The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-03-03
SENIOR WRANGLERS.

An Intellectual Attempt to Abolish the Ancient Cambridge Mathematical
 Honor.
 The news that an enlightened attempt
 at the University of Cambridge to dc
 away with Senior Wranglers, substi- I tuting a division of the successful candi-
 dates into classes without any order
 of names has failed, will have suggest
 ed to the general newspaper reader in
 this country the question, Just what
 is Senior Wrangler?'3
 The Senior Wrangler Is the annual
 product of the great "Tripos'' in pure ma thematics. The mathematical "Tpi-
 po9'' of Cambridge is to all intents and
 purposes the greatest intellectual sport | ing event of the year in the Britieh Elm pire. Why rripos," will be shown lat CT. In point of practical fact, leaving etymology and history aside for the present 1t is a great competitive exam ination for undergraduates with mathe- nautical talents who intend to take their degrees at the next following act" or commencement and who wish to take it 'in honors' and SO avoid the some- what uncomfortable reminiscence in af-
 ter life of having taken degree among
 the "hoi palloi''--in other words, a
 'poll' degree. When a man writes af-
 ter his name "B A., Cantab:" there is
 nothing in the addition to tell the out side world what kind of "B. A." he may
 be, whether poll or "Tripcs.' but
 Cambridge knows, and any one who chooses to consult a Cambridge Calen- dar will find out. And for the most tt.z ,,t1 tt,o q Cambridge has long been greater in the field of mathematics than in the classics, history or natural science.
 The effect of a high reputation of the Cambridge mathematical "Tripos' is both wide and deep among British par ents and schoolmasters. However ab- eorbed in the material cares of life the British paterfamlias may be, hint from the headmaster or tutor under whom his sons education is being car- ried on that the young man might do well to try for q wrangership will stir the parental heart and fill the parental mind with iridescent dreams of future greatness. At the age of twelve or four teen boy in whom his teachers prac- tised eye has detected the promise of such eminence as this begins to have what most boys would consider rather hard time. The other fellows may either pity him in the "beastly grind" which is sure to begin for him then, or detest him for the abominable young prig he may develop into but it is some distinc- tion for boy to be regarded as even a possible Senior Wrangler seven years in advance.
 For years, ever since mathematical discovery enlarged itself beyond the linn. it's of the calculus what with quater- nions, problems of oscillating particles, and such sublimities, there has been an end to any other very serious mental labor or any serious interest in outdoor sports for the undergraduate who dreams of being a Senior Wrangler Unless he be a youth of prodigious in tellectual power as well as extraordin- ary nervous stamina, or is willing to | extend his period of residence at the two or three years beyond | the ordinary, he must put himself under | the case of a special '''Tripos coach" whose whole occupation is to develop ! and sharpen the mathematical powers. l Coaching for the tripCs--not for q tri- 1 pos--has long been recognized among | dons as a rare and highly | lucrative accomplishment. The fees i yaid to such a coach are high, and a | coach. like the wonderful Routh. | Jf St. Johns College, who takes his |