Leaving Uncapped

Between November 1879 and April 1881, Sam completed the requirements for his MA but left Edinburgh without formally graduating. 

The Final Requirements

We are unclear about Sam's whereabouts during the summer of 1880, but he continued his studies through the 1880-1881 winter session. On 4 November 1880, he matriculated for the winter session in Moral Philosophy and Logic.

The reasons remain unclear.

Census and Departure

The 1881 census, taken on 2 April, shows Sam still lodging at 50 St Leonard's Street on the top floor, with his landlady recorded as Christina Clow. Records suggest that by this date he had fulfilled all graduation requirements. Yet  as he later reported, he was not 'capped'—the formal ceremony that would have granted him his degree.

The summer of 1881 remains largely undocumented. Archive materials suggest he used his Oxford connection of Professor Jowett (Balliol college) to gain employment as a travelling tutor. We have no evidence to confirm the exact timing. Indeed this may have been a regular summer pattern over the previous three years. Or he may have had a longer, more lucrative offer at this point which necessitated him leaving Edinburgh before graduation. We simply do not have enough firm evidence to make clear statements.

The summer of 1881 marked something of a transition. But whatever his plans in April of that year, by November he was back in Edinburgh. This time he matriculated at New College for a BSc.