No. 5
June, 1895
PAGE
67 71
THE MATHEMATICIAN IN LOVE
73
LIFE AT THE WOMEN'S COLLEGES IN AMERICA.-NO. IL
74
THE WANDERER
75
THE QUESTION OF DEGREES
76
THE UNITED HALLS DEBATING SOCIETY SOMERVILLE COLLEGE
79 83
LADY MARGARET HALL
83
S. HUGH'S HALL
8.4
HOME STUDENTS
84
PRINTED FOR THE PROPRIETORS BY ALDEN & COMPANY, LTD., BOCARDO PRESS,
JUNE.
No. 5.
lit %tub of Vittoria Corrombona. THERE are some men of sombre habit whose characteriStic it is always to look on the dark side of life. The shouts of children at play, the laughter of girls across flowery meadows, the delight of young men in their strength, things full of pleasure to ordinary minds, bring to them no unmixed gladness. For the consciousness of mortality presses upon them ; in the moment of joy they are most aware of grief ; the phantom of death •is their persistent companion. Such an one was John Webster the dramatist, the contemporary of Shakespeare, and by some competent judges ranked only second to him. His chief works excel in the presentment of terror, lifting the mind of the reader to dizzy altitudes of horror, where, lest he should throw himself headlong in despair, brief glimpses of divine pathos are given, like vestiges of heaven revealed in storm. To our poet, intensely conscious of moral beauty, the evil of the world assumes hideous proportions ; the darkness is only relieved by individual traits of purity and honour, and the possessors of these are predestined victims to the lusts of wicked men. A blind caprice controls the universe it is a confused chaos of conflicting elements ; day unto day uttereth the same speech of agony and alarm ; " earth cries from all her graves." ;
1895.
Such an impression could never be produced by the mere recital of atrocities. The " blood and thunder" tragedies of the earliest Elizabethans leave us unmoved ; they are too unreal to interest us—we have no kinship with monstrosities. But, when behind the accumulation of crime we recognise impulses and passions common to mankind, when we confess that these things are possible, and under some circumstances probable, our attitude is changed. There is a kind of terrible fascination in watching the progress of a soul towards evil. Every spectator may apply the example to his own case, and say, " Such might I have been but for the grace of God, or of heredity, or of education," as his creed may be. Webster's great merit is that he never violates the truth of human nature ; his villains have enough of the man in them to appear probable, they are not mere " painted devils." And by this means a tremendous effect is produced. It is the conjunction of what men are with what they might have been, the discord of good and evil, that inspires one with awe. In the same way with his dramatis persona, re. garded together ; they are not all bad. Isabella, woebegone and pale, may throw Vittoria's mocking beauty into higher relief, but she purifies the scene. Beside Brachiano and Flamineo we have Cornelia, and Marcello, and the sweet child Giovanni. The Duchess of Malfi vindicates the credit of
THE FRITILLARY.
68
her sex against the courtezans who throng the stage ; Bosola penitent redeems Bosola the assassin. But, let it be noted, good and bad are alike subject to indiscriminate destruction, and for this Webster's philosophy can give no adequate explanation :
" We are merely the stars' tennis balls struck
and bandied Which way please them," says Bosola in the moment of Antonio's death. Besides this power of verisimilitude, in which Webster excels all his contemporaries save Shakespeare, he has his own peculiar method of increasing terror namely, the constant resort to fearful similes, to gruesome metaphor. He searches the graves for comparisons : the charnel-houses supply him with instances. His study is beneath a yew tree, and a tombstone forms his writing desk. And at the gate of the sepulchre no angel stands with reassuring smile but sheeted things, terrible and wan, flit among the shadows, mocking with ghoulish laughter the last resort of men. The same striking originality that distinguishes Webster's style is also seen in his characterization. It has been maintained that this is not his forte, that he excels rather in striking situations and the criticism is true in so far as we find little attempt at development of character. His men and women are what they are from the beginning, and remain what they are to the end, except when remorse assails their constancy. But, they being what thpy are, his great excellence is to make us feel the inevitableness of their words and actions—that such persons under such circumstances could not have behaved otherwise than they did actually behave. Foremost among them all is of course the magnificent conception of Vittoria Corrombona, the White Devil, " no less an ;
;
;
ominous fate than blazing stars to princes." She is a beautiful woman, vigorous in all respects ; but her intellectual and animal life militate against spiritual development. Her passion, sincere enough of its kind, is an exalted lust ; it has no resemblance to the love that delights in self-sacrifice, whose highest good is in the immolation of its own desires. She breaks out into lamentation by her husband's death-bed, but his loss does not destroy her zest inlife. Is she not still Duchess of Brachiano, with unlimited wealth to command, and in all the glory of magnificent youth ? So at first she shrinks from her own death as the veriest coward—
"Take this horror from me What do you mean, what would you have !
me do ?" But she is far from being a coward in fact. Her brilliant courage flames out at the trial scene, when a weaker woman would have become confused, would have wept, confessed her guilt, and courted her ruin. Vittoria never loses. her self-command, and her perfect calmness enables her to see the flaw in Monticelso's conduct of the trial. She turns the weapons of her scorn upon him with admirable precision " If you be my accuser, Pray, cease to be my judge come from the bench." :
Lamb has said that her behaviour here almost persuades us of her innocence ; it is the consummation of the devil's art to assume the mask of sinlessness. Vittoria's great intellectual power also enables her to play on Brachiano's passion. All through the drama he is her tool : first when she incites him to the murder of his duchess and of her husband, and then when by a feigned displeasure she cajoles him into marriage with her. She is honestly attached to him, but never at the price of
THE FRITILLARY. her self-interest. Neither of her two husbands is in the least degree her match in subtlety or strength. Camillo is a weak fool, an easy dupe, the scorn of casual acquaintances. Brachiano, steeped in sensualism, is less stupid than Camillo, but more brutal ; yet he, too, is a toy in the hands of his second wife and her wily brother. His masculine strength, indeed, reasserts itself on his death-bed ; he loves Vittoria, but he has a profound contempt for feminine nature, as was inevitable under the circumstances.
