my discovery of england-第13章

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eir　minds。　Let　me　be　more　explicit。　In　all　that　goes　with　physical　and　mathematical　science；　women；　on　the　average；　are　far　below　the　standard　of　men。　There　are；　of　course；　exceptions。　　But　they　prove　nothing。　It　is　no　use　to　quote　to　me　the　case　of　some　brilliant　girl　who　stood　first　in　physics　at　Cornell。　That's　nothing。　There　is　an　elephant　in　the　zoo　that　can　count　up　to　ten；　yet　I　refuse　to　reckon　myself　his　inferior。

Tabulated　results　spread　over　years；　and　the　actual　experience　of　those　who　teach　show　that　in　the　whole　domain　of　mathematics　and　physics　women　are　outclassed。　At　McGill　the　girls　of　our　first　year　have　wept　over　their　failures　in　elementary　physics　these　twenty…five　years。　It　is　time　that　some　one　dried　their　tears　and　took　away　the　subject。

But；　in　any　case；　examination　tests　are　never　the　whole　story。　To　those　who　know；　a　written　examination　is　far　from　being　a　true　criterion　of　capacity。　It　demands　too　much　of　mere　memory；　imitativeness；　and　the　insidious　willingness　to　absorb　other　people's　ideas。　Parrots　and　crows　would　do　admirably　in　examinations。　Indeed；　the　colleges　are　full　of　them。

But　take；　on　the　other　hand；　all　that　goes　with　the　aesthetic　side　of　education；　with　imaginative　literature　and　the　cult　of　beauty。　Here　women　are；　or　at　least　ought　to　be；　the　superiors　of　men。　Women　were　in　primitive　times　the　first　story…tellers。　They　are　still　so　at　the　cradle　side。　The　original　college　woman　was　the　witch；　with　her　incantations　and　her　prophecies　and　the　glow　of　her　bright　imagination；　and　if　brutal　men　of　duller　brains　had　not　burned　it　out　of　her；　she　would　be　incanting　still。　To　my　thinking；　we　need　more　witches　in　the　colleges　and　less　physics。

I　have　seen　such　young　witches　myself；if　I　may　keep　the　word：　I　like　it；in　colleges　such　as　Wellesley　in　Massachusetts　and　Bryn　Mawr　in　Pennsylvania；　where　there　isn't　a　man　allowed　within　the　three　mile　limit。　To　my　mind；　they　do　infinitely　better　thus　by　themselves。　They　are　freer；　less　restrained。　They　discuss　things　openly　in　their　classes；　they　lift　up　their　voices；　and　they　speak；　whereas　a　girl　in　such　a　place　as　McGill；　with　men　all　about　her；　sits　for　four　years　as　silent　as　a　frog　full　of　shot。

But　there　is　a　deeper　trouble　still。　The　careers　of　the　men　and　women　who　go　to　college　together　are　necessarily　different；　and　the　preparation　is　all　aimed　at　the　man's　career。　The　men　are　going　to　be　lawyers；　doctors；　engineers；　business　men；　and　politicians。　And　the　women　are　not。

There　is　no　use　pretending　about　it。　It　may　sound　an　awful　thing　to　say；　but　the　women　are　going　to　be　married。　That　is；　and　always　has　been；　their　career；　and；　what　is　more；　they　know　it；　and　even　at　college；　while　they　are　studying　algebra　and　political　economy；　they　have　their　eye　on　it　sideways　all　the　time。　The　plain　fact　is　that；　after　a　girl　has　spent　four　years　of　her　time　and　a　great　deal　of　her　parents'　money　in　equipping　herself　for　a　career　that　she　is　never　going　to　have；　the　wretched　creature　goes　and　gets　married；　and　in　a　few　years　she　has　forgotten　which　is　the　hypotenuse　of　a　right…angled　triangle；　and　she　doesn't　care。　She　has　much　better　things　to　think　of。

At　this　point　some　one　will　shriek：　〃But　surely；　even　for　marriage；　isn't　it　right　that　a　girl　should　have　a　college　education？〃　To　which　I　hasten　to　answer：　most　assuredly。　I　freely　admit　that　a　girl　who　knows　algebra；　or　once　knew　it；　is　a　far　more　charming　companion　and　a　nobler　wife　and　mother　than　a　girl　who　doesn't　know　x　from　y。　But　the　point　is　this：　Does　the　higher　education　that　fits　a　man　to　be　a　lawyer　also　fit　a　person　to　be　a　wife　and　mother？　　Or；　in　other　words；　is　a　lawyer　a　wife　and　mother？　I　say　he　is　not。　　Granted　that　a　girl　is　to　spend　four　years　in　time　and　four　thousand　dollars　in　money　in　going　to　college；　why　train　her　for　a　career　that　she　is　never　going　to　adopt？　Why　not　give　her　an　education　that　will　have　a　meaning　and　a　harmony　with　the　real　life　that　she　is　to　follow？

