge of the Methodist Church at Tottenham, Ont
Miss Nettie Burkholder is lady principal of the O.L.C at Whitby.
R. A. Daly is connected with the Geological Survey, Ottawa.
Miss Clara De Lany is at Cobourg, Ont.
D. Earl is Methodist minister at Upper Bedford, Que.
T. J. Edmison, B.D., is stationed at Brighton, Ont.
Wm. Gamble, B.C.L. (McGill), is practising law in Ottawa. (Ad-
dress, 574 Somerset St., Ottawa).
R. G. Graham is head master of the Gananoque High School.
W. K. Hagar is Methodist pastor at Bolton, Ont.
Miss Minnie Highet, M.A., '92, Ph.D., is at Elmira, N.Y.
Miss E. M. Kerr is residing at Cobourg, Ont.
Miss M. F. Libby is teaching in Morrisburg Collegiate Institute.
W. McMullen is Methodist pastor at Florence, Ont.
W. P. Olds resides at 1721 Davenport Street, Omaha, Nebraska.
T. E. Perrett is school inspector at Edmonton, Alta.
W. E. Pescott is a Methodist preacher in Vancouver, B C
G. W. Robinson is stationed at Creemore, Ont.
T. K. Sidey is Associate Professor of Latm in the State University
of Washington, Seattle.
Acta Victoriana. 469
C. T. Sleman is on the staff of the Oshawa High School.
W. F. Smith is in charge of Colhorne Street Methodist Church,
Brantford, Ont. (Address, 148 Park Ave., Erantford.)
R. J. Stallwood.
W. J. Sykes is teaching in the Collegiate Institute at Ottawa.
A. W. Taylor is in insurance business at IngersoU, Ont.
Thos. Voaden is in Zion City, 111.
William J. Waite is in Denver, Col.
G. W. Westwood.
J. S. I. Wilson, B.D., '97, is Methodist pastor at Flesherton, Ont.
The Class of '90.
Henry Bayley, B.D.
J. Wesley Bellamy is head master of the Colborne High School.
C. V. Campbell is teaching at Windsor, Ont.
A. B. Carscallen is a lawyer at Wallaceburg, Ont.
W. G. Clark is the Methodist minister stationed at Little Britain, Ont.
Richard Corrigan, B.D., '93, occupies the Methodist pulpit at Iro-
quois, Ont.
W. B. Creighton, B.D., '94, is on the staff of the Christian Guar-
d'xn, at Wesley Buildings, Toronto.
G. Drewry is practising law at Brighton, Ont.
H. T. Ferguson, B.D., '93, is pastor of the Methodist church at
Mono Road, Ont.
Adolphus Fowler is a Presbyterian minister at Kansas City.
A. H. Going has charge of the Centennial Church, London, Ont.
(Address, 850 Dundas Street).
A. J. Gordon, M.D., is a practising physician and druggist at Win-
nipeg, Man.
W. E. Hassard B.D., '03, is pastor of Gerrard Street Church, To-
ronto. (Address, 358 Sackville Street).
A. J. Irwin, B.D., '93, is pastor of Norwich Methodist Church.
Juzo Kono resides in Tokyo, Japan.
J. G. Lewis is pastor of Mark Street Church, Peterboro, Ont.
Melancthon Libby is engaged in professional work at Boulder, Col.
A. W. C. Massey is on the staff of the Morrisburg Collegiate Institute.
J. E. Minns is head master of Tillsonburg High School.
H, S. Osborne, B.D., '93, is in charge of the Methodist interests at
Shawville, Que.
J. Pritchard, M.D. (McGill), is a physician at North Wakefield, Que.
E. E. Snider is head master of the High School at Arthur, Ont.
470 Ada Victoi-iana.
H. H. Schuyler, is agent for the MetropoHtan Life Assurance Co.
at Simcoe, Ont.
J. H. Riddell, B.D., '92, is principal of Alberta College, Edmonton,
Alta.
W. B. Tucker, B.D., '93, is pastor of the Methodist Church at
Orono, Ont.
C. P. Wells, B.D. (Yale), is in charge of the Methodist cause at
Ethel, Ont.
Miss E. O. Woods (now Mrs. J. W. Hannon) resides in Prince
Albert, Sask.
W. R. Young, D.D., is in charge of the First Methodist Church at
St. Thomas.
E. J. Sanford, of this class, died since graduation.
Obituary
The death occurred suddenly on February 2nd of the wife of Mr.
Justice B. M. Britton, B.A. '56, M.A. '68. While walking in the
University grounds Mrs. Britton was seized with faintness and expired
within half an hour. She was widely known and greatly beloved,
being active in philanthropic and Christian work. Acta extends its
sympathy to the stricken husband and family.
Mr. William Wilkinson, B.A. '68, M.A. '71, Inspector of Public
Schools for the City of Brantford, died very suddenly on February
2nd of heart failure, resulting from acute indigestion. Mr. Wilkinson
assumed the principalship of the Central Public School at Brantford
immediately after graduating from Victoria and has rendered splendid
service to the cause of education since that time ; in fact, there is no
doubt that his zeal and devotion to his work hastened his death. He
had just received the appointment as Inspector of Brantford's Public
Schools, the recognition of his long term of faithful services as a
teacher. A good educationist, from the very nature of his work, must
be a good man, and the best qualities of manhood combined to make
Principal Wilkinson a teacher capable of working not only upon the
minds but also upon the characters of the many generations of pupils
who came under his influence. Upright, kindly, cheerful, patient, he
will be remembered gratefully by them all. His death leaves a vacancy
in Wellington Street Methodist Church, of which he was an active
and zealous member. Acta joins in the general regret at the loss of
so good a man and so able a leader in the educational work of the
province.
Acta Victoriana. 471
Exchanges
Acta blushingly acknowledges the very complimentary remarks so
kindly passed upon us by many of our exchanges. Some of them
have not hesitated to say about us what, of course, our modesty would
prevent us from saying of ourselves, namely, that in the field of college
journalism we stand in the very front rank. Our Christmas number,
especially, has txcited our contemporaries' admiration, and we may
confess that we were secretly a little proud of it ourselves. It is
encouraging to find that our humble efforts are being noted and
applauded. We are grateful /or these expressions of appreciation and
shall continue to try to deserve all of them and more of them.
The current number of McMasier University Monthly \s a specially
interesting one, containing two of the prize stories written for the
competition instituted by the Monthly. One of these is a vivid
college story and the other one of those animal stories now so popular.
The latter is particularly good. All the material of the Monthly
shows literary ability and the greater part of it is contributed by
undergraduates.
We are pleased to note the marked improvement m the quality
and outward appearance of the Brandon College Monthly since it first
came under our notice. It is significant of the enterprise of the
students of Western colleges that they are undertaking, with their
comparatively small contributions, the publication of college maga-
zines that emulate the more pretentious ones issued by their fellow-
students of Eastern institutions.
The Trinity University Review is an exchange for which we have
only words of commendation. The editorials of the February number
we found particularly interesting. One of those deals with the ques-
tion of Church Union and very pertinently remarks on the dispropor-
tionate importance attached by the various denominations to those
doctrines which differentiate them from others. The Review suggests
an experiment with Church Union on a small scale in some one
town. We fear, however, such an experiment would be neither practic-
able nor indicative of the results of a large union. The remarks on
" College Publications " are also to the point, and we should be very
much pleased to see some definite steps taken to carry out the pro-
posals for a convention of college editors, a suggestion which was
first noticed, we believe, by the O. A. C. Review.
472
Acta Victoriana.
RELIGIOUS
The Indians on the Pacific Coast
P.Y NEATA MARKLAND, '07.
IN British Columbia there are six distinct races of Indians, and each
race has its own language and peculiar customs. The Kwaquilth
nation, on the north coast of British Columbia, moie nearly resembles
the Mongol races of Eastern Asia than they do the typical North
American Indians. They are, without doubt, an alien race, but where
they came from still remains a mystery. Recent investigation into their
habits and customs seem to make it quite certain that they did not
originally belong to the Pacific slope.
These Coast tribes dwell in isolated villages, from twenty to a hun-
dred miles apart. The long stretches of uninhabited shores interven-
ing, the home of the grizzly and cinnamon bear, are their vast hunting
grounds. The villages are built along the shores of some sheltered
cove, usually at the head of an inlet, and protected from the cold sweep
of the north winds by a rampart of mountains.
The houses or lodges of a typical Indian village are peculiarly quaint
in structure. They are built of huge planks of cedar, split with wedges
and trimmed with the primitive stone adze. There is but one door,
and there are no windows. Light is admitted through a narrow opening
in the roof, out of which the smoke escapes from the log fire constantly
kept burning in the centre of the one-roomed building. It is always
twilight within, except perhaps when a stray sunbeam steals in through
the chinks here and there, somewhat brightening the dismal interior.
The old people are usually found crouching beside the smouldering
fire, weaving mats and baskets. It is their duty, also, to attend to the
drying of the fish, which are cut and hung on racks beneath the smoke
escape. They suffer much from the heavy smoke ; many are blind,
but they work faithfully on. No one loves or cares for the old. They
are compelled to work as long as they have strength, then their coffins
are made ready for them, and they are pushed aside to die.
The Coast Indians are masters in the art of canoe-building. Their
only means of travel is by canoe, which they manage with great skill,
Acta Victoriana. 473
even in the roughest sea. The canoes are hewn from cedar trees, and
vary in size from the child's cralt, about eight feet in length to the
long, gracefully-curved ones, fifty or sixty (eet long and five feet wide.
They are exceedingly light and buoyant, with flaring sides, high stern
and long, projecting bow, on which is either carved or stained the
crest of the owner.
The Coast tribes hunt and fish for a living. They know nothing
about agriculture ; few of them have even seen domestic animals.
Their food consists largely of gleanings from the sea. Clams, mus-
sels, cockles, crabs, sea-urchins and devil fish are easily secured, as well
as the salmon, halibut and herring, for which the coast of British
Columbia is so famous The edible sea-weed is another staple of
food. The best growth is in February. It is gathered from the rocks
between low and high tide, pressed into flat cakes and dried in the sun,
after which it is packed away into large wooden food-boxes. The men
bring back from the hunt abundance of venison, bear-meat, mountain
goat and porcupine. CounlJess varieties of luscious berries grow on
the mountain-sides, and great quantities are gathered and dried or pre-
served in fish oil for winter use. One of their chief delicacies is the
oil obtained from a tiny fish, the oolachan, which, m April, run in from
the sea in great schools and fill the rivers from bank to bank. The
Indians gather them by the canoe-load and extract the oil from them,
which they use very plentifully. Nearly all their foods are prepared
for meals by boiling and mixing with oolachan oil to the consistency
of soup, which is eaten with large horn ladles.
The system of totemism belonging to these coast tribes is certainly
unique. It is symbolical of a vaguely religious and very definite
social custom that plays a most important part in the history of the
race. The tribes are divided into crests or totems named from the
animals, birds and fishes from which the various crests are believed
to have descended. The totems common to most of the tribes are
the Bear, Beaver, Wolf, Eagle, Raven, Whale and Salmon. The
aborigines regarded their totems with superstitious respect, believing
implicitly that they were descended from them and therefore akin to
them. The relation existing between members of the same totem is
that of mutual help and protection.
In the early days the Tlinkets, of Southern Alaska, dressed in the
skins of their totemic animals. The Haidas, of Queen Charlotte
Islands, tatooed their totems on their bodies. Other tribes carved
their totems on the four corner-posts of the chiefs' houses or erected
huge totem-poles in front of their villages. The houses are always
474 Acta Victoriana.
built facing the sea, in one long row, just beyond the reach of high tide.
A totem-pole is made from a red cedar tree, and is curiously carved
and fashioned with grotesque totemic figures throughout its entire
length. Some totem-poles are one hundred feet high and three or
four feet in diameter. The totemic hieroglyphics roughly represent
victories and defeats in tribal and inter-tribal wars, as well as various
events pertaining to the heathen feast and dance. As they have not
a written language these totems bear the sole record of the genealogy,
history and weird mythology of the race. However, since totemism
is a relic of their barbarism the Indian is loath to interpret the story
©f his totem to the white man. And especially is the proud native
anxious to conceal the references to the dog-eating and cannibal
societies which existed even less than twenty years ago among some
of the tribes. Many of the old people have their arms hideously
scarred where chiefs have bitten them at a heathen dance. It is a
mark of distinction which they cherish with no small degree of pride.
The native women have a curious mark of social rank called the
" labret " or lip-button. In early youth an oval-shaped button of
bone or metal is inserted in the lower lip. The size of the labret
varies according to the rank, the average length being from one to
two inches. Some women of very high caste have labrets fully three
inches long. However, through the influence of Christianity few of
the younger women have their faces disfigured in this cruel way.
Superstition has long held its sway among Indian tribes, but, per-
haps, nowhere has it a stronger hold than in these isolated villages
along the coast of British Columbia and Alaska. The Indian lives in
constant dread of approaching evil. In the mist and the twilight they
see dim shapes of supernatural beings which cast upon people the evil
eye and bewitch them. Owls are believed to be the heads of those
killed in warfare, and their dismal hooting in the darkness of night is
believed to be the voice of the dead.
In the old days, when a canoe capsized the Indians would rather
drown than go ashore on a strange beach, for it was believed that
fearful beings called " Buhwus " inhabited the densely wooded
shores, and if they captured people they would keep them and trans-
form them into like beings.
They have strange beliefs concerning the queerly-shaped precipices
along their shores. Their odd shapes are accounted for in the myths
and traditions handed down from generation to generation, told and
retold by the chiefs at tribal feasts. They believe these peculiar rock
formations to have been human beings or wild animals that were
Acta Victoriaiia. 475
transformed through the strange power of mystic beings that dwell in
the sea or on the mountains. When passing in their canoes they in-
variably throw a portion of their best food overboard to appease the
hunger of the monster and thereby win its good-will and secure for
themselves a safe sea voyage with favorable winds and tides.
In fact, they imagine the mountains and sea teeming with malicious
spirits which seek to do them harm. The only way of protecting
thernselves, they believe, is by incantations and rites performed by
the shaman or medicine-man.
The shaman is supposed to be versed in all the mysteries of the
universe. They also ascribe to him unlimited power, on account of
which he is feared by the other members of the tribe. There once
existed a strange belief in his magical powers of bringing back life to
the dead. For this purpose he used a quaint little wand, from which
was suspended a hollow socket, carved to resemble the animal of his
crest. When called to administer to a dying person, he would imme-
diately cast a spell over him by some mysterious method, known only
to witch-doctors, meanwhile chanting some weird strain as he pro-
ceeded with his strange ceremony. At first the chant would be very
low, but it would gradually increase until it became a wail, rising to
an unearthly shriek, then falling again to a whisper scarcely audible.
The excitement produced thereby, together with the bewitching in-
fluence of the wand kept in motion above the head of the patient,
would cause him to sink into unconsciousness. Then the witch-
doctor would pronounce him dead, and the fearful piercing death-cry
would ring through the village. It is caught up by every member of
the tribe and they rush out of their houses beating their breasts and
tearing thcT hair. This wild death-cry is kept up for hours, gradually
sinking into the weird wail of woe, " Anah-nah-nah " (meaning
" bring back the dead to us "). In the midst of such confusion the
witchdoctor rushes frantically out in search of the wandering spirit of
his patient, and after a frenzied chase through forests and over moun-
tams, returns exhausted but triumphant with the lost spirit of the
unconscious man imprisoned in his " soul-trap." The patient returns
to consciousness and the witch-doctor has renewed and strengthened
the confidence of his fellow-tribesmen in his miraculous powers.
Every shaman possesses a " dead-box," concealed usually in some
dark canyon or forest cave. In it he places from time to time, skulls of
human beings and of wild animals. It is believed by the Indians
that an order of witch-doctors can, by means of this " dead-box," bring
about the death of whomsoever they wish. If a lock of hair or a
piece of worn garment stolen from the person whose death they wish
4/6 Ada Victoriana.
to accomplish, is placed in close proximity to one of these skulls in
the "dead-box " that person is doomed to die. It may be very well
for people, who have not been brought face to face with the horrible
effect of witchcraft, to laugh at superstition. For, although it is
obvious that "there is nothing in it," yet the effect on these people
who do believe in it is simply wonderful. When they become aware
that some enemy has sought the aid of the witch-doctor to kill them,
the nervous system receives a shock from which it seldom recovers.
Even strong men are victims of this horrible witchciaft or "Indian
poison," as it is sometimes called.
Indian graveyards have a weird and uncanny appearance, surrounded,
as they are, usually by the dense, dark forests and the hideous
totems stiring wildly in every direction. Totems are always gruesome ;
but here, bleached by the sun and storms for ages, they seem to reach
the climax of ugliness. Not even the brave wolves or the mountain
lions venture over the graves of the dead guarded thus by these most
fearful totems. In little wigwams, erected here and there, all the best-
loved possessions of the dead : such as silk handkerchiefs, shawls,
horn-spoons and canoe-pnddles, are placed at the burial. They
believe the " adjeak *' will haunt those who neglect this most sacred
duty. Some tribes kindle little fires on the graves immediately after
the burial, and burn all the garments of the deceased, believing that,
in some mysterious way, they are thus sent on for their use in " the
happy hunting-grounds." Slaves also were burned, or buried alive
with their chief to accompany and serve him in his after life.
There are paid criers in every tribe, who are rewarded by the friends
of the deceased according to their perseverance in keeping up the
funeral dirge throughout the days of mourning. The women mourners
cut their hair at the neck and wear it over the face as a veil during
the period of bereavement Feasts are always given for the dead, at
which the chiefs, in order of rank, address the mourners, eloquently
rehearsing all the good deeds and brave feats performed by their
deceased tribesman. Heathen songs are chanted and the heathen
dance sometimes indulged in.
However, these pagan customs are becoming things of the past in
many of the coast tribes. In the villages, where missionaries have
been sent, a marvellous change is taking place, the " old way " is
giving place to the " new." The transition is slow, yet we cannot but
look forward with hopeful anticipation to the time when these Indians
will no longer cling to the customs of their pagan ancestors, but yield
themselves wholly to the moulding influence of the " Great Spirit of
the Above."
Ada Victoriana. 477
The Bible Study Class
TF all the students, who have within the past few years spent any
*■ considerable time in Victoria's halls, were each to be asked what
single influence of college days had most profoundly affected their
lives, a large proportion of them would undoubtedly reply, " Professor
McLaughlin's Sunday afternoon Bible Class." It would, indeed, be
hard to estimate the far-reaching results of Professor McLaughlin's work
in connection with Bible Study. Students yet in college can testify
what a revolution in their spiritual experiences has been effected by
the formation, under his guidance, of habits of regular daily study of
God's word, and how they have felt their careless selfishness rebuked,
and their ideals of right and duty quickened by his quiet, earnest,
practical talks on Sunday afternoons. A faculty for clear and helpful
exposition, and the vitalizing touch of his consecrated spirit com-
bine to make him a teacher, to whom many of us owe not only relief
from intellectual difficulties, but also a spiritual impetus, and a more
intense loyalty to the Master, whom he has helped us understand.
Notes.
Mr. J. L. McPherson, M.A., the General Secretary of the University
Y. M. C. A., left Toronto early in February, for Hong Kong, where he
has been appointed Secretary of the European Y. M. C. A. Before leav-
ing the men of the university presented him with a handsome wallet
and $75 in gold, as a token of the high regard in which he was held by
all who knew him. To him is largely due the formation of the
University Association and its success in its first year. His work in
connection with Mr. Mott's meetings will not soon be forgotten by
many Victoria men. He carries with him the best wishes of the men
for equally successful work in the difficult field to which he has gone.
000
On February 8th the following officers of the University Association
were elected: Piesident, H. D. Robertson (Vic); Vice-PiCsident,
W. C. Smith (Dent.); Recording-Secretary, H. A. Stewart (Med.) ;
Treasurer, D. G. Mcllwraith (S. P. S.) ; Assistant Treasurer, Mr.
Lindsay (Dent.); Councillor, G. 'J. Manson (S. P. S.) ; General
Secretary, A. C. Cameron (U. C). The Chairmen of Committees
are : Bible Study, J. W. Gordon (U. C.) ; Membership, F. S. Dowling
(U. C.) ; Missionary, E. W. Wallace (Vic.) ; City Missions, E.
Jeffrey (Med.).
478
Acta Victoriana.
OX the 14th of February the Alma Mater Society's new rooms
were opened, and an informal reception given to subscribers and
the ladies of the college. The inclement weather prevented the former
from attending in large numbers, but the fair under-graduates came
en masse, and there was no end of trying the various cosy corners and
easy chairs. The universal topic of conversation was, of course,
"the rooms." "How do you like our lovely rooms ? " " We think
they're just lovely," etc. With gay conversation, stimulated by
delicious cocoa, the time passed merrily away. Since the opening the
Society has decided, in imitation of the usage at Oxford, to call these
delightful habitations, "The Men's Common Rooms."
Dr. Badglev tells about observing a ladies' college one morning
promenading on the street-car tracks although the side walks were
passable. The reason, according to the Doctor, was this : A large
furniture van was drawn up on the roadside, and in it was a sideboard
with an immense mirror, and as the ladies passed each one turned
her head, and so did he.
1ST Year C T. — " If you were a dog, what kind would you prefer
to be ? '■' 2nd year C T.— "A sky terrier."
Somh: visitors lately entered the building and wandered about
looking vainly for the Crown Lands Department. As Luck would
have it they were on their way to the coal cellar, when someone
rescued them.
The Glee Club and Symphony Orchestra gave the last and what
may be justly called their best concert on the evening of March
the 9th, in the College Chapel, to an audience, not as large as their
effort merited, but compensatmgly enthusiastic. The men were in
good form, and everything went off without a hitch.
You've heard about the Ladies' Aid
With cocoa on the rink. By the light, etc.
At last they have the dishes paid
By driving us to drink. By the light, etc.
Acta Victoriana. 479
Nancekeville, '08 — " Say, should a fellow buy a bouquet for the
girl you take to the Senior dinner? What colors would you get?
How much would you go ? "
The difference. At hockey (when the men play) — "Blank it!
pass that puck and quit playing hog ! " (When the ladies play) —
" Please pass that puck and don't be so greedy ! "
Three '06 girls (night of the Glee Club concert — to the usher) —
"Take us up to that seat where Mr. Manning is."
We are pleased to announce to the under graduate body that
Miss Gr — f — n, '07, is having her heart enlarged for the accommoda-
tion particularly of freshmen, and apartments are going fast. Get
busy.
Modiste to Miss P — tt — n (on finishing her graduation gown) —
" Now, Miss P., if you should change your mind, all you will need
is the veil."
In the shanty (ist speaker) — "There is Miss skating with Mr.
Morgan." 2nd speaker— " Then she's in paradise." ist speaker —
" Yes, you know he is the cherub."
Miss S — tz — r, '05 (as Mr. Bennett lets crash upon the floor a
ponderous tome) — " That shows that classics is a heavy course."
Professional jollying : Prof. M " Yes, Mr. R , you
should be in Orientals." (To the Class) — " Mr. R always has
his Hebrew well prepared." Can you wonder they go into Orientals.
As an experiment of an afternoon reception the Freshmen's At-
Home turned out very happily. The decorations, which consisted
chiefly of strings of blood-red paper hearts, big and little, hung in
festoons about the chandeliers and cosy corners, are doubtless respon-
sible for the sentimental^but stop ! where will this lead us to ? As
hosts, the Freshmen won golden opinions. Some wag, possibly a
Sophomore, had the temerity to turn off the gas, with the entire
approbation of the occupants of the cushioned angles.
Alex — " The ladies are just as much students as we, probably
more so."
Homer Brown — " I'm trying to find the nicest way to ask a girl
to skate ; that's my Holy Grail."
Miss Ch — D — K, '07 (in the study before Greek lecture, 3 p.m.) —
"Get thee behind me skatin' ! "
Rev. E. G. Sanders is in receipt of a very rosy business proposition
which, however, we feel with him, might appeal more to some others,
" How to set up a home with $2,000."
480 Acta Victoriatia.
His notice. " Please return my hat to its accustomed place of
abode, and greatly favor the Freshman, generally called Raymer."
Prof. Langford {re '08 class pin) — " What does the broom at the
top stand for ? "
The Senior's farewell reception, given on the evening of February
17th, seems to be characterized generally as the most brilliant and
enjoyable affair of the season. Certainly the programme, given in the
tastefully decorated chapel, will not soon be forgotten by any of the
large and delighted audience. It will not be amiss to give the various
items. Address — Hon. President Chancellor Burwash ; Piano Solo —
Miss E. H. Patterson: Addresses — Representatives; Duet — Messrs.
Connolly and VValden ; Retrospection — Miss M. A. Hamilton and
Mr. J. S. Bennett ; Songs of the Muses — Miss Patterson and J. A. M.
Dawson; Anticipation — Miss S. A. Van Alstyne and Mr. A. D.
Miller.
Miss Hamilton, in her Retrospection, recalled the visit of their
Highnesses of York the year that '05 arrived, and how the freshettes
rode up from the reception in a carriage provided for the Seniors.
Among other interesting historical sketches, she gave an amusing
account of the evolution of the Modern Language Club.
Mr. Bennett recounted how a smile of stern satisfaction appeared
on the face of Dr. Ryerson's bust, in the chape), when '05 entered
Victoria, and even the mummy of the Egyptian Princess grinned a
trifle. Indeed, the Sophomores in their sympathetic but undemon-
strative way were glad. Touching on the Bob, Mr. Bennett indulged
in the following poetical sentiment :
" Of all the vividest pictures that hang on Memory's wall
Is one of the anti-Bob practices held in Richmond Hall."
His peroration consisted in a highly-eulogistic resume of Victoria
society life under the management of '05.
In the Anticipation, the other feature of greatest interest, it was
told how Dawson and Hinks, having attracted the moon to the earth,
were, by means of an improved airship, realizing vast fortunes from the
importation of green cheese. Knight appears in the pulpit with a
black eye and much court plaster, to preach from the text : " Dearly
beloved, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men." Miss
Jickling uncovers classical treasures of Latin roots in the ruins of
Ancient Rome. Clyo Jackson immortalizes himself by removing the
two greatest evils of the Methodist Church, viz., " the footnote " and
the Superannuation Fund ; and so on, in a very interesting vein.
Acta l^icto7'iana.
481
At a meeting of the class of 1906, the Senior Stick was first
awarded to Miss Cullen as the most popular lady, and afterwards to
Mr. G. A. Archibald, who will carry it next year.
Zephvr from a cosy corner. Freshman — "Are you ready for the
question?" Freshette (softly)— " Question."
Photographer (to our bunch of sweet freshettes) — " Is this the
graduating class ? "
Dr. Badgley (in Ethics lecture)— " You ought to read Kant's
' Critique of the Pure Reason. It's the greatest thing out of jail.'
1ST Sophette — " How do you get down to the new rooms?" 2nd
Sophette — "The best way I know is the coal chute."
Mr. Homer G. Brown has been elected to the honor of carrying
the Athletic Stick during coming year, 'o5-'o6.
/Af^orMEi^ c^eT-T^icH-quictT ■PftoPosiTiojT.
DAVB IS OtMur TOO WlULll/d,
Ctlwf< Ob
Macfarlane, '06 (re Vic.-McM. game, which Henderson refereed)
— " He put me off because another fellow hit me."
(Discussing the new Provincial Cabinet). F. A. E. Hamilton —
" This is quite a horsey organization, with Hendrie and Bcck both
holding places. Whois this Willoughby ? Is he a sport, too?" Robby
(without intent; — "No, he's the whip."
Junior to Reddick — "Say, are you an inspired poet?" R.
(spontaneously) :
" No, I'm not inspired,
But you make me tired.
My poems are simply innate ;
If a man can make rhymes.
He's up to the times,
E'en though he is not Laureate."
482 Acta Victoriana.
Cruise — " Getting up a speech for Lit, Jack?" Knight — "No,
I'm preparing Hebrew for heaven, Geordie." Geordie — " You must
have time to burn,'"
At Burlington, with the Band. Hostess (at tea-table, noting one
of Willie Walden's engaging smiles radiating on his countenance) —
" What are you smiling at, Mr. Walden ? " Willie (gazing sweetly at
his fair vis-a-vis) — " Oh ! I'm just reciprocating."
From Vox Collegii (O. L. C.) — "You can Harley wonder that —
looks so Arch since the Conversat."
The Victoria line up for the Hamilton hockey game, a la Mail and
Empire, was as follows : Goal, Miss Robertson ; Point, Miss Hender-
son ; Cover, Miss Lane ; Forwards, Misses Gain, Davison, Campbell
and Mills. The game which they afterward played single-handed with
the regular ladies' team on the Vic rink was one of the most interest-
ing and amusing sporting events of the season. The score was 7-4
favor of the usurpers.
The inter-year debating series aroused considerable interest. In
the semi-finals the battle raged between '06 and '08 on the proposi-
tion : Resolved, That the social life of Victoria College is detrimental
to the student. The Freshmen, supporting the affirmative, were repre-
sented by Mr. J. E. Brownlee and Mr. A. F. Foreman, the Juniors
upheld the negative in the persons of Mr. G. E. Trueman and Mr.
D. A. Hewitt, and won the debate. In the final contest '06 lost the
series supporting the proposition : Resolved, That the time has come
when Great Britain should commence and continue disarmament as
an incentive to universal peace. Mr. G. J. Harris and Mr. C. E. Mark
stood for '06. The victorious '05 debaters were Mr. G. A. Cruise and
J. F. Knight.
ARMSTRONG(to a Sophettc) — "There is a great power in music. Last
summer I sang before 2,000 people. They were riveted to their seats."
Omitted. The night the Harley Government went into power, our
old friend Davie Rees, '03, hearing of a Sophomore with three initials
(Mr. G. J. A. Reaney), perpetrated a characteristic pun, " Wouldn't
that G. JAR you!"
Gus Shaver (at '06 class-meeting) — " I beg leave to withdraw my
name from the nominations for the Senior Stick."
Miss Th assured us she was very popular at kindergarten.
Harris, '06 (waxing eloquent in debate) — "A pretty picture they
draw of the British lion and the American eagle pacing up and down
the Atlantic ! "
Acta Victoriana. 483
Jane (seriously, re a 'Varsity hockey player) — " A big, husky lad —
about my size."
Fennell, '06 (at the same meeting)— " This is something like
electing the Pope."
The Senior Dinner, following one week after the Senior Reception,
like the latter, may be fairly described as a highly successful function.
The committee in charge, with Mr. J. G. Brown as chairman, made
energetic and lavish expenditure of time and thought in preparation
for the great event, with very gratifying results. The dinner proper
was exceedingly eatable, and enlivened by the usual poetic furor be-
tween Sophomore and Freshmen. The programme, as ever, was long,
but the tedium was relieved by an occasional witticism, a song, or the
chiming of the new clock from time to time.
The toasts of the evening were : " King and Country," proposed by
Hon. Senator Kerr, chairman ; " University," proposed by Rev. Dr.
Carman, and responded to by Professor Baker, in the absence of
President Loudon; "Alma Mater," E. W. Morgan, '05, Chancellor
Burwash ;" Class of '55," Rev. Dr. Reynar, Rev. Dr. Ryckman ;
"Graduating Class," D. A. Hewitt, '06, T. P. Campbell, '05 ; "Lady
Undergraduates," W. J. Salter, '05, Miss A. D. Switzer, ' 05 ; " College
Societies," J. S. Bennett, '05, Miss A. G. W. Spence, '05, H. D. Rob-
ertson, '05, A. E. Elliott, '05 ; " Senior Stick," W. A. VValden, '05,
G. A. Archibald, '06 ; " Athletic Stick," S. W. Eakins, B.A., '04,
H. G. Brown, '06; "College Press," J. A. Spencley, '05, H. H.
Cragg, '05.
Three of the four members of the class of '55 were present as guests,
of whom Rev. Dr. Ryckman, in responding to a toast to the class,
gave perhaps the most interesting address of the graduate speakers.
Among the efforts of the graduating class we may single out Mr.
Salter's for wit, Miss Switzer's for brevity, Mr. Bennett's for wisdom,
Mr. Salter, in proposing the toast to " The Ladies," accepted the
occasion as the crisis of his life. The issue, in case of a failure, filled
him with gloomy forebodings, and suggested "one on Herodotus."
It seems the Father of History (or lies, Mr. Salter could not tell
which, even from Thucydides), while touring Arabia, came upon the
petrified remains of a man. After taking great pains, in his usual way,
to discover the causes thereof (though he might have inferred that he
died of stony grief), Herodotus remarked, with characteristic evasive-
ness, " Whether it be true I cannot say, or whether it be false, but to
one considering the matter, it would appear that this man had a hard
finish."
5
484 Acta J ictoriana.
The songs were up to the mark ; the Freshmen especially are to
be congratulated. "Wild ones, tame ones, just from the Zoo."- —
'07's parody of the '08 yell. "Cheer up, ye little Sophies."— '08
"You can't have any of our Susies When your Susies are gone." — '08.
" We will fill the air with dirges, While the salt wave slowly surges.'"
— '06. " When you walk out with a big B.A., And a hide from off a
sheep." — '06. " I hardly need a megaphone." — Levi.
Nothing marks the evolution of the Freshman, in Victoria at
least, like pre-Sophomoric anxiety about the " Bob." Already '08,
after the usual discussion, have decided, by a majority of 47 over 11,
to perpetuate this ancient orgy. With unfailing reversion to type
certain innovations are mooted, e.g.^ to adhere to the Faculty rules ;
that ladies "bob'" the ladies (shade of Decorum, where art thou!),
that personalities be tabooed, etc. While we do not doubt that 'o8's
" Bob " will be an epoch-making event, from experience and observa-
tion we feel sadly convinced that many of their noble aims will
effervesce before Nov. ist, 1905.
While buying some "Pop" tickets. He — ber
A certain fair maiden did see ;
" Her cheeks are so pink.
They will drive me to drink,"
Said Heber, not knowing 'twas '■'' sheT
The following are the officers elected by the College societies for
the academic year, 1905-06 :
The Modern Language Club — Hon. Pres., Dr. Horning; Pres., E.
E. Ball, '06 ; ist Vice-Pres., Miss B. L. Scott, '06 ; 2nd Vice-Pres.,
Miss M. Bunting, '07; Sec.-Treas., K. H. Smith, '08; Councillors,
Miss K. E. Cullen, '06, Miss V. M. Hamill, '07, Miss H. Pinel, '08.
The Y.M.C.A.— Hon. Pres., Rev. J. F. McLaughlin, B.A., B.D.;
Pres., W. G. Bull, '06 ; Vice-Pres., J. N. Tribble, '07 ; Sec, A. Fore-
man, '08 ; Treas., H. W. Baker, '07. Conveners of committees to
appear later.
The Athletic Union — Hon. Pres., Professor Edgar; Pres., C. D.
Henderson, '06; ist Vice-Pres., H. B. Dwight, '07 . 2nd Vice-Pres.,
W. W. Davison, 'oS \ Sec, C. B. Kelly, '07 ; Treas., P. B. Macfarlane,
'06; B. D. Rep., W. R. Hibbert, B.A.; 4th year Rep., J. H. Adams,;
3rd year Rep., C J. Ford; 2nd year Rep., W. Oldham ; ist year Rep.,
to be elected.
The Alma .Mater Society — Hon. Pres., Professor I>angford : Pres.,
G. E. Trueman, '06 : Vice-Pres., E. Roland ; Sec, J. M. Copeland, '07 ;
Treas., W. B. Albertson, '07.
Ada Victoriaiia.
485
ALL honor to our representatives in the Jennings Cup series !
They have broken the record of the last few years, and have
drawn an absolute line between past failures and future victories, for
surely, having tasted of the latter, we can never revert to the old diet.
They have inspired a new enthusiasm, which means honest effort on
the part of our athletes and hearty support on the part of the whole
student body. A lack of confidence and an overgrown respect for
precedent has characterized us in the past, but now that we have
demonstrated our superiority, not in luck but in ability, we are safe
in looking forward to a better life — quite terrestrial — and in predicting
prosperity for years to come. If a prospective student is gifted in
any particular line he craves an opportunity to display his aUlity.
From the point of view of hockey we are now in a position to afford
this opportunity to the aspirants for fame from the various high
schools and preparatory academies. A position on the best team
among the afifiliated colleges is not wholly to be despised.
Although we had prepared nearly half the basement for the recep-
tion of the cup, and had gone to unlimited expense in procuring
Oriental draperies and modish furniture as the only fitting setting for
such a trophy, still we were, through a technicality, slightly disap-
pointed, and instead of the material evidence of glory we have but
the glory itself. After successfully encountering all the teams in the
series to our own satisfaction and to the conviction of our opponents,
the "Cup Executive" suddenly awoke to their responsibility, stimu-
lated either by a feeling of surprise or by the clamorings of some
disappointed contestants, and it was discovered that Davidson, one
of our crack players, had figured in junior O. H. A. circles and was
consequently ineligible to play on the college team. The discovery
of this fact was rather ill-timed as far as Vic. was concerned, and the
existence of such a rule affecting the Jennings Cup games came
somewhat as a surprise. However we are perfectly satisfied with the
regulation and the interpretation of it, even though the application
486 Ac^a Victoriana.
smarted a bit. The one peculiar feature of the whole affair is that
Davidson was not disqualified a little earlier in the season, as it
would have done away with unnecessary practice and considerable
loss of time on all sides. The disqualification seemed to be condi-
tioned upon the ultimate success of the team. That Victoria was
perfectly innocent in the matter is evidenced by the fact that David-
son himself made no secret of his outside connection. We will know
better next year, and for the present be satisfied with the thought
that we have easily the best team, and that it is composed of bona fide
undergraduates.
000
A week after the defeat of Senior Arts, Vic. gave the Dental aggre-
gation the "frozen glare" (with apologies to the local editor) and
they retired praying for greater success in the painless extraction of
teeth than fate had accorded them on the hockey rink. The boys
did not set the pace at the beginning, and at half-time the score was
against them, but in the second half they pulled out and won con-
veniently with a score of four to two. The line up was : Goal, Salter ;
point, Robertson ; cover, Stockton ; cover, Macfarlane ; forwards,
Davidson, Campbell, Oldham. As will be seen some changes were
made in the personnel of the team. Stockton, of the Freshman
Class, replaced Macfarlane at cover, a position which he held with
distinction throughout the rest of the series. He proved to be a cool
man in any emergency and very effective, especially in his substantial
checking. Macfarlane moved up to the position of rover and luckily
found himself quite at home there. Salter and Davidson showed up
particularly well, the little man in goal making some beautiful stops.
000
There is a veritable wealth of athletic news this month and we are
straining under the unusual but pleasant burden. The achievements
of the Ladies' Hockey Team have forced a division of interest, and
the success of their graceful efforts has elicited so much praise that
their cheeks are even yet bearing the after image of a modest blush of
satisfaction. Their playing has from the first been characterized by a
skill and vim that astonished their opponents, and in the several
games with Havergal and St. Hilda's they suffered but one defeat,
and this probably being due to a too strenuous participation in the
gaieties of the previous evening and the consequent lack of "beauty
sleep." Incidentally it may be said that though " beauty sleep " is
not, as a general rule, necessary with the members of the team, still it
Acta Victor iaiia. 487
does count when a match is scheduled for the next morning. Mr.
Davison, the coach, is to be severely censured for failing to instruct
the players in this regard.
000
On February 7th V'^ictoria and Junior Arts met in the semi finals,
and the University College team was defeated in the second half by
a score of five to four. Why is it that we almost invariably play an
up-hill game by sleeping at the start and thus allowing our opponents
to pile up a few. It is a very dangerous thing to do, as men can
nearly always play a better game when in the lead ; it is comparatively
easy to fight for a victory, but to fight first of all for equality requires
a mighty dogged disposition. The line up :
Victoria. Junior Arts.
Salter Goal . .Keith
Robertson Point Boyd
Stockton Cover Lampert
Macfarlane Rover Fraser
Campbell Forwards Laidlaw
Davidson " Davidson
Oldham " Stewart
Victoria and Senior S.P.S. qualified for the final, and the game
would have delighted the eyes of our graduates, not because it was
actually the most closely contested match of the series, but rather
because our boys played the swiftest hockey of the season and won
out by a most satisfactory score. After the first ten minutes' play the
result was past doubt. The Schools were outplayed in every particu-
lar and at the last were literally played off their feet. Close checking
and following were the tactics adopted by the Vic. team, and they
were eminently successful. Macfarlane showed wonderful form and
•invariably won out in the scrimmages. Davidson was brilliant as
usual and was ably seconded by Campbell and Oldham, both of
whom played the steady part of veterans. The defence was irre-
proachable. Robertson, Salter and Stockton form a trio hard to
beat. Salter had little opportunity to shine, but the few shots he did
receive were put in with a vengeance and were stopped with all Jane's
inimitable grace and ease. The two teams were about equal in
weight. The play was fast but free from any roughness, the few pen
alties inflicted being for minor offences. The final score was five to
one in Vic's favor.
