The Life of William Ewart Gladstone (Vol. 1-3). John Morley. Читать онлайн. Newlib. NEWLIB.NET

Автор: John Morley
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1816; the church at Leith; the Episcopal chapel at Fasque built and endowed about 1847.

      CHAPTER II

       ETON

      (1821-1827)

      It is in her public schools and universities that the youth of England are, by a discipline which shallow judgments have sometimes attempted to undervalue, prepared for the duties of public life. There are rare and splendid exceptions, to be sure, but in my conscience I believe, that England would not be what she is without her system of public education, and that no other country can become what England is, without the advantages of such a system.—Canning.

      It is difficult to discern the true dimensions of objects in that mirage which covers the studies of one's youth.—Gladstone.

      In September 1821, the young Gladstone was sent to Eton. Life at Eton lasted over six years, until the Christmas of 1827. It impressed images that never faded, and left traces in heart and mind that the waves of time never effaced,—so profound is the early writing on our opening page. Canning's words at the head of our present chapter set forth a superstition that had a powerful hold on the English governing class of that day, and the new Etonian never shook it off. His attachment to Eton grew with the lapse of years; to him it was ever 'the queen of all schools.'

      'I went,' he says, 'under the wing of my eldest brother, then in the upper division, and this helped my start and much mitigated the sense of isolation that attends the first launch at a public school.' The door of his