Page images
PDF
EPUB

their memories should be stored with knowledge and second-hand opinions. Mr. Clark was pre-eminently trainer, but he was also an admirable teacher, prompt in perceiving where the difficulties of his pupils lay, and skilful in presenting the difficulties of a complicated subject in the order of their difficulty. The extent and soundness of his knowledge served him in great stead for this purpose. What he knew, he knew well; and his knowledge, no matter, apparently, when acquired, was stored away so carefully as to be producible at a moment's notice.

His lectures on divinity were original, out-spoken and suggestive, and much appreciated by the students. A staunch Churchman of the old school, he stood by the teaching of the Prayer-Book, neither attenuating its significance nor forcing upon it constructions which its originators never contemplated. He discouraged all partisanship, and strongly recommended his pupils, when seeking appointments, to decline to ticket themselves "High" or "Low."

No

In no subject did his powers as a teacher shine forth to greater advantage than in his lectures on Shakespeare. He had a profound knowledge of our great poet's writings, and a still profounder knowledge of human nature which made him an admirable interpreter of them. He revelled in unfolding the beauty of some fine passage or in the analysis of a character. one could read a play with him without acquiring an entirely new idea of what reading an author means. In those days English literature did not form so important a part of school and college education as it has since become; but Mr. Clark was an enthusiastic believer in its value as an instrument of culture, and

INTRODUCTION.

xxi

held that it might prove quite as effective, for that purpose, as the classical literature of Greece and Rome. In connection with this subject, I remember that he strongly recommended the study of our greatest authors before that of the second-rate ones; his reason being that, though the ripest and most highly cultivated mind cannot exhaust the meaning of authors like Shakespeare and Milton, there is enough on the surface of the writings of those great authors to interest and benefit minds incapable of penetrating below the surface. It requires a higher degree of culture to appreciate Gray's 'Odes' than Macbeth' or 'Comus.'

6

He took a great interest in the science and art of teaching, and frequently turned aside in his lectures to consider how the subject that he was handling for young men should be treated when presented to children. Many persons deny that there is such a thing as a science of teaching, but Mr. Clark always held that there were right and wrong ways of teaching every subject, and that the right and the wrong depended on ascertainable principles which it was the business of every thoughtful teacher to find out. He attached much importance to the model lessons given by the students, and made a point of being always present at them. On these occasions it was customary for the whole staff to criticise in turn each lesson, the Principal summing up at the close; and I well remember the eagerness with which we waited for his remarks. He never contented himself with giving a simple opinion of a lesson. He would point out not merely its defects and excellences, but the causes to which these characters were referable, thereby

rendering us a far greater service than if he had confined himself to appraising the particular lesson we had just heard.

I have already said somewhat of the general character of his discipline. We had no impositions, no fines, no gating. The severest punishment inflicted on us, with the exception of actual expulsion, which he rarely resorted to, was a private reproof from him in his library. This we all greatly dreaded. On such occasions he was accustomed to speak very plainly and sternly, going at once to the root of the matter; but I do not think that any of us ever left him after one of these interviews with any feeling of bitterness or anger. He generally wound up his severest rebukes by shaking hands with the offender, and giving him a word of encouragement to keep him from despair. When it is borne in mind that there were about a hundred students in the college, all from eighteen to twenty-one years of age, it is not a little remarkable that so high a state of discipline as was maintained in the college, should have been preserved without any other form of punishment than verbal reproof.

It is true the futures of the students were, to a large extent, in the hands of the Principal, but I do not think that the consideration of remote advantages adequately accounts for the discipline which he established. The secret of it is to be sought in the perfectness of the organisation of the college, the accommodation of the routine to the needs of mind and body, the forcible and practical character of his teaching, and the energy, thoroughness and consistency of his administration. We knew what to expect from him.

INTRODUCTION.

xxiii

It would scarcely be possible for me to exaggerate his influence over his colleagues and his pupils, or the permanent value of his work. He stamped something of himself on everybody with whom he came into contact. Those who did not reproduce his own independence of mind, could not fail to benefit by his teaching, and by his spirit and tone. Many of his pupils have risen to posts of distinction, and would tell much better than I can how deeply they are indebted to him. But the true test of his work is to be found in the extent to which its specific object was realised. Whilst he never forgot that no education was worthy of the name which does not seek to educate the whole man, he never lost sight of the fact that his pupils were specially intended for the work of teachers of elementary Church schools; and the reputation which the college enjoyed under his administration affords conclusive proof that the teachers he turned out satisfied the expectations of those by whom they were engaged. Many hundreds of his pupils who have made no great figure in the world are doing excellent work in the profession for which they are trained; and his influence is in this way being multiplied indefinitely in quarters where human eye cannot follow it. Of few could it be more truly said that his works follow after him.'

[ocr errors]

For my own part, I shall always remember him as 'my guide, philosopher and friend,' ever ready to counsel, to help and sympathise. And I know from the testimony of others that he was quite as much to them. His pupils were never simply pupils to him. He took the liveliest interest in their welfare, and was ever ready to assist them. Even after he resigned

the principalship of the college they continued to consult him, and, as you yourself can testify, no inconsiderable portion of his time was devoted to keeping up his correspondence with them.

The training of teachers is a work which has little romance about it; there is little in it to attract the attention of the world; but, in virtue of its far-reaching influence, it is of vast importance to both Church and State. Mr. Clark took a high view of it, and his great merit was that he devoted himself with heart and soul to attaining his ideal, thereby setting up a standard of excellence which has not been without beneficial effect upon the whole of our trainingcollege system. Whatever he did, he did with his might. This was his favourite precept, and the example he set in acting upon it himself, explains much of the secret of his success.-Believe me to be, dear Mrs. Clark, yours truly.

EVAN DANIEL.

Mr. Clark continued his literary work in leisure moments, preparing large wall maps for the National Society, and writing, amongst other things, several articles for Dr. Smith's Bible Dictionary.

At the end of 1851 another boy was given to him, the only one who survived of the four children born at Battersea, and in 1857 the great sorrow of his life befell him in the sudden death of his wife.

The unlooked-for shock, and the breaking up of an unusually happy union and domestic life, wrung his affectionate heart to the very utmost; but to quote from a friend in speaking of this and other bereavements, there was always the same calm submission,

6

« PreviousContinue »