488 Ada Victoriana.
The exhibition match with McMaster ended as expected with a
win for the visiting team. The only one seriously affected or dis-
satisfied with the result was Jerry.
COO
The crowning event of the winter was the trip to Hamilton and the
subsequent match with the Thistle Ladies' Hockey Team of that re-
nowned burg. Under the gracious and delightful chaperonage of Mrs.
Sweetnam, and accompanied by sundry camp-followers and hangers-
on, the team left the Union Depot at one o'clock p.m., and on
arriving at Hamilton was entertained by Mrs. Miles, a very hospitable
lady having a charming interest in Annesley Hall. After a short rest
a start was made for the rink^ and the game started about five o'clock.
Although eventually beaten by a slight margin, the co-eds put up the
fastest hockey ever provided for the Hamilton ladies, who offered
some little balm in the shape of a five o'clock tea after the match
was concluded. The trip home was a record breaker. The G.T.R.,
hearing that the Victoria girls were suffering from an acute attack of
home-sickness, decided to rush the time table, and thus gam their
everlasting gratitude. The result was that the entire forty miles were
covered in something less than five hours, four hours and fifty minutes
to be exact.
000
An Incident of Interest to Few.
While the ladies were being entertained by Mrs. Miles, the gentle-
men, taking advantage of th;s brief respite, betook themselves to ye
Christopher's restaurant, where a ravishing meal of syrup and pancakes
was indulged in. In the midst of a sedate and extremely edifying
harangue delivered by Mr. Campbell our privacy was broken in upon
by the entrance of a decidedly interesting though unassuming lady in
mouse-colored raiment, who sat leisurely down at a near- by table.
Moderating our voices and demeanor to harmonize with the air of
introspection which she assumed, we continued for a little our com-
munion with one another, when, shade of decorum ! she addressed
herself to us in language more voluble than coherent. 'Twas then we
perceived that she wore a veil ; not an ordinary brown veil with white
dots, one of which always coincides with the point of the nose ; not
one of those material veils, but one rather of an inner nature, which
sheltered her mind from the penetrating gaze of insolent curiosity and
prevented the disarrangement of the tiny tendrils of mentality by the
Ada Victoriana.
489
boisterous winds of universal thought. Through the fine meshes we
could occasionally get a glimpse of a meaning almost intelligible to
our benighted souls, but the main current of thought seemed not in
harmony with our existence. Indeed, the lady did not appear to see
us through rose-colored glasses, for from her words we judged ourselves
to be perceived as horribly misshapen, even unto the Hkeness of crea-
tures that were once possessed and ran down into the sea. It was
then we realized the mistake of allowing Mr. Robertson and Mr. Hen-
derson to accompany us. The obliging waitress proffered us an intro-
duction, but owing to the fact that this interesting personage had
obviously travelled in higher circles than we were acquainted with —
her conversation was mostly of queens, countesses and castles — and
also to the fact that the recorder of this tale was overcome with his
customary shyness, the offer was declined. The conclusion was sud-
den and lacked interest. Curtain.
L'^MtSK^
SCENE ON VANCOUVER ISLAND
IX
Acta Victoriana.
Can You Study One Hour
Without your eyes feeling tired or causing a severe headache ?
This condition is due to some refractive error, and can be reheved by
wearing Glasses properly fitted. Our optician is an expert in such
cases ; our prices are very reasonable ; call or 'phone for appointments.
WATCH REPAIRS RECEIVE CAREFUL ATTENTION
College Pins
in great variety.
Special designs made
to order.
PHONE N. 1152.
W. W. MUNN
Jeweler and Optician
800 VONGE ST.
We carry a full line of
the Ideal
Waterman Fountain Pen.
Call and try the points.
ist do jr North of Bloor Street.
\Jnderwear \Jmbrellas
Hatters and F\xmishers Fine NecK^vear
J AME.v$ CRANG, 788 Yonge Street,
3 Doors Below Blo<
Stollery's
For - - -
Students
THE MEN'S AVEAR
STORE
750 Yong'e Street
READERS,
When buying, don't
forget our adver-
tisers.
Correctly designed, carefully finished, with
strict attention paid to the smallest details.
Our Haikcl'tting is guaranteed to give
.Satiskaction.
E. M. KENNEDY & CO.
Barbers
484 Spadina Ave.
G doors south of
College St.
The College Shaving Parlor
664 YONGE ST.
STUBENTS
South of
St. Mary's St.
For a Rugby Hair Trim in up-to-date
style, Shaving, Shampooing, Mas-
saging, etc., come to
JOS. B. SCARLETT
acijt\t c* We use onh purest lotions and
bfcA TOnge at. instruments. Strictly hyprienic
RELV. JOHN POTTS. D.D.
GENERAL SECRETARY OF EDUCATION.
ACTA VICTORIANA
Published Monthly during the College Year by the Union Literary
Society of Victoria University, Toronto.
Vol. XXVIII.
TORONTO, MAY, 1905.
No. 7.
M
Mount JUlison University, Sackville
BY REV. \V. \V. ANDREWS, M. A., LL.D.
OUXT ALLISON University is the only independent Methodist
University in the British Empire. It is unique also in the
form into which it has developed, for under the control of the one
Board of Regents there
is a preparatory Acad-
emy, a Commercial
Department, a Ladies'
College, a Conservatory
of Music, a department
of Fine Art, a Normal
School of Domestic
Science, an Arts College,
a department of The-
ology and a department
of Engineering. Space
will allow that mention
be made of the salient
features only of this
group of Colleges,
which attract yearly
about half a thousand
students to its many
halls. The campus is
a park of forty acres in
extent with many attrac-
tive features. The buildings are valued at $250,000, and the endow-
ment stands at $170,000. The professors and teachers number in
TR. D. ALLISON, PRESIDENT.
49-
Acta Vidonaiui.
"^V'^V,
Id
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Acfa J^ictoj'iana. 493
all thirty four. The geographical position of the University and the his-
torical associations of the place are also noteworthy. Mount Allison
stands at the head of the Bay of Fundy on the narrow isthmus
which joins Nova Scotia to the mainland. The famous tides of the bay
sweep past the College in the tidal river Tantramar and seven
miles beyond. The students from their residential rooms look out
over the quiet bay marshes, of which Roberts has sung, the poet
whose early home is within sight of this hill. The Cobequid Moun-
tains of Nova Scotia are seen across the tides ; just behind the hill
lurks the blue peak of Shepody and on a headland fronting "the bay, a
site chosen with that wonderful instinct which guided the early French
explorers in the locating of their trading posts, stands the dismantled
ramparts of the old Fort Beausejour, now called Fort Cumberland.
The fall of this fort passed the supremacy of this section of Canada
from La France to Britain. Then followed Quebec. Here, too, is
the oldest Methodist ground of the Dominion, for the two locations
which contest the honor of being the site of the first Methodist church
in Canada are in this neighborhood. These institutions of learning
are well placed here to commemorate the deeds of our fathers and
keep alive their spirit. It would seem to be a fitting thing that some
memorial contributed by the whole Church should yet be founded
here. All the transcontinental trains on their way to their eastern
seaports must pass over this isthmus, and at almost equal travelling
distances from Sackville stand St. John, Chatham, Halifax and Char-
lottetown, and in a still wider circle Fredericton, Yarmouth and
Sydney are found. Newfoundland and Labrador, Bermuda, New
England, Eastern Ontario along an outermost circle, send their sons
and daughters to Mount Allison. For an educational plant the posi-
tion is eminently strategic. It is " the hub " of the Maritime
Provinces.
This educational enterprise was founded in 1S40 by Mr. Chas F.
Allison, a wealthy merchant of Sackville. This early Academy filled
a very important place in the early educational history of these
provinces by the sea. In 1862 the Mount Allison Wesleyan College
was opened under charter from the Legislature. Then followed the
Ladies' Academy, now the Ladies' College. In comparatively recent
years the Conservatory of Music, the Museum of Fine Art, Memorial
Hall, the University Residence and the Hall of Science have been
added to the educational equipment.
In Memorial Hall all the work of the courses of Arts and Theology,
•except Science, is carried on. The University library, which is
494
Ada Victoriana.
>2,
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■A
en
O
Ada Victoriana.
495
emphatically a working library, consists of over 8,000 well-selected
volumes. It is open to the students at all hours. It occupies
crowded quarters at one end of the hall, while at the other is found
the College chapel, whose rich memorial windows commemorate our
founder and Rev. Wm. Black, " the apostle of Methodism " in the
Maritime Provinces. On the walls is placed a tablet in memory of
Colonel Harold Borden, a son of the Minister of Militia, who fell in
South Africa.
The Arts College is affiliated with Oxford and Cambridge, and its
students of two years' standing can enter Oxford without writing on
the responsions. This year Mount Allison sends two of her men to
the Isis, one representing New Brunswick and the other Bermuda.
ACADEMY AND COMMERCIAL BUILDING.
The work in Science and Engineering will enable a student to enter
the third year of Engineering in McGill University. Similar affiliation
provides for like privileges in Dalhousie post-graduate Schools of Law
and Medicine.
The Hall of Science contains lecture-rooms and laboratories for
work in Physics, Chemistry and Biology. The equipment of lathes,
work-benches, forges for the shop work and rooms for drawing of the
Engineering course is complete. $10,000 has lately been spent in this
department. Prof. W. J. Sweetser, of the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology, presides over the work in Engineering. This work is
rapidly growing, and important additions to the equipment and
staff have become necessary.
496 Aifa Victoriana.
The University Residence is up to the present the finest College
residence in the Dominion. It is heated by hot water and lighted
throughout by electricity. The fact that Mount Allison has three
large residences and dining halls, has led to some serious discussion
of the proposition to invite the General Conference to hold a session
here. The members could be suitably entertained, while the large
assembly halls, lecture rooms, reading rooms and libraries, and the
close association of the members, would lead to the expediting of
Conference business. The only objections are the dislocation of the
terms of the Ladies' College and the Academy, which generally open
early in September, and the heavy burden it would entail upon the
administrative heads of the Colleges. It is well, however, for the
Church to know that there is here a University group ample enough
in its appointments for such a task.
The President of the University is David Allison, LL.D., and with
him are associated nine professors and two lecturers. Notable in the
group is our grand old man. Dr. Chas. Stewart, late Dean of Theology
and now Professor Emeritus. Ontario is represented on ihe staff in
Profs. Hunton, Watson and Andrews.
The Ladies' College is under the Principalship of Rev. B. C.
Borden, D.D. A year ago last January an addition to the main
building, costing $40,000, was opened. The greatly increased accom-
modation has already been filled. The Vice-Principal is Miss E. S.
Baker, I*h.D., -Toronto, and the other Ontarians on the staff are
Miss Margaret Graham, Miss Ethel Edie and Miss McAlly. The
other members of the staff hail from the Provinces, England and the
United States. In connection with the Ladies' College is the depart,
ment of Elocution and Oratory, affiliated with the Emerson School of
Oratory and the Normal School of Domestic Science, which is installed
in a separate building and has been completely equipped in the finest
style by Mrs. Massey-Treble, of Toronto. Those who graduate in
this department are required to take the science of the three years of
the University course.
The Conservatory of Music is a fine building closely adjoining the
Ladies' College. The equipment of this department consists of a
three-manual pipe organ, a Steinway grand piano, and fifty-two pianos
for practice. The fine old organ in Lingley Hall, our Convocation
Hall, is also at the service of this department. Prof. George Wilson
is the musical director, and Dr. Raymond Archibald, Ph.D., has
charge of the Violin Department. Beethoven Hall is the concert
hall of this building. This hall and the Eurhetorian, in the University
Ada Victoriana. 497
residence, are the favorite halls for the .many lectures and concerts,
which occur during the College terms.
The Museum of Fine Art is the architectural gem of all the build-
ings. The style is Byzantine. The Owen's Art collection is valued
at various sums over $50,000. The names of Landseer, Reynolds,
West and Constable are found in the catalogue. The building is
divided into three halls, in which the statues and paintings are dis-
posed. The larger statues and oil paintings occupy the central hall,
and the water color paintings are found in the halls at each end. The
large studios at the back are plentifully supplied with casts, models,
etc. Prof. John Hammond, R.A., whose paintings of Rocky Mountain
scenery are so well known, is the director of the work in the studios.
No other College in Canada is so equipped.
The B;ys' Academy is presided over by Principal J. M. Palmer.
This flourishing Academy provides a boarding school for boys, and
fits them for matriculation into the courses of Art and Engineering
of the University, or leads them through a business course to a
Commercial- College diploma. The Principal is assisted by five
teachers.
Mount Allison has the distinction of being the first College in
Canada to open its full courses to women, and in 1882, from her halls
graduated Miss Hattie Stewart, the first woman Bachelor of Arts in
Canada. In the first graduating class were Senator Josiah Wood and
the Rev. Howard Sprague, " the Wendell Phillips of Canada." Among
the notable men who have graduated here may be named the late
Judge King, of the Supreme Court ; Judge Burbidge, of the Court of
Exchequer ; Dr. R. Weldon, Dean of the Dalhousie Law School ;
Dr. Frank Nicholson, of Middleton University, and Dr. Clarence
Webster, of Chicago University. Dr. Inch, the Superintendent of
Education of New Brunswick, was for many years her President. The
great progress of the last few years has awakened great enthusiasm
among the graduates and undergraduates, and now all are looking
toward the greater Mount Allison to be. What that shall be only the
future can reveal. It will, at least, be worthy of the past.
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Acta Victortana.
499
Stanstead College, Quebec
AMONG the many beauty spots of our beloved Dominion none is
fairer — none could be fairer — than the little town of Stanstead,
in that Protestant part of French Quebec lying east of the Richelieu
and known since 1790 as The Eastern Townships.
True, the majority who read Acta's pages have never heard of
Stanstead, and have but vague ideas of the Eastern Townships, so
aptly christened " The Switzerland of Canada \ " But the happy
minority — those whom a kind fortune has led on various pretexts to
summer by our lakes, scale our mountains, taste the rare hospitality
of our homes, and gaze in
speechless wonder on our
gorgeous sunsets — these will
tell you that you do not know
your Canada until you know
these Eastern Townships.
" The summit " Stanstead is
an ideal College town, with
its long, quiet, maple-lined
street ; its substantial homes,
with their lawns and fiower
gardens ; its picturesque ceme-
tery on the southern shore of
Crystal Lake ; its western
panorama ot mountain peaks,
extending from Jay's sharp
point in the Vermont Moun-
FLANDERS, PRINCIPAL. . , i , l , •,
tains to the venerable bald
head of old Orford to the north ; and last, but to this paper not least,
its group of College buildings in their setting of ample grounds, shade
trees and flower beds. Some of the features of the extensive grounds
of the College are two tennis courts, the golf links, a basket ball court,
large campus on which many a football game has been fought and won,
driveways and shady paths, and a woody hillside, which, in its natural
beauty, slopes downward to the busy, rushing Tomafobia River, and
down which a well-worn path leads to the boys' swimming hole.
These all speak of the good times enjoyed by the students when
the afternoon lessons are over, or on the long bright Saturdays of
spring and fall. In the winter time a skating rink provides exercise
and amusement for the College circle, and had we only space how
2
DR.
500 Acta Victoi'iana.
proudly would we tell you of our different hockey teams, from the
girls' club, so picturesque upon the ice, to our stalwart, athletic
seniors, who for three succeeding years have captured the cup from
the Eastern Townships Hockey League.
Five miles from the College lies the gem of lakes, Memphramagog,
with Bear Mountain and Owl's Head rising abruptly on its western
shore. On these waters and shores how many student-picnickers have
spent charmed liours, and it is over the shoulder of those mountains
that the College watches the gorgeous dying of the day, while the
whole heavens are bathed in crimson glory.
As to the College buildings, the accompanying cut shows most of
them. The large central one, which was built in 1874, was for many
years the only one. and in it were found not only residence for all
teachers, but class-rooms for all departments.
About twelve yf ars ago the Commercial School grew too large for
its accommodation, when Dr. Bugbee presented the trustees with the
white buildii^g to the right of the College proper, with sufficient funds
to prepare it for its new purpose.
Slowly but surely the College continued to grow, until in 1901
it was found that the Music Department could no longer be accom-
modated. Then the heirs of the late Charles Pierce came forward
and built the beautiful Music Building, presenting it to the College.
This is now headquarters for the Eastern Townships College of
Music, which is doing splendid work in this department of the fine
Arts. Two years ago we were enabled to expand once more by the
generosity of the tried and true friends of this institution. The heirs
of the late Horace Holmes erected a much-needed Model School,
into which our junior grades were at once housed, and other friends
built a model little hospital for the use of the sick. Thus, our buildings
now number five, and yet so rapidly are we growing and so popular is
this College becoming that this year we have been obliged to turn
several eager applicants from our doors.
During its thirty-two years of existence Stanstead College has had
its ups and downs, but of late years it seems to have found a secure
footing, and is becoming larger and more prosperous year by year.
Of the men who have given this institution their earnest effoit, two
have presided over its destiny for a term of twelve years each, viz.,
Rev. A. Lee Holmes, ALA., and the present President, Dr. Flanders.
The College is still fulfilling the purpose for which it was built, that
of providing a Christian home in which the Protestant youth of this
part of our country may be educated. c. R. f.
Ac^a Victoriana. 50 1
WesLeyan Theological College, Montreal
BY REV. WM. JACKSON, D.D.
THIS institution was founded in 1873. It is, however, the out-
come of a sentiment which existed decades before that date.
Methodism in Montreal, at least after 1815, was of a'decidedly British
Wesleyan type. The educational peculiarity of this is the founding of
Theological institutes rather than engaging in general education, as is
so largely done by American Methodism. The result was that, after
planning for years,
the rich, conservative
and honored members
of the older Methodism
resolved to establish in
Montreal a Theological
College, which should
be affiliated with McGill
University, which was
ihen rapidly growing
under the able adminis-
tration of the very
eminent Christian
scientist, Sir William
Dawson, who always
proved himself a true
friend of this and the
other three Theological
Colleges affiliated to
the University. The
Wesleyan Conference meeting in 1873 in Montreal, after a vigorous
discussion, approved of the scheme.
The College began its operations with eight students in the class-
rooms of the Dominion Square Church. At the inaugural exercises,
addresses were delivered by Rev. Dr. Rigg and Rev. Dr. E. Jenkins,
of London, England. In this church for ten years, Dr. Douglas and
Dr. Shaw did a large amount of difficult and valuable work. It was
about the same time that the Presb)terian College began i:s work in
the old Erskine Church, and the Diocesan in the Synod Hall.
A dark and terrible period of financial reverses came in 1877-78,
wrecking many of the strongest commercial establishments of the
city. The small remnant of the original endowment, for which
$50,000 was subscribed, was disappearing. The College was without
REV. \V. I. SHAW, M.A., D.D , PRINCIPAL.
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a habitation. A strong feeling was growing throughout the country
for the closing of the institution and merging it into the Theological
Faculty of Victoria at Cobourg, which Faculty was organized about
that time. The decision to build in Montreal was the turning point
which gave permanence to the institution. Dr. Shaw rallied and
canvassed its friends for this purpose. Hon. Senator Ferrier secured
a very fine property for the College on University Street, where the
new building was opened in September, 1883. At once a large
majority of cities surrendered their opposition and recognized the
great possibilities of usefulness which opened up before the institution,
an anticipation which has been fully verified in its general usefulness
to the church and in the influential place it now has in the University,
in Montreal Protestantism and in public education in the city and
ptovince.
Principal Douglas brought to it the great power of his eloquence
and wide personal influence. This was one of the most potential
factors in the history of the institution.
Mr. S. Finley, who was treasurer from 1883 to his death in 1903,
rendered most valuable service in collecting for the College ; first, in
wiping off a debt of $15,000 on the building, and further, in adding
to the endowment about $15,000. The largest benefactor of the
College was the late Hart A. Massey, of Toronto, whose bequest of
$50,000 has helped to make fair provision for present current needs.
Dr. Douglas died in 1894, and was succeeded by Dr. Shaw as
Principal up to 1900, when, owing to failing health, he resigned this
office, though continuing full professional duties. Dr. Maggs was then
appointed Principal, and on his resigning in 1903, Dr. Shaw was again
called to the office. Dr. Jackson was appointed successor to Dr.
Antliff" in 1901, and Dr. Elliott to Prof. Harris in 1902. Every
department in Divinity is now fully provided for.
The total enrolment of students from 1873 to 1905 is 431. The
highest record was in 1892 of sixty-one resident students and nine
extra mural. For several years past the attendance has seriously
declined, but this year there has been a marked return to former
figures, there being forty-one in residence and twenty-four extr maural
students.
The advantages afforded by the institution are the variety of
courses it offers and the convenience it gives the students by boarding
in the College and close to the University. It has gained favor in
many quarters by its financial administration. It has no debt, a fact
which implies severe economy and self-denial in the earlier years of its
history, without which, most acknowledge, it could not have survived.
504
Ada Vic/oriana.
Jilberta College, Edmonton
PRIOR to 1903 Canadian Methodism had only two seats of higher
learning west of Ontario — Wesley College, Winnipeg, and
Columbian College, New Westminster, B.C.; and between them lay a
stretch of territory sufficiently large to contain several of the kingdoms
of Europe, and fertile enough to feed millions. Its fertility was
attracting thousands of settlers who, with their families, scattered
over its vast stretches of prairie. Soon there were hundreds of young
men and women who were
desirous of securing the cul-
ture which a higher education
affords, and yet were unable
to travel east to Winnipeg or
west to New Westminster.
How were their needs to be
met ? Some of the progres-
sive leaders of Methodism
in the West saw the neces-
sity of providing for these
needs if the Church was to
exert the sway in the West
which she coveted. Alberta
College was the outgrowth
of the foresight of these men,
and to-day, less than eighteen
months after its inauguration,
Edmonton, Alta., is the seat
of a progressive institution
which is giving instruction
to students in commercial,
music and Arts courses. Be-
ginning with limited quarters, it soon outgrew the day of small things
and rented rooms, and demanded a building of its own. This need
western enterprise met almost as soon as it was felt, and in October
last Rev. J. H. Riddell, B.A., B.D., the happy Principal, was able to
make a new start in commodious quarters, which afforded room for
the conduct of the various branches of education taught, and also
apartments for the accommodation of at least forty resident students.
That the need for such an institution was not a mere surmise is
seen from the fact that in the first year it had enrolled seventy-three
REV.
H. riudp:ll, r.a., b.d.,
PRINCIP.AL.
Acfa Victoriana. 505
students in spite of its cramped condition and scanty equipment, and
that this year it has 160 in attendance. Now that the people of the
West realize that the College has come to stay, and that its energetic
Principal and his able assistants are competent to direct the energies
of the growing young minds, there can be no doubt that this new
daughter of our Educational Society will play an important part in the
development in the West of a strong, enlightened manhood and woman-
hood, rooted and grounded in those vital principles on which must be
based true culture and noble citizenship. Long live Alberta College !
H. H. c.
Methodist College, St. John's, Nfid
THE Methodist Church of Canada has certainly done what it
could to bring to a consummation the long talked-of admission
into our Great Dominion of the important colony lying at our very doors.
Yet few of our people, we suspect, would ever think of including in a
list of our Church's educational institutions the one in St. John's, New
foundland. Yet without it our number would be incomplete, for at
the union of the Methodist Churches of Canada provision was
made for the formation of a Newfoundland Conference, under the
control of the General Conference. Thus their interest became our
interest, and their College part of our great educational work.
Tne system of public education in Newfoundland is denomina-
tional and sustained by Legislative grants, school fees and the
voluntary contributions of the people. It embraces the work of public
schools and academies or colleges. The Methodist College in St-
John's was founded in 1859, as the St. John's Wesleyan Academy,
its first Principal being Mr. A. S. Reid, of Sackville Academy, N. B.
The present Principal, Mr. R. E. Holloway, M.A., of London, Eng.,
was appointed in 1874, and has proven himself a man of rare ability
and a born teacher. Under his management the Academy made
rapid progress, necessitating new buildings and an enlarged staff of
teachers. A new training and model school was soon followed by a
handsome and commodious College building, which was opened m
1887 under its present name.
On July 8th, 1892, all these buildings were destroyed in the
terrible fire which destroyed two-thirds of the city. On July 13th the
Executive Board met and decided to rebuild at once, though the homes
and business places of most of the members were also in ashes. Thus,
the Methodists of Newfoundland, though by no means wealthy, have
5o6 Acta Victoriana.
shown their loyalty to the traditions of their Church and recognize the
importance of maintaining institutions of learning. The new building
is a fine brick structure, located on a hillside, and well adapted to the
purpose for which it was built, having a number of large airy and well-
lighted class-rooms, and on the top floor a large hall, provided with a
splendid pipe organ, and affording comfortable seating accommodation
for over six hundred people. The cost of the building was over
$75,000.
The work done in this College is exceedingly varied, and ranges
from the kindergarten and primary departments to preparation for the
University. Thorough work is done in the grades, but in the higher
branches it has achieved its greatest success, easily outdistancing all
competitors.
The report of the Principal to the Educational Society for the year
1903-04, will give a good idea of the work accomplished.
" The work of the past year has been conducted, as formerly, in two
departments — the Primary and the College proper. The attendance
in the former was 205, and in the latter 300, or a total of 505 ; being
an advance of 38 upon any previous year.
" The main work of the College is tested by five examinations, which
are held annually — the London Matriculation, and four under the
guidance of the Council of Higher Education, known as the Associate
in Arts, Intermediate, Preliminary and Primary. In every case
questions are prepared and papers examined and valued by English
examiners. One hundred and thirteen passes were obtained by the
College pupils from those examiners. Three passed in the First
Division of the London Matriculation Examination, out of four in the
colony, one of whom won the Jubilee Collegiate Scholarship of $200
a year for three years. The highest of the Council of Higher Educa-
tion examinations is the Associate in Arts, in which twelve passes
were obtained by College students — as many as the students of all
the other institutions combined — and several prizes, including the
highest, were awarded them.
" Forty-two passed in the intermediate, being more than any other
four institutions together. This class secured eighty-eight Honors, and
four out of a total of seven Scholarships, besides a number of special
prizes. Twenty-eight obtained passes in Preliminary, and twenty-eight
in Primary examinations."
Thus it is seen that the Methodists are nobly doing their duty in
disseminating education and its accompanying culture throughout our
sister colony. H. h. c.
Acta Victoriana.
Wesley College, Winnipeg
507
ALTHOUGH the youngest of the educational institutions in
Winnipeg, Wesley College is one of the most progressive of
the Colleges constituting the University of Manitoba. It was founded
REV. J. W. SPARLING, M.A., D.D., PRINCIPAL.
by the Church in 1873, but after a struggling existence as a High
School was discontinued on the establishment of the Winnipeg Col-
legiate Institute. Immediately after the General Conference of 1886
preparations were made for the re-establishment of the College as a
^oS
Ac hi Victoriana.
WESLEY COLLLGE, WINNIPLG.
Acta Victoriaiia. 509
part of the newly-founded University, with which it was affiliated in
October, 1888. The Manitoba Conference placed itself in hearty
cooperation with the Board of Trustees to establish the College in
an active and honorable position. The work of teaching was resumed,
and it has been in active operation ever since.
The Rev. J. W. Sparling, M.A., D. D., was called upon to assume
the Principalship of an institution which had no endowment, no
building, no professors, and no students. With determined spirit Dr.
Sparling called Prof Cochrane to his aid, gathered three students
around him and began the work of higher education in the parlors of
Grace Church, Winnipeg. Undaunted by such a humble and unpre-
tentious beginning, the Principal entered into his task of organizing
and developing his young protege with indefatigable energy and
tireless perseverance. The roll of professors and students rapidly
increased, one building after another became too small, until it was
found necessary, in 1895, to construct the present magnificent block
on Portage Avenue. The building, one of the most handsome in
the city, occupies a commanding site, is built entirely of Calgary
sandstone, lighted by electricity and heated by steam. It not only
provides full accommodation for all teaching purpose?, but also con-
tains a splendid convocation hall capable of seating about five hun-
dred people, dormitories for about sixty students, and in the basement
a large and well-equipped gymnasium. To provide out of-donr phys-
ical exercise, a campus, five acres in extent, has been secured. The
cost of building and grounds has exceeded $100,000.
The energy expended in securing suitable and permanent accom-
modation for the educational work has been but an index of the
ability and enthusiasm displayed in the prosecution of the work
itself. Indeed, so efficient has been the work done that, in 1898, ten
years after the inception of the College, her students took one-half of
the money offered by the University to the four competing Colleges
of the city and the Institutes of the city and province. In one year
her students captured eight out of fourteen medals presented oy the
University.
The College in 1902 made a new departure in establishing a Chair
in Icelandic Language and Literature, for the purpose of keeping
Icelandic young people in touch with the history and institutions of
the country from which they came. Wesley is, so far as we know,
the first institution of learning in Canada to make regular and syste-
matic provision for the education of a foreign people in their own
native tongue ; and the effort has met with great success.
5IO
Ada Vzctoriana,
Acta Victoriana. 5 1 1
The Methodist people of Manitoba and the Territories have loyally
upheld the hands of the Principal and his staff in their arduous but
encouraging task. As a result the work, both in Arts and Theology,
has been carried on until recently with no endowment, yet without
contracting debts, so far as current expenses are concerned.
Such a brilliant past is surely an earnest of a still more brilliant
future, and one might safely venture the prophecy that Wesley Col-
lege will yet be the largest of the educational institutions of Canadian
Methodism. She has the energy and the enthusiasm. Her sons are
zealous in advocating her interests. She is set in the midst of a
country which will yet be the home of millions. She has the room
for development, and behind her is a loyal people ready to make
sacrifice for her welfare. Surely, under such conditions, her future
success is assured. h. h. c.
Jilbert College, Belleville
ALBERT COLLEGE was founded by the Methodist Episcopal
Church in 1857, under the name of "Belleville Seminary,"
and loyally supported through difficult and trying circumstances. At
its head was placed Rev. Albert Carman, M.A., D.D., now General
Superintendent of the Methodist Church. For nine years after its
foundation the work of the institution was entirely of an academic
character, in which its success was so marked as to lead to the beliet
that the interests of the Church, as also of higher education, would be
better served if it were in possession of University powers. An Act of
Parliament to that effect was obtained in 1866, and "Albert College "
exercised University functions until 1884, when, after the union of the
Methodist churches in Canada, it was affiliated with Victoria Univer-
sity, relinquishing its degree-conferring powers and assuming the
position of a preparatory school. As now constituted, Albert has an
ample teaching staff, composed of honor graduates from Victoria or
Toronto Universities, for imparting instruction both to young men
and young women. It pursues all the work of Collegiate Institutes,
together with courses in business, music, fine arts and elocution. In
all these branches its students have stood high in their final examina-
tions, giving ample proof of the efficiency of the work done. The
Rev. W. P. Dyer, M.A., U.D., may well be proud of the progress
the College has made since he was appointed Principal nearly twenty
years ago. Its staff, its attendance, its property and its equipment are
all greatly enlarged, so that Albert is in good position to increase its
influence and become a still greater factor in Methodist educational
activities. h. h. c.
A if a Victoriana.
Columbian College^ New Westminster, B.C.
THERE was a time when it seemed that Columbian College was
likely to occupy but a small place in the educational life of the
West, but loyalty and devotion on the part of its patrons, and energetic
work by its promoters, have made for it an enviable position in the
development of Canada's most westerly province. What part it may
yet take in the solution of the educational problems of British
Columbia cannot all be said in this present time. There are problems
here, some of which the Provincial Council of Instruction see and are
unable to cope with, and some of which they see, but do not recognize
any obligation to treat with. One problem is that of a university for
the West. It has not come yet, and until recently students who
could not go to Eastern or Southern institutions were forced to
abandon the path of higher education almost
at its starting point. Columbian College, in
its affiliation with Victoria University, and
through that institution with Toronto Univer-
sity, offers a solution to the difficulty by
furnishing instruction in the four years of
the Arts Course. Other institutions in the
West have advanced to the end of the
second year in Arts. It will thus be seen
that Columbian College leads in the standard
of her curriculum, and facts will show that
she has been the one institution in the West
representing Toronto University. The reli-
gious problem, untouched by our contem-
poraries, is laid hold of to a degree by us and on somewhat similar
lines to those of our Alma Mater.
To the Church in British Columbia the College bears a close
relation. She is the child of the Church, begun in faith, sustained by
prayer, and facing a future with hope. The Church is loyal to the
point of sacrifice in financial support, and every year there go out, not
only men for our ministry, but many who will occupy important
positions among the laity. Denominational tendencies are not.
Columbian College has students from many denominations, and
numbers among her patrons men of varied creeds.
What shall the College be in the future life in the West ? She will
be a factor of importance^ and we trust an institution which will rank
among the best in the matter of proficiency. No institution gives any
RliV,
W. J. SIPPKELL,
B.A., B.D.
Ada Victo7'iana. 5 1 3
greater returns on its investment, and a strong University could be
built up at once if financial considerations were not so pressing.
Meantime the College grows more vigorous and useful through her
affiliation with the leading University in the land.
The history of the College is the history of Victoria graduates.
Beginning with Rev. R. Whittington, D. D., as Principal, the ideals
seen in the Alma Mater are being realized in a measure in the young
College in the West. On the staff have been many names well known
to Victoria. Prof. Odium, B.A., B.Sc, Morley C. Peart, B.A., and
others. On the present stafif are recent graduates of Victoria : Rev.
W. J. Sippreli, B.A., B.D., Principal; Prof. J. G. Davidson, B.A.,
Registrar (Science) ; Prof. P. Mc.D. Kerr, B. A., Librarian (Classics);
Miss M. Millichamp, B.A. (Moderns) ; Miss S. Bristol, B.A. (Moderns).
These, with others, have manifested a zeal for work of which
Victoria may well feel proud. They are all devoted to their Alma
Mater and to their work in the West, and their zeal and personality
have left their mark on the student life of the College.
And now a line on the work of the College. What do we do ? One
would not be far astray in saying we try to do everything other people
do and to do it a little better, and although we may not accomplish it,
it is the spirit of the West that moves us. The course of study is
extensive.
Think of a full Commercial Course, a Four Years' Course in Arts
with Honor Moderns, a course for the B.D. and S.T.L. degrees, a
Public School and Collegiate department, all manned by seven instruc-
tors. Beside this, another instructor for music, and one for art, and
you have our literary work. This year will, we trust, see our first
graduates in Arts, of whom we expect three will obtain the B.A.
degree of Toronto University. These will be the first graduates ever
prepared by a local institution in British Columbia. Besides these,
others are coming on in the other years, while we are sending every
year some to the East who find it possible so to do.
The student life is quite distinct in its nature from that of a larger
institution. With residence for both sexes, and with most of the
instructors in residence also, there is that personal oversight on the
part of teachers which it is impossible to obtain in a larger institution.
Slow pupils are given special attention, backward ones are urged
ahead, and regularity in attendance upon lectures is insisted on. The
whole course of instruction is covered in lectures during the year, and
there are frequent critical investigations made as to what each student
is doing. If a student is found who fails utterly to make use of his
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Acta Victoi'iana. 5 1 5
privileges he is requested to withdraw from attendance. In view of
these facts there is not much sloping of lectures, nor is all work for
examinations left for March and April.
The students' social life is one of interest. There is no class
distinction between the years, to be seen either in study or in
recreation. The many "At Homes " given throughout the year by
the friends of the College in the city remind one of Cobourg, while
the splendid grounds in connection afford abundant opportunities for
healthy sport.
The religious tone of the institution is quite pronounced. The
Faculty are all among those who enjoy a religious life, and it is seen
in precept and example in its influence upon the students.
The literary societies and Y. W. C. A. afford the same means of
development as in similar institutions elsewhere, and some good
speakers have been produced and some lives have been greatly
improved.
In athletics the College takes an active part, and in competition
with other institutions has stood well to the front. Westminster is the
home of the sports. The city boasts a lacrosse team without a peer
in Canada, and the College men and women are doing something to
uphold the civic reputation. Football, basket ball, hockey, lacrosse,
with track sports, are all encouraged, and this vear plans are under
way for a considerable trial of skill in Inter-University contests with
the University ot Washington across the line.
The College future is assured so far as permanence is concerned,
but its influence and extent can hardly be determined at present.
This year an addition was made to the main building, at a cost of
$6,000, which provides accommodation for lady students, and in the
coming summer a boys' residence and science hall must be constructed
at an equal expense. Our patrons in British Columbia can sustain us
in regard to our current necessities, but they can do very little toward
enlarged expenditure in the matter of building. However, they will
do their share, and this encourages us to go into the future with faith
in our work, ourselves, our Methodism, and above all, in our God.
The College property occupies almost an entire block, and the new
building to be erected this summer will be one side of a quadrangle,
which we trust ere long to complete, and to have it sustain its
reputation as the University of the West. w. j. s.
5i6 Acta Victoriana.
Some Women's Colleges
To some graduate of Victoria College interested in history, an
excellent field for investigation is offered in the rise and
development of the education of women in Canada, or, if the research
be limited to the Methodist Church of Canada, there will be ample
enough scope for original work.
The earliest provision for education in Canada came through the
Ursuline Nuns, whose convent in Quebec was built in 1642. They
taught not only girls, but boys, and were the patient instructresses of
the Indian children. They were followed later by another teaching
order, " The Sisters of the Congregation," who opened schools in
Montreal and extended their work into Upper Canada.
Protestant education in Upper Canada seems not to have begun
until about a hundred and fifty years later, when a great number of
private schools, chiefly elementary in character, were opened wherever
there were pupils enough to fill them. In the early thirties these were
supplemented by academies, which offered a higher and more varied
education, and most of which were open to both men and women.
Of these, Upper Canada Academy, which became later Victoria
University, was among the earliest. It was opened in 1837, and for
five years young men and women attended the same classes, and were
in residence under the same roof, the women on the west, and the
men on the east of the old Alumni Hall, dear to the memory of
the Victoria graduates of the Cobourg days. But when the Academy
attained to the dignity of a College, women departed from its halls
and found their trainmg elsewhere. Dr. Hurlburt and Rev. D. C.
VanNorman, instructors in the College, opened two schools in
Cobourg for young women — the first Methodist young women's
schools in Canada — and to these in 1841 the rejected young women
betook themselves. Seven years later Dr. Hurlburt removed his
school to Toronto, where it was in existence five or six years ; and
some time before this Rev. Mr. VanNorman had removed his to
Burlington under the name of the Burlington Ladies' Academy.
One of its first graduates was the late Mrs. Youmans, then Letitia
Creighton, who, in 1847, with Dr. D. McMullen, founded a Ladies'
Academy in Picton. In 1853, two ladies from Pennsylvania, Misses
Shoemacher and Wright, began a school in Cobourg, which closed
about the time of the inauguration of the Wesleyan Female Academy.
Four years after Dundas Ladies' College was opened under the
principalship of Mr. McDonegal, an enthusiastic Irishman from the
United States. In an old calendar of one of these early institutions
Acta Victoriana. 517
we find that the aim of ladies' schools was then, as now, " the
symmetrical development" of womanhood, and that women's educa-
tion should be " moral, religious, intellectual, social and practical."
In Hamilton, about this time, there was a large hotel for sale, which
was deemed by Rev. Dr. Rice and others a suitable building for a
woman's college. It was accordingly bought, a charter was obtained
from the Government, and in 1861 the Wesleyan Female Academy
was opened under the Principalship of Rev. Richard Jones, and
Assistant-Principalship of Miss Adams. Later, the name was changed
to the Hamilton Ladies' College, and for thirty-seven years it was one
of the best and most successful women's colleges in Ontario.
Ten years after the opening of the College just named, Brookhurst
Academy was begun in Cobourg as an adjunct to Victoria College,
and with Miss Adams as Principal. This lasted for a period of seven
or eight years, up to the time, indeed, when young women began to
be admitted to the University.
In 1874 the fine large residence of Squire Reynolds in Whitby,.
" Trafalgar Castle," was purchasable, and it was thought advisable to
procure it and establish a school east of Toronto. The record of
Ontario Ladies' College during the thirty years of its existence is so
well known to all as to require no comment.
Next year. Rev. Dr. Demill, wishing to establish a school for young
ladies that would compete with the convents in low prices, so as to
prevent the sending of Protestant young ladies to Catholic schools,
built his College in Oshawa, and modelled it in management after
Mount Holyoke College. After surviving a fire, and its subsequent
removal to St. Catharines, it ended its days in 1903,
Alma Ladies' College in St. Thomas, founded in 1881 by the
Methodist Episcopal Church of Canada, is the latest of our purely
women's colleges. It has had something of a struggle for existence,
but it has successfully passed the crisis, and won for itself a high
rank among other similar schools.
It is rather remarkable that although Toronto is one of the foremost
educational centres on this continent, and its scholastic advantages
unexcelled in Canada, we have no Methodist Woman's College in it.
There is wide opportunity for such a school, especially if it be of an
advanced character, and let us hope that in the near future we shall
complete our churchly care of woman's education by a well-equipped
and regulated girl's school in The Queen City.
