something of the same attachment for St John’s. He was sent to Cambridge
by his patron, the Earl of Dorset, and in course of time obtained a
fellowship. With considerable forethought, he refused to give up his
fellowship when promoted to high offices of state, and consequently,
after his imprisonment by the Whigs in 1715 and the loss of all his
fortune, he managed to keep body and soul together at Cambridge. The
enormous portrait of him by Rigaud, which is now in the Master’s Lodge,
displays him in his robes as an ambassador, and is one of the most
striking pictures in the college. He left a very beautiful collection
of books to the library, among which may be mentioned a splendid folio
edition of Ronsard’s poems. His poetry is essentially of the outer
world and not of Cambridge, but its culture and the academic flavour
which is apparent in the most frivolous pieces bear clear testimony to
the influence of the University on this light-hearted scholar. A very
opposite type of scholarship—the laborious and critical—is represented
by Richard Bentley,* who was a member of the society at the same time
with Matthew Prior, and rose to further fame as Master of Trinity. In
this period, too, Divinity was well represented. To say nothing of
Bishops Gunning and Turner, great names in the history of theology, three
masters of the college held, with their mastership, the Lady Margaret
Professorship of Divinity within a very short time of each other. These
were Dr Humphrey Gower,* master in 1679, Dr Robert Jenkin,* in 1711, and
Dr Newcome in 1735.
Since the arrest of Dr Beale, St John’s has enjoyed a very quiet
history. In the eighteenth century, it produced the regulation number
of noblemen and paid its full contribution to the cabinets of the
period. Towards the end of the century, we remark the name of the
eccentric Samuel Parr, whose portrait hangs in the Combination Room,
and of Herbert Marsh (* Ponsford), the controversialist and Bishop of
Peterborough, to whom Professor Mayor has devoted a large space in his
edition of Baker’s History. At the same time, we notice with interest
that William Wilberforce (* G. Richmond) and Thomas Clarkson (* Room)
were at St John’s together, and, while there, doubtless cultivated
the humanitarianism which is their common title to fame. Clarkson was
a native of Cambridgeshire, having been born at Wisbech, where his
father was master of the Grammar School, in 1760. But, in 1787, St
John’s received her most distinguished poet, William Wordsworth (*
Pickersgill). He himself, in lines which are at once oddly prosaic and
incomparably sublime, has described his impressions during his residence
at Cambridge. These, however, are the sole tie which binds him to the
place; for his retiring nature led him very little into society, and
his emotions and impressions were all highly subjective. He has told us
where his rooms were, but, owing to constant alterations, their exact
position has been somewhat disputed. They are at present turned into
one of the kitchen store-rooms. Some people, by a curious misreading of
the text, have imagined that he could look into Trinity antechapel from
his rooms and see Newton’s statue. As a matter of fact, he merely says
that he could see the antechapel, and this feat is easily performed from
any back-window on the south side of the first court. Like most highly
imaginative poets, and unlike the materialistic Matthew Prior, Wordsworth
was a dilatory student, and he deserted Cambridge in 1791 for the wilder
excitement of the French Revolution.
It is probable that no one has derived so much earthly benefit from an
early death as Henry Kirke White, who entered the college in 1804, died
in 1806, and has ever since been reckoned as one of its chief ornaments.
He is also the only member of the University who has a public monument in
Cambridge. At the age of nineteen he was a very promising mathematician,
and was patronised by Southey as a rising poet. The small collection of
poems and letters which constitute his “remains” show great religious
fervour and some metrical skill, but their imagination is defective and
morbid. His death excited great compassion, and his name still lives,
in England and America, as that of a precocious genius. It is not
unlikely that the greater name of Henry Martyn* is less widely known.
This distinguished scholar and Orientalist became a fellow in 1802, but
left Cambridge three years later to become a missionary. His life, short
although it is, is a splendid record of devoted piety and self-denial. He
went through dangers and privations in parts of the East which were then
totally unknown to Europeans, and died in the prosecution of his labours.
He may be regarded as the forerunner of a great band of Cambridge
missionaries, the earliest name in a kalendar which includes Ragland,
Mackenzie, Patteson and Smythies.
