The honours attained at Oxford by Mr. Swinburne, whose
Greek verses are no less poetical than his English poetry, were
inconspicuous. At St. Andrews, Murray read only `for human
pleasure,' like Scott, Thackeray, Shelley, and the rest, at
Edinburgh, Oxford, and Cambridge. In this matter, I think, he made
an error, and one which affected his whole career. He was not a man
of private fortune, like some of those whom we have mentioned. He
had not a business ready for him to step into. He had to force his
own way in life, had to make himself `self-supporting.' This was
all the more essential to a man of his honourable independence of
character, a man who not only would not ask a favour, but who
actually shrunk back from such chances as were offered to him, if
these chances seemed to be connected with the least discernible
shadow of an obligation. At St. Andrews, had he chosen to work hard
in certain branches of study, he might probably have gained an
exhibition, gone to Oxford or elsewhere, and, by winning a
fellowship, secured the leisure which was necessary for the
development of his powers.
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