3 JUNE 1916, Page 15

THE LATE MRS. EDWARD CAIRD.

[TO THE EDITOR OF TIM " SPECTATOE.1 Sia,—So many have been deeply impressed by the vivid personality of Mrs. Edward Caird that at this time it seems of interest to chronicle one rare combination of virtues seen in her life. She combined a pains- taking knowledge of the standards of the world with entire unworldliness. She stored in her mind the current values of all things in order the better to understand her kind. She could always inform one as to the exact rank or circumstance or attainment of any one mentioned, but she found her chief pleasure in caring for people who might not otherwise receive attention. Take, as a slight example, the fact that when she and Dr. Caird came to the Master's Lodge at Balliol, her first care was to call upon the wives of all the College servants ; this at a time when, a stranger to Oxford, she was called upon to fill an important position in University circles. and thoroughly understood the social courtesies which made great demands on her time. This readiness to be thoroughly in step with the world while yet untouched by its spirit was surely one chief cause of the extraordinary freshness of her mind at the close of a very