THE

PET[RITEVol. . VI .

JUNE, 1884.

No. 44.

MAY MORNING IN OXFORD.

[BY ONE OF ITS VICTIMS.]

PERHAPS some of our readers may care to hear a detailed account

from a participator of a curious old custom, with which Oxfordstill, even in these levelling days, celebrates the advent of May.

I was fortunate enough upon the last day of April to find myselfthe unexpected possessor of an order to the Tower of Magdalen

College, for the ceremony which takes place there upon every May

Day, at 5 a.m. There are two ways only of " doing a May " ; the firstand perhaps better way is to sit up all night ; it takes two at leasthowever, to make a night of it, and I was alone in lodgings ; the otheris to rise at 4-0 a .m.

Having no friend with whom to pass the night in linked sweetness,

long drawn out of tea (?) drinking, carding, and dicing, I was com-

pelled to practise the virtue of early rising in a manner befitting myisolated and hermit state . My slumbers were curtailed at the otherend by some neighbours, who persisted in anticipating the pleasures

of the morrow by practising up to midnight a pianissimo upon the horn,whose use will be explained presently . After this I am proud of

having awaked within five minutes of the time at which my landladyhad (without even the alacrity with which she usually promises to

carry out some order which, in her care for my welfare, she so frequently

regards it her duty to leave unperformed) engaged to call me . I was

thus enabled to be up and have some coffee ready for a friend, who,

being in college, had been able to secure a companion for his night-long

revels.

At 1-20, or thereabouts, we were at Magdalen College gates, a

very small portion of our journey . The unofficial public had to wait

46

MAY MORNING IN OXFORD.

some twenty minutes, before the rush for first places in the climb up

the Tower. This is regarded as the most perfectly-proportioned in

Oxford, rising straight from the ground to a height of 14C feet (I throw

in a few odd feet to show my great accuracy of detail).After an Alpine climb up an immense ladder, we screwed ourselves

on to a stone corkscrew staircase for about half an hour's steady tread-

mill practice, when the staircase, gradually narrowing to a point, was

succeeded by a perpendicular ladder, up which we endeavoured toqualify as smart main top-gallant men . When we reached the mast-head— I beg your pardon, I mean the top of the square tower, all

among the pinnacles and lightning conductors, we found a broad plateau,

capable of holding two or three score of people . There we enjoyedprobably the finest view that there is to be got of this most beautiful

city, serene in the majesty of its early morning slumbers, the clear air

guiltless of kitchen-chimney smoke, in the stillness of—but I am notdoing a trade as a penny-a-liner, so I may mention between ourselves

that the " city's mighty heart " was not " lying still " by any means ;on the contrary, the whole juvenile population of Oxford did

their best to point the contrast to the heavenly prospect we enjoyed

by the discordant and unearthly bray of a concourse of tin trumpets,

with which one and all they were provided, and did their best to drownall music but their own . What be the origin of this custom, whetherseparate from that of May Day observance or not, and who introducedit, as Ilerodotus would say, I do not know, but what I have been

told that I relate." Some say that the service on the Tower is a con-

tinuance of a popish observance, mass being said there oa that occasion

in the pre-reformation days—and that the braying below is the expres-

sion of a protestant protest on the part of the puritan population ofOxford . Why mass should be said in such an unusual and uncomfort-

able place is one of " those questions which are worth asking, though

they have no answer."

In the absence of any proof that it ever was said, to the sugges-

tion that the monks ever left their comfortable and beautiful chapel fora labour of difficulty like that climb, I can only say with the Americans

" you bet ."

Others say that the whole ceremony is a relic of sun-worship, and

the proletariate below unite with the choir above in greeting in blissfulconcert—beginning, not with sackbut or psaltery, but upon the common

or garden tin trumpet—the rising sun-god ; would that they had even

MAY MORNING IN OXFORD .

47

awaited his arrival . Whatever hypothesis we adopt, we cannot suppose

the town come to hear the music, they are too well contented with

their own even to allow others to hear . The chief gainers are the

itinerant vendors of the early bun and hot coffee, who turned the

honest penny at that early hour.

