CHAPTER II.

CHOICE OF COLLEGIATE OR NON-COLLEGIATE BODY.

THE members of the University are divided into three sections-(i.) Members of University College, (ii.) Members of Bishop Hatfield's Hall, (iii.) Unattached Students. All these possess equal privileges as members of the University. They can attend the same lectures, have equal access to the libraries and other common public institutions, are eligible (with a few unimportant exceptions) for the same prizes, sit for the same examinations, and hold the same Degrees.

There are, however, some special features which may determine the student in the selection of one or other of the three bodies.

(i.) University College is so called as having been originally the only foundation, in fact the University -as it is still called by old inhabitants of Durham. It is on very much the same footing as the older Colleges in the old Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, though with a lower level of expense. Breakfast-parties and wine-parties are allowed in the students' rooms, luncheon (at 1.15 P.M.) and dinner (at 6 P.M.) are taken in the College Hall. Though considerable latitude is thus allowed, economy is so generally practised that no one to whom it is of importance need be afraid of seeming singular. A more detailed account of expenditure will be given below. One special attraction is possessed by University College in the beauty and antiquity of its buildings, which are those of the old Episcopal Palace. The Hall, a magnificent room, dates from the middle of the fourteenth century. It is surpassed by few or none even of the best at Oxford or Cambridge. The Chapel was built by Bishop Tunstall just before the

Reformation. In the portion occupied by the students is some fine Norman of the end of the twelfth century, the work of Bishop Hugh de Puiset (Pudsey), nephew of King Stephen, and Justiciar under Richard I.

(ii.) Bishop Hatfield Hall was founded ten years after University College, with a still more distinct regard to the interests of poorer students. The system is very similar to that of Keble College at Oxford. Breakfast-parties and wine-parties are not allowed. All meals are taken in common [breakfast at eight, luncheon at one, dinner at six]. There are gardens and walks of some extent running down to the river behind the Hall.

(iii.) The system of admitting Students unattached to either College or Hall was begun in 1870. No student is allowed to come under this system unless he is either married or living with his parents, or has attained the age of twenty-three. Married men are thus enabled to rent a house or to live in lodgings with their families. They can at the same time, if it is wished, connect themselves either with University College or Bishop Hatfield Hall on easy terms. Other Unattached Students are expected to live in licensed lodgings, of which a list is kept by the Junior Proctor. The rent of these varies from 12s. to 30s., the majority averaging about 15s. per week, including fire and light to a reasonable extent. In some cases students are allowed, by special permission of the Warden and Senate, to reside away from Durham, and to come in by train or otherwise to attend lecture and Chapel. This privilege is chiefly accorded to clergy in discharge of their duties and to younger men residing at their homes. In this last case, however, distinct "reason has to be shewn why complete residence is impossible. Unattached Students have the temporary convenience of not being required to deposit caution money like all

members of the University. They pay the usual Entrance Fee of £2. Their terminal fees amount to £5 10s. instead of £6. The chief inducement to become unattached is no doubt the possibility of reducing expenses to a still lower figure than is attained by members of the College or Hall. Against this is to be set the distance (in bad weather a serious thing) of the more inexpensive lodgings from the lecture-rooms and other buildings, and the loss (which is a still more serious thing) of the society of fellow-students. The

smaller world of the University is one of the best preparations for the greater world outside it. The causes which make Durham specially suited for poorer men, who have their way to make, remove many of those temptations to which members of the more expensive Universities are exposed. And it is frequently the case that the friendships formed during a University career last for a life-time, and are among the most valuable that a life-time can bring. Therefore, to have been unattached' may be a life-long loss.

CHAPTER III.

ENTRANCE.

MATERIALS will now perhaps have been given for forming a judgment as to the advisability of seeking admission to the University, and as to the particular body which it may be best to join. The next step will be to communicate with the head of that body-the Master of University College, the Principal of Bishop Hatfield Hall, or the Junior Proctor for Unattached Students. From him will be received information as to the date of the next examination, a list of the subjects to be prepared, and a statement of other requirements. The chief

of these would be testimonials to character (two are sufficient, but more may be offered), which should cover not less than the two years last preceding, and should be given by persons in a position to judge of the character and conduct of the applicant. Students may enter at the beginning of each term. The examinations usually begin about the second Wednesday in October, the second or third Wednesday in January, and the third or fourth Saturday in April. The best time to enter is October. For, since the period of residence required is six terms, a student entering in October is eligible for his Degree in the June of the next year but one; he who enters in January, in the December next but one following; while he who enters in Easter Term is not eligible before June of the next but one following year, and therefore gains nothing in point of time over one who enters in October. Moreover students who enter in October may take their First Year Examination in the following October or in the January next following. Thus a student entering in October, 1880, may take his First Year Examination in October, 1881, or in January 1882: i.e., he has two chances. A student who enters in January has virtually only one chance. The course of study, too, begins in the October term: so that those entering in January find themselves behind the others in all their lecture-subjects. Clearly, then, it is best to enter in October, not very convenient to do so in January, unwise to do so at Easter, except in special cases.

It is almost necessary to come up on the Tuesday in order to be prepared for the examination at nine o'clock the following morning. The intending candidate may drive straight to the College or Hall at which he desires to enter, and he will probably be shewn at once to rooms that have been reserved for him. An Unattached Student may leave his luggage in the cloak-room, and should at once

obtain from the Junior Proctor a list of the licensed lodgings from which it is open to him to make his choice. He will generally be able to learn what lodgings are likely to be disengaged. If papers have not been sent in before, they should now or during the week be sent to the proper authority.

The intending candidates should (if it is not very inconvenient) attend Chapel in the Galilee at the west end of the Cathedral at 8.45 on Wednesday morning. As soon as the service is over the examinations will commence in rooms which he will have no difficulty in finding, as a stream of students will be setting in the same direction. The Matriculation Examination takes only two days, except in the case of candidates for scholarships or exhibitions. On the following Saturday all students must be in residence, and it is usual for freshmen to appear for the first time in cap and gown at dinner in Hall on that evening. Arts and Divinity students wear gowns of different shapes. The proper gown and cap may be procured of Sewell and Son, Saddler Street. The cap and gown are worn at Matriculation before the Warden (when the student is presented to the Warden by his tutor, and signs a promise of obedience to the rules of the University), on all public occasions in the Convocation House, at any service in the Cathedral, in visiting the officers of the University, at all lectures, at the public lunch and dinner in the common Hall, and generally in the morning up to one o'clock and after dusk.

Matriculation.

It is not until the student has been presented to the Warden and signed a promise to obey the rules of the University that he formally becomes a member of the University which is henceforth his Alma Mater. It is therefore a mistake to suppose that by merely passing the Entrance Examination a person acquires the right to call himself a member