Memories of Oxford. By Jacques Bardoux. (F. E. Robinson. 2s.
Gd. net.) —We are not sure how long M. Bardoux's acquaintance with Oxford lasted. He writes under date April 30th, 1895: "I paid my first visit and attended my first lecture at Balliol ; " and on September 1st in the same year says : "To-day is the last I spend at Oxford." But two years afterwards he is crossing the Channel, and sums up his conclusions about the place. Anyhow, he was for a time an "honorary undergraduate," so to speak, and saw the University from inside. His estimate of its work and influence is interesting. He does not rank either teachers or learners very high. The teachers lack both system and eloquence ; the learners are indolent and narrow, even when they are in earnest. There is no literary education, he thinks, worth the name. But of the political and ethical education he cannot speak too highly, and he frankly acknowledges the result. "The governing classes of England have a more elevated idea of marriage, of society, and of life than the governing classes of this country." M. Bardoux generalises too hastily, and often lays himself open to correction, but this little volume of his " memories " is well worth reading.
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