The Fritillary, December 1895 by Oxford Women's Colleges Hub

December, 1895.

No. 6.

Contents. rAct

SUGGESTIONS AS TO. THE RELATIONS BETWEEN SCIENCE AND ART

MRS. GIFUNDY, DEPO4 ED

THE ARMENIAN QUESTION

NORTH COUNTRY HUMOUR

MY LADY'S GLOVE

BALMORAL FROM THE BRAEMAR ROAD

A GHOST STORY SONNET

SHADOWS

95 96 97

ST. GILES' FAIR SIM

THE QUESTION OF DEGREES

WOMEN'SIINTER-COLLEGIATE DEBATING SOCIETY

NETTLESHip LIBRARY

99 103

INTER-UNIV. TENNIS MATCH

104

LADY MARGARET HALL

104

SOMERVILLE COLLEGE

105

S. HUGH'S HALL

106

HOME STUDENTS

106

LIST OF STUDENTS

107

pgforts : PRINTED FOR THE PROPRIETORS BY AI,DEN & COMPANY, LTD., BOCARDO PRESS.

zht 40tiItam No. 6.

DECEMBER

%nogestions as to the 1Retations between %ctence anb EIrt. IN

his Presidential address at this year's meeting of the British Association, Sir Douglas Galton said of the spectroscope, " Quite recently this wonderful instrument has enabled Professor Keeler to verify Clark Maxwell's theory that the rings of Saturn consist of a marvellous company of separate moons,â&#x20AC;&#x201D;as it were a cohort of courtiers revolving round their queen." The simile gives us the scientific fact in an artistic form, and exemplifies perhaps the greatest service which art can render to science, the presentation of truths and laws in such a way that they are readily grasped and retained by the mind,â&#x20AC;&#x201D;which is indeed to endow those laws with life, for the mass of intelligent men and women. It suggests also that in order to be effective, to make its force swiftly felt, the scientific nature should have art as an ally, and that the tendencies towards the scientific and towards the artistic vision of things are more nearly connected than is commonly supposed. To understand how close is the kinship, we have to consider, in the first place, the impulses in which each spirit has its origin. The desire shared by every intelligence, to see things in order, in shapes of harmony, is felt by scientific and artistic natures in an acute degree : to them chaos is more repulsive than to the ordinary

1895.

mind. It has been the task of civilization, led by thought, to gradually introduce greater order and form into the bewildering mass of objects which each individual must meet, and for the greater number it is sufficient to accept this system as they find it. But for the original mind the superimposed order at moments seems to vanish away, facts lie before it in all their disarray and confusion, and require a fresh arrangement. In this aspect it might almost be conceived that in a perfectly balanced mind science and art would be one, would blend into each other. In the case of most of us the opposition is subjective. The mind fitted to grasp, and prone to hunger for exact knowledge, is likely to be impatient of the artist's attitude of suspense, his expectation of the new, the unlooked-for, his interest in the vague, all that lies upon the border-land of knowledge and mystery. The truly scientific mind does not in theory and plan banish the mysterious out of the field of inquiry. He only postpones the investigation of it, which promises less fruit than the investigations with which science is usually concerned. But these inquiries which lie immediately before him are continually lengthening out, widening and deepening, and life is probably over before he has leisure to approach the sphere of the uncertain beyond. Such a thought is particularly suggested by the autobiography of J. S. Mill, in whom the scientific and artistic capacities seem to

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have been united in a high degree. That his nature was in a true sense poetical is testified both by the tone of much of his writing, and by the fact that only the poetry of Wordsworth could restore him to calm, in what was probably the greatest crisis of his life, leading him, as it did, to rest in the beauty of earth's common things. But the bent given by his remarkable training in exactitude of thought, lasted almost throughout life, and deterred him from pursuing any other lines than those strictly, that is scientifically, philosophical. The scientific and artistic spirits appear, then, to have an equally strong need for order. A second point of contact is that they both require the real. As Mr. H. Spencer has defined philosophy in terms of science, saying that the highest generalizations of science constitute philosophy, so also might science be described in terms of philosophy, for science works towards the discovery of the real, by systematizing experience. It desires knowledge as a stepping-stone to reality, it demands accuracy in every detail, as the only means of obtaining a view of truth in the whole. Regarding things in the light of the great contrast between the real and the phenomenal, it may seem that though science at times works with poetry in removing the scales from our eyes, and helping us to see through appearances, at times it works against poetry, casting the dust of confusing detail in our light. But this is only because it shows us the truth by degrees : under its guidance we rarely face the whole, and when we do, we have moved into the region of philosophy. Poetry, which is the most intellectual expression of the purely artistic spirit, and is also an irregular philosophy in its endeavour to reach a limit at ends, or principles, has perhaps never been adequately defined. But of the many defi-

nitions that have been given, the truest seem to be those that speak of this presence of reality in it. We do not feel that Coleridge hits the centre in his explanation of poetry as the most beautiful thoughts, rendered in the most beautiful words, set in the most beautiful places ; nor Mallock when he tells us that poetry is the cone tinued and exalted expression of sustained emotion. But Emerson seems nearer the heart of the matter in his description of poetry as the " constant effort to express the spirit of the thing, to pass beyond the brute body." Carlyle is full of the same idea, when he tells us that the poet is he who sees deeply. " See deep enough and you will see musically, the heart of nature being everywhere music." Carlyle's definition, however, involves an unscientific presumption, which must be dwelt upon later. We see more plainly that both science and poetry introduce us to reality, if we remember that this reality comes to us probably as a revelation. The real is perpetually confused with the actual, which is for most of us the natural, that is, the most common and familiar. Surely the task of the highest poetry is to set us free from this bondage to daily appearance, and to bring home to us the truth to which reason slowly leads the mind, that the common is only one aspect, and that transitory, of existence, the aspect into which our normal nature most readily fits, and to which our attention is constantly drawn by the exigencies of life. Mr. Balfour applied this truth very forcibly, when he demonstrated that the repulsion felt by so many minds for what is termed supernatural, is largely due to a shrinking from the uncommon, the unusual ; and that the advantage of the positive over the mysterious is in the main the advantage of the customary over the rare. There have been attacks on the

THE FRITILLARY. so-called mystical poets, notably that of Max Nordau in his " Degeneration," which are urged under a blindness to the true nature of the distinction between real and unreal. Nordau characterises those poets and artists. as mystical and nerveless, who go, so to speak, off the highways, from which we are wont to view the landscapes of life and the universe, and would have us see these things at times from out-of-theway knolls and hillocks, in new forms therefore, and colours. But his argument logically followed out would condemn the greater number of poets, and deprive us of the best mental refreshment the poet can give. The curious scenes to which Rossetti introduces us are real to the mind that has moved in the poet's devious track ; and if under his guidance we see for a moment an ultra-violet colour in life, surely we are not removed from reality, but rather allowed to perceive an aspect of existence no whit less true than the common reds and greens of our experience. Both the studies of science and of poetry bring us, then, into contact with reality : they quicken the senses and faculties through which we perceive existence, they take us a few steps further into the halls of truth. But poetry does this in the power of the great assumption that the real is also the ideal, and at this point parts company with science, which recognises no preconceptions. In science manifestly, and to a large extent in poetry, the search for reality takes the immediate form of a search for knowledge. The quesitum of science, in the case of any single object, is the whole truth about itâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;all the relations, superficial and deep, which it bears to other objects, to the laws of the universe, and its environment, all the threads by which it is bound to the system of things. By art is revealed the essence of the object, probably not apparent to the casual glance.