Whether for sun worship or not, I put in the second sun-rise Ihave ever assisted at, and probably the last I ever shall assist at in the

course of my existence here.

For after we had remarked upon the fine view of the city, all the

meaner brick houses being dwarfed out of sight, while the eye rested

only on the graceful curve of the High Street (from which the Tower

rises precipitately) and the assemblage of stone buildings, of which

the Bodleian Library, the University Church, and the Old ExaminationSchool are the centre, we were suddenly called upon to turn away from

Oxford, as the upper limb of the sun became visible over Ileadington

Hill. Though the Tower was densely packed, with a large proportion

of ladies among the audience, it was some time before the choir and

scholars (or Demies as they are locally designated) put on theirsurplices—hitherto worn as comforters—for the performance of their

functions . Having waited until the last clock had struck five, we then

listened, as well as the British public would allow, to the choir—one ofthe best in England—singing the following old Latin hymn ; those whoknew the words being (as always on such occasions) as well able to

follow them as those who did not, were totally unable to catch a singleword.

Te Deum Patrem colimus

Te laudibus prosequimur,Qui corpus cibo reficis

Cmlesti mentem gratia.

Te adoramus, 0 Jesu,

Te, Fili unigenite,

Te qui non dedignatus es

Sabire claustra virginis.

Actus in crucem, factus es

Irate Deo victima :Per te, Salvator unite,

Vitse spes nobis reduit .

48

MAY MORNING IN OXFORD.

Tibi, mterne Spiritus,

2Eterne benedicimus(Jujus afflatu peperit,Infantem Maria Deurn.

Triune Deus, hominum

Salutis auctor optime,

Immensnm hoc mysterium

Orante lingua canimus.

The words are said to have originally formed the college grace,but were deemed—so certain wicked persons have legendarily said—

too good or too long for everyday use, and so replaced an older form

originally employed on May morning . The music is by Rogers, a well-

known musician, who was organist of the College in 1680, or there-

abouts.

Probably as a mere musical performance the College Serviceswould be preferable, and the shivering and sleepy appearance of the

" sweet and piping trebles " did not seem to indicate that appreciation

of the benefits of early rising on a cold morning which one might inthe abstract wish to see in the British school-boy.

As soon, however, as the religious ceremony was ended, and we

had put our hats on again, no one seemed any the less hearty in entering

into the fun which as usual followed.

The first item consisted in throwing all surplices over the battle-ments, whilst the dons watched as if they would have liked to

follow suit with their own . After the few poor yards of fluttering

cambric had floated upon their mission to earth below, everyone'sattention was engaged in seizing his neighbour ' s cap, while retaining

possession of his own, and launching it on the same errand as the

surplice, the object being to send it to the greatest distance possible.

As the crowded state of the Tower left very little room for getting up

a swing while one's neighbours were wary, no very good times weredone, the record, which is over the adjoining chapel into the cloistered

quad, was never reached . It was curious, upon descending, to find the

grass below turned apparently into a laundress's drying-ground, with

square black patches over the white.

This amusement terminated the entertainment (as our journalist

friend would say), one of the most successful we have ever witnessed.N.B.—We have only witnessed this one. The tin trumpets play a

MAY MORNING IN OXFORD .

49

recessional hymn as we essay the descent, no less perilous than the

ascent. It is now only 5-30, with an aching void of some hours before

breakfast, and we begin to regret the impossibility of having the

entertainment " laid on " in our own houses with the gas and water.

However, as the mountain would not come to Mahomet, so we

have had, like the prophet, to break down the barriers of reserve and

assume the initiative. IIavin;g• made these advances, we have to carry

the thing through. So we take what is believed to be the orthodox

way of killing time on these occasions—though privately, I think,

more in theory than in practice—and climb the dark brow of the

mighty Shotover, an elevation near Oxford, which has seen fit to

assume the style of a hill . On this occasion it did the thing in thorough

style, actually going to the trouble of having its summit shrouded in

mist to assist the imagination.

