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 ARBUCKLE AND THE MOLESWORTH-SHAFTESBURY SCHOOL. 197 a literary club of which Arbuckle happened to be a member. 1 When Arbuckle entered as a Theological student in 1721, he was more in the Principal's power, and his friends asserted that Stirling endeavoured to damage his character, and even prevent his obtaining admission to the Communion. 2 Possibly owing to the Principal's condemnation, Arbuckle changed his mind with regard to his profession, and we find him gaining the degree of M.D. in 1724. Not only had Arbuckle taken a prominent part in what might be called college politics, but, at the same time, he published several poems which gained him a considerable local reputation. In 1719 he published Snuff a Poem, also An Epistle to Thomas, Earl of Haddington, upon the death of Joseph Addison, and, in 1721, Glotta a Poem, upon the title- page of which he describes himself as a member of the Uni- versity of Glasgow. These are written in the metre Pope had made, if anything, too popular ; and Glotta is the only one that calls for remark. It is of considerable interest as giving a description of the University and the teaching of the time, and it is very creditable to Arbuckle that he does not introduce any contentious subjects, confining himself to a description of the University and its scholastic activity. If any indication of Arbuckle's tastes can be drawn from the amount of space devoted to the different subjects, it would appear that he was most impressed by Natural Philosophy. The lines devoted to the Philosophical department Or what more nearly touches human kind, The powers and Nature of Eternal Mind Which only conscious of its being knows Th' Eternal Source from which that being floius 3 clearly show that, as a student, Arbuckle was under Cartesian influence, and this is of interest in view of the fact that four years later he will be found to have developed in quite a different direction. In 1724, then, having finished with the University, Arbuckle returned to Dublin, though there is a tradition that he taught school between the completion of his university course and tis arrival in Dublin, 4 this seems unlikely since we find him fell established in Dublin in 1725, and having made numerous riends, which would be difficult if he had only just arrived. The most important event in Arbuckle's early life, and 1 Short Account, ut supra, p. 24. a Ibid., p. 25. 3 Glotta a Poem, Glasgow, 1721. 4 MS. prefixed to an edition of Glotta, in the Library of the British [useum, vide supra.