March 1880

THE

PETERITE. Vol . . II .

MARCH, 1880 .

No .

II.

DOWN A COAL MINE. APPENING to be staying a few days with a friend in Staffordshire, I expressed a wish to go down a coal mine, and, as he was " serving his time " under his father, he agreed to take me down to see, as he said, "what kind of pitman I should make . " At 5 a .m . one cold February morning, a loud tattoo sounded at my bedroom door, followed by a deep stentorian voice, bidding me arise . After rubbing my eyes I suddenly recollected that that morning I was to make my first acquaintance with the bowels of the earth, so springing hastily out of bed, I sought for some habiliments suitable for so black an undertaking . At last, after long search, I found some tolerably well-suited for my purpose, though by no means becoming, and stick in hand, I joined my companion, who of course was dressed pitmanlike with short knee-breeches, a leather-backed jacket, thick pit shoes and a leather cap, with the usual " yard stick ." A short walk brought us to the Colliery, and five minutes later saw us both seated in the cage, each provided with a Davy lamp . One, two, three, sounded the rapper, followed by a demoniacal shout, and I felt we were beginning to move. I do not know whether others have felt the same sensations as I felt,—all I know is that I inwardly vowed a vow that as ever I emerged safely from what seemed to me a descent into Hades, I never should essay the same again, but thinking that if Virgil, with all his experience in such matters, had assured us, " facilis decensus Averno, sed revocare gradum superasque evadere ad auras, Hoc opus, laie labor est, " I thought then that I certainly would never again see the light of Heaven.

Bewildered as I was when I emerged from the cage at the bottom, my bewilderment was still further increased by the hubbub all

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around me,—men shouting, boys pulling, tubs running and bells ringing. I stood in a recess for a short time to "get sight, " as the pitmen say, whilst my companion went to ask the "onsetter to allow us to ride into the workings in the " run, " which consists of a number of small tubs, drawn by a stationary engine, to carry the coal from the workings to the mouth of the shaft ; a distance generally of about a mile or a mile-and-a-half. This is the main road into the pit, and is generally about 5 feet high ; and in order to obtain this height, after the coal has been taken out, which varies in different scams from eft . loin . to 5ft ., they take down part of the rock about the coal . But to proceed . Having had a very comfortable ride in a tub into the workings, the real point of the business here began . I had by this time recovered my wonted spirits, and began to think it was not so very disagreeable clown a pit, after all ; but alas, how soon my spirits were to be damped, yes and body too, for not perceiving a piece of timber which lay across my path, I found myself suddenly engaged in taking a morning bath much against my will . To add to my catalogue of woes, after I had got up, on looking round for my friend, I could not see him anywhere, but fondly supposing that I soon should overtake him, I stumbled on my way, guided only by the very feeble rays of light from my lamp, which to my horror I saw was growing dimmer and dimmer.

Suddenly I heard a noise like distant thunder, louder and louder it sounded ; nearer and nearer it came ; the very ground on which I stood seemed to shake ; whilst every minute I expected the roof to fall in and to enclose me in a living tomb. A light appeared in the distance, followed by a shout of " Had away, ' hint, " which I took to mean that I had by some means or other to get out of the road ; but where to take refuge seemed to me an impracticable problem . The way was narrow, and afraid of meeting with the same misfortune as Balaam met with, when his foot was crushed against the wall, I hastily retraced my steps until, by happy chance, I came to a recess in the side . These, I afterwards learnt, are placed every 20 yards for safety.

Scarcely had I ensconced myself safely in it, when instead of an army of furies, as I had imagined, dashing past in pursuit of an escaped spirit from the lower world, a lean, emaciated specimen of horse-flesh, or rather of pony-flesh, came galloping past, drawing a number of tubs, encouraged to proceed at a still more rapid pace

DOWN A COAL MINE .

1 (it)

by sundry well-directed applications in the rear, administered by a black-faced evil genius, whose sole object in life seemed to be to prove whether his whip or the pony's hide was the toughest.

The passage—or to speak more professionally the rollcy-waywhere I now was, had been heightened sufficiently to admit of ponies ; but not so, after we had gone a short distance, sufficiently long, however, to allow me to cast opprobrious epithets at my now-recovered companion, and began to enter the real height of the coal scam, which in this case was only aft . in . Unaccustomed to bending my body so low, and keeping it for such a length of time in that position—for here is the rub, I thought I would stand upright for a moment to relieve my aching limbs, forgetting that there was such a thing as a roof above my head—yes and a hard stone roof too . I Io',\ ever, I was soon made aware of its existence in a manner not altogether pleasant—but I will leave my readers to picture to themselves in what way that very forcible reminder took place—suffice it to say that for the rest of the journey I went on my way "demisso capite ." (N .B . Let my readers not give to this the somewhat striking translation which once was given it, " the head having been dismissed .'')