Brach. : "0 thou soft natural death, that art joint twin
To sweetest slumber I no rough-bearded comet Stares on thy mild departure ; the dull owl Beats not against thy casement ; the hoarse wolf Scents not thy carrion ; pity winds thy corse, Whilst horror waits on princes. Vit. Car.: I am lost for ever. Brach. :
How miserable a thing it is to die 'Mongst women howling !" Yet this woman, wailing like the most commonplace of wives at the death-bed of her husband, has been his perdition ; she has
" Led him like an heathen sacrifice, With music and with fatal yokes of flowers To his eternal ruin." Vittoria's courage and intellectual ability are shared by her brother, pre-eminent among the villains of the piece. He is a type of the contemplative ruffian, the thoughtful criminal. He is not devoid of moral sense, but deliberately blunts it. This conscience is an inconvenient companion ; therefore let us put it out of sight and imagine that it is dead. " It may appear to some ridiculous
Thus to talk knave and madman, and sometimes Come in with a dry sentence, stuft with sage, But this allows my varying of shapes."
69
He takes a sombre joy in this assumption of various characters, flattering himself that he stands aloof from other men, an observer, though not a disinterested one. He has no faith in human nature, yet he uses his acute knowledge of men to make them his tools. He despises Brachiano while he panders to him, and manages him cap in hand. His speeches teem with cynical epigram and concentrated bitterness ; the Fates have warred against him in his birth, and he revenges himself by flinging reproaches at his fellow-men, yet not at random, lest they should defeat his purpose. Yet even while he sits in the seat of the scoffer, he is most human. His character is dominated by ambition, surely a most man-like passion ; he is accessible to credulity and remorse. Beside the bed of Brachiano he trembles to hear his name so often on the lips of the dying man. "I do not like that he names me so often,
Especially on 's death-bed 'tis a sign I shall not live long." :
And when accosted by his master's ghost, though he shows no sign of fear, he takes it as an evil omen.
" What's that ? 0 fatal he throws earth upon me, A dead man's skull beneath the roots of flowers !" !
Yet all these terrors can be compensated by the acquisition of that for which he has striven ; only if this fails him is he undone. Again, going to gloat on the distraction of his mother " grown a very old woman in two hours," he is assailed by something so unfamiliar that at first he scarcely recognises it. " I have a strange thing in me, to the which I cannot give a name without it be
Compassion. I pray leave me. I have lived Riotously ill, like some that live in court, And, sometimes, when my face was full of smiles Have felt the maze of conscience in my breast."
THE FRITILLARY. Nemesis has at last overtaken him his thoughts are turned to Furies, lashing him with their scorpions. " There's nothing of so infinite vexation as a man's own thoughts." But his spirit is indomitable, and he is defiant even in death. The darkness closes round him he shuts his eyes on Heaven ; he will scarcely acknowledge his defeat in his last extremity. As a relief from such unmitigated horror let us turn to the character of Francisco de Medicis. Here, if anywhere, Webster has made some attempt at development of character, for the Duke, at first honourable and straightforward, stoops to meet guile with guile, and crime with crime. His soul, like the hand of the dyer, is subdued to that it works in. The last person whom Giovanni trusts turns villain too. In the poor boy's despairing cry, " He turned murderer " we have the expression of his final disillusionment ; henceforth entire confidence in any man will be to him impossible. Giovanni and Cordelia are the principal instruments for pathos in the play. Isabella is shadowy, and her action lacks the vraisemblance of the other characters. Marcello, too, borrows his chief interest from his funeral dirge—that song which, as Lamb said, is unmatched by anything but Ariel's ditty in the " Tempest." But Cornelia (though her " distraction " has a curious resemblance, which can hardly be accidental, to Ophelia's) is a noble creation. We hardly wonder at Vittoria's strength of character when we remember that this is her mother. But most pathetic of all is the boy Giovanni, gazing with wondering eyes at the horrors that pass before him. When he first appears he is gay as any ordinary child, longing for a horse and arms to lead his men to war. ;
;
" If I live I '11 charge the French foe in the very front Of all my troops, the foremost man." True his wits are preternaturally sharpened by his society, but he has all a boy's delight in life. Then the death of his mother assails his childish thought ; his mind is occupied with vague speculation and distress. Giov.:
" What do the dead do, uncle ? do they eat, .Hear music, go a hunting, and be merry As we that live ? Fran. de Med.: No coz ; they sleep. Giov :
Lord Lord ! that I were dead I have not slept these six nights.—When do they wake ? !
!
Fran. de Med.:
When God shall please.
!
Giov.:
Good God, let her sleep ever !" Webster could have introduced no subtler trait to indicate the horror of it all than that a little child should think eternal sleep desirable. The above remarks may serve to indicate in some degree the power and pathos of Webster's genius. Far removed as his plays are from the Greek drama in construction and style, he yet shares with lEschylus and Sophocles the supreme capacity of arousing terror and pity. Only one Englishman has equalled or excelled him in this respect, but the halo about his brow is rather darkened than extinguished by the far brighter radiance that envelops Shakespeare. CLARA LINKLATER THOMSON.
THE FRITILLARY.
7z
stn 5ttvocation.
"Metric Englanb."*
(For the use of the History students.)
IT is significant that from the " Utopia " of Sir Thomas More, the " New. Atlantis " of Sir Francis Bacon, and the " Oceana " of Harrington, we have come in these days to the simple English " Nowhere " of William Morris, and the straightforward "Merrie England " of Robert Blatchford, journalist. It is still further significant that " Merrie England " is a book not for the scholar or professional politician, or for the artist and idealist, but for the toiler, patient or impatient, in the sordid round of unlovely work—for the man whose proudest possession is a cheap piano in a gaudilycarpeted parlour, happy if he can once in the year take a week's holiday at Blackpool. It is to John Smith of Oldham, not to prosperous self-complacent John Bull, that the author has addressed himself. That it has not been in vain, this speaking in words which " he that runs may read," is seen in the fact that the book has been spread broadcast through the land, and is discussed and studied, nightly and weekly, by working men in their clubs and specially formed classes. Therefore, if we would know the signs of the times we must take this book into careful consideration, and not lightly dismiss as " the baseless fabric of a vision " an ideal which has stimulated into political consciousness many of the workers of England. What, then, is this ideal ? What manner of country is Merrie England to be ? It is to be not manufacturing, but agricultural— with " pure air, bright skies, clear rivers, clean streets, and beautiful fields, woods, and gardens," with " cattle and streams, and birds and flowers." " But that is the England of to-day !" says a reader of the Fritillary. Yes, for some of us ; others,
CLIO from thy sister Muses !
