Monthly Bulletin - Clpdigital.org

REVIEWS OF RECENT BOOKS—MARCH 1913 105
.. . At every point there must be clear thinking and feeling, which, h
ever, must not impair the spontaneity of the inspiration nor the power
of the brush stroke...
When once the warning has been given that the Japanese painting
of the nineteenth century is relatively decadent, no exception can be
taken to this charming book. Nothing else in English gives the
Japanese point of view towards art at once so clearly and compactly."
Nation, IQI2.
(Call number 759.92 B66)
The Rhodes Scholarships
By George R. Parkin
"Probably no benefaction of recent times has aroused such widespread
interest as that which the late Cecil Rhodes made to the University
of Oxford. It was a spectacular and at the same time a very
practical gift, eminently characteristic of the adventurer, idealist, and
shrewd financier, who thought in millions and dreamed of empires,
who deemed it worth his while, amid the strenuous toil of building his
own fortune and a new empire for Britain, to spend portions of eight
years at Oxford, acquiring the ordinary pass degree which the University
awards to its mediocre scholars.
The scholarships which Rhodes endowed made a radical departure
from precedent. They were the first official recognition that Oxford
has more to offer to a student than the academic advantages set forth
in her statutes.. .Now, after nine years, all doubts as to the practical
nature of the scheme are set at rest, for already some 700 Rhodes
scholars have passed through the Oxford course. The results of the
experiment have been set forth by Dr. Parkin, the organizing secretary
of the Rhodes Scholarship Trust.
On the whole, the careful analysis which he gives shows that the
scheme has worked out well. He finds that in scholarship, pure and
simple, students from America, as well as from the British colonies,
are more often than not at some disadvantage when in competition
with young Englishmen who have received their preliminary training
in one or the other of the great public schools of the country; and he
attributes this to lack of thoroughness in the groundwork of education.
On the other hand, it is satisfactory to learn that Rhodes scholars,
having become an established part of the university life, are accepted by
the general student body solely on their individual merits; that there is
no prejudice either for or against them as Rhodes scholars. . .
Of particular interest to American readers are the pages in which
the author discusses the vexed question as to whether it is profitable
for students from the United States to spend three years at Oxford. He
states frankly the objections that have been raised—the time involved,
the possible loss of touch with home affairs, and the practical worth of
an Oxford degree—and while he endeavors to meet them all, there is