About the middle of his Oxford career, a studentship fell vacant, which,
according to the strange system then prevalent, was in the gift of Dr.
Bull, one of the Canons of Christ Church. Instead of bestowing it, as was
too commonly done, on grounds of private interest, Dr. Bull placed the
valuable prize at the disposal of the Dean and Censors, to be conferred on
the most worthy of the undergraduates. Their choice fell on James Bruce.
In announcing this to a member of the Bruce family, Dr. Bull wrote: 'Dr.
Smith, no less than the present college officers, assures me that there is
no young man, of whatever rank, who could be more acceptable to the
society, and none whose appointment as the reward of excellent deportment,
diligence, and right-mindedness, would do more good among the young men.'

A letter written about this time to his father shows that the young
student, with a sagacity beyond his years, discerned the germs of an evil
which has since grown to a great height, and now lies at the root of some
of the most troublesome questions connected with University Education.

In my own mind I confess I am much of opinion, that college is put off
in general till too late;[4] and the gaining of _honours_
therefore, becomes too severe to be useful to men who are to enter
into professions. It was certainly originally intended that the
degrees which require only a knowledge of the classics should be taken
at an earlier age, in order to admit of a residence after they were
taken, during which the student might devote himself to science or
composition, and those habits of reflection by which the mind might be
formed, and a practical advantage drawn from the stores of knowledge
already acquired. By putting them off to so late an age, the
consequence has been, that it has been necessary proportionably to
increase the difficulty of their attainment, and to mix up in college