IN THE MORAL PHILOSOPHY CLASS.

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upon Shakespeare-on whom I spent a great deal of study, and who helped me largely to psychological results, both intellectual and emotional. To reach the secret of his genius was a long-standing aim; he being, to my mind, the ne plus ultra of intellectual originality.

After being obliged to give up my analytic writing in the morning hours, I had to trifle away the time as well as I could, not being subject to any discipline on the part of Glennie's assistant. No other incident of any moment, beyond what I have already stated, took place in this class until the close of the session, when there was an examination for settling the prizes. We had the assurance that the questions would be taken from a very limited stock, perhaps thirty in all, which had served in a rotation of many years; and I took care to have sufficient answers in readiness for them all-which cost me

an afternoon and evening's work. As no one else had given the same amount of attention to the course, I gained the first prize.

The Moral Philosophy class, although the main occupation of the session, was not the only class. There was a higher mathematical class an hour a day, five days a week, optional to the students generally, but obligatory on the mathematical bursar. It of course, was serious

work. The Differential Calculus and Analytical Trigonometry were the principal subjects taken up. My exclusive interest in mathematics had long since faded, and I gave now only the amount of attention to it involved in the College requirements. For purposes of general scientific culture,

I had as much as was at all needed.

An hour a week in Greek, and an hour in Christian Evidences, completed the class attendance of the session. Notwithstanding the number of hours-twenty-two a week, the session was not an oppressive one-perhaps, less so than any of the three preceding sessions. The distribution of time was such that there was an hour's break between every two meetings; one effect being to spread the work over the day (from nine to four most days), but also to lighten the intellectual strain. In spite of other occupations, to be noticed presently, my health, with the break alluded to, stood out well to the end of the session.

My first extra burden was the lectures on Natural Philosophy. Besides compiling, I endeavoured to strike out original views, and also to bring to bear all my acquired notions of expository method. In this last respect, I was considered to have made a success; although I was sometimes complained of, for the undue

length of the lectures. If I extended them, as I sometimes did, to an hour and a half, or even two hours, it was at least a proof of some considerable physical vigour, seeing I had spent five hours in the early part of the day in college classes.

It was in this same session that my attention was first directed to Logic proper; and I produced two elaborate essays on the Aristotelian principle, viewed mainly as a practical help for discovering the soundness of reasonings. Whately's book, which I had attempted to read, led me a very little way, and was in fact discouraging. These logical essays, which happen to be preserved, were read at the Mechanics' class. They seized hold of the Aristotelian principle as the means of analyzing complicated, confused, and involved reasonings-the same use that I made of it in my latest teachings. I showed, by a number of examples, how it might be thus employed; the upshot being always to land me in an inductive operation for ascertaining the validity of a proposition, or for arriving at the accurate definition of a general term.

I was induced to become a member of a small Mathematical Society; although I felt that my day for the work was past. Instead of prescribing for my fellow-workers a cranky geometrical con

struction, I gave out the mathematical calculation of the velocity of sound. I had formerly studied, with very little satisfaction, Newton's calculation in the Principia. I set to work myself to draw out his demonstration in writing, so as to fill in and criticize every step; being satisfied that there was somewhere a petitio principii. The others, however, disregarded all my pains, and gave a short algebraical estimate which they considered enough. From that hour to this, I have been a sceptic as to the application of Mathematics to Natural Philosophy, except in so far as vindicated by results.

My chum Masson, hitherto one of my inseparable companions, was now, as I have remarked, a graduate in Arts, intending to go on to Divinity. Instead, however, of taking the Aberdeen classes, he found an opening for lucrative tutorial work in Edinburgh, and removed thither at the beginning of the present session. He remained in Edinburgh henceforth, having the advantage of attending Chalmers, and came to Aberdeen merely in the autumn vacation. Even then, I saw little of him, as he had invitations to country manses for part of the time. Our intercourse, therefore, lay chiefly in correspondence. It was the interregnum between the old expensive postage and the penny post.

STUDY OF LOGIC.-MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY.

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Letters from Edinburgh to Aberdeen formerly cost 10d.; a universal fourpenny rate was now substituted. During the present session, a good many long letters passed between us; purely personal matter relating to our respective studies being mingled with references with references to the great ecclesiastical fight then going on, and increasing in heat from month to month. It is unnecessary, at this stage, to allude further to what must come up later.

Of the session work, I have now only to deal with the close. The month of March brought the labour of preparation for the M.A. Degree examinations-carried on at this time, and for some time after, on a very oppressive plan. There were seven subjects in all; the newly instituted Christian Evidences class ranking as equal with the other six-Latin, Greek, Mathematics, Natural Philosophy, Natural History, Moral Philosophy. These seven subjects had to be taken on seven consecutive days, with only the Sunday break. The Christian Evidences examination was to be virâ voce; all the rest were conducted in writing, the list of questions, in each case, being serious and severe. In point of fact, we were under a very recent reform in the matter of Degree examinations, which, after a time, had to be rendered less trying by being divided into two diets, with a