New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1872-12-20

and gray bearded; Lewes, the philosopher and his Illus
trous Wife George Eliot Froude, seeming more like
scholarly New Engllnder than like an OldEnglander'
with fine contempative pale, thinnsh features, and
sharp penetrating, brown eye; once the venerable ana
-be-forgotten head aud form OF Carlyle, with
large brow deepsunken eyes and shaggy white hair ana
heard Charles Reade, with his full face, small eyes, ana
bald crown; and Wilke Collins with full beard ana
musache large, round, blue eyes, aud quick, prompt
manner"
Mr.. l.. s. Conant has a very entertaining article on
loeomoton illustrated by number OF quaint ola pic
tures "The Old stager" gives pictures Of duel
ing in Washington, when that sort OF thing was consid-
cred noble and chyaric. and Of collisions IN the House
pictures which almost make one wonder what rev
ereuce the people could have had for their rulers those
dangerous times The writer, In relation 10 the Anu
Duelne act says that Mr. Clay spoke of It in terms of
derson and contempt He said was merely an neon
yenience Gentlemen who had deliberately determined
to violate law Of God not likely to be restrained
by any human enactment. When demonstrated with by
his friends, and urged 10 avoid contest In which MS
life 80 important to the country might be SACRIFICED ne
replied that he was the guardian OF his own honor ana
must be allowed 10 determine the course which II be-
came him 10 adopt"
Here is what Mr.. Curtis says OF the FfoudeBurKe con-
troversy;
But il is not upon any allegation that ireland wholly
guilty ana England wholly Innocent that Mr.. Froude
rests his He comes to us an Englshman sincerely
loving his country, and wishing 10 do what he can 10
compose the long tragca quarrel with Ireland lie
believes that the great multitude of irish IN TINS country
and general character OF relations with Ireland
have given American opinion weight IN the lsahd pc
y0nd that OF any other people ne iees therefore, tt
may have stained the past history oil Ire
land, yet that under the circumstance although NOT Ia
dependent, which the nature of things is Impossible
with Just and equal imperial laws justly anu nrmly
administered Ireland ought to unite cordially WIN Ell
gland in a COMMON destiny, much would be done to heal
the sorrow. lie therefore comes hoping 10 snow Two
things first that the undeniabe tragedy OF ireland Is
Ia
selves and, secondly, that the English legislation OF 10
day Ireland cannot justly be condemned as harshor
Asfor Irish nationality it enough to say that 1t never
existed the country conquered before there was
auy such sentiment as that which mean by the word
nationality. This is not Justification OF anything Dut
statement OF fact. II disp0ses OF the plea OF con
quered nationality Father Burke indeed in his lecture
upon Ireland seen IN its ruins speaks OF the cgengaTy
golden age OF hs country there could be no DOUBT OF
the fairy palace Tara and the happy Arcadia OF EFln
and the nearer who has the rapt attention OF ms
audience exles listening TO the clanted g0res OF lhef
vanqushed country could but recall that saying OF pen
siye wisdom, the power OF hope Is not eXtnghshe III
man II turns 10 memory "heh II me no oOIce' Vi S
Mr. Philip Gilbert Hameron, artist and writer, con
tributes to the January Sribner paper on The Read
ing Newspapers" Considering what one loses III read
ing daily journals, that they cost much time which II EN-
poyed great intellectual purposes would carry us
very far; that they give dispropOrtonate views of
things by the emphasis they give to novelty and false
views by the unfarness which they give 10 party he
vet declares do without them. The eX-
pertinent Of doing without newspapers" he says, has
been tried by whole cass-the French peasanry-with
the consequences that know; and it has Also from
time to time been tried by single individuals belonging
10 more enlightened sections Of society Let MS take one
instance and note what appear to have been the
| effects OF this abstinence. Auguste Comte absained
from newspapers teet otaer abstans from sprltu-
liquors. Now, Augusta Comte possessed gift OF ma
turc which though common in minor degrees, is in the
degree in which he possessed it than enormous
rrbo rift f1to NJ ling
with abstract intellectual conceptions and living
amid them always 1.-THE practical mind lives in and
deals with material things. And happened in Comics
case usually does happen in cases OF very peculiar
endowment that the gift was accompanied by the in
stncs necessary perfect development and its
preservation. Comte instinctyey avoided the con-
OF ordinary people, because he felt it to be in
furious the perfect exercise OF his faculty and for
the same reason he would not read newspapers. The
rules which Comte made for himself involved great
peril. Ia dstaching thmsef eomnetey from thu In
teress and ways OF thinking OF ordinary men, he elab-
GRATED, indeed, the conceptions or the positive
philosophy but arrived afterward at peculiar kind OF
intellectual decadence from which 1t is pOssibeprob
able even-that the rough common sense OF the news
papers might have preserved him. They would have
saved him, seriously believe, from that mysticism
which led to invention of religion far SURPRISING
in unreasonableness the least rational OF the
creeds of tradition" Col 7. W. HigAnson critcises
severely the fault OF the American College, which makes
athletic skill the Of popularity aud dazzling
reputation than the OF the brain. lie urges
intellectual as well athletic competitions among
colleges and proposes a system OF intercollegiate
scholarships resembling those OF the English To the
millionaire who Is perpexed TO the disposal Of his
money he suggests that he select Board OF Trustees
10 take care of fund for a scholarship, and another
Board of learned to examine candidates. Let him
then send circulars TO all the coeges.us as the En-
gsh universities when they have scholarships to award
Tfnu RugbV (hplf hal
and the rest-inytng competitors to the examination
The best man viii win and will thus achieve something
for the credit of his college And when such scholar
ships multiply, and the records OF their examinations
accumulate, they will furnish az fair test OF the
comparative intellectual training OF colleges as
the regattas now furnish OF their physical prOwoss.
But this would be only half the competition. These
scholarships should not only be open 10 the pupils OF all
our coleges-graduates undergraduates, might he
thought bes-but their income should be avaia for
use at any college or series OF colleges
full candidate might come from Princeton and 20 back to
enjoy his scholarship there or he might prefer 10 spend
me prescribed years Of his appointment Cornell
Yale or Harvard would thus become point Of pride
with our Institutions first, TO furnish the largest quota
of candidates for the Intercollegiate Scholarships and
secondly 10 attract residents those who had won
these prizes. This second competition between colleges
is not however essential to the PLAN and 1t might be
found best 10 let the successful competitors pursue their
of the project the absolutely free competition for the
scholarships from all academica sources.
to be Observed that as such scholarships are null
tplied, they will naturally be distributed over range
of special studies and thus test the varied points Of
many institutions suppose the first three Interco
legate Scholarships to be given for excellence In Phi
loogy in Mathematics and in Natural History the
aiming committees being taken respectively from the
Pathological Society the Coast Survey and the Smith
sonan Institution IL would not be hard which
college would be most likely 10 lead in each OF these
competitions though one might guess wrong The prize
might carried of after all, by obscure insu-
ton which had only prepared for the Am
herst prepared for the regatta by quietly rearing
race OF thoroughly trained men.
Mr. E. c. stedman writing charmngly of the Victorian
era in poetry considers the relations between that gen