During the Napoleonic wars, Cambridge was possessed with a great martial
ardour, and among the most active promoters of the volunteer movement
of those days was Lord Temple,* who occupied rooms in the first court,
looking out on the street. Later on, this nobleman was better known as
Lord Palmerston. One of those who enrolled themselves under his guidance
was that eccentric gentleman, Patrick Brontë, subsequently Vicar of
Haworth in Yorkshire and father of a family whose tragic history is
well known to every student of English literature. With the name of
Palmerston, we touch modern times and come to the days of the scientific
and mathematical pre-eminence of the college. An extraordinary number
of great men have come from St John’s during the present reign. Among
scholars, Benjamin Hall Kennedy (* Ouless) has the first place. He
was, before his election to the Greek professorship, Head Master of
Shrewsbury, a school which has always been closely connected with St
John’s. The most distinguished historian was the late Charles Merivale,
Dean of Ely, whose _History of the Romans under the Empire_ is a monument
of Cambridge scholarship. The names of scientists are legion, but one
must not fail to mention John Couch Adams,* who was a Johnian and a
fellow of the college. The late James Joseph Sylvester (* Emslie),
although his genius was devoted to Oxford, is another man of world-wide
fame whom St John’s owns. The college supplied another distinguished
professor to Oxford in the person of Charles Pritchard, the well-known
Savilian professor. It is also necessary to mention the name of Edward
Henry Palmer, Lord Almoner’s Reader in Arabic, who, with one possible
exception, was the best Oriental scholar of the century. More intimately
related to the college were the two Babingtons, Churchill and Charles
Cardale,* who spent their lives at Cambridge and filled University
professorships. It would be invidious to select names of living members
of the college, but Professor Mayor, (* Herkomer) the editor of Juvenal,
and the present Bishop of Gloucester, Dr Ellicott, have their position
securely assured. Recently, too, the death of the Hon. Charles Pelham
Villiers, the “father of the House of Commons,” robbed the college of
an old member and constant friend. The modern history of St John’s is
essentially progressive, and, under Dr Bateson and the present master,
Dr Taylor, the college has been worked on broad and liberal lines. Its
yearly position in the schools testifies that it has in no way declined
from its original purpose, and is still that nursery of learning which
its foundress intended it to be. And, in connection with the modern
development of the college, it is impossible not to say something of the
College Mission. St John’s was the first Cambridge college which thought
of extending its energies for the benefit of the poor in large towns, and
its mission in a crowded part of Walworth was the example which moved
other colleges and schools to do something of the same kind. The result
is shown in the beautiful church and group of buildings which form the
nucleus of the parish. No more effectual realisation than this could be
found of the ideal of the foundress and Bishop Fisher, that their work
should not merely be accomplished for its own benefit, but that in time
to come, what they had done for their scholars, their scholars should do
for others.
XV
MAGDALENE COLLEGE
Magdalene is changed very little since the days of Samuel Pepys. Its
first court has been refaced with new-looking red brick, but the
interior, with its luxuriant covering of ivy, is time-worn and venerable.
There is, however, not much of any importance. The Hall is, perhaps,
the best which is to be found among the smaller colleges, and the
spacious double staircase which leads from it to the Combination Room,
is a feature of which any college might justly be proud. “Although
the staircase, as it exists, is the work of restorers, the detail of
the woodwork is excellent, and was doubtless suggested by the fine
Renaissance carving at Audley End.” The Chapel, north of the court, was
restored in 1847, and retains some of the ancient features, including
the roof. There is some modern stained glass, not very good. Beyond the
Hall, in the same position as the building at Christ’s (with which it
may be compared), is the famous Pepysian Library, a charming building
in the very latest style of Renaissance Gothic. Its general effect is
quite equal to the earlier work at Christ’s, and is very superior to that
of the river front at Clare, with which it is almost contemporary. The
spandrils of the arches in the basement are very profusely decorated with
fantastic patterns, and similar ornaments appear in the space between the
library windows and the heavy cornice below them. The Ionic pilasters
of the central compartment show traces of the Palladian influence which
just then found its way everywhere; and it is a fortunate circumstance
that the architect had enough feeling for his style not to multiply them.
As it is, they add to the charm of the building, and bring its central
division into a prominence which is demanded by the two very plain wings
with their chimneyed gables and rusticated angles. The Master’s Lodge
(1835) is north of the college, and is supposed to stand on one of the
escarpments of the ancient Camboritum—that is, if the Castle-Hill is
Camboritum. Otherwise, it is a simple Gothic building, rather better than
most houses of the time, but with no obtrusive features.