It is therefore that we feel when looking at a portrait by Rembrandt, that the truth about the being presented is more plainly shown to us than it could be if the living person stood there. Take one of his paintings of a Burgomaster. The old man seems indeed to be speaking to you, but from Rembrandt's canvas he does not say just what he would have said, were you before him in the streets of Amsterdam. Not because the painter has not given him life enough, but because in the picture you get more of his vivid personality than could be betrayed at any ordinary moment of life, when the irritations of the day, the confusion of a restless night, the discomfort of the north wind, the smile or frown of a valued citizen, may be uppermost in his thoughts and discolour his mood. So if the lips seem to move, the ascendancy the painter has obtained over your sight extending by sympathy to another sense, the old Dutchman with the stately white head and the sorrowful eyes says, to you some real thing out of the deep within him, out of the dark mysteries of his life suggested in the heavy shadows of the background. He gives you some thought shaped by the experience of sixty years closely lived in a steady grip of facts. According to this view of reality in science and art, the saying of Victor Cherbliez about the artist is true also of the man of science : " The artist sees life and the world otherwise than the majority of men ; by what leaves them indifferent, he is moved, to that which affects them he is cold." And this is because of knowledge in both cases, though differently gained. To Ruskin it seemed that the discovery that the flower is organically only a varied development of the leaf, would be chilling to the imagination. But surely the breaking down of the barrier between one part of the plant's life and

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another ought rather to stimulate imagination, as Goethe felt when he first observed that the veins of a leaf are as the branches of the tree in miniature. For since the field of mystery is infinite, it can hardly be reduced in size for man's mind because one more fragment is won from it. To the poet, on the other hand, facts are disclosed through channels we do not know of, and eyes and features that are blank to us will tell him a great deal, without the help of Rembrandt. He looks, perhaps, in the face of a London flower-girl, and perceives what things have passed within and without her, what chill winds have shivered over her head and taken away its grace, what confused thoughts have shrunk and parched her spirit. Whether, indeed, her ways have fallen in Westminster or Whitechapel, signifies little to the truth of his conception, and, to go a little further, it does not much matter even if the particular crisis he imagines never came to this girl at all. A law hidden from him may have marked her face with those lines suggesting questionings of life, and beatings against circumstance,â&#x20AC;&#x201D;a face, owned perhaps by an apathetic soul, moving in a wholly monotonous existence. Nevertheless, there is ideal truth in the poet's conception, framed according to a view of harmony between the fact and its expression (a belief, that is, in the sincerity of life) which as a presupposition would be inadmissible in science. The distinction between truth of idea and truth of fact brings us to the question of the poet's place in history, and the often started controversy whether history is properly a science or an art. It is generally admitted that history is scientific if from the study of the past and present we can arrive at general laws and principles, guiding the movements of men and march of events, by means of which we can to a cer-

tain extent forecast the future. But whether this is possible, whether such forecasts can be more than imaginative, is a point greatly in dispute, and the uncertainty of which is increased by the variety of the ventures and speculations about the coming generation made by philosophic historians. For example, one need but refer to the wholly different conclusions of such men as Charles Pearson and Mr. Benjamin Kidd, as to the relations, likely to arise in future, between the yellow, black, and white races. Mr. Pearson concluded from his large historical knowledge, that the day of white pre-eminence is already past its meridian, and that the time is approaching when a world-wide socialism will allow no value to intellectual or spiritual superiority. Mr. Kidd, on the other hand, holds, from his observance of life, that it is an unalterable law that the white rules wherever he be, and that after a period of perhaps inexpedient tolerance to the lower races, the higher, convinced that it is for the advantage of humanity that they be kept in subjection, will resume the reins of government more strictly. But whatever we may think as to the possibility of the infinitely complicated data with which history has to deal being ever so far ordered and grouped under laws, as to enable us to deduce from them the phenomena of the future, it is evident how greatly the help of the poetical or imaginative spirit is needed in preparing the way. If in the other sciences imagination is only tolerated as a handmaid, it might almost seem to be the angel of this young science of history. And that even more in our speculations about the remote pastâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;our back-casts at the prehistoric age, than in our forecast of the future. The mystery of the origin of a race into which the historian gropes with the dim torchlight of conjecture based on its later conditions, is sometimes rather darkened than rendered

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this goal under the direction of art, and mask in artistic form. The services which art can render to science have been touched upon : the damage which may be done to art by the scientific spirit ought not to be forgotten. When we speak of science intruding upon the domain of art, we are often thinking of an unscientific science as much as of an inartistic art. For one method of so-called realism is the overweighting of a work of art, whether writing or painting, with aggressive facts, by which it is deprived of its symmetry and pro. portion, and fails to convey the impression or conception of which it should be the vehicle. This is an error which has damaged some of the French novels of the day, and produces an effect most unlike that of the realism of George Eliot, whose love of detail is always kept subordinate to the central idea she desires to represent. This is one instance of the danger to present day art caused by the worship of knowledge in this century, natural, considering the great victories knowledge has lately gained, but almost abject. It is the 7rXEoPE4Ict of knowledge (to borrow the word which alone seems to express the fact) from which proceeds in part our lack of sanity. There are so many vistas, possibilities before the intellect. A generation arises which seems to have too much visual power. Its sight is too long, its landscapes too wide; seeing to such a distance it ceases to see well. The mind may gradually adapt itself to the opening out of new worlds, but it hardly seems to grow proportionately to the increase of its wealth. It might seem that with the consciousness that intelligent life has continued in this world during a succession of ages, in comparison with which the length of history as formerly imagined is as an hour to a day, the intellectual character of man should be renewed and transformed. But the fact

that no intellectual power and work has been higher than that of the fourth century B.C. in Athens, seems to prove that not by accumulation of facts and knowledge can the capacity of men for conceiving large thoughts be increased. This adoration of knowledge tends to encourage a neglect of the duty of selection and self-restraint, injurious to the artistic spirit. True, the first quality of the artist is that of the seeker after knowledge, sensibility to all impressions. He who makes is he who is most finely-tempered, keenly conscious of all the changing aspects of things, able to take in impressions deeply, and give them forth in fresh forms. With the good he must discover much evil, with the beauty much ugliness. By the man of science working on towards the far off theory,.all should be equally noted and weighed. But the artist is so in virtue of that conviction expressed by Carlyle : " The heart of Nature is everywhere music." The greatness of Greek art is largely due to the invincible strength of this faith : " Beauty is truth." In a generation like our own, over-weighted with facts not yet fully ordered, the artist and the poet are in peculiar need of the genius of moderation and reserve. We are in what is sometimes called a romantic age,â&#x20AC;&#x201D;an age that takes in new fields as subjects for representation, breaking the fetters which had too far restricted the material. And when such an age is contemporaneous with a vast addition to knowledge, the peril of art is greatest. This appears to be the special cause of the blot on modern French painting, that attempts to embrace all actuality as its province, assuming that nothing vividly felt and translated can be out of place. And sometimes we do feel this error in the genius of Wagner, who in many ways expresses to the utmost the characteristics

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of his age,—its k-nowledge and thoroughBut the greatest mind is that in which, as ness, its enthusiastic pessimism, its acute in Plato, imagination is never quenched or sensibility. He hears all the voices of life, obscured even momentarily by hard reasonharmonies and discords, and, as far as ing, but goes with it all the way, a pillar of possible, he will make his audience hear cloud in the midday glare of knowledge, a them too. pillar of fire in the night of ignorance. The artist seems to work with most A. D. O. steady hope and patience, who believes that could he see the whole system of ((Drs. Orunbr, beposeb. life and the universe completed, it would SHE who once ruled a nation unopposed, be a vast artistic scheme, but believes also Now finds her reign is o'er, her triumphs closed. that no single bit he can lay hold of Her law was absolute, till, grown more wise, could so appear. He takes, therefore, The world rebels, her judgments we despise. fragmentarily from nature and life, pieces No more will maidens tremble at her frown, for his composition. In one life he sees No more her stern decrees will rule the town. the ending apparently fitted for another, No more need folly shun her presence grim, whose close seems to have no true reference Full license now is given to every whim. to its beginning. Centres, ends, begin- What she defined as woman's proper sphere Is greeted now with jest, contempt, and jeer. nings, they are scattered over many different Woman resists. No more she '11 subject be places, and he must gather them together To ancient customs and morality. into one. Thus the poet endeavours to Her former mentor boldly she defies aim at poetic justice,—a reflection, as he .And proves she 's free by eccentricities. conceives, of the idea of the universe, but We pass the limits once prescribed on dress, And freedom by our costume we express. not of any one of the parts he sees. The hampering skirt no longer now prevails, In obedience, then, to the principle of We masquerade as over-dressed young males. choice and austerity, art goes away from The mirror of our time, behold the stage ! science. Deep problem plays just now are all the rage. There is another striking distinction in The heroine may not just be quite— ? you know ! those very revelations in which science and But still we rush in crowds to see the show, art seem to come nearest to each other. And smile approval, if by hook or crook, Art wins by intuition what science gains She'll stab her husband, or destroy a book. through observation and reasoning. It is An English maid, 'neath Mrs. Grundy's sway, therefore that in the earlier ages of thought Would blush to read the novels of to-day ; But now that innocence is on the shelf; poetic imagination leaped to some conShe sc ,rns that blush, and writes the books herself. clusions which even now are being verified No longer fear of blame her bosom fills, by science. So has Empedocles' theory of A woman's sphere is just whate'er she wills. the origin of man, and the monstrous forms Most outré conduct now gives no offence, of life which first appeared on earth, a And indiscretion 's voted common-sense. strange similarity to the modern doctrine 0 glorious license Now at length we 're free of evolution and natural selection. In the To be as foolish as we choose to be. To follow blindly everything that 's new, same way the dreams of the child, set aside To worship vice, and kiss rebellion's shoe, in the first shock of knowledge, are someTo pour contempt on what we once revered, times reverted to in later life, and gain a And mock at all our grandames loved and feared. new meaning and truth, through clearer To prove our cleverness to all the land, understanding. We laugh at what we cannot understand. !