Through this we groped our way, passing numerous pairs of

swains and swainesses—or is swine the feminine ?—who apparently

chose for going a-Maying the hour when the British workman leaves

his early couch, and the bird snaps up the early worm, while the bells

of Magdalen College rang out through the drizzle in what, I suppose.

was meant for f0 a merry peal," though I have never yet met, in real

life, that pure invention of the newspaper correspondent. Perhaps our

readers have never lived, however . within twelve feet of a church

-steeple that has a habit of waking the echoes by the hour on a Sunday

morning.

Suffice it to say that we returned to our starting point at an early

hour, and while my landlady " snorted " at having to rise to our

demands for breakfast at that early hour, we kept up the circulation and

spirits by going and pulling our more fortunate friends out of bed.

Though that can hardly he regarded as the termination of the ceremony,

the details of breakfast are " of no value to anybody but the owner, "

and ours only differed from everyone else's in duration and extent.

W. II . G.

CRICKET.

The Old L'oys' Match is to be played on Commemoration Day

Wednesday, June 25 . Any who wish to take part are requested

to communicate with H. W. Rhodes.

50

THE INFLUENCE OF THE STAGE.(Continued.)

Goethe, in the dialogue representing shallow culture and true

culture, makes Wagner say :" I've often heard it said at least

An actor might instruct a priest ;"

to which Faust answers :" Yes, if the priest an actor be,

Which sometimes happens certainly.

We fear this rejoinder of Faust's was too severe. However, it was a

matter of great surprise to Archbishop Sancroft that actors, when

speaking of merely imaginary things, contrived to affect their audience

as if they were speaking of real things ; while on the other hand he

found that clergymen, when speaking of real things, seemed only to

affect their congregations as though they were speaking of imaginary

things. lie asked the actor Betterton to give him his views on this

question . Betterton suggested that it was because " actors spoke of

imaginary things as though they were real, whereas in the pulpit real

things were spoken of as imaginary . "

But the chief reason of the strong influence of the stage Ss that

it approaches the audience through the eyes as well as the ears . We all

know the deep impression made upon us by a lovely landscape or abeautiful sky—such a majestic scene, for example, as the one which

is so marvellously painted in words by the pen of Nathaniel IIawthorne

in his " Marble Faun," as viewed by the sculptor Kenyon from CountDonatello's lofty tower of Monte Beni, among the Apennines in Tuscany.

When such charms as these are reproduced on the stage, the details

of the picture being filled up for us completely instead of leaving our

imagination to supply them, go a long way to create a feeling of reality

in the mind . In some minds, indeed, this feeling can never be sothoroughly produced as in a theatre . Yes ;—" the play ' s the thing," as

Hamlet truly said, when he resorted to that stratagem to awaken the

guilty conscience of the royal murderer, and thus caused him to convict

himself of his guilt.

It is this happy combination of beautiful scenery, with good acting,

which has made the recent Shakesperian revivals at the Lyceum Theatre

THE INFLUENCE OF THE STAGE.

51

in London, under Mr. Henry Irving's management, such an unprecedented

success, and has attained for the plays of Shakespeare such long runs as

previously were considered impossible.There is another question which we must consider, and which has

always been a debatable one, viz . : Has an actor more influence over hisaudience if he really feels his part ? It is stated that Betterton, whenplaying in hamlet, was actually seen to turn pale as the ghost appeared;

and Miss Kelly used to relate that she felt the hot tears dropping from

Mrs . Siddon's eyes as the great actress bent over her when playing one

of her most pathetic characters . But it seems evident to us that, if suchsensibility were exhibited night after night, it would soon become simply

a habit . With our greatest actors the mere signs of artificial emotion,

duly regulated by study and genius, could move their audience to the

very soul . In proof of this statement we need only relate an anecdote

told of Garrick . He was playing Lear with his friend King, and when

by his broken voice and apparent grief he had left scarcely a dry eye inthe house,—his own emotion being supposed to have quite overcome

him,—he whispered to King, on whose shoulder he was supporting

himself, at the same lime putting his tongue in his cheek, " D—n it,Tom, we are doing the trick!" Surely this decides the point con-

clusively !

