Possiblythedifficultiestobeencounteredmayoccasionallyevokeunusualpowersofstudy;butthiscanonlyoccurinexceptionalcases。WhileatBangorMr。CadwalladrDaviesreadtometheletterofastudentandprofessor,whosepassionforknowledgeisofanextraordinarycharacter。WhileexaminedbeforetheParliamentaryCommitteeappointedtoinquireintotheconditionofintermediateandhighereducationinWalesandMonmouthshire,Mr。Daviesgaveevidencerelatingtothisandotherremarkablecases,ofwhichthefollowingisanabstract,condensedbyhimself:——
“Thenightschoolsinthequarrydistrictshavebeendoingaverygreatwork;and,iftheCommitteewillallowme,IwillreadanextractfromaletterwhichIreceivedfromMr。BradleyJones,masteroftheBoardSchoolsatLlanarmon,nearMold,Flintshire,whosomeyearsagokeptaveryflourishingnightschoolintheneighbourhood。Hesays:’DuringthewholeofthetimefourteenyearsthatIwasatCarneddi,Icarriedontheseschools,andI
believeIhavehadmoreexperienceofsuchinstitutionsthananyteacherinNorthWales。Forseveralyearsabout120scholarsusedtoattendtheCarneddinightschoolinthewintermonths,foureveningsaweek。Nearlyallwerequarrymen,fromfourteentotwenty-oneyearsofage,andengagedatworkfrom7A。M。to5。30P。M。Sointensewastheirdesireforeducationthatsomeofthemhadtowalkadistanceoftwooreventhreemilestoschool。
These,besidesworkinghardallday,hadtowalksixmilesintheonecaseandnineintheotherbeforeschool-time,inadditiontothewalkhomeafterwards。Severalofthemusedtoattendalltheyearround,evencomingtomeforlessonsinsummerbeforegoingtowork,aswellasintheevening。Indeed,soanxiousweresomeofthem,thattheywouldoftencomeforlessonsasearlyasfiveo’clockinthemorning。Thismayappearalmostincredible,butanyofthemanagersoftheCarneddiSchoolcouldcorroboratethestatement。’
“Ihavenowinmymind’seye,“continuesMr。Bradley,“severaloftheseyoungmen,who,bydintofindefatigablelabourandself-denial,ultimatelyqualifiedthemselvesforpostsinwhichagoodeducationisasinequanon。Someofthemareto-dayquarrymanagers,professionalmen,certificatedteachers,andministersoftheGospel。FiveofthemareatthepresenttimestudentsatBalaCollege。OnegotasituationintheGlasgowPostOfficeasletter-carrier。Duringhisleisurehoursheattendedthelecturesatoneofthemedicalschoolsofthatcity,andincourseoftimegainedhisdiploma。Heisnowpractisingasasurgeon,andIunderstandwithsignalsuccess。ThisgentlemanworkedinthePenrhynQuarryuntilhewastwentyyearsold。I