much prone to inscribe, on the fly-leaf of every volume belonging to them, the five important capital letters A. B. T. C. D.: this they do in a manner the most prodigal-embowering the characters in an insane flourish, as if pens and ink were not intended solely for writing. However, one point is gained by this, for they certainly impress cn narrow minds the conviction that they are in reality bona fide Bachelors from the Alma Mater, and no mistake: a rank which in their eyes, if it falls somewhat short of that expressed by G. C. B., at least has the advantage of looking more pompous and important when in print, by reason of its numbering two letters more! But the under-graduates, especially, scribble in their books: they write abstruse recondite notes, "critical and exegetical," on the text; and adorn the pages oft-times with some very lively pictorial designs. I remember seeing, in Stock's Julian, a page illustrative of Micyllus and his cock. This gentleman was represented in bed, crowned with a legitimate night-cap, and an infinity of nose; above him perched Alectryon, with open beak and neck distended; whilst in what is technically styled "a balloon" appeared the significant words "Cock-a-doodle-do-o-o-o-!" The luckless wight, startled from his slumber, was depicted making strong expressions of surprise, and evidently appeared as much dismayed as any elderly lady would be if inconsiderately told by a false alarmist of the landing of the “Rooshians!" In the same book Mercury figured at a sale of slaves, hammer in hand, and a pair of spectacles on; and I have seen amongst other pictures M. T. Cicero drawn, in a paletot sack!

In jotting down these reminiscences of the manners and customs of the students, I am not aiming at any elaborate digest of the natural history of these gentlemen: I merely record a few plain facts, which anyone might himself observe, by simply walking through the College.

As to giving a minute account of the University, I imagine it would be neither very novel nor entertaining. We all know it was founded by "good Queen Bess," towards the close of the tenth century; that it was called "The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, near (juxta) Dublin," for in those days the tide came up to it, and the city did not extend beyond the castle. We also know it takes four-and-a-half years for a Pensioner to obtain his degree there, three-and-a-half for a Fellow-commoner, and about two for a Filius Nobilis; and that the yearly fees paid by these three classes are £15., £30., and £60., respectively.

The library contains about 110,000 volumes. It was founded by the army of Cromwell, who bought all Archbishop Ussher's books, and presented them to the College. A.B.'s of the University are permitted to read therein, provided they have taken an oath not to steal any of the works! This system of swearing is of recent origin. If it were really

necessary, it does not give us a very elevated idea of the morals of some of the Irish graduates! Well known is it too that the Dublin University is styled the "Silent Sister," owing to the dislike its Fellows have of appearing in print. Bashfulness, perhaps! Finally, it is known the students of this seat of the Muses were, till very lately, accounted a wild set-notorious for knocking down the porters and watchmen, scaling the College walls, and fighting pitched battles with the towns-people, against whom they used to employ the keys of their rooms slung in their gowns, as a fearful species of extempore weapon; besides all this, who has not read how they once nailed a bailiff's ears to the College pump, at the instigation of one of their own Fellows?

But those times are happily gone by: a row seldom now occurs in "Old Trinity." I cannot say never; for I, myself, remember to have witnessed one. It thus occured: the Chancellor of the University, the Archbishop of Armagh, was laying the foundation-stone of a campanile (for the erection of which he himself is paying), and a barrier was raised, within which none, save the privileged, were admitted. The students objected to this exclusive system, for they were able to see as much of the ceremony as if they had been in the Loo Choo islands at the time. So they conceived the idea of forcing the barricade, which was guarded by the College porters; and, rushing on in a mass, they carried it in true French fashion, despite of a relay of porters, whom they routed in something less than no-time! The vanquished, smarting under their defeat, determined on being revenged, so they reported the names of their victors: a proceeding which so roused the students' ire, that putrid eggs soon became the dis-order of the day.

For upwards of an hour did the excitement rage, directed against the porters. One of these gentlemen was singled out for especial castigation, and would, I verily believe, have been demolished altogether, by the rebels, had not two of the professors taken him beneath their wings, and conducted him to a place of safety. In doing so, however, a brisk fire was maintained, and one of the reverend gentlemen received a "shell" upon his face, which exploded forthwith, and covered his physiognomy with albugineous matter in an advanced stage of decomposition!

Thus commenced, and thus ended, the revolution; during which 'tis gratifying to consider business was not interrupted, and the funds continued firm all the while it raged!

It is customary, when a new Lord Lieutenant arrives, for the Provost, Fellows, and Scholars, of the University, to bore him with a long address in Latin, to which he his expected to reply appropriately. For this purpose they march up Dame Street, with "Brummagen" ceremony,

headed by the porters, as pioneers! It happened, then, when Lord Eglintoun arrived, that one student, endued with Tory principles, in passing by the statue of King William, in College Green, entertained the brilliant idea of crowning it with a flaming orange pocket-handkerchief, which so incensed the Roman-catholic by-standers that they rushed to the charge, and after a few minutes' warfare with the students the belligerents were taken under the friendly protection of the police, and brought to the College-street station, to decide their quarrel before the magistrate!

It may be thought, perhaps, that at the commencement of this article I have spoken somewhat disparagingly of Trinity College, and that I have made some unmerited remarks against the students. Should I labour under such an imputation, it must be attributed to the libellous nature of truth. And I am not so changed in my opinion, as for one moment to compare Trinity College with either of the English Universities. The course of education may very likely be about the same in all; certain, however, it is, that the classical knowledge required at Oxford is much greater than in the Dublin University, and "tells" throughout life, whilst the Ethics and Physics we learn are totally forgotten! Be this as it may, in the English Colleges gentlemen form your society, and often prove pleasant and valuable acquaintances in afterlife; while the Hibernian under-graduates are less, certainly, such as you would wish to re-invite after the ninth month, and gladly include in the list of your friends.