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And by our actions and morality, We show the world our glorious Liberty. And yet a lurking sorrow fills the breast, The heart is troubled and the mind deprest. What use those garments, which we really hate? What use to trespass upon man's estate ? What use to loudly clamour for our rights, To read or talk of questionable sights ? Though loud we voice our freedom to the world, Though custom from its pinnacle is hurled; Though vice, originality is termed, And folly in its foolishness confirmed ; Though what we loved is now despised and mocked, What profit—when there's no one to be shocked ?

Ebe Armenian euestion. FouR centuries and a half have passed away since the Crescent first floated over Santa Sophia. That proud position had been attained only at the cost of many wars and great misery—misery which had not reached its consummation even then. Yet this anguish was but the necessary throes through which a new Europe was to be born. Morally and intellectually Europe arose renewed out of the ruins of the Eastern Empire. Now men tell themselves that the Crescent has dominated the Queen of Cities long enough, and that its further continuance there cannot be tolerated. But with this thought comes the question, of all others pertinent to statesmen of to-daywhether, out of the ruins of the Moslem Empire, can arise any benefit to mankind at all commensurate with the awful confusion and misery which such an overthrow, however brought about, must produce. Is it possible that, were the thorny question of the near East once satisfactorily settled, though at the cost of an European war, peace might again reign over all Europe, and the present armed truce be at an end ?

Such are the questions to which many of the world's greatest statesmen are anxiously and almost despairingly seeking the answer, and which all Europe, with bated breath, awaits. Ten years hence the difficulty may, and probably will, have advanced far on the way to solution ; now we can only strain our eyes to see the workings of the hidden forces which go to solve it. What will be the outcome of it all—of the deep indignation of the Armenians who feel that their woes are more than they can bear ; of the profound dissatisfaction and unrest of Young Turkey itself, and the clashing interests of the Six Powers, who, would they but for once forget their jealousies, might do so much towards the peaceful settlement of this vexed problem ? It is well to bear clearly in mind the motives which actuate the Great Powers, whose influence is being more or less exerted upon the Porte to-day. Presumably they are all agreed in intending or thinking they intend all outrages upon defenceless subjects of the Sultan to cease once and for ever ; but, when it comes to the practical measures to be taken to enforce their resolutions, the agreement of the Powers is not so unanimous. Russia is willing that Armenians should live unmolested, but on no account must Armenia take any steps towards becoming a strong, autonomous province, independent of Russian influence and protection, and of ultimate Russian annexation. France, in her enthusiasm over her newfound ally, after so many years of isolation, is ready almost to sacrifice the cause of Armenia altogether, rather than to lose her friend ;—and the fact that England stands in the opposite camp to Russia is not an argument to weigh against this course. England is openly and sincerely anxious to save Armenia from the cruelty of the

THE FRITILLARY. Turk, provided only such salvation does not involve a still greater misery to mankind, such as must arise if Russia were to seize Armenia and Europe be plunged in war. And standing alone as England now does, how can she achieve the effectual protection of Armenia without this result ? 'Germany would hardly join with us in such a crusade : there is already too much commercial jealousy between the two countries, and our mighty cousin has not perhaps forgiven us for taking our stand outside the Triple Alliance. Italy would doubtless help us if she could, but, poor as she is, could she risk the loss of the protection which her alliance with Germany and Austria gives her ? And Austria herself in the event of war has too many interests of her own to serve in the Balkan Peninsula to trouble about the concerns of other people. Again, our own position is complicated by the Egyptian question. How can we, without assuming a direct protectorate over that country, prevent the Khedive from taking an active part in the defence of his lawful Suzerain, should war break out ? And yet, on the other hand, how could we, without evacuating Egypt, allow him to do so ? Then if the Sultan fell our difficulties would not lessen. Egypt is not ready to walk alone, but any tightening of our hold upon the reins of government, which would be necessary directly the Khedive felt he was his own master in one direction, would call forth the full fury of France, and with it possibly that of Russia. It may well be that the most sure way of effectually throwing oil on the troubled waters is to be found in the direction of an alliance with Russia, towards which public opinion in some quarters seems to be tending. Why cannot we frankly admit the perfectly natural desire of the great Slav Empire for a road to the open seas ; and, on the understanding that Russia

respects our interests in India and the far East, withdraw all opposition, tacit and avowed, to the fulfilment of that ambition ? Then England and Russia together could well and effectually dictate terms to Turkey, and, if they were not acceded to, take such measures as circumstances necessitated. This is very possibly only a day-dream, destined to vanish into thin air amid the din of the working world of to-day, full of the opposing interests of jealous nations. And even if such an alliance were to be achieved, events, in the meantime, may have passed out of the reach of the influence of the Powers, by the action of the Reforming party among the subjects of the Sultan himself. Be this as it may, all who have eyes to see, and hearts that can be moved to take an interest in other matters than those which directly concern little England, must continue to watch with unabated interest the march of events in the Byzantine empire. Indeed it may well be that, by the time these remarks appear in the pages of the Fritillary, the whole question may have moved more than one step on towards solution. T. J.

llortb Country Ibuinour. EVERYBODY knows that for quiet dry humour, he must go to the " bonny North Countree." Your Northerner is not brilliant ; his wit is by no means sparkling, in all probability he would not see a Londoner's joke. But get him at home among his own kind, and nowhere will you find a man so quick to see the humorous side of a situation, or so ready to give a humorous turn to the conversation. I have selected the following stories as they have come specially under my notice. If

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they are already known to our readers, I apologise. I have refrained from attempting to write the dialect, as such an attempt would be probably a failure, or if it succeeded it would certainly render me wholly unintelligible. Two men were one day engaged in an animated discussion. One of them possessed a face which gave one the idea that Dame Nature had been ill-tempered the clay she modelled him. The discussion waxed loud and long. At length he of the unhandsome countenance, rising in indignation at some personal remarks of his opponent, exclaimed : " Weel ! so wot thou says, I'm no one o' them twa-feaced uns (hypocrites)." " No," replied his opponent, " I see thou's not. If tho' wert, tho'd 'a left that to whoam (home) and browt t'other." A gentleman was giving a dinner to his employ4s. At his right hand sat an old overseer, very much on his best behaviour. A large fore-quarter was set before the master, who, of course, cut off the shoulder, and placed it on the empty dish which was waiting to receive it. The elderly guest, imagining that this was his helping, looked at it anxiously, and then exclaimed : " Eh, measter, yer've 'elped me pretty plentiful ; but I'll wrostle wi' it." The following story is an instance of the careful preparations which are made by many of the poorer classes for their funeral feasts. An old man, very near his end, was visited by his married daughter, who was most anxious to find some way of giving relief or pleasure to her father. For a long time he refused all offers, but at last thought he could fancy a nice slice of ham. His daughter accordingly called down to her mother : " Fayther thinks, 'appen 'e'd fancy a nice slice of 'am, cut thin." But this did not suit the prudent housewife ; her answer was short but decided: "'Appen Fayther does, but if Fayther thinks yon