Turn thine awe-inspiring gaze; Smile on one who ne'er refuses Offerings and songs of praise, One who knows that thy sweet graces Are but gained at heavy price, One whose hands bear oft the traces Of an inky sacrifice. • Cheer me, when, all pleasures scorning, In some musty College hall On a radiant summer morning All the questions that enthral Patiently I hear disputed, Till the grave Professors say Everything has been refuted That they told me yesterday. Or, when o'er my volumes bending, On an evening cold and damp, As the incense curls ascending From my fragrant smoking lamp, Seeking Truth with constant yearning, My weak brain with effort aches, Tell me—Thou, the all-discerningDid King Alfred burn those cakes ? Did the ever mighty Teuton Of such universal fame, Bring the English Constitution In his pocket, when he came ? Did that dastardly Pretender, Richard, or some other power, Slay those interesting, tender Little Princes in the Tower ? Let me never fail to greet thee, 0 my Muse, in field or town, E'en when all disguised I meet thee In a dingy cap and gown. Even 'midst that homage dreary, Planned by pedagogic fools, May I feel thy presence near me In the Temple of the Schools. V. C. H.
• Merrie England.
By ROBERT BLATCHFORD (Nunquam). Published by Walter Scott, and at the Clarion office.
as., is. 6a., Id.
THE FRITILLARY.
72
however, can call up both the pictures suggested in the following words :—" You would rather see a squirrel than a sewerrat. You would rather bathe in the Avon than in the Irwell. You would prefer the fragrance of a rose-garden to the stench of a sewage-works. You would prefer Bolton Woods to Ancoat Slums " ; whilst there are many people in this land who have no idea of anything but the darker side of this contrast. And even for those whose lot is cast in the country something more is needed "how much knowledge and culture, and science and art, and music and the drama, and literature and poetry, and fieldsports and exercise, and travel and change of scene " is there in the average lot of the average British worker ? These things are, however, Nunquam maintains, necessary for true life, and are to be within reach of every dweller in Merrie England How this ideal may be realized is thus indicated by the author. " First of all I would set men to grow wheat and fruit and rear cattle and poultry for our own use. Then I would develop the fisheries and construct great breeding-lakes and harbours. Then I would restrict our mines, furnaces, chemical works, and factories to the number actually needed for the supply of our own people. Then I would stop the smoke nuisance by developing water power and electricity. " In order to achieve these ends I would make all the land, mills, mines, factories, works, shops, ships, and railways the property of the people. " I would make the houses loftier and larger, and would clear them of all useless furniture. I would institute public dininghalls, public baths, public wash-houses on the best plans, and so set free the hands of those slaves—our English women. I would have public parks, public theatres, music halls, gymnasiums, football and cricket :
!
fields, public halls and public gardens for recreation and music and refreshment . Then by degrees I would make all these things free." In other words, a merrie England is to be attained by means of Socialism, and by that form of it suggested by the author when he says, " I am an Ideal Socialist "and among Ideal social schemes he has chosen the Communistic. It must, however, be remembered that there is a Practical Socialism whose programme is a simpler one. Its demand is " that the land and other instruments of production shall be the common property of the people, and shall be governed by the people for the people." Beyond the accomplishment of this not even the most sanguine of Socialists can hope to live. In fact most of them, Nunquam himself included, look on any detailed scheme as useful merely " to give an idea of the possibilities of the task before us." For it is obvious " that to a people further advanced, socially and industrially, than ourselves, a social condition would be possible which we do not now dare to work for or even try to realize." Let me here point out that a part of Nunquam's programme, his scheme of an insular and commercially independent community, must stand or fall apart from Socialism, whether ideal or practical. Under a Socialistic regime England will still be free to act, if she so choose, on the principle of the division of labour, and exchange manufactured goods for the corn of other lands. Socialism is by no means dependent on an affirmative answer to the question—ably discussed in Chapter IV. Can England feed herself ?' nor is it now the duty of Socialists as such to decide whether it would be wise for her to do so if it indeed lay in her power. Suffice it to remark that .
'
'
Fabian Essays.
.
.
THE FRITILLARY. when the time comes to make the decision, a Socialist government, representing a . people owners alike of land and other means of production, will be in no danger of being swayed by the selfish interests either of landlords or of manufacturers. A very interesting subject, in which Nunquam seems to be something of a specialist, is that of Waste. Consider a working-class street of ioo houses : •the domestic waste is enormous. 'You have too dinners to cook every day. You have every week too miserable washing days. You have too women going, out to buy a pound of tea and sugar and other trifles." Commercial waste is on a still larger scale ; worst of all is the waste of human life" Cast your eyes, my practical friend, over the Registrar General's returns, and imagine if you can how many gentle nurses, good mothers, sweet singers, brave soldiers, and clever artists, inventors and thinkers are swallowed up every year in that ocean of crime and sorrow, which is known to the official mind as the high death-rate of the wage-earning classes.' Alas, the pity of it ! " The author has developed a theory of waste, to which the following is perhaps the keyword—it might well be used as an economic shibboleth" I saw plainly enough that when I wasted matches I was really wasting the flesh and blood of the fellow-creatures who made them." About one-third of the book is devoted to the stock objections to Socialism : and for those who fear " the inefficiency of officialdom," and a " check to progress," who talk about the " coming slavery " and " the rights of the individual " ; for those who think to settle the question by saying You can't change human nature," and asking " Who will do the dirty work ? "for each of these there is an answer ready. The objectors will, doubtless, discover, to "
73
their satisfaction, statements which they consider inadequate, inconsistencies which they can magnify, omissions which they, with more or less justice, resent ; they may even find reason to exclaim in triumph, "Tu quoque is no argument ! " I admit that there are these, and perhaps other, weak points in the book (" nought blinds you less than admiration ! ") : but I think that a candid reader will find much to silence objection and relieve misgiving, much sound Political Economy in homely form, much inspiring ethical teaching—and this although, perhaps I should say because, the writer has " tried to be plain and practical and moderate," and to refrain from entering the higher regions of thought. Whilst the student of human character will find much to interest him in the analyses of the motives of men, whether or not he agree with the results arrived at. Amongst these I may mention the conclusion that vanity is a stronger passion than greed ; and the following—" that men will do good for its own sake ; but they will not do evil except with the hope of gain . . . . Men instinctively prefer light to darkness, love to hate, and good to evil." M. O'BRIEN.
the Mathematician In Love. THE
outline of my lady's face most fair,
Whose loveliness all beauty else eclipses, A perfect oval is, beyond compare : The azure circles of her pupils hide The minor axes of her eyes' ellipses, While, like parabolas, on either side On her smooth brow the pencilled eyebrows rise. All evil things and base her glance avoid, Swift as the tangent from its circle flies, Dreading the pure disdaining of her eyes, Warned by her nostril's haughty cardioid.
