Nevertheless, Prince Leopold succeeded very creditably in a similar speech
delivered the same day, on a precisely similar occasion, at Oxford, and it is a curious illustration of the difficulty of getting accurate statistics, that Mr. Gladstone's and Prince Leopold's statistics as to the number of students in the Science and Art Departments did not at all agree. They agree that the number of students in the Art Department is now about 24,000, but while Mr. Gladstone adds only 8,000 more for the Art night-schools, Prince Leopold adds 21,000. Again, while Mr. Gladstone gives 48,000 as the number of regular science students, Prince Leopold gives 62,000. Prince Leopold, too, was somewhat more com- fortable in his assurances than Mr. Gladstone. He told us that we are, in some respects, gaining on the French as regards artistic industry ; that, whereas all our best models used to be taken from France, and no French ones borrowed from us, now France borrows in return a good many patterns, and recommends them as specially attractive, be- cause they are "selon is gait Anglais ;" indeed Prince Leopold expressed the belief that in spite of the depressing influence of our climate on the artistic fancy and imagination, English men and women are showing themselves capable of a high order of creative art. He concluded by congratulating the unsuccessful candidates for prizes on the labour which had not yet earned its meed of recognition and applause,—a sentiment commonly enough uttered by the distributors of prizes and honours, and one always highly popular with parents, but not one at all likely to soothe the breasts of young people smarting under a seri.- I /- ;lure; and,_ , --
therefore, for the time at all events, we -mild be humaner to pass their fags rire by.
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