278 SIR WILLIAM RAMSAY 



about what he was to expect from this part of his pro- 

 gramme. Early in the year he had been officially asked 

 to give three introductory lectures (to be accurate, to 

 deliver one and hand in the others), and one or two 

 others of his friends had been asked to do the same. 

 Owing, however, to his having left London early in 

 August, the full instructions had not reached him, and 

 all he knew was that he had to be at Houston on the 

 night of the 9th of October. Of Houston itself he knew 

 little. One lady, with whom he had talked of it in 

 London, had told him she had dined a few years before 

 in its best hotel and that the mirrors had been all 

 riddled with pistol shots after some gentle and joyous 

 pastime of the night before. This account promised 

 some excitement at least. 



The origin of most of the American universities is 

 very different from that of the ancient foundations in 

 this country. They are very generally the outcome of 

 private benevolence, often retaining the name of the 

 founder, as at the universities of Harvard, at Cam- 

 bridge, Mass., and Johns Hopkins at Baltimore. 



One story about the start of one of these universities 

 was told to Ramsay at Harvard. Some years ago the 

 then president of Harvard was called on by an old couple, 

 who asked if they might see over the university. They 

 explained that they were interested in all young men 

 for the sake of their only son, whom they had recently lost, 

 and they looked so simple, so shabby and so sad, that 

 the kindly President took them round himself. Their 