At length, after most excruciating agonies of mind and body— of mind in wondering when the interminable journey would end, of body owing to sundry blows on the pate and bruises on the back—we came upon a dusky collier lying on his back in a state of semi-nudity, and hewing the coal as though his very life depended upon filling the tub placed near h i m . Of course I hewed a piece of coal with my own hands to carry home with me as a relic, but a bruised back and injured head furnished a far more lasting relic, and an ever recurring reminder of my first acquaintance with a coal mine.

In conclusion, let me advise my readers, who have never been down a coal mine and wish to do so, to profit by my experiences ; but meanwhile let me subscribe myself, "ONE WIIO WON ' T GO DOWN AGAIN . "

A MEMORY OF LAST AUGUST.

G

LORIOUSLY shone the sun on Llandudno on the morning of Monday, the 14th of August last . It sparkled on the

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grey Great Orme, and lit up the windows on the Parade, and flashed across the bay, where the sea lay bright and blue as the iEgean itself. It was very different last night . Were you afraid, you others, of the drenching rain, that you shut yourselves up indoors, and piled up the fire, for all that it was August, and tried to imagine yourselves in your comfortable arm-chairs at home ?

You laughed at me for my enthusiasm : all, well, you had your way and I had mine . So alone I came out, and soon left behind me the Parade, where a few had ventured forth to see the storm.

I knew better than to stay with the rest, and I wandered on towards the Little Orme, till the lights of the town grew dim and far, or died out altogether . There on the shingle I watched the waves dash in, and drank in the glorious roar of them with the noise of the winds and the fierce pelting rain . It was a grand and an awful hour . Never a star in the blackness of the night, and the hills close by invisible : only the stern music of wind and water, and the salt spray shivering on the beach where the wave had left it, till a wild gust should sweep it above, and about, and beyond me. If I came back drenched to the skin, what matter ?

But the pitiless rain of thirty-six hours is over at last, and the sunshine is bright and warm . We find the station crowded and busy when we reach it at half-past nine . Here is our train, but to our enquiries for a through carriage, the answer is, " All change at Colwyn Bay . " We have momentary doubts as to the sanity of a porter who can inform passengers by the Chester, Crewe and London Express, that they must change at obscure little Colwyn, where fast trains disdain to stop . I apologize to that porter, for his information turned out to be correct. When we get into our carriage, we hear the explanation from the other occupants . Yesterday afternoon a railway bridge beyond Colwyn Bay was washed away, as well as great parts of the lines in several places . After waiting for about half-an-hour, we start at last.

Away we go through the Morfa Rhiannyd, the strange-storied " Marsh of the Parents ' Dwelling-Place ." The Conway, to our right, is turbid and swollen with the long-continued rains, but beyond the mountains are blue in the distance, and old Conway town lies nestled at their base, hoary and beautiful as ever.

Away we go, with the open sea to our left and the hills to our right, till we come to Colwyn Bay . The station is crowded with passengers already, when our train pours out its freight on the

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little platform . What is the next move ? We are told that a train is waiting at Abergele station, and that the company has engaged all the conveyances in the neighbourhood to take us on.

We were late in leaving Llandudno, and it is eleven now, but there seems little prospect of obtaining anything to take us those seven miles . Pedestrianism is out of the question ; the water on the roads is too deep for that, and we do not like to leave our portmanteaus to the tender mercies of those men who are building up Babels of luggage on the ricketty drays. There is nothing for it but to wait . There are hundreds of others in like case with us, and every few minutes comes a fresh train from Llandudno with another load of passengers. Apparently the perversity of human nature has made every one wish to travel on this unlucky day. We go into the little town to telegraph home the cause of our delay, and take some necessary refreshment, and then beguile the time with watching the scene in the station-yard . I wish I could describe it . The motley groups of passengers, young and fresh, old and faded ; business men, who felt that, in losing time, they were losing money ; fidgctty, nervous people, who were afraid they would never reach home at all that day ; fussy, goodtempered people, who looked after others, started conversations, and made jokes about stage-coaches ; and the rest . Every now and then a vehicle of some kind, a basket-carriage, an omnibus or a break, would come, and then there would be a general rush.