Having seen the power that the drama possesses, it is the duly of

every man, who has the love of' his neighbour at heart, to do his utmostto elevate the stage . It must influence men very ma t erially either forgood or evil ; and, if support be given only to such productions as are

of a healthy nature, all others will soon disappear . We have already

spoken of the rapid advance in the morality of the stage, which has

of late years taken place ; but we have also shown that this advance wasmerely the recovery of lost ground since the time of the Greeks and

Romans. Much has been done ; but much remains to be done ; though

we frankly admit that the faults that remain belong rather to the accidents

than to the essentials of the theatrical profession . Let us, therefore,

while lending a hand in the work of further reforming our stage, if we

should feel discouraged by the errors that still remain, remember Shake-

speare's warning : " Condemn the fault, and not the actor of it !

R. W. C.

52

THE UNIVERSITY BOAT RACE.

BY whom was the Boat Race founded ? We can hardly say : it is

probable that a race, the first race, was rowed in the year 1829,

and that the credit, if due to any individual man, is due to Charles

Wordsworth, then at Christ Church, Oxford, who subsequently became

Bishop of St. Andrew ' s . Ilis father was Master of Trinity College,

Cambridge, and, staying at his house, Charles Wordsworth had oppor-

tunities afforded him of making friendships with the Cambridge boating

interest ; and from the friendships thus formed probably resulted the

institution of the race which is now one of the chief, if not the chief,

aquatic event of every year . Boat racing was not an established

institution either at the Universities or anywhere else—though it seems

that such things as College boat races were not unknown even then atOxford—and the race would certainly be got up in a private manner,

for there was no University Boat Club at either Cambridge or Oxford.

Many of my readers may have seen pictures of the boats in which

races were rowed ; if they have, they cannot fail to be struck at thedifference between the racing eight of that day and of this . If Peterites

can imagine an eight three times clumsier than any boat at " Hill ' s,"

with higher keels, of heavier build, higher gunwales, and greater

breadth, they may arrive at some idea ; still to the rising generation it

is difficult to conceive justly the type of boat iii which our forefathers

raced . Iu such boats oarsmanship was scarcely possible . The only

stroke that could be made (as I fancy many who read this will know to

their cost) was in the well-known " waterman 's " style : i .e., a sharp short

stroke, having no beginning or end, and consisting, so to speak, entirely

of " middle . "

The crews rowed over a short course of two miles, two furlongs,from Ilumbledon Lock to Henley Bridge . A long course in those boats

would have been almost beyond the power of man to endure . The

famous colours were not then invented ; the crews rowed, the Oxford

men in Christ Church colours—the college which was head of the riverin that year—the Cambridge men in white shirts with a pink sash, out

of compliment to their captain, who was a Lady Margaret man . That

race fell to Oxford . The fame of the men rowing contributed vastly to

the interest of the race . In the Oxford crew were a bishop, two

(leans, and a prebendary in embryo ; in the Cambridge boat were a

future bishop, a future dean (Dean Merivale), and a future Chancellor

of the Diocese of Manchester. This race is often quoted to show the

TILE UNIVERSITY BOAT RACE .

53

compatibility of 7rat=La with i7rat&a (to use the somewhat inflatedlanguage of a book lately published, called the History of the Univer-

sity Boat Race) ; and though, with nothing as an argument of course,

they remark that the theory is supported by statistics . A Mr. Clarke,

who rowed in the Oxford boat of 1859, has shown that while the. .average of first-class men, non-athletic, is 30 per cent ., among cricketmen it is 42 per cent ., and among rowing men 45.

For the next seven years there was no race, though a challenge

was once sent in 1831 by Cambridge ; but though it was accepted, the

race fell through on account of the cholera, which was then very pre-

valent in London . When at last it was rowed it fell to Cambridge, andwas the first of a series of eight wins, with one break, for the Light

Blues . They may appropriately be called by that name, for it was in

'36 that the light blue was adopted. At the moment of starting it

was noticed that Cambridge were about to row without colours. Oneof the crew jumped out and ran to the nearest drapers and took the

first piece of ribbon he could get . It was the Eton colour, and has

ever since then been adopted by Cambridge as her colour. Oxford, byway of contrast, chose henceforth dark blue . The race was rowed from

