divided his allegiance with Sophocles. But
the author who most completely mastered him, and whom he most
completely mastered, was Pindar. The Olympian Odes seemed to him
like the Elgin Marbles in their serene and unapproachable splendour.
All this classical reading, though it cannot have been fruitless,
was not done systematically for the schools. Froude had no ambition,
believing that he should soon die. But a reading-party during the
Long Vacation of 1839 resulted in an engagement, which changed the
course of his life.

Hitherto he had been under the impression that nobody cared for him
at all, and that it mattered not what became of him. The sense of
being valued by another person made him value himself. He became
ambitious, and worked hard for his degree. He remembered how the
master of his first school had prophesied that he would be a Bishop.
He did not want to be a Bishop, but he began to think that such
grandeur would not have been predicted of a fool. Abandoning his
idle habits, he read night and day that he might distinguish himself
in the young lady's eyes. After six months her father interfered. He
had no confidence in the stability of this very young suitor's
character, and he put an end to the engagement. Froude was stunned
by the blow, and gave up all hope of a first class. In any case
there would have been difficulties. His early training in
scholarship had not been accurate, and he suffered from the blunders
of his education. But under the influence of excitement he had so
far made up for lost time that he got, like Hurrell, a second class
in the final classical schools. His qualified success gave him, no
satisfaction. He was suffering from a bitter sense of disappointment
and wrong. It seemed to him that he was marked out for misfortune,
and that there was no one to help him or to take any trouble about
him. Thrown back upon himself, however, he conquered his
discouragement and resolved that he would be the master of his fate.

It was in the year 1840 that Froude took his degree. Newman was then
at the height of his power and influence. The Tracts for the Times,
which Mrs. Browning in Aurora Leigh calls "tracts against the
times," were popular with undergraduates, and High Churchmen were
making numerous recruits. Newman's sermons are still read for their
style. But we can hardly imagine the effect which they produced when
they were delivered. The preacher's unrivalled command of English,
his exquisi