New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-05-08
WOMEN AT ST. ANDREWS.
A NEW ERA BEGUN AT THE OLDEST SCOT.
,T.SiI UNIVERSITY.

A NEW ERA BEGUN AT THE OLDEST SCOT
,I.SiI UNIVERSITY.
st. Andrews April %.
This ancient university town is now brought
strongly forward into the notice Of the world by
a striking new departure" 1t is decided that
hcnceforth women are to be admitted to the
university on practically the same terms as men,
and are to be duly graduated with full academic
honors. For years st. Andrews has recognized
the right Of women to higher education. 1t
was, iEIced, the first Scottish college to do So
and the first to confer upon women university
degree. The degree was that Of L. A., or Liter
ate in Arts; corresponding, it has been said, to
that of VI. A., or Master in Arts, granted only to
men. But the trouble was, the women were not
admitted to the cassrooms and TO the training
and culture obtainable within the college walls.
II they could contrivc TO get that instruction ana
culture elsewhere the university would certify
to the fact by granting the degree. But IL
would not aid them in that pursuit Of knowledge.
Now, however, the barriers are removed, and
women become intramural studnts
1t is fitting that this most ancient Of Scottish
seats OF learning should thus add TO it's historic
interest by such radical step Of progress. ST.
Andrews is almost ideal university town Of
the old type. The place is full Of historic menu
cries. As one approaches it from Leuchars, and
looks southwark after crossing the Eden River.
he SECS the famous Magno Moor where, two
hundred years and more ago, that ecclesiastical
turncoat, Archbishop Sharpe, paid tho
penalty Of his sins. lie was there put
to death. with unscicntifc brutality, by the re.
doubtabe Balfour Of Burey and his comrades.
But to-day no ghosts haunt the spot. and no
extra number Of thorns and thistles grow there.
No saccrdota malediCuons are heard on the
midnight wind. But peace reigns. and the sum
light is as bright as elsewhere.
On yonlcr rock overlooking the sea, are
some crumbling ruins They are all that remain
of the old archicpiscopal palace tragic spot.
More than hundred years before the killing
OF Sharpe Cardinal Beaton held court there.
and put the reformer Wishart to the torture
and to DEATH only to fall himself victim to
the murdcr0us wrath of Lesley and his dark com
panions. The ruins Of the cathedral, too. appeal
strongly TO the emotions Of the observer. 1t wac
the finest ecclesiastical edilce in all Scotland.
and even in decay is most majestic. Its destruc,
ton is a landmark in the history of the Scottish
Reformation. Fired by the eloquencc of John
Knox, the people rushed from the parish in &
body. down North-st a resistless mob to the
cathedral; and in twinkling the stately struct-
ure was rent asundcr. There it lies to-day. In
ruins though the pulpit from which Knox thun-
dered and lightened against it is still intac~
It was while contemplating these ruins that tna'
fine old Tory and good hater. Samuel Johnson
uttered the wish that KnOX's bones might ns
beneath the public highway. Curiously enough.
that wish has been fulfilled. The old cemetery
of ST. Giles in Edinburgh is now Parliament
SQUARE. and is daily crossed and recrossed By
hundreds, who probably never think tnat tneX
are walking over the famous reformer's dust
Nor is the living st. Andrews devoid
Of interest Houses and streets are singh
larry quaint, as are the canny ocos
who inhabit them. Along the sidewalks OF North
st.. where once ragged the mad mob OF cathedral
destroycrs, one now may see fishermen ana nsh-
wives, busy batting their hooks and making ready
their lines for the deep-sea fishing. lhey are
hardy looking. embrowned, weather-hea'en taoe'
and doubtless they think far more OF Writings.
haddoclss, Goldfish and behring's than OF the mar.Sreo
Hamilton, OF the great men who were Dorm
and died long ago within the Castle walls. or even
nj the age of their own homes, except in so iar "a
that last question affects their comfort ana con-
venience
The whole spirit OF the place is one OF antiquity
Yet il is not place for idleDess aud decay. Inc
strong sea air is bracing, and amid the quiet WORK
is done. Intellectual activity is the order OF the
dav within the college walls and TO good purpose
for few are the colleges that have had more famous
instructors or students who have risen 10 grea'er
cminencc In earlier times there were Iho'i'aS
Chalmers, John Hunter. George COOK. ferrier'
Spcns and Flint Later years brought H. as
th,ir successors Principal Tullcch. John Campbell
Shairp. Thomas Spencer Bayncs. and Aleyne
Nicholson. These are a few of the faculty.
Among tho students. fame enrolls Zachary Boyd,
in tho sixteenth century; Adam Ferguson Sir
George Mackenzie, the late Lord Colonsay, LORD
Chancellor Campbell, Spottswoode and Calder
wood tho church historians; John Napier OF
Iogarithm celebrity; Sir David Lindsay. OF the
Mount: Robert Ferguson, the poet OF Edinburgh
and DR.. Lyon Playfar. 4 university that has
turned out such alumni as these and Admraoie
Crichton aud John Graham. Of Claverhouse, can
surely fit its students for any walk In lie.
Despite its glorious history Of nearly five hum
dred years, st. Andrews has not been 50 success
full as it's younger rivals. In the hIst place IL ID
not rich. The sum annually available for prescn-
taton or competition in the form Of special prizes,
scholarships and bursaries Is sOm,ihing short OF
5000 Even such bursarics as exist ars, rs a
rule. small in amount. They range from twenty
10 a hundred and fifty dollars only. The students
who live on such poor stipends, must fare as IL
ia said. they used to do in 0ldcn times, when
breakfast meant bread and beer, dinner fish ana
cabbage, and supper beer ana pread. oohe'i"'es
the fare was changed. however. as may he inferred
from Fergusson's Grace After Meat wrile
bursar at ST. Andrews:
For rabbits young and for rabbits old,
For rabbits hot and for rabbits cold,
For rabbits tender and for rnbbts tough.
Our thanks we render for we've Ind enough"
This is the quaint old college, that now opens
its doors to women. and aboshes the distinction
Of sex in intellect. The change will probably
bring it more prosperity Certainly its roll OF
students will be increased well it may he, for
il now numbers only two hundred or less The
experiment is an interesting one. and will be
watched closely by all other colleges in the
Kingdom.