"_Your educated and intelligent classes_," sneered Arminius, in his most
offensive manner--"where are they? I should like to see them." The
English friend, thus rudely challenged, leads the Prussian into the
justice-room, where they find on the Bench three excellent specimens of
education and intelligence--Lord Lumpington, the Rev. Esau Hittall, and
Mr. Bottles. Arminius insists on knowing their qualifications for the
post of magistrate. He begins by defining the principle of Compulsory
Education. "It means that to ensure, as far as you can, every man's
being fit for his business in life, you put education as a bar, or
condition, between him and what he aims at. The principle is just as
good for one class as another, and it is only by applying it impartially
that you save its application from being insolent and invidious.... You
propose to make old Diggs' boys instruct themselves before they go
bird-scaring or sheep-tending. I want to know what you do to make those
three worthies in that justice-room instruct themselves before they may
go acting as magistrates and judges?"

The imaginary Arnold replies that Lord Lumpington was at Eton, and Mr.
Hittall at Charterhouse, and Mr. Bottles at Lycurgus House Academy,
Peckham. But Arminius insists that to send boys of the wealthy classes
to school is nothing--the natural course of things takes them there.
"Don't suppose that, by doing this, you are applying the principle of
Compulsory Education fairly, and as you apply it to Diggs' boys. You are
not interposing, for the rich, education as a bar or condition between
them and what they aim at.

"In my country," he went on, "we should have begun to put a pressure on
those future magistrates at school. Before we allowed Lord Lumpington
and Mr. Hittall to go to the University at all, we should have examined
them.... There would have been some Mr. Grote as School Board