No account of woman's education in Canada, however meagre,
should be given without a tribute to Miss Adams, who did for educa-
tion in Canada what Miss Lyon accomplished for New England
5i8 AcUi l^ictoriaua.
through Mount Holyoke College. She was connected with Mount
AlUson College, Dundas Ladies' College, Hamilton Ladies' College,
Brookhurst Academy, Ontario Ladies' College, and few are the homes
of Methodism in Ontario which do not owe much to the influence of
her vtrong devoted womanhood. A quotation from the second
annonncement of the Wesleyan Female Academy will show belter
than any words of the writer, her high ideal in the education of
women. The aim of the College is "to teach s^elf control, obedience
to principits, a conscientious regard for the right, trustfulness in
opposition to pretence in anything, pattiotism, love of home, devotion
to parents, simplicity, inartificiality, avoidance of heartlessness and
display, to produce a rich, deep and graceful character, generous and
sympathetic, with self-reliant independence of thought, and freedom
from weak sentimentalism." m. e. t. a.
Ontario Ladies' College, Whitby
WHITBY — the very name recalls pleasant memories of a quiet
town, enthroned like the eternal Mother of Cities upon her
several hills, and guarded on every side by fruitful slopes. Near
enough to Toronto to enjoy many of the educational advantages of
that progressive city, and yet escape the annoyances of its busy,
hurrying life, this peaceful town impresses one as being delightfully
and wholesomely rural. And all the glory and pride and life of
Whitby is wrapped about its justly celebrated College for young ladies.
Situated a mile and a half from the shores of Lake Ontario, on one
of the most commanding eminences of the town, discernible for miles
around the country-side, this building is the most striking object that
meets the visitor's eye. By day, its many windowed walls, its towers
and turrets catch the sunlight at a thousand points : while at night
the broad circle of twinkling lights makes one imagine that once more
"fair Ariadne's crown out of the sky hath fallen down."
When Squire Reynolds came to Canada in the early fifties he ex-
hibited rare good taste in selecting this exact site for his own palatial
residence. The building was completed in 1859, and, from its
resemblance to a certain ancient Elizabethan structure in the Old
Land, was named Trafalgar Castle. Its elegant carvings, lofty ceil-
ings, extensive drawing-rooms, halls and stairways, its gorgeous
stained windows, proudly emblazoned with the coat of arms of Rey-
nolds, still serve as a reminder of the long-departed master of Trafal-
gar Castle.
Acia Victoriana.
519
But the man who had laid out his fortune for building found that
he had little left with which to maintain the princely establishment,
and the estate was sold to an enterprising company of gentlemen who
had conceived the idea of turning it into a College for the higher
education of young women. Wings were added to the main building
as soon as the increasing attendance made their erection expedient ;
first the Ryerson Hills extended from the main building leftward,
KLV. J. J. HARE, PH.D., PRINCIPAL O. L. C.
and of still more recent erection is the beautiful Frances Hall, extend-
ing out for many rods to the right.
On the ground floor of Frances Hall are situated two large apart-
ments, namely, the dinning-room and concert-hall. The former,
which is light and cheery, is capable of containing a great many tables
each of which may seat a dozen persons. Over the head of each table
a teacher presides ; the young ladies serve d fferent dishes in turn,
520
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Acta Victoriana. 521
and thus pick up, in a pleasant way, many useful points of etiquette.
The doors between the dining-room and the concert-hall may be
opened upon special occasions, forming a very spacious auditorium.
Since 1874 the institution has been under the able direction of the
Rev. Dr. Hare, who has seen the work grow to such proportions as
to command attention from the entire continent, for it is simply the
truth to state that pupils come from California and Vancouver, from
Mexico and the Bahamas, passing on their way scores of similar
institutions which are using every inducement to increase their own
attendance.
The home-like atmosphere is very apparent everywhere. One
might imagine the young ladies all members of one immense family,
so prominent is the feeling of genial good-will. Teachers and students
are one, sitting down to the same tables, and enjoying the same
social life. Each student's room, while provided with light, heat, and
the necessary furniture, may be decorated to its occupant's taste, and
many of the young ladies contrive to throw a great deal of character
into their surroundings.
The care of sick or delicate pupils is as motherly as it is skilful.
A teacher makes constant rounds through the apartments, advises,
and summons medical aid, if necessary, while a nurse is constantly
employed in the building. But, fortunately, the surroundings are so
healthful, and the outdoor exercises so varied, that there are few cases
of serious illness among students.
All the haunts in and about the town are familiar to those who are
fond of walking ; while the lake shore is the scene of many a picnic,
students sometimes being allowed to take their lunch along and play
gipsy for the day. From the fact that there are ninety-eight acres of
land in connection with the institution, it is not surprising that outdoor
sports are a special feature of College life. Excellent opportunity for
tennis, basket-ball, and croquet playing is afforded on the extensive
lawn in front of the building. Twice a year Whitby Tennis Team
contend for the "Trophy" with the young ladies of Victoria Univer-
sity. The trophy is now in the possession of the Ontario Ladies' College.
For winter amusements the musically-inclined organize a musical
club, the Art students form an art club, the aim of which is to interest
the members in the lives and works of master painters. The Literary
Society has also a large attendance \ at their first meeting is chosen
the editorial staff of the Vox^ a highly amusing and entertaining
little journal published monthly throughout the collegiate year, and
expressing very definitely the spirit of College life.
522 Athi Victoriaiia.
Let it not be in''erred from the foregoing paragraphs tha; hfe st the
College is a mere round of sports and amusement?, it is the ha[)py
combination of work and play that produces the enviable result-;. All
morning long the students are as busy as bees in their various depart-
ments, and again in the evening, from seven until nine, the vacant
halls are empted of the laughing, chattering groups, for this is the
hour when books are opened upon study tables, and when piano notes,
above, below, and everywhere, prove the number of aspiifing musicians.
The courses of study are very broad in their scope, and the founda-
tion for future culture is laid firm and deep. It is just in this respect
that a resident College excels a day-school. Instead of being obliged
to cram a brain full of facts in view of an impending examination,
these students are acquiring gradually, pleasantly and thoroughly a
training that fits them for any sphere into which womanhood is likely
to be called. They are not only told how things ought to be done;
they do them. They are not only informed how cultured people
should live ; they live daily under the most refining influences.
Above all they are constantly under a wholesome religious influence
It is superfluous to add that the Bible is taught as broadly as other
branches, no attempt being made to interefere wi'h a student's creed
or denominational beliefs.
"All things must die," says Tennyson ; and nothing can be more
apparent than that mournful truth. College days, sharing the mortality
of things earthly, must one by one glide into the misty past. Students
must parr, and relentless trains and boats, after their flinty manner the
world over, must carry long-knitted friends to remote distances.
" Nothing will die," exclaims the poet, exultantly, a moment later, and
again, and this time gladly, we admit the force of the truism. Above,
all, influences cannot die. They follow us like invisible guardians to
the end. And here is seen the most widespread result of the work of
the Ontario Ladies' College. Can a soul filled with the love of the
beautiful, live under the inspiration of the great masters, and then
relapse into ignorant indifference ? Can hundreds of healthy, cultured,
thoughtful young women inhabit the borders of our land without rais-
ingr its whole moral tone? In the near future when our Canadian
literature and art shall have come into their own, a finger will point to
the hoary pile that crowns the loftiest eminence of Whitby Town, and
its voice will say, "Canada has no nobler mother of education than
this." M- B.
Note.— [Though not directly under the control of the Educational Society, Ont.irio Ladies'
College is under Methodist auspices, and no report of our Institutions woukl he c> niplete that made
no mention of it ; hence, we g'adly include it in this numl)er.] — Ed.
Ac/ a Victoriana.
523
Jilma College, St. Thomas
ALMA College was lounded by Rev. Dr. Carman, General Super-
intendent of the Methodist Church. Through his travels in
the fine district of South-Western Ontario he became convinced that
a College there for the higher education of young ladies would be a
valuable complement to the provincial school system, and impressed
with the progressive spirit of St. Thomas, its superior railroad
facilities, the exceptional salubrity of its climate, he fixed upon it as a
very suitable place for the new school.
St. Thomas cit'zens enthusiastically approved the project, atid such
leading men as Judge Hughes, Registrar^McLachlin, Sheriff Munro,
Mayor Drake, Captain
Sisk, Colin Macdougall,
M.P.,and John E.Smith,
Esq., accepted appoint-
ment on the Board of
Management. A charter
was procured from the
Legislature of Ontario in
1877, giving the Corpora-
tion extensive powers and
rights.
The College site in-
cludes about seven acres
of land in the centre of
the city and close to the
beautiful ravine that sur-
rounds the city on three
sides. The large campus
affords fine facilities for
outdoor recreation, and
the students take an active
interest in tennis, basket
ball, croquet, skating, etc. The College buildings, as will be seen by
the accompanying cut, have a splendid and commanding elevation,
embodying in the main building the idea of the union of home,
church and school. The main building was completed and furnished
at a cost of over $70,000, and opened October 13th, 1881, with an
enrolment of thirty three students. The increase in patronage was so
REV. R. I. WARNPR, M.A., D.D.,
I'RINCIPAL.
524
Acta Victoriana.
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Acta Victoriana. 525
great that in 1887 the accommodation was inadequate, and to meet
the demand McLachlin Hall was erected and equipped at a cost of
over $22,000. These buildings provide bedroom accommodation for
160, besides affording concert hall (capacity 500), dining rooms, class
rooms, fine art and music studios, drawing rooms, domestic science
and chemistry laboratories, kitchens, store rooms, etc. The art studio
(34 X 60) is among the largest and best equipped in Canada and the
general equipment, throughout all departments is attractive, modern
and efficient.
The name " Alma " was given to the College in recognition of
interest shown in the College by the late Sheriff Munro, whose only
daughter was named Alma. She is now Mrs. J. C Dufifield, London.
The name " McLachlin Hall " was given to the new building, erected
in 1888, in recognition of the great service rendered the College by
the late Registrar McLachlin, for many years Secretary of the Board
and Executive.
The College started in 1881 with three departments — Literary,
Music and Fine Art. The departments were organized with Rev.
B. F. Austin, B.D., Principal; Rev. R. L Warner, M.A., Registrar;
Mr. St. John Hyttenrauch, Director of Music ; Mr. F. M. Bell-Smith,
R.C.A., Director of Fine Art ; Mrs. Margaret Capsey, Governess.
There have since been added three departments — Bookkeeping and
Stenography, Elocution and Physical Culture, and Household Science
and Art. The College organization at present is as follows : Principal,
Rev. R. L Warner, M.A., D.D.; Registrar, Miss Martha A. Harvey,
B.A.; Acting Lady Principal, Miss Clara M. Woodsworth, B.A.
Directors — Music, Mr. Thomas Martin ; Fine Art, Mr. William
St. Thomas Smith, A.R.C.A.; Commercial, Mr. Maurice B. Farr;
Elocution and Physical Culture, Miss May H. Walker, A.T.C.M.;
Household Science and Art, Miss Winona Eilbeck.
The curricula include diploma courses in all these departments, as
well as Art studies for the University Junior and Senior Matriculation.
Over 300 students have won the Alma diploma, and many of these
have taken post-graduate studies at home and abroad, especially in
the music conservatories of Germany and the fine art studios of
France. Alma College students and graduates have gone as mis-
sionaries to Japan, China, India and Africa.
While the College is Connexional property and managed by a Board
appointed quadrennially by the General Conference, the institution
has always been largely patronized by all the Christian denominations,
and students are required to attend their own church regularly.
526 Acta Victoriana.
The moral and religious interests are especially fostered through
a Spare Minute Bible Study Course, the regular study of International
Bible lessons, Y. W. C. A. meetings for prayer and Bible study, mid-
week prayer service and daily chapel services. About ninety per cent,
of the students are members of the various Christian denominations.
The aim of Alma College has always been to afford at fair rates the
best educational facilities, and the end sought for every student is a
well-rounded life under the influence of Christian culture entirely free
from sectarian bias. Deeming this a cause worthy the devotion of the
best talent and richest gifts, the Board of Management recently made
an appeal to the public.
The response has been encouraging. A fund of $50,000, including
$15,000 from City of St. Thomas, was raised, which has enabled the
Board to pay off every cent of debt on the College, and leaves several
thousand dollars in the treasury for improvements and enlargements
during the coming summer. The College thus enters a new era with
bright promise of enlarging prosperity and an open way to early
endowment, and it stands to-day a monument to the public spirit of
thousands who have contributed to make the College a gift to the
work of woman's education. Among these contributions are legacies
from the late Ivey Roblin, Belleville, for $500 ; Dr. Gould, Colborne,
for $400 ; Hart A. Massey, Toronto, for $35,000, and Peter Wood,
Esq., Brantford, for $7,300. Many special giits by others have been
received, greatly adding to the efficiency and attractiveness of the
College, such as equipment for Domestic Science Department, from
Mrs. Lillian Massey-Treble, Toronto : cash donations by Miss R. A.
Wass, Oakville, by late J. A. Carman, Iroqouis ; prizes and medals by
Revs. Hunter and Crossley, W. L. Wickett, Dr. Bennett, Dr. Gee,
A. E. Wallace, and others ; refurnishing and decoration of drawing
rooms by Alma Daughters, and many valuable contributions to the
College museum and library. The large yearly enrolment of students
is gratifying proof that the College does a necessary and important
work, and is eloquent testimony to the patriotic foresight of its
founders and the wise interest of the Church.
R. I. w.
XX? ill. c/lda ^idoriana. no 7
EDITORIAL STAFF, I904-I905.
H. H. Cragg, '05. - - - . Editor-in-Chief.
Miss E. H. Pattersjn, '05 lT,-tp,rarT- Miss E. M. Keys, '06. It^^oi„
A. E. ELLIOTT, '05 I Literary. D. A. Hewitt. '06. [Locals.
J. S. Bennett, '05. Personals and Exchanges.
W. A. GiFFORD, B.A., Missionary and Religious.
F. C. Bowman, '06, Scientific. M. C. Lane, '06, Athletics.
BOARD OF MANAGEMENT:
E. W. MORGAN, '05, .... Business Manager.
J. X. Tribble.'OT, H.F. Woodsworth, '07,
Assistant Business Manager. Secretary.
Advisory Committee :
Prof. L,. E. Horning, M.A., Ph.D. C. C. James, M..'^.,
Deputy Minister of Agriculture.
EbitoviaL
Educational Efforts of Canadian Methodism
THE children of educated parents are usually interested in educa-
tion. The founder of Methodism was favored, not only in
having educated parents, but also in receiving himself a liberal
education at old Oxford. Consequently he saw the necessity of edu-
cation and made early provision for it in his new societies. From
that time to this every country has borne testimony to the fact that
the cause of education, both in its primary and higher branches, has
had no more ardent advocates than the people called Methodists.
Our very life is rooted in education. Nowhere is there presented a
more promising field for the activities of our Church than in a com-
munity where men's intellectual faculties have been trained and their
minds enlightened by the search for knowledge. Hence, Methodism
in all its branches has been true to the spirit of its revered founder
and has encouraged every effort that has promised to open the eyes
of men to perceive truth.
It is not surprising, therefore, to find that the infant church which had
been planted in the new Canadian soil, at once began to feel the need
of education to assist it in its efforts to uplift the people committed
to its care. First there came the encouragement of primary schools,
but these were soon found to be insufficient. A system of education
in higher branches was also required. This was felt particularly in
he case of its own ministers. If they were to carry on their work
528 Ada Victoriana.
successfully and compete with the clergy of other churches who were
coming from the old land and its universities, they must have the
means of educating themselves. Moreover, great and vital questions,
both political and religious, were facing young Canada, in which every
true citizen was interested ; and in order to assist in their settlement
Methodists must send up men who would be so equipped that their
influences would tell mightily in the councils of the land. Hence,
though few in numbers, and with few men of wealth, but acting under
a supreme conviction of duty, they launched the scheme of raising
$50,000 to build and equip the Upper Canada Academy. By reason
of the heroic efforts of the leaders of the Church, the task was com-
pleted in seven years, and in 1836 the institution was opened for
academic work free of debt.
This was but the beginning of the good work, but it was an en-
couraging one and prophetic of the future. Soon after, in 1843, the
Methodists of the Maritime Provinces opened the Mount Allison
Wesleyan Academy, which has since grown into the Mount Allison
University. In 1857, the Methodist Episcopal Church of Upper
Canada secured a charter for the Belleville Academy, which later
became Albert College. The Methodists of Newfoundland gave the
next impetus to education by founding St. John's Methodist College
in 1859. The year 1873 was an eventful one for Canadian Metho-
dism, for it marked the commencement of three educational institu-
tions, Stanstead Wesleyan College, Stanstead ; Wesleyan Theological
College, Montreal, and Wesley College, Winnipeg. Next in order
came Columbian College in New Westminster, B.C., which was opened
in 1892, followed eleven years later by the founding of Alberta College.
We have not attempted to note the growth of institutions for the
higher education of women. Another article in this number deals
with that phase.
Thus we see that there has been a steady growth of educational
efforts throughout Canadian Methodism, and time has only served to
justify them. To-day they are all in a flourishing condition and ac-
complishing marked results in enlightening the minds and raising the
ideals of our Canadian youth. As Methodists, therefore, we have
much to be thankful for and much to spur us on to emulate the noble
example of our fathers in establishing truth in the land. Our Educa-
tional Society is doing valiant service in conducting this phase of the
Church's work, and is deserving of the heartiest co-operation on the
part of the whole Church ; and we feel sure that when our people
come to realize what a task is involved in the maintenance of so many
Acta Victortana. 529
institutions, and what a mighty work they are accompUshing in our
land, the heart of our genial and enthusiastic Educational Secretary
will be gladdened by the hearty responses to his powerful appeals for
help.
We are glad to devote this issue of Acta to help further the interests
of this Society ; and if, in some way we can, by thus giving our
readers a general, though necessarily inadequate view of its work,
induce them to offer a more generous support to so worthy an agency,
we shall feel that we have been amply repaid.
We regret that this issue of Acta has been so long
AN EXPLANA- delayed, but it seemed unavoidable under the cir-
TiON. cumstances. Some time since we planned to present
in the April number an outline of the educational
activities of Canadian Methodism (excepting Victoria), and to secure
accurate information we requested the various Colleges to provide us
with a sketch of their work and history. Owing to the stress of
spring examinations most of these were delayed in reaching us. How-
ever, we felt that the purpose in view justified our postponement of
publication in order to make the number as complete as possible.
It will be seen that four of the Colleges (viz., Wesley, Albert,
Alberta and St. John's) have been dependent on the editor for a
description. This is due to the fact that no reports were sent in to
us from them ; consequently we were forced, in the last extremity,
to depend for our material concerning them on various reports, from
which we have striven to present briefly, yet as accurately as possible,
the salient aspects of their life and work. If any errors have crept in
or any prominent features been omitted, we trust that leniency will
be shown in passing judgment.
Our next and final issue for the year we expect to
OUR JUNE publish about June loth. It will contain a descrip-
ISSUE. tion of our life at Victoria, with a sketch of the
history of the College and its connection with the
University of Toronto. There will also be several interesting articles
of a general nature, and a paper by Rev. Prof. Misener on the
,, Wisdom Literature of the Bible," which he read before the Theological
Conference of Victoria University, and later before the Methodist
Ministerial Association of Toronto. All who have heard this
excellent paper will, we are sure, wish to secure a copy of June Acta.
DO
O
Acta Victoriana.
EXCHANGES
VICTORIA may well be proud of the large place filled by her
graduates in the sphere of education. Many even of her friends
are too prone to think of our Alma iMater merely as an institution for
the preparation of candidates for the ministry, and have little con-
ception of the large number of her graduates who are now teaching
in the High Schools and Collegiate Institutes of this and other
provinces, or in the institutions of higher learning, under state or
denominational control, both in Canada and in the United States. It
is, perhaps, only natural that a very large proportion of the instructors
in educational institutions ot our own Church should be graduates of
Victoria. Brief sketches of these we are presenting in agreement with
the plan of our Educational number.
Victoria Graduates in Wesleyan Theological College, Montreal
Rev. William Isaac Shaw, M.A., D.D., LL D., D.C.L., was born
in Kingston in 1841. Intending to enter the legal profession, he took
the courses in Arts and law at Victoria University, graduating in Arts
in 1861, and taking the M.A. and LL.B. degrees in 1864. He studied
for some time in the ot!ice of the late Hon. Oliver Mowat, but finally
abandoned law to enter the ministry. After laboring on various fields
in the Montreal Conference, he was appointed instructor in the
Theological College, an institution which he assisted to found, and
of which he was Principal from 1894 to 1899, when he resigned owing
to ill-health. In 1903 he again became Principal on the resignation of
Rev. Dr. Maggs. Dr. Shaw has been prominent in the workings
of the Church, having attended the General Conferences since 1874,
and being elected President of his own Conference in 1878. He
is also an extensive writer on theological subjects, and prominent
in the Council of Public Instruction for the Province of Quebec.
Rev. George Coulson Workman, M.A., Ph.D., is a native of
Grafton, and was born in 1848. Entering Victoria, he graduated in
1875 ^s the valedictorian of his class, and was appointed in the next
year to the editorial staff of the Christian Guardian. In 1878 he was
Ada Virtoriana.
531
ordained to the ministry, and after four years spent in pastoral work,
became Assistant Professor of Hebrew in his Alma Mater, and in
1884 Professor of Old Testament Exegesis and Literature. To fully
qualify himself he spent nearly five years in post-graduate work at
Leipzig University, where he was awarded the degree of Ph.D. as a
recognition of the merits of a critical work on " The Text of Jeremiah."
His book on "Messianic Prophecy," called forth much bitter contro-
REV. G. C. WORKMAN, M.A., PH.D.
versy, resulting in the unfortunate severance of his connection with
Victoria in 1891. It was, perhaps, an indication of the growing
liberality of thought within the Church that Dr. Workman was
appointed to the Chair of Old Testament Exegesis in Wesleyan
Theological College in 1904. He is recognized as one of the foremost
biblical scholars in Canada.
4
532
Acta Victoriana.
MISS A. F. HENWOOD, B.A.
MISS C. M. WOODSWORTH, B.A.
MISS M. A. HARVEV, B.A.
N. R. WILSON, M.A.
Ac fa Victoriana. 533
Rev. James Elliott, B.A., Ph.D., graduated from Victoria Univer-
sity in 1886 with high honors and a Gold Medal, and entered on the
work of the ministry. His pastorates included Ottawa, Kingston and
Montreal. While in Kingston he attended the Lectures in Philosophy
of Professor Watson, of Queen's University, and was among the first
to take his Ph.D. degree from that institution. In 1902 he was
appointed to the staff of Wesleyan Theological College as Professor
of Philosophy and Church History. Dr. Elliott's tireless energy has
made him equally successful in his pastoral and in his academic work.
Rev. Willl\m Jackson, D.D., was born in England in 1840, and,
while engaged in business, qualified for the ministry. Commg to
Canada in 1862, he spent some time in Victoria, and on being received
into the work, rose steadily into eminence through his pulpit ability.
His pastorates have included Kingston, Montreal, Cornwall. In 1893
Wesleyan Theological College conferred upon him the degree of D. D.,
and in the same year he was elected President of the Montreal Con-
ference. He has been on the staff of the College since 1901 in the
capacity of Registrar and Professor of Theology.
Victoria Graduates in Alma College, St. Thomas, Ont.
Miss Clara Woodsworth, B.A., is an honor graduate in Classics
from Victoria University of the class of 1901. She joined the staff
of Alma in February, 1904, as teacher of English and Latin, and her
services proved so acceptable that, after one year's work, she was
appointed in February, 1905, to be Acting Lady Principal, the duties
of which position she is now discharging with general satisfaction.
Miss Martha A. Harvey, B.A,, graduated in 1898 with honors,
in Mathematics and Science, and joined the staff of Alma in Novem-
ber, 1900. She has been Registrar of the College for several years,
has shown marked skill in teaching, and has, by her tact and enthu-
siasm, done much for the athletic side of Alma College life.
Miss Alice F. Henwood, B.A., graduated in 1899 with standing
in the General Course. She became a member of the Alma College
staff in February of the present year, and has already won the confi-
dence of her classes as a thorough and competent instructor.
Rev. Robert Ironsides Warner, M.A., D.D., Principal of Alma
College, graduated B.A., 1877. I" \2>%\ he took his M.A. degree, and
in 1902 the degree of D.D. At graduation he was valedictorian of his
class, and carried off the Gold Medal in Moderns. He was appointed
534
Ada Victoriana.
H£V. A. STEWART, I) 1).
G. J. BLEWFTT, P. A., PH.D.
W. J. SPENCE, B.A.
W. F. OSBORNE, M.A.
Ada Victoriana. 535
Alma's first Professor of Modern Languages on the opening of the
College in 1881, and was also Vice-Principal and Registrar until the
resignation of Rev. Principal Austin, D.D., in 1897, when he was
unanimously elected Principal, a position he still holds.
Victoria Graduates in Wesley College, Winnipeg
Rev. a. Stewart, D.D., graduated in Theology from Victoria in
1879, and immediately devoted himself to mission work in Western
Manitoba, where, in addition to the arduous work of the pioneer of
the church, he discharged for several years the duties of Inspector of
Schools and organized a large number of new school districts. In
1889 he was called to the Theological work of Wesley College as
Lecturer in Hebrew, Old Testament Exegesis and Systematic Theol-
ogy. Prof. Stewart also discharges the duty of Registrar. His wide
experiences as a missionary pioneer and in educational work, give him
an honorable place in the councils of the Church, and he has twice
been President of the Manitoba and North- West Conference.
Rev. George J. Blewett, B.A., Ph.D., belonged to the Victoria
graduating class of '97, and after post-graduate study at Toronto,
Oxford and in Germany, received his Ph.D. from Harvard summa cum
laude. As Professor of Philosophy and Historical Theology his wide
and accurate scholarship, and his personal interest in his students,
never fail to stimulate them to their best efforts.
William F. Osborne, M.A., is a graduate of the class of '92, and
in the fall of that year was appointed to take charge of the work in
French and English at Wesley College, and was thus one of the
" Original Six " who bore the brunt of battle in Wesley's early days.
His painstaking application and enthusiasm make his lecture-rooms a
centre of inspiration and culture. Prof. Osborne is also winning
laurels as a public lecturer, whose devotion to " sweetness and light "
is a leavening influence in the materialistic life of the West.
William John Spence, B.A., graduated from Victoria in 1900 with
first-class honors in Modern Languages. His College career was
particularly brilliant, and he was a prize-man throughout. After a
year at Normal College, he joined the staff of Wesley College in 1901
as Lecturer in French and German. Prof. Spence is also Secretary of
the Faculty.
Norman Richard Wilson, M.A., graduated from Victoria in 1899
after a brilliant academic career, and after spending a year as instructor
in the Royal Military College, Kingston, went to Wesley in 19O0
536 Acta Victoriana.
as Assistant Professor of Mathematics. He has shown himself an
indefatigable worker in his department, and has also done much to
stimulate interest in the field of College athletics. He has spent
the past year in post-graduate work in his special department at the
University of Chicago.
Rev. Joseph Walter Sparling, M.A., D.D., was born in 1843
near St. Mary's, and received his education at the High School of
that town and at Victoria University (B.A., '71 ; M.A., '74). His
theological degrees were taken at the Northwestern University, 111.
(B.D., 1 87 1 ; D.D., 1889). He entered the Methodist ministry in
187 1, and performed the regular pastoral duties of his vocation up to
1888, when he was appointed to the Principalship of the new Wesley
College. The administration of Wesley under Dr. Sparling's leader-
ship has been eminently successful, and to his energy and executive
ability are due in no small measure Wesley's present high position.
His voice is also an influential one in the councils of Manitoba
University, with which Wesley is affiliated.
Victoria Graduates in Columbian College, New Westminster
Rev. Wilford J. Sipprell, B.A., B.D., graduated in Arts in 1895,
with the Silver Medal in Philosophy; in Divinity in 1897, with the
Sandford Gold Medal. In 1900 he became Principal of the Columbian
College, New Westminster, B.C. The ("ollege at the time of his
appointment was in a very precarious financial position, but thanks to
the energy and executive ability of its present Principal, is now firmly
established and in a position to do excellent work in all its depart-
ments. Mr. Sipprell is Professor of Theology and Philosophy.
James Grant Davidson, B.A., a member of the graduating class
of 1900, has had charge of the Mathematics and Physics Departmental
Columbian College for the past five years. Not only has he done
excellent academic work in his own department, but he has also done
a great deal for the athletic and social side of the College life.
Paul McD. Kerr, B.A., graduated in 1903 with the Edward
Wilson Gold Medal in Classics. He has been on the staff of Columbian
College since graduation as Professor of Classics and Orientals.
Through his efforts a College Glee Club has been organized and
attained considerable efficiency.
Miss Sadie Bristol, B.A., is an honor graduate in Moderns of 1903,
and during the past year has been instructor in that department at
Columbian College, where she has proven herself a splendid teacher,
energetic and thorough.
Ada Victoriana. 537
Victoria Graduates in Albert College, Belleville
Rev. W. p. Dver, M.A., B.Sc, D.D., was born in 1854, at Orono,
Ont. He was educated at Albert University and graduated with
honors, in Philosophy and Natural Science in 1877, taking the Gold
and Silver Medal, respectively, in these courses, and in 1879 took the
M.A. degree. Subsequently he was appointed Professor of Natural
Science in his Alma Mater, and became Principal in 1885. He took
the degree of B.Sc. from Victoria in 1892, and received in 1894 the
honorary degree of D.D. The. College has prospered greatly under his
administration.
Rev. Egerton R. Doxee, B.A., B.D., graduated in Arts at Victoria,
in 1891, with first-class honors in Classics, being the Silver Medalist in
that department. Since graduation he has taught the subjects of his
department at Albert College, where he is also Secretary of the Faculty.
Miss Jessie Potter, B.A., graduated from Victoria as one of the
most popular members of the Class of 1904 with honors in English
and Moderns. Miss Potter has, since her graduation, been Assistant
Preceptress in Albert College, and also Assistant in the English and
Moderns department.
Victoria Graduates in Alberta College, Edmonton
Rev. J. H. Riddell, B.A., B.D., Principal, graduated as a Gold
Medalist in Classics in 1890, and at once entered the Manitoba
Conference. After three years spent in mission work he went to
Winnipeg as junior pastor of Grace Church, and instructor on the
staff of Wesley College. On Young Church (a Grace Church mission)
becoming self-supporting, he became pastor, but at the end of a four-
years' term was called upon to give his whole time to College work as
Professor of Classics. His earnestness and zeal marked him out for the
Principalship of Alberta College when it was founded in 1903 through
the far-sighted policy of Canadian Methodism, and it is in no small
measure due to his energetic enthusiasm and executive ability that our
last founded College has grown so rapidly and been so successful.
Victoria Graduates in Stanstead Wesleyan College, Stanstead, P.Q.
Rev. Charles R. Flanders, B.A., D.D., is a native of the East-
ern Townships. Entering the ministry in 1873, he attended Victoria
University and graduated in 1881. In his final College year he had
the honor to be chairman of the Board of Management of Acta
53«
Acta Victoriana.
E. C IkVlNK, B.A.
REV. A. LEE HOLMES, >LA.
>i^«ir
'*;
REV. \V. W ANDREWS, M.A., LL.D
REV, W. G. WATSON, B.A., B.D.
Acta Victoriana. 539
ViCTORiANA. After serving as pastor in various fields of the Montreal
Conference, and as a lecturer in Wesleyan Theological College, he
was appointed to the vacant Professorship of Stanstead Wesleyan
■College in 1893, a position which he still holds. In 1896 he received
the honorary degree of D.D. from the Montreal Wesleyan College.
Rev. a. L. Holmes, M.A., graduated from "Old Vic." in 1871,
one of the strongest members of a strong class, which included such
men as Dr. Eby and Dr. Jos. Sparling. In his later academic career
Mr. Holmes managed to discharge efificiently the duties of Principal,
first, of Stanstead Academy, and later of Stanstead College, a position
which he filled for twelve years. After spending five years in pastoral
work at Boston, he returned to take up the pastorate of the Methodist
Church at Stanstead. later he was appointed Head-master of Bugbee
Commercial College in connection with Stanstead College, but the
press of other interests forced him to resign his position, though he
maintains his connection with the College as a lecturer in Mathematics
and Commercial Law. Mr. Holmes is also a trustee of the College,
and in conjunction with his sister and his son erected and presented
to the College the Horace Holmes Model School.
Mr. Eldon Coulter Irvine, M.A., was born near St. Mary's,
Ont., where his early education was received. After teaching with
marked success for three years, he entered Victoria University with
with the class of '03, graduating with honors in Mathematics. During
his College course Mr. Irvine was prominent upon the campus and
in the Lit., and very popular with his fellow-students. On graduating
he became Mathematical Master at Stanstead, where he has achieved
marked success and popularity.
Victoria Graduates in the University of Mount Allison College,
Sackville, N.B.
Rev. Wilbur W. Andrews, M.A., LL.D., received his early edu-
cation at the Ottawa Collegiate Institute, and after five years spent
in the West, attended Victoria University, where he took up a course
in Science and graduated in 1887. After graduating he was pastor
of a Toronto church for three years, when he was appointed Professor
of Chemistry and Experimental Physics at Mount Allison University.
He has distinguished himself by his chemical researches, and read a
paper embodying some of these before the British Association for the
Advancement of Science at their meeting in Toronto. He has also
perfected a number of scientific inventions.
540
Acta Victoriana
MISS N. BURKHOLDER, B.A.
MISS M. C. ROWELL, B.A.
W. J. GREENWOOD, B.A.
MISS R. N. CULLEN, B.A.
Acta Vidoriana. 541
Rev. W. G. Watson, B.A., B.D., graduated in 1891 from Toronto,
and in 1898 took his B.D. degree from Victoria, winning the Sandford
Gold Medal. For two years he was assistant pastor of the Metropo-
litan Church in this city, at the same time taking academic work in
Orientals, the examination in which he passed with first-class honors.
After two more years on circuit, he was called to the chair of Old
Testament Exegesis and Systematic Theology in Mount Allison in
1903, where his scholarship is meeting with due appreciation.
Victoria Graduates in Whitby Ladies' College
Rev. John J. Hare, M.A., Ph.D., was born in Carleton County in
1847. He very early showed a remarkable ability as a student, and
at the age of fifteen had matriculated into Victoria University. He
graduated from Victoria in 1873 after a brilliant College course. He
was ordained to the ministry in 1879, in the same year taking his
M.A. degree. In 1874 he became Principal of the Ontario Ladies'
College, and has discharged the duties of his position in a very
efficient manner ever since, having had the satisfaction of seeing the
College grow to be the largest Ladies' College under Methodist aus-
pices in Canada.
Prof. W. J. Greenwood, B.A., graduated in 1886 with the Prince of
Wales Gold Medal in General Proficiency, the Silver Medal in Classics,
and the Wilson Memorial Prize in Astronomy. Ever since graduation
he has taught in Whitby, being Classical Master of the Collegiate
Institute until 1892, when he took a position on the staff of O. L. C.
Miss Nettie Burkholder, B.A., graduated in 1891 with honors in
Natural Science and English. She taught in the Ontario Ladies'
College until 1 895, when she studied English for a time at Chicago Uni-
versity. Returning to the College she became Lady Principal in 1901.
Miss Rose Nicholls Cullen, B.A., was a member of the Class
of '03, and graduated with honors in Modern Languages, and has
since September, 1904, taught the subjects of the department acceptably
in the Ontario Ladies' College.
Miss Mary Coyne Rowell, B.A., took her degree in 1898 with
honors, in Modern Languages. After spending a year at Normal
College, Hamilton, she taught for two years in Alma College, St.
Thomas, and from there went to Whitby, where she has proved herself
a capable teacher. Miss Russell last year spent a term abroad,
pursuing a course of study at Berlin.
542
Acta Victoriana,
QCAL
THE watering cart already showers its artificial rain ;
The organ grinder's grinding once more his tuneful strain ;
One day you wear an ulster thick, the next a duster thin ;
All of which denotes that spring is beginning to begin. — Ex.
Achilles and Patroclus, David and Jonathan, Damon and Pythias,
and all other congenial spirits, ancient and modern, witness that
friendship is not dead ! For have they not covenanted to call them,
respectively, Douglas Ernest and Ernest Douglas ? ^
RoBBV would like to get the pros and cons on the following ques-
tion : "Is it right?" Apropos of the above we have received a
communication signed " Decorum, Jr.," whose identity must be
revealed before his revelation can be made public. In case two or
more advance a claim to authorship, the entire matter will be referred
to an arbitration committee, consisting of Messrs. Robertson and
Trueman, with headquarters at Mother's Candy Kitchen.
Flynn, 'o8 (in a sermon for Dr. John) — "And Esau sold his birth-
right for a mess oi potash.''
St. Patrick's Day, after Varsity Science scrap. — Prof, (to ladies
entering late) — " Have you been over at the scrap getting painted ? "
One — " The very idea ! I don't even powder ! "
Applicant for contract for house-cleaning Common Rooms — "I'll
tink it ovah, sah, and let ye know agin. I live at 6 Cinter Avenoo.
My name is Mornin'. What be your name ? " " My name is Knight."
App. — " Haw ! haw ! La me ! I been Mornin' nigh on 35 years^
and I been a-lookin' for Knight to come."
Miss G — dy, '07 — " I don't care about kissing children — there is no
response."
W. P. Near, '03 (looking at Freshette group) — "Well, our girls
were good looking, but— yum ! "
Miss McL — gh — n (at the bureau) — " I owe you 5 cents, Mr.
Miller." He— " I can't remember it." She— " I bought it from the
other boy."
Ada Victoriana. 543
On tae rostrum at prayers just at the "amen." — Dr. B. — "World
without end, " Yough * ! Someone stepped on the tail of Dr.
Potts' dog.
Wilson, C. T., went to preach at Mimico one Sunday morning,
but going too far, he got into the wrong church. The regular pastor
happened to be in the audience consulting the brethren, and as it
was 1 1 o'clock, Wilson entered the pulpit, opened the service, and
carried it through very creditably, accordmg to the subsequent con-
gratulations of the evicted minister.
The fact that women's fingers have a peculiar deftness for some
kinds of work is again demonstrated in the unprecedented success of
Miss Williams and Miss Deacon in making mirrors in the lab.
" What a sweep of vanity comes this way."
The Sunday night the Sophomores were invited to Annesley Hall
a couple took Rathman to church, hoping to inveigle him to ge to
the reception afterwards. But though they induced him to mount
the front steps (most noble Sophomores !) he broke loose and fled
precipitously.
Dr. John's definition of classical music — " That which has no time,
and which common people can't learn."
Moral — don't bet. It was done on a wager. She (and it will be
strange if you can't rhyme her name) bet some biscuits of her own
make, and lost the wager, but offered some dog biscuits to the unsus-
pecting him. And he (oh Douglas !) ate them or tried to.
What will next year's Local Editor do without Knight ? He and
Rutherford were observed rubbing skulls affectionately in the library.
Onlooker — "Are you trying to absorb some of his wisdom, Jack?"
Jack — "I'm trying to impart some of my hair." Forbes — "Hair!
Hair ! "
On Czar St. — Bull returns (in real Hebrew) the Sheenee's imperfect
English, " Rags ! bones ! bottles ! " The latter smilingly bows his
acknowledgments.
At the top landing. — Archibald — " We'll be adepts when it comes
to climbing the golden stairs."
Someone reports having seen a waitress at Eaton's lunch room
assist Rev. T. Green, B.A., in putting on his overcoat.
Dr. Revnar — " The sensation red having been explained to a
blind man, he asked, "Is it like a cannon shot?" Stapleford —
"Well, red is a loud color."
544 Acta Victoriana.
Yes, "time spins fast," and the fact, pregnant with varied meaning)
we felt as Alumni Hall re-echoed with wailing and lamentation the
other day, when our noble Seniors, the " sweet and blushing " roses
of '05, came to bid farewell to critic's desk and president's chair, to
call up from the dimly radiant past the scenes of Freshman glory,
to leave with us good admonition gleaned from years of sage expe-
rience, or with prophetic voice to utter tender warning, and one and
all to pat us gently on the head with prayer and blessing.
Seniors are wondrous people, so are Sophs, and Freshies, all in
their own way ; but we found a common sympathy as they chatted
gaily, for all their wiseness, their shyness and their foolishness, over
ice and bon-bons.
Verily the ways of women are beyond finding out, for who could
imagine dignified, decorous '05, whirling madly through Alumni Hall
when it was all over, until, one by one, heart failed and foot grew
weary, and the thought of the dinner gong brought them back to
mundane things.
Miss B. L. Scott, '06, had the honor to present the university pin,
the customary token of esteem, to Madam President.
How did you like the quartette, especially the giggling accompani-
ment, " While the tears around were falling?"
Madam President — " I tried to think of some poetry, but could
remember only epitaphs."
Miss Switzer, tearfully — " Oh, I've lost my handkerchief."
