nk, toiling day
by day that others should be rich, than to live in thought and
meditation, with a heart open to sweet influences and pure hopes. And
yet it seems to be held nowadays that virtue is bound up with practical
life. If a man is content to abjure wealth and to forego marriage, to
live simply without luxuries, he may spend a very dignified, gentle
life here, and at the same time he may be really useful. It is a thing
which is well worth doing to attempt the reconciliation between the old
and the young. Boys come up here under the impression that their
pastors and teachers are all about fifty; they think of them as
sensible, narrow-minded men, and, like Melchizedek, without beginning
of days or end of life. They suppose that they like marking mistakes in
exercises with blue pencil, and take delight in showing their power by
setting punishments. It does not often occur to them that schoolmasters
may be pathetically anxious to guide boys right, and to guard them from
evil. They think of them as devoid of passions and prejudices, with a
little dreary space to traverse before they sink into the tomb. Even in
homes, how seldom does a perfectly simple human relation exist between
a boy and his father! There is often a great deal of affection on both
sides, but little camaraderie. Little boys are odd, tiresome creatures
in many ways, with savage instincts; and I suppose many fathers feel
that, if they are to maintain their authority, they must be a little
distant and inscrutable. A boy goes for sympathy and companionship to
his mother and sisters, not often to his father. Now a Don may do
something to put this straight, if he has the will. One of the best
friends I ever had was an elderly Don at my own college, who had been a
contemporary of my father's. He liked young men; and I used to consult
him and ask his advice in things in which I could not well consult my
own contemporaries. It is not necessary to be extravagantly youthful,
to slap people on the back, to run with the college boat, though that
is very pleasant if it is done naturally. All that is wanted is to be
accessible and quietly genial. And under such influences a young man
may, without becoming elderly, get to understand the older point of
view.

The difficulty is that one acquires habits and mannerisms; one is
crusty and gruff if interfered with. But, as Pater said, to acquire
habits is failure in life. Of course, one must realize limitations, and
lear