THE FRITILLARY.
74
In logarithmic spirals droop her curls, Bowed down to earth by their own golden weight, — (Except when they 're done up like other girls '!) And ah could anything on earth be sweeter Than smiles which cross her lips' red lemniscate, — r2 will equal a2 cos 26)— Lips which in words cannot enough be praised, Smiles which would melt the sternness of harsh Fate ! To power infinite by love I'm raised Still to adore her, for no transformation This term of bliss since first we met, can banish For evermore from out my life's equation. i being constant, though she vary ever, There is no point at which my love can vanish. As the hyperbola, with fond devotion, Unto its asymptote draws ever nearer, Its perfect satisfaction finding never, My love to me shall dearer grow and dearer, With constantly accelerated motion. S. M. FRY. !
'Life at TRIlomen's Colleges in Billerica. IN the preceding article the social side of life in the women's colleges was briefly described. Now let us consider the life from a more serious aspect—that of work. The criticism is frequently made that our college women work too many hours a day, and do not allow enough time for relaxation. This may be true in individual cases, but is not true of the majority, as the excellent health of our college women will testify. Our working days are longer, however, than those in England. Breakfast is at 7 or 7.3o, immediately followed by chapel, after which work commences and continues until lunch-time ; then in the afternoon work continues until nearly 5, and again in the evening until io, when all must retire, and lights must be ex-
tinguished. During this time a girl can devote whatever time she pleases to either play or work, but three hours of class-room work are required on an average per day, and at least two hours of preparation are required for each of these. We have a peculiar term for our classroom work, " recitation," since the work is not confined to a lecture by the instructor, but is more generally a discussion or recitation by the individual members of the class. For instance, in a Latin class, the student having carefully prepared the portion assigned, will translate and explain the difficult points in the lesson under the guidance of the instructor. Lectures are given in comparatively few subjects, and very little private coaching is done. Our curriculum is much different from that of Oxford. It more closely resembles the one in London University. About one-third of the work leading to a degree consists of required subjects, and the remainder is to a certain extent elective or optional, although the optional subjects are somewhat limited in scope. The aim is to give an all-round education, since the colleges believe that the education of the student should be as broad as possible, and specializing, if desired, should follow the regular college course. This is the reason why so many of our Universities offer graduate work, and why more and more students each year come abroad to obtain the advantages of study in the Old World. Examinations are given either at the close of each term or semi-annually, but they alone do not determine the progress and standing of a student, since the daily work and written reviews are also considered. In certain subjects papers are accepted in lieu of final examinations. If a student fails in an examination, and her daily work is not sufficient to pass her,
THE FRITILLARY. she is said to be " conditioned "—that is she is obliged to study and be examined in that one subject again. Of course if she failed to pass in several subjects she would not be allowed to pursue any advanced work, but this seldom happens. Every student is on probation during the first half-year in college, and unless she proves her ability to carry on the college work satisfactorily, she is quietly asked to leave. No prizes are offered or honours awarded in most of the colleges. Scholarships are not given by competitive examinations, but to the more needy students. Every opportunity is given to the poor but ambitious student, and in all our work, merit, not wealth or position, is considered. The rules in our colleges are very few, and are decreased rather than increased each year. The belief is that college women should be largely a self-governing class. One of our colleges is, I understand, conducted entirely on the self-governing system. The atmosphere is essentially home-like. We are like one enormous family, bound together by the same aims and the common tie of loyalty to our Alma Mater. The religious life is a marked characteristic, although no sectarianism is taught, only the broad principles of religious faith. Several missionaries are entirely supported by the various colleges, and much philanthropic work is done. In Wellesley one of the required subjects is Bible, and a course is pursued throughout the entire four years, which is almost equivalent to a theological course. Sometimes our college women think they are over-worked, but they forget it all when Commencement, that eventful season at the end of the four years, approaches. Then amid rejoicings and festivities they receive the degree, which is
75
valued not as a reward for past toil, but as a signification of progress, and a recognition of faithful work.
EVANGELINE HATHAWAY. (Wellesley, 189o.)
the litaanOerer. ALL through the Spring on briar and bush He saw the blossom wake, Through gleaming mist the orchard blush, And blue-bells pierce the brake. About the thickset garden pale, Wreathed round in tender green, The white rose strewed its petals frail, The red rose flushed between. And, " Ere the harvest come," he said, "And Summer be withdrawn, Before the last late rose has shed Its fragrance on the lawn,— " Before the bird with throbbing breast Of passionate music tire, Shall I not end my aching quest, And compass my desire ?" The Summer passed, the Autumn came Magnificently stoled, His garments fringed with crimson flame, His forehead bright with gold. Beneath the hurrying tempest's breath The yellow elms were bowed, O'er sullen field and faded heath Brooded a purple cloud. From morn to eve, from eve to morn, From weary day to day, He went distracted and forlorn, His desultory way. Yet sometimes, when the earth lay chilled Beneath the Winter's chain, With sudden joy the forest thrilled, And Hope revived again.
76
THE FRITILLARY.
Or, from the boundaries of the deep, Vast music seemed to roll, And giant murmurs from the steep Spoke comfort to his soul. But Winter went, and Spring returned, And, still unsatisfied, For doubtful bliss his spirit yearned, And phantom gifts denied. Now through the long continuous years, No griefs nor joys molest, He lies locked in from hopes and fears, His vagrant heart at rest. C. L. T.