[Illustration: Magdalene College]
* * * * *
We have seen that Jesus and St John’s Colleges were founded by means
of the dissolution of monastic houses. Magdalene, founded thirty-one
years after St John’s, was merely the final step in the secularisation
of a religious house. In 1428 Henry VI. granted the site of the present
college to the monks of Crowland, who wished to found a hostel at
Cambridge for the use of their scholars at that University. The Abbeys of
Ely, Ramsey and Walden joined with Crowland in the work, and contributed
to the building. In the latter half of the century this theological
college, as we should call it, received substantial aid from Henry
Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, whose favours were continued in 1519 by
his son Edward. In recognition of the benefactions of Duke Henry, the
hostel took its title of Buckingham College. The foundation seems to have
departed gradually from its original purpose, for laymen were admitted
to it before the dissolution. However, it was only natural that, when
Crowland surrendered to the King, its dependent house should surrender
also. The crown resumed the property in December, 1539. Henry VIII.
granted the messuages of Buckingham College to Thomas, Lord Audley of
Walden, who also became possessed of Walden Abbey. In all probability,
the original connection between the abbey and the college induced him to
refound the institution on a new plan. He reconstituted it in 1542 under
the name of the College of St Mary Magdalene. Since his day, through all
the vicissitudes of his family, Magdalene College has remained under
the protection and patronage of the owner of Audley End, a stately and
beautiful appendage to the noblest country house in England. His work
was carried on by his successors. At his death he left a daughter, the
lady whose magnificent portrait by Lucas van Heere hangs in the great
hall at Audley End. She married the Duke of Norfolk, who, in 1564, being
at Cambridge with Queen Elizabeth, generously promised the college an
annuity of £40 until they had finished the “quadrant of their college,”
and further endowed the society, which was become much impoverished,
with landed property. Norfolk’s liberality was supplemented by the
contributions of the Lord Chief Justice Sir Christopher Wray,* who had
been one of the lay students of Buckingham College.
The college was never large, and its history is scanty. Its first master
of any importance was Dr Thomas Nevile, who reigned from 1582 to 1593,
and then removed to Trinity. His fame belongs to the history of the
latter college. In the great concussion of the seventeenth century,
Magdalene adhered, as was natural, to the royalist side, and its master,
Dr Rainbow,* was rewarded after the Restoration with the Bishoprick
of Carlisle. Nicholas Ferrar,* the famous superior of the community at
Little Gidding, and the friend of Crashaw and Herbert, was a member
of this college as well as of Clare, and his portrait, with that of
his mother, is preserved in the Master’s Lodge. This saintly man, like
Herbert, was happy in dying before the troubles of his party began. But
one naturally connects Magdalene less with Ferrar than with an individual
of a very different order. Mr Samuel Pepys was entered at Trinity in
1650, but, for some reason, preferred Magdalene. By no means a scholar,
he enjoyed the social advantages of the University, and in after years
remembered the grateful flavour of Goody Mulliner’s stewed prunes, which
he used to buy “over against the college.” His eventual generosity to
Magdalene was something of an accident. During the closing years of his
life, the college was raising the exquisite eastern building. Pepys was
then casting about for a suitable destination for his library, and there
is no doubt that the singularly admirable qualities of the new building,
as well as his own prepossession for Magdalene, aided his decision. By
his will, he bequeathed his library to his nephew, Mr Jackson (another
Magdalene man), as his trustee, and provided that, at the death of this
gentleman, it should pass to Magdalene, and, by an express stipulation,
be housed in the New Building “and any part thereof, at my nephew’s
selection.” The document contained certain reservations in favour of
Trinity. Its whole wording shows an amusing caution. After a preamble,
in which he expresses his apprehension of the danger which might befall
the books at the hands of an incompetent heir, he proceeds to leave them,
at his nephew’s death, to one of the two Universities, but to Cambridge
rather than to Oxford. Then he states his preference for a private to
a public library, and confines the private libraries to Trinity and
Magdalene. Finally, he prefers Magdalene to Trinity, but provides that,
in case of specified losses, the books are forfeit to the latter college.
