PATRIOTIC SONG. SUNG AT THE LIVERPOOL DINNER IN COMMEMORATION OF THE PASSING OF THE REFORM BILL. TUNE,-Gee ho! Dobbin. Huzza for Old England! the struggle is past, CHORUS. Fill every glass, boys, Let the toast pass, boys, Success to the People, and God save the King! We may boast of our victories at fam❜d Waterloo, CHORUS. Old England abroad, still could vanquish her foes, CHORUS. The people, whom pensioner Burke christen'd "Swine," Their birthright ;-and who shall the summons withstand? CHORUS. George Canning, that deeply sworn foe to Reform, CHORUS. To our matchless Premier, then, a bumper let's fill, CHORUS. Before I conclude, one more toast I'll propose- CHORUS. THE MAGIC GLOBE, OR THE BOTTLE IMP. (Continued from page 390.) CHAP. XV. Lord Grenville's Vindication of the University of OxfordOther Peccadilloes of Alma Mater-College DisciplineSix-bottle Men, &c. "I ought, perhaps, to blush to own that I am half angry with my Lord Grenville for doing an act of common justice' (said Ferdinand.) I have been so disgusted with the bigotry and intolerance of the Oxonians upon several occasions, that I almost wish the Chancellor of the University had not wiped out one of the blots which have hitherto attached to Alma Mater. You know, my friend, that it has been very generally taken for granted that the illustrious John Locke was expelled the University of Oxford in consequence of the liberal and enlightened principles avowed by that eminent philosopher. It appears, however, that my Lord Grenville, in a letter addressed to the late Mr. Horner, has vindicated the University from this foul reproach; and has proved, to the satisfaction of the late Dugald Stewart, that the expulsion of Locke was the special act of King Charles the Second, in his capacity of founder and visitor of Christ Church College." "Oxford has so many other sins to answer for, (said Asmodeus,) that you may transfer the expulsion of Locke to the account of Charles, without completely purifying the reputation of the University. The Chancellor will not deny that 'on the very day on which Russell was executed, this same University passed their famous decree, denouncing, as impious and heretical propositions, every principle upon which the constitution of this or any other free country can maintain itself.'. Fox, in his 'History of the Early Part of the Reign of James II,' adverting to this circumstance, says, that if Much Ado about Nothing' had been published in those days, it would have been taken for a satire: Dogberry, Verges, and their followers, representing the Vice-chancellor and Doctors of our learned University." "Does not the same spirit continue to characterize this boasted seat of learning at the present day, (said Ferdinand,) which distinguished it in the days of the Stuarts?" "It would appear (said Asmodeus) that whether Locke was expelled by the King or the University, the college youths have not, in later times, set that value upon your great moral philosopher which attaches to his name in every civilized country in Europe. In 1815, his picture was taken down from the great hall, in Christ's Church, Oxford, to make room for that of the Right Hon. George Canning." "I recollect the disgraceful circumstance very well, (said Ferdinand.) A friend, at the time, put forth the following doggerels on the occasion : 'Ye asses, while your changes planning, It had been more in season Had ye kept both, placed vis á vis, For what more opposite can be Than sophistry and reason?" "It is not surprising (said Asmodeus) that Locke should have been thus indignantly treated at the capital of intolerance, and head-quarters of Toryism, when we recollect the bold doctrines inculcated by this enlightened philosopher, who maintained that the people ought to possess the supreme power, to remove or alter the legislature when they find the legislature acting contrary to the trust reposed in them; for all power, he contended, given with trust for attaining an See Fox's History of the Early Part of the Reign of James II. Introduction, p. 51. end, being limited by that end, whenever that end is manifestly neglected or opposed, the trust must necessarily be forfeited, and the power devolve into the hands of those who gave it, who may place it anew where they shall think best for their safety and security." "Had the late Mr. Canning dared to avow such a doctrine as this, (said Ferdinand,) I will venture to say that his portrait would have been indignantly turned out of Christ Church, to give place to that of some creature as inferior to him as he was to John Locke.-Apropos of this said University of Oxford, Vicissimus Knox has shown that, in his time, the system of moral and intellectual discipline inculcated there was defective and slovenly almost beyond belief. After reading my Lord Grenville's letter to Mr. Horner, recollecting Knox's description of the practices of Alma Mater, I consulted his works, and transcribed a passage, which, by your leave, I will read to you:-'It is reckoned good management (says the writer) to get acquainted with two or three jolly young Masters of Arts, and supply them well with port previously to the examination. The poor young man to be examined in the sciences (continues the same author) often knows no more of them than his bed-maker, and masters who examine are sometimes equally unacquainted with such mysteries; but schemes, as they are called, or little books, containing forty or fifty questions on each science, are handed down from age to age, from one to another.'-This is a pretty peep behind the curtain,' (continued Ferdinand.) Pray inform me whether the system is reformed since Knox thus 'let the cat out of the bag ?" " "If there has been any change (said Asmodeus) I can assure you it has not been for the better. The learning of a great majority of the students is little better than pedantry; it was ironically observed by Porson, that their quantity of knowledge was a knowledge of quantity.' As to their metaphysical disputations, they remind one of the Scotch blacksmith's definition-Two folks disputin' together-he that's listenin' disna ken what he that's speakin' means, and he that's speakin' disna ken what he means himsel❜-and that's metaphysics.'" "To judge from some samples I have myself seen, (said Ferdinand,) I should imagine that the pedagogues in this far-famed seminary excel chiefly in inculcating the manners of a dancing-master, and the morals of a ****, as Dr. Johnson said of Lord Chesterfield. Old Porson, whom you have just mentioned, need not have travelled to the Continent to get fuddled with pedants and professors; he would have found his six-bottle men in Oxford as well as in Germany. I have forgotten the whimsical lines in which our celebrated Greek scholar commemorated his tour to the Continent; perhaps you will give my memory a friendly jog, as 1 recollect being much amused with the naïveté of the learned Doctor." I suppose (said Asmodeus) you allude to the lines which the eccentric scholar published as the narrative of his tour to Germany, and its great result. 'I went to Frankfort and got drunk, With that most learn'd Professor Brunck; CHAP. XVI. Duelling-Futility of reasoning upon the subject-Satire the most likely means of bringing Duels into disrepute—Defence of the custom-Whimsical Challenge-The subject interrupted-The disinterested and philanthropic Doctor preseribing for the poor gratis. "You seem lost in thought, my friend, (said Asmodeus |