| PAGE | |
| Introduction | 1 |
| Importance of provincial centres | 2 |
| Report of the Midland Institute | 4 |
| Success of the French classes | 5 |
| Less success of English history | 6 |
| Value of a short comprehensive course | 8 |
| Dr. Arnold's saying about history 'traced backwards' | 9 |
| Value of a short course of general history | 10 |
| Value of a sound notion of Evidence | 16 |
| Text-books of scientific logic not adequate for popular objects | 21 |
| A new instrument suggested | 21 |
| An incidental advantage of it | 23 |
| General knowledge not necessarily superficial | 25 |
| Popular culture and academic organisation | 25 |
| Some of the great commonplaces of study | 29 |
| Conclusion | 34 |
The proceedings which have now been brought satisfactorily to an endare of a kind which nobody who has sensibility as well as sense cantake a part in without some emotion. An illustrious French philosopherwho happened to be an examiner of candidates for admission to thePolytechnic School, once confessed that, when a youth came before himeager to do his best, competently taught, and of an apt intelligence,he needed all his self-control to press back the tears from his eyes.Well, when we think how much industry, patience, and intelligentdiscipline; how many hard hours of self-denying toil; how manytemptations to worthless pleasures resisted; how much steadfastfeeling for things that are honest and true and of good report—areall represented by the young men and young women to whom I have hadthe honour