For　example；　suppose　that　during　her　four　years　every　girl　lucky　enough　to　get　a　higher　education　spent　at　least　six　months　of　it　in　the　training　and　discipline　of　a　hospital　as　a　nurse。　There　is　more　education　and　character　making　in　that　than　in　a　whole　bucketful　of　algebra。

But　no；　the　woman　insists　on　snatching　her　share　of　an　education　designed　by　Erasmus　or　William　of　Wykeham　or　William　of　Occam　for　the　creation　of　scholars　and　lawyers；　and　when　later　on　in　her　home　there　is　a　sudden　sickness　or　accident；　and　the　life　or　death　of　those　nearest　to　her　hangs　upon　skill　and　knowledge　and　a　trained　fortitude　in　emergency；　she　must　needs　send　in　all　haste　for　a　hired　woman　to　fill　the　place　that　she　herself　has　never　learned　to　occupy。

But　I　am　not　here　trying　to　elaborate　a　whole　curriculum。　I　am　only　trying　to　indicate　that　higher　education　for　the　man　is　one　thing；　for　the　woman　another。　Nor　do　I　deny　the　fact　that　women　have　got　to　earn　their　living。　Their　higher　education　must　enable　them　to　do　that。　They　cannot　all　marry　on　their　graduation　day。　But　that　is　no　great　matter。　No　scheme　of　education　that　any　one　is　likely　to　devise　will　fail　in　this　respect。

The　positions　that　they　hold　as　teachers　or　civil　servants　they　would　fill　all　the　better　if　their　education　were　fitted　to　their　wants。

Some　few；　a　small　minority；　really　and　truly　〃have　a　career；〃husbandless　and　childless；in　which　the　sacrifice　is　great　and　the　honour　to　them；　perhaps；　all　the　higher。　And　others　no　doubt　dream　of　a　career　in　which　a　husband　and　a　group　of　blossoming　children　are　carried　as　an　appendage　to　a　busy　life　at　the　bar　or　on　the　platform。　But　all　such　are　the　mere　minority；　so　small　as　to　make　no　difference　to　the　general　argument。

But　thereI　have　written　quite　enough　to　make　plenty　of　trouble　except　perhaps　at　Cambridge　University。　So　I　return　with　relief　to　my　general　study　of　Oxford。　Viewing　the　situation　as　a　whole；　I　am　led　then　to　the　conclusion　that　there　must　be　something　in　the　life　of　Oxford　itself　that　makes　for　higher　learning。　Smoked　at　by　his　tutor；　fed　in　Henry　VIII's　kitchen；　and　sleeping　in　a　tangle　of　ivy；　the　student　evidently　gets　something　not　easily　obtained　in　America。　And　the　more　I　reflect　on　the　matter　the　more　I　am　convinced　that　it　is　the　sleeping　in　the　ivy　that　does　it。　How　different　it　is　from　student　life　as　I　remember　it！

When　I　was　a　student　at　the　University　of　Toronto　thirty　years　ago；　I　lived；from　start　to　finish；in　seventeen　different　boarding　houses。　As　far　as　I　am　aware　these　houses　have　not；　or　not　yet；　been　marked　with　tablets。　But　they　are　still　to　be　found　in　the　vicinity　of　McCaul　and　Darcy；　and　St。　Patrick　Streets。　Any　one　who　doubts　the　truth　of　what　I　have　to　say　may　go　and　look　at　them。

I　was　not　alone　in　the　nomadic　life　that　I　led。　There　were　hundreds　of　us　drifting　about　in　this　fashion　from　one　melancholy　habitation　to　another。　We　lived　as　a　rule　two　or　three　in　a　house；　sometimes　alone。　We　dined　in　the　basement。　We　always　had　beef；　done　up　in　some　way　after　it　was　dead；　and　there　were　always　soda　biscuits　on　the　table。　They　used　to　have　a　brand　of　soda　biscuits　in　those　days　in　the　Toronto　boarding　houses　that　I　have　not　seen　since。　They　were　better　than　dog　biscuits　but　with　not　so　much　snap。　My　contemporaries　will　all　remember　them。　A　great　many　of　the　leading　barristers　and　professional　men　of　Toronto　were　fed　on　them。

In　the　life　we　led　we　had　practically　no　opportunities　for　association　on　a　large　scale；　no　common　rooms；　no　reading　rooms；　nothing。　We　never　saw　the　magazines；personally　I　didn't　even　know　the　names　of　them。　The　only　interchange　of　ideas　we　ever　got　was　by　going　over　to　the　Caer　Howell　Hotel　on　University　Avenue　and　interchanging　them　there。

I　mention　these　melancholy　details　not　for　their　own　sake　but　merely　to　emphasise　the　point　that　when　I　speak　of　students'　dormitories；　and　the　larger　life　which　they　offer；　I　speak　of　what　I　know。

If　we　had　had　at　Toronto；　when　I　was　a　student；　the　kind　of　dormitories　and　dormitory　life　that　they　have　at　Oxford；　I　don't　think　I　would　ever　have　graduated。　I'd　have　been　there　still。　The　trouble　is　that　the　universities　on　our　Continent　are　only　just　waking　up　to　the