In this respect, he imitates Parker’s bequest to Corpus. “And that for a
yet further security herein, the sᵈ two colleges of Trinity and Magdalen
have a reciprocall check upon one another; and that college, wᶜʰ shall
be in present possession of the sᵈ Library, be subject to an annual
visitation from the other, and to the forfeiture thereof, to the like
possession and use of the other, upon conviction of any breach of their
sᵈ covenants.”
John Jackson died in 1724, and the precious legacy passed to Magdalene.
Its value is incontestable, and no treasure is to this day more jealously
guarded. The inscription “Bibliotheca Pepysiana,” and Pepys’ motto,
“Mens cujusque is est quisque,” were put up on the building after the
arrival of the books. The value of the bequest was more fully illustrated
when, in the present century, Lord Braybrooke, a Magdalene man himself
and visitor of the college, translated Pepys’ cypher diary and gave
that unvarnished picture of contemporary manners to the world, opening
thereby a most fruitful mine of research, as well as discovering a
hidden classic. Dr Peter Peckard,* master from 1781 to 1797, enriched
the library with his own collection. He was Dean of Peterborough. The
see of Peterborough, at the beginning of the same century, was held by a
Magdalene man, Dr Richard Cumberland, whose very exhaustive treatise on
Jewish Weights and Measures, as well as his polemical essay in answer to
Hobbes, are still remembered, although seldom read. The name of Daniel
Waterland,* master from 1713 to 1746, is of greater fame in the history
of controversial theology.
The present century, from 1813 to the present day, is covered by the long
masterships of an uncle and a nephew. The first of these was the Hon.
George Neville Grenville, Dean of Windsor (* Pickersgill); the second is
the present master, the Hon. Latimer Neville, who has ruled his college
for forty-five years. The Nevilles of Audley End are descendants of
the founder in the female line. The first Lord Braybrooke, the editor
of Pepys’ Diary, was a Neville of Billingsbear in Essex, and succeeded
the last Lord Howard de Walden, of the family of Griffin, on the death
of that nobleman without male issue. During the century, Magdalene has
had some reputation as a fashionable college; but the amusing American
critic, Mr Everett, spoke of it somewhat unjustly when he said that “it
is a favourite home for young men who are of the opinion, either from
conjecture or experience, that other colleges are too strict for them.”
It has, like other small colleges, produced an excellent percentage of
scholars and learned men. Our opinions as to the literary merits of
Charles Kingsley (* Lowes Dickinson) may be divided, but there can be no
question as to his abiding influence on English letters. He is equally
well known as parish priest, cathedral dignitary, novelist and poet, and
Professor of Modern History. The roll of living members includes the
name of Professor Alfred Newton (* Lowes Dickinson), and the genial and
kindly influence of the late Mr Frank Pattrick (* Dickinson), Tutor and
President of the college, is gratefully remembered by the latest and
youngest of those who have pursued their studies at Magdalene.
XVI
TRINITY COLLEGE
The Great Court of Trinity represents the earlier foundations of King’s
Hall and Michael House. Of these, the latter was the older, and its
buildings occupied a position nearly corresponding to the south-western
angle of the present court. It may safely be supposed that, up to the
last half of the eighteenth century, some remains of the original
building were allowed to exist, although Dr Nevile had probably faced
them in accordance with his general design. In 1771, however, James Essex
made a radical alteration in this corner, and the only part which was
thought worthy of preservation was the kitchen. This quaint room, entered
by a passage from the hall-screens, still survives, and may be regarded
as the nucleus of the modern Trinity. The next relic of importance is
the King’s Tower, which now blocks up the west end of the Chapel, and
occupies the centre of the north side of the court. It stood originally
a little south-east of its present site, and opened at the junction of
two lanes, one of which ran diagonally from the old church of All Saints’
to the Cam, while the other, coming from the present Trinity Lane, was
bounded on the west by the small court of Michael House. Now, of course,
the tower, removed and rebuilt, shows very little trace of antiquity,
and the oldest part of it is the statue of Edward III., which stands
above the gateway, and bears the inscription “Tertius Edwardus fama super
aethera notus.” This may be ascribed to the reign of Edward IV. Later on,
in the reign of Henry VII., the foundation of the great gateway was laid,
and a chapel for the scholars of King’s Hall was built.