Westminster to Putney, six miles . This race marks an epoch in the

history of amateur rowing. Cambridge had obtained a genius for its

cox, who, by his thorough theoretical knowledge of the art, had taken

his own College boat up to the head of the river . It was principally

through his agency that the C .U.B .C . was founded. Ite broke through

the tradition which had hitherto prevailed at both Universities, of

engaging a waterman to train his crew. IIe saw that not only were

professional rowers unfit to train in other ways, but that they knew

less of rowing than amateurs—a fact which is more striking nowadays

than then . It was through his teaching that Cambridge were enabled

to win till another reformer rose at Oxford as keen-sighted as he.

The next race worthy of notice is that rowed in 1842, the fifthrace on the Westminster and Putney course . This is the real turning

point in Oxford ' s career. It was in this year that the reformer I spoke

of in the last paragraph arose. His name was Menzies, and he was of

Univ. College . IIe completely revolutionised rowing at Oxford. IIeprotested against the waterman's stroke, and tried, though for some

time in vain, to introduce the style recognised at this day, viz . : the

long sweep with the catch at the beginning . He introduced beneficialchanges also in the actual training of the crew, gave them food of a

54

TIIE UNIVERSITY BOAT RACE.

sensible quantity and kind, made them have the matutinal exercise-

before breakfast, with other improvements too numerous to mention.His opinions did not, as I have hinted, gain ground for some time ; buthe had taught and trained the Univ. College crew in such a way that

his opposers were forced to give way, and he was elected President ofthe O.U.B .C . (which it should have been said was founded the yearafter the C.U.B .C.) . He had had a firm supporter in Arthur Shadwell,who had learned to row at Cambridge, which had all along been ahead

in these matters of the sister University . Mr. Shadwell had migratedthe crew, and thus was able to steer Oxford in their second victory.

Mr. Shadwell, I might add, trained several crews at St . Peter ' s ; and

he had the credit of training Lesley, who is, so far as I can find out,the first Dark Blue oar St . Peter's has turned out.

Not only did the Oxford crew of this year beat the Cambridge boat

with considerable ease over the Westminster course, but the excellence

of Menzies' system was proved in a most remarkable manner at Henleyin the same year, in the famous " seven oars race . " Oxford werematched against the Cambridge Subscription Rooms, for the GrandChallenge Cup . Menzies was taken ill during the Regatta, and it wasimpossible for him to row without endangering his life . Oxford askedto be allowed to row an untrained man in his place. The "Rooms"

refused, and the Dark Blues determined to row without a stroke at all—or rather, No. 7 rowed stroke, and bow rowed in No . 7's place. Theresult was a win for the seven oars, after a hard race.

The year 1845 is remarkable as being the first year in which the racehas been rowed over the course, which has since, with one or two excep-

tions, been adopted . 1846 is also noteworthy as the first year in whichoutriggers were used, and with great success . And now the tables wereturned as completely ilr favour of Oxford as they had been in favour ofCambridge hitherto ; and in '62 the number of races won by the two crews,counting the races at Henley, were equal . In 1849, it is true, theywere beaten ; but they were obviously the better crew. The fault layin their boat, which was far too light for them . The danger of being

underboated is hardly, if at all, appreciated. bi reality it is a fargreater danger than the opposite one, viz ., of being overheated.There were people who saw the defect even then, and the result

was that Oxford challenged Cambridge to row again that year.

The challenge was accepted ; and, though, technically, Oxford

won on a foul, they showed themselves indisputably superior

TIIE UNIVERSITY BOAT RACE .

55-

by arriving home before their opposers, spite of the foul.This is the only foul that has occurred in the Inter 'Varisity

Races, and in all probability is the last that will occur, for it is now a point

of honour with coxswains, if they see any danger, to steer right out

of their course rather than run the risk, as they actually did in 1877.

The next few years were uneventful, the majority of races falling to

Oxford . It is worthy of note that all this time Messrs . Egan and

Shadwell were training and coaching either crew indifferently ; their aim

being apparently to promote the art, not to win the race for their own

University, and so make their love for rowing subservient to their

patriotism . It is an example that might be followed in more things

than rowing.