Miss VanAlstyne — "Be your own pilot in your own pilot-house
and not a cabin passenger." Memories from the " Spartan." Eh, Sue.
Miss Jickling — " Get a note-book in October and jot down every
clever thought that comes to you and you'll be prepared for your
senior speech."
Election of officers at the Classical Association {re Hon. Pres.) —
Spencley — " Whose turn is it ? "
The new '06 classics yell — C ! L ! ix ! C ! L ! ix 1 Classics !
Classics ! Nineteen six !
Rutherford — " Who took my books away ? ' Ans. — " M —
— r." R.—" I'll barker!"
Morgan (writing) — " Mr. Jack S. Bennett." John — " I rather
object to being called Jack S."
Sanders, '08 — " I hesitated about three minutes and then decided
to skip the lecture." Luck — " Three minutes ! What a shameful
waste of time ! "
Acta Victoriana. 545
Although there has been a marked falHng off in attendance at the
Union Lit. during the past term, especially among the men of the
senior years, the last meeting, with its special features, as ever, brought
out a full house, and nothing was lacking to make the occasion
typical of a real "last Lit." with its reminiscences from the graduating
class, election of officers, " bun-feed," and general jollification. From
the words of self-confession and sage advice which formed the theme
of all the farewell addresses, we wish to choose a few of the choicest
thoughts or most characteristic witticisms.
Mr. Knight — "There are some people whom the Lord never called
to do anything but to get out, and they won't." Voice — " Chloroform
them ! "
Mr. Bennett was able to utter the creditable boast that he had
missed only three meetings of the society in his College career. " I
expect to number some of the students of Victoria among my life-
long friends." Voice—" Name."
Mr. Rutherford — " I was bobbed as the ' new woman ' on a
bicycle."
Mr. Elliott — " There are things infinitely more responsive to the
osculatory process than the blarney stone." (This remark is to be
catalogued among the "choicest thoughts" mentioned above. It is
only fair to Alex, to say so. — Ed.).
Mr. Robertson — " The best place to really become acquainted
with a man is on the campus."
Mr. Dawson — "A good many things have happened since I came.
I've slipped a cog or two. Work with your farthest aim in view."
Jam indulged in the story of the man (Irish, of course) who had to
be remonstrated with by his landlady's husband for disturbances on
three consecutive nights. The explanation was that the doctor had
ordered him to take a certain medicine "two nights running, skip-
ping the third."
Mr. Davison made one of the best speeches. His most pointed
sentence — one debatable, but affording food for thought — was this :
" There are too many prayer-meetings at Vic. compared with equally
organized athletic efforts."
Mr. Walden — " There are a number of fellows who will remember
that I came in as a Freshman." Bill related the history of the
" moustache club," especially the baptism of Connolly in Jackson
Hall (what place more fitting !) after he had shaved. The water (for
the baptism) " was brought by Cragg from the lower regions."
546 Ada Victoriana.
Mr. Hamilton — "You are in College for self-development. The
only thing I brought with me was a pair of foot-ball boots." Frank,
while depicting several " tapping " incidents which came under his
notice, quite inadvertently remarked that he had never experienced
this most remedial form of "cold applications." The irrepressible
Jam took wings to the basement and was on the spot with a basin of
water to empty upon Hamilton's unsuspecting head the moment he
sat down. The catastrophe was entirely sensational and subversive
of all good order, not to say howlingly ludicrous.
The one regretable feature (indeed scandalous is not too strong a
word) of the proceediqgs, was the scrap for the refreshments, which
resulted in a waste of at least half of them — a small matter compared
wMth the utterly barbarous display.
Robert's speech contained many gems of humor and pathos. E.g. : Re
Jane — " He's a winning, loving, kind man." " Where under the canopy
of the heaven will you find such a College of young men — glorious as
the sun, fair as the moon — " Davison (interrupting) — "And without
any stars !" Re Jam — " There are streaks of gold in him — no joking ! "
(Students of the Classics are referred to Plato's Republic, Bk. HI.).
Speaking of matters in general, Robert told how he remonstrated
with a Freshman (whose first name is Chris.) who came in very late
from the rink one night. Said Robert, " Don't you know that Miss
Addison will send that poor Freshette to bed without any supper?"
Chris. — "Please, Robert, it wasn't I who kept her; it was she who
kept me!" Robt. — "Then my mind went right back to Hadam
and Heve ! "
CoNRON (looking at an engraving of Jonah ejectus) — "That must
have been after his encounter with the whale ; he looks so down in
the mouth."
Who stole Butcher's apples ? They came from home in a box,
and to keep them cool he and his brother put them outside on the
balcony of the front bow window. Inasmuch as this novel cold
storage process was very conspicuous from the upper windows across
the way, it soon became an open secret. Accordingly, one evening
at 8.20 a telephone message reached the Butchers, saying that an old
friend of the family was desirous of seeing them both at 8.30 at the
Grosvenor House. A pair of coat tails were soon flying down Czar
Street. A keen appetite for apples, and a dull conscience, with the
aid of a pair of trunk straps, soon put the plotters in happy possession
of " Butcher's apple cart."
Acta Victoriana. 547
Dr. Bell tells of a student who desired a literal translation of an
expression in Virgil, "The bird swooped aloft." "j^ Flocked all by
itself," was how he turned it.
Alex. — "Don't get a short hair cut,' Elmer. I was' feeling the
bumps on my head the other night [and dreading the time when I
shall be bald." Luck — " Gee ! you'd look nobby."
SPhAKiNG of Luck, it seems he takes an early morning class for Dr.
Edgar, and not long ago his fair scholars put a parcel of salted pea-
nuts on the desk, with the inscription, " To our dear teacher."
Doesn't this take you back to the old red schoolhouse days ?
Dr. Badglev has invented a new salute which commends itself as
well for its simplicity as its utility. Freshman — Touch the forehead
with one finger (palm out) : Sophomore, with two ; Junior, with three ;
Senior, with four : Post-Grad., with whole hand. (Patent applied
for.)
Sibley — " I haven't bothered the girls ^around the institution very
much. But there are some great ones down^at the Deaconess Home."
Stapleford — " Personally, I'm not looking'for'a'chaperone."
Overheard at Lit. — Speaker — " I must ask the movement of this
motion." Bennett — " I am not particularly in love — " (pause). Voice
" Oh I " Woodsworth — " I know, everybody^knows,^that the Woman's
Lit., etc." Manning — "Now, there are two reasons why the existing
functions cannot be dispensed with. First, because' each of them is
indispensable." Hunter — " Fve been looking^up the discipline." (He
meant constitution.) The Government had'explained that no repoit
had been received from the Indian Relics Com., owing to the floods
in Queen's Park. Harley — "The ferry brought' me across all right."
Clyo Jackson (promptl)) — " What y^/ri' does the hon. gentleman refer
to ? " The night the congratulatory telegram was sent to Hon. Clif-
ford'Sifton, the advocates of the action jepeatedly used the expression
" to strengthen Mr. Sifton's hands." One of the Opposition advised
a Whitely Exerciser, and subsequently one of the ladies, a good stiff
piano exercise. Barber (describing a big, burly Scotchman) — " But
he had hands as soft and white as — " (pause). Voice — '• Name ? "
(N.B., pause, not paws.)
A German " bull." — Dr. Horning (quite seriously) — " It is an easy
matter for one who has made a study^'of the history of language to
tell the locality from which a person comes, by merely listening to his
speech and observing his peculiarities. Why, when I was in Germany
I could tell exactly where each' German piofessor was brought up
without his saying a word."
548 Ada Victoriana.
-M--
Mount Jilllson' s Status In the Jithletic World
IT has come to be a generally conceded fact that athletics should
form an important feature in every man's life. In College this
matter is brought very prominently before us, and rightly so. This
spirit has so thoroughly permeated the life of our College that at the
present day it is hard to find anyone so narrow in his views as to
denounce all athletics. In fact, it might almost seem as though the
tendency in this direction has already become too strong, and that the
inclination on the part of many is to be so carried avVay in the current
of athletic enthusiasm that they altogether forget the central idea of
their College career.
At Mount Allison this feeling is very strong. As we take a
retrospective glance at the history of our institutions, we find that the
development of athletics has been one of steady growth. They have
ever claimed a large share of our attention, but never before has the
same feverish eagerness been apparent as at the present day. We
have no doubt that it is on this account that Mount Allison holds her
present enviable position in the athletic world of our Maritime
Provinces.
Since the year 1891, when our first football team was formed, this
popular sport has ever gained the attention which it deserves. Our
record, like that of most teams, has been a varied one. The "garnet
and old gold " has not always marched to the triumphant note of
victory. But in our football contests with other Colleges we consider
that we can justly claim the "lion's share." During the fourteen
years of our football career we have played thirty-seven games with
other Colleges. Of these Mount Allison has won twenty-one and
drawn three, the remaining thirteen going to our opponents. Dalhousie
has ever been our hardest competitor. Eight times on the " gridiron "
we have battled with them for supremacy, and as many times have
been compelled, in all fairness, to acknowledge a defeat. In none of
Acta Victoriana.
549
these reverses, however, has the score been greater than six to nothing
against us. Our record, especially during the season that has just
passed, has been a unique one. We have carried off in triumph the
cup offered for competition in football between the three Colleges —
Acadia, University of New Brunswick and Mount Allison. And, more-
over, we have proved ourselves superior in several other contests, and
altogether have been able to roll up the rather large aggregate of
seventy-six points, while we ourselves have not been scored against,
nor at any time been foiled to touch for safety. In this connection it
might also be staled that we find that in our whole history of football,
including games with outside towns as well as with Colleges, we have
467 points to our favor, with only 122 points against us.
CAMPUS AT MOUNT ALLISON UNIVERSITY.
Hockey at Mount Allison is very popular during the whole winter
season. We are greatly hampered in this sport in not having a rink
of our own. On that account more, perhaps, than any other, an Inter-
collegiate Hockey League has never as yet been formed. Steps were
taken during the first part of the season to try and make definite
arrangements for such a league. In this we were very greatly
assisted by Mr. Hewson, of the Hewson Woolen Mills, Amherst, who
generously 1 ffered a cup for competition. The season was almost
over, however, before arrangements could finally be effected, but we
look forward to the formation of a league next year. We have, how-
550 Ada Victoriana.
ever, had two games with Acadia and two with Dalhousie, which
resulted in three victories and a draw. In our games with other
teams we have met with varying success.
In 1903, another cup was offered for competition in track sports
between the three Colleges — Acadia, University of New Brunswick and
Mount Allison. Mount Allison was the fortunate winner of -this cup
for the first year, while last year it went to Acadia. Each year greater
and greater interest is being evidenced in these track meets. In order
that a creditable showing may be made vigorous training is absolutely
necessary, and we have found them one of the most valuab'e forms of
our College athletics.
Such, in short, is Mount Allison's standing in the athletic world.
We have become more and more convinced that College athletics are
invaluable in fitting men for the active duties of life. In our eager
search after knowledge there is, perhaps, nothing that is so great an
aid as competition. Does not then the value of competition extend
into inter-collegiate contests ? Is it not worth while to uphold the
Alma Mater in athletics ? The mingling with other students on our
trips has greatly tended to raise our standard of College spirit, and to
drive out those little prejudices and bigotries which so rapidly creep in.
Sackville, X.B. \V., '06.
The Misses' Jlthletic
SINCE the rather disparaging question has recently been put to us,
" What is that new thing over at Annesley Hall ? " perhaps we
should throw a little light on this mysterious subject, and introduce
to the public, that most promising mstitution, the Victoria College
Athletic Club. For some time the women students have felt the need
of such an association, but the smallness of the numbers has hereto-
fore been the apparently insurmountable difficulty. In the past year,
the necessity for definite organization has come to us even more force-
fully, for a two-fold reason : first, to induce each of the women
students to take a practical interest in at least one of the sports ;
secondly, to co-operate with the Athletic Clubs of University College
and St. Hilda's in forming a U. of T. Athletic League.
Tennis has always had ardent devotees, even under the stress of
exams, and we have been pardonably proud of our team in the semi-
annual Whitby Tournament. And now, with a prospect of a tourna-
ment with our sister colleges, there will be increased interest and
enthusiasm. Basket-ball, which has enjoyed a peaceful oblivion for
Acta Vtctoriana. 551
the past two years, is being rapidly popularized again, under the
efificient management of Miss Birnis, '07, and splendid matches, both
inter year and inter-collegiate, are anticipated for the coming fall.
Victoria has had the distinction of placing another sport on the
University Athletic curriculum. Miss Bunting, '07, has many swift
and energetic supporters in the Field Hockey Squad, and will put a
strong team in the League next year. We hope that the V. C. A. C.
will add new stimulus to the already illustrious winter hockey team.
But to dwell on their old-established renown would be superfluous.
A few words will, perhaps, explain the desired function of the
League in University Athletics. It is a lamented fact that the
students of the different Faculties or Colleges are almost entire
strangers. But by social intercourse, through the medium of athletics,
the League hopes to solve the problem, and even foster University
spirit. And to Victoria has been awarded the honor of sending up
the first president of this reform party, Miss M. A. Proctor, '06. But
enough said. With such aims and such enthusiasum there is every
prospect of a brilliant future for the Athletic Club, and to ensure its
success the officers ask only for the hearty support and encourage-
ment of all the students.
Victoria College Jithletic Union
Secretary's Annual Report, 1904-5
Mr. President., Officers and Members of the Athletic Union :
r is my privilege to congratulate you upon the continued success of
I
your Association on this the completion of another year in its
history. To-day is held the twelfth annual meeting of the society,
and never has one in my position had a more successful year to
report. The true athletic spirit is perceptibly deepening among us,
and consequently cannot but quicken the whole life of our College.
Our relations with the Faculty have been most cordial, with sister
Colleges friendly, while we have learned to know and appreciate
better the men of our own institution.
The subject which naturally looms largest in our minds at this time
is that of a College gymnasium. Our hopes were very high last year
at this time, but even the rugged eloquence of President Bob Pearson
could not avail with our Board of Regents to shelve other questions
of lesser importance in favor of improved athletic facilities. However,
552
Acta Victoriana.
with a good rink surplus assured to add to our bank account, our
position today is stronger^ than ever, especially as several '05 men
have adopted as their watchword '"05 and a College gymnasium."
Already a committee has the matter in hand, and something definite
may be expected soon. The matter is one of moment to all, and will
be carefully considered before any action is taken. To this end, any
suggestions or recommendations will be welcomed by the committee.
The Union is to be congratulated upon the arrangements made
with the Y.M.C.A. in the matter of the summer's rental of grounds.
By this agreement we obtained a cash rental of $200, and improve-
ments and maintenance of grounds, worth four or five hundred more,
at conservative estimates. Our campus was carefully kept and showed
GCTTIVQ
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noticeable improvement when we took possession last fall ; the grass
tennis courts have never been in better shape, while the new cinder
court filled a long felt want, especially as our students played a great
deal more tennis last fall than ever before. Furthermore, by the
installation of bowling greens a hitherto unsightly spot was made
beautiful, as should be a spot 'neath the windows of Annesley Hall.
The Y.M.C.A. have an option on the grounds for two more seasons,
but as yet nothing has been heard from them, officially at least.
Much satisfaction is expressed at the success of our new locker
system. The number of complaints of lockers opened or locks
sprung has dwindled to zero, and now if a man cannot find his outfit
Acta Victoriana. 553
in his locker he can only blame his own generosity or that of another
occupant. This is an ideal state of affairs, and we think credit is due
the retiring executive for this step in advance.
Another matter to be mentioned in this connection is the purchase
of a desk for the Society's officers. As the volume of the Society's
business has increased, some such provision became more and more
necessary. This move will ensure that permanence of records and
conespondence which is so essential in every well-conducted busi-
ness venture, and we prophesy that aside from convenience to its
officials, it will repay the Society before many more annual meetings.
It is anticipated that the desk will form a pleasing addition to the
furniture of the gymnasium when opened next fall.
While on this subject, may we take this opportunity of congratu-
lating the Alma Mater Society — -a babe among our College organiza-
tions and already a big one — upon the completion of the Men's
Common Rooms and the excellent taste displayed in furnishing and
general arrangements.
The Rink Committee is glad to have such a report to present
to day. By judicial arrangements with several large clubs it has
filled its treasury. Our McMaster friends also supported us loyally,
although in our opinion they have not, on an average, paid for more
than they got.
A word of praise, too, is due Capt. Robertson and his hockey team.
Though disqualified on a technicality, they won four hard games from
the pick of the colleges by good, hard, scientific hockey. We hope
that some new rule will not have been discovered to keep the cup
from Victoria's halls next season.
Moreover, we would commend the Athletic Editor of Acta on the
judicious use he has made of his columns, and the entertaining way
he has presented subjects which from other pens would savor of
dryness.
In conclusion, then, the President, officers and members of the
Union are to be most heartily congratulated upon the general im-
provement shown in this department, and when we notice the strong
spirit of optimism pervading our athletics we cannot but look forward
and expect still greater things in the years to come.
C. D. Henderson, Secretary.
554 Ada Vidoriana.
Notes.
We are very grateful for the contribution of these several reports,
and are happy to print such records of positive progress and satisfac-
tory standing of athletics, not only in our own College, but also in the
sister institution of the East. Mount Allison, indeed, occupies an
enviable position, and we extend to her the hearty congratulations of
ardent admirers. May her shadow never grow less ! We had hoped
for an article from Wesley College, Winnipeg, but through some
misfortune it has been delayed. Wesley's career of late years has been
.almost brilliant, both in track athletics and in association football.
Mr. Henderson, Secretary of the Athletic Union, had the honor,
and he bore it well, of presenting at the last meeting the report printed
above. It is a record of the most successful year ^'ictoria has known
and presages a bright future. The Treasurer's report was equally
pleasant to interested ears. The surplus on hand is some $800 above
that of any preceding year, and forms an adequate basis for the
wildest of schemes.
Note. — The gymnasium is more tangible than ever. The retiring
executive has shown the insight and originative activity of a veteran
corporation.
000
Regarding the Victoria College Athletic Club, the new organization
instituted by the co-eds, the editor of this column has but little to say,
as his enthusiasm over the innovation carries him almost beyond the
realm of expression. It's complexity of aim — not only the promotion
of a healthy athletic spirit at the " Hall," but also the extension of
acquaintance among the hundreds of women students attending the
University— shows the earnestness and thoughtfulness of its promoters.
The Athletic Union is proud of its little sister, and wishes her all
success.
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ACTA MCTORIANA
Published Monthly during the College Year by the Union Literary
Society of Victoria University, Toronto.
Vol. XXVIII. TORONTO, JUNE, 1905. No. 8
Be Wise To-day
BY ETHELWYN WETHERALD.
BE wise to-day 1 for if you wait
Until to-morrow's at the gate.
You'll wait full many a weary day ;
To-morrow never comes this way —
To-day is yours, at any rate.
This is Time's most illusive bait :
He paints next week in purple state,
This hour he drapes in hodden gray-
Be wise to-day !
Dream not — dreams make one lie too late.
The only way to conquer fate
Is, make each minute, ere it stray,
Yield you its substance, good or gay.
Would you be learned, loved or great ?
Be wise to day !
556 Ada Victoriana.
Student Life at Victoria
THIS number of Acta Victoriana will probably fall into the
hands of some students who are undecided as to what college
in the University is best adapted to meet their needs and assist
them in the development of their powers. In the hope of assisting
them to reach a conclusion, we present the following sketches of
student life at Victoria.
It is a sad fact, but we must face it, that a great many people of the
Methodist Church have very little interest in Victoria, and conse-
quently no conception of the place she occupies in the educational
work of the province. Some of our ministers even have strongly
urged young men and women not to go to that one-horse affair at the
north end of Queen's Park, and even many of the fairly prominent
Methodists of Toronto have not yet come to realize that from the
educational standpoint the students of Victoria are on a par with
those of University College, pursuing as they do the same course of
studies, writing on the same examinations and receiving the same
degrees. Indeed^ in many of the courses, instruction is received
from the same professors — professors not of University College or of
Victoria College, but of the University of Toronto. In other courses
the students of the various colleges receive instruction from their
respective professors in many of the subjects, but in the other subjects
they unite and sit under one professor, sometimes of Victoria College,
sometimes of University College and sometimes of Toronto Univer-
sity. Granted that the teaching ability of the staff of one college is
equal to that of the other (and we of Victoria have no reason to fear
comparison with any other college in that respectj, it is generally
acknowledged that the students of the smaller college have an ad-
vantage over those of the larger, as the professors can take a more
intelligent interest in each individual student, and give him the
assistance he requires. Consequently, frcm the academic standpoint,
the prospective student can make no mistake in selecting Victoria as
his college home while attending the University of Toronto.
Turning now to the social life. Owing to the fact that our numbers
are small — Victoria does not want more than three hundred students
— every man gets to know his fellow students, and is thrown into close
touch with men of equal ability with himself. Nothing so soon
eliminates snobbery and conceit from a young man's mental make up,
and sets him in his proper place. One of the great instruments used
to effect this result has been the famous "Bob," Victoria's mysterious
Acta Victortana. 557
and beneficent initiatory process. Then, too, the young man learns,
if he has not done so before, how to conduct himself in company.
In the various social functions of Victoria, including receptions, the
conversazione and senior dinner, polish and grace are added and a
man is prepared to take his place in the world of society.
But, perhaps, the most potent factors which train men to meet their
fellows are the various societies, with which no college is better
equipped than is Victoria. The youngest but yet the central society
is the Alma Mater Society, which deals with the problems that affect
the student body as a whole. Under its control are "the Men's
Common Rooms," which during the past year were furnished for the
comfort and convenience of the students. Tney contain a reading
room, with a large number of the leading magazines and periodicals,
and also a reception room, where men students may meet their friends
or wile away their idle moments.
The Union Literary Society has long been regarded as affording
one of the best opportunities a man can have of becoming proficient
in public speaking and in repartee. The first part of the weekly
meeting is of a purely literary nature, and in it are discussed all
subjects of interest to the student. Several times during the year
impromptu debates and oration contests are introduced to teach men
to think quickly and express their thoughts clearly and forcibly.
Besides these are the inter-year t'ebates, which are always a source of
interest and profit to all, but particularly to those who participate in
them.
The second part of the meeting is conducted for the transaction of
business on parliamentary principles, with Government and Opposi-
tion forces arrayed against one another. This system has been in
vogue for many years, and has been found of inestimable value in the
development of the men and in giving them, as one of our Speakers
aptly said, " an opportunity of seeing how governments ought to carry
on business."
A glee club and a mandolin and guitar club provide for those who
are musically inclined a means of training which is by no means to be
despised. By many who are qualified to pass an opinion, our Glee
Club is considered the best in the city, and it has for some years past
been one of Victoria's best advertising instruments, as they have gone
from town to town in Eastern and Western Ontario on their singing
tours. Those who have joined these clubs do not hesitate to express
their appreciation of the benefits they have received from the training
under competent leaders
5 58
Ada Victorimia.
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Ada ]^ictoriana. 559
The development of the physical side of man is also well provided
for at Victoria. The Athletic Union, a most capable organization, has
full charge of athletics, and encourages every student to engage in
some form of sport. In the spring and autumn months several tennis
couits, an alleyboard and a good-sized campus invite competition in
all kinds of sport ; and in winter an open-air rink — the largest in the
city — affords ample scope for giving vent to enthusiasm in hockey.
Prospects are bright also that a good gymnasium will next jear prove
an added incentive to men to develop their sporting proclivities.
There is one other phase of college li.'e which we at Victoria have
learned to place first, though it has been left to the last of this article.
Victoria has always had to fight down the idea that she was merely a
Theological College. \Ve are not ashamed of our theological status.
But long before she had a theological faculty she was conferring
degrees in arts, law and medicine. When it was found necessary
theology was added ; but the college has always remained primarily
an arts institution, and now only a very small percentage are purely
theological students. But we believe that the divinity studies in the
college have had a great influence on the religious life o; the men.
'] he tone of the college has been becoming more and more spiritual,
and few men pass through our halls without feeling its influence on
their lives. This is a feature which no young man or his parents can
afford to neglect in considering the circumstances in which the
formative years of his life are to be passed. Our Y. M. C. A. reaches
every student, and all are always welcome to the meetings which are
conducted under its auspices^ — a devotional meeting each Wednesday
evening from 5 to 6 ; a Bible study class on Sunday afternoon, led by
Prof. McLaughlin ; and a series of meetings in November, during the
week of prayer, which have been instrumental in leading a great many
into the higher life.
Besides this, a missionary society seeks to deepen interest in the
great missionary problems of to-day, and numbers have been led
through its instrumentality to offer their lives for work in foreign fields.
Hence, viewed from any standpoint, Victoria justly claims the
fealty of her own friends at least. And as her merits are becoming
better known, she is drawing to her halls men and women of all
denominations. The result is that since coming into Federation
Victoria has more than doubled her attendance. What she wants
now is quality, not quantity — men and women with capacity to absoib
the best and highest that college life can give, and go out into the
world, worthy sons and daughters of a worthy Alma Mater, to exert a
strong uplifting influence on the destinies of our growing young nation.
560 Acta Victoriana.
Life of the Women Students at Victoria
College
BY EDXA WALKER, '05
WHEN the shy Freshette first enters the halls of Victoria
the greeting that she receives from the women students
makes her feel that, however lonely and homesick she may be
at first, she cannot long be so in the atmosphere of friendliness
and good-will that pervades the College. Senior, Junior and
Sophomore vie with each other in welcoming the newcomer and
making her feel at home. The Senior for the first time realizes
the responsibility of her position, as she endeavors to look after
the group of strangers who are looking forward hopefully and
inquiringly to the new life upon which they are entering. The
Junior feels herself very superior, as she looks down upon the
Sophomore, who is enthusiastically keeping watch for the ma-
terial for the ■■ Bob."
The first glimpse that the Freshette gets of organized College
life is at the opening meeting of the Y. \V. C. A., at which each
class, b}- a representative, extends its greeting and welcome to
the first year students. The meeting closes with an informal
reception, where the students of the senior years try to meet ail
the newcomers. At this meeting, also, the claims of the As-
sociation upon the students are presented, and each one'is urged
to identify herself with this most important aid to the spiritual
life during the busy days of study.
Aleetings of the Association are held every Monday afternoon,
when practical topics relating to Christian life are discussed.
Those who have availed themselves of the opportunity thus
offered can testify to the great help they have received in their
personal life and also in becoming acquainted with one side of
the character of the girls, that might not be seen from any other
standpoint.
The Association has a Bible Study committee, whose members
urge the girls to take up a systematic study of the Bible, even
though they cannot attend the class conducted by Professor
McLaughlin on Sunday afternoons. In late years the response
to these appeals has been very encouraging, and the increasing
number of members shows the appreciation in which this great
privilege is held by the students.
Acta l/ictoriana. 561
The ^Mission Circle which, for a couple of years, existed as a
separate organization, this year became again a depart-
ment of the Y. \\'. C. A., and the last Monday of every month
is devoted to the interests of missions.
Another branch of the Association is the ^lission Study Class,
which meets for an hour each week for the study of the coun-
tries in which our missions are established. In this way much
is learned of the various institutions in these countries, of the
nature of the countries themselves, and of the different religions
that have their hold upon the people.
Such, then, is the work carried on by the Y. W. C. A., a work
that is bound to tell for good in the lives of the women, and
thus on the whole life of the College, so that it may be said,
as we are told it has been said, that X'ictoria stands out among
the other colleges for her earnestness.
But the women students of Victoria are not one-sided, and
while the Y. W. C. A. promotes the spiritual side of life, the
\\'omen"s Literary Society is the medium for the development
of the intellectual and social.
The programmes cover a large field, ranging from music and
art to the state and statesmen. A roll call, at w-hich each member
is expected to respond to her name by a quotation from some
specified writer, always proves interesting and amusing. The
sharp-practice debates afford excellent practice in rapid thought,
while the inter-year debates maintain a friendly rivalry between
the years, and give the members an opportunity of developing
both their reasoning and oratorical powers.
Just here we must make mention of the Inter-Collegiate De-
bating Union, which was formed in 1903, among the four
colleges, St. Hilda's, Mc^NIaster, University College, and Vic-
toria, and of which Victoria had the honor to claim the first
president, ]\Iiss Edith Weekes. 04. For some time University
College and Victoria had been holding inter-college debates
each year, but in 1903 the other two colleges expressed their
desire to join in these debates, and the Union was formed. There
are now, therefore, three inter-collegiate women's debates each
year. In 1903 and 1904 Mctoria held the championship, but in
1905 she was not so successful, though her honor was ably
defended by her representatives.
The Women's Literary Society is at home to its friends three
times in the year : At the reception given to the faculty, gradu-
ates, and new students in October ; at the open meeting in
December, w^hen all the friends of the Society are welcomed at
562
Acta Victoriana.
Ada Victoriana. 563
a representative meeting; and at the Oration Contest, held in
the Easter term, when the orators of the Society compete for a
prize, the gift of Dr. Beh.
But no account of the Hfe of the women students of Victoria
would be complete without some reference to athletics. First,
of course, comes tennis, which is so deservedly popular. To its
enjoyment an extra stimulus is added b}' the tournament held
in the fall, and by the competition, in October and May, with
the young ladies from the Ontario Ladies' College, for the
" Trophy," which is now in the possession of Victoria. In win-
ter, hockey is the centre of interest, while there is scarcely a girl
at Victoria who does not skate. Last fall, field hockey was
introduced for the first time, and promises to grow in favor.
The formation, this spring, of the \"ictoria College Women's
Athletic Club is a step that commends itself to all, especially on
account of its two-fold purpose, viz., to promote the interests
of athletics at Victoria, and also to foster a close connection with
the women students of the other colleges.
With such equipment, the women students of Victoria ought
to attain the ideal of all-round womanhood, developed physically,
socially, intellectually and spiritually, so that it may be said of
each
" Graceful and useful, all she does ;
Blessing and blest where'er she goes.''
Annesley Hall
IN the year 1896 the will of the late Hart A. Alassey bequeathed
to the Board of Regents of Mctoria University the hand-
some sum of $50,000 to erect a residence for the women attend-
ing Victoria College. The next year the ladies, both of Toronto
and of outside places, who were interested in providing proper
surroundings for the women students, formed themselves into
an association, whose object it was to collect money to purchase
a site. Subscriptions were obtained, being largely augmented by
the special efforts and contributions of the late and deeply-
mourned Treasurer, Mrs. Geo. A. Cox, and the bank account
grew slowly but surely, until when the land in Queen's Park
behind Victoria College became available, it was selected and
bought as the most suitable place for the intending building. The
gift first bequeathed has been generously supplemented by the
executors of the Massey Estate, and many other most liberal
5^4
Acta Victoriana.
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Acta Vicloriaiia. 565
friends have contributed to the furnishings. On October ist,
1903, the Mall was partly ready for its students, and was opened
to them.
Annesley Hall is a red brick and cut stone building in Oueen's
Park, facing the west. To the north lies the lawn, with provision
for tennis, basket-ball and croquet. The south looks out on Wz-
toria College and into the Park, and the east on the large Victoria
athletic field, so that every part of the building is exposed to the
light and sun.
On tlie ground floor are reception-rcom, library, common room,
dining-rooms, assembly hall, cloak-room, practice-room, officers'
sitting rooms, offices and kitchen. The first and second floors are
given up to students' rooms, of which there are forty single and
eight double ones. There are no suites of rooms, but each room
is so furnished as to be both bedroom and study. In the base-
ment there is a well-equipped gymnasium, with dressing room
and three shower baths. The infirmary on the second floor has
one large ward, three single ones, a nurse's kitchen with bath-
room adjoining, all of which rooms can be isolated from the
rest of the building.
The sunny balconies are an attractive feature in the fall and
spring. The heating is by steam, and lighting by electricity,
'i'he Hall is one minute's walk from \'ictoria, and about seven
from the University building.
Every student on entering is examined by a woman physician
and assigned the kind of exercises in physical culture best suited
to her needs. These she takes in a half-hour lesson five times a
week. Regular attendance in the gymnasium is expected of all
students during the first three years of their course, unless ex-
cused by the advice of the examining physician.
Although the hall has been open l)ut two years, its accommoda-
tion is too limited for the large number of students seeking en-
trance to it. Of the fifty-five this year, fifty were registered at
A'ictoria College, and over thirty taking music or other branches
of study were refused admittance for lack of room. This is an
indication of the need parents feel of a safe and cultured home
for their daughters during the formative years of their student
life. We hope before long to see many more residences ready
for the men and women who come to this great centre of learn-
ins: to seek their education.
Those desiring admission into Annesley Hall for the year 1905-6
should communicate with Miss Addison, Dean of Annesley Hall,
Queen's Park, Toronto, as early as possible. m. e. t. a.
566 Acta Victoriana.
"A Prince of BaUad-Makers "
BV J. L. RUTLEDGE, '07.
AS the last days ot May of the year 1431 were slowly darkening
to a close "Joan the Maid" laid down her life for France,
dying, with the sound of the voices that bade her crown the unroyal
head of Charles VII. still ringing in her ears, but dying only when
her work was done. Had this been the only result of the mission of
the Maid of Domremy her life would have been a failure. But it
was not. She "drew the petty princedoms under her," lifting
them for a moment above their narrow and provincial spirit, and left
them a legacy of heroic patriotism that has never been equalled. So
from the curling smoke that crowned the pyre at Rouen awoke the
spirit of New France.
Sometime in this same dark year there was born, it is thought in
Paris, a child who was to be the first poet of that new France for
which the Maid of Orleans had given her life. This child was
Francois Villon. Stevenson, speaking of this year, says: "In it a
great-hearted girl and a poor-htarted boy made, the one her last, the
other his first appearance on the public stage of that unhappy coun-
try." Of the " great-hearted girl " none need speak. Her name and
fame have come sounding down the years, till now the whole world
knows her story. It is of- the other, the "poor-hearted boy," whose
very name is forgotten — it is of him that we would speak to-day.
In Francois Villon we have one of the most pathetic figures in
this sad world's history — a figure at once droll and grim, picturesque
and sordid, in certain aspects beautiful, and in others quaintly gro-
tesque. Of his life we know but little. Volume after volume has
been written in praise or dispraise of him, but the result, although
suggestive, is shadowy and incomplete. We do not even surely know
his name, that which he bore not being his own by right ; we do not
know precisely when he was born, how, for the most part, his life
was lived, nor, with any certainty, how or when he died. His own
writings and a few legal papers tell us all that is known of a poet
" who, like Dante, helped to make a human speech, or, like Burns,
found a voice for the human heart." To the world at large he is
simply a rogue with the gift of rhyme, while those who have never
read a word that he has written accept him vaguely as the incarnation
of all that is evil. It must be admitted he gave the world some cause
for its harsh judgment. He was a man with pre eminently two soul-
Ada Victoriana. 567
sides, and the side he faced the whole world with was often his
worst. With a strange perversity he was ever the apologist of his
own virtues, while his faults, which were many, he blazoned forth
with all the power of which he was a master. But it is scarcely just
to judge him by the standard of our more enlightened and superior
age ; the angle of our vision is unfavorable to correct perspective.
Place him rather, for comparison, amid the widespread corruption
and lawlessness of his own time, then, perhaps, we may gain a more
accurate estimate of the man.
Villon was born of humble parents, but received a good education,
as education went in those days. At seventeen he became a student
at the University of Paris, taking the degree of Bachelor at nineteen,
and at twenty-one that of Master of Arts. Early he drifted into bad
companionship, and even in his student days led a wild Bohemian
life, swayed hither and thither by those with whom he came in con.
tact, and by ill-fortune he fell among thieves.
Into his short life was crowded more of sin and misery than usually
falls to the lot of man. During the cruel winters, when the Burgun-
dians were investing Paris, he was penniless and starving. Can we
wonder, then, with the low standards of his time, that he became a
thief? He wounded a man to death in a street brawl, but this in
self-defence ; he was thrice imprisoned, and once condemned to
death, which penalty, through the intercession of friends, was com-
muted to banishment from Paris.
Over against this dark record what is there that may be urged in
his favor ? At least this : His wayward heart went out in love for his
native land, and patriotism, even in our day, is held a virtue ; he
gave to his mother, the only one of his parents of whom we hear, a
great love and homage. We are told also that he loved little chil-
dren and that little children loved him ; and he was never quite
without his longings for the beautiful and good. Like the " great-
hearted girl," whom he honored so highly, he, too, heard his voices,
calling, ever calling upwards. How different it might have been
had he but hearkened to these voices and followed, as the children
followed, the weird, sweet music at Hamelin so many, many years
ago !
It has been said that Villon was the laureate of the fantastic Paris
of the Fifteenth Century. It was in this Paris, known and loved so
well by him, that he lived his life ; " here he learned something of the
wisdom of the schools and much of the wisdom of the streets," and
here it was that his character for good or evil was formed. His
568 Acta Victoriaiia.
nature was impulsive to a fault, with childish bursts of inconsequent
gaiety and depression. But, perhaps, it was this quality that gained
him his largest and most loyal following, for the whole ragged army
o{ \}nQ gamine* ie oi Paris worshipped the beggar poet as they wor-
shipped neither God nor the king; the thief and the house- breaker,
the beggar and the street arab, all acknowledging him as their chief.
This was not admiration for the master craftsman, for he could not
equal them in roguery, but the halo of greatness was about him, and
even the sewer rats of the great city knew him for a genius. So it is
that all through the contemporary literature of France we hear them
spoken of as the subjects of Francois Villon. That Villon was a great
poet cannot be denied. Who but a great poet, brimming over with
patriotism, could have written that splendid invective against " The
Enemies of France," or that Epitaph, "sharp as an etching written
with a shuddering soul," the reading of which — distant though we be
nearly five hundred years — fills us with horror, as we catch the dull
clanking of the chains and the muflled flapping of foul wings about
the gibbet at Montfaucon. Even Robert Louis Stevenson, who has
so cruelly pilloried the naked soul of the wild p>oet, speaks of him as
the " gallows-bird who was the one great writer of his age and
country." His was the age of the artificial in literature. Through
the poetry of that period knight and lady, squire and page, pass and
repass, faint and shadowy as the figments of a dream. It was left for
Villon to be the first one to " draw the thing as he sees it for the
God of things as they are " in the splendid, if erratic, verse that shone
like a beacon through the dimness and obscurity that overshadowed
the literature of the French Renaissance.
Shortly after his student days Villon was the companion of Mon-
tigny when the latter murdered a man in a little cottage hard by the
cemetery of St. John. Stevenson, speaking of this, says : " If time
had spared us some particulars might not this have furnished us with
matter of a grisly winter's tale?" and forthwith, as it would seem, he
proceeds to furnish this tale in his story, " A Lodging for the Night."
Like all that comes from that great pen it is touched with the spirit
of the master ; but of Villon the picture is sombre and terrible.
" The poet was a rag of a man, dark, little and lean, with hollow
cheeks and thin black locks. He carried his four and twenty years
with feverish animation. Greed had made folds about his eyes, evil
smiles had puckered his mouth. The wolf and the pig struggled
together in his face." Was ever man before damned so thoroughly in
so few words? For he leaves as his estimate of him that he was
Ada Victoriana. 569
little but a paltry thief and a murderer. The poets, as a rule, have
been more lenient with him. Dante Gabriel Rossetti, the poet-
painter, has given us three of his poems, among them "The Ballad
of Dead Ladies," considered by many Villon's masterpiece, while
Andrew Lang, John Payne and others have also sought to do him
justice. But, as someone has said, Swinburne's tribute is " the most
royal rose that has yet been flung at all adventure for the winds to
carry to the unknown grave of Villcn." If Swinburne had no other
claim to fame, he would yet deserve remembrance, because he was
great enough to honor greatness greatly.
Strange as was the life of Villon, it was not altogether unique.
Like it, in a marked degree, was the character of Marlowe, the great
dramatist of more than a century later. His was the same wild,
reckless life ; the things that were bad in Villon found their counter-
parts in Marlowe, and yet, for some cause, Marlowe has escaped the
almost universal condemnation that has overtaken his less fortunate
brother. It is true, it may be said, they were scarcely comparable in
genius, yet should not the darker time in which the French poet's lot
was cast, and his lesser gifts secure for him a more charitable judg-
ment from the critics of our day. And in this judgment of the man
it is to be remembered that he scarcely knew the meaning of happi-
ness, and except for his poor old mother he found none to love him.
But even that great disadvantage seemed to make for the advantage
of those for whom he wrote, for may it not be that he was saved from
love and happiness that he might be sent back into the world with a
greater, broader sympathy for all that work and suffer. Of his many
disappointments, the hardest of all to bear was his disappointment in
himself. We can almost see the look of half cynical regret that passed
over the dying poet's face as he wrote :
" And eke the lilies were ablow
Thro' all the sunny fields of France,
I marked one whiter than the snow
And would have gathered it, perchance,
Had not some trifle I forget
(A bishop's loot — a cask of wine
Filched from some cabaret — a bet — )
Distracted this wild head of mine.
A childish fancy this, and yet —
It is a thing that I regret."
The question will perhaps be asked, Had Villon any religious faith ?
