e his scholarships to the poor
student. Then, of course, a compromise was effected. There was created
a class of scholarships at certain public schools for which candidates
had to produce evidence that they possessed nothing, and that their
parents would not assist them. Similar scholarships were created at
Oxford and Cambridge, out of existing revenues, and it was hoped that
concessions opening all the advantages that the public schools and
universities had to give would prove sufficient. By this time the
country was fully awakened to the danger of having thrown upon their
hands a great class of young men who thought themselves too well
educated for any of the lower kinds of work, and were too numerous for
the only work open to them. No one, as yet, it must be remembered, had
ventured to propose throwing open the Professions.

The concessions were found, however, to make very little difference.
Now and then a lad with a scholarship forced his way to the head of a
public school, and carried off the highest honours at the University.
Mostly, however, the poor scholar was uncomfortable; he could neither
speak, nor think, nor behave like his fellows; the atmosphere chilled
him; too often he failed to justify the early promise; if he succeeded
in getting a 'poor' scholarship at college, he too often ended his
University career with second-class Honours, which were of no use to
him at all, and so he was again face to face with the question: What
to do? His college would not continue to support him. He could not get
a mastership in a good school because there was a prejudice against
'poor' scholars, who were supposed incapable of acquiring the manners
of a gentleman. So he, too, fell back upon the only outlet, and tried
to become a journalist.

Every day the pressure increased; the pay of the journalist went down;
work could be got for next to nothing, and still the lads poured into
the classes by the thousand, all hoping to exchange the curse of
labour by their hands for that of labour by the pen. No one as yet had
perceived the great truth which has so enormously increased the
happiness of our time that all labour is honourable and respectable,
though to some kinds of labour we assign greater, and some lesser,
honour. The one thought was to leave the ranks of the working man.

It is not to be supposed that this great class would suffer and starve
in silence. On the contrary, they were continually proclaiming their
woes;