[Illustration: Trinity College]
Not long after King’s Hall had received its new eastern gateway, which
implies a considerable extension of the college, Henry VIII. dissolved
the lesser foundations and founded Trinity as we know it. Henry’s chief
wish was to provide a sufficient chapel. It was not, however, until
Mary’s reign that any activity was shown in this work. Mary furthered
her father’s project, and allowed the builders to use the ruins of
Cambridge Castle as their quarry. The work was finished by Elizabeth.
Trinity Chapel is an excellent example of late Perpendicular work. As
Gothic work, it is stiff and debased, and forms a striking contrast to
the elegance of the Renaissance Hall. Its exterior has been very little
altered. Internally, however, it belongs to a much later period. The
west window was filled up by Nevile; the east window is obscured by a
huge baldachino of the last century. During Bentley’s mastership, Father
Smith built the present organ, one of the largest in England; and the
whole chapel was refitted to suit the capacities of this instrument.
Opinions may differ about the beauty of the heavy wooden screen in an
uncompromisingly classical taste which supports the organ and divides the
chapel from the antechapel; but it is unquestionably a very appropriate
addition to a stately, if ugly, interior. The carving of the stalls is
by Grinling Gibbons. Alterations did not stop here. The present century
has made the building what it is. Within the last thirty years the roof
and walls have been highly decorated in accordance with the rest of the
chapel, and the result is very imposing. Mr Henry Holiday’s stained
glass, which represents the saints and worthies of the Church from the
earliest period, is good, although its merits are a little various. The
western windows near the organ, devoted to members of Trinity, are the
best. In the antechapel the glass is very bad indeed. Otherwise, this
part of the building is not much altered, and its panelling of dark oak
makes it one of the most impressive sights in either university. This
is much increased by the fine statues. Of these, that of Newton, by
Roubiliac, was given in 1755 by the master, Dr Smith. The rest are more
modern. Bacon’s statue, by Weekes, was given by Dr Whewell; Barrow’s by
the late Lord Lansdowne. The statues of Macaulay and Whewell are both by
Woolner.
These various buildings and others which had grown about them were
gathered together in the reign of James I., and the result is the Great
Court, one of the largest and certainly without exception the most
beautiful of quadrangles in the world. Trinity owes a great debt to
Thomas Nevile, who was master from 1593 to 1615. To bring his buildings
into a systematic form, he took down King Edward III.’s tower and rebuilt
it west of the chapel. He added the upper storey to the great gateway,
and placed the statue of Henry VIII. in a niche outside, while on the
side towards the court he set up in corresponding niches statues of James
I., Prince Charles, and the Princess Elizabeth. On the south side he
built the Queen’s tower, which contains the figure of Queen Mary, and
is exactly opposite King Edward’s tower. Finally, to the west he built
the Hall, north of the old hall of Michael House, and, further north
still, the Master’s Lodge. His architect was that admirable genius, Ralph
Symons. Although the Great Court has been partly faced with stucco and,
in certain places, refronted, its beauty is indestructible. The sets of
rooms which join the towers and other buildings together, have their
height in very just proportion to the size of the quadrangle. What the
effect would be, were they higher than they are, may be seen by comparing
the Jacobean buildings with Essex’s classical addition near the kitchen,
and the modern Gothic buildings between the Chapel and Lodge. The beauty
of the court finds its central point, perhaps, in Nevile’s exquisite
fountain, built in 1602, which has all the best attributes of English
Renaissance work. It may be compared with the gateway just outside the
south-western corner of the court.
The Hall, with its light oriels and graceful louvre, was finished in
1604. Its interior is, perhaps, a little over-decorated, but possesses
a certain splendour which finds no parallel in England. The western
gallery, covered with rich carving and highly gilded, may be compared
with the similar galleries at Audley End and other contemporary houses.
The portraits are interesting, although of no great excellence as
a whole. Newton, Bacon, and Barrow occupy the north end, and other
celebrities, such as Dryden, Cowley and Pearson, are to be found on the
side walls above the panelling. Sir Joshua Reynolds’ charming portrait
of the little Duke of Gloucester hangs close to the western oriel, and
near it is Mr Watts’ portrait of Tennyson. Other modern portraits are
those of Thackeray (Lockhart Bogle), Dr Thompson (Herkomer), Dr Lightfoot
(Richmond), and, of living celebrities, Professor Michael Foster
(Herkomer) and Dr Henry Jackson (C. W. Furse).
[Illustration: The Fountain
Trinity College
E·H·N]