simple human relation exist between a boy and his father! There is
often a great deal of affection on both sides, but little
camaraderie. Little boys are odd, tiresome creatures in many ways,
with savage instincts; and I suppose many fathers feel that, if
they are to maintain their authority, they must be a little distant
and inscrutable. A boy goes for sympathy and companionship to his
mother and sisters, not often to his father. Now a Don may do
something to put this straight, if he has the will. One of the best
friends I ever had was an elderly Don at my own college, who had
been a contemporary of my father's. He liked young men; and I used
to consult him and ask his advice in things in which I could not
well consult my own contemporaries. It is not necessary to be
extravagantly youthful, to slap people on the back, to run with the
college boat, though that is very pleasant if it is done naturally.
All that is wanted is to be accessible and quietly genial. And
under such influences a young man may, without becoming elderly,
get to understand the older point of view.

The difficulty is that one acquires habits and mannerisms; one is
crusty and gruff if interfered with. But, as Pater said, to acquire
habits is failure in life. Of course, one must realize limitations,
and learn in what regions one can be effective. But no one need be
case-hardened, smoke-dried, angular. The worst of a University is
that one sees men lingering on because they must earn a living, and
there is nothing else that they can do; but for a human-hearted,
good-humoured, and sensible man, a college life is a life where it
is easy and pleasant to practise benevolence and kindliness, and
where a small investment of trouble pays a large percentage of
happiness. Indeed, surveying it impartially--as impartially as I
can--such a life seems to hold within it perhaps the greatest