'am's to be cut into afore t' funeral, he's mista'en." The belief in " boggarts," and other supernatural creatures, is very strong among Yorkshire and Lancashire colliers. Now it is often the case that the workings of two pits are so close together that only a slight partition divides them. One day an old inspector was making his round of the pit to see that all was safe. He went down one cutting or " brow," as they are called in Lancashire, and heard the muffled sound of picks, though no workmen were in sight. Being ignorant of the close proximity of the neighbouring colliery, from whence the sound came, he was at first exceedingly puzzled. Soon, however, an explanation presented itself to his mind, and in his next report appeared the following striking information : " Brow No. 3. Boggart up this brow." The report is still extant, to vouch for the truth of this story. When the colliers are competing in races they put themselves, with the most implicit faith, into the hands of their trainers, and willingly endure whatever discipline these gentlemen may choose to impose upon them. There is an amusing instance of it in the following story. Half-an-hour before a race, one of the competitors went to his trainer, and said : " Bill, I'se getten a yead wark " (headache). Bill in despair seized his victim, wrapped a damp towel round his head, and viciously fastened it on with a long pin. For five minutes the man sat silent, and then nervously remarked: "Bill, this 'ere pin's in my yead : owt it be ?" He imagined that possibly the pin was a new cure for a head-ache, but asked just to make sure. Pigeon-flying is a very favourite pastime among colliers. One Sunday, a man was just in the act of flying his pigeon, when a policeman came up and stopped him. The man argued the matter for some time, but

THE FRITILLARY. in vain. Then, seeing it useless to discuss the matter further, he sighed deeply, and saying sadly to the pigeon : " Eh, Pollie, I'm afeard thee'll 'ave to walk," he placed it on the ground, and of course it flew off home. The collier had gained his wish, and the policeman could say nothing. Barrie, Crockett, and others have given us innumerable instances of Scotch humour, but I cannot resist finishing with two which I have heard. A new minister had taken his first service in his kirk. He was a worthy man, but his prayers and sermon were so long as even to weary a Scotch congregation. At the end of the service the old minister, who was retiring, knelt to pray for his successor. After a long prayer for the young man's welfare, he finished with the astounding petition : " I pray the Lord He will prick him and tak' the wind oot of him." Into the middle of a quiet kirk, while the service was proceeding, there suddenly entered a Scotch " 'Arry." He was dressed marvellously, and swaggered about in all the glory of a new suit of a large and wonderful check. The minister looked up quietly, and then remarked : " Sit thee doon the noo, my lad, and we'll look at thae breeks by-and-bye."

And when I breathed a tender sigh, The roses seemed in sympathy To understand My longing wish that where it lay It might be mine to hold one day My Lady's hand. V. C. H.

13atmorat from the Braemar iRoaZ). SEPTEMBER, 1895.

THE Queen was in the Castle'Twas towards the close of day— For more than fifty years a Queen, And youth how far away ! The Prince lay in his distant tomb, And in the castle hall Mute images of him she loved, And mem'ries—that was all! The maid was in the cornfield, In a cotton gown of blue : It showed among the sheaves and trees— The reaper saw it too. The reaper whispered to the maid, They together went their way— Beneath the royal castle walls, It was the dawn of day.

Et Oboot. Story. f11)9 %Op's (Move. IT lay upon a garden seat Which oft hath known the presence sweet Of her I love : The roses seemed to smile at me To see me touch so tenderly My Lady's glove.

The little fingers lay in mine, I made them gently intertwine With mine -above : The roses only saw the rest, If haply to my lips I prest My Lady's glove. ,

THE story I am going to write is true. If it fails in interest, put that down to the writer. In the city of W. stands a fine old Cathedral. On the south side are some cloisters, which you enter from the outside world by a funny little iron gate, which is usually kept locked. The cloisters are particularly perfect, enclosed, and running round a graveyard privileged to hold only the bodies of those who in their life-time were Canons or functionaries of the Cathedral.

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At the foot of the steps of one of the doors leading into the Cathedral is a gravestone let into the pavement and lying flat with it, and on the stone is carved the one word " Miserere." About it there are a great many stories, one of which is that a monk committed some sin, and left the monastery, of which parts still remain standing, but that he came back in a starving condition;and begged to be allowed to die and be buried at W. The monks granted his request so far as to allow him to die in ',his old cell, but they considered that he had sinned too deeply to be buried in the graveyard. They therefore laid him at the foot of the steps at the south door. This was only one of the many stories which people interested in the lonely position of the stone had tried to find out. One of the Canons of the Cathedral had at one time taken a great interest in this grave, and had tried in every way to find out something about it, but in vain. One night he went into the Cathedral library to find a book he had left by mistake. In order to reach the library he was obliged to go through the cloisters. His son was with him, and they stopped two or three times to look at the glorious effect of the moonlight on the grim walls of the Cathedral. Theyj were some little time before they found the book, so that when they came down again into the cloisters the Cathedral clock was chiming half-past eleven. The door into the library is always locked, and on this particular evening the lock was stiff, so that the Canon walked on to look out into the graveyard bathed in moonlight, leaving his son to grapple with the door. When he looked across the graveyard he saw, exactly at the opposite corner from him, a monk standing. He was dressed in the usual monastic habit, with a cowl drawn over his head, and as he came slowly across the grass he moved a

rosary he held in his hand. His head was bent, and he walked as if in deep thought. When he came to about the middle of the graveyard he stopped and looked up, and the moon shone clearly on a pale handsome face with wonderful burning eyesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; eyes which looked as though they had long been strangers to rest and peace, for about the whole face was an infinitely forlorn and lost expression. As the Canon met this look the unreality of the figure swept over him ; he turned and made some sound to attract his son, who was then coming towards him. But when side by side they looked out, the graveyard was empty, save for the brilliant moonlight on the sleeping graves. When the Canon-told this story to his friends they laughed at him, saying that it was imagination, and that he had been thinking or talking about spiritual beings, and had conjured up this shape ; but this was not so. The Canon had been having a lively discussion on football with his son two minutes before, and this topic is about as far removed from anything ghostly as can possibly be.

MARY KNOX-LITTLE.

Zonnet. days that seemed too fair for death are dead : Come, let me wind them in their shroud and strew Blessings and tears upon their shadowy bed, Both rosemary sprigs and boughs of bitter yew. But how shall I bless thee ? My wingless love Strives vainly after passion's winged words ; Round far-off suns in mazy flight they move, Disdaining the dim flame my lamp affords. If I could weave their wings into my verse, Thy beauty's blazon then should take no wrong, As it must now when I can but rehearse Thy spells in plain and unexpressive tongue : Yet if thy love can cleave this worthless rind, Within my heart's sweet kernel thou shalt find. C. M.

THESE

THE FRITILLARY. %babows. LONG ago when I was young, Fair the light upon my way, Life its song of promise sung, And behind the shadows lay ! True, the flower I thought so sweet Faded ere I called it mine ; But the next would prove less fleet— And the shadows were behind ! Now, ere I have found my day, It is fading evermore; And I would not have it stay, For its shadows lie before ! T. R. H.

%t.

ifair.