Although the course of learning enjoined at Dublin College is most copious and extensive, still nothing is easier than to "sham through" the examinations therein. This is a statement perhaps unpleasant to those who will not admit T. C. D. to be second to any University in the world.

"Faith! and it's shupayrier to Oxford and Cambridge, and the Jarman Colleges of Heidelbeirg and Bonn, loikwise!" said Mc. Carthy, in his Senior-sophister year, when I broached the subject at one examination. The fact, however, of this young gentleman having declared that the two latter towns were situated on the Rhone, inclined me to question the accuracy of his information.

It may not be generally known why so many emerge from "Old Trinity" considerably more advanced in ignorance than when they entered it. The fault, I take it, lies in the system of examination, which is solely viva voce-if we except writing an English theme into Latin—but as the students assist each other, and smuggle in dictionaries for the nonce, the less said about it the better.

I remember a gentleman, whom we may safely call Jones, being in considerable anxiety, by reason of not having made up his Latin

Cicero de officiis. He confessed he had not read the book, as his intentions were to "bottom it.

"The

The students go up separately to be examined when one comes down, the next goes up. When the turn of Jones impended, he asked the person just examined where he had been taken. early part of the tenth chapter, second book." Jones shrewdly suspecting that the student under examination was construing the latter half of the same chapter, read the beginning of the eleventh, on speculation (books-but no dictionaries-are allowed to be brought into the Hall), and succeeded in running over the chapter, ere his turn arrived; on going up then, he was given to translate the very part he had been reading, and thus obtained his examination!

"He is asking everyone the Wedge," says a student just examined in Mechanics. The bell rings, and Johnson-another safe name-profiting by the information, repairs to a book shop in Anglesea Street; and although, at this time, he was as competent to decipher the cuneiform characters at Khorsabad as to explain the theory of the wedge, still before an hour elapsed 't is surprising what an important addition is made to Mr. J.'s slender stock of mechanical knowledge; he is astonished at it himself, when he finds, on being examined, that he actually obtains a rather creditable mark than otherwise!

Lest it should be considered that the foregoing illustrations are cases of very rare occurrence, I beg to state they are both true; and I never remember to have attended an examination without one or more such instances having taken place!

The viva voce system I consider useless. An examination, calculated to ascertain the absolute and relative merits of the candidate, would propose the same set of questions to all, whether on paper or otherwise. On reflection, we must see the absurdity of propounding random questions, differing in degrees of difficulty, to a class; and then ranking them according to their answering! A may have known every question B answered. Still, having missed one or two of those proposed to himself—which B could not have answered, had they been given him—he is classed below him! At Oxford, Cambridge, and the London University, the examinations are conducted solely, I believe, through the medium of printed papers; and, what is indispensably necessary, all books are excluded from the Hall, and the students are prevented from communicating with each other.

"He asked me to explain the compass," says a Dublin student, just examined in Astronomy.

"And did you do it?" enquired another.

"I did! and the best of the joke is I only learnt it five minutes before I went up!"—to forget it in half the time afterwards!!

As an instance of the leniency of the Fellows, I well remember, some years ago, at the Hilary examination of the Senior-sophister year, a student, whose knowledge of Optics was of the minutest amount conceivable, missing every question in that science. The examiner, before "cautioning" him, promised to let him off if he could explain what conjugate foci meant.

Fancy, had he answered it-which he did not-what might the consequence have been? He would have left the Hall, having obtained credit for his knowledge of Optics; and had any professor of an English University, meeting him perchance in society, questioned him even the rudiments of this science, he might easily have drawn his own conclusions as to the amount of learning necessary for passing a term examination in the Dublin College!

However, let it not be imagined that every person, no matter how ill prepared in his business, can shuffle through it. When Peter Dowd went up in Greek, in his first year, he was handed a book by the examiner, with the polite request, "Please, go on there, sir."

The work was newly printed, and looked fresh, for it had but recently issued from the press. "The clerk can best read in his own book" was a truthful saying in the dark ages easily understood, and requiring no interpretation, when I state that poor Dowd longed for his own old well-thumbed edition of the Iliad, where he had a cue to Nestor's speech by a large blot of ink, the "blue-eyed goddess" was always underlined, and the crest tossing Hector remembered by a cross. He was "fairly bothered," as he said himself; turning over to the titlepage, he exclaimed, to the no small amazement of the examiner :

"Begad! it's Homer."

"Now, go on at the hundred-and-fifty-sixth line."

"Please, sir, I don't know contracted Greek!" said Peter, returning him the book.

"Well, that's not contracted Greek!" replied the Fellow, with surprise. "Oh! Isn't it? Then, please, sir, I dont know any Greek at all!" Peter Dowd did not gain first honors at that examination, as you may conjecture.

In conclusion, I must bear testimony to the superiority of the Divinity school in Dublin University; and to the impartiality of the Fellows at all examinations. I could wish, for the credit of the College, that its students wore an improved appearance, and that the library oath might be dispensed with! And, pro augmentis scientiarum, no one should be permitted to graduate unless educated according to the intention of its course, then the learned Fellows of Trinity might become more generally known than at present they are to the representatives of the Sosii in this our day.