"Station-master," cried one old lady, who persisted in getting into carriages when they were already full, and calling the gentlemen names for not leaving their wives to make room for her, " Station-master, you see—I know you see—that I've been turned out of every carriage yet . I ' ve been here since eight o' clock this morning, and I think it's scandalous ." So the time passed away, and when it was nearly two o'clock, the Stationmaster tried to secure us places in an omnibus . In vain, for a burly individual, who cared little for the railway officials or for any one else, had planted himself in the entrance, and refused admission to each and all . " You're no gentleman, Sir, I can tell you that," cried an irate short-statured being, " keeping ladies out in that way . Move, I say, Sir. IVill you move, Sir ? " The only reply the burly individual deigned to give was a more or less expressive grunt, and, spite of all opposition, he kept the passage as well as Horatius kept the bridge in the brave days of

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old . As for us, we were well content that he should have the omnibus to himself if so he wished, for the Station-master, who never once lost his temper or his wits through that trying morning, gave us a whispered assurance that we should soon have something better. IIe was as good as his word . In about a quarter-of-an-hour a comfortable phaeton made its appearance, and into this we soon settled ourselves and our baggage.

Very pleasant was the drive through the charming country.

We had not got far from Colwyn when we came up with the omnibus above-mentioned . One wheel was stuck in an abnormally deep cart-rut, from which the burly individual and three or four others were vainly endeavouring to extricate it . Whether they ever succeeded or not, I cannot say, for we never saw anything more of the ill-fated vehicle. On we drive, and in time we catch sight of the spot, where for forty years till yesterday the Llandulas viaduct stood in safety. It is a fearful chasm, and we can scarcely help a shudder as our driver tells us how yesterday the little river, that runs down the ravine into the sea, rose and rose, till it grew to a mighty torrent, and, dashing wildly against the centre arches, brought down the whole viaduct like a pack of cards . Just two hundred yards away, and just eleven years ago this very week, the Irish Mail Train met with that terrible accident, which has ever since, for most of us, associated the name of Abergcic with disaster . On we drive, past pretty Gwrych, where Mrs . Hemans spent her early years, and the horse struggles bravely with the water that now and again threatens to swamp us . We meet numbers of Irish Mail passengers on their way to Colwyn to find a train . The Irish Steamer had to leave Holyhead last night without any mail-bags, and all Ireland this morning was without its English letters . At last we reach Abergele station . The water is standing some two feet deep on the line, and is just on a level with the platform . We manage to find places in the densely crowded train, which, when it is absolutely as full as it well can be, steams merrily on its way with a couple of gallant engines . Before we have gone very far, the line is quite free from water, but the fields at our side are still submerged . Many sheep, we hear, perished on that stormy yesterday, and untold quantities of grain are irretrievably lost.

We have a brief stoppage at Rhyl, that dear resort of nurses and babies, and then we steam through the level country, and, behold, to our left, the sands of Dee !

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O Mary, go and call the cattle home, And call the cattle home, And call the cattle home, Across the sands of Dee ; The western wind was wild and dank with foam, And all alone went she.

The creeping tide crept up along the sand, And o ' er and o ' er the sand, And round and round the sand, As far as eye could see.

The blinding mist came down, and hid the land : And never home came she.

Oh ! is it weed, or fish, or floating hair,— A tress of golden hair, A drowned maiden ' s hair Above the nets at sea ? \Vas never salmon yet that shone so fair Among the stakes on Dee. They rowed her in across the rolling foam, The cruel crawling foam, The cruel hungry foam, To her grave beside the sea : But still the boatmen hear her call the cattle home Across the sands of Dee. When the tragedy of Abergele has faded away altogether from the minds of men, when we are all of us forgotten and the world has for long gone on its way as though we had never been, this story of one poor girl's death will be remembered, because the poet has written it in undying verse for the world to hear on and on through the ages, and evermore ; for the noble pathos of those words, shall there belong to this stretch of sand, with here a solitary standing pool, there a clump of coarse grass and two or three cattle grazing, a charm of solemnity and sadness.

Other rhymes, Northern rhymes, are in our cars ; we have thought of them often during these last days.

O land of red heather, O land of wild weather, And the cry of the waves and the laugh of the breeze.

Why should we not use them, though the writer thought not of our wild Wales ? But what of the lines that follow ?

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A MEMO1tY OF LAST AUGUST.