tbe Question of regrees. GREAT strides have been made in the "Degree Movement " since the discussion at the meeting of the U.A.W.T., of which an account was given in our last issue. For the benefit of any member of a future generation of Oxford students who may chance to unearth from a dusty corner the back numbers of the Fritillary, it may be worth while to set down a brief record of the proceedings which have occupied so much of our attention during the past two terms. More than a year ago the Association for the Education of Women in Oxford formulated a scheme for asking the University to grant a diploma to those women resident in Oxford who had complied with all the conditions of the B.A. degree, and a certificate to those who had taken other examinations. The scheme was laid before the Delegates of Local Examinations, the body through which alone the University has up till now dealt with Women's Education. It was rejected by them partly on the ground that a question of such importance ought to be dealt with by the University itself. The proposal was
therefore withdrawn, and by the advice of some influential members of the University the question of asking for the degree itself was taken into consideration. A majority on the Council of the A.E.W. having declared themselves in favour of the move, on Dec. 15th, 1894, a Committee was appointed to consider : (a) The best steps to be taken towards obtaining the admission of qualified students to the B.A. degree. (b) The alternative proposal that the University should recognise resident students who have passed certain examinations for a diploma. The Committee having presented their report, which consisted in part of a plan of procedure, in part of recommendations as to the exact points in which the University was to be asked to assimilate the status of women students to that of men ; the next step was to take the sense of the bodies most closely concerned, the Council of the three Halls and the Association as a whole. In the course of last term, the Councils of Somerville College and St. Hugh's Hall passed resolutions in favour of the Degree ; at Lady Margaret it was negatived by a small majority at a Council meeting, from which Miss Wordsworth and several other members were absent. The general meeting of the Association held at the Schools on the first Saturday in this term pronounced in favour of the B.A. by the unexpectedly large majority of 115 votes to 26. Besides the general resolution on the question of advisability, motions were brought forward and passed directing an immediate application to the University for the grant of the B.A. to those qualified for it, and of a diploma for those who had taken a specified Honour course corresponding but not exactly similar to the B.A. course. It was resolved to ask as an alternative to
THE FRITILLARY. the B.A., if that were refused, for a diploma given upon the same terms as the B.A. Lastly, it was decided to circulate for signatures among members of Congregation a petition asking for the recognition of the women students in either of these forms. After ten days' canvass, this petition was presented to the Hebdomadal Council with 146 signatures affixed, 123 members of Congregation declaring their preference for the Degree, 23 for the alternative diploma. As the successful petition to the Council for the opening of the Examinations to women in 1884 bore only 121 signatures, these numbers seem satisfactory and well-omened. An opposition petition, got up by the defeated minority on the Council of the A.E.W., and signed by student members of the Association and by members of the Council of the Halls, and a petition from students of Somerville College in favour of the Degree addressed to their own Council, were also presented to the Hebdomadal Council, who appointed a Committee to take evidence and to draw up a scheme. The advocates of the Degree cannot, it is believed, hope for a majority on the Council in favour of their views, but it is hoped that the Council will not on their own responsibility reject a proposal of such importance, and supported by such an influential section of the University, but that they will allow the question to come before Congregation next October. Meanwhile there is nothing to be done but to possess our souls in patience, and to hope that the Long Vacation may have a softening effect on the obduracy of our opponents. Some of us, remembering the attractions which a via media always possesses for the human, and in especial for for the Oxford, mind, are half inclined to look upon alternative B of the memorable petition as our worst enemy, and to fear that in the end we shall find ourselves pre-
77
sented with the half-loaf, which is by no means always better than no bread. If it is necessary to provide the University with a " second choice," we wish that it had been found possible to ask simply for the right to matriculate. That would at least make us bona fide members of the University, and be on the direct road to the Degree, not a safe backwater which leads nowhere. Probably, however, our leaders know well that for that very reason the University would be less likely to grant it. Much 'correspondence as to our claims has already appeared in the various educational journals, and no doubt the matter will find its way by degrees to the ordinary press. The Magazine weekly exercises its wit upon us, and the absurdity of our aspiration has as usual formed a fruitful topic of Eights' week banter. So far most of the serious discussion and agitation has been done by our own side— or by our opponents within the ranks,—the minority in the A.C.U. Little of the heavy artillery of the Conservative party in our University has been levelled against us. Professor Case, from whom we had expected at least a folio, has not as yet thought us worthy even of a pamphlet. There are signs, however, that this state of calm is not to last, and already a somewhat belated counterpetition is being circulated among members of Congregation, praying the Council to reject our demands : "First, in the interests of the Women students themselves, and secondly, in the interests of the University." But the opposition which we all regret the most, and which may perhaps prove itself most fatal to our success, is that which comes from within the ranks. When such well-tried friends of the " cause," as Professor Pelham and Mr. Sidgwick on the one hand, Mrs. Arthur Johnson and Mr. Lionel Smith on the other, are found in opposite camps, the band of irrecon-
78
THE FRITILLARY.
cilables who look on every assertion of our claim as an attempt on the life and liberties of the University are heard gently murmuring : " When thieves fall out . . . ." It was hoped, in spite of the dark hints uttered by Mr. Smith at the meeting on the 29th of April, that the minority, having made that protest, would be content to let matters take their course. low it is clear that that hope was vain, and that the party of secession are as usual going to show themselves bitterer enemies than the original opposition. The arguments as to the educational disadvantages and advantages of the degree have been so often discussed, even ad nauseam, that it is scarcely necessary to repeat them here. What is more interesting, because less familiar, is the argument of those who have the courage to admit, in spite of the seeming discourtesy, that they object to the presence of women as full members of the University on other grounds than that of the educational strain which will be placed on intending students for the necessity of " getting up " the elements of Greek accidence and two plays of Euripides. These persons not unreasonably urge that as the promoters of the Degree have laid so much stress on the argument that the University has made it " logically inevitable " by its previous concessions, it ought to be considered what " logical conclusions " the new favour asked for will entail. Some of them declare that when their ratiocinative faculties are thus called into play they refuse to allow them to stop short of anticipating a day when all College scholarships, fellowships, and tutorships will have to be thrown open to women competitors, and they ask the University in all seriousness to contemplate whether they are prepared to sanction a future Lady-President of Magdalen, or a
future Lady-Dean of Christ Church. This, they hint, would mean—thought of horror to some, and of awful joy to others—a destruction of that unique fruit of English Universities, the Collegiate system. Others of lowlier imagination are content to suppose that the ultimate goal of the movement is the M'.A. Degree and the privileges it entails. What will be the effect, they ask, of the admission of a body of women-voters into Congregation, and into Convocation ? Will they be capable as a whole of taking an intelligent and useful part in the transaction of ordinary University business ? Will they be liable to be caught by any and every attractive party cry ? Will they vote solid in the clerical interest ? Lastly, there are some of our opponents who think it is a sufficient reason for the exclusion of the entire numerically stronger if individually weaker sex from the two national Universities, that their admission, if granted, would probably be turned by the enemies of Greek into an additional argument for the abolition of that language as a compulsory subject in Responsions. In spite, however, of these and many other excellent and practical arguments which have been brought forward on both sides, it may perhaps be said that the real motive both for choosing and resisting the contemplated change is one of sentiment. The older and more conservative of the Oxford Dons on the one hand still cling to the monastic theory of the University. They like to think of the grey town by the Isis as a place where the youths who are to take the lead in the work of the country may pass a few years in (more or less) learned seclusion—where what women there are dwell in high walled courts " and keep themselves decently out of sight. They forget that not only the Women's Halls, and the presence of women in
THE FRITILLARY. lecture - rooms and examination - rooms, but previous to all, and above all, the " Parks system," have destroyed for ever the University Of their ideal. They may keep if they choose the empty form, but the substance is gone. And on our side we feel indeed that intermediate examinations are good, and degrees and diplomas are good, if they put us into a better position for earning our bread and butter. But what gives enthusiasm to our struggle for these prizes is the wish that we may be no longer strangers and aliens, without rights or status, in the University on whom we depend, but that she whom we have insensibly learned to look upon as our Alma Mater should acknowledge us as her own.