FEW of those who come up to Oxford with the beginning of Term and depart at its close have any idea of the state of absolute peace—one might almost say, of stagnation — into which the city sinks during the Vacation, and from which it is only aroused by the approach of Term. This is, of course, more particularly the case during the "Long," when many of the shops are permanently closed, while others are only open for a few hours daily, and have the air of conferring a great favour by so doing. The streets are empty and deserted, and if two acquaintances chance to meet they do not, according to the prevailing English custom, exchange fatuous remarks about the weather, past, present, and future, but plunge simultaneously into lengthy explanations as to why they are in Oxford. From this state of unconventionality and somnolence Oxford is rudely awakened early in September by a noisy survival of the Middle Ages, called St. Giles' Fair. It begins on the first Monday after St. Giles' Day, and lasts for two days, during which period there is no question as to whether life is worth living. The fair

covers the entire extent of St. Giles', and all traffic is stopped for the time being. Each show has its own music, usually an organ turned by machinery, which plays incessantly from 9 a.m. to i i p.m. Most of these organs imitate an entire band, of which each separate instrument is more or less out of tune, hence the effect, though doubtless unique, can scarcely be called pleasing. The goods sold are peculiarly and unnecessarily hideous, and, as a rule, strike one as of no possible use. Apparent favourites are fluffy yellow, magenta, and gas-green mats, such as one sees in nightmares or in sea-side lodgings, blue glass lamps, warranted to explode on the slightest provocation, and other things of a like nature. The shows are of the usual kind : " freaks of nature " of every description, menageries—consisting, as a rule, of one meek and mangy tiger and a few nondescript and depressed beasts—conjuring, wrestling, and feats of strength, all, lien entendu, of quite exceptional excellence. The boat-swings were in perpetual motion, in fact, any contrivance likely to produce the effect of a rough sea-voyage was largely patronized. The novelty of the year, however, was a small train which went round in a circle, half the time in the open air and the other half under a canvas painted to represent a tunnel. It was somewhat difficult to imagine wherein the attraction lay, as the sensation of going into a semidark tunnel and emerging from it in half a minute does not strike one as particularly invigorating or even novel. The inner man (or woman) was not neglected, nor is it surprising that the fare provided was of a solid, not to say " stodgy " description. Sausages, large, red, and juicy, cooked and eaten on the spot, served on a slab of bread, and every known form of heavy bun, were much in request. At night, when each booth was lighted up by flaring

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naphtha lamps, the effect from a little distance was of a veritable Pandemonium. To see boat-swings almost into the classic precincts of St. John's and Balliol, cocoanut shies and Aunt Sally under the very windows of Pusey House, sausage-stalls almost invading the Taylorian, a cheapJack hoarsely extolling his wares on the dignified threshold of Elliston and Cavell's, is a treat vouchsafed but to few of us ; but the impression made is deep and lasting. Early on Wednesday morning all the caravans are on the move, St. Giles' quickly returns to its former state of respectability, and Oxford in general relapses into its Vacation torpor. E.P.-P.

the Question of Zegrees. OUR readers will no doubt like to know what has been done in connection with this question since our last issue. At the end of June the Hebdomadal Council decided to ask several ladies for evidence as to the injury caused by exclusion from the degree, and the possible injurious effects on the education of women which might ensue from granting it. During the Long Vacation, therefore, some of those ladies prepared a circular letter, which we print below, and sent it to a large number of Head and Assistant Mistresses, Tutors and Lecturers in Women's Colleges, Governors of Schools, and other persons interested in education. A summary of the evidence thus obtained has been printed by order of the Association Council and sent to the Vice-Chancellor. The evidence is strongly in favour of the Degree, especially on the educational side. It is plain that while in some appointments very little, if any, importance is attached to it, it is greatly valued by Local Govern-

ing Bodies and the Heads of Private Schools. It is also pointed out that after an appointment has been obtained it is a great disadvantage to the nominee not to be able to show her status in an intelligible and unostentatious form. This is especially felt in country towns and abroad. Of the ladies invited to give evidence this term before the Council the following are doing so personally :â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Mrs. Bryant, Miss Maitland, Miss Bishop, Miss Penrose, Mrs. Johnson, Miss Wordsworth, Mrs. Woodhouse, Miss Soulsby, Miss Cooper, and Miss Rogers. It is hoped that the report of the Committee of the Hebdomadal Council may be made this term. The petition in favour of the Degree has now 133 names on the B.A. side. The opposition petition has 128 names. One change in the proposal has been made, or is contemplated, which to many of us seems to rob it of much of its interest and importance. According to the plan originally put forward by the Association, it will be remembered, it was proposed to press for the assimilation of the status of womenstudents to that of men in respect of undergraduate membership of the University, as well as of admission to Degrees. But when an endeavour was made to draw up a scheme showing how the proposed changes might be carried out, it was found difficult to arrange how women could be brought under University Statutes with regard to discipline, etc., and it was therefore resolved to drop the question of Matriculation and to ask only for the titular degree of B.A. Students while in residence are to remain in their present anomalous position. It is only after they have graduated and gone down that their formal connection with the University is to begin. About the mysteries of the Statute Book it is of course impossible for outsiders to

THE FRITILLARY. form any opinion, and we know that our case is in good hands. But for those of us who have resided for some time as students in Oxford, and have imbibed something of its spirit, it is impossible not to feel that from all points of view, except the pecuniary one, University membership is a more valuable privilege than the mere Degree. It may be said that it is better to advance a step at a time, and that each concession paves the way for the next. But it seems to be agreed by those who have been working for us that whatever the real reasons for the change may be, the argument which pays best both with the general public and with the University is that relating to the material and pecuniary advantages which students will gain by it. Now as these centre entirely round the Degree, and are not affected by University membership, it seems possible that by divorcing the two questions, while the settlement of the former may be hastened, that of the latter may be indefinitely postponed. We would rather wait where we are, without any advance, for some years, than imperil our chance of gaining eventually what must be our goal in this matterâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a full and equal share in all the rights, duties, and privileges of the two national Universities. E.F.R.

[COPY OF CIRCULAR LETTER.] DEAR

The Hebdomadal Council of the University of Oxford having appointed a Committee to consider the question of admitting women to the B.A., and having asked for evidence, I should be greatly .obliged if you would inform meâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; (1) Whether you are aware of (a) any cases of preference given to actual Graduates in appointments to posts; (b) any case in England or abroad where the absence of the degree has injured the professional prospects of University women, or proved a hindrance to them in their career as students.

(2) Whether the admission of women to the B.A. would in your opinion be likely to affect injuriously (a) the education given in girls' schools. (b) the education of women at the Universities. In replying to ( r) the full names of the persons concerned need not be given. Believe me, Yours faithfully,

Vaomen's anteroColtegiate debating Zoctetp, THE U.H.D.S. has changed its name to the above. It welcomes this time four new honorary members Mrs. Burdon Sanderson, Mrs. Ball, Mrs. Caird, and Mrs. Townshend. The first debate of the Michaelmas Term was held at Somerville College on Tuesday, Oct. 22nd. The motion before the House was : "That in the opinion of this House the definition of poetry as criticism of life ' is inadequate." Miss RICE (S.H.H.), the Proposer, said that if this was an adequate definition, "criticism of life " must contain the essential attributes of poetry, without which poetry could not exist. It must embrace every kind of poetry, or as a definition it would be too narrow ; it must include no other art than poetry, or it would be too wide. She then asserted that the definition fulfilled no one of these three conditions, and proceeded to distinguish between the essential elements of criticism (in its common acceptation) and those of poetry. Criticism; she said, is primarily dissection, a breaking up of a whole into parts, in order that the critic may obtain sufficient insight into its structure to enable him to proceed to the second step, that of comparison, and then finally to judgment. Poetry, on the other hand, is not so much of the intellect as of the soul. Matthew Arnold himself makes this distinction, for he denies Pope and Dryden the title of poet, because "genuine poetry is conceived and composed in the soul:" The poet must see the " truth at the very heart of things," i.e., he must idealize. The Proposer then challenged the Opposer to prove that either Shelley's or Byron's poetry was criticism of life. If Matthew :

Arnold, however, meant criticism -in its broadest

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sense, i.e. that of comparison, the definition was still inadequate, because much lyrical poetry does not concern itself at all with " ideas as to life," and even the poetry which does take an ideal life as a standard with which to compare reality, must first create its standard ; and it is in this creation that the essence of poetry lies, not in the comparison. She then showed how Matthew Arnold subsequently modified his own definition, and deprecated all attempts to tie the wings of Pegasus by such definitions. Miss OLIVIER (S.H.H.) accused the Proposer of having used criticism in two different senses, and referred to Professor Moulton's distinction between Judicial and Inductive Criticism, saying that the latter was the only kind of criticism in question. Matthew Arnold means by this criticism " the application of ideas to life," the testing of something in relation to a definite ideal standard ; and this is what Sir P. Sidney also claims for poetry. She then asserted that it is only by this criticism that - true poetry can be tested, and appealed to Shakespeare's plays as a proof of the truth of this. Not that Shakespeare was a mere reproducer of life, he applies ideas to it ; the difference between the two is that of a photograph and a painting, for Realism is not Poetry. She illustrated this by a quotation from Wordsworth's "Simon Lee" and Crabbe's description of a wedding, and then further showed by an extract from Pope's Essay on Man that he failed to produce true poetry because though having ideas he failed to apply them to life. The plays of Herrmann Sudermann also deal with life, yet he also fails to be a poet, and his works will not compare with those of Shakespeare, although their themes are often the same. The reason is that the whole plan of Shakespeare's plays shows the working of glorious ideas in life, while Sudermann seems to have no plan at all. Miss FRY (S.C.), in supporting the Proposer, pointed out that a definition could not be defended by showing that it possessed some of the qualities it ought to, and that the definition in question did not include all that it should. Matthew Arnold himself wrote of a poetry of " indifference towards life," a poetry of which " contents may be what they will." She then quoted a popular proverb and a piece from Browning's " Flight of the Duchess" to prove that criticism of life might be anything but poetry. Miss C. SAUNDERS (L.M.H.), in supporting the

