548 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



with Brother A , whose notions were always of the most unprac- 

 tical kind. He wanted us to employ specialists; men who understood 

 thoroughly the branches they professed to teach, and who would be 

 independent of text-books. According to liis extravagant ideas, every 

 department of knowledge is in rapid growth, and only a man who 

 devotes himself assiduously to one study is able to teach that study 

 in accordance with the requirements of modern times. Such nonsense 

 as this we repudiated. Anybody of ordinary education and intelli- 

 gence ought to be able to teach any subject by simply taking a text- 

 book and keeping a lesson or two ahead of the class. As for " ad- 

 vanced knowledge," the " requirements of modern times," and all 

 that sort of thing, we distrusted it totally ; under such disguises, 

 specious and pleasing, dangerous ideas would be sure to creep in and 

 sap the foundations of our laniversity. "VYe must have nothing rash 

 nor novel in our institution ; only Avell-tried and approved knowledge 

 should be taught by the professors. These must be, first, men of 

 trained moral character and good denominational standing ; mere fa- 

 miliarity with this, that, or the other study, should be a purely sec- 

 ondary matter. 



At last, after much ill-feeling all round, our professors were ap- 

 pointed. Four of them were esteemed clergymen of our denomina- 

 tion, who, having failed at preaching, were glad to find some occupa- 

 tion. Thus, in divers ways, does a great university benefit the human 

 race. Another member of the Faculty was a recent graduate of our 

 leading theological seminary, who accepted a chair until he could find 

 a pulpit ; two others were lay brethren. We had our greatest diffi- 

 culty in selecting a professor of chemistry. Several gentlemen ap- 

 plied, were discussed, and rejected, before we made our final choice. 



One, the special loroteg'a of Brother A , had just returned from 



Germany, where for three years he had been studying at Heidelberg 

 under a certain Prof. Bunsen, who was reputed to be a very great 

 man, but of whom we had never before heard. This young man 

 brought strong recommendations, but appeared to be dangerous ; so, 

 as he was not a member of our sect, we rejected him. Another we 

 were about to elect, when we discovered that he was a Darwinian and 

 a reader of Tyndall ; so he could not by any means be chosen. At 

 last we found an apparently harmless yoiing gentleman who had just 

 graduated from an Eastern scientific school, and him w*e made our 



professor. Now a notable event happened. Brother A made a 



suggestion which was actually followed ; namely, that we should buy 

 some apparatus and chemicals. We at once voted to spend three 

 hundred dollars (recently begged) for fitting up a laboratory, and 

 appointed a committee to look after the matter. At the next meeting 

 of the board they reported the purchase of an air-pump, an electrical 

 machine, some acids, a little phosphorus, a large gas-bag, and sev- 

 eral retorts. These being the appliances most frequently mentioned 