Everything about his writings shows that he had a nature crying out
570 Acta Victoriana.
for something higher and better ; but in Christianity, as it was pre-
sented to him, he had no belief, and for it he had scant respect. It
must, however, be remembered that he lived in the darkest period of
the Church's history, before Savonarola and Luther had done their
work. The Romish Church, practically the only church of the time,
was passing through its most shameful days. Benefit of clergy was
simply a mask to cover all manner of wickedness. The priesthood
was not only corrupt, but ignorant, and Villon, failing to discover
beneath all these abuses the broad basis of purity and truth, in com-
mon with most educated men of his time, entertained for it only a
profound contempt. He worshipped life and its great possibilities,
though, like the preacher of old, he felt it was " a vapor, that appeareth
for a little time, and then vanisheth away." "Still I have lived," he
says, "and having lived there is naught remaining; man is but here a
moment and then is gone — gone like the snows of yester-year." In
his " Ballad of Dead Ladies " he emphasizes this thought again and
again, closing each stanza with the same sad refrain :
" White queen Blanche, like a queen of lilies,
With a voice like any mermaiden ;
Bertha Broadfoot, Beatrice, Alice,
And Ermengarde, the lady of Maine ;
And that good Joan whom Englishmen
At Rouen doomed and burned her there, —
Mother of God, where are they then ?
But where are the snows of yester-year.'"
* # * * * *
" Nay, never ask this week, fair lord,
Where are they gone, nor yet this year.
Except with this for an over word,—
But where are the snows of yester-year?''
There must have been desolate hours in the poet's life when, tired
of self and perhaps of sin, his weary soul longed for some solid
ground to rest upon, yet in all the bleak waste of his sin-scarred life
there was but one thing remaining to which he could turn his eyes for
help and comfort. An old woman, homely enough to other eyes, yet
to him beautiful ; ignorant and low-born, yet representing to him all
that was pure and lovely and of good report. She was his mother
and she was his religion. Stevenson speaks of her in much the same
slighting, contemptuous tone that he adopts toward her gifted son.
But the woman who could inspire such love, and the man who was
capable of it, were alike above contempt. When Villon speaks of his
mother's faith we lose the note of scorn, and catch instead one of
Acta Victoriana.
571
great tenderness. There is a little poem, matchlessly rendered in
Ro5setti's translation, entitled "His Mother's Service to Our Lady,"
in which we see how loyally he tries to identify himself with her,
seeing with her eyes and speaking with her lips :
" I, thy poor Christian, on Thy name do call,
Commending me to Thee, with Thee to dwell,
Albeit in naught I be commendable.
But all mine undeserving may not mar
Such mercies as Thy sovereign m.ercies are ;
Without the which (as true words testify)
No soul can reach Thy Heaven so fair and far.
Even in this faith I choose to live and die."
Sometime in the dying autumn of the Fifteenth Century, the star
of the destiny of Francois Villon sank in darkness and oblivion.
Where or how we cannot tell. Whether in happiness or in the grey
depths of misery and despair we know not. " The moving finger,
wrote, and having writ passed on.'' Time, more tender than ever
man was, drew the curtain on this the last act of his play of life, and
the spirit of Franco's Villon at last found rest. And so we leave him,
with his own prayer upon our lips :
" Let no man laugh at us discomforted,
'3ut uray to God that he forgive us all."
ALONG THE G. T. R. SYSTEM.
5/2 Acta Victoriana.
Fables, Their Origin and Development
A FABLE is a feigned tale or story intended to enforce some
moral precept ; a fictitious narrative conveying some useful
information or instruction for entertainment.
The fable is allegorical ; its actions are natural, but its agents are
imaginary : the tale is fictitious but not imaginary : both the actions
and agents are drawn from the passing scenes of life. Gods and
goddesses, animals and men, trees, vegetables, inanimate objects in
general, may be made the agents of a fable : but of a tale, properly
speaking, only men or supernatural spirits can be the agents. Fables are
written for instruction ; tales principally for amusement ; fables con-
sist of only one incident or action from which a moral can be drawn ;
tales always of many which excite an interest for an individual.
Parables differ from fables in that they relate or represent things
which, though fictitious, might happen in nature. It could not be
written of parables as was written of fables by Babrius :
" "'Twas the Golden Age, when every brute
Had voice articulate, in speech was skilled,
And the mid-forests with its synods filled.
The tongues of rock and pine-leaf then were free ;
To ship and sailor then would speak the sea ;
Sparrows with farmers would shrewd talk maintain ;
Earth give all fruits, nor ask for toil again.
Mortals and gods were wont to mix as friends,
To which conclusion all the teaching tends
Of sage old .Esop."'
It is not to be supposed that .Esop was absolutely the inventor of
fable. Under this form, more or less developed, the earliest know-
ledge of every nation — at least of every Eastern nation — has been
handed down. The East has ever been the land of apologue and
allegory. The physical peculiarities of nature are the powerful moulds
in which are cast the forms of intellect. Beneath the sunny skies of
the East, surrounded by the images of abundance and elated by
warmth and brightness, man surrenders himself involuntarily to the
fulness of their reaction upon his mind ; his language participates in
this richness ; in the relations of life he illustrates by apologue, in
poetry by fervid metaphor, in narrative by digression. In the East
such fertility smiles around, such varied forms of life attract, such
groups of animated beauty beckon, that language becomes highly
Acta Viciortaiia. 573
figurative and ornamental. "We see this in the unsurpassed beauty
and highly metaphorical language of the Old Testament.
In a climate in which the chief part of life is spent beneath the
vault of heaven or under the shelter of the spreading tree or tents, the
tendency is non-historic. Hence, that love of fable, that delight in
marvellous adventure which characterizes the Eastern story-teller even
at the present day, the "Arabian Nights" and the preponderating
number of works of wild fiction and romance that swell an Eastern
library, show the continued tendency towards tales similar to the fables
made use of by -+.sop.
" Fables," says Addison in Spectator, No. 183, " were the first pieces
of wit that made their appearance in the world." Thackeray, in his
introduction to "The Newcomes,"in an attempt to prove that there is
nothing new under the sun, concludes thus : " With the very first
page of the human story do not love, and lies, too, begin ? So the
tales were told ages before ,Esop ; and asses under lions' manes roared
in Hebrew ; and sly foxes flattered in Etruscan ; and wolves in sheep's
clothing gnashed their teeth in Sanscrit."'
To trace fables to their origin, we must go back to the rise of
figurative language. Fables are allegorical ; an allegory may be re-
garded as a continued metaphor : the metaphor is more frequent than
all the other figures of speech put together ; and the language, both
of prose and poetry, owes to it much of its elegance and grace.
What richness and copiousness are added to language by the em-
ployment of figures of speech ! By their means, words and phrases
are multiplied for expressing all sorts of ideas ; for describing even
the minutest differences ; the nicest shades and colors of thought.
What dignity is bestowed by them upon style. To say that "the
sun rises," is trite and common ; but it becomes a magnificent image
when expressed, as Mr. Thompson has done :
" But yonder comes the powerful king of day
Rejoicing in the east."
To say that "all men are subject alike to death," presents only a
common-place idea ; but it rises and fills the imagination when
painted thus by Horace :
" Pallida mors aequo pulsat pede pauperum tabernas
Regumque turres."
" With equal pace, impartial fate
Knocks at the palace, as the cottage gate."
574 Acta Victoriana.
By a well-chosen figure, even conviction is assisted, and the impres-
sion of a truth upon the mind made more lively and forcible than it
would otherwise be. As in the following illustration of Dr. Young's :
" Where we dip too deep in pleasure, we always stir a sediment that
renders it impure and noxious " : or in this, "A heart boiling .with
violent passions will always send up infatuating fumes to the head."
An image that presents so much congruity tetween a moral and a
sensible idea serves, like an argument from analogy, to enforce what
the author asserts and to induce belief.
The more intimate acquaintance with the habits of wild beasts
natural to an uncivilized life, would also suggest illustrations to be
drawn from them ; while a closer intercourse with them, even though
that of enmity, would be apt to attribute not only human passions,
but motives and feelings, and, therefore, speech.
To represent wild animals as endowed with speech will appear
far otherwise than a childish conceit, if we bear in mind that to
transfer to inanimate objects the sensitive, as well as the willing and
designing attributes of human beings, is among the early and wide-
spread instincts of mankind, and one of the primitive forms of reli-
gion. And, although the enlargement of reason and experience
gradually displaces this elementary fetichism, banishing it from the
regions of reality into ihose of conventional fiction, yet the force of
momentary passion will often suffice to supersede the acquired habit ;
and even an intelligent man may be impelled in a moment of agon-
izing pain to kick or beat the lifeless object from which he has
suffered. Herodotus tells us that Xerxes, when he found his bridge
of boats over the Hellespont destroyed by a storm, commanded that
the strait should be scourged with 300 lashes. By the old procedure,
never formally abolished, though gradually disused at Athens, an in-
animate object which had caused the death of a man was solemnly
tried and cast out of the border. Cyrus divided the river Gyndes
into 360 streamlets because one of his sacred horses had been
drowned in its waters. And the reader can, no doubt, add several
instances from his personal experience, especially if he has at any
time indulged in the pleasant pastime of putting up stovepipes, or en-
gaged in the irreligious practice of driving oxen. Little, then, may we
wonder that men attributed speech to wild animals.
The Creator, to instruct mankind by the very prospect of nature,
has endowed the brute part of it with various instincts, inclinations
and properties to serve as so many pictures in miniature to man of
the several duties incumbent upon him, and to point out to him the
Ada Victoriana. 575
evil fjualities he ought to avoid. Thus, for instance, he has given us
a lively image of meekness and innocence in the lamb, of fidelity and
friendship in the dog, and, on the contrary, of violence, rapaciousness
and cruelty in the wolf and tiger, This is a dumb language which
all nations understand. It is a sentiment engraven in nature which
every man carries about with him.
In later times, when neither kings nor mobs would bear to look
upon naked Truth, recourse to this style of primitive wisdom furnished
an effective garb with which to clothe it. It flattered by its appeal to
national antiquity, and by exercising, without tasking, intellectual
acuieness. Thus, fable was not in those days a child's plaything, but
a nation's primer. Tyranny and rebellion were alike stayed by this
the only word of the wise passion would listen to.
/Esop may be styled the inventor, or, at least, the most prominent
user of this application of the fable to political purposes, and his
name has ever since been connected with the fable. It was this
circumstance, namely, the danger of free speech curing the epoch of
the tyrants, that raised the fable from folk-lore into literature. When
free speech was established in Gretk democracies, the custom of using
fables in harangues was continued and encouraged by the rhetoricians,
while the mirth producing qualities of the fable caused it to be
regarded as a fit subject for after-dinner conversation. This habit of
regarding the fable as a form of the jest intensified the tendency to
connect it with a well-known name. Hence, .-I^sop's name has been
connected with almost all the fables that have appeared in the West-
ern world.
The Greek fable forms a literature of itself, and is marked by its
own separate and distinguishing features. It is, in the words of
Prof. K. MuUer, " an intentional travesty of human affairs." The
^4^>sopean fable invariably takes this form. Men are the subjects of it.
Human actions, projects, thoughts, follies and virtues are delineated
under the veil of animals endowed with the faculties of speech and
reason. Thus, human motives are dissected, human infirmities exposed,
and human conduct described in a method recommending itself to
the conscience more forcibly than would the adoption of any definite
reproof or any direct condemnation. This is, indeed, the excellence of
a fable, that it conveys advice without the appearance of doing so,
and thereby saves the self-love of those to whom the counsel it con-
veys is applicable. Their novelty, their liveliness, their strict analogy
to real life are their main attraction ; features of the genuine fable,
which, under every form of its development, are a tribute to the im-
perishable charms of truth.
576 Acta Victoriana.
Addison, in The Tatler, No. 147, says : " Reading is to the mind
what exercise is to the body ; as by the one health is preserved,
strengthened and invigorated ; by the other, virtue — which is the
health of the mind — is kept alive, cherished and confirmed. But as
exercise becomes tedious and painful when we make use of it only as
the means of health, so reading is apt to grow uneasy and burthen-
some when we apply ourselves to it only for our improvement in
virtue. For this reason the virtue which we gather from a fable is
like the health we get from hunting ; as we are engaged in an agree-
able pursuit that draws us on with pleasure and makes us insensible
of the fatigues that accompany it." So, likewise, in Spectator, 183,
Addison tells us that the oldest fable on record which we know to
have been practically applied, is that of the Trees and Bramble, as
found in Holy Writ. When the Israelites, discontented in not having
any earthly sovereign, had allowed Abimelech, the base son of Gideon,
to usurp a kingly authority over them, Jotham, whose better claims
had been passed over by them, addressed them in the Fable of the
Trees and Bramble (Judges 9. 7). Likewise Nathan's parable (2
Samuel 12.) of the poor man and his lamb, is more ancient than any
that is extant, except the above, and had so good an effect as to con-
vey instruction to the ear of a king without offending it, and to bring
the man after God's own heart to a right sense of his guilt and his
duty, with the terrible application, " Thou art the man."
So much for the past of the fable. Has it a future as a mode of
literary expression ? Scarcely \ its method is at once too simple and
too roundabout ; for the truths we have to tell we prefer to speak out
directly and not by way of allegory. And the truths the fable has to
teach are too simple to correspond to the facts of our complex civiliza-
tion ; its rude graffiti of human nature cannot reproduce the subtle
gradations of modern life. But as we all pass through in our lives the
various stages of ancestral culture, there comes a time when these
rough sketches of life have their appeal to us as they had for our
forefathers. The allegory gives us a pleasing and not too strenuous
stimulation of the intellectual powers ; the lesson is not too com-
plicated for childlike minds. Indeed, in their grotesque grace, in
their quaint humor, in their trust in the simp'er virtues, in their insight
into the cruder vices, in their innocence of the fact of sex, .-Esop's
fables are as little children. They are as little children and for that
reason they will forever find a home in the heaven of little children's
souls.
Acta Victoriana. 577
The Holidays
BY JEAN BLRWETT.
MY granddaughter arrives to-day ;
"Schools out," she writes, "and off my feet
I shake the city's dust away,
And fly to meadows warm and sweet.
I'm lonesome for you, every one.
The city, maybe, has its charm,
But not for me ; give me the fun
And freedom of the dear old farm."
Now bless her tender little heart !
With all her ways so quaint and dear,
She is of summer's joy a part.
The brightest " event " of the year.
And if we had to do without
The patter of her feet, her song,
Her laughter or her merry shout,
We'd think the world had all gone wrong.
For just as sure as roses blow,
And skies are hazy with the heat,
And morning-glories make a show.
And poppies flame among the wheat.
And Whitefoot, with her shy young foal,
Adown the grassy lane doth roam.
And linnets pipe with all their soul,
My granddaughter comes marching home.
Then straight begins the noise and stir.
From morn till night she's never still,
The family yields the reins to her,
And lets her rule at her sweet will.
We spoil her badly, so folks say.
On purpose, be it understood.
To every child should come a day
For being spoiled. 'Twill do her good
578 A eta Vic to via na .
To call to mind in after years
The hours of childhood, rich and rare,
That held no hint of pain or tears,
No touch of trouble or of care.
And may she hear when grave and staid
The echo of her gladdest song,
And see the old farm where she played
As happy as the day was long.
She's growing tall, this girl of ours,
And yet it seems a little while
Since she was toddling 'mong the flowers,
A baby with a baby's smile.
And questions ever on the fly
Where did the robin get his sing ?
Did saucy bluebird touch the sky
And daub its color on his wing ?
Did angels slip down with the dawn
And lift the green blades to the light ?
Were orchards proud when they put on
Their pinafores of pink and white?
These, and a thousand just as queer,
Were daily, hourly, fired at me.
Granddaddy knew it all — the dear —
No other man as wise as he.
But, now it's verbs and Latin roots,
And spelling-book. At every chance.
It keeps me trembling in my boots
Lest I disclose my ignorance.
For old men have their vanities,
And as a Solomon to shine
In Janie's eyes, to dazzle, please
This slim young autocrat, is mine.
Did I say " Janie"? Well, she grows
So like her ma she cannot blame
If I forget how fast time goes.
And call her by the pretty name
That to another girl belongs —
A dark-eyed girl with happy face.
Who played her games, and sang her songs,
And was the sunshine of the place
Ada Victoriana. 579
Long time ago. No wonder I
From aches and crustiness am free ;
I will keep young until I die
If young things bear me company.
'Tis time the rig was back from town,
Unless the train was surely late.
Give me my hat ; I'll saunter down
And open up the roadside gate.
My granddaughter arrives to-day,
" School's out/' she writes, " and off my feet
I shake the city's dust away,
And fly to meadows warm and sweet."
She says no word she does not mean,
" The city, maybe, has its charm,"
But ah ! it has no power to wean
Her loyal heart from the old farm.
The Transformation of Mary Baldwin
HILL Crest School was vacant and we had advertised for a
teacher. A dozen applications had come, — most of them
monuments of the ignorance or bad taste of boastful, upstart
pedagogues. ]\Iiss Grace Calder's was an exception. She was
not rugged, and applied largely in the hope of finding new vigor
in the rough North. She could not boast of great scholarship,
yet believed that the enclosed testimonial from her old teachers
would assure us of her fidelity to duty. Neither had she any ex-
perience in the school-room, but she had a great love for child-
ren and thought that with that key the treasures of their young
lives might be unlocked. How strange was all this ! Like the
accompanying photograph it touched us rough woodsmen. No
one would think of calling her pretty or handsome ; yet the ripp-
ling hair, the broad, deep forehead, the eloquent eyes, pursing
lips and dimpled chin were certainly attractive. So, too, was
the prevailing expression of sadness. She would do, we had
thought ; and now she had arrived and rode here at my side, de-
lighted with the rocky hills and verdant ravines, and with my
swift, sure-footed sorrels.
Presently we drew near the first, and probably the worst home
in our section. She shuddered as I tried to prepare her for the
580 Acta Victoriana.
picture. Then, climbing a little stony beech-clad hill, we sud-
denly came upon the clearing and the whole family group about
the log stable by the roadside. It was a strange sight. In the
foreground, on a broken plow, sat old Jim Baldwin with the butt
of his rifle between his feet, while beside him young Jack strove
to hold in a pair of gaunt and ragged cross-bred hounds that were
impatient for the intended chase. Over the fence was Mrs. Bald-
win, or " Big Alolly," as she was familiarly called throughout the
township ; a conspicuous figure from the unkempt hair of her
towering head to the big bare feet that protruded beneath the
bottom rail. In the stable door, fork in hand, stood Mary, a
great awkward girl of sixteen, with a sallow face, unlighted by
any fire of the eye or play of the coarse and sullen features, broad,
drooping shoulders, ill-fitting, badly-worn clothing, and rough,
unlaced shoes. I hastily compared the two girls as I gave the
introductions. Then the men of us tried to talk of the hunt, but
our attention constantly drifted to the conversation of the women.
This was, from a back-woods standpoint, peculiarly animated,
for Miss Calder's spirited and impressive expression of the ad-
vantages of even a meagre education, elicited from Mary a few
sullen but bitter remarks about former school-mistresses, and
plunged Big ]\Iolly into a tirade against their uppishness, their
ignorance, their favoritism and their general uselessness. But
the sweet face of the new mistress, while it paled and flushed
alternately, lost none of its sweetness, and her farewell invitation
had a ring of hope about it which presaged victory.
I had been proud of this strange little woman as we had talked.
The soft brilliancy of her eyes, the melodious fulness of her voice,
the dignity of her interest and sympathy in these poor people, who
were the derision of their neighbors, invested her with a new
chann. But she had my wife's old power of withdrawing into
the secret chambers of her own being and forbidding gossip, so
I confined my attention to the sorrels and drove as carefully as I
could. Presently a deep little sigh encouraged me to venture an
interpretation and to remark that there were lives in this country
even more barren and unbeautiful than the rocky ledge that
skirted the way. "Perhaps so, perhaps not," she replied, thought-
fully ; and we went on in silence until our log shanty appeared
on a hillside terrace, and beyond and above it. Hill Crest School.
Then she admired our low roofs and white-washed walls, the
straight symmetrical balsams, the garden green, the stone-en-
circled flower-bed, and the footpath that led ofif through sprouting
grains past the little dairy, to lose itself in the shrubbery about our
Acta Victoriana. 581
tiny spring. " I shall love Airs. Allen," she said, as we climbed
the hill, and, when I had left the two together, I thanked Heaven
that had sent this young woman to cheer and comfort the lonely
wife whom I had been obliged, for her health's sake and mine,
to remove from the refinements to which she had been born,
and bury in this wilderness. "A true, sweet woman," mother
whispered, as we retired, "and exceedingly, painfully interested
in the Baldwins." Then I felt that there were better days in
store for Mary. ,
It was the following Saturday night and the close of a very
heavy wreck's work for me, when Miss Calder asked me how she
could get a couple of letters posted. The office was ten miles
along the bush road, and she confessed she had been afraid to go.
I took them ; they were heavy. Then claiming an old man's
privilege, I asked her whether, if I would post them for her, she
would not confide to me also some of the " shop-news " she was
sending home, and she promised " some of it." Then Bess and
I sped along over the rocky road, saw the letters dropped into
the little cupooard drawer that served as post-office, and hurried
back. Miss Calder and I were both tired, so I agreed to be con-
tent with Mary's history for the week, and she graciously gave
me that.
" I was working at the blackboard on Monday morning," she
said ''when some little urchins with whom I had already chatted
a few minutes, came tumbling in and breathlessly announced,
"Please marm, Mary Baldwin's coming up the hill ! Guess she'll
try to boss you like she did Miss German.' Then I saw a tall
figure enter the porch, and there was Mary, her face a little
brighter than when we saw her at home, and attired in a brilliant
plaid dress, badly made and clumsily pinned together, but, like
her boots, a great improvement on that first costume. Welcoming
her, I directed her to a back seat, but had to have it lifted and
set back a few inches before she could be comfortable in it. Then
school was called and Mary became one of the crowd. At recess,
when water was needed, she volunteered, with a sheepish smile,
to go for it alone, and returning surprised me by bringing a drink
up to my desk, remarking that I must be dry after so much talk-
ing. It always made her mouth dry to read a single verse of her
lesson alone.
" When school had been called and her class was upon the
floor, I had reason to remember that remark. In the course of
the recitation I asked Mary to read. Before this her demeanour
had been both amusing and painful. Now it was pure pain and
582 Acta Vic tori ana.
distress that I felt for her ; the ashy color of her face, the
uneasy shifting of the feet, the clrc-oping of one shoulder, told
how exceedingly distasteful was the task I had imposed. But
thinking her bearing unreasonable, I urged the exercise, and
this the more when I saw a significant smile pass over the school
and caught the word 'balky' whispered by one of my Fourth Class
pupils. I was foolish enough to allow the matter to become a
contest of wills, and found that Mary's was quite as strong in a
negative, as mine in a positive way. For a few minutes the most
painful suspense hung over the school, then dashing down her
book and uttering a bitter '" I can't, I won't," ]^Iary dashed out of
the door, which closed with a l)ang behind her and plunged down
the hill into the shubbery. The rest of the children exchanged
"I told you so " smiles, and I had an almost unendurable hour,
until I was able to go out and find the ix)or thing. \Mien I did
she was lying in a heap on a mossy rock and sobbing hysterically.
Sitting down, I took her head in my lap, pushed back the wan-
dering, tear-damp hair, wiped her eyes and rested my hand upon
her forehead. After some minutes I broke the silence with the
words "I'm sorry, dear !" And again she shook with sobs. A long
talk, followed by an uneventful afternoon, brought us to 4 o'clock,
when I asked ]\Iary to stay, and after we had taken our noon
lunch together she read the morning passage for me and also
practised with me the work of the next day, that she might have
confidence for that recitation. It was very nervous and unsatis-
factory reading, but she read and has done so every day since,
so that I anticipate a good year with her.
" A hundred times since I have been struck with her evident
desire to please me and win a word or smile of approval. A hint
that cleaner slates would be more becoming, brought a water
bottle and slate cloths : a suggestion that a dusting after the
noon sweeping would make the school look more homelike has
meant a further drain on ]\Irs. Baldwin's rag-bag, and I believe
we shall have in ]\lary a regular duster. A glance at the loose
sweepings accumulated about the door as I came home to dinner
on Thursday resulted in their complete disappearance, and the
significant presence of ]\Iary on the door-step on my return. In-
deed, I have almost come to the conclusion that there is no life in
this school section as barren or forbidding as yon long rocky
ridge,^' she concluded, archly. "Now, you are sleepy, I see. We
mav both be glad of the night, and the day, of rest."
Next morning brought a big surprise. A shadow in the door-
way as I pulled on my Sunday gaiters called my attention to
Acta Victoriana. 583
Mary, and I smiled at her question : " Is ]\Iiss Calder ready ? "
"Ready for what?" I asked, and Mary awkwardly replied,
'"Church." \\hen they had gone, Mrs. Allen and I followed
after, sne praising the teacher, and I wondering at the pupil. The
promise of this young woman's usefulness gave me some self-
satisfaction over the choice we had made. I fancied all kinds of
improvements in Mary, her home, and the whole community.
Then rounding a sharp curve in the soft forest path, my wife
checked me suddenly and silently, and we stepped aside into the
bushes. There from my covert I saw Miss Calder pinning up
Big Molly's dress so as to make it conform more with the girl's
figure, and tastU}- rearranging the ringlets curled for the occasion.
■■ The dear child!" said mother, as they moved on; and I could
only smile assent. At 'meetin' ' in the old ]\Iud Lake log school,
I enjoyed two sermons with one text, " Follow After Charity,"
and ]\Iiss Calder was not the less eloquent preacher, nor the less
effective.
A fortnight later, as I was returning from a long tramp in
search of some stray calves, I met the two on the edge of the
Baldwin clearing, demurely munching away at two great cakes
of maple sugar which ]\Iary had often looked at and gloated over
in anticipation of this hour. " ]\lrs. Baldwin told me I might
come down for tea,'' our guest remarked, '' but I'll be home in
good time." She was ; but what a sad, pained expression that
sweet face wore on her return. Again that a barrier of reserve
was thrown about her, and it was two months before, on a wet
Sunday afternoon, •' ^Mother,'' as the orphaned girl was pleased
to call my wife, heard the story of that visit.
■ \\'hen we came in sight of the house I was frightened at first
bv the having of those great bloodthirsty hounds and the hissing
and cackling of geese, and Airs. Baldwin's appearance, as she
scolded the dogs into silence, did not quiet me very much. She
was dressed so immodestly, so raggedly, and her great arms
looked so menacing . Yet she was very kind and showered praises
upon me. She directed me to a seat on the end of the great
dugout water-trough beneath the eaves, and talked away roughly,
almost profanely, of everybody and everything. I could not but
smile when she told Mary to hurry off and fetch me a glass of
buttermilk, and then go and show me how well she could make
a quick batch of buttermilk cakes, and fry that venison steak and
those left-over potatoes. Then she told me a dozen stories illus-
trative of her skill and courage in the hunt, interjecting many
commands to ]Mary about the best maple syrup, the butter from
584 Acta Victoria7ia.
the wee blue crock, the cookies in Black ]\Iaria, and the white
sugar in the ginger caddy. Finally, to my relief, Jim and Jack
arrived, and Mary hesitatingly announced supper as ready.
" Then I got my first glimpse of the inside of the shanty. iV
gleam about the walls caught my eye, and I counted four fine
rifles, clean, well oiled and carefully hung. They were the only
ornaments of a very forbidding room. Thick, dusty cobwebs
hung everywhere ; the walls, never whitewashed, were covered
with grease and dirt ; the floor was black and oily, and the corners
were stowed with old boots and clothes, pieces of dried skins, and
all the odds and ends of the hunter, trapper and farmer. The
supper — well, the dishes were so sticky, the oil-cloth cover so
worn and filthy, and the food so strong, I could hardly eat a bite,
but I enjoyed seeing the rest at it. After tea I helped JNIary with
the dishes, washing them as thoroughly and rapidly as I
could, so that I might join my slow associate in drying them, and
give her an idea of how dishes should be made to shine. That
done, .\Irs. Baldv.-in and Mary took down their rifles, and just
to show me how, shot the heads off two old clucking htns so
skilfully that the under parts of the beaks were untouched. Then
Mary brought me home under armed escort. It was that visit
that made me demand monthly scrubbings at school. Mary and
I had long confidential chats about it, and now they scrub every
week."
Almost a year had passed when Miss Calder was taken with a
heavy cold and put to bed, and in less than a week mother fol-
lowed. Then Mary came, and I had a chance to know her. We
were, of course, confidants, she nursing from earlv morn till mid-
night, I through the wee, sma' hours ; and I had no reason to
be ashamed of my associate. Sweeping, dusting, scrubbing,
cooking, baking, washing of dishes and clothes ; even the darning
of socks went on as when mother was around, and were almost
as well done. ^Mother said quite as well, but I had never ac-
cepted that. The patients were dosed in strict obedience to Dr.
Brown, and she was ever slipping into " the ward " to stir up a
pillow or corn-husk bed, smooth the covers, chase away vexa-
tious flies, or administer to any other need o\ the sufferers. Like
a tyrant, too — for mother would not have asked it — she compelled
the removal of the bawling calf, which for convenience I had
penned up only a hundred feet from the house, to the small pasture
■ on the opposing hillside, and the transfer of my deep-chested
hound to her father's barn. Miss Calder laughed about it and
tauntingly whispered, " guess she's goin" to boss you like she did
Miss German."
Ada Victoriana. 585
Sometimes in the long evenings, when the patients had an easy
spell, she would cull from her teacher's books rare bits of verse
and prose which she had learned to love, and the appreciation
and sympathy of her reading amazed and gratified all. Par-
ticularly did she revel in pictures of the wild, lonely and sublime
in nature, in which in her long pupilage she had found a spirit
and a vital personality. She was also very fond of any litera-
ture with a domestic spirit. I recall one evening her reading of
the two familiar poems on the skylark. Shelley's she read with
great enthusiasm of her own quiet kind, but without comment;
^^'ordsworth■s she prefaced with the remark to me that this was
more like our own poor skylark, a creature of the earth, which she
had often seen mount and fall, always keeping up that song to
the tender, nestling brood.
But all these evenings passed. Our idolized teacher left us
to follow her brother's fortune in the Golden West. ]\Iary re-
mained. For five years' she was practically mistress in her
father's home. Then came Big ^lolly's last experience in the
woods, when back at Lone Lake she stumbled on a bear and
cubs. In a death struggle she killed her antagonist, but the in-
juries she received were too much even for her rugged constitu-
tion and Mary's tender nursing, and she passed, as she said, to the
happy hunting grounds of her Indian friends. Then Jim and
Jack went bush-ranging, and Mary came to make her home with
us. Two happy years we have spent together, but now her
flitting time has come. Nephew John is busy putting the last
touches to his new house, and ^Vlary plies her hook and needle
almost incessantly. Sometimes, however, I catch her and mother
with glowing, tearful faces pouring over long letters from the
Sunset Province, and I know that :\liss Calder's sympathy and
influence are not forgotten, but will l^ear their fruit in a happy
home on ]\Iaple Farm.
"SEVEXTY-NIXE."
ALONG THE G.T.R. SYSTEM.
586 Acta Victoriana.
The Flre-Tianger
BY A. P. COLEMAX, M.A., PH.D.
YOU have just pitched your camp on a backwoods lake, north
of the most northerly settlement, with untouched forest,
clean and solemn around vou, doubled bv reflection on the
glassy water, and the romance of solitude settles upon you, so
far from human habitation. Then a battered canoe rounds the
point and lands beside your camp, and an athletic fellow steps
on shore with greetings in English, much tingled with habitant
French. It is the fire-ranger, who, though he does not say so,
saw your smoke rising into the placid evening air and dropped
round to see how careful you are with your camp-fire and to
give you a warning, if necessary, about the dire consequences of
setting out fires in the woods.
The fire-ranger is most often French-Canadian, though he may
be of any nationality able to handle an axe and a canoe, and he
earns his two dollars a day by keeping watch of tourists, or pros-
pectors, or settlers who use fire.
Here and there through the far woods you have seen a white
patch upon a big pine trunk, and approaching have read with re-
spect, let us hope, " An Act to Preserve the Forests," signed by
the Honorable Mr. Davis, Commissioner of Crown Lands, and
setting forth the pains and penalties that will fall upon you if
your servant, fire, escapes into the woods. Too often, however,
the linen warning is w-rapped ironically about a blackened stump
in the midst of a burnt desolation. The fire-ranger represents
the majesty of the law as detailed in the white placards and in
the six miles square of his township he is " monarch of all he
surveys."
His shack stands beside the shore of one of the numberless
trout or clear or mud lakes of the north, and his lonely summer
is spent, or should be spent, in excursions, east, north, west or
south to all parts of his territory, his dog at his heels and his
gun on his shoulder. If it rains he is happy and stays at home.
No danger of fire while it rains ; but three weeks of dry weather
puts him in a worry. The lumbermen have perhaps, touched
part of his township, piling up the pine tops wdiere trees were
felled, as if to ensure a fire this summer. The brown pine needles
are tinder waiting to flash into flame when the prospector
lights his pipe and drops the match ; so the fire-ranger is on the
Ada Victoriana. 587
alert for columns of smoke, and hurries in that direction when
he sees them.
In general, however, he leads the ideal life for a philosopher
or a naturalist. He should be a Thoreau, or a Bradford Torrey,
or a Gilbert White, but he never is, and lyet he has a keen eye
and can tell you where the dappled fawn lies in the bushes while
her mother feeds on the marsh, where the bears gather blueberries
in the brule, or the beaver has made fresh cuttings among the
willows. By law he is assistant to the game warden, so it is ad-
visable not to shoot moose or red deer in his presence, though he
will partake without offensive curiosity, of savory, fresh meat
steaks or stew when you invite him to dinner. He carries his
gun, of course, to shoot at marks, or to kill bears as long as the
skins are in good condition. He is said by cantankerous pros-
pectors to shoot a deer himself when the bacon gets low ; but no
one ever saw him do it.
I remember one occurrence that rather shook my faith in him,
it must be admitted. He was chumming with a degenerate set of
prospectors who were sinking a shaft at a supposed gold mine,
when I dropped in for a meal. They were all seated round the
table with a most appetizing stew on their tin plates, and could
not refuse me a portion of the same. It was beaver. However,
it was explained that the animal had dropped into the shaft and
was unfortunately killed in getting it out.
The fire-ranger always has a dog, often two or three of various
sizes, which threaten to devour the visitor at the lonely camp,
until ]Mr. Le Blanc or Bellefeuille appears at the door. Some-
times he is installed in an old lumber camp, usually in the " eat-
ing camp," where there is a huge kitchen range in the rear, and
a gigantic table down each side of the long, low room, with
benches beside it. At the brighest end of one table, in the silence
made more impressive by the memory of the jolly lumbermen of
last winter, he has his tin plate and cup and spoon with the
greasy fried pork, the beans and bread of his own baking beside
him, dried apple sauce a little way off, and green tea with brown
sugar to wash it down. His dog gets his share, and then it is
a duty to smoke a pipe of French-Canadian twist tobacco and
consider whether the dishes should be washed while the water
is hot or left till evening. The latter is, of course, decided on.
Some of these men, however, especially if English speaking,
keep their quarters in excellent trim, with shining tinware, floor
swept behind the stove and under the bed ; but this is the excep-
tion. A few of them, where there is to the shanty a wagon road at
588 Ada Vic i or i ana.
all navigable, are married and have their families with them, like
Le Blanc or Bellefeuille ; and then the bread will be better,
though the sweeping may not show a higher standard, and a jolly
crowd of barefoot children, just a year apart, chase chipmunks or
pick berries on the hills around. Then there is apt to be a small
attempt at gardening ; the indispensable potatoes and onions being
cultivated. Bellefeuille had no cleared land around his place,
but had planted the road with potatoes, which, I regret to say,
suffered somewhat when our wagon jolted past towards Trout
Lake.
When it cleared, after three days of rain which fell in torrents,
I met Bellefeuille, looking happy, since fire could not run in that
weather, and asked if his tumble-down shack did not leak. Oh !
no ; he had three sheets of paper on the roof.
L nmarried -rangers are apt to be somewhat odd in their tastes,
though seldom misanthropic. Charlie, the half-breed, near
Windy Lake, was always accompanied by an indescribable odor
which emanated even more unmistakably from his hound. He
was waging war by trap and gun against a numerous tribe of
skunks which inhabited the spaces under the log houses of the
lumber camp, for skunk-skins, when dried, make an estimable
fur, sold under quite a dilTerent name.
One fruitful fellow in the farther west had a very wide tract of
shaggy hill and tangled lake and creek to patrol far out of the
range of ordinary travel. \\'hy not camp comfortably just be-
yond civilization and come back when the time was up instead of
toiling over rocky, uncut portages ? But he had a conscience and
went the whole weary round. In my geological work in the
region, at many a lonely portage I would see carved in the bark
of a tree such inscriptions as '"J. B., June i6th, 1898," proofs
that he had passed that way and earned his money.
The tire-ranger's work is bearing fruit. Disastrous and wide-
spread fires are now rare in our northern woods where so much
white pine, that now would be priceless, went up in smoke years
ago. Even yet, however, fires do occur. Six weeks of dry
weather, a gusty west wind and a bank of sinoke over the
horizon, and the ranger knows his time of trial has come. It
is sometimes futile for one man, or even for the ranger with all
the settlers he can gather, to fight with shovels and buckets the
onrush of the flames. The sun shows with a strange luridness
through the smoke cloud, and then vanishes. Blackened cin-
ders and ashes begin to rain down, and soon come sparks and
brands whirled by the tempest, which rises as the fire sweeps
Acta Vicioriana.
,89
nearer. Fire bursts out in a dozen places, and with a roar, tree
after tree is swathed in flames that flash and flare in the dry twigs,
while the smoke becomes strangling. Then tbe ranger takes
to his canoe and paddles frantically out to the gray surface
beyond the falling tree trunks. Keeping to the openest water,
with now and then a hint of the ghostly, ruined shore looming
black or fiery through the shroud of smoke, he makes his way
past the flames to the desolation where the fire has burnt itself
out, and then to headquarters to report the loss of square miles of
forest that, under present conditions, will never be replaced.
No- more need of a fire-ranger in that township ; so his sum-
mer's work is done.
Generally, however, his hermit summer passes uneventfully,
and when autumn comes, the lumbermen, with monster teams and
big wagons, jolt over the corduroy and push their late road far-
ther into tue bush to get ready for their winter's war on the red
and white pine. Then the fire-ranger finds his tongue again,
joins his old companions, and swears big oaths at the road, and
the team, and the shanty man's life in general, though in his
heart he loves the woods and is never happy out of them.
■??r
A VIEW IN INTERIOR OF VANCOUVER
ISLAND, B.C.
590 Acta Victoridiia.
The History of the Class of '05""
Forsan ct haec olim meminisse juvahit.
IT was the misfortune of the historian not to be a partici-
pant in the thrilling events that marked the first year's his-
tory of the class of '05, whose record was to make so bright a
page in the annals of X'ictoria. However, like the Preacher of
old, he has " given his heart to seek and search out by wisdom
concerning all things that were done under heaven " by the
said class, and partly by a close study of the ancient archives,
partly by consultation with the most intelligent survivors of that
remote period, and partly by a free use of the historical imagina-
tion, he has been enabled more or less perfectly to reconstruct
the past.
It is a matter of common knowledge that every great epoch-
marking event in history has been foreshadowed by supernat-
ural portents more or less wonderful. It is, therefore, not sur-
prising to discover that careful observers in the college precincts,
as the month of September, 1901, was drawling to its close and
the fateful Kalends of October drew on apace, noted certain
occult manifestations. A thrill, as of expectation, ran through the
iron pillars of the lower hall ; a smile of satisfaction played over
the stern marble features of the bust of Egerton Ryerson in the
chapel ; even the hitherto impassive countenance of the Egyptian
Pharaoh's daughter began to assume an expression of extraor-
dinary interest in her surroundings. Xow- those who were
skilled in augury, well aware that "when beggars die, comets
are never seen," knew that it could be no insignificant event
which was thus portended by these signs and wonders — which, by
the way, are now for the first time made public, thanks to the
original research carried on by the historian — and they very
naturally and quite properly referred them to the advent of "05.
Thus it will be seen that the very college was on the qui live
as it awaited tneir arrival.
They came. They saw. They set in strenuously to conquer.
The Queen heard of it, and sent her grandson to bear her con-
gratulations. The faculty heard of it and were glad. The
Sophomores heard of it and, in their undemonstrative but sympa-
thetic way, tney were glad, too. For the members of the class
of '04 were not lacking in that paternal interest in the Freshman's
welfare, which is so marked a characteristic of the Sophomore.
*Published by request.
A eta Vic to ria na. 591
This interest was first openly displayed in their anxiety for the
proper conduct of our first class-meeting. With commendable
delicacy of feeling, however, the}- had no desire to betray
their distrust of the Freshmen's inexperience, and so decided upon
the transom as a fit point of vantage from which to supervise
affairs, without hurting anybody's feelings by seeming to do so.
