The real cause was, beyond all doubt, his utter neglect of the special study of the place; a liberty which Cambridge seldom allows to be taken with impunity even by her most favoured sons.

He used to profess deep and lasting regret for his early repugnance to scientific subjects; but the fervour of his penitence in after years was far surpassed by the heartiness with which he inveighed against mathematics as long as it was his business to learn them.
Everyone who knows the Senate House may anticipate the result.

When the Tripos of 1822 made its appearance, his name did not grace the list.

In short, to use the expressive vocabulary of the university, Macaulay was gulfed--a mishap which disabled him from contending for the Chancellor's medals, then the crowning trophies of a classical career.

"I well remember," says Lady Trevelyan, "that first trial of my life.