'59 is the next landmark, and is memorable for the sinking of the

Cambridge crew in the race . It was only luck that enabled the Oxfordcrew to get home that day . The wind and waves were very high, and

filled both boats ; the Cambridge boat succumbed, having its gunwales

lower than the Oxford one . The pluck of the Cantabs was specially

admired . Several of then could not swim, yet they hung on like grim

death to their oars ; while the coxswain, who, I believe, was one ofthose who could not swim, never swerved the boat an inch nearer to

the shore . Fortunately no life was lost.

1873 was the year in which sliding seats were first used, the

invention being of a later date than is generally supposed. I believe

there is no detailed account of the race to be had, but Oxford lost,through want of strength in the boat, though their style was exceed-

ingly good . The race of 1877 is memorable as resulting in the only

dead heat on record . Oxford had got the lead as far as the " Bull ' s

Head," when bow broke his oar. This heavily handicapped the DarkBlues, who were thus carrying a dead weight for a great part of the

course . The fact that so handicapped they managed to make therace a dead heat would seem to be evidence that they were the

better crew, and some dissatisfaction was expressed about the

decision, though without just ground. The rest of the races

are probably well known to my readers . I may add that in 1869

was rowed the first race between the Oxford and the HarvardCollege, U . S ., fours, over the Putney course . Oxford were under-boated, but the crew was an exceptionally great one, and they easily won,

Oxford have won altogether, counting the races on the Henley

course, 25 out of 46 races, and are therefore four races ahead of Cam–bridge ; in the races over the Putney course they are three ahead .

56

OXFORD LETTER.

It is said that the interest in the 'Varsity race is dying out . It

may be so ; the number of people who go to see the race is annually

decreasing. Still this does not detract from the value of the institution.

The good the race has done to rowing is incalculable . And it may be

added that scarcely one of the old Blues, who has gone in for rowing,

after leaving the University, has failed to distinguish himself where-ever he may have rowed . I need only instance, among many others,

Ware, Woodgate, Lowndes, J . C. Edwards-Moss, Bagshawe, Lawes,

to prove my point . If for nothing else, it is of value as being the

race of all others in which outsiders may have perfect confidence,as being all fair and above board.

It may be interesting to note the distinguished men who have

rowed in the race. The chief among them are four bishops, Wordsworth,

and McDougall, and both the Selwyns ; four judges, viz. : Chitty,Brett, Denman, and A . L. Smith, with several deans, and Q.C.'s ; lastbut not least, albeit perhaps his notoriety is not quite enviable, Mr.

Lawes, the sculptor.

Of the schools which have contributed 'Varsity oars, St . Peter's isby no means last, though Durham is a long way ahead of it . Theyhave contributed two for the Oxford boat, Lesley and Hargreaves ; for

Cambridge, three and one coxswain, G . L . Davis ; the oars are Forster,who rowed in '53, and is now an engineer at Newcastle ; Hawkins, nowvicar of Hensall, near Selby, with G . II . Eyre. With proper training

there is no reason why they should not contribute a larger proportion,

with so good a river close at hand . Eton, of course, heads the listwith one hundred and thirty-five Blues ; Rugby is next with thirty-one ; Westminster with twenty-five is next . Winchester, Harrow,and Durham follow after these ; Marlborough, Shrewsbury, and then,

I believe, St . Peter's .

OXFORD LETTER.

PERHAPS I am expected to commence my letter with a dirge over

the Boat Race, as boating is now the general topic of conversa-

tion . Never could a defeat have been borne with more cheerfulresignation, amounting occasionally to positive pleasure . No onegrudges the Light Blues their victory . The reason of our defeat wastwofold—overtraining on the part of some members of the crew, and

OXFORD LETTER.

57

the short stroke rowed by Currey and Blandy, which prevented the

giants at 6, 5, and 4 from getting a proper reach and swing . Furtherthan this, the Police steamer nearly swamped us . The reason of ourequanimity is to be found in our almost unlooked for win in the Sports,

the certainty of wiping out the stain at Henley, and, I am sorry to

say, to some degree, the great unpopularity of one member of the

Eight.