The cackling of geese, we are told, once saved Rome ; it was
regarded as a parallel case that the Freshman class was saved by
the unintentional noise of the over-zealous Sophs. But it was
four days later before the rest of the officers were elected.
Then ensued the anti-bob campaign, the history of which ought
properly to be written in Epic verse by some Homeric bard. For,
in truth. Fate, incarnate in the Bob Committee, lay in ambush
upon the Freshman's pathwa}-, and he was soon to realize the
truth of the poet's melancholy words, " The paths of Freshmen
lead but to the Bob."
I suppose that of all who were Freshmen in the fall of 1901,
it holds true that —
Among the vividest pictures
That hang upon Memory's Wall,
Is that of the anti-bob practices
That were held in Richmond Hall.
Oh, the delicious sense of secrecy and mystery that enthralled
the Naughty-Fiver's young and eager heart, as by devious paths
he stole away to his retreat, ever and anon glancing carefully
about him to see that he was followed by no spying Soph. Oh, the
triumphant rapture that caught his spirit up, as in anticipation,
he saw the Sophomores squirming for their sins, neath the cut-
ting lash of the satire in the songs he was so diligently conning !
But the oopnomore at Bobbing-time is as all-pervadmg as the
atmosphere, and so he found his way to Richmond Hall. That
was a red-letter day in the anti-bob campaign when vigilant
Freshmen found the next rooin to the hall locked and occupied,
as their suspicions but too truly told them, by the enemy. The
storming of the outer gates let them into a lobby from which,
a reconnaisance being made through the key-hole, the garrison
was found to consist of two pale and trembling men. The fort
was taken, the whole garrison made prisoners, and it was re-
solved to court-martial them at once. A court was constituted,
a jury empanelled, advocates appointed, the prisoners arraigned.
The charge was " attempting to steal state secrets." Their guilt
was soon proven, it was, in fact, quite patent, and amid a solemn
59- Achi Viclonaua.
silence the dread sentence of the court was pronounced that the
prisoners be tapped, and that their photos be taken as the nucleus
of a new Rogues' Gallery. The first part of the sentence was
executed summarily; the latter part was more difficult. Those
Sophomores were harder to take than a cross baby. In spite of
the fact that they were tied firmly to boards, and their heads
kept in proper position by the firm grasp of Fresnmen in their
hair, they stubbornly refused to look pleasant and watch for the
birdie. At last, however, the deed was done and the prisoners
released.
But some ineffectual fate pursues all Freshmen. The craven-
hearted photographer was induced by the threatening Sophs to
give up the plate, and the '' dimpled chin '" and tlie '* monkey
grin," celebrated by the class bard, were never suffered to appear
m the Freshmen's photograph albums. How true it is that the
best laid schemes of mice, men, and Freshmen gang aft agley !
Another beautifully laid scheme was that by which Proc. Bur-
wash was concealed in the college to carry off the plans of war
of the Bob Committee, upon a diversion being made by the rest
of the class at the doors below. But alas, the vigilance of the
Sophomores and the lack of organization on the part of our own
men gave a decided advantage to the enemy. The future presi-
dent of the Lit., and the future president of the Classical Associa-
tion, as they walKed innocently over the campus, received a
pressing invitation to come in, which they felt obliged to accept.
The future president of the Alma ]\Iater Society who, it is said,
had been invited especially to come out as being the " biggest
ana ugliest man in the class,'' was set upon by two or three, haled
into the building, wrapped with much solicitude in a tennis net,
to keep out the cold, and tenderly laid to rest on the reading-
room table. ^Meanwhile Proc. had been discovered on the bal-
cony in front of the windows of Dr. Potts' office, enjoying the
balmy night air and watching the courses of the silent stars. He
protested that he would rather gaze upon the twinkling stars than
listen to the trickling tap, but his objections were overruled,
and he was forced to exchange the contemplative life of the
philosopher for the practical life of the arrested Freshman. Our
four prisoners now had the opportunity of studying a trial scene
from the point of view of the accused ; they decided that whMe
it was not wanting in interest, that interest was of a more pain-
ful kind. Needless to say, they were found guilty and were
condemned to suffer the full penalty made and provided in such
cases.
Ada Victoriana. 593
Most humiliating of all, however, was the discovery of the
songs by the Sophs. Three of them contrived to wedge themselves
between the ceiling of Richmond Hall and the roof of the build-
ing, and there, " cribbed, cabined and confined," listened at the
ventilator and so stole words and music. Some presentiment
warned the Freshmen of their presence. Percy, now our presi-
dent, declared that he smelled the blood of a Sophomore and,
accompanied by Connolly, ascended bravely to the mouth of that
dark and cramped attic. A match was lit, but the light of a
match hardly shines as far as " a good deed in a naughty world,"'
so the Sophs remained undiscovered in that vasty inner dark-
ness.
When the Bob really came off, it is said that, under the valiant
leadership of Knight, the Freshmen would have stormed the
platform to avenge the stealing of their songs, had it not been
that the chairman adopted the policy of the " Big Stick." How-
, ever, even as it was, the Freshmen's singing was acknowledged
to have been better than had been. Indeed, fourteen of the class
were in the Glee Club that year ; even Cragg was a member, and
the only reason Jackson didn't join was because he took stage
fright when he went up to get his voice tested.
From the very first we have been a literary class ; we have
yearned for culture; we have sought every means of self-im-
provement. The lectures and the literary societies failed to
satisfy in full these intellectual cravings. Did not the cynical
smile of the Sophomore and the weary expression of the Senior
quench the ardent spirit of the Freshman when he rose to address
the house? And how could a mere Freshette, who wore her
hair in braids down her back, front the cold dignity of Madame
President ? And so there came into being that mutual improve-
ment society, whose membership was confined to ladies and
o-entlemen of the First Year, and which rude and unfeeling
Seniors, with no sympathies for the Freshmen's high and noble
aspirations after literary culture, christened the K. D. F. S.
Three meetings were held. The subjects discussed ranged from
the indispensableness of the Victoria Bob to the madness of
Hamlet. But in course of time it died. No official certificate of
death is to be found in the archives, and what the immediate cause
of its decease, I cannot say. Suffice it to say that it died.
Doubtless when the unquestionable talent of the members of '05
be^an to assert itself in the Men's and Women's Lit., its useful-
ness was over.
The enterprising character of '05 was most clearly demon-
stratecfwhen, in the fall of 1901, they decided to nominate in the
594 Acta Victoriana.
Lit. elections, a corresponding secretary, a recording secretary, a
pianist, and assistant secretary, and, in the words of the motion
passed, " support them to a man."" Their modest forbearance is
shown in the fact that they did not nominate any candidate for
the presidency or the jwsitions of leader of the government and
leader of the opposition. It has never been our fault to be over-
grasping. The course then adopted is not recommended to
future Freshmen classes. They might not have as capable men
to put into office as '05.
It was the same enterprising and enthusiastic spirit that com-
pelled Cragg and Elliott, on the occasion of the first open Lit.,
to endeavor to make use, at one and the same time, of the priv-
ileges of the ladies' gallery and the members' benches. Before
leaving this first year, we may remar'iv that as the child is father
of the man, so is the Freshman fatlier of the Senior. Any person
of insight, then, might have seen in the Freshmen who rose in
ciass-meeting to protest against the stamping of feet at the en-
trance of the ladies, the decorous president-to-be of the Alma
Mater Society, and might have foreseen the social successes that
awaited W^alden when he was the unanimous choice of another
class-meeting to go after the lady members. Both of those facts
are duly and soberly recorded in the minutes.
If enterprise and enthusiasm marked the Freshman year of
'05, capacity and efficiency marked its Sophomore year.
The memory of our Bob we cherish with a tender pride.
With paternal partiality, it may be, we are fain to believe that
it has not yet been surpassed ; '06 and '07 may disagree, but what'
care we for their opinion when we agree with one another?
Surelv it was during those nightly seances in Alumni and Jack-
son Halls that we were firmly knit together and grew really to love
the halls of Alma ^Vlater. Even the fresh Sophs became imbued
with the class spirit as we waited nightly for the longed-for
Freshmen's, raid.
And who of '06 will forget the evening when we found them
on the campus and, with hospitable compulsion, brought them
in and then, taking pity on their fresh and youthful innocence,
sent them home to bed? To this very day their hearts warm
o-ratefullv toward us when thev think of our lenient forbearance
in sparing them the horrors of the tap.
To "05 Bob Committee, under the presidency of Robertson,
belongs the credit of revolutionizing the Bob and purging Bob
methods from some objectionable features hitherto prevailing.
But '05 has been famous for the breaking and making of pre-
cedents in all lines.
A eta Vic to n'a na. 595
One Junior A^ear was uneventful. But we were quietly pre-
paring ourselves to assume the burdens of Seniors, and now that
that gravity and reverence which doth hedge about a Senior has
become our inheritance, we may, without conceit, remark that
those burdens have been borne easily and gracefully. Who have
presided with such grace and wit over the Union Literary Society
as the presidents of '05 ? When have Acta's editorials been so
widely read and commented upon, and her financial standing
been so secure as under the business manager and editor-in-chief
of '05 ? When has the Glee Club been so popular as under the
president and business manager of '05 ? When has the Athletic
Association been so prosperous and so nearly won success for her
team as under the president of '05? When has the Y. M. C. A.
seen a year of success so real as under the president of '05 ? And
the '05 president of the Alma Mater, as he looks on the new
common rooms for the men, may well say, "' Exegi monumentum
acre perennius."
In athletics, '05 has been the backbone of every game. It has
furnished more men on every team than any other year, and
often more than all other years together. ■''
In debate we have carried ofif for the last two years the inter-
year championship, and if we do not do so this year, Knight and
Cruise will know the reason why.
And now we are about to step down from the seats of the
mighty and hand over the responsibilities and burdens of high
office to the class of '06. We believe that they will carry them
worthily, for with all our virtues, we are modest, and do not
think that we are the people, and that wisdom will die with us.
Soon most of us will leave our Alma Mater's halls. Our names
will be forgotten here ; but though forgotten, we shall not forget.
In the storm and stress of a sterner and more strenuous life,
" Naughty-Five, \^ictoria," will be a grateful memory. And not a
memory only, but an inspiration, too. For, as sons and daughters
of Victoria, we shall stand for every high ideal, in the church
or in the state, in the home land or in the far land, and be dis-
ciples always of the truth that makes us free. And because
friendship always uplifts and purifies, we shall be better men
and women for having learned to know and love each other.
And in our hours of retrospective reverie, when " Fond memory
brings the light of other days around us," and in that light we
see the faces of our class-mates, we shall softly and reverently
say, " Thank God for Victoria and '05."
J. s. r... '05.
4
596 Acta Victoriana.
Reminiscences of a Methodist Minister
ON the 5th of September, 1854, I sailed from Liverpool to enter
the work of the ministry in the Wesleyan Methodist Church,
of Canada. For the remainder of the Conference year I was stationed
at Point Levis, a village on the St. Lawrence, opposite Quebec. The
construction of the G. T. R. ha J brought to it a great influx of
population, a large number of whom were members and adherents of
our Church. My w'ork there being limited to one service a day, I was
often called upon to supply in several churches in the city of Quebec,
and also had the opportunity of hearing the foremost preachers in our
own and other denominations.
At the Conference of 1855, I was appointed to the Chaudiere
River, seventy miles east of Quebec, where gold was being found in
paying quantities. My first business was to purchase a horse, and
this to me was a serious matter, as my knowledge of horse-flesh con-
sisted in distinguishing a horse from a cow, and that was about all.
I was directed to a man who had several horses for sale. When I
waited upon him I was leceived with much courtesy, and informed
that he had every variety. I '.old him that I was a minister and
wanted a trusty hack. I tried also to look knowing, but I am con-
fident that he instantly detected my complete verdancy in such matteis.
He said he had the very thing, and proceeded to trot out severa.
strange looking animals. One had extremely long legs and a body
like a greyhound. Another was wall-eyed, and another had but one
eye. The one that took my fancy was a low set, broad, rather sin ster
looking beast, with an immense mane and tail, and a meditative eye.
The man greatly approved my choice. He said that he was a French
horse, that he had been a little spoiled by his previous owner, and
that he had been obliged to work him pretty hard, which acco nted
for his being so low in flesh. "Every rib stuck out." He informed me
that he was seven years of age (he was n neteen as I afterwards found
out), that he was a little hard to catch in the field and would some-
times nip a little. In the course of time it came to my knowledge
that seven men would fail to corner him, and that only certain parties
dared to put the harness on him. I paid down on the spot $85.00, and
had him taken to the stable of a friend, from whom I had purchased a
harness and a gig. I was up early the next morning and prepared to
start on my drive of seventy miles. My host advised me to go no
farther than Leeds, fifty miles, the first day. He put on the harness
for me, interjecting the operation with divers observations about the
Acta Victoriana. 597
itrange acting beast I had go^ "Til warrant he's tough, but a hard
case. My, but he acts queer ! He's been worked down to take the
ginger out o"" him. I'm glad that harness of mine is a strong one.
Be careful now and keep a stiff line." For my part I was in great
spirits a" the prospect of taking my first drive. In dae time all was
ready, so I shook hands with my kind host, mounted the box, took
the lines and off I went — and I went in a hurry, too. The uncircum-
cised, fly-bitten brute took the bit in his teeth, and ran with all his
might. In after years, when experience with horses had taught me
their moods and habits, such an occurrence would have alarmed me
exceedingly, but on this occasion I was not in the least alarmed. I
thought he was a fine goer, and that all was as it should be, so enjoyed
it very much. Fortunately, he did not kick, and I met nothing on
the road. I obeyed strictly the command of my host to keep a line
in each hand and bear back with all my strength, but I might as well
have pulled at a lamp post. He ran and ran until the perspiration
poured off him. When he had had enough of it he slackened up a
little. This did not suit me. I was intoxicated with the swift motion,
and wanted more of it, so I took out the whip and applied it vigor-
ously. He made another spurt, and then gave up entirely. I had
conquered him without knowing it. He never ran away with me
again. From that day forth this peculiar animal conceived for me a
great respect, and even fondness.
I had been advised to feed him at a French tavern, twenty miles
from the city. I knew that oats were fed to horses, but no one had
told me how much to feed, nor had I ever seen a horse fed to my
knowledge. On arriving at the inn, I made the Frenchman under-
stand that I wanted the horse fed, telling him that I was in haste and
would like to have him fed at once. On his asking me how much he
was to feed, I pointed to a wash-tub that was in front of the house,
and said, "give him that full." I was determined to do the handsome
thing. The Frenchman smirked and chattered, but he certainly
gave him half a bushel, and he ate every grain and was none the
worse. Fortunately I never thought of giving him water, and he did
not get a mouthful until the next morning, when the hostler told me
he thought that French horse would drink the pond dry.
The diy after my arrival at the Chaudiere, my host informed me
of a settlement sixteen miles down the river where he thought the
people would be very pleased to have Sunday afternoon service ; but as
the road was in many places very rough, it would be necessary for me
t:) go on horseback. Accordingly I looked around foi a saddle, and
598 Ada Victoriana.
heard of one owned by an old pensioner. I went to see it, and found
it a massive affair weighing fifty pounds, but recommended by the old
dragoon as a very safe saddle. This I took to mean that there would
be no danger of falling off. By the way, it had a hook in front, which
I to this day remember with gratitude. The next morning, after
breakfast and prayers, I went into the field to catch the Frenchman.
As soon as he spied me he began to make circles around me, with his
ears anything but upright, and his meditative eye showing much more
white than was natural. He kept circling nearer and nearer, and
finally turned broadside on me. Then I saw my chance. I seized
him by his tail and held on for dear life. A more astonished animal
it would be difficult to conceive of. He stood perfectly still, and
permitted the hired man to put on his bridle and lead him to the
stable to be saddled. While 1 was preparing for my first venture on
horseback, I heard some forcible adjectives coming from the direction
of the stable, with an occasional yelp. Charlie was biting the hired
man. My host furnished me with a bridle which had a severe bit.
They all came out to see mic mount, every mouth extended from ear
to ear. My host superintended the mount. "Now, take the bridle
in your left hand. Now, not that foot, the ether foot, the left foot.
That's it, that's it. Now, up you go." And up I went. " Now, hold on
with your knees." This caution was superfluous. I did hold on, not
with my knees only, but with every available portion of my anatomy.
I made a desperate effort to appear easy and dignified, for I felt sure
they were all choking with laughter, but I fear it was a complete
failure. Charlie made some queer motions and I devoutly wished
myself down again. I observed my host's face to be strangely drawn
as he bade me farewell, and I thought at the time that he was about
to weep. I am now morally certain tha*; as soon as his back was
turned he fairly writhed in convulsions of laughter. I would fain have
shaken hands with him, but that was out of the question. My left
hand grasped the bridle and my right h md had a convulsive hold on
the hook. On the whole, Charlie was well broken for the saddle. He
went on with a little, quick, wobbling walk, which to me, now at my
advanced age would be easy as a rocking chair, but then, on my first
venture, seemed full of peril. But I stuck to him like a leech. After
going a few miles in this way I thought I would essay a trot, and never
can I forget that first trot. Charlie had a high, hard step, though on
the run easy as a sedan chair. This first trot lasted for about jog
yards, and I thought that every joint in my body was loosened, while
perspiration ran from every pore. I walked for many miles after this
Acia Victoi'iana. 599
and reached my destination in safety. By degrees and by constant
practice I became a good rider, but never shall I forget my experience
of the first three months. Learning to rise in the saddle I found most
difficult. For a long time I was sure to rise at the fatal moment, and
then it was thump, bump, thumpetty bump. Oh, the agonies of that
period, the soreness, the stiffness, the utter weariness, but I persevered,
and had great practice. On one Sunday I preached at the Chau-
diere at 10.30 a.m., then rode sixteen miles to preach at 3 p.m., then
eight miles for service at 6 p.m. On the next Sunday I was at the
Chaudiere at 10 a.m., and then rode thirty-six miles to preach at
6 p.m. The last ten miles of the ride was through a dense forest, and
on one occasion as I was going easily along, Charlie made a sudden
stop and stood rigid. He was not a nervous horse, so I felt sure that
something unusual was at hand. In a few moments two huge bears
and a small bear crossed the road about 100 yards in front of where
we stood, but they took not the slightest notice of us and immediately
dissappeared again into the f jrest
I soon discovered that Charlie had been a racer and had won
many a ribbon with John Baptiste on his back — I fear on the
Lord's day. For many months when I heard the step of a horse
coming quickly, either behind or before, I would instantly dismount
and lead him into the fence corner, where I held on to the bit with
all my strength. Nothing could restrain him from taking part in a
race so long as one kept on his back. In due time, as my confidence
and skill increased, I no longer dismounted, but took my full share in
the innocent divers'on. In that day and age the saddle was the
general mode of travelling, and young men especially would race.
But Charlie's racing propensities were not always convenient. On one
occasion I was returning on Monday morning to the place where I
lodged, having preached the night previous in a large village, the head
of the circuit. When about a mile on the way, three horsemen came
swiftly down a side line and headed for the village. They were all
racing, and two of them were officials in the old Kirk of Scotland. I
resolved instantly to dismount, but it was too late. Charlie, though
nurtured in the Church of Rome, had evidently a sneaking regard for
the honor of John Wesley and his militant circuit riders. I could not
control him. He whirled round and bounded after the Kirk ; he
overtook the Kirk ; he passed the Kirk and tore triumphantly through
the village, amidst the shouts and laughter, the encouragements and
acclamations of the delighted onlookers, most of whom were my
hearers on the previous evening. I hid myself for the rest of the day
and returned to my lodgings after sunset.
6oo Acta Victoriafia
In 1856 I was appointed to Dudswell, in the eastern township-,
but was there only six months when I was requested to repair to
Millbrook without delay, the case being urgent and no man
available. This was in the depth of winter and I was fifty miles from
the nearest railway station. After due consideration, I had a jumper
constructed large enough to contain all my belongings — one large
trunk, containing my books, and one smaller for my wardrobe. I had
two excellent robes, and Charlie was decked out with a new harness.
He had grown very fat, and his breadth was a sight to see. I started
on my drive of 400 miles on January 3rd, 1857, and landed safely at
my destined post on the 13th.
I kept this peculiar horse, about which I have said so much, for
nearly five years, and then sold him to a Mr. Stewart, residing near
Chatham. He was then twenty-four years old. Mr. Stewart told me
shortly after he got him that he was afraid to go near him, especially
in the stable. I heard of him twelve yeais after this, when hs must
have been thirty-six years old, and he was then said to be as good as
he ever was. He was without doubt an extraoidinary animal. He
had great vices and great excellencies. He was a vicious biter and
was no respecter of persons. He was especially hostile to the ladies
and would bite the fairest maiden if he got a chance. He had strong
likes and dislikes. Some could not go near him — others he barely
tolerated, and for a favored few he showed real affection. His endur-
ance was phenominal, and, as a saddle horse, he was unsurpassed. I
suppose he has long ago gone the way of all horseflesh. Peace to his
ashes !
But I must bring these reminiscenses to a close. The men and
women of the generation in which these events occurred have nearly
all passed away, and we shall soon follow them. I am not among
those who think the former times in everyway better than the present.
Our people have advanced socially and domestically, and during the
past forty-five years the style of Methodist preaching has in many
respects sensibly improved.
The oldTfashioned preachers of half a century ago were invariably
hortatory, and all that I ever heard of that class had a tone. This
tone rose and fell with a mournful cadence and was often quite
effective, especially on funeral occasions,. and at camp-meetings, when
it was customary for one of the brethren to exhort at the close of the
sermon. The great majority of their hearers seemed to like it. I
remember distinctly more than forty years ago, an intelligent man
remarking of a certain preacher, that his sermons were excellent if he
A eta I '^icto ria na. 60 1
would only preac/i thetn. The preacher in question spoke in a natural
manner and the hearer, though an intelligent man, hankered for the
tone. This peculiarity has almost entirely disappeared. I have
often wondered why men in speaking on religious subjects should
dismiss their natural voice, and assume an unnatural tone. I have
always thought the religion of our Lord Jesus Christ the most manly
creed in the universe, and why men should not talk about it in a
manly fashion is a standing mystery to jne. It would appear to me that
the perfection of manner of delivery would be that of high conversa-
tion, subdued or animated by the solemnity or elevation of the theme.
The Methodists of fifty years ago were, as a rule, more emotional
than they now are. It would appear that the increase of culture
diminishes the potency of emotionalism in religion as in other things.
The more men are dominated by reason, the less liable are they to
sudden and sweeping eruptions of feeling. But it is open to doubt
whether appeal and application a^e as close and sustained and search-
ing now as then. We cannot afford to part with any qua'ity in our
sermons that is really good. I'ire and finish are not antagonistic.
The notes of urgency and certainty must still be sounded forth. In
the pulpit some men burn. They give out much warmth, but little
wisdom. Others shine ; there is no lack of light, but a plentiful lack
of heat. Let it be ours to be what John the Baptist was : " A burning
and a shining light."
"octogenarian."
.M.i^NO TllK C, T. R S\-STEM.
6D2
Acta Victoriana.
Which Is Fittest?
SOLOMON'S treatise on Botany has never been discovered. That
he had one is evident from the fact that " He discoursed of
trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop
that springeth out of the wall" (i Kings 4. 33). The boundaries of
his flora are not ours by a very long way. His largest, the cedar of
Lebanon, would be very small indeed beside a Californian Sequoia.
His hyssop on the wall would be gigantic compared with one of our
single-celled micrococci.
The number of planets known to him would be probably about four
or five hundred. Multiply this by a thousand and you will still be
below the number of our named species.
Some years ago a writer imagined all the members of the animal
kingdom placed in a line according to relative sizes. This vast
procession, headed by the Behemoth and with an unicellular infusorian
as rear-guard, gave an insect of the proportions of the common house-
fly the middle place. That is, the Behemoth is as much larger than
the fly as it is than the infusorian. Then he turned his attention to
plant life, and by instituting a similar comparison, judged that the
giants of Calfornia are as much larger than that small moss {Funaria
hygromeirica), about three inches high, than it is larger than Proto-
coccus. So he called this moss the mean as to size.
To some, such investigations may appear too fanciful for any utility,
but can anything that gives us life in true perspective be wholly without
value ? We think not and, therefore, venture to ask your considera-
tion of a topic that, though like the foregoing, devoid of material
value, is yet rich in those quaint qualities that make nature study so
enticing.
We propose to discuss the question : Which of all the plants
known to us in Canada is the fittest to live ? By this we mean, which
fulfils the aims of its being most efficiently ?
In order to do this, it is first necessary to get a clear understanding
of the objects for which a plant exists. We think all will concede
Acta Victoriana. 603
that the first of these is merely to live and, perhaps, also none will dis-
pute, that the second is to reproduce itself, so that its posterity may
live also. The plant's usefulness to man and to the rest of the animal
world is merely incidental, and does not figure in the discussion as to
its perfection as an organism.
With these two desiderata in view, and that we may economize time
and get into the heart of our subject at once, let us introduce to our
readers, that peer among its fellows — the much-maligned Canada
thistle, " What ! " cries some champion of the aesthetic : " Dare you
give this vulgar weed precedence of the rose, the carnation or the
sweet pea ? " Surely, for these are but drawing-room heroes — like
the arm-chair Commodores of the Russian fleet compared to the get-
there Togos and Kammimura.
We may all probably unite in the wish that the thistle did not exist.
but that does not discount its sturdy qualities that are the determin-
ing factors in its doing so and that make it the conqueror in many a
day of difficulty. Let us, then, consider its points of pre-eminence.
Woven into its fabric there is a quality of hardiness which enables
it, though an herb, to brave our winters and live on, year alter year,
forcing every soil to pay tribute to its needs, and defying any stress of
drought, or excess of moisture, to interfere with the fulfilment of its
purposes. What the Briton is to the human family, the thistle is to
the herbal.
It takes a generous grasp upon the soil, spreading its rootlets like
the tentacles of an octopus. Tnere are other plants equal to it in
this regard, but in drawing our final conclusions we must form an
opinion from the combination and not the individual points.
Plants are open to many dangers, many trials and vicissitudes,
many foes who seek their destruction. There are the weather perils,
felt most by young plants that have sprung from germinating seeds of
the early autumn. How admirably the thistle takes advantage of the
warm bosom of mother earth. The wee plant places its leaves in a
circle flat on the ground, so that radiating warmth will sustain it
against the frosts of fall and spring. This lowly attitude gives it also
the full benefit of winter's snow-robe, that folds it close from Boreas's
nipping winds. It also secures for the young thistle a plant-million-
aire's share of the sunlight and permits it to cover over and smother
out a multitude of other plantlets, while it is making chlorophyll for
itself, that life blood which is to give to it its conquering qualities.
The dandelion, the mullein, and many other plants cling to the earth
in similar fashion, but lack other distinguishing qualities of the thistle.
6o4 Acia Victor iana.
Piants are the assimilators of the mineral for the benefit of the
animal. Without the plant the animal could not be ; therefore, the
j)lant forms a large part of the animal's dietary. This fact is a dire
menace to the plant's existence, and it is driven, in self-defence, to
many an expedient. The dandelion arms itself with a bitter milky
juice, disagreeable to the taste. The mints and mustards store up
aromatic and pungent principles. Some plants have emetic and
poisonous effects, so that the eating of them furnishes an experience
which soon becomes a lesson learned. Oar thistle has a device of its
own. It adorns its foliage with needlepoint prickles that nothing
but a donkey's maw can withstand. You will, therefore, frequently
see fi;lJs cropped short of every other herb, while the thistle remains
in undisturbed possession. These prickles serve yet another purpose.
Not only do they defend from the herbivorce, but from the pilfering
ant, who is always on the look-out for sweets, and would rob our thistle
flowers of the nectar stored by for other purposes, were they not
warned off by -these barbed-wire entanglements.
Second only to the sustenance of itself is the reproduction and care
of its kind. In this connection our thistle shines. Plant efforts in the
behalf of their young are very various and most interesting. As cross-
fertilization is highly beneficial and necessary to the resistance of
degeneration, many devices are used to this end. The wind, birds
and insects are all pressed into service, especially the last two, to
become attractive to whom, is quite an object in plant life.
As decoys for these useful admirers they use many little harmless
coquetries ; adorn themselves in pleasing colors, issue perfumed notes
of invitation ; provide five o'clocks of nectarine, and it is all one to
them whether their guests are the clumsy bumble-bee, or those keepers
of bad hours, the night-flying hawk moths. The thistle is the front in
this regard. Having naturally a very small flower, it adopts the
principle that "union is strength," and so combines a thousand of
its flowerets into one big head, and flaunts 't forth like bunting in the
breeze. Bees like color ; but, gourmands as they are, they like still
better the honeyed smells and nectar juices which the thistle plenti
fully provides. Wherever you see thistle flowers on a sunny day, you
will also see bees, and it is these that the thistle wants. With their
great woolly heads they brush up and carry to the next thistle fl'Ower
a plentiful supply of pollen. The clever thistle has thus effected its
cross-fertilization.
Then, when the seeds are formed and ripened, they must be
advantageously placed that they may have a good start in life. Some
Ac^a l^ictoriana. 605
plants drop their seeds straight to the ground. These germinate in
dense clumps, resulting in a family choking contest, in which most
are destroyed or crippled. Many devices to prevent this are adopted.
Some, like the burr, beset themselves with little hook-like claws and
catch on to every animal (or pant-leg) that goes their way. Some,
like the Touch-me-not, provide a spring that comes to its greatest
tension just when the seeds are ripe, and with a snap sends them
yards away. Others pack their seeds inside a delicate morsel, appetizing
to birds or other animals (berries, fruits, etc., are examples), and these
become the transportation facilities whereby broad distribution is
made. Some depend on atmospheric currents and furnish their
offspring with tiny air-ships, by means of which they may take
advantage of the breezes. The maple keys that are so noticeable on
our avenues in the spring, are a sample of the cruder navigators ; but
the dandelion and the thistle are the master-designers of botanical
aeroplanes. The airy, fairy thistle-down parachute, with its burden of
a single seed, may be started on a journey of miles by the slightest
puff of summer air. Its resting place is determined generally by a
summer shower. The parachute becomes wet and falls, with the seed,
to the earth, forming a covering till its little passenger has sprouted
into life. Nothing can be more refined than this Dumont-like
characteristic of our Canada thistle.
We quite recognize that the thistle has strong rivals. One of the most
formidable is the dandelion. Yet, after acknowledging the latter's strong
points, we think the thistle wins because of its superior defences.
Another very interesting competitor is the ox-eye daisy. It falls
short in the transportation of its seeds, but almost equals the thistle
in its defensive methods, as it substitutes for prickles a stinging
aromatic foliage. In attractive qualities it goes the thistle one better.
Not only does it combine the insignificant single flowerets into a
charming cluster bloom, but it devotes the outer row of these to
sterility, in order that they may bend all their energies (for the
common good) into being gay. Just note the corolla-like crown of
petal-shaped flowerets that surround the fruitful yellow centre, which,
by their contrasted beauty, captivate the fancy of the'r insect friends.
This attribute of the daisy counts high, but what it scores in this
direction it loses on other points of comparison.
Success with us, as well as with the plant, depends on efficiency.
The modest qualities of sterling worth that stand the stress and strain
of adversity are of more value to us and our fellows than those
ostentatious gifts and graces to which the superficial world gives its
applause. j. h. b.
6o6 Ada Vicioi^iana.
Forestry at Yale
BY F. JACOMBE, '96.
TO the Student of the University of Toronto, the month of
Alay brings the time of " sweating," metaphorically speak-
ing, under the burden of examinations; to the student of the
Yale Forest School that month brings a time of sweating, in an
entirely literal sense, in the performance of duties imposed by
the school's curriculum, namely, tree-planting. This is a part
of forestry work that annually falls to the lot of the junior class
of the institution as a part of the course in forest seeding and
planting, and is one of the " practical " parts of the instruction.
The tract on which the planting is done is known as the ]\Ialtby
Lakes tract, and is owned by the Xew Haven Water Co. There
are on it several miniature lakes, from which it gets its name,
and it is equally well, or better, marked by a number of out-
crops of rock of an exceedingly hard nature. Owing to the
nature of the ground our planting had to be done with mattocks,
for the rock, as may be imagined, was not far from the surface ;
in fact, sometimes a stranger approaching from the distance
would be inclined to think, from the sound, that a number of
men were chopping trees, instead of making unavailing efforts
to split rocks. A mattock, it may be explained, is a sort of cross
between a hoe and a pickaxe, and looks like a larger and good
deal heavier edition of a carpenter's adze. Perhaps, at the
beginning of his work, one may know the mattock only from
having seen pictures of it in books, but ere the work is finished,
he knows its feel, its weight (especially toward the end of the
day), its use and, probably, its capacity to raise blisters.
This, however, is but a part of the field work which a course
in forestry includes. In the fall and spring terms half a day
per week is devoted to field trips in dendrology, i.e., trampii%
through the woods and learning to recognize the different
species of trees directly from actual specimens. At first sight
this looks like pure fun, and there is certainly a great deal of
pleasure in tramping through the woods on a pleasant autumn
morning. But, incidentally, you have pointed to you on each
trip some twenty or twenty-five species of trees, and to remember
the distinctions between these and to be able to name, on the
instant, the species of the tree pointed out by the insructor, is
not always as easy as it may look, especially as the term wears
on and the number of species increases.
Acta Victoriaiia. 607
Moreover, when you have been out for a four hours' tramp,
from 8.30 a.m. till 12.30, and then hustle off after dinner to a
2 o'clock lecture in a warm lecture room, it isn't human nature
to sit throughout that lecture bolt upright and constantly alert,
and it is to be feared that the professor of physiography found
the junior foresters somewhat inattentive at Monday afternoon's
lectures ; for the most part half of them were asleep or nodding,
while the other half, greatly amused, spent much of the time
in watching the first half. As often as not, by the way, work
begins at 8.30 in the morning, a somewhat early hour for one
who, in his undergrad days, was wont to think a nine o'clock
lecture quite early enough.
At the close of the fall term's work, that is to say, a few days
before Christmas, comes the final test of the term's work in
this subject, and as an experience in examinations it is quite
unique. The class meets some winter morning at " The Green,"
in the centre of the city, and takes a ride on the electric railway
a few miles out of the city to some spot previously decided upon
by the professor in charge ; an instructor also accompanies the
party. Each student has provided himself with slips of paper.
The professor goes ahead of the party and points out, trees he
wishes identified ; the student writes on the slip of paper the
name of the tree which he thinks the specimen is, signs his
name and hands the slip over to the instructor. When the class
of 1906 took this exam., the ground was covered with a couple
of feet of snow, and through this we had all to flounder. The
professor greatly enjo}-s speaking of the strenuous times other
classes have had in these examinations. The exam, one year was
held in a heavy snowstorm, while on another occasion, on account
of an ice-storm just previous to the examination, the men had
to suck the ice oft' the twigs of the trees in order to get a good
"sight of the buds, from which they are trained to identify the
trees.
This, by no means, concludes the tale of practical work. The
work of the junior year (the course is a two-year one) begins
in the beginning of July at Mil ford, Pa., where part of the school
buildings are located. Here work is taken up right in the woods,
and a common remark of the lecturer is " Now, gentlemen, we'll
just go out and see this thing I have been talking about."
Throug-hout this summer term the men live in 'tents ; the term
lasts until the middle of September, and is an extremely happy
joining of work and summer holiday in the woods. A full
description would require a whole article. The work here con-
6o8 Ada Victoriana.
sists of Forest ^Mensuration and Silviculture. Under Forest
Mensuration are included the study of the growth of trees, meas-
uring their height and estimating their volume, valuing areas of
standing timber and other such subjects. Silviculture includes
the study of the natural environment of the trees and their con-
dition of growth and, on its practical side, the methods of treat-
ing woodland.
A summer school for those contemplating taking up forestry
as a profession, teachers and others is held at the same time as
the summer term.
In the fall term of the junior year. too. three days a week are
given to field work in surveying, which, in the beautiful weather
that prevailed last autumn, was most enjoyable, while, in the fall
term of the senior year the work at New Haven lasts only till-
Thanksgiving time, after which the seniors are sent out into the
lumber camps for three weeks or more to study lumbering at
first hand. The entire spring term in the senior year, the last
term which the seniors have to put in, is spent down at Milford,
Pa., and the men are engaged at actual work in the woods,
similar to that which they will have when they go into the
actual practice of forestry.
A word as to the distinctive work of the forester. Of the
part in the training of the forester that is occupied by the study
of lumbering and various subjects intimately related to lumber-
ing and by the study of surveying and other subjects belonging
more particularly to the work of an engineer, I shall have
occasion to speak again. Yet Canada has had lumbermen and
engineers for decades, but is onh' starting to employ foresters.
Wherein lies the forester's special work ?
The forester is concerned with trees, it is true, but not with
all trees in all places. The trees growing in parks and along
roadsides have little or no interest for him. in his capacity as a
forester, except for secondary uses, such as the crop of seeds
to be obtained from them ; and this, too, even though the trees
referred to are maple, oak and other species otherwise valuable
to him. The trees that do interest him. however, are trees
growing in a forest which are of use for some economic purpose
of which benefit such species as are of enonomic use ; thus,
underbrush, of no value in itself, may be useful to trees which,
in their earlier years, require more or less protection, and so
may meet the latter requirement.
The most important economic use of the tree, of course, is for
lumber. Regarded from the ?esthetic standpoint, a tree may be
Ada Victoriana. 609
"a thing of beauty/' and '"a joy forever" ; its form may be a poem
in itself, and yet the tree may be of Uttle value to the forester.
Such a tree will probably branch profusely and branch, say, eight
or ten feet from the ground ; and the consequence of this will
be that you cannot get a half-decent log out of the tree, and the
only use that can be made of it will be for fuel, and its consequent
use to the sons of men and its pecuniary value will be greatly
reduced. Granting that this last sentence has a most mercenary
ring to it and smacks hopelessly of the Philistine, yet consider
the immense use of wood in building the homes of men and the
furnishings thereof; and consider how many beautiful trees had
to be felled in order that you, with the object of penning an indig-
nant protest against such vandalism, drew a wooden chair up to
your wooden desk and took in hand your pen (the handle of
which was wooden) and wrote on paper (made of wood pulp),
and, when the burning words were penned, put on your shoes
(made of leather, tanned with the bark of hemlock) and posted
your letter, to be whirled (in cars mostly made of wood) to its
destination. And these are a very few of the uses of wood.
Such trees as I referred to the lumbermen have felled wher-
ever they were to be fovmd ; and now that the}- are almost all gone
comes the question, '' Where is our future supply to come from?"
On the answer to that question hangs the whole question of
forestry. Trees will spring up again, after a fashion, if nature
is simply left alone; but nature will vastly improve her produc-
tions if she is given a little assistance to that end. ]\Iost of the
cereals have been known for centuries ; but, had men simply left
nature alone, the supply of cereals would have been vastly
smaller and of worse quality. So nature, given a little assistance,
can grow more trees, and those of better quality, than if left
. alone. The results of the past century and a half of scientific
forestrv in Europe are sufficient to validate such a statement.
Thus the distinctive work of the forester is the establishment
and tending of the forest until it is ripe for the harvest. He
must know how his forest starts and how to start it (when that
is necessary), the various ways of sowing the seed over the area
to be dealt with, or, if advisable, of planting young trees on it,
or, if the forest is reproducing itself naturally, the best means of
treating these young trees, so as to get them to give the best
results. Having got his forest started, he must know the various
ways of treating it and when to use each, as well as how to pro-
tect it against its many enemies, such as insects and fungi, wind
and water, frost, and, worst of all, fire.
6!0 Acta Victoria^ia.
Not only so, but he must look also on the business side of his
work, for his duty is not only to care for the tree until it is
large enough to harvest, but also to harvest it in the best condi-
tion, take it to the market in the most advantageous way, and
get the best price for it. The financial aspect of the question
confronts the forester at every turn, froiu the time he has to
decide upon the best and cheapest method of sowing or planting
his trees until he comes to harvest the tree and see that he gets
the best current price for the timber. For the most part, this
business side of the work is left until the second year, when
the subjects of forest management, lumbering, lumber markets,
and preservation of timber are taken up. Forest technology, i.e.,
the consideration of the peculiarities in make-up of different
woods, their strength and their adaptation to different purposes
is also a part of the work of this year.
There is yet another side to the forester's training. Much
theoretical work has to be done, and of this, naturally, the
greatest part comes in the first year. The student receives a
thorough training in botany; in addition to the forest botany or
dendrology, courses are given in plant morphology, in plant
histology and cytology and in plant physiology. Of these
some, such as the morphology and the physiology, are
regularly offered in the graduate school ; others are given in the
forest school only. Throughout the year there is given a
course in physiography, which has special reference to the
physiography of the United States, and which also includes a
study of soils, with the preparation ot a soil map of a given
area near the city. A course in entomology also teaches of the
various insect enemies of forest trees. Courses in surveying,
map drawing and road construction are also given, in order to
enable the forester, without the need of outside assistance, to
deal with various engineering problems that will confront him
in dealing with the tract of forest under his control. The
minimum tract under the control of a head forester in Germany
is, I believe, 10,000 acres; on this continent forestry will have
to make great advances before the forester of equivalent rank
gets off with any such little patch as this to manage.
