Part 2 (1/2)

Either of your time, or of your money, waste as little as possible upon newspapers I admit, that of all periods of history, the ti I ad part in the conversation of general society, as well as upon other accounts, so events is desirable, or even necessary For such purposes, a rapid glance at the newspaper, or even what is picked up by hearsay, will, generally speaking, be sufficient While reading for your degree, however, you really cannot spare tih_ The most i the session of parliament, and the trials Of the debates, a considerable part is very trifling and unprofitable; and, in order to read with real advantage those speeches which areof attention, it is necessary to be possessed of a considerable portion of that knowledge of history, of legislation, of political economy, of mercantile and financial transactions, the _foundations_ of which you are at Oxford engaged in laying It is not to be wished that an under-graduate should affect to be an experienced politician, prepared to give a strong and decided opinion upon subjects, upon which able and experienced e, find a difficulty inup their mind In the reports of trials,information are to be found In order to understand many of them, however, it is requisite to have a lish jurisprudence, and with the practice of the courts, than can be expected in a young shell of school Upon the subject of newspapers, however, I will say noupon it, I tread upon delicate and debateable ground

Take sufficient time for relaxation; but let your relaxations, as far as you can, be intellectual and i

Oxford now presents opportunities, both of acquiring so a taste in the fine arts, which it by no raduate For these we are principally indebted to those two ad devoted their tiuished talents, and their various attainments, in the first place, to plans of beneficence, and in the next, to the advancement of science and the cultivation of taste It is to theereater part of the contents, of the Museu collection of speciy To them we are indebted for the excellent casts (in the Ratcliffe Library) from the most perfect specimens of sculpture, and for the beautiful models (in the Picture Gallery) of the most celebrated remains of ancient architecture The Picture Gallery itself contains reat excellence as works of art, yet are well deserving of attention on very many accounts; and the copies from the Cartoons, especially if you can be assisted with a few hints fro objects of study and conte es Many of the other modes of relaxation, not unconnected with intellectual improvement, I should advise you to lish architecture If you can buy or borrow either Bentham's Essay on Gothic Architecture, or Milner's accurate and elegant Treatise on the Ecclesiastical Architecture of England during the , indeed, a friend disposed to go along with you in this pursuit Oxford and its i specimens from the Saxon and Norman, in the cathedral, St Peter's in the East, and Iffley church, down to the utter depravation of the art, or rather the total change of style, in the ti pursuits, however, I mention, as you must follow them, if you follow them at all, merely _by the by_ They must not be suffered to interfere with your severer studies When engaged in those studies, give them your whole undivided attention _Whatsoever your hand, or your head, findeth to do, do it with all your ht_

The habits of study and of intellectual improvement, which you acquire at Oxford, you should carry with you into the vacation During the vacation, you may, perhaps, take more time for society--the society especially of your own immediate family--and more for relaxation; but still do not _waste_ your tiht eained during the ter over by yourself, what you then read with your tutor Improve your acquaintance with the standard writers of our own country, and acquire soe of modern history In short, make thethe time, and the papers in the Spectator and the Rambler to which he refers Read, _and learn by heart_, what is said on the loss of tihts:

”Part with it as with ; pay No rows long, and (you will say) tedious

I remain, My dear Nephew, Your affectionate Uncle

FOOTNOTES:

[62:1] Vol I No 14

[66:1] John Duncan, Esq and Philip Duncan, Esq of New College

LETTER VI

PUNCTUALITY

MY DEAR NEPHEW,

I ventured to give you so the eht to follow up that letter with a few remarks upon PUNCTUALITY Unless you acquire the habit of punctuality, you will be apt, not only to lose your own time, but to make unjustifiable inroads upon the time of other persons

Endeavour, therefore, to _keep to your time_ in every appointment, whether the appointe authorities for instance,) whether it be with a superior, an equal, or an inferior Whether it be in a matter of business or in a matter of pleasure, try always to be true to it Let this be your system and your habit Some deviations from punctuality may now and then be unavoidable; but do not let them occur unless they _really are_ unavoidable in fairness and reason If you have yourself ed to your keeping to it The case is in soh the appointment is actually made by others, you have acceded to it