Opposer, showed that there was much poetry in prose which was a subtle application of ideas to life. She partly agreed with the Proposer " that only God and a poet can create," but she thought the critic also had to use his creative faculties, for he must first create a standard by which to criticize. There spoke also Miss Saunders, Miss Talbot, Miss Joseph, and Miss Samson. Summing up, the Proposer said that the motion must be voted upon as it stood. Arnold had not said whether he meant inductive or judicial criticism, so she had been obliged to take the word in both senses. She could not agree with the third speaker that the offices of poet and critic were identical. The motion was carried by 17 votes. THIS society met for the second time this term at the Wordsworth Hostel on November 9th. Considering the extremely bad weather on that evening the attendance was fairly large ; and the debate, as befitted its subject, was a lively and amusing one. The Proposer's speech especially met with much applause. The motion before the House was :â&#x20AC;&#x201D;" That in the opinion of this House the present generation is deplorably lacking in a sense of humour." The minutes of the last meeting having been read and adopted, The Proposer, Miss FRY, of Somerville College, supported the motion in the following words : I have to-day to call upon you to perform a harder task than that of "cunning old fury" in the well-known mouse's tale in "Alice in Wonderland." Not only do I call on you to be judge and jury, but also prisoner at the bar : to try the humour of your own generation and pronounce it lacking. It is most difficult to give a successful definition of humour. I will leave that to the honourable Opposer, and merely content myself with defining the difference between wit and humour. Wit is that which concerns form:â&#x20AC;&#x201D; puns, epigrams, and such kinds of jests. Humour is funny on account of its contents. In general humour may be defined as a keen sense of the due proportion of things, producing a quick perception of incongruities and of want of proportion. Caricatures illustrate humour in its crudest form. But this is not a really satisfactory definition of humour ; as it includes much more than humour proper. All pain is a sense of incongruity, a

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considered that the great difficulty of an adverse criticism of Party government lay in the fact that it must proceed on ideal grounds. She would confine herself to showing that under the PartySystem representative government did not work, that its temper was altered, and its aims lost sight of. She would assume the noblest theory of government suited to modern conditions to be that in which the governing body and spirit is up to the high-water mark of the intelligence and ethics of the community. She pointed out that the chief ways in which the Party-System had interfered with the main objects of representative government were :â&#x20AC;&#x201D;its tendency to obscure principles in the network of organization, to base political movements not on great issues but on sinister interests, to set loyalty to party before loyalty to ideas, to bring into play the worse rather than the nobler passions. She considered the Party-System aggravated the evils of political corruption, and that the alliance of government 'with party spirit is unholy, as government was originally summoned to restrain it. In America they had begun well, but now all politicians were agitated by place-fever. Still we should not go too far in our crusade against the Party-System, as men's personal interests, hatred and ambition would always lead them astray under any system. The object lesson of America is that the essence of the Party-System is organization. Another evil is that political wire-pullers force unknown candidates on electors, and therefore they are not truly represented. Under such conditions, as in America, representation by Party cannot be true representation. The Party-System reacts on and intensifies the swing of the political pendulum, and even its defenders only uphold it in a modified form. They maintain that it harmonizes with our constitutional anomalies, and with our political atmosphere, and that so far it does good. Now-a-days, parties in England are beginning to lose their peculiar British temper which was their saving quality. The American element of organization and the French pursuit of an idea are creeping in. Parliament has passed many reforms, not because they were just, but through the stress of circumstances, and many such causes have been gained by the party whose principles they were not. It is owing to the Party-System that Bills are not passed soon enough, and vice versa. The -

Party-spirit has a doubtful effect on character, often leading a statesman to conceal his change of opinion out of patty-loyalty. It doubles the difficulty of forming an unbiassed judgment, and Parliaments are apt to become the mere representatives of class distinctions. Lastly, the speaker held that the Party-System cannot deal with questions of deep political morality, as seen in the case of Lccal Option. Miss CARRUTHERS (L.M.H.) rose to oppose, and began by deploring the alteration made by the Proposer in the motion. She asked her hearers to regard what she had to say by the light of the motion as it originally stood. She would like to ask if anything here below was quite perfect. If the Party-System was to be abolished, what would we put in its place ? If there was anything more perfect than another, it was our beautiful system of Party Government. Its advantages she placed under three heads. It gives us leaders of men, a name to swear by, and what was even more important, a name to swear at. She contended that the Party-System did not encourage political wrangling. Were election riots unknown where political parties did not exist? The mismanagement of the French war in Madagascar was chiefly due to the want of Party-Spirit. No one knew whom to blame. Further, she maintained that the Party-System was based on the rudimentary principle of fair playâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; Turn and turn about for each party. 1 he honourable Proposer considered this not to be the case, and lamented the suppression of minorities under the Party-System. All the Opposer could say was that they appeared to her far from being suppressed. We had only to consider the case of the Liberal Unionist party to see this. If parties were, as the Proposer maintained, only pi ties in name, how were we to account for the so-called " turncoats "â&#x20AC;&#x201D;people who left their parties because the change in their opinions would not allow of their remaining any longer ? In conclusion, she considered the proof of the pudding to be in the eating. Ever since 1696, when the Party-System was first adopted in England, the wheels of government had gone more smoothly. The system had been then adopted as the most necessary and the most convenient. The third speaker, Miss SPARKES (S.H.H.), held that the Party-System was not truly representative. It had become intolerant, owing to the multiplicity

THE FRITILLARY. of parties. There.Was no union, therefore there could be no strength. Men of great ability were prevented from becoming great statesmen because of the Party-System. She considered the ignorance shown by electors at election-times was due to the lame cause. Lord Rosebery had declared he would continue in office as long as he had a majority even of one. Such a majority became a despotism : it was not truly representative. The fourth speaker, Miss MELHUISH (S.C.), considered that in America they lacked the first principle on which to base Party government, i.e. a common interest which admitted of different methods of treatment. Division into parties meant variance of opinion, and she hoped we never should all agree, as it would not only be exceedingly dull, but would also mean everyone was indifferent as to how vital questions were settled. Government by party provides a means to express different views. It is elastic and adaptive. If the PartySystem were abolished, minorities would have less voice than before, and she advocated it on account of its practicability, its promotion of stability in >politics, and its provision of a sphere of action to the average citizen. Miss JOEL (S.H.H.) asked what the Proposer would substitute for Party-government. Miss OAKLEY (S.C.) then proceeded to give three proposed substitutes :i. Election to office by lot, because it allowed for the representation of minorities. ii. The scheme of Proportional representation, by which even professions, or, in fact, any group of persons might be represented. iii. What might be termed the ideal system, by which the principles and character of a candidate were taken into account rather than the party to which he belonged. Miss TALBOT (L.M.H.) said that the best results in government would be gained if the best men governed and the others acquiesced. She considered this to be brought nearer by the Party-System. Miss BAYLAY (L.M.H.) considered Partygovernment strong, because the new ministry often continued the opinions of the old, and that if we had not strong dividing lines, things would -come to a standstill. Miss SPARKES (S.H.H.) again spoke for the motion. Miss BRUCE (S.C.) considered the Proposer's

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second substitute for Party-government would only aggravate its evils, and that her third would only lead us back to Party-government again. Miss CARRUTHERS (L.M.H.) considered that Party-government might be abolished, but that parties would still exist. Miss Suttil (S.C.), Miss Ilbert (S.C.), Miss M. C. Scott (S.C.), Miss Hogarth (L.M.H.), Miss Melhuish (S.C.), Miss M. Saunders (L.M.H.), Miss Wilkinson (L.M.H.), also spoke. In summing up, Miss OAKELEY defended her use of the American System as typical, on the grounds that the system was on its native soil in that country. She replied to various other objectors, and upheld her views as to her suggested substitutes for Party-government. She acknowledged she felt it was a forlorn hope she had to support, but was not afraid to do that in Oxford. There voted for the motion seven, against the motion thirteen, neutral one.