As to the school itself, it is the youngest of the departments
of Yale University. It was founded in 1900 — just five years
ago — by the gift of $150,000 from Mr. arid Mrs. James W. Pin-
chot, and their sons, Gift'ord Pinchot and Amos R. E. Pinchot.
Mr. Gifford Pinchot is now, by the way. at the head of the
United States Forest Service. The endowment has since been
Acta Victormna. 6ii
increased by the donors to $200,000. This provides not only
for the school at New Haven, but also for the summer home
of the school at Milford, Pa. The building certainly does not,
at first glance, give one the idea of a school; it was originally
the residence of the late Professor O. C. Marsh, the well-known
geologist.
The Forest School is one of the graduate schools of the uni-
versity, and the regulations provide that, in order to obtain
the degree of i\I. F. (Master of Forestry) at the close of his
two-year course, the candidate mvtst have a degree on entrance.
No particular degree is stated, and the class of 1906, for instance,
numbers among its members bachelors and masters of arts,
science, philosophy, agriculture and law. Naturally the large
majority of the students are citizens of the United States, but
there are also in attendance at the present time three subjects
of His Gracious 3ilajesty King Edward VH., namely, two
Canadians and a South African. The last is Mr. G. A. Wilmot,
of Cape Colony ; the other Canadian besides the writer is Mr.
A. H. D. Ross, M.A. (Queen's), late head master of Tillsonburg
High School. Students who have not a degree receive, on com-
pleting the course, the diploma of the college, certifying to their
proficiency in the subjects in which they have passed the ex-
amination. If a student has had a thorough training in botany,
geology and mathematics, it is possible, by the very hardest kind
of work, to do almost all the work in one year, but I shouldn't
advise anvone to take this course.
ALONG THE G. T. R. SYSTEM.
5
xxvni. cAda ^idoriana. no s
EDITORIAL STAFF, 1 904- 1 905.
H. H. Cragg, '05. - - - - Editor-in-Chief.
Miss E. H. Patterson, '05 1 j j. Miss E M. Keys, '06. Itqc-i-
A. E. Elliott. -05 |i.iterary. D. A. Hewitt. '06. ^i-ocals.
-J. S. Bennett, '05. Personals and Exchanges.
W. A.. GiFFORD, B.A.. Missionary and Religious.
F. C. Bowman, '06, Scientific. M. C. Lane. '06, Athletics.
BOARD OF management:
E. W. Morgan, '05, . . . . Business Manager.
J. N. Tribble.'07, H. F. Woodsworth, '07.
Assistant Business Manager. Secretary.
Advisory Committee :
Prof. L. E. Horning, M.A., Ph.D. C. C. James, M..A..
Deputy Minister of Agriculture.
TERMS: $1.00 A YEAR: SINGLE COPIES, 15 CENTS.
Contributions and exchanges should be sent to H. H CRAGtJ. Editor-
in-Chief, Acta Victoriana ; business communications to E. W. Morg.\n,
Business Manager Acta Victoriana, Victoria University, Toronto.
Ebitorial
Victoria Alumni
ON the removal of Victoria from Cobourg to Toronto the
alumni gathered in goodly numbers, and seemed to have
transferred their old time loyalty to the Alumni Association from the
old pile of blessed memory to the new college in the Park. But it
would seem that curiosity and a desire to see the new building must
have been a controlling influence, for year by year the interest slack-
ened and the attendance diminished until, apparently, life went out.
Some half-dozen years of inactivity have succeeded. Of late, how-
ever, there have been questionings and suggestions, and some of the
older graduates have thought that the time for revival has arrived. Per-
haps the increasing activity in University matters manifest in so many
directions has had something to do with these stirrings to new life.
Be that as it may, a call was made for the resident graduates to come
together, and in spite of many other attractions some thirty assembled
in the Library. Prof. Bain occupied the chair, and Mr. C. C. James
acted as secretary, in continuance of a former appointmen^.
The following resolutions were passed :
I. That this meeting hereby authorizes the calling of a meeting of the Alun.ni
Association in the fall of this vear.
Ada Victoriana. 6i
3
2. That three committees be formed — a Education Committee, a Legislation
Committee, and an Historical Committee, to exercise general supervision on behalf
of the Alumni of Victoria College over such matters as may pertain to each com-
mittee, and to report to the next meeting of the Alumni Association, and thereafter
from time to time.
3. That these committees consist of the following gentlemen, with power to ad 1
to their number :
Edtuation CovimitUe — Rev. James Allen (Convener), Dr. D. J. Goggin, Dr. L.
E. Horning, Mr. Y. C. Colbeck.
Legislation Committee — Mr. E. B. Ryckman (Convener), Mr. Justice Maclaren,
Mr. C. W. Kerr, Mr. J. R. L. Starr.
Historical Committee — l\Ir. C. C. James (Convener), Dr. W. H. Withrow, Mr.
R. J. Clark, Mr. E. W. Grange.
4. The Historical Committee are authorized to collect information as to the
alumni, and to publ'sh the same as a separate publication.
5. The officers were authorized to have a luncheon or dinner in connection with
the next meeting, the place of holding same to be decided by the officers.
6. The Alumnae Association are to be asked to co-operate with this Alumni
Association in the meeting to be held and the work to be undertaken by the
committees.
Acta Victoriana hopes that the revival may be permanent, and
that the new Hfe of the Association may be even better and more
helpful than the past, and suggests that the graduates of recent
years throw themselves heartily into this movement which may do a
great deal to develop our College : for in our opinion the best interests
of the University of Toronto are to be attained by the growth and up-
building of the various colleges, each in its own peculiar line of
work and expansion.
University Problems
During the session just ended the University of Toronto has been
very much before the public. The result of the work of the com-
mission has been several suggestions to the Government in regard to
the President's duties. As an indirect result, the Grdauates' Club,
representing the City of Toronto Alumni, has been stirred up to make
certain proposals looking to the strengthening of the Alma Mater.
With some of these proposals, as outlined in the Glob: of June 6th,
we are in full sympathy. For instance, when it is proposed to cut
loose, in large part, from the Government, a suggestion is made that
would seem to remove all possibility of the baleful influence of party
poli'ics in the making of appointments. Again, as this is a democratic
country, and as fhe graduates are directly the constituency to which
the University must appeal for support, there can hardly be an
objection to the graduates being represented upon the Board of
6 1 4 A eta Victoriana .
Trustees. They ought to be the persons most capable of choosing
men who will most wisely safeguard all the University interests.
There is also no reasonable doubt that the Senate needs reforming,
for 'X is now an unwieldy and heterogeneous body. What is suggested
as to the duties of College Councils is in the right direction, and is
what the various colleges are doing.
There are, however, some points which must be very carefully
thought over and some lines alon^ which action must be slow. For
instance, it would be subversive of the best interests of the University
to disenfranchise the members of the Faculty so completely as is
proposed. There can be no doubt that the good name and fame of
the University is in the hands of her Faculty, University and College
combined. Muzzle the members in any way or reduce them to the
rank of hired men who must not have an opinion on pain of losing
their places, and all proper ambition must at once cease. The idea
does prevail in some quarters that all a Professor has to do is to teach
and in all things else keep silence. That opinion prevails widely and
affects the status of all classes of teachers, in Ontario at least. It is
the underlying cause of the poor teachers, so much complained of on
all hands. And above all, there must be no muzzling of the Faculty
in the matter of the curriculum of studies. To have to submit every
change, no matter how small, to a Board of Trustees, who cannot in
the nature of things be conversant with all the details of each depart-
ment, would be at once to make it impossible to be up-to-date in work ;
and if the University cannot be abreast of the times there is only one
other position which can be occupied. That no one desires. Who-
ever is appointed to the Faculty must be a man to be trusted and
must have a certain trust reposed in him, else he will soon become
inefficient. There is a better division than that proposed by the
graduates of Toronto as to the duties of Board of Trustees, Senate
and College Council, respectively, and one which will not induce con-
flict of prerogative and authority. The Senate needs to be reformed,
but the right reform has not been suggested as yet. Centralization of
all powers in a Board cf Trustees, be they never so wise, would be
very far from the ideal.
Suggestion is made that some colleges have too many privileges.
What that means is not too clear, though its purport can be guessed.
Very possibly the next University Act will see the relation of the
various colleges to the University changed in some points. One
ought to be the clear separation of University College fron» the
University, as it is termed in ihe Act. Put fully on a par with
Victoria and Trinity, each having its own set of officers as distinct
Acta Victoj'iana. 615
from those of the University, good will come to University College,
and not evil. Ontario has really room for only one large University,
which must be progressive and abreast of the times. Endow that
richly, make it easy and agreeable for each outstanding college to
join forces with the State University ; give the Faculty a voice, and a
large voice in the shaping of the educational interests of the Univer
sity, and thus of the country, and the graduates will not need to be
ashamed of their Alma Mater.
And now we come to the time when we must lay
FAREWELL, down this task and see others assume it. In doing
so we desire to thank all those who have rendered us
assistance in any way during the year. It has been encouraging to
receive many words of commendation on our work. Our sister
journals in the colleges of the United States and Canada have almost
without exception kindly awarded us a place in the front rank ; and
many of our subscribers have sent us letters which have been a great
inspiration. The following from Dr. H. F. Biggar, of Cleveland, Ohio,
who graduated from " Old Vic." in '63, will give some idea of the esteem
in which Acta is held by many of our most distinguished readers.
My Dear Sir, — Enclosed kindl\- find check for ten dollars (fio.oo) for Acta
ViCTORlANA. The Christmas number is exceedingly good. The contributions are
scholarly, instructive and interesting, and the artistic feature is beyond criticism. I
del our every page from the beginning to the end of each number. I loan them
to a few of my friends, who are grateful for the privilege of perusing them, and
appreciate their worth. Dear old Vic., Ood bless her. With best wishes to all of
you, believe me,
Yours very cordially,
H. F. BiGGAK, '63.
Those who have ever served on Acta in the positions of most
importance will heartily agree that to produce a Journal which can
elicit such words requires time and labor of which few others have
any idea. But it requires more than that — money. Apparently many
of our readers do not realize that fact, to judge by the way they
neglect payment of subscriptions. Without any endowment, it is a
very hard task for a business manager to finance such a Journal and
attend to his college work. Indeed, we feel confident that if our
subs ribers had any conception of the demands upon his time and
thought, they would try to assist him by at least being prompt in
meeting their obligation to the Journal. And we trust that this
reference will not only lead those who have been negligent to pay up
arrears, but will induce all to give a hearly support to our successors
in their attemi t to keep dear " Old Vic." well to the front.
6i6
Acta Victoriana.
ERSONALS
EXCIiANGBS
WH. WOOD, 'oi, was, at the last meeting of the British
Club of Yale University, elected its president for the
coming year.
E. E. Craig, '96, has been appointed Assistant Pastor of the
First Congregational Church, Evanston, 111. Mr. Craig has just
finished a three years' course in the Hartford (Conn.) School of
Religious Pedagogy, and graduates this spring with the degree
of B. R. P. (Bachelor of Religious Pedagogy), He will take
up his new duties at once.
A. R. Ford, '03, writes us a note from which we gather the
following interesting item : A re-union of the following former
A^ictoria students was held in New York City, May Day: ]SIisses
Dingwall, A. G. Scott and Mary Jeffery, and ^Messrs. J. H.
Wallace and A. R. Ford. The irrepressible and ubiquitous
Jimmy was as hilarious as ever, and figured as hero in several
exciting adventures. A. R. Ford acted as cicerone to the
party in their wanderings through the mystic mazes of Gotham.
Jimmy is at present holidaying in Toronto, where his cheerful
presence has added to the pleasure of several of '05's closing
festivities.
Rev. \'. J. Gilpin, '98, has been appointed pastor of the new
Unitarian Church at London, Ont.
Mr. R. J. Sprott, 'go, last year resigned his Chicago fellow-
ship, and has, since September, been principal of the Business
University, Vancouver, B.C.
Dr. J. W. ScHOOLEv, '63, of Welland, has been appointed
Associate Coroner for the County of Welland.
Rev. E. Ryersom Young, '93, of Port Carling, was awarded
the first prize for his story, " The Kneeling Deer," in the Short
Story Competition instituted by Bast and West.
Rev. E. a. Wicher, B.A., 95, M.A., B.D., at present minister
of St. Stephen's Church, St. John. N.B., has been invited to
take the chair of New Testament Exegesis and Literature in the
San Francisco Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church.
Acta Victoriana. 617
c W. H. Hamilton, '02, has left Winnipeg, and is now in in-
surance business in Fargo, South Dakota.
■ Howard Neville, '02, is in the offices of the Toronto Street
Railway Company.
Rev. E. N. Baker, B.A., 79, :M.A., "82, B.D., pastor of Broad-
way Tabernacle, this city, and Rev. E. A. Healy, B.A., '83, M.A.,
of Los Angelos, Cal., had the honorary degree, of Doctor of
Divinity conferred upon them at the convocation of Victoria
College, on Alay 2nd.
Queen's University has honored one of our graduates, Rev.
Eber Crummy, B.A., '87, B.Sc, by conferring upon him the
honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity.
The Class of '03 are arranging to hold a re-union next year,
for which the officers of the class are already preparing. Mem-
bers of the Class are requested to notify the president, Mr.
Russell Dingman, 136 Robert Street, Toronto, of any change of
address.
On Alarch 21st, at Toronto, Charles E. Treble, M.B., '01,
AI.D., ALC.R.S., was married to ]\Iiss Violet M. Patterson, of
this city. Mr. Treble was a member of the class of '98 at Vic-
toria, though he did not proceed to graduation, and in his
Sophomore year occupied the very important position of Presi-
dent of the Bob Committee.
C. C. James, B.A., '83, M.A., '86, Deputy Minister of Agri-
culture, was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada at
a recent meeting in Ottawa. Acta congratulates Mr. James on
his well-merited distinction.
W. G. Gates, '04, and A. R. Ford, '03, have severed their con-
nection with the Ottawa Journal and the New York Financial
Enquirer respectively, and are going west to engage in news-
paper work there.
J. H. Wallace, '03, is under appointment to go to China to
work among the literati under Y. :\I. C. A. auspices. He will
sail this fall for Nanking, where he will learn the language.
The college chapel was the scene of an event of more than
ordinary interest on the evening of May 15th, when Rev. Chan-
cellor Burwash united in marriage two popular members of
the class of '01, E. A. McCulloch, B.A., M.B., and Miss
Mercy Powell, B.A. -Acta extends to the young couple heartiest
good wishes. They will reside in Toronto, where Dr. McCulloch
has entered into partnership with his father-in-law, Dr. Powell.
6i8 Acta Victoriana.
The March number of The Missionary Bulletin contains the
following notice which wall be of interest to many : Married :
At H. B. M. Consulate-General at Yokahama, by H. B. M. Con-
sul-General J. C. Hall, Esq., on Tuesday, Nov. 8th, at lo a.m.,
and at 1 6 Tatsuoka-cho, Hongo, Tokyo, by Rev. C. J. L. Bates,
M.A., assisted by Rev. H. H. Coates, ^I.A., B.D., and Rev. Y.
Hiraiwa, on the same day, at four p.m.. Rev. Robert Cornell
Armstrong, B.A., of Hamamatsu, Enshu, Japan, and Miss
Ketha Winnifred Service, daughter of Rev. William Service, of
Harrowsmith, Ontario, Canada. Acta extends to Air. Arm-
strong, on behalf of his many \"ictoria friends, the very best
wishes for himself and wife.
On Wednesday, May lo, at the residence of the bride's father,
Mr. J. E. Boomer London, ]Miss Mina Gertrude Boomer was
married to Rev. Clayton J. Moorhouse, of Rutherford, London
Conference, Rev. Geo. Daniel, M.A., performing the ceremony.
We wish Clayton and his bride a useful and happy life.
The Secretary of the Class of 1905 requests that the members
acquaint him during the month of September with their ad-
dresses for next year, so that he may be enabled to keep an
accurate register of the members of the class. His address will
be John S. Bennett, Stanstead Wesleyan College, Stanstead, P.Q.
Obituary
On April i8th, at Fergus, there died W. H. Johnston, }>I.D.,
a member of the graduating class in medicine in '73.
Hamilton Meikle, M.D., formerly of Oakville, Ont., died
on March 21st at Emsworth, England. Dr. ]\Ieikle graduated
in '80.
Rev. J. Walker Shiltox, '87, passed away at his home in
Drayton on March 31st, after a year's illness, at the age of 53.
He entered the ministry of the Methodist Church in 1875, ^^^
has been earnest and successful in the work and much beloved
by those to whom he ministered.
James Adams Matthewson, the veteran wholesale grocer of
Montreal, who died on April 3rd, 1905, was one of the earliest
students of Upper Canada Academy, being enrolled in the
second year of its existence, 1837-38, and up to the latest period
of his life had a warm interest in the old institution. He was
born in Ireland in 1822, and in 1833 came to Montreal, where
Acta Victoriana. 6 1 9
his father established the wholesale house of which his son after-
wards became the head. Mr. Matthewson was a prominent mem-
ber of St. James Methodist Church.
On May 9, Heber N. Hoople, B.A., M.D., died at his home
in Brooklyn. Dr. Hoople was of a United Empire Loyalist
family in Stormont County, and graduated in Arts from Vic-
toria in 1878. After some years spent in teaching, he entered
the Toronto School of Medicine, and graduated in 1885. He
had, for many years, been surgeon of the eye and ear depart-
ment of various hospitals in New York City, and had written
many standard works on his specialty.
On May 14 there occurred the death of Mr. Orion J. JoUiffe,
M.A., for twenty years Classical Master of Ottawa Collegiate
Institute. He was the son of Rev. Wm. Jolliffe, was born at
Bowmanville in 185 1, and graduated from Victoria in 1876,
taking his M.A. degree in 1882. His ripe scholarship and peda-
gogic ability gave him a high place in his profession. He was
an active worker in the Dominion Methodist Church at Ottawa,
and filled the office of Superintendent of the Sunday School.
He is survived by a widow and six children.
One of Victoria's most distinguished alumni, and one of
Canada's greatest citizens, passed away on the morning of May
29, in the person of Hon. Wm. MacDougall, Senior Privy Coun-
cillor and one of the Fathers of Confederation. Mr. MacDougall
was born in York in 1822, and after receiving his education at
local schools and at Victoria University, entered the law office
of the late Hon. J. H. Price, was admitted as an attorney
and solicitor in 1847, and was called to the bar in 1862. Mr.
MacDougall had both inclination and talent for the work of
journalism, and in 1847 established the Canadian Farmer, and
in 1850 the North American, an independent journal of some-
what radical tendencies, which was merged in the Toronto Globe
in 1857, when Mr. MacDougall joined the editorial staff of that
paper. In 1858 he entered the political arena, being elected
member of Parliament for North Oxford. On the formation
of the Coalition Government, which resulted in confederation, he
was one of the two Reformers whom Hon. Geo. Brown took
with him into the cabinet. Assuming the ofiice of Provincial
Secretary, he was from the first an active promoter of union,
attending the confederation conferences at Charlottetown and
at Quebec. He was also present at the conference in London,
England, when the terms of the compact were finally agreed
620 Acta Victoriana.
upon. He was sworn in on July i, 1867, as one of the Queen's
Privy Council for Canada, and was appointed ^Minister of Public
Works in the government formed by Sir John A. ]\Iacdonald,
being created, at the same time. Companion of the Order of the
Bath, in recognition of his service in promoting confederation.
He was prominent in the negotiations leading to the acquisition
of the North-West, and became the first lieutenant-governor of
Rupert's Land and the North-West Territory in 1869. He was,
however, driven from the Territory by the partisans of Louis
Kiel. In 1871 he acted on the commission for delimiting On-
tario's north-west boundary, and in 1873 on a special commis-
sion to confer with imperial authorities on Canada's fisheries.
On his return to Canada he resumed the practice of law, but since
1890 has been an invalid. Throughout his political career, Mr.
MacDougall has shown political independence, statesman-like
ability, and unfailing devotion to Canadian interests. He was
married in 1845 to Miss Amelia Caroline Easton, who died in
1869. His second wife was Miss Mary Adelaide Beatty,
daughter of John Beatty, a former professor of Victoria Univer-
sity, at Cobourg.
Exchanges
We beg to acknowledge the receipt during the past year of
the following exchanges : Cornell Era, Harvard Monthly, Vale
Alumni JVeekly, Notre Dame Scholastic, Oxford Magazine,
Edinburgh Student, McMaster University Monthly, Acadia
Athenaeum, Dalhousie Gazette, Manitoba College Journal, Mitre,
t^resbyterian College Journal, Vox Wesleyana, Ahimnian, Var-
sity, Educational Monthly, East and West, McGill Outlook, Vox
Collegii, Queen's University Journal, 0. A. C. Review, Argosy,
Hya Yaka, Trinity University Revien', University of Oftazca
Review, Ontario Normal College Monthly, Allisonia.
ALONG THE G T. R. SYSTEM.
Acta Vicioriana.
621
^..>"^.
RELIGIOUS
The Hebrew Wisdom
REV. A. P. MISENER, M.A., B.D., LECTURER IN ORIENTAL LANGUAGhS,
VICTORIA UNIVERSITY.
I,
THE term Wisdom, which occurs so often in the Old Testament,
describes, apparently, a distinct direction of the Hebrew mind,
corresponding with what we should call the philosophy of other
nations. Wisdom Literature is the usual designation of those Hebrew
writings which deal not with the national law and life of Israel, but
with the moral and religious principles of all human life. The books
and psalms in which this philosophy (if such it may be called) is con-
tained, are : (a) of the canonical books, Job, certain Psalms (such as
8, 19. 29, 37, 49, 73, 90, 92, 103, 104, 107, 139, 147, 148), Proverbs
and Ecclesiastes ; {b) of the non-canonical, Ecclesiasticus (Ben Sira)
and the Wisdom of Solomon. This body of literature indicates a
direction of the ancient Hebrew thought, [ marked and powerful
enough to rank it along with the most remarkable characteristic of
of Israel, its prophecy — from which, however, it is to be sharply
distinguished.
IL
The first references to this trend of thought would seem to indicate
that it developed itself originally asan independent, intellectual move-
ment side by side with the religious one, in the form of a "half
poetical, half philosophical observation of nature." The Israelites,
like all other peoples, must have reflected, more or less, from the
time when they attained a settled civilization, on general questions
of life. The lowest forms of such reflection appear in popular proverbs
and fables, which express the result of ordinary, common-sense,
experience and observation. Such are Jotham's fable (Judges 9. 8-15)
and the proverbs cited in i Sam. 10. 12 ; 2 Sam. 5. 8 ; 20. 18, and
Jer. 31. 29.
622 Ada Victoriana.
In the Pentateuch, the Prophets and the Historical books the terms
Wisdom and the Wise frequently occur. The former, as here used,
presents a great variety of connotation, as : practical sagacity (Judges
5. 29 ; 2 Sam. 13. 3 : 14. 2 ; 20. 16); the skill of the artisan (Ex. 31.
3); wide acquaintance with facts (i Kings 4. 29-34); learning (Jer.
8. 9); skill in expounding secret things (Ezek. 28. 3); statesmanship
(Jer. 18. 18). Wise men are spoken of as a class by some of the
earlier prophets (Isa. 29. 14; Jer. 8. 8 ; 9. 11 ; 18. 18; Ezek. 7. 26);
but their wisdom lies in practical acquaintance with the affairs of the
state and of life. A fundamental difference between them and the
sages of Proverbs appears in the fact that the prophets are hostile to
them (Isa. 5. 21 ; 29. 14; Jer. 8. 8); they reproach the wise with
conceit and immorality. They were probably men of experience and
practical sagacity, whose views of public policy were opposed to those
of the prophets, and in this regard (according to the views of the
latter) they belong in the same category with the false prophets.
The " wisdom of the wise " in these early days concerned itself not
with universal human life, but with the political, legal and moral
questions of Israelitish policy. Later (as in Proverbs and Job) the
word gathered a deeper significance, and it is to this larger sense we
turn to find the ancient Jew's philosophy of life.
"The wise men" (using the term in its later meaning) "took for
granted the main postulates of Israel's creed, and applied themselves
rather to the observation of human character as such, seeking to
analyze conduct, studying action in its consequences, and establishing
morality upon the basis of principles common to humanity at large.
On account of their prevailing disregard of national points of view,
and their tendency to characterize and estimate human nature under
its most general aspects, they have been termed, not inappropriately,
the Humar.ists of Israel." The aim and function of the sage are
clearly described in Ecclus. 39. i-ii : the wise man, while he medi-
tates on the law of God, will search through the world for knowledge,
and will gain honor and renown among all men for his acute sayings
and his practical understanding. The sages in this later time seem
to have formed a distinct class which made the pursuit of Wisdom the
chief aim of life. It is probable that a sort of academic life gradually
established itself, for the wise men are alluded to in the Old Testa-
ment in terms which appear to show that they must have formed, if
not a school, yet a tolerably prominent class in ancient Israel. Just
how far they were influenced in their search for Wisdom by the
thought of other nations, it is difficult to say. We unfortunately
Acta Victoriana. 623
know nothing of early Persian literary life, and it is not probable that
the Jews came into intellectual contact with the Greeks before the
time of Alexander. Immediately after his death Greek schools
of philosophy sprang up abundantly in Egypt and Western Asia ; and
from them it seems probable that the Jewish sages got ideas which
colored their thought. No doubt they learned something of all
current science ; but they have left no full statements of their non-
religious opinions (there are hints in Ecclus. 43 and Wisdom 7).
Hence in studying their philosophy we are obliged to confine our-
selves to the main points of moral and religious thought.
Part of the thought of the Wisdom books they have in common
with preceding and contemporary literature, and this may be dis-
missed with a brief mention. " They inherited the belief in mono-
theism and in the practically unlimited character of the Divine attri-
butes pertaining to knowledge and power. For them, as for the
prophets, God is terrible to those who violate His commands (Job 15 ;
Prov. I. 20-37; Ecclus. 27. 29; Wisdom 5). They take monogamy
for granted, and recognize a well-ordered family life and all the
ordinary virtues. They retain the common view of man as being
made up of body and soul, and possessing conscience and freedom.
They retain the traditional sharp division of men into the two classes
of good and bad."
As to differences we have first to note the relatively non-national
character of the Hebrew Wisdom. It lays little stress on national
institutions, laws and hopes, but it holds to some extent to the moral
and religious superiority of Israel over other nations. The sacrificial
ritual is referred to a few times as an existing custom (as in Prov.
15. 8 ; Eccles. 5. i ; Ecclus. 34. iS-20), but rather with the purpose
of controlling it by moral considerations ; and faithfulness in the pay-
ment of tithes (Prov. 3. 9), and vows (Eccles. 5. 4) is enjoined. The
sages recognize the propriety of observing the custom, but do not put
it in the same category with obedience to moral principle. Such
things as circumcision and the Sabbath they take for granted, but find
no occasion to mention. They do not refer to the synagogue services.
They are silent, too, respecting Messianic hopes, their national
feelings seeming to recede before their philosophic and religious
devotion to viitue.
III.
When we come to the positive side of our enquiry and ask what the
Jewish conception of wisdom is, we find at the outset that it differs
624 Acta Victoriana.
in two important particulars from the Greek or any other secular
philosophy: first, in starting-point; and consequently, second, in
method. " Greek philosophy was the operation, '^or the result of the
operation- of the reason of man upon the sum of things. It threw the
entire universe into its crucible at once. It had to operate upon the
unresolved, unanalyzed whole. Its problem."was : given the complex
whole of existence to frame such a conception of it as shall be satis-
fying to the mind and contain an explanation within it. Its object
was to observe the streams of tendency, and, by following them up
against the current, to reach the one source which sent them all forth.
Thus to name God^was its latest achievement. But the problem of
the Hebrew Wisdom was quite different. // started with the analysis
already effected — effected so long ago, and with such firmness and
decisiveness, that the two elements, God and the world, stood apart
with a force of contrariety so direct that even the imagination could
not induce them to commingle or become confused. Hebrew thought
was at the source to begin with : and instead of following currents
upwards, it had the easier task of descending to' them, and seeing how
they subdivided and ramified, till they flowed under all things. Thus
the efforts of the wise man were not directed towai d the discovny of
God, whom he did not know. What occupied him everywhere was the
recognition of God, whom he kneiv. The Hebrew philosopher never
ascended from nature or life to God ; he always came down from
God upon life, and his wisdom consisted in detecting and observing
the verification of his principles of religion or morals in the world and
the life of men. Hence, the Proverbs of Solomon, or others of the
wise, are not popular sayings as proverbs are with us, shrewd or lively
condensations of human wisdom in the mere region of secular life.
They are for the most part embodiments of some truth of religion or
morals, statements of how such truths may be observed verifying
themselves in life and society" (Prof. A. B. Davidson). Or to put
this in another way : the Hebrew sage does 'not propose to himself
the abstract question, "What is truth?" and then pursue an indepen-
dent search for an answer through all the accessible categories of
human thought and knowledge. He begins .not with a question but
with a creed or an axiom. Given that there is a Supreme Being,
Creator and Sustainer of all things. Wisdom is to understand so far as
finite intelligence may, "the manifold adaptation and harmony, the
beauty and utility of His works and ways, and to turn our knowledge
of them to practical account. Wisdom is, in all the complex relations
of human life and conduct to know and do His will."
Acta Victoriana. 625
Tnis essential difference between the Wisdom of Israel and secular
philosophy had, of course, an effect upon the method. The Wisdom
had strictly no method. As a principle already known was observed
verifying itself in some form or other, that form was seized and set
apart in a single gnome or proverb. The Book of Proverbs, from the
tenth chapter onwards, is largely made up of such observations. Here
we have, perhaps, the most ancient proverbs, and they present us with
a nearer approach to reflective observation in a methodical way than
we find anywhere else. But the train of reflection being religious and
practical was usually set in motion only by something personal. Some
crisis in the religious life occurred, some point of God's dealing was
covered with obscurity ; and the wise man's mind threw itself upon
the problem with an energy and a passion which only a matter of life
and death could inspire. Hence, the Hebrew Wisdom is characterized
by a personal interest in the questions debated, very different from the
objective coldness of ordinary speculation, and by an earnestness
which has nothing in it of the gaiety of the Socratic banter.
Enough has now been said to make apparent the true nature of the
Hebrew Wisdom. It is essentially a " Divine philosophy, practical
rather than speculative, never attempting logic or metaphysics, but
contentedly remaining within the sphere of practical ethics." A view
of the universe, not as distinct from God, much less a view of God
distinct from the universe ; rather a view of the universe with God
indwelling in it. But the term Wisdom is used in various ways to
express modifications of this general idea. To the study of these we
may now turn.
IV.
In the first place the world, together with all its phenomena and
occurrences, may be looked at in an objective way, having no relation to
the mind of man as comprehending it, or taking up any moral position
in regard to it. All that is or that happens may be regarded as an
expression of the Divine will or efificiency. In short, God is the
reality behind every individual thing, whether in the physical world or
in the conscious life of man. The moral order of social life, the
rewards or punishments of conduct in prosperity or misfortune, human
reason, man himself — all these are but phenomena. This conception
we have in such expressions as "The blessing of the Lord maketh
rich, and labor addeth nothing therewith ; " " The ear which hears
and the eye which sees, God made them both." Perhaps its highest
generalization is seen in such gnomes as these : "The Lord made all
626 Acta Victoriana.
things answering to their end ; " " He hath made everything beautiful
in its timie; " " To everything there is a season, and a time to every
matter under the heaven." The thought in all these is not far to seek.
The world, as an orderly whole, is viewed as the expression of God's
mind ; it embodies and expresses God, His character, His thought and
His method. The world, with God immanent in it, considered in itself
as an objective thing, is Wisdom. This is the Divine Wisdom.
Hence the view so frequently expressed in Proverbs that true Wisdom
is with God alone. Only as He imparts himself to man does man
become wise. True Wisdom is beyond the reach of nwn's unaided
powers. He must search diligently for it. To be sure, he must make
full and honest use of his natural abilities ; but in doing so he must
not fail to recognize that Wisdom is the gift of God.
" If thou seek her as silver,
And search for her as for hid treasures :
Then shalt thou understand the fear of Yahweh,
And find the knowledge of God.
For Yahweh giveth Wisdom ;
Out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding."
This view of Wisdom, as that unity which forms the sum total of
the Divine manifestations, passes readily into a slight modification of
the general conception : " The world being a unity, animated by
Divine principles, of which all its phenomena are embodiments, these
principles may be regarded as an articulated, organized whole outside
of God himself, the expression of His mind, but having an existence
of its own alongside of God. The unity of thought and efficiency
that animates and operates the world, may be abstracted from Gcd,
the actual, living Operator. Thus there arises the conception of an
idea of the universe or world-plan, which, however, is not a mere
thought or purpose, but an efficiency as well. On account of the
powerful efficiency of God, this plan or organization of principles-
which is the expression of God's mind and power, may be idealized
and regarded as animated, and may have consciousness attributed to
it." Or to put this in simpler language. Wisdom, as a body of prin
ciples which most fully express God's mind and power, as having its
origin in God and realizing itself in creation, is looked upon as having
an existence of its own beside God, or in other words, is personified.
Hence it is viewed as Jehovah's artificer in creation. In this'work it
plays before Him in the intoxication of delight. Its play is creation.
" As it moves in grace and power before Him, its exquisitely "arlicu-
Acta Victoriana. 627
lated limbs and frame bearing themselves with a Divine harmony,
every movement embodies itself in some creative work." This is the
conception of Wisdom we have in Provetbs 8. 22 31.
" Jehovah possessed me in (or as) the beginning" of His way,
Before His works of old.
I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning,
Before the earth was.
When there were no depths, I was brought forth ;
When there were no fountains abounding with water.
Before the mountains were settled.
Before the hills was I brought forth ;
While as yet He had not made the earth, nor the fields,
Nor the first of the clods of the world.
When He established the heavens, there was I ;
When He set a circle upon the face of the deep :
When He made firm the skies above :
When the fountains of the deep became strong-,
When He gave to the sea its bound,
That the waters should not transgress His commandment.
When He marked out the foundations of the earth ;
Then I was by Him as a master workman ;
And I was daily His delight.
Rejoicing always before Him,
Rejoicing in His habitable earth ;
And my delight was with the sons of men."
A similar personification appears in the Wisdom of Solomon
9. 1-4, 10, where Solomon pleads with the Lord :
" O God of my fathers, and Lord who keepest thy mercy.
Who madest all things by thy word,
And by thy wisdom thou formedst man.
That he should have dominion over the creatures that were made
by thee.
And rule the world in equity and righteousness,
And execute judgment in uprightness of soul ;
Give me Wisdom, her that sitteth by thee on thy throne.
Send her forth out of the holy heavens.
And from the throne of thy glory bid her come,
That being present with me she may toil with me.
And that I may learn what is well-pleasing before thee."
This is the highest generalfzation of the term which we find, and it
forms the contribution of the Wisdom Literature to the Christology
of the Old Testament, presenting as it does a beautiful prophecy in
6
628 Acta Victoriana.
type of the cosmic significance of Christ as the Divine creative power,
a conception which St. Paul gives us in his epistle to the Colossians
(chap. I. 15-17), and St. John in the prologue of his gospel.
Under these general conceptions Wisdom is thus restricted to the
idea of the world as a moral and material order and harmony, ordained
and maintained by God, which it is man's wisdom, by God's aid, so to
comprehend as in it to understand and occupy his appointed place.
This brings us to another general conception of the term Wisdom.
Although this Divine Wisdom, as thus described, operates in all
thing?, and consequently in man no less than in other things, it was
not intended that it should lie outside 'of man's mind, or effectuate
itself in him unconsciously, as it does in other things. The difference
between him and them is, that he can understand the Divine Wisdom,
can by the free exercise of his will "■ throw himself into its current,
and thereby realize it in himself voluntarily." In other words, man
has the power to apprehend and assimilate the Divine Wisdom. Thus
his relation to it becomes twofold : (i) intelieciual, and (2) religious
or moral. He can both understand it and bring his will and conduct
in harmony with it. And this is Man's Wisdom. Thus we pass from
the conception of Wisdom as a universe with God everywhere opera-
tive in it, to a view in which it becomes a moral and religious factor
in the life of man. And it is not difficult to see how the Hebrew
mind would pass readily from the one conception to the other.
According to the Jewish mode of thought God directs the whole course
of nature and the whole life of man. As in the beginning the breath
of God gave life to man, so the Divine Wisdom, filling and ordering
all things, yet able to choose its own course, enters into the souls of
those who fear Him, and brings them into unison with his thought.
This conception, indicated in Prov. 2. 10 : "Wisdom shall enter into
thy heart, and knowledge shall be pleasant to thy soul," is also very
distinctly stated in Wisdom 1.4: " For unto a malicious soul wisdom
shall not enter, nor dwell in the body that is subject unto sin." The
idea of Wisdom here seems to be parallel with the Old Testament
idea of " spirit," viz., a life common to God and man, breathed into
man by 'God. And this conception is not "pantheistic ' in the
modern sense of the term. It seems rather to be — to use Professor
Toy's words — " an ethical and philosophical expansion and purifica-
tion of the old tribal and national idea of the unity of the Deity with
His people."
When we view the Hebrew Wisdom from this human standpoint,
and study the terms under which, as an attribute of man, it is more
A eta Vic to nana. 629
closely defined, we discover that it has everywhere both a theoretical
and a practical side. These, however, are rarely kept apart, for it is a
fundamental position of the sages that God's purpose can be compre-
hended only by those in harmony with it. To illustrate : Take the
frequently quoted proverb, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of
knowledge " (usually quoted " wisdom "). By examining the two
terms "fear" and "knowledge," we find that each had in the Jewish
thought both a theoretical and practical content. The former repre-
sents God as the source of all ethical authority and law, and reverent
obedience to Him as the true principle of life. The term goes back
historically to the dread which was felt in the presence of the powerful
and stern tribal or national deity. Semitic deities were generally con-
ceived of as lords and kings, exercising constant control over their
peoples, and punishing them for disobedience. This is the prevailing
attitude of the pious man throughout the Old Testament, only there is
a gradual growth in the meaning of the term from that of mere dread of
the Divine anger to that of reverence for the Divine law, although it
would seem that the term never entirely lost the coloring implied in
the word " fear." As one has very aptly said, "The Old Testament
ethical conception of life is not love of a moral ideal as the supreme
good, but regard for it as an ordination of the supreme authority : the
world is looked upon not as a household in which God and man are
co-workers, but as a realm in which God is king and man is subject."
The point of view, then, of the sage, when he uses this word, is, that he
who lives with reverent acknowledgment of God as lawgiver, will
have within his soul a permanent and efficient moral guide — a guide
which will lead him on to true knowledge of God. Thus the "fear of
the Lord" {i.e. the attitude of reverent acknowledgment of His
authority) is "the beginning" (the first essential, to an understanding)
of true "knowledge" (which is, of course, knowledge of God). But
this implies more than an attitude of soul., viz, acknowledgment of
God (the theoretical side) ; it involves also a direction of life, viz., the
putting forth of the life in active obedience to His will (the practical
side). Thus in this term "fear,' alone, there is both a theoretical
and a practical content. This is seen, too, in the term "knowledge."
By the forth-putting of the life in reverent acknowledgment of, and
obedience to God there comes the "knowledge" of God. But this
again is practical as well as theoretical. There could be no true
knowledge of God withoiat the effort to obey His will, for to be in
harmony with Him is surely necessary in order to know Him. Thus
these two terms both involve the idea of an attitude of soul (the
630 Acta Victoriana.
attitude of reverence for authority), and an activity of life (the activity
involved in obedience to the dictates of that authority). Hence the
very interesting fact that in the Hebrew Wisdom one set of terms
serves to express both the intellectual and the moral wisdom. The
"wise" man is the righteous man, the "fool" the godless. "Intel-
lectual terms that describe knowledge are moral terms that describe
life." " Behold the fear of the Lord that is wisdom, and to depart
from evil (that) is understanding."
Other terms, under which the general term Wisdom, on this human
side, is defined, look rather at the intellectual than at the practical
side. Such, for example, are : Understanding or intelligence, shrewd-
ness, sagacity, practical ability, power to steer the life — a nautical
term). Under these terms it seems to be regarded as an intellectual
power — the gift of God, to be sure — but subject to ordinary con-
ditions of training and growth, and to a certain extent under the
control of its possessor.
When looked at from this theoretical and practical side, which we
have termed the " Human Wisdom," it is difficult to say just what
department of modern thought this Wisdom most nearly resembles.
Still it will appear that the Hebrew sage collated the Divine and
human points of view. He began with certain conceptions of God,
His character and purposes, and His relations to the world and man.
