Liverpool a few years since: by an old stagerAspinall, James
History
Liverpool a few years since: by an old stager
Aspinall, James
Liverpool (England) -- Biography; Liverpool (England) -- History
But let us change the scene to the University of Oxford. Ha! who comes
here? “Richard’s himself again.” “The king’s once more at home.” It is
the principal of Brasenose College, the same Dr. Hodgson whom we lately
saw in Liverpool; but, _Quantum mutatis ab illo Hectore_, he is here
another and a different man. He is in the scene of his glory, his
triumphs, and his celebrity, among those who honour, respect, and look up
to him, and who are proud to be the followers of such a leader. He stood
out from among them as one of nature’s true nobility. Magnificent in his
manner and bearing, princely in his tastes, and habits, and notions, and
ideas, a scholar in every sense of the word, thoroughly acquainted with,
at home in, every branch of literature, and familiar with all the
mysteries and workings of the human volume, he was exactly the person to
perform a great part wherever his lot of life had been cast. Accordingly
he was a potentate even among the self-elated potentates of the
University. His will was law. His _sic volo sic jubeo_ was supreme. He
ruled without a rival near the throne. From time to time murmurs were
heard against the autocrat, and the whispering tokens of a coming storm
were frequently perceived. But mind triumphed over matter. He always
contrived to crush the incipient rebellion, and to rise, like another
Antæus, refreshed and strengthened from the struggle. And we may add
here that his ambition was as unbounded as his talents were great and
brilliant. The force of his genius, the power of his tact, and the
extent of his influence were never so remarkably proved as in the
management and clever combinations by which, with the help of Tory tools
subdued to his will, he contrived to return the Whig Lord Grenville, as
Chancellor of the University of Oxford, against Lord Eldon, the most
powerful opponent whom it was possible for Toryism to have selected for
the struggle in those days of its supremacy. The time at last arrived
when Dr. Hodgson was marked for the next elevation to the episcopal
bench, and he was spoken of for either an English bishopric or an Irish
archbishopric. But who can dive into the secrets of to-morrow? At the
moment when to his friends and family it seemed certain that all their
fond hopes and anticipations were about to be realised, he was suddenly
attacked by the fatal illness which brought him to the grave in a few
days. To the end of his life he retained all his influence over the
University, and, when he departed, it was as if Gulliver had been taken
from Lilliput, and the Lilliputians left to themselves. Nothing soaring
above the common place of mediocrity has since shown itself among the
college heads and rulers. When we heard of his death, we exclaimed,
“He was a man, take him for all in all,
We shall not look upon his like again.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account