Trbe Irtniteb balls Mebattno $octetp. THE concluding debate of last term was held at Somerville College on Tuesday, March r 2th, Miss Deverell (S.C.), President, in the chair. The motion before the House was "That in the opinion of this House, the present Poor Law System of England is a disgrace to a civilised country." Miss BUTLIN, the Proposer, said she would base her remarks on the system of administration. The normal administration she considered a disgrace. In our complex state of society, Poor Law needs to be more than Protective. In the time of Henry VIII, every one could work if he chose. Very different is the case now. The workhouse removes from "poor old" people their respectability. Individualists are fond of asserting that under Socialism individual development must -suffer. Is the distinction between those who can't and those who won't work, likely to do more harm than many that exist ? Does the present " Poor Law" even fulfil the function it considers essential of keeping down pauperism ? Mr. Herbert Mills and Canon Barnett bear witness to the fact that paupers feel their compulsory work degrading, and Canon Barnett points out that "they are never taught better how to work, and that is why they
79
are there." Why should not workhouse work be educational, its environment be made more ennobling? The law, by its hardness and unsympathetic tone, helps to create the class it punishes. How can the system which makes the deserving and undeserving suffer alike be anything but a disgrace ?" Miss RUSSELL (S.C.), Opposer, maintained that whilst neither the English people nor its "Poor Law " is perfect, the Poor Law is " worthy of the genius of the English people." The deserving and the undeserving are not treated alike, divisions allowing little communications, divide different classes. People of immoral conduct are given work to keep them from exercising a bad influence on others. All vagrants are treated the same, but that is inevitable, as is the fact that the regular hours of meals, etc., are the same for all. Infirm and aged have privileges which others have not. The parents may see their children, if not of immoral conduct. The aged and infirm have different food. Some Houses now have different wards for the deserving, who are allowed to wear different clothes and are, in fact, in an almshouse rather than in a workhouse. Is there no training in neatness, cleanliness and regularity ? Why is the work mentally degrading, the care of the house and garden ? Stone-breaking for vagrants if not educating Is not degrading. Able-bodied paupers are in a minority and decreasing. Poor Law gives outdoor relief to many through relieving officers and guardians where deserved. Workhouse schools and infirmaries exist. The present boarding-out system has had very beneficial results. Man cannot destroy pauperism nor death, but he can reduce both to the smallest amount possible, which we are doing. Compare our Poor Law with that of other countries and it certainly shows to advantage. Miss FRY held that Poor Laws are not carried out as they exist. Married couples are not always able to live together for want of room. She thought the fact that some Boards differ in thinking im-
8o
THE FRITILLARY.
proved administration necessarily proves that the normal administration is faulty. It is generally acknowledged that every one has a right to live and every child a right to be educated, but we are tending to acknowledge more rights than this— more than the Poor Law, as at present, affords. But if the Guardians carried out all the Poor Law regulations, there would be a great difference. Miss SANDERS compared England with other countries, where and incapable are allowed to die. In contradistinction she sketched the history of the English Poor Law, which began with the history of the Christian Church. No one has yet noticed the change which has come in with the new County Council system, which has resulted in bringing working men on to the Board of Guardians, elected by those who may hereafter be inmates of the workhouse. There spoke for:—Miss Wilson, Miss O'Brien, Miss M. Saunders. Miss Deverell (who vacated the chair) spoke of the harm of treating moral idiots as voluntary offenders. They should be educated by all means which will appeal to their dim sense of the good and beautiful. There spoke against :— Miss Joseph and Miss Samson. Miss BUTLIN, in summing up, asked whether the Poor Law, though it must be prohibitive, need injure so many who would like to work, who to-day come under the name of paupers. She did not agree with the theory of the speaker who vacated the chair. Voted for, 15 ; against, 7 ; neutral, 7.-
The first debate of this term was held in St. Hugh's Hall, Miss Williams (S.H H.) in the chair. The motion before the house was "That Cosmopolitanism is morally and politically superior to Patriotism." Miss WILSON (S.H.H.) in opening the debate said that the supporters of the motion could not point to history to enforce their arguments. Patriotism has been developed in the past in Art and Literature, and sentiment clings persistently to it. But it is only adapted to a phase of existence. However, Patriotism is not opposed to Cosmopolitanism, for a good patriot makes a good citizen of the world ; indeed, to be
a good " cosmopolite " one must first be a good patriot the one is merely a development of the other, a further throwing off of local prejudices. As the patriot merges his love of home in that of his country, so the cosmopolite merges his love of his country in his love for the world. But the very fact that Cosmopolitanism is a development of Patriotism makes it more difficult of application. A new nationality cannot be Cosmopolitan ; it is not educated enough nor strong enough. It must first be Patriotic, and then Cosmopolitan. For, looking back on the history of the world we see that in the early days people were divided up into 4amilies ; then the love of the family was Patriotism ; but as the family developed into the tribe, and then into the country, so the love of the family grew to that of the tribe and then of the country. But is Patriotism the goal of this development ? Surely not. Cosmopolitanism is still, however, a thing of the future. It has been attempted in the past but without much success, for those states which aimed at a Cosmopolitan existence were not strong enough or educated enough to hold their own against their more purely Patriotic neighbours. But already some steps have been taken in the right direction. Even now disputes between Powers have been settled by arbitration instead of war. If we followed out this principle, war would be abolished altogether. And there are many burning questions, such as the currency question, the relations of Capital to Labour, Free trade, which might be' completely settled by Cos mopolitanism. The Proposer concluded by saying that the first steps were not politically far off. She urged members of the House to become cosmopolitans, and to take as their motto,—"I am a citizen of the world." MISS CRAIGIE- HALKETT (L.M.H.), the Opposer, began by defining Cosmopolitanism as a state of citizenship of the world, and a cosmopolitan as one who has no national ties. She then divided her paper under five heads. I. Cosmopolitanism is impracticable. II. It is only Patriotism in a secondary sense. III. It has been a failure in the past. IV. As a moral power its influence is slight. V. Patriotism in the past. :
8r