What he observed in the world and in the life of man was God fulfill-
ing himself in many ways. Thus his doctrine of Wisdom came fo be
a doctrine of Providence in a wide sense. But his ideas of God and
of His plan were not discovered by him in the world (for to repeat
what was said at the beginning of our study, he did not argue from
the world back to God), thev were rather given him in the law, and
were, as we should say, '■'■ a priori''' principles, the verification of
which he sought in the world and life about him. And according to
the ways in which he saw these principles realized may be classified
the differant phases of Human Wisdom. To a brief study of these
we may now turn.
V.
It should, perhaps, be said with reference to this attempt at classifi-
cation, that it does not necessarily imply that the three forms which
will be indicated, follow one another historically. It is merely an
effort to show, in a general way, the different phases through which
the Human Wisdom passed as it viewed the question of the Divine
control of the world. One cannot always argue from the degree of
development of a truth in Scripture as to the exact era in history at
Ac fa Victoriana. 631
which It appeared, lor much may depend upon the power of the
writer, and the particular crisis of the people's history on which he is
commissioned to shed light. Then, too, we must always be ready to
recognize in Scripture an element which will not accommodate itself
to what we might consider beforehand would be the way in which
truth would develop itself. Hence, this effort to classify does not
necessarily decide the dates of the books mentioned.
To proceed to the classification, the first form of Wisdom is that
which has given us all those results of the s.iges' observation which
indicate an exact harmony between certain principles and their mani-
festation. The sage with certain " a priori" conceptions of God and
His relation to the world, looks out over life for an illustration of
these principles he holds, and he everywhere finds it. " The history
of events and of the life of man shows a perfect equation between
occurrence and principle. External providence and God as conceived
are in complete accord." That always happens which the principle
demands should happen. There are no exceptions. Naturally, in
such a view of the world the question of evil, and its consequences,
and its relation to God occupies a large place. So, too, do such
questions as those of human prudence, sense and intelligence. In
this phase of Wisdom there is no exception to the general law that it is
" well with the righteous and ill with the wicked." It is this phase,
which meets us in the Book of Proverbs, chaps. 10-22. To take a
few examples, " The fear of the Lord addeth length of days ; but the
years of the wicked shall be shortened" (10. 27); "Riches profit
nothing in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivereth from death "
(11. 4); " Behold the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth ;
much more the wicked and the sinner" (11. 31). Among these pro-
verbs (viz., chaps. 10. -22) there are a few which seem to lack any very
deep moral purpose, and are little else than the remarks of a keen
insight into the ways and motives of men. Most of them, however,
have a visible connection with higher principles and are either designed
to exhibit God as realizing himself in life and providence, or to show
the attitude which men should hold toward God and toward each
other, in view of the principles by which the world is governed. In
this phase of Wisdom the sage sees everywhere in life illustrations of
the principles he holds as to God's government of the world. Piety,
for example, appears here as the successful and most advantageous
course. Virtue is never unrewarded (10. 27 ; 16. 20). Misfortune
befalls only the ungodly (11. 31) ; for the pioufs it is only a passing
chastisement.
632 Ada Victoriana.
The second form in which wisdom appears presents a striking con-
trast to this former one. We now pass to the phase in which actual
experiences are diametrically opposed to the principles held, a period
in which'^^there arises a deadly struggle between the mind filled with
principles, and phenomena in providence which seem to contradict
them. God's external providence is found to be out of harmony with
the necessary conception of God, and there arises a deep problem for
religious faith. The wise man sees that in some cases the wicked
prosper, while the righteous beg for bread ; or in the larger national
sense, he sees God's chosen people Israel trampled into the dust by
the gigantic idolatries of the heathen world. What of his principle
now, that it is well with the righteous and ill with the wicked ? To
the Oriental mind this contradiction between principle and occurrence
was a very grave problem, for it had no third term to place between
God and the world by which to solve its difficulty, or, as we should say,
it had no idea of "secondary causes." In the Jewish way of think-
ing, God and history, God and occurrences were in immediate con-
nection. " Godjdid all that was done and did it immediately." Hence
the perplexity. To the solution of it the ancient Hebrew addressed
himself with an energy which has produced the masterpiece of Old
Testament literature — the Book of Job. Other parts of Scripture where
this second form of Wisdom appears are such Psalms as 37, 39, 49 and
73. It is a study of engaging interest to work through the portions of
Scripture which bear the record of the sages' efforts to solve this prob-
lem of the Divine government, and to see how pious men were
enabled to accommodate themselves to the mystery ; what old prin-
ciple they fell back on ; what new insight into God's providence was
given them ; how sometimes the speculative darkness remained im-
penetrable and they sought to realize for themselves the consciousness
of God's presence in spite of it, " Nevertheless I am continually with
thee." Or, how again the wise men moved the difficulty along from
stage to stage until they pushed it across the borders of this life alto-
gether and the Wisdom became an Eschatology (as in the Book of
Wisdom). There is a deep pathos in all these efforts of the sage to
solve this distressing perplexity rising from the fact that when a
calamity befell him, accustomed as he was to see these principles
verify themselves in life externally, it not only raised a speculative
difficulty, but re-acted also on his personal relations with God, and
thiew a cloud over them. We shall look later at the various considera-
tions which the wise men offered to explain the seeming contradictions
in the Divine government. They were for the most part practical,
and scarcely touched the principle at all.
Acta Victoriana. 633
The third form of Wisdom is that which we have in the Book of
Ecclesiastes. The condition of things there seems to be this. All
the principles of Wisdom as it appears in Proverbs are still held. All
the problems cf the phase of Wisdom just discussed are also apparently
present, and in what seems to be a more aggravated form. But the
author here holds a different attitude toward them. He no longer
sets himself to the solution of the difficulties in a determined effort to
equate occurrences and principles. He rather sinks down with a
sense of complete human prostration in the face of difficulties which
cannot be solved, and addresses himself to utilize, as best he can, the
contradiction which he everywhere sees between principle and
occurrence. To use Davidson's words, " He was nearly carried away,
on the one hand, by a sense of dependence upon God and His over-
powering efficiency, which was abject ; and on the other, by a sense of
the crushing evils and mass of the world which was overwhelming ;
and between the two, human prostration was complete." An analysis
of a book so difficult to analyze as that of Ecclesiastes is, of course,
beyond the limits of this discussion. All that can be done here is to
indicate in the most general way the fundamental thought of the
writer ; but when this has been done and the book has been carefully
studied, I think it will appear to the reader that Dr. Davidson's estimate
of the particular phase of Wisdom it represents is well borne out.
There seems to be little question as to the fundamental thought of the
book. " All is vanity " is the constant and pessimistic wail of the
writer, and even if in the epilogue (if it be a part of the original book)
the " preacher " comes to a better thought of God and His dealing
with the world, it does not alter the fact that throughout the rest of
the book there is everywhere heard this plaintive note of human power-
lessness in the face of an overpowering efficiency which fills the world
with contradictions past man's understanding. And the note is so
persistent and is presented under so many forms as to make it evident
that this book marks a distinct phase of the sages' thought of the
Divine ordering of the world. In the first of a series of parallel argu-
ments under which the "preacher" treats his general theme, "All
is vanity," he tries to establish it as a fact that all that happens on
earth exhibits an iron law of cycle, in which certain passing phenomena
recur regularly (r. 3-ti). All man's efforts to discover a reasonable
ground for this arrangement come to nought (i. 12-18). The
" preacher " assures us that he has tried all kinds of expedients to
banish the pessimistic disposition produced by the above observation.
He has revelled in every species of enjoyment ; he has ^iven h mself
634 Acta Victoria7ia.
to the most laborious inventions. But all in vain (2. i-ii). God
has a plan for the world ; everything has its time and season. But
man cannot find out what this plan is, and hence, rarely orders his life
in accordance with it. He may think that a certain line of conduct
will produce a certain result ; but it may be quite different, so that
life may seem to be ruled by chance, not by law. And he is not
master of his own fate. God has ordained this, and he helplessly
struggles against it. He is caught in an evil snare and cannot escape.
Hence, the best thing for him to do is to utilize his fate as best he
may and get the most possible out of life with all its contradictions.
Life is a bad business at the best, but it lies within man's power to
palliate its misery by prudence and the due enjoyment of what little
pleasure he can get. The attempt to find consolation in the pursuit
of Wisdom has likewise been a complete failure, and has ended in
blank despair (2. 17-24). The second argument on the general theme
shows how the contraries which characterize all that happens on
earth prove all labor on man's part to be vain. Birth is followed by
death, planting by rooting up, etc. (3. 1-9). The law of nature, which
always destroys again what it has made (3. 10, 12, 15), shows that
there is no moral principle in the ordering of the world. Consequently
there can be none in the case of men either, for as their existence is
not essentially different from that of the beast, no more can their fate
be different (3. 16, 18-21). Special arrangements for the good man
are impossible in the plan of the universe. In the third argument
there is still some complaint about human suffering from which there
is no escape, and which is yet> so useless, and about the restless and
yet fruitless labors of men. Laws of Nature, not moral law's, rule
everything. There is no Divine government of the world. This is
proved by the world's course. Man's lot is a continuous, vain struggle.
Pleasures cannot compensate him for this, for they rest on illusion.
Nor does the pursuit of Wisdom bring any real satisfaction, for the
pursuit of her is fruitless. " Vanity of vanities, all is vanity ! " There
is something deeply pathetic about all this. And it does not seem
very difficult to understand how such a pessimistic view of the world
would occupy the mind of one with such postulates as the "preacher "
had with regard to the Divine government.
We have thus traced the three general aspects of Human Wisdom.
I'irst^ the period of principles without ex^ptions — a period perhaps
necessary that there might be well fi)^ in the minds of the
people, certam positive, general truths regarding God's government'
and human life.
Acta Victoriana. 635
Second, the period of difficulties and exceptions. " Here the
principles are still so powerful that the exceptions are felt to be
intolerable, and are flung in general, with a certain violence, out of the
way. But the principles begin to raise questions, and in consequence
to suffer modifications through a more extended observation of
actual life."
" Third, the period of comparative quiescence in the presence of
difficulties which are themselves drawn into the general scheme and
shown, as parts of it, to have their own utility."
From this classification it will appear, that as the Wisdom aimed at
detecting and exhibiting the operation of fixed principles in the world
and life, it became practically "a doctrine of Providence in a
universal sense." In such a doctrine the question of retributive
justice — -rising especially in connection with the second phase of
Wisdom we have just discussed — would necessarily have a very large
place, so large, indeed, as to become the most important question
of the Wisdom Literature. Hence, we may bring our study to a close
by indicating, in a general way, the considerations urged by the sages
in the effort to solve the perplexing problem as to why the wicked
sometimes prosper, while the righteous are afflicted.
VI.
The general principle that it was " well with the righteous and ill
with the sinner," was seen to be contradicted on two sides. The
wicked were many times observed to be prosperous, and on the other
hand, the righteous suffered calamity every day. The first side of the
difficulty is treated in such Psalms as 37, 49, and 73 ; the second side,
in the Book of Job.
The solution oflfered by Psalm 37 is very simple. It proceeds upon
the idea that the good fortune of the wicked has no continuance.
"Fret not thyself because of evil doers, for they shall soon be cut
down like the grass. The wicked plotteth against the just ; but the
Lord laugheth at him, for he seeth his day coming." And on the
other hand, "Trust in the Lord and do good, and thou shalt inherit
the earth." In brilliant, poetic language the sudden end of the pros-
perity of the wicked is described, and this has the counter-description
opposed to it, of the exaltation and happiness of the godly, which
always comee to pass after a transient period of woe. The Psalmist
satisfies himself and other^ people with affirming the general principle,
and by saying that the exception to it is of short duration. It is a
practical solution — nothing more than a palliative when the evil has
gone no further than to breed discontent. The difficulty that there is
636 Acta Victoria7ia.
any exception at all does not assume any great proportion in the
presence of the acknowledged brevity of its duration. In such an
effort at solution there is no principle reached (nor indeed any attempt
at reaching any) either with reference to God's general administration
of human affairs or of His particular treatment of the wicked. The
solution was, of course, true in particular cases, and was many times
applicable, but very obviously it was incapable of being made a
general principle to explain the difficulty and to satisfy the mind in
all cases. The observation of new facts demanded new explanations
and further modifications of the theory. Wicked men might be found
who had grown old in their wickedness.
Psalm 73 accordingly grappled with the problem afresh, and sought
relief from the perplexity by dwelling on the manner of the wicked
man's death. It urges that however long the ungodly might live, he
would not depart from this world in peace ; his end would be amidst
terrible manifestations of the Divine displeasure. This Psalm marks
an advance on the one just discussed in several ways. In the first
place the Psalmist's mind is in a condition much more inflamed. The
problem has now passed from the region of mere feeling, and has
become a real speculative difficulty. The writer calls his difficulty
an "amal," "a trouble so great as to threaten to confound the
boundary lines of good and evil." 'As for me my feet were almost
gone. . . . Behold these are the ungodly who prosper in the
world. . . . Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain
for all the day long I have been plagued." The Psalmist had been
greatly perplexed by the spectacles that life presented, and he wavered
between faith and disbelief. At last his mind returns to its equi-
librium, and in the Psalm he surveys the path by which he has reached
it. In the sanctuary a light had been shed on the end of
the wicked. The Psalmist was enabled to look through the
confusions of a life however long, and behind the brilliancy of a
prosperity however great, and to behold the terrors of God's dis-
pleasure gathering round the wicked man at last. This solution is
thus quite in advance of that in Psalm 37, as it shifts the problem to
the edge of the grave, and finds in the terrors which gather at the
death of the wicked an awful balancing of the inequalities of a lifetime
of prosperity. These terrors are simply the foretastes to the wicked
man at his death, of what life (or rather existence) in Sheol will be
to him, as contrasted with the state of the righteous. The wicked
sinks into Sheol and there remains entirely cut off from fellowship
with God. In the case of the righteous man, on the other hand,
Sheol is overleapt, and fellowship with God is prolonged. The con-
Ada Victonana. 637
siderations here given, while they seem to embrace nearly all the
elements of a solution, simply move the difificulty on a stage, without
really touching the principle at stake, for they leave unexplained the
fact that the ungodly may enjoy a lifetime of prosperity ; and they are
inadequate, too, from the standpoint of the thesis that " all is well
with the righteous and ill with the sinner," a postulate which demanded
outward prosperity for the righteous by way of reward, and outward
suffering for the wicked by way of punishment. Hence, the solution
offered left room for further complications.
The Book of Job differs from these Psalms in its attitude toward the
problem. The question which occupied the Psalmists was the pros-
perity of the wicked : here the problem is the affliction of the just ;
and under the form of a drama we have in this poem our finest exhi-
bition of the problem of the doctrine of retribution on all its sides and
in all its depth. As Job's mind, step by step, reaches some apprehension
of the meaning of his history, he throws aside, one after another,
traditional solutions of it which satisfied his friends, and which, if the
case had not been his own, would probably have satisfied him. He
destroys, in every one of its forms, the principle of retributive
justice. The part played by Job, as indicated in his speeches, is
purely a negative one, and the net result of this negative side of the
argument is briefly this : " What hitherto it has been the custom to
call the exercise of Divine justice in the fortunes of men, is nothing
more than the exercise of Divine omnipotence, whose resolutions are
without any moral quality. These take their place, undistinguished,
amongst natural occurrences, be these beneficial or destructive, and
aflfect all men alike. In like manner individuals are prosperous, or
the reverse, in the affairs of their natural life, without regard to
whether they are good or bad. The gifts of prosperity and the blows
of adversity, in so far as by these are understood mater'al well
being or suffering, do not depend at all on the moral character of the
man, and have no relation at all to the righteousness of God. Such
is the result of an unprejudiced examination of things. The old doc-
trine of Divine retribution is completely shattered against it." On
the positive side of the problem, the book, as I understand it, contri-
butes in a twofold way : one practical and to religious faith, the other
speculative and to a troubled mind. There is, first, in the speeches of
the Almighty (chaps. 38-41) the answer to religious faith. What
this was we are left to infer. But whatever it was, Job's vision of God
brought to him an elevation and rest of soul, in which the speculative
difficulty is lost in a larger religious experience which satisfies the
heart. It would seem from the setting of these Jehovah speeches
638 Acta Victoriana.
that the reply which satisfied Job's heart was to this effect : Nature in
her positive operations, in the variety of her creatures, and in their mode
of hfe, reveals an admirable law and order ; from this it follows, that
not merely brute force but also hidden wisdom interpenetrates and
controls the life of nature. The depths of this wisdom are indeed
beyond man's understanding, but the analogy of the life of nature
leads us to postulate a similar order for the moral world, although
man cannot state its laws. And the implication is, that in this order
all is being overruled for man's good. The speculative answer is
given us in the prologue ; and here we see an advance on all former
theories amounting almost to a revolution. In the revelations of the
heavenly Cabinet suffering is seen to be abstracted entirely from the
merits of the sufferer, and raised to the place of a general force in
the constitution of the Universe, used by God for general ends, like
other forces, and " affecting individuals not in their own cause, but in
the interest of the whole."
Such, then, is the highest point to which the Hebrew sage has
taken us in his effort to solve the perplexities of a problem whose
mysteries have not all yet passed away, even under the light of a fuller
revelation. Beyond this it scarcely concerns us to go, although it is
interesting to notice that when the doctrine of immortality came in,
the discussion of God's justice closed, in the apparent assumption
that the future will wipe out the seeming injustice of the present.
This is apparently the thought in the Book of Wisdom, which virtually
atifirms that this injustice exists only to human sight, and is inex-
plicable when the present alone is considered. In affirming this the
" Wisdom " passes over to an Eschatology and discussion ends.
T'
Prophetic Vision
BY CLVO JACKSON, '05.
'HE prophet is essentially the man to whom "the word of the
1 Lord has come.'" Thus, it is that again and again the great
seers of sacred history are introduced ; and their mission has been to
reveal that bit of eternal truth God has ventured to enti|j:st to their care.
A share in this divine confidence is ours ; even in us is son>ething
of vital truth confided. For " it shall be in the last days, saith God,
I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and to your sons and to your
daughters shall the word of the Lord come, and your young men shall
see visions and your old men shall dream dreams."
The dream is of the past, the vision is of the future. Old men are
they who dream dreams. The gray-haired grandfather delights to re-
Ada Victoriana. 639
call the scenes of his youth. For him the golden age is the good old
time ; our oldest living graduate must needs write " Reminiscences,"
for "your old men shall dream dreams."
Not so the youth ; he will write of visions, of ideals. The young man
dips far into the future and looks forward expectantly to that far-off
realization of his fondest and ever-growing hope. Men who have be-
queathed great discoveries and inventions, have ever been young men;
for with that far-seeing, youthful eye, quick to discern new relations,
comes the vigour to launch plans, which to the staid man of years seem
foolhardy. Marconi is a young man. And it is he who sees the
vision ; the old man dreams the dream. Only occasionally will you
meet with some rare spirit, who, despite his years, has kept his heart
young — one who has never lost sight of his vision ; such an one is
Merlin, who even when dying follows the gleam.
To some of Victoria's students — young in heart — has come the pro-
phetic vision. These can not content themselves with only Canada
for Christ ; they would be true Canadians — but above their national
sentiment rises the wider, universal concern for brother-men, and they
must seek to bring the whole world to Him. To this end they pur-
pose spending a life where each can do his most to realize the ideal —
some in Japan and China, some — it may be — at home ; which inter-
preted means that they are determined to make their will subservient to
His will — -that they are determined to be obedient unto the heavenly
vision — to be obedient even unto death.
But why is the vision come to some particular students ? That the
vision may become general. The historic plan has been to particularize
truth, that it may thus become general. Israel, Greece, Rome, each
has had its particular truth to teach to the world. A particular day in
seven we hold sacred, in order that our every day may become sacred —
may become particular. Truth must become particular ; added to
this is the further consideration, that truth must become incarnate.
We will be interested only in men. When the world is prepared for
new truth, there must come the man sent from God to stand for it.
Other men may have guessed that the world was round ; but the truth
must become incarnate, there must come the Columbus, to live and
give his life, if need be, all for his fact. When the world was ready
for the larger revelation that the All-great is the All-loving, too, this,
even this must become incarjiate ; and He who was to stand for this
fact, even though the son of God^became the son of man. So the
word of the Lord, that He is not willing that any should perish, has
become particular and incarnate in us ; the vision has come to some
that others might see.
640
A da J Ictoriana .
MISS ALICE E. WILSON, wlio was obi gtd to drop out of
college at the end of her third year, was back for the Convo-
cation gaieties.
'TwAS amusing to hear the quartette, Misses Wallace, Wilson,
Spence and Patterson, give their old cry :
Who are we ? Can you guess ?
We are the scribes of the H. C S.
Are we workers? None can beat I
We would rather work than eat !
It's all over for better or for worse.
Next year of course we'll study.
If we know more it is what we learned.
Here's to a year gone, but not forgotton — 1904-05 !
Brownlee — " I am a Freshman, and I have the interests of the
Freshmen very much at heart, especially next year."
Forbes R. (to Local Editor) — " Here's a local for you — a girl spoke
to me in the Hall."
Small boy meeting on St. Mary S;reet, at 7.30 a.m. Present —
G. E. T. and C. D. H. — " There goes a couple of those bum Metho-
dist preachers."' (Kindness of H. D. R.)
(Belated) — Freshette (at Senior Dinner) — "Who v!Z.% Auld Lang
Sy7ie 1 "
At the Metropolitan Church Sunday night before an exam. Sopho
more (reading notes before the service) — " One can't afford to be too
narrow at this time of the year."
Hiles, at the photographer's (passing the comb over his bald spot)
— " There 1 as long as it's back out of my eyes."
Mlss G — ge was so apprehensive lest the preacher should " fall
into the bath-tub" at J Street B. Church one Sunday evening,
that she couldn't listen to the sermon.
SoPHETTE (meeting mother of J. L. Rutledo[e) — " I am so glad to
meet you. I think I like you better than your brother."
Ada. Victoriana. 641
Seniorette (returning from sunrise picnic) — " I think you boys
ought to go over and hook that scarlet and gold awning. ' J. A. M.
— "O, but you can't; it has 'stationery' on it."
Stapleford — "What do you know about Simcoe County?"
Morgan — " Well, I ought to know something about it, I've lived in
Cookstown, Hillsdale, Coldwater and Midland." S — " What were
you working at?" M. (cogitating) — "Oh! just growing up." S —
"Say, you didn't work long hours at it, did you ?"
Miss S — r, '05—" Miss P — n, won't you play ' Consolation ? ' You
know we won't have ' Consolation ' next year." Personal Ed. (antici-
pating pleasure of being a professor at Stanstead College next year) —
"I'm glad I'll be within reach of ' Consolation ' when I'm lonely."
Miss P— n — "Do you expect to be lonely after Mr. B— t." J. S. B.—
" I hope so. Miss P — n."
Jenkins, '07 — " How did you fellows all get pseudonyms in a ox bV
" We're aliy.s- in our class."
They were discussing Greek legends at the dinner table, and the
" obol to be given the ferryman of the Styx, was mentioned. Quoth
Bradshaw— "They must have had money to burn in those days."
A young man wrote on an exam.
For which he'd neglected to cram,
He put up a bluff
But it wasn't enough.
When the results came out he said, " Pshaw !"
J. S. — B — t, '05 — " When Naughty Five meets again each man is
expected to bring at least one wife."
Brigham Young Morgan — " I'm terribly excited. That's the
kind of gloves I wear when I am getting married."
Chaperone of '05's walking party, June 4th, seeing the botany
box slung over J. A. M.'s shoulder — " What in the world has Mr.
Dor son got there. Is he going to collect bugs ? "
At the Sunrise Breakfast. Reggie — " I hope my wife will never
have to get up at five o'clock to chaperone a college party."
Prof. Langford (rising to speak) — " Do you wish some toast ? "
Robbie — "I should like it "buttered."
Prof. L — (in speech after breakfast) — " I have had a very happy
time so far. I am here largely because Mrs. Langford is, but I am
glad to be here, barring the initial difficulty of starting." Pres. Camp-
bell— " I can't say I can sympathize with Prof. L — about difficulty of
rising so early." Prof. L — " You will some day."
642 Ada Victo7-iana.
In a quest for a position of isolation and mental abandon, a fair
Senora resorted innocently to the present sarcophagus of one of
Egypt's queens. Her Royal Ghostess, in high disdain that a mortal
should disturb her ancient peace by assuming in her presence the
undignified state of plugging, complained to Osiris, who straightway
telepathed the Curator of the Relics to interfere. This one proceeded
thus diplomatically : Curator opens door — departs. Nothing doing !
Interval — repeats — hesitates^ — goes. Meme jeu. Again — lingers —
" Oh ! do you wish to use this room, ' Dr.' ! \ Burwash ? " Curator —
" Oh I no, Miss Patte — son, I just thought I would look in and see
how the mummy was." Enters — takes up mummy's head caressingly
— says something in Esquimau.x — rambles on. Fair Senora celerrhne
exiit. Mummy fades.
Acta Bo.^rd.
Editor-in-Chief— C. E. Mark, '06.
Literary— Miss E. L. Chubb, '06 ; E. E. Ball, '06.
Scientific — R. J- Manning, '06.
Personals and Exchanges — H. F. Woodsworth, B.A., '07.
Locals — J. L. Rutledge, '07.
Athletics — C J. Ford, 07.
Missionary and Religious — E. W. Stapleford, B.A.
Business Manager — W. E. Galloway, '06.
Assistant Business Manager — H. W. Brownlee, '08.
Secretary — R. Stockton, 'oS.
Permanent Executive of the Class of '05 : President, T. P. Camp-
bell, B.A.: Vice-President, Miss A. D. Switzer, B.A. ; Secretary,
J. S. Bennett, B.A.; Treasurer, Miss E. Walker, B.A.
The following are the officers elected by the various societies for
the coming year :
Y.W.C.A.— Hon. Pres., Mrs. Misener, B..A.; Pres., Miss K. R.
Thompson, '06 ; Vice-Pres., Miss M. E. Carman, '07 ; Sec.^ Miss
Mary Gundy, '07 : Treas., Miss Isabel Gowanlock, '08.
Woman's Literary Society — Hon. Pres., Mrs. Parker ; Pres., Miss
K. E. Cullen, '06 : Vice-Pres., O. G. Patterson, '06 ; Critic, Miss A.
E, Deacon, '06 ; Asst. Critic, Miss M. Bunting, '07 : Rec. Sec, Miss
M. E. Miles, '07 ; Cor. Sec, Miss Nora Lewis, '08 ; Acta Board,
Miss E. L. Chubb, '06, Miss M. B. Landon, '07.
Ac^a Victoriana. 643
Union Literary Society — Hon. Pres., Dr. Bell ; Pres., D. A. Hewitt,
'06 ; ist Vice-Pres., A. M. Harley, 'ofS ; 2nd VicePres., F. E. Coombs,
'07 ; Critic, E. W. Morgan, BA. ; Asst. Critic, E. J. Moore, '06 ;
Leader Govt., J. G. Brown, '06 ; Leader 0pp., G. A. King, '07 ; Cor.
Sec, A. D. Macfarlane, '07 ; Rec. Sec, P. G. Knox, '08 ; Treas., J. B.
Lamb. '07 ; Curator, F. S. Albright, '08.
Glee Club— Hon. Pres., W. G. Connolly, B.A.; Pres., M. C Lane,
'06; Asst. Leader, A. Rankin, B.A.; Sec, E. J. Moore, '06 ; Treas.
J. M. Zurbrigg, '06; Bus. Mgr., T. P. Campbell, B.A.
Symphony Orchestra — Hon. Pres ^ Dr. F. N. Badgley ; Pres., J. H.
Adams, '06; Vice.-Pres., K. H. Smith, '08; Sec-Treas., C. B. Kelly,
'07 ; Librarian, Rev. T. Green, B.A.; Bus. Mgr., Rev. E. M. Burwash,
M.A., B.D.
Classical Association — Hon. Pres., Dr. Bell ; Pres. (accl.j, J. W.
Cahoon, '06 ; Sec, H. B. Butcher, '08 ; Treas., Miss Nora Lewis, '08 ;
Councillors, D. A. Hewitt, '06, Miss Ethel Chadwick, '07 ; Miss Irene
H>land, '08.
Tennis Club — Hon. Pres., Miss Addison, B.A.; Pres. S. G. Mills,
'06 ; Vice-Pres., Mi-ss E. M. Keys, '06 ; Sec-Treas., H. W. Baker, '07;
Asst. Sec, P. R. Brecken, '08 ; Councillors, Miss Grange, '07, Miss
Maclaren, '08, G. E. Trueman, '06, M. C. Lane, '06 ; A. U. Rep.,
H. D. Robertson, B.A.
Indian Relics Fund
SUBSCRH'TIONS.
• (From May 2j, igo4, to .l.'ay 24, igoj.)
Cash.
'03. J II. Wallace, B. A., $5.00,
'06. (Collected by D. A. He.\itt) : D.A. Hewitt, $3.00 ; H. G. Brown, $2.00 ;
J. M. Copela d, $3.00; G. E. Trueman, $2.00; C. E. Mark, $3.00; J. W.
Cahoon, $2.00; R. J. Manning, $2.00 ; J. Wei's, $3.00. Total, $20.00.
'07. (Collected by L. N. Richardson) : A. D. Macfarlane, $2.00 ; F. W. H.
Armstrong, $1 00; II. B. Dwight, $3.00 ; H. F. Woodsw; rth, $1.00; J. L. Rut-
ledge, $1.00; H. J. Sheridan, $1.00; L. L. Lawrence, $1.00; F. F. Coombs,
$2.00; W. T. Brown, $1.00; A K. Edmison, $1.00. Total, $14.00.
'08. (Collected by D. W. Ganton) : A. E. Owen, $1.00; W. A. McCubbin,
$1.00; A. N. Kitt, 81 00; A. MacLean, $1.00; C. R. Gundy, $1.00; W. N.
Courtice, $1.00; C. W. Coulter, $1.00; F. S. Albright, $1 00 ; W. B. Woitman,
$1.00; D. E. Dean, $1.00; E. J. Halbert, $1.00; C. F. Connolly, $1.00; K. II.
Smith, $1.00; J. C. Kee, $1.00. Total, $14.00.
Conference Theology— (Collected by Rev. R. A. Whattam) : Rev. A. E.
Lunau, $5.60; Rev. A. J. Brace, $5.00 ; anonymous, per Rev. A. J. Brace, $4.00.
Total, $14.60.
7
644 Acta Victoriana.
Note;.
'07. (Collected by L. ISi. Richardson): F. W. H. Armstrong, $4.00; E. J,
Jenkins, $5.00; W. B. AlVjertson, $5.00; H. J. Sheridan, $2.00: A. K. Edmison,
S2.00; J. R. Rutledge, .$2.00: \\. F. Woodsworth, §2.00; J- N. Tribble, §3.00;
W. T. Brown, I2.00. Total, $27.00.
"oS. (Collected by D. W. Ganton) : E. J. Mathews, S4.00 ; G. C. Raymer,
S5.00; R. A. Downey, S4.00 ; A. L. Smith, S5.00 ; H. W. Nancekivell, Si.oo
A. X. Kitt, $4.00. Total, S23.00.
Complete Financial Statement re Subscriptions .
Receipts.
cash. notes. totals.
The Chancellor's Lecture $20 00 $20 00
The Faculty 53 00 53 00
Graduates to "01 16 50 16 50
Naughty Two, "02 49 45 $40 00 89 45
Naughty Three, '03 49 00 17 00 66 00
Naughty Four, '04 37 21 44 00 81 21
Naughty Five, '05 44 50 95 03 I39 5°
Naughty Six, '06 61 35 22 00 83 35 '
Naughty Seven, '07 14 00 27 00 41 00
Naughty Eight, '08 14 00 23 00 37 00
Conference Theology 31 60 6 od 37 60
Interest 5 18 5 18
Grand Totals $395 79 $27400 §66979
Total Cash Receipts S395 79
Disbursements.
Interest, 6% on $450.00 §27 00
Discount on Draft o 15
Payment on Note 130 00
Interest, 6% on $320.00 21 15
Payment on Note 1 20 00
Payment on Note 30 00
Interest, 6% on $200.00, $170.00 13 20
Dec.
19,
1902.
Feb.
5.
1903.
Feb.
23.
1903.
Nov.
19,
1903-
Feb.
15,
1904.
Aug.
8,
1904.
Dec.
28,
1904.
Total Cash Disbursements S341 50
May 24, 1905. Cash Balance 54 29
S395 79
The committee are pleased to acknowledge the assistance given by Mr. J. F.
Knight, B.A., in the canvass among the gentlemen of Naughty Eight.
The attention of those subscribers whose notes are overdue is called to a motion
passed by the Union Literary Society empowering the committee to send a billet
donx to such delinquents — hence carpe diem.
I. A. Dawson, B.A.,
Convener.
Acta Victoriana.
645
O
XCE again the shield, the much-coveted shield, has, with
a judgment which we cannot but commend, shown a
preference for summering in the Queen City. But we must
not commend it too highly, for it was not until a deputation from
Toronto had visited Whitby, and had used all their powers of
persuasion, that it consented to accompany them back to the
cool and shady halls of Victoria.
It was for this reason, then, that the morning of May 24th
saw a merry group at the Union Station, welcoming stragglers
and awaiting tickets from the man-in-the-line. But the engineer
was evidently not as patient as the students, for at 8 o'clock he
steamed away, leaving the man-in-the-line and four or five of his
followers running as poor seconds. The first contingent
arrived safely and, after being welcomed at the station and col-
lege, proceeded to make and renew acquaintances, until the sec-
retary should have completed arrangements for the matches.
Nothing final could be decided, however, as the President' of our
tennis club was missing, for he had been among the " also
rans " at the Union Station. But a later train brought these
unfortunates to Oshawa, and from there they came by coach to
the College. But we still felt that all was not complete, and
breathed a sigh of surprise and relief when the stalwart form of
Mr. F. W. Ketchum Harris, B.A., '04, was seen entering the
gates. He joined the group about Dr. Hare, and in a few-
minutes they dispersed to start' the tournament forthwith. But
the delay had, by no means, caused any waste of time, for both
then and throughout the day, the members of the guard of honor
seemed to have learned very thoroughly from their college work,
not to let time and opportunity slip by.
The first contest was between Miss Desire Campazzi, O. L. C,
and Miss Helen Graham, Vic. The first set was won by Miss
Campazzi, 6 — 4. but as the game went on Miss Graham got her
hand in and with more steady playing won out 6 — 4, 6 — o.
Miss Mabel Harrison, Vic, won from Miss Petty Smith, O.
L. C, after a long and closely contested match. Miss Harrison
646 Ada Vic tori ana.
winning- by more staving power. The score was 4 — 6, 8 — 6,
8—6.
Miss Grace jMaclaren, A'ic, won from ]Miss ^Nlabel Campazzi,
(J. L. C, 3 — 6, 7 — 5, 6 — 1. Miss Maclaren's playing after the
first set was marked by some splendid placing.
]\liss Cauldwell, O. L. C, won from ^liss Biggar, Vic. For
although ^liss Biggar rallied in the second set, ^liss Cauldwell
finished stronger. Score 6 — i, i — 6, 7 — 5.
In the doubles ]\lisses ^laclaren and Biggar, \"ic., won from
blisses Cauldwell and ^Nlabel Campazzi, O. L. C, 6 — i, i — 6,
6 — 2; and Alisses Graham and Harrison, Vic, won from ]\Iisses
Desire Campazzi and Smith, O. L. C, 6 — 3, but owing to lack
of time the game was not finished.
A'ictoria thus won four out of a possible five events, making
her wins total five out of the eight semi-annual tourneys, which
have been held since the present shield has been up for competi-
tion.
Though the tennis furnished the greater part of the programme
throughout the day, the scattered groups on the sunny lawns
attested that other interests were being considered. Kodaks
were plentiful and " Percy," with his usual courtesy, consented
to act as a model for a group of fair camera-owners. He posed
in a realistic manner as the " Sleeping Beauty ;"' " Robbie " acted
as " bell boy " and " Jain "" and " Freddie " Harris ran a race,
as their contribution to the fun.
In the evening it was only dire necessity that induced us,
bearing: the shield, to tear ourselves awav and turn our sun-
burned faces toward Toronto. To the kindly entertainment of
Dr. and Mrs. Hare during the day, Miss Addison's luncheon
after arrival at the Hall, furnished a happy climax. The end
of examinations. Queen's weather, and the many delights which,
for brevity, can best be summed up under the name Ontario
College, had combined to make the day a perfect one.
Looking ox, "05.
Notes.
What happened baseball in Mctoria this spring? The
query has been put to us repeatedly, and thus far has
been unanswered. A large quantity of goods requisite to the
game found its way from Harry Love's to the big locker in the
dressing room, but beyond being stolen in small lots, the
beautiful new gloves, balls, bats, etc., have been little use. The
trouble then would seem to lie with the players. Strange to
say the original husky nine which had upheld Vic's reputation
Ada Victoriana. 647
for the last few years, remained almost intact. The onlv con-
clusion we can draw, then, is that interest has fallen off, and
that the former enthusiasts have suffered a change of spirit. If
this change is due to the management of the team, those in
authority should be severely censured, regardless of their
motives. If there is a lack of support or interest for any par-
ticular line of athletics, that line may be dropped, but the way
in which baseljall has been thrown down this season reflects
no credit upon an organization which, generally speaking, holds
an enviable reputation for its businesslike methods. Our base-
ball record has always been a clean and dignified one, and to
let the game die out unattended, unthought of, is a lamentable
thing. As far as we know, no discussion in this regard took
place at any of the regular meetings of the " Union." It is to
be hoped that the future will be innocent of such unbusinesslike
procedure. The burly twirlers, catchers and sluggers have been
much in evidence loitering in the corridors, disporting them-
selves on the tennis courts and alley board, but the untrammelled
appearance of the grass on the campus shows that they are
strangers to it. i\Ir. Campbell i\}as seen once limping painfully
around the field, while little Jane rolled in the tall grass playing
with a batted off cover, but aside from this pathetic demonstra-
tion of the fact that an old love never really dies, we have no
evidence of any attempt to maintain the sport. We grieve to
see these men of pristine greatness lose energy and descend to
a state of puffy inactivity, shambling about with pendulous jowl
and laggard gait. Only one or two excuses have been offered,
and after serious consideration, we fail to see that they are re-
markably plausible. In the first place, some of the players have
been so busy, having graduation photos taken that really no one
should expect their presence on the diamond ; secondly, it has been
urged that spring shopping has been much more extensive this
year, and consequently the boys have found little time for. less
important things. We leave these explanations with the student
body. May next year witness a reconstruction round the plate.
000
'Varsity has made some ludicrously ineffectual attacks upon the
American Colleges, as far as baseball is concerned, but has
clearly demonstrated to our cousins across the line, Canadian
superiority in Canada's National game. The lacrosse team has
been having a successful and enjoyable tour and we expect them
home burdened with laurel wreaths. Victoria is well represented
on the team by Trench and Coombs, two of our promising
second year men. It is gratifying to note that we are more and
8
648 At hi J 'ictoriana.
more becoming a ven- important factor in University athletics ;
indeed, I do not know that we are now surpassed by any college
in the federation, and from present prospects next year will
see us in the front.
000
From the Globe. — Swathmore, Penn., June 3. — (Special) —
'\'arsity beat Swathmore, inter-collegiate champions of the
United States, thus winning the inter-collegiate championship
of all America, by 7 — 4.
Summer Training.
We are happy to learn that Ham. Adams has entered a con-
tract for the summer months to pace jack-rabbits for a faddist in
Iowa. Ham. carries a bunch of greens in his hand and the pot-
pies chase him. Remarkable records are being made.
" Jane " Salter is to wear the mask for the Oshawa Fans, when
not busy catching otlier than foul flies.
JMacfarlane is managing Red Men in the back woods. If he
comes back with all his weight for a fierce Rugby season we
wont haggle about his scalp.
Robertson has formed a class in " parlor croquet." Be careful
of the furniture, Bobbie.
" Pussy " Hincks is to scull at Muskoka during the coming hot
months. For other employment he will run his own ferry.
Joe Gain is tired of a fish diet ; he has decided not to caddy for
salmon again this summer.
Mr. Booth is booked as physical instructor in mental gymnas-
tics by the Wide Awake Athletic Association of Hamilton.
Reggie Davison is to be " swimming master "' at a well-known
watering place. He afifirms that were it not for the screaming,
the wash would be much lighter than that involved in training
a ladies' hockey team.
Percy Campbell has descended to Association football. In
spite of bis artificial limbs he is expected to lead Peterboro' on
to victory.
" Bill " Connolly has decided to swing hammocks at various
resorts along the blue St. Lawrence. He maintains that the
skill acquired can be adapted to the tennis courts.
Vic. students will be glad to know that genial Bob Pearson
is doing some long stunts in the pulpit. Bob has developed an
instinct in platform eloquence that .worries the best of 'em.
Strike them out, Bob.
t .A •
' 6 1964
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