As to the Eights, which are rowed in about a fortnight, Exeter

will keep head—at least this is my prophecy—and Corpus go up tosecond . Exeter will have much the same eight as they had last year,especially if Pinkey will row . Corpus will be even stronger, as theyhave llornby and De Havilland . B.N.C. have Pulley rowing, and mayget Magdalen, who have no " blue," tut have an excellent stroke inUnwin . Christ Church is almost sure of five bumps, if not seven, asthey start twelfth . Paterson is rowing again for Trinity, with all hiswell-known vigour . Baskett and Kaye " toss the well-rounded oar "for Queen's. We saw the former pulling stroke for a while—he did notseem to be enjoying his post . Balliol and New will probably rise,while University, who have refused to avail themselves of any of their

Torpid, and are compelled to fill vacant places with those who havenever rowed before, will probably find their pride resulting in a seriousfall .

Our Cricket prospects, especially for next year, are very bright.Of last year ' s NI ., Kemp, Hine-Haycock, Page, Asher, Bolitho, Bastard,remain, though the last two may lose their places . Leslie cannot comeinto residence on account of business, but will play for us twice, Ibelieve, if not oftener . We have sustained a serious loss in Robinsonand Walker . Of the freshmen, Key and Brain have been before thepublic last season with great success . In Higgins, Buckland,Blair, Nicholls, and Ricketts, we have the pick of public school

bowlers, while several of them are very good bats . Of the Seniors,the best are Tristram, Money- AVigram, Barmby, Arnall, and Pember,

a Balliol scholar, recently elected to the Ireland, who made a good

score against us for the M .C .C . last year.April 29th will be a red-letter clay in the University calendar . The

Statute " providing that parts of the University Examination for

Women should be conducted by certain of the Public Examiners andModerators " was submitted and carried by 464 to 321, in spite of the

opposition of the (pugnacious) but (able) Dean Burgon . The day itself

58

OXFORD LETTER.

told of the coming struggle . From east and west, and north and south inflowed the ceaseless stream of black-coated white tied enthusiasts . Per-

sonal interest of the most telling kind was used, recalling Georgiana,

Duchess of Devonshire and the all hated Westminster election tomind . Some amusement was caused in the Senate house when the

Senior Proctor, who seemed unable to add up the votes, was calledupon to " get some of the girls to help you !

Proctoral activity has now reached its climax. Two " dons "were actually apprehended by mistake in the streets at night for

smoking ; and the bull-dogs pounced upon an inoffensive undergrad . forgazing up at the moon. He was discharged unfined. Possibly the

Proctor shrank from persecuting an embryo Newton.

Poor Mr . Ruskin is dissatisfied beyond measure, because his Art

Lecturas, delivered at Oxford, over which he says he spent more

time and trouble than he has on anything else, are not " read andquoted daily! " But what else could he expect from Matthew Arnold's

" young barbarians ?

A good story is going the round, about the Vice, of course . Attable d'hote somewhere he met an undergrad ., proverbial for his " firsts

on all papers " in Mods ., but also notorious for his unlimited confidence

in his own abilities . " Have you ever read the fragments of Anaxan-

drides, " the young gentleman is said to have asked of Dr . Jowett.

" No, I never have ." " IIave you ever read those of so and so then ? "

—some obscure Greek poet, recently exhumed . " No, I am sorry to

say, I have not ." " Then what on earth can you have read ? " This

to the Regius professor of Greek !Another story is also told of the Master of Balliol . Some men

stayed up during the Long Vac. one year, and, according to theStatute, the Master was obliged to be in residence. After a while hebecame very tired of it ; and began to put on earlier chapels and

make the dinner in hall very scanty. The majority then dropped offone by one, but still a remnant of very hard workers was left . By

dint of more chapels and poorer dinners he got rid of all but one, whostayed on until more coercive measures compelled him to ask leave to

go down, which was promptly and characteristically given . As he

retired from the Master's study, the Professor gazed at him with his

piercing look and remarked, " This kind goeth not forth except byprayer and fasting."

CALLOO .