THE FRITILLARY. She went on to say that each nation developed on its own lines, and that races were so different that it would be impossible for all to act as if they were one, and took as examples the Negroes and Chinese. Some countries also were more advanced than others politically and socially, and must have different interests and different ideals and aims from the newer and younger countries. "This is a day of great countries," she said, " but our industrial interests are more to us than war." There has not been a great war since 187o ; and in reply to those who say that we are growing Cosmopolitan it may be replied that the feeling bred by this war is still smouldering, and it is only the feeling that a renewal of hostilities would be so bad for the interests of both countries that has prevented the smouldering fire from flaming up. But indeed, were Europe united, the world at large would be no more Cosmopolitan, for there would only be -a new large state, and the other countries would still be outside the pale. The national spirit is indestructible ; it is the back-ground of all our independence, and of our national institutions. Nor is it desirable that this national spirit should be destroyed were it possible. Patriotism makes a man desire to serve his state, country, town ; and the best Cosmopolitanism is to be the lover -of that small part of the world to which you belong. So that it is no wider than Patriotism. The Opposer concluded by urging her hearers not to despise loyalty, and to remember that Patriotism was not a mere prejudice in favour of your own country. The third speaker, Miss SANDERS (L.M.H.), said the motion was not Cosmopolitanism versus Patriotism, but only that Cosmopolitanism was -superior to Patriotism. She also defined Patriotism and Cosmopolitanism, the former as love of one's fellow-countrymen, the latter as love of human nature. She said that charity began at home, and therefore, Cosmopolitanism must begin in Patriotism, for when nations were small they could do without each other, but as they grew larger and became more advanced, they depended more on each other ; and that, although the interests of states might clash, those of peoples never did. As the former speakers had said, she also re-
minded the House that Cosmopolitanism had no past, but she believed that a very great future was before it. Miss H. SAUNDERS (L.M.H.) spoke fourth. She touched on the fact so strongly insisted on by the Proposer, that with the growth of Cosmopolitanism war would be abolished, and maintained that if this were so, identity would be lost. She also answered the Proposer's remark, that among other things the currency question would be settled, by saying that even in one country such as England there were many different opinions, although only one interest at stake ; how much more difficult would it be to settle such questions were all Europe united ? There also spoke Miss Deverell, Miss Butlin, Miss Hodson, and Miss Romanes. In summing up, the Proposer said that her argument was that the cosmopolitan was only a patriot more fully developed, and that narrowness of interests does not make these interests more deeply felt love grows with the amount of people to be loved ; and she concluded by saying that all cosmopolitans could do more good in the world than any patriot. The motion on being put to the House was rejected by 7 votes. :
The second debate of term was held at Wordsworth Hostel, May 21st. The motion before the House was "That public recognition is a salutary spur to the production of the best work." Miss THICKNESSE (L. M. H.), the Proposer, argued that the existence of public recognition as a spur is undeniable, it is unsalutary only when the great aim of work is the recognition and not the work itself. The hope of the help and sympathy of others acts as a stimulating force and rouses the desire to be worthy of the recognition. The thought of the proverbial poet, dying in a garret, awakens two feelings, one of injustice, the other that better work would have been produced, had he not been obliged to struggle in the face of apparent failure. Of this Keats is a notable instance. Miss Thicknesse went on to say that it might
82
THE FRITILLARY.
be objected that public recognition, depending as it does on outside help, such as examinations, prizes, etc., may be good for children ; but as the ardour for work increases these spurs are no longer necessary, and the Schools are, after all, an undesirable end to the broad University life. Yet, in spite of this, recognition gives something definite to work for ; it prevents desultoriness and awakens a proper pride: provided, of course, that the recognition be of a high standard. It has, Miss Thicknesse pointed out, been repeatedly proved that the spur is not absolutely necessary, by the splendid work done in the face of difficulties; but for the majority she held that it is salutary, and that surely that spur is salutary which produces the best work of the greatest number. Miss MORSHEAD (L.M.H.) in opposing denied that the spur was (z) salutary, and (2) that it produces the best work. (r) It is unsalutary because it is both uncertain and capricious. It substitutes for that calmness which is necessary to the production of all good work, a sickening sense of fear lest after all, fate should prove false and fame should be denied. It is also selfish, because the worker works for what he can get, and the standard is at once lowered. A grpat poet writes because it is his nature to. A great painter paints because he must fame is a secondary motive. The government of the country is carried on by a great mass of unpaid labour. (2) She denied that public recognition produces the best work, on the grounds that in literature it generally produces what will take, and in art " potboilers " ; it must be backed by many other motives before it is good. In intellectual work she regarded it as pernicious. Work after childhood has been passed should be done for the pure joy of work. Public recognition produces haste, hurry, narrowness ; it allows no time for due growth, and it prevents true culture and goes to swell the vast flood of mediocrity. Generally speaking it is necessary only when the alternative motive to work is one of fear though, to some natures more than others, it is " the spur :
:
which the clear spirit doth raise," yet it rises to heights of sublimity when it transcends such limits. It is after all "the last infirmity of noble minds." The highest ideal is to do "all for love, and nothing for reward." Miss OLIVIER speaking in favour of the motion took the Opposer's argument, and said that a great worker Will work because it is his nature to, but it must be that such circumstances as education and public recognition help in its production ; such recognition is the outward sign of sympathy, and it is the highest minds which most need sympathy. Miss MOBERLY pointed out that public recognition cuts both ways, for good or for evil, and further that it was a question of the best and not merely of good work. The best work has generally been done in defiance of public recognition, which is a low motive, the public having proved by its capriciousness that no dependence is to be placed on it. She quoted Keats and Tennyson as examples, and said that while "Maud" was rejected the Laureateship was hardly salutary to the production of Tennyson's best work, the fact being that the general public know nothing of scholarship. Miss HODSON spoke against the motion. She denied that public recognition can be considered a spur, because the public do not generally recognise which is the best work and which is not ; but a great worker will work out his ideas without consideration'of the public recognition. Miss CRAGIE-HALKETT spoke on research-work, in which the recognition comes after the great work is done, so that it can only be a spur to the future work of others. Miss WORDSWORTH pointed out that with regard to scientific research-work, endowed scholarships exist to a considerable extent. She said that, while certain great masters such as Dante and Milton were sufficiently independent of the sympathy of others to be able to stand alone and scorn the public, to such natures as Charles Lamb and Goldsmith public recognition was essential. She also remarked that, as a critic, the public is "not such a fool as he looks." There spoke also Miss Alder and Miss Beckingsale.
