414 THE LIFE OF JAMES D. FORBES. [CHAP. 



To E. C. BATTEN, 



4 ST. ANDREWS, February Ibth. 



f . . . I should say that four hours in the day fatigues 

 me more than nine or ten used to do ; and as I have 

 been having meetings about five times a week, and as 

 a meeting at St. Andrews nominally lasts two hours as a 

 minimum, you see at once how much of my brain-juice 

 is expended. In fact, to make up at all, I have at present 

 to breakfast in bed, that I may rise the fresher. All 

 after dinner is mere play-time, of necessity. If I happen 

 to dine out it counts for work done. I have had my 

 lectures once or twice interrupted from simple incapacity 

 to deliver them. To a large mixed audience, an hour's 

 lecture even on a familiar subject must be carefully pre- 

 pared. I think that they have been pretty successful. 

 Then I have, secondly, my own College work, meetings, 

 committees, and correspondences. This is not at present 

 particularly heavy. Thirdly, I have University work, 

 which is and has been very heavy. The Commissioners' 

 Ordinances have turned our finances topsy-turvy, and I 

 have been the chief actor in making a scheme of expendi- 

 ture and income, and wrote with my own hand a finance 

 report of eighteen quarto pages now printing. Much 

 of it lies on debatable ground, and will have to be fought 

 inch by inch. Fourthly, I have the church restorations 

 chiefly on my hands, which divide into two parts : the 

 architectural, on which I have to deal with Government 

 people ; and painted windows, in which many private 

 parties and my own colleagues are concerned. We are 

 making progress in both departments. Fifthly, there is 

 the College Hall, which cannot be expected to progress 

 always with perfect smoothness. When any hitch occurs 

 and it is sure to be when I am otherwise most busy 

 as Chairman of the Council, I have to take an active 

 part, and last week we had three long meetings 

 about it.' 



