He will not be long in finding out his mistake. Our
public schools and universities play the beneficent part in our
social scheme that cattle do in forests: they browse the seedlings
down and prevent the growth of all but the luckiest and sturdiest.
Of course, if there are too many either cattle or schools, they
browse so effectually that they find no more food, and starve till
equilibrium is restored; but it seems to be a provision of nature
that there should always be these alternate periods, during which
either the cattle or the trees are getting the best of it; and,
indeed, without such provision we should have neither the one nor
the other. At this moment the cattle, doubtless, are in the
ascendant, and if university extension proceeds much farther, we
shall assuredly have no more Mrs. Newtons and Mrs. Bromfields; but
whatever is is best, and, on the whole, I should propose to let
things find pretty much their own level.
However this may be, who can question that the treasures hidden in
many a country house contain sleeping beauties even fairer than
those that I have endeavoured to waken from long sleep in the
foregoing article? How many Mrs.
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