THE FRITILLARY. Miss THICKNESSE, in summing up, denied that the test of public recognition and examinations do lead to shallowness and narrowness of work, or that in view of the self-denial which recognised work entailed, it is a selfish motive. The Motion was carried by a majority of 6.
Somerville College. SCIENTIFIC AND PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY.—At
the beginning of this term the first number of our Journal appeared. It contains an account of the proceedings of the Society since its formation, with abstracts of the papers and lectures delivered this year. Our best thanks are due to the editor, Miss Wilkinson, for the care she has expended on the Journal, and we much regret that owing to illhealth she is. unable to return to Oxford. At our first meeting this term, Miss Ardagh read a paper entitled, " The influence of the Nile on Mathematics." It was illustrated by elaborate calculations in Egyptian characters on the blackboard. The methods of measuring time and space were described. The interest aroused was shown by the animated discussion which followed the paper. We are looking forward to a lecture from Miss Butlin which will terminate the year's work. The subject is to be " Palaeography." MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY. — This Society was formed last term. Following the precedent of the Historical Society, all the Mathematical students are considered members, other students have to be elected. It is proposed to hold meetings twice a terhr in the members' rooms. At the first meeting last term a paper was read by Miss Beckingsale on " Some applications of Mathematics to Physics " ; and at the second, Miss Fry read a paper entitled "The connection of Mathematics with Egyptian Temples." Both of these papers were very interesting, and we may safely say that the two meetings of last term were a decided success, and accordingly we look forward to a bright future for our new Society. LAWN TENNIS CLUB.—President, Miss Philipps ; Secretary, Miss Marett ; Treasurer, Miss Chard ;
83
Committee Members, Miss Bruce and Miss Pesel. The champions for this term are Miss Scott and Miss Marett. Twenty-eight members entered for the Scratch Pairs ; the final round has been won by Miss Scott and Miss Philipps. The Tennis match v. Lady Margaret Hall ended, we are glad to say, in a victory for Somerville. Games 6-4, 6-3. We hope to play St. Hugh's Hall next week. THE HOCKEY CLUB held a meeting to elect officers for next year. The following were appointed :—Captain, Miss Marett ; Vice-Captain, Miss Pope ; Treasurer, Miss Russell ; Secretary, Miss Scott. It was also unanimously decided to join the " Women's Hockey Association." On Whit-Monday, June 3rd, Somerville had the gladness of welcoming a branch of the party brought from Plaistow by Father Adderley to spend a day in Oxford. Some mothers and girls, to whom Mrs. Burrows gave dinner at St. Hilda's, came to Somerville for tea. This, owing to the dampness of the afternoon, had to take place in the Gymnasium. The guests er, were able to walk about afterward see the Garden and College, wonder at the peacefulness, but decide that their own work was preferable to ours. This term we have two new Students, Miss McEwen and Miss Gaddum. ,
The BROWNING SOCIETY continues to meet fortnightly. " Christmas Eve and Easter Day " and some of the art poems have been read.
9Labr Margaret ball. The SHAKESPEARE SOCIETY continues as usual this term, and appears to be greatly appreciated. " The Taming of the Shrew " is being read, and every one will be sorry when it is finished. L. M. H. L.T. C.—The champions this term are Miss Baker and Miss Bradby. No matches have as yet been played, but challenges have been received from the Royal Holloway College and from Westfield College. The match against
84
THE FRITILLARY.
Holloway will be played soon after the end of term. The usual matches against Somerville and St. Hugh's will of course be played.
%t. Ibuob's THE SHAKESPEARE SOCIETY has this term been "Shakespearian" only in name. At the last meeting of the Lent Term it was unanimously decided not only to continue the meetings during the Summer, but to meet more frequently. It was also voted that a miscellaneous programme from the works of various poets should be substituted for the usual Shakespearian Play. The twelve subjects chosen were selections from Fairy Poetry. Rossetti. Swinburne. Humorous Poetry. Matthew Arnold. Weird Poetry. Burns. Scotch Poets. Rudyard Kipling. Living Poets. Ballads. Sonnets. The readings have been well attended, and much enjoyed. The Society, which embraces the whole Hall, may be described as enthusiastic ; there are many volunteers as readers, and only want of time prevents the meetings being more frequent and of longer duration. The "Ballad" evening is expected to be particularly interesting, as some sixteenth century ballads will then be read, which have been recently discovered, and which, it is hoped, will soon be published. BROWNING SOCIETY.—A fresh impulse has been given to the enthusiasm of the members by a visit to Balliol Library, where Dr. Pope showed us Browning's Manuscripts. He has further given us a very interesting address on "The Ring and the Book," which has been a very great help to our study of Browning. The work which is being read at the meetings this term is "Sordello."
Music.—The Glee Society has met regularly every week, and we owe much to Miss Moberly for so kindly conducting it. For the last two terms, a String Band has also practised here, which includes two violins and a viola from Lady Margaret Hall, two violins
from Somerville College, and three violins and a violoncello from this Hall. We hope that our numbers may go on increasing, and cordially invite any who may like to join. THE BOATING CLUB has made full use of the two boats belonging to the Hall. At present the number of members is fourteen, eight of whom are qualified captains. THE TENNIS CLUB this term consists of eighteen most enthusiastic members. The Hall Championship, which was competed for early in Term by Miss Wilson, Miss Holman, Miss Fairbanks, and Miss Eblinger, was won by Miss A. Wilson, Miss Holman coming out second. Scratch Pairs are now being played amongst those members of the Club who did not compete for the championship, but the result of these cannot as yet even be anticipated, as only one match has been played.
—All other Societies, as usual during the Summer term, are in abeyance. Eights, picnics, and tennis have filled all available time, so much so that so far we have only had two evenings for dancing, and very little music. MISCELLANEOUS NEWS
borne %tubents. Mrs. Johnson this term has lent us her boat for every Friday. The pleasure we have had and the gratitude we feel are both great. Those who are going in for Schools are especially grateful, for nowhere else than under the green shade of the Cherwell willows is it so easy to fall into that mood of abandoned idleness, which Cowley, in lines illuminated by the summer lightning of poetic feeling, has described :" Here let me careless and unthinking lying Hear the soft winds above me flying."
The Home Students desire to offer their congratulations to Miss E. P. Hammond (cl. I. Eng. Lit., 1894) on her appointment as Fellow and Lecturer in English at the University of Chicago. Oxford: Printed by ALDEN & CO., LTD., Bocardo Press.