John's College is second only to that at Trinity. It is
approached by a staircase of singular beauty. At Magdalene is the
Pepys Library; and the libraries of Peterhouse, Trinity Hall, and
Queens' are good specimens of mediæval college collections. The
University has two public libraries. Of these the University Library
proper enjoys the right to a copy of every book printed in the realm.
It numbers some 500,000 volumes, and is rich in every kind of
literature. The rule which allows M.A.'s and certain B.A.'s to
borrow books, and which gives readers access to the shelves, makes
this library, as Lord Acton said, "the only useful library in
Europe". The library of the Fitzwilliam Museum includes a remarkable
collection of musical manuscripts, the most valuable of which are
manuscripts of Bach, Handel, and Beethoven.
During the last hundred years Cambridge has been enriched with
numerous laboratories and several collegiate institutions. Of the
latter the most important is Downing College, built in 1805. Two
professors have their maintenance here: one of Medicine, the other of
the Laws of England. On Downing property the present Law Schools,
Geological Museum, and other of the more recent habitations of
science have been built. The great Cavendish Laboratory, to which
the seventh Duke of Devonshire was a conspicuous benefactor, was
built in 1874. Almost every branch of science now possesses its
special museum, while art and the study of antiquities are served by
the Fitzwilliam and the Archæological Museums.
Cambridge to-day is a large and complex community: the undergraduate
population alone has reached nearly four thousand souls. The Senate,
or body of M.A.'s having voting powers in the government of the
University, numbers over seven thousand persons; while the total
number of members of the University who still keep their names "on
the boards" stands at 14,758. Every kind of study, from astral
chemistry to engineering, finds among this mass of people some
professed teachers and eager students.
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