Want of punctuality seems to proceed either from pride and superciliousness, or from some infirmity, some weakness of character

Most men try to be punctual in any appointment with a man of rank superior to themselves, especially if they have any object, any interest, in conciliating his favour And, on the other hand, too many persons seem to feel themselves at liberty to be unpunctual in an appointment with an inferior It is not worth while, they think, to care about being exact with one so much beneath them ”Let him wait till I am at leisure to attend to him,” exclaims such a man, in the proud consciousness of superiority; and, perhaps, some trifle, or lect

You,since learned, that you have no right to treat any man, however low his rankto conteion require us to regard all olden rules of the latter is, _in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than hiht to punctuality as he has a right to truth; and you have no right, by your unpunctuality, to rob him either of his tiive hilected, and neglected because he is despised

And thus, also, with e and your own rank in life; in all the little engagements and appointments, whether of business or of pleasure, which occur in the common intercourse of society, endeavour still to maintain the habit of punctuality As everytrue to his word, so it will be to your credit to have the character of being true to your engagereat h want of punctuality is sometimes occasioned by pride, it ree of weakness of character, or froht and desirable, but cannot y and resolution He cannot prevail upon himself to quit his bed, or his easy chair, or his fire-side, or the employment by which he chances to be occupied, till the ti; those who have business to transact with hi others, and all because he had not sufficient decision of character, sufficient com at ood-humoured fellow, and every body liked hi He got i too late for chapel; he ca away; and his friends were al an appointment with him, either for business or for amusement, because they knew beforehand that he would not keep it When, after leaving Oxford, he established hientle to hi, or if it was fixed, it was never kept Neither his guests nor his servants knehat hour either breakfast, or dinner, or any other doement, would take place Consequently, their tied to dine at a neighbour's, perhaps he would forget the engageether; or, if he chanced to reiven hi possibly an extra half hour, during which, the solemn pause which sometimes takes place before dinner, had beco a whole party kept waiting by the unpunctuality of one person The servants,backwards and forwards in the listlessness of expectation; the cook perplexed with the sore dile all the productions of her skill, either chilled with cold fro kept back, or burnt to a cinder; and the temper even of the lady of the house a little out of tune, from the certainty that the dinner would be spoiled Of all these various vexations, the sole cause was to be found in Mr M's want of energy He could not bring himself, perhaps, either to shorten a pleasant ride, or to lay down a book which interested him, or to quit his own chair by the fire-side, in order to dress The convenience and coood humour, of a whole company, were to be sacrificed to his indolence, his _vis inertiae_, and unpunctuality

Never permit yourself, my dear nephew, thus to trifle with the tih or loho in tih I cannot hit upon the passage in his life), that when so an appointment of importance at a certain hour, the hero added, ”Say a quarter _before_--to that quarter _before_, I have owed all my success in life” I do not advise you actually to be _before_ the tie worse than being too late, but be so much beforehand as to be master of your time, or to have it in your power to be punctual aluest in a friend's house, consider compliance with the hours and habits of the family, as a natural return for the hospitality which is shown to you There is so, by his unpunctuality, the econoularity of a whole household And do not suffer the kindness and indulgence of your parents to induce you, ith them, to be less attentive to punctuality than you are, ith other persons of superior age or rank to yourself Never let the always ready An excellent friend of mine lays it down as a maxim, that _habitual unpunctuality is positive incivility_

I have alluded to the unpunctuality of one of e friends: I will contrast it with the punctuality of another The latter when at Oxford was distinguished for lively talents, and for an exuberance of spirits bursting forth into every possible variety of fun He is now the owner of a spacious and splendid e establishuests, attracted by his many amiable and excellent qualities He still retains his playfulness of wit, but his doements are a model of punctuality Fauests and servants, consequently, know exactly what they have to depend on, the arrangements of the day, whether for business or for a is done at its proper tireater scale You and I, my dear nephew, must attend to it in smaller matters