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His

work, both public and private, was uninterrupted. The breakdown in his physical system, already referred to, resulted in a lowered tone during the two following years. He was never actually an invalid, but he found it necessary to readjust his habits to new conditions involving a series of experiments with varying results. His power of sleeping was affected, and this naturally led to a modification in his diet, which was arranged on a still more restricted standard than before. intercourse with his friends had also to be considerably curtailed-a deprivation which he deplores in his notes of the period; and, for a short time, he took less interest in public events, although any occurrence affecting the interests of the University of Aberdeen rarely failed to elicit a quick response, and he not infrequently referred with pleasure to his early academic experiences. His own carefulness and the accumulated wisdom of nearly eighty years of strictly regulated life, together with unfailing domestic attention to his needs, gradually produced a recovery from this loss of tone. It had become apparent, however, that the strain of so large an amount of walking had told unduly upon his muscular energy, and, for several years before his death, he was content with one afternoon walk, which always followed his carriage drive. By this change in his habits, he was soon

greatly relieved from severe attacks of cramp; and, there being an improvement in his health otherwise, his interest in public affairs and in other matters revived, he read much more than he had done formerly, talked with ease and enjoyment, and welcomed the small number of friends who were still privileged to enjoy his society; conversing freely on a wide range of topics, opening his stores of reminiscence without restraint, and indulging not infrequently in sallies of wit and humour.

1890-1896.

The years from 1890-1896 were devoted, for the most part, to academical reform, to the revision of The Senses and the Intellect, and to certain philosophical articles and other literary efforts, including the greater part of the Autobiography.

The appointment of the Scottish Universities Commission, from which he had himself been excluded by political prejudice, made University reorganization a pressing question, and Professor Bain considered it a matter of first importance to give the members of the Commission some guidance as to the feeling and wishes of the Universities themselves. This could best be done. by means of the General Council; and, on the 9th April, 1890, he moved for the appointment of a Committee "to investigate and report upon the changes desirable for increasing the efficiency of the University, in as far as the Universities Commission has the power to carry into

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effect such changes". He was made Convener of this Committee, and his influence was paramount in it during the period of its operation. The subject that particularly interested him was the curriculum for degrees in Arts; and, on the 7th June, 1890, his Committee reported to the Council the suggestions that they desired to convey to the Commissioners. The report, the adoption of which was moved by the Convener in person, recommended four important changes-the introduction of Options into the curriculum, the institution of a Preliminary Examination and of a Summer Session, and the admission of women to degrees. The proposal for a summer session was little in accordance with the Convener's own views. Not only did he regret the consequent loss of professorial leisure, of which he himself had made such good use, but he regarded with grave apprehension the possibility that two winter and two summer sessions might become a frequent course in Arts. Even the three winter and three summer sessions which his report contemplated seemed not quite satisfactory, and he subsequently carried, as an amendment, the addition of the words, "while retaining the present curriculum of four winter sessions as the normal curriculum ".

The four suggestions of the Committee were adopted by the Council and communicated to the Commissioners, with whose general inclinations they proved to coincide, although there arose several grave practical differences. The Committee on University Changes had, on the 15th October, 1890, been continued as a Committee on Draft Ordinances, and they met the Council with criticisms of each portion of the Commissioners' scheme as it was issued. The great struggle was waged over the famous Ordinance General No. 6-dealing with the regulations for degrees in Arts. It was discussed at a meeting of the Council held on the 19th September, 1891. Two questions roused Dr. Bain's keen interest. The first was the

problem of the proper optional subjects, and the second a difficulty of a more special character-the curriculum for Honours in Mental Philosophy. The Commissioners proposed to include among the compulsory subjects for the degree four alternatives: (a) Latin or Greek; (b) English or a modern language; (c) Logic and Metaphysics or Moral Philosophy; (d) Mathematics or Natural Philosophy. It seemed to Professor Bain most undesirable that the study of English should be reduced to the position of an alternative, and he further disapproved of the inclusion of Moral Philosophy, Mathematics, and Natural Philosophy in the list. He carried in the Committee and in the Council the following scheme of compulsory subjects-(a) English, (b) Latin or Greek or a modern language, (c) Logic and Metaphysics; but the Commission declined to modify their proposals in this direction. On the other question, the proposal to make a degree in Greek a sine quâ non for candidates for Honours in Mental Philosophy, he felt even more strongly, and he declined to accept "Greek or German" as a satisfactory compromise. He, therefore, disagreed with the alteration to "Greek or German" which had been recommended by the Committee, and the Council agreed, by a majority, to his amendment in favour of deleting the obnoxious clause. When the Commissioners insisted upon retaining the restriction, he urged the Council to use all possible means to prevent its final enactment. The words of the Committee's report bear the impress of his views :

"In the first place, provided a student can show the knowledge requisite for obtaining Honours, to inquire into the means whereby he has attained this knowledge is an unwarrantable intrusion which serves no end.

"In the second place, it is well understood that for a high knowledge, even of Greek Philosophy itself, Greek is not now indispensable. In point of fact, the modern languages are of much more value for this end. If the

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study of Greek should in any way interfere with proficiency in French and German, to pursue it would make a bad bargain."

The wisdom of Professor Bain's protest has been justified by subsequent events. The Commissioners' restriction remained in force for four years; but it was productive of such disastrous results that, in 1896, they were compelled by the pressure of public opinion to make an important concession, by which a student is eligible for Honours in Mental Philosophy if he has passed a qualifying examination in the translation into English of passages from the works of Greek philosophical authors.

It would be tedious to enlarge upon the numerous points of detail in which Dr. Bain regarded the scheme of the Commissioners as capable of improvement, but one further example is valuable as illustrating his general attitude. He resented the distinction drawn by the Commissioners between the maximum salary of £800 assigned to the Aberdeen Chairs of Latin, Greek, Mathematics, and Natural Philosophy, and the maximum salary of £700 assigned to those of Logic, Moral Philosophy, English, and History. The wording of the Committee's report on this Ordinance may well have come from his own pen :

"It appears to the Committee that in the future conduct of these Chairs as determined by the Degree Ordinances, there will be nothing in the comparative laboriousness of the two sets to justify any such distinction; while if the rarity of the qualifications is considered, there will be an equal absence of any ground for the pecuniary difference. The Committee is, therefore, of opinion that in assigning the total sum allowed for these eight Arts Professors, no such difference should be made between them as is proposed. That is to say, there should be a uniform maximum of £750."

On this, as on many other points, his counsel was disregarded by the Commissioners, but he almost invari