134 THE LIFE OF JAMES I). FORBES. [CHAP. 



self had the interest of the University at heart. When 

 two such unbending natures as those of Forbes and Sir 

 William Hamilton came into contact, as they did more 

 than once, the shock was a rough one, and the result 

 not generally beneficial. A middle course, which would 

 probably have been the right course, was, from the 

 nature of the opponents, an impossibility. In looking 

 back on these conflicts, each of the combatants referred 

 to stands out as a man of immense power, of high prin- 

 ciple, of honest purpose with only an excess of one 

 virtue so great as to make it cease to be a virtue self- 

 reliance. With their wide differences, each has left a 

 permanent mark for good on the University. 



4 In 1841 came up the subject of the disposal of the 

 magnificent legacy left by General Eeid for the endow- 

 ment of a chair of the Theory of Music, and for the 

 library and general purposes of the University. In the 

 controversies to which the disposal of this fund gave 

 rise, and which for years kept the Senatus in the law- 

 courts, Forbes took a prominent part. He honestly con- 

 sidered a chair of Music to be a mere ornament, and 

 therefore resolutely opposed all votes of money for 

 supporting the chair. He believed that there were far 

 more urgent needs to be supplied than this. It was 

 notorious that certain professors from age and long 

 service had great difficulty in conducting their classes. 

 Forbes thought that the Keid Fund could not be bet- 

 ter employed than in providing retiring allowances for 

 these aged professors, and supported this view with all 

 his energy. Of his colleagues, some pleaded for the 

 museums, some for the library, while only a very few stood 

 by the Music Chair. Hence came the rupture with the 

 holder of that chair, and ere long with the Patrons as 

 the governing body of the University. It is needless to 

 dwell on the litigations that ensued between the Senatus 

 and the Town Council and the Professor of Music. The 

 result was that, after years of contention, the provision 

 for superannuated professors, and other most desirable 

 objects which Forbes had at heart, were stopped, and the 