Ube 14ettlesbip %Abram THIS Library, open to all members of the A.E.W., was started in January of this year, in consequence of a large gift of books made by Mrs. Henry Nettleship, from the late Professor Nettleship's library, to the A.E.W. It was determined to start a library named after him, and to this library was given a sum of about ,4.5o collected by Miss E. Price as an In Memoriam Fund. The books are kept in the office of the A.E.W., and may be taken out any morning in office hours. Large additions have been made by the kindness of other donors, notably of Mrs. T. H. Green, who has given about seventy volumes of philosophical and other works from Professor Green's library. The Nettleship Fund has been spent, with a view to the wants of students reading for Mods and Greats, on Classics, Ancient History, and Philosophy. Professor Nettleship's books were also almost entirely classical; but special gifts have been made for Modern History and Mathematics. The library is open for reference every afternoon, though books may be taken out only during office hours. An endeavour is made to supplement the Hall Libraries as far as possible, and it is hoped that the Nettleship Library will prove itself extremely useful to the students of the Association. S. GURNEY (Hon. Librarian).

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tbe 3nterAlniversttp THE Inter-University Lawn Tennis Match this year may be considered an unqualified success— from an Oxford point of view. The two representatives from this University, Miss Etlinger (S.H.H.), and Miss Baker (L.M.H.), met the Cambridge representatives on the All England Tennis Ground at Wimbledon on Thursday the 27th of June. Play began soon after 2.3o, and the three consecutive sets were won by Oxford (6.2 : 6.1 : 6. r :) before a large concourse of spectators, and amidst great enthusiasm. The victory was perhaps too easily won to be altogether exciting. There were, however, some good rallies, and really brilliant hitting. Cambridge played a plucky game, but were evidently quite unequal to the style of their opponents. Miss Baker's strong, swift, steady game was as effective as ever, while Miss Etlinger standing well up to the net astonished the spectators by the brilliance of her usual side-stroke volleys. The new Silver Cup presented by Miss Scrimageour is held by the Oxford Halls and Somerville College in turn for this year. The arrangements for the day seemed to give universal satisfaction, and when it is added that the weather was all that could be desired, it will be seen that none of the elements were wanting for a successful gathering.

1Labp Margaret ball. CLUB.—Tennis continues with the usual ardour. The addition of a new gravel court is much appreciated. The Ties have not yet been played off owing to the weather, but it is most probable that we shall welcome Miss Prichard as our champion this term. TENNIS

THE BOATING CLUB is now free of debt, the last o having been paid to Mrs. Toynbee at the -beginning of term. Various important changes as to boat-houses are being contemplated, but nothing is yet settled. The next expensive item will probably be the buying up of the other half of the " Lady Margaret." THE SHAKESPEARE SOCIETY read " The Taming of the Shrew" last term, and is now engaged on the First Part of " Henry IV." The general

average of reading has improved, and much gra-frtude is due to Miss Pearson and Miss CraigieHalkett for their admirable rendering of theFalstaff scenes. SHARP PRACTICE SOCIETY.—This Society has had an unusually large attendance this term, and the discussions have been most animated.

HOCKEY-CLUB.—In spite of the great loss that our XI suffered last term, our Hockey Club is fortunate in the acquisition of several new and promising players, and we have good hopes for our XI. St. Hugh's Hall has joined our Club this term, with about ten members. We have played no matches as yet. Our fixtures at present are :Games Club on Nov. r 6th ; Somerville on Nov. 22nd; Old Students on Nov. 29th. CYCLING CLUB.—After the splendid opportunities. of this summer, it was no surprise to find at the beginning of term that a large proportion of our numbers had developed into cyclists during the Long. During the first week of term a club was formed, to which all our cyclists belong, and which has already thirty members, amongst them three of our dons. The object of the club is to make regulations for general cycling and to provide convenient accommodation for the members' machines in different parts of the town, so that we can make use of the wheel for going to lectures and shopping, saving much time and foot-ache. At present the club also provides means of learning to ride, and much amusement may be had from watching the efforts of our energetic learners along the secluded roads near the Hall. In order to keep up a fair standard of form in the club, a special qualification is awarded to all who can get through a fairly stiff test ride. Under Miss Wordsworth's auspices our club has made a most hopeful start. Let Ili hope that we may continue to be attended with good fortune bicycling is always risky), as good weather has already forsaken us. SOCIABLE.—We have the happy acquisition of much musical talent this term. The programmes of our Sociable Evenings have been in consequence peculiarly varied and interesting, and the audiences justly enthusiastic. Our most grateful acknowledgment to those who have provided us with so much pleasure by their charming use of voice, piano, or violin.

THE FRITILLARY. A new Hostel has been started this term at 3 Crick Road, in connection with L.M.H., under Miss Talbot, one of our former students. We offer our best congratulations to Miss Ellis on her First Class in English, and to Miss Marshall on her appointment as Classical Mistress of Leeds High School. Our New Buildings have at last been begun, but no great progress has as yet .been made.

$onterrille College. WE offer our hearty congratulations to M. H. Marten and E. Philipps on a First Class in Modern History. Also to L. J. Gaul for First Class in Modern Languages, to C. L. Thompson for First 'Class in English, and to M. O'Brien for D.Sc., London (Botany). TENNIS CLUB. —The Ties have not yet been played out, and D. Scott and J. M. Marrett are therefore still champions. HOCKEY.—Many new members have joined the Hockey Club this term, among them several promising players. Five matches have been played ; first against a team of Old Students, then against the Etceteras Hockey Club, and then, against the Games Club, next against L.M.H., finally a Second Eleven match against the Etceteras. In the first match Somerville won by 6 goals to o ; the second was a draw, each side scoring 4 goals ; and the Games Club were beaten by 7 goals to 5. Against Lady Margaret Hall we suffered our first defeat of the term, the scoring being o goals to 3 for our opponents. The spirited match between the Second Eleven and that of the Etceteras ended in a victory for us, scoring 2 to I.

BROWNING SOCIETY.—The Browning lives on and prospers. Its new members are many and promising. "The Ring and the Book" is being read. The following have been elected officers for the year :—President, A. Russell ; Secretary, S. M. Chard. SCIENTIFIC AND PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY. —We have so far only had one meeting this term, at

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which Miss Oakeley read an interesting paper on "The Relations between Science and Art," which was followed by a discussion. We have many new members, and are especially glad to welcome the return of a former one, Mrs. Veley, who was our first President. THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY was originally started as an informal club where freshers and other modest persons were to enjoy the advantage of having their difficulties discussed and illuminated by the superior wisdom of the second and third years. For three years it has been a centre of historical enthusiasm and a bond of union between students of different years. If there is perhaps some slight justification for the allegations of critics who accuse it of having, shall we say, developed (?) into a somewhat oppressively learned body, at whose meetings elaborately prepared papers of profound unimportance are read on minute points of (doubtless !) great technical interest, perhaps this is hardly to be wondered at, considering it has grown up under the influence of the History School ! and it is now to be remedied by the admission of two nonhistory students. By a curious satire upon itself the Society usually celebrates the end of the academic year in a strangely jovial gathering, and this time the members appeared in effective, if somewhat grotesque, attire as historical personages. Yet even in their moments of unbending the influence of the School was still upon them. The preference for reading History in the light of modern discussions, and the consequent disproportionate interest in certain particular classes of characters and events, which prevails at present in the School was illustrated by the surprising number of ecclesiastical personages represented, all more or less of one particular school of thought ; while the absence of Precisians from any period of history whatever might have suggested to the moralist certain reflections on the exceeding narrowness of breadth. The prevailing fancy for the abnormal was reflected in a fondness for representing insane characters of very various types, for instance Merlin, Becket's mother, Saladin, Jeanne d'Arc, the Nun of Kent, Lady Macbeth, and Mother Shipton. Miss Gibson has been elected President in place of Miss Deverell. The Society has had two meetings this term. The first was held in Miss Ilbert's room. She read a very thorough and exhaustive paper on "Local Government." The second met :

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in Miss Edwards' room, where the members of the Society listened to an interesting account of the "Rise of the British Power in India." An animated discussion followed.