59

CAMBRIDGE LETTER.

ONCE more we have returned to our respective Colleges—some of

us, alas ! for the last time, there to be tantalized by seeing enjoy-ment everywhere around us, but not with us . However, in five weeks'

time, these unhappy ones will have experienced a happy (or unhappy)

release from all their troubles, and we trust that the School Blue Book

will record some victories. To speak plainly, six of our number are,this Term, in for their Triposes, while another looks to the Special for

his Degree.

But to turn our thoughts in a more pleasing direction, we remember

that the Boat Race has not yet been referred to by the Cambridge

correspondent. It is a subject upon which we are rather inclined to be

garrulous, but since our readers are probably already primed with all

manner of details respecting it, we will endeavour to confine our ideas

to a limited space. Three successive years has your correspondentvisited the Osier Beds, at Key-, to witness the final struggle ; twice hehas been grievously disappointed, but at last he has felt the delightful

sensation of seeing the Light Blue oars in advance of the Dark Blue

as the boats dash under Barnes Bridge . The victory was a popularone, and will, no doubt, give a stimulus to rowing up here. Greatpraise is due to Gridley—the President—for his persevering efforts to

work a strong rough crew into the form they displayed on the Thames.

The School should feel proud—as it doubtless does—that one of its old

members achieved the enviable distinction of rowing in a winning'Varsity Boat . Eyre fully deserved his place, and more than once he

was held up by a leading " daily" as an example to the rest of the crew.

The writer visited Lillie Bridge next day, and his astonishmentgrew greater and greater as he saw event after event go to the DarkBlues . The " a priori " probability of the result was, beyond dispute,

in favour of Cambridge ; and on paper it seemed that we might even score

six or seven out of the nine events . These rosy expectations were not

realized . The Mile and Three Allies were both looked upon as moral cer-

tainties for us, but thanks to the unusually brilliant running of Prattand to an injury received by Eliot, both fell to Oxford. The Quarter was

a magnificent race between Payne, Tindall and Blair, and at the finish

not more than a yard separated first and Last . Altogether the Sports

60

NOTES AND ITEMS.

were excellent—the races were close and at times good . The Weight-putting and the Mile both resulted in 'Varsity records, whilst Colbonrne ' sHigh Jump of 5 ft. 10 in. and Pollock's time in the Hurdles (16 secs .)were exceptionally brilliant . The latter is, we are sorry to hear, dan-gerously ill ; we trust that he will have a speedy recovery.

Turning to Cricket, our prospects seem fairly promising . With eightof last year's XI., there should be little difficulty in choosing the com-plement . Marchant and Greatorex, two of the finest players among

the Public-school men of last year, have both come up to Trinity andwill probably occupy two of the vacant places.

We have very little personal news to give this month . Few ofour number seem to patronize the Cricket Field—Stevenson, of Christ's

being the only O. P. we have seen representing his College . Eyre will

be unable to row in his College Boat this May—Tripos preventing.Peters is rowing 2 in the Corpus Boat. Mallinson has been up for afew days coaching the Christ's Boat, which will doubtless profit by his

advice . We note with pleasure that Alan Grey of Trinity, who is now,we believe, organist at Wellington College, will give an Organ Recital

at Trinity, on the 15th inst . To-day, Dr. Naylor of York Minster has

been performing.

We cannot conclude without expressing the great pleasure we haveall felt in having our old Head Master amongst us for a few days.Mr. Adams was also up the other clay for a few hours, but had not timeto call upon his old pupils.

NOTES AND ITEMS.

On .11 ill 30th, the Rev. J . R. HUSBAND, Christ ' s College, Cambridge,h ok his M.A. degree.

CLIFFORD ALLBUTT, M.D ., having completed 20 years' service onthe staff of the Leeds Infirmary, has retired, and takes the position

of Consulting Physician to the Institution.

E. W. CROSSLEY, of St . Bartholomew's Hospital, has passed the

Primary Exam. of the Royal College of Surgeons in Anatomy

and Physiology.

REV. E. S . Fox has been licensed by the Bishop of London to the

curacy of Holy Trinity, Paddington .

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