CAMBRIDGE 75 



tutor to the then Prince of Wales, now King 

 Edward vii. Gibbs obtained his Trinity Scholarship 

 at the same time as F. Gell, who was afterwards 

 Bishop of Madras. Gibbs was gifted with agility ; 

 Gell was very short-sighted, and the reverse of agile, 

 but he possessed a grand nose, the finest I have ever 

 seen, and a glory to the College. These two, as 

 Gibbs told me, exuberant with joy from gaining their 

 scholarships, rushed down the avenue of limes at the 

 back of the College and through the gate at the end, 

 where a row of low bars confronted them ; Gibbs, 

 who led, jumped lightly over them, but Gell, who 

 followed, blundered, tripped, fell heavily on his 

 face, and ruined his grand nose for ever. The bars 

 are still there ; whenever I pass that way I recall the 

 tragedy. 



Two events may be mentioned to show how long 

 the duelling spirit lingered. One was a row at the 

 Union which nearly dismembered it. I partly forget 

 how it originated, and it would hardly be worth while 

 to record it if I did. It culminated in the formation 

 of two fiercely opposed parties, P. and C, and by a 

 leading member of the C. party being bludgeoned in 

 the dark by two members of the P. party. They 

 had awaited his exit from the dark staircase leading 

 from his rooms into Neville Court. The tumult that 

 this caused among the already excited undergraduates 

 is barely conceivable. The C. party, to which I 

 belonged, formed itself into a Committee and sent to 

 an Indian officer, then living with his family in 

 Cambridge, entreating- him to come and advise us 

 how to act. The officer himself happened to be 

 delayed for half an hour, but he sent in advance, 