%t. Ibugb's WE offer our heartiest congratulations to Miss Davison on her obtaining-a First in the English School. THE SHAKESPEARE SOCIETY embraces all the Hall this term. Consequently the Wednesday meetings are always well attended. The reading is animated, the rendering of the parts of both Romeo and Juliet being particularly worthy of praise. Altogether, those members who prefer to act as audience much appreciate the reading, and all are looking to the meetings yet to come.

BROWNING SOCIETY.—President, MISS Abdy. A number of new members have joined the Society this term, and the meetings have been held weekly as usual. " The Return of the Druses " has been read, members keeping the same parts throughout, and one Act being read each time. Some of the shorter lyrics will be read during the remainder of the term. new year has revived this Society, and its meetings are well attended now. The motion for the first week of term was, " That Bicycling for women is both unwomanly and ungraceful." The motion was lost by a large majority of votes. The next motion was, " That there are at least ten liars at St. Hugh's'' ; and the last motion was, " That this House deplores the lapse of the Poet Laureateship," which was unanimously lost. SHARP PRACTICE SOCIETY.—The

THE TENNIS CLUB consists this term of twelve members, and is in a flourishing condition. The ties for the championship, which are played upon the gravel court, have been begun, but as they are not yet finished, we are unable to state who is our champion. BOATING CLUB.—We have a good many new members this term, and if the weather would only permit, all are prepared to boat with keenness and

energy. We hope to arrange a single sculling match before the end of term. HOCKEY.—Lady Margaret Hall has very kindly invited our Hockey players to join her Club, as we are too few to form one of our own. We are very grateful for this privilege, and we hope soon to be able to make up an eleven of our own. Unintelligible, even incredible, as it may appear, there are still some St. Hughites who do not play hockey.

bottle StuDents. Congratulations to Miss M. S. Leather on her First Class in English ; Miss Hechtenberg on her First Class in Modern Languages ; Miss Rhjis on her Scholarship at Newnham College ; and to Miss Annie Cross on her marriage to Mr. Norrie, T.C.S. Miss Hubback has been appointed Lecturer at the Day Training College, Mason's College, Birmingham ; Miss Lange, Language Mistress, High School, Toronto ; Miss Hechtenberg, Lecturer in Old French, Victoria College, Belfast ; Miss Robb, Assistant Mistress, Girls' School, Murree, Punjaub ; Miss Hudson, Assistant Mistress, Private School, Folkestone ; Miss Sherwin in charge of History Department of Miss Hersey's School, Boston. TENNIS CLUB.—A gravel court at Holywell was taken this term, but very few members joined the club. Miss Murray, who for so long has managed the club, has been obliged to retire from the post of Hon. Sec., and Miss Devitt has taken her place. ETCETERAS HOCKEY CLUB. —After some difficulty as to a ground, the club has finally settled down to play on Tuesdays on the Somerville ground, and on Thursdays on a field next to Mr. Lynam's where it played last year. A few more members are wanted, as twenty-four is a small number out of which to draw two elevens ; the Home Students do not support the club as heartily as could be wished. In spite of this there have been some very good games this term, and so far two matches, one lost to the Games Club 6-2, one a draw against Somerville, 4 all. The Somerville second eleven are, it is rumoured, to challenge ours,, and the Etceteras have challenged L.M.H. for Tuesday, Nov. 26th. Miss Ida Olive has been re-elected captain.

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E. 5. ID. Z.

List of New Students, October, 7895.

sixty-first meeting was held on Nov. znd, when the President (Miss Legge) read a paper on "The great mental stimulus which the present century owes to Darwin." A discussion followed, in which the following took part :—Mrs. Scott, Mrs. Greenidge, Miss Thomas, Miss Hope, Mrs. Burch, Miss Lott, Mrs. Veley, Miss McDonald, Miss Venables, Miss Kirkaldy.

SOMERVILLE COLLEGE.

THE

List of Students who went down in June. SOMERVILLE COLLEGE. W. H. Abrahall % J. Beckingsale E. Deverell B. M. Dibblee A. Dunn t L. J. Gaul M. Glen A. Hendy M. Howitt. 1 A. M. Hart-Smith. M. Moulding. M. H. Marten

§ M. Nicholl II M. O'Brien K. Pease G. Pesel ¶ E. Philipps E. Sergeant H. Sergeant F. Souttar C. L. Thompson C. Warrack E. White

LADY MARGARET HALL. Miss Marshall Miss Alder „ Nickels Baker Barne „ O'Maley „ Phillips Dampier Ellis „ Skelton „ Wylie Fowler

F. A. Athya. H. Brooks, Edgbaston High School. M. C. Dodd, Oxford High School. H. E. Ereaut, Ladies' College, St. Helier's, Jersey. U. M. Faithful], Wimbledon High School. M. M. D. Fennell, „ P. D. Finney, Private Tuition. E. E. M. Fox, „ „ G. K. Greig, K. Lombard, Thayer Academy, Mass., U.S.A. J. M. Partridge, Girton College, Cambridge. A. M. Price. M. C. Ridley, North London Collegiate School. U. M. J. Saunders. M. C. Scott. V. I. Schuster, Clifton High School. A. de Selincourt, Girton College, Cambridge. M. E. Sowden, Girls' Grammar School, Bradford. M. C. Staveley. N. Suttill. H. E. Traill-Christie, Notting Hill High School. M. H. Watt, Liverpool High School. K. Wragge, Bedford High School.

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LADY MARGARET HALL. Miss C. Ash, Grassington. Bell, Holloway College. Broadbent, Victoria University. Clarke, Winchester High School. Cooke, Croydon High School. Gascoigne, Nottingham. Gilliat, Westfield College. Hogarth, Worcester High School. Jebb, Home Tuition. 77 Kempe, Graham Street High School, London. 77 Knox Little, Home Tuition. I/ Milroy, Queen's College, London. 11 Prichard, „ // Rankin, Home Tuition. „ Taylor, Teale, Graham Street High School, London. 77 Trewby, Clapham High School. 77 11

S. HUGH'S HALL. Miss Watson Miss Mammatt Williams Bond Etlinger Fairbanks Holman Flamsteed 77 D. M. Wordsworth Kershaw Davison Thompson 1/ 1,Assistant-Mistress, Gateshead School. t Assistant-Mistress, Bath High School. • Assistant-Mistress, Bedford High School. § Assistant-Mistress, Bath High School. II Assistant-Mistress, Medburn Higher Standard School. ¶ History Lecturer, Crystal Palace.

71 If

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S. HUGH'S HALL. Miss Barter, St. Michael's College, Shipton. Bromety, Godolphin High School. Eakin, Shrewsbury High School. Bernard-Hall, Private Tuition. Joel, Warwick High School. H. Knox Little, Godolphin High School. Langston, Graham Street High School. M. Simpson, Sheffield High School. E. B. L. Watson, Brondesbury Park (Miss Clarke). â&#x20AC;&#x17E; Wigglesworth, Rugby (Miss Woods).

HOME STUDENTS. Mary Taylor Blanvelt, M.A., Wellesley. Catharine Ursula Gittins. Edith Heppe], Bedford College.

Alice May Krauss. Cicely Jane Eden Lewis. Kathleen Gabriel Patch, Croydon High School. Helen Bright Smith, B.A., Strathmore.

AT S. HILDA'S. Grace Beattie, St. Stephen's High School, Clewer. Edith Harriet Anne Heath, Liverpool College. Margaret Wade Hayes-Robinson, Cheltenham Ladies' College. Evelyn MacVicar, Cheltenham Ladies' College.

AT S. KENTIGERN'S. Charlotte Elizabeth Battye. Edith Mary Miller.

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