The sun., 1900-07-22

for me. morally and intellectuaily ipousn
my father was too well read TO be a oaiV"@'
he and my mother were both innuenoeu oy
the tone of the Evangelical school Inc "Vs'
innocent am,isements, from dancing 10 ,"e
theatre. were prescribed. and our d'seipauo"
was to attend a Bible society or m'sS'o"a.'
meeting When Charles Pearson weh' 70
Rugby. DR.. Arnold had recently dicn Inc
school had not suffered In numbers. TOT N WIS
known that Tsit was an admirable SUCCESSOR.
and Arnold's influence was still paramount
among masters and boys Pearson ssys t"a.
TO one who looks back dtspassionateiy
sornetimcs seems as II the doctor had ocen
extravag antly overpraised. The world at
large believes. or used 70 believe. that ne swept
away the exclisiveness OF classical training
and 10 great extent substituted moocrh s'uo'es
such as history, French and German Al
this must be taken with good deal OF allow
ance In the first place. Arnold was IN no
sense the originator Of the doctrine that q
boys studies might be leavened with nt'ie
useful knowledge" In the second pace.
French and German were very poorly tanRnt
at Rugby. Three years after Pearson mao
left school he found himself obliged to spend
q few weeks In q small German town. ana ne
resolved to master the language. he iouhd
that he had to begin again from the very alpha-
bet. although. nominally. he had been ua''s-
lating Schiller at school.
One respect In which Arnold Is thought 70
have lnsuGuratsd q new era was the mora m
nuenos he exercised over his scholars Let
US hear Pearson's testimony on this point: i
am not prepared TO deny his influence In this
direction. but doubt II II was exclusively good
In the nrn place he had dangerous propen-
sity to impei his pupils into Holy Orders. In
two important oasss this bad Distinctly Dad
reSllts. Ono old scholar. who obeyed the I'M
pulse and found himself strangied In white
tie. took TO free-thousht and became head cf
that carry Posltivist Church Of which Il was
said that II consisted Of three perSors and no
Cod Another. who had promised better
things, wanting the strength to break frce
from orthodoxy. became Journalist, and ended
his days a. torpid Church dignitdry. can
not doubt that Cioash. almost the abiest OF
Arnold's pupils. though he escaped ordination
owed much Of his morbid scrupulosty TO the
Rugby influence. These. however. are ex-
trome instances. On the other hand, Il n.
think. undoubted that Arnold's pupils lived
In an atmosphere Of priggishness. They we're
taught TO be always feeling their moral mus
cles, always careful about their schoolfellows'
morality. and always mindful OF the high mls-
sion which they took with them into the world
as Rugby boys. The precepts were moro
wetghty than boys could assimate without
incsssant pretentiousness. and before long
Rugby was known at Oxford as the Disagree
able school, Its reputation In the Army was.
bsll,ve. even worse. Now II may well be
that oxford undergraduates and reglmentl
messes are not lnfallIble judges OF
desirable tone Parents no doubt, saw
another side 10 the controversy, namely.
that the Rugby men were honorably
careful not TO run into debt. 20 gamble or
to indulge In the different forms Of social
immortality that were not severely reprehended
In young men at college forty years ago. This
simple fact Is. however. that Rugby men were
no better than the best set from any good pub
lie school, Eton, Harrow or Winchester. The
difference was that the Rugbeians were self
consciously moral, and this difference was TO
their dl advantage a. men OF the world. Again.
In the rare instances where a Rugby man re-
nounced the idea OF his apostolate. and lapsed
upon fast courses he incurred something OF
the odlum that attaches to the backsliding pro-
fessor' Of religious community. The fault
lay In education that had been pretentioe and
overstrained,'
Pearson also thinks that DR.. Arnold.
considered a. a teacher. was unfortunate
through no fault OF his own. 1t Is
common dehison that hrst-rate head
master can make OF clever boy genius and
transform dullard into an average member
OF society. The fact IA that no teaching can
take the place OF natural endowments. and that
boys schoolmates have much more influence
over his character than any single teacher
or than the whole collective stan. 1t 30 hap
pencd that the Rugby OF Arnods time was one
OF lean kline. His son. Matthew Arnold and
Cloush and Arthur Stanley are the three Of
his pupils who really achieved eminence Tom
Hughes and hodson OF Hodson's Horse. are
known creditahly by their works: and Henry
Smith made himself the greatest OF living
English mathemaanans by striking into
l'ne Tor vhich Rugby was no preparation. This
siar from oein9 Rrge nst Tor lo'rteen years
OF scholastic activity, and Eton has repeatedly
furnished more brilliant lists Tor . shorter
per1od while Rugby Itself, under one OF It's
very worst headms$ters. turned out whole
muster-roil OF distinguished men. such a.
doschen. Lord Justice Bowen and Prof. sids-
WICK. while making this criticism, however.
Pearson deems II only fair 10 note that school
like Rugby. chiefly recruited from tho sons
OF not over-rtch professional mon. Is heavily
weighted In Engand IN the composition
with schools like Fon and Harrow
He thinks that rank and wealth tell