0 love, now, together, Through the wind and wild weather, We spread our white sails to encounter the seas.

Ah, it is too late for that now . Seas, marble-smooth and wild with tempest--graceful craft, with your white wings scudding before the breeze, or lying motionless iii the quiet bay—gloom of the on-coming storm and glory of the purple sunset—eternal hills, looking placidly down upon all--we have left you ; we shall look upon you no more . Only to us will remain a memory fair and good, to live on through the months, if we are wise enough to cherish it.

And some few of his recollections of last hours in Wales, one of us, on this 21st of February, 188o, has here hastily and imperfectly set down .

CREMATION. HAT to do with the dead is a question which is beginning to be pressed upon us all round, especially in large towns . The question is prompted by several urgent reasons, the chief of which are the unhealthiness of the present mode of burial, the great expanse of land required, and the long distances which have to be traversed by the funeral carriages in consequence of the cemeteries being wisely removed from immediate proximity to the abodes of the living.

The unhealthiness arises in the following manner :—The human body decomposes into volatile and non-volatile substances; the former work their way upwards through the soil into the air, and will frequently be inhaled not only by the people close to the cemeteries, but will be carried by the winds down the throats of people living at a distance.

Now these volatile substances are poisonous, and consequently injurious, and the less our lungs have to do with them so much the better for us.

The evil is partially checked by plentifully stocking burial grounds with plants which absorb these gases . Quickly-growing plants should be adopted, for they have greater powers of absorption than those of slow growth . So the cypress and yew trees had better be expelled in spite of their long-standing

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respectability and poetic associations . There is another advantage in the use of plants it is that they absorb in some measure the non-volatile portions of the body, to which we next turn our attention.

These have " three courses open to them, " as Mr. Gladstone would say, to pass into plants, to be carried away by water, or to be eaten . Of these three courses the first is the only unobjectionable one ; as to the second, well, the route and destination of the aqueous scavenger ought to be very narrowly watched and avoided by teetotallers ; and the third is not pleasant to think about.

The next of the reasons referred to in the commencement of this subject is the great extent of ground required . Every one is aware of the increasing value of land . The purchase of a new burial site is always an important item, but the payment of the purchase-money is not all . Land devoted to the purpose we are now considering cannot be used for anything else . Not only do we deprive ourselves of the space thus taken up, but we deprive posterity of it also . Population increases, so do our cemeteries, and that, too, at a time when every square foot of available ground ought to be appropriated for the production of food.

Used-up cemeteries are not easily convertible into either arable or pasture land, and certainly enterprising auctioneers ought not to be allowed to sell them off as " eligible sites for desirable residences ."

What, then, can be done with such places ? Turn them into parks and recreation grounds ? Perhaps this is all that can be done, provided that the space can be spared, and that constitutionals can be taken there with any advantage.

We now turn to the last of the reasons above mentioned, namely, the long way which our funeral processions must traverse, and the consequent loss of time . The objection in this case perhaps applies, principally if not entirely, to the large towns such as London, Birmingham, Liverpool, etc . The present cemetery being a sanitary evil, the action of the legislature has thrust burial grounds as far away as possible from densely populated towns. The consequence is that a person dying in the midst of a large city must be carried miles before he or she can be buried, and in London the journey must often be by rail . To the rich this perhaps does not matter ; for

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poor people it is a heavy tax . But to rich and poor alike it is inconvenient.

Other objections will no doubt present themselves to the mind of the reader ; but the above are generally admitted, and may be briefly summed up as follows :—The present system damages our health, takes up more room than can be spared, is expensive, is inconvenient.

It cannot last long, we must therefore find some other plan.

There are other means, but they are not adopted because sentiment is against them . We will leave to the inventive Yankee and deep-drinking German the task of ascertaining to what commercial account or scientific purpose dead bodies can be put, and pass on to two modes which have attracted the attention of people less devoted to commerce and science.

The two methods referred to arc burial in the sea and cremation . Dr. Parkes is in favour of a "watery grave" because it would be cheaper, and there would be no danger of fetid organic matter hanging cloud-like in the air, and the body would go at once to support other forms of life more rapidly than in the case of land-burial . The Faculty recommend fish as good brain-food . If Dr. Parkes' suggestion be ever carried out, School boys and University men had better permit their brains to hunger, rather than have to attribute their honours to a diet of professor-fed fish . Burial in the sea is otherwise objectionable, for bodies and parts of bodies would be continually washed ashore.

There seems, then, nothing left but cremation, for which we have good classical precedents . The body can be burned, and burned so speedily and effectually that not even Dr . Parkes could perceive organic matter hanging cloud-like in the air The expense of establishing the appliances for cremating might possibly be great at first, but it would only be at first.

In the meantime, health could and would be secured, and the much needed land used for food.

All arguments go to prove that rapid decomposition is absolutely necessary, and this necessity can be best met by cremation ; but, say the advocates of the present system, in case of murder by poisoning, cremation will destroy all evidence.

This objection can be met by saying that such cases arc numerically unimportant, and that where a death happens under suspicious circumstances, the body need not be destroyed until a post-mortem examination has been held .

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Viewing, then, without prejudice, the two decomposing agents— earth and fire, we see that the former has only one virtue, and that is but a negative one, its slow and gentle manner of decomposing does not rouse that repugnance so naturally arising from what appears to be unseemly and indecent haste ; the latter is free from all the serious sanitary objections to burial in land ; and if only our legislators would leave the mode of burial optional, the comforting assurance that once cremated there could be no possibility of coming to life after interment, would go a long way towards removing the only real objection to cremation, namely, the sentiment above mentioned, and burial in the earth would soon become a mere matter of history and of wonderment .

A . E . CHAPMAN.

NOTES AND ITEMS. E are glad to see that the new workshop at the school has been put to some practical use. N . Brady, who was our Master-Carpenter in the recent Theatricals, has built a canoe, I2ft . by eft . tin . It is rather low in the water and is at present undergoing alterations, but otherwise it is a decided success.

W

R . Wilton, of the Fifth Form, has passed in the First Division of the London University Matriculation Examination.

At an ordination held in Ripon Cathedral on Feb . 22, by the Lord Bishop, the following were ordained Deacons : C . A . Skelton , B.A ., St . John ' s College, Oxford, to St . Mary ' s, Leeds, and C. G . Wilkinson, B .A ., St John's College, Cambridge, to Calverley.

We extract the following from the York Herald : T HE NEW DEAN OF YORK .—From our London Correspondent.

The Ven . Archdeacon Arthur Percival Purey-Cust, M .A ., has been presented by the Crown to the vacant Deanery of York.

Archdeacon Cust, who is in his 53rd year, and whose wife is Lady Emma, the daughter of the fifth Earl of Darnley, and sister of the present earl, was rector of Cheddington from 1853 to 1862, and subsequently vicar of St . Mary the Virgin, Reading, Archdeacon of Bucks, and Canon of Christ Church, Oxford . The new Dean

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of York is a moderate High Churchman, an able preacher, and his appointment is as creditable to the Prime Minister as it is likely to be satisfactory to the people of York.

The new Dean is the son of the late Hon . W. Cust, who was the son of the first Baron Brownlow ; he is, therefore, cousin of the present Earl Brownlow . He is also nephew of the famous General the Hon . Sir Edward Cust, who served under Wellington in the Peninsula, was appointed Master of Ceremonies to her Majesty in 1847, and earned literary distinction by his "Annals of the Wars of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, " and other works . The new Dean was also brother-in-law of the late very Rev. William Goode, D .D ., Dean of Ripon.

The Custs are an old Yorkshire family, but removed to Pinchbeck, in Lincolnshire, nearly 500 years ago . Li 1653 Mr. Richard Cust represented Lincoln in Parliament, but was expelled his seat by Cromwell, and was created a baronet after the Restoration in 1677 . The third baronet, Sir John Cust, inherited the vast estates of his uncle, Viscount Tyrconncl, in 1746, and was elected M .P . for Grantham, chosen Speaker of the House of Commons in 1761, and became a member of the Privy Council in 1768 . In consideration of his public Services, his son, Sir Brownlow Cust, was created Baron Brownlow in 1776, and in 1815 the son of the first baron was elevated to an earldom.

The present address of the new Dean is The Prebendal, Aylesbury.

Canon Elwyn, vicar of Ramsgate, has, after consideration, withdrawn his acceptance of the vicarage of Mardcn, to which he had been appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

(Standard).

We acknowledge with thanks the receipt of the following magazines ;—Reading School Magazine, The Allcynian, The Lily.

OXFORD LETTER. INCE writing our last, ice has turned to flood, and from Shotover, Oxford looks quite like the " city of waters . ' The tow-path has of course become conspicuous by its absence : coaching in consequence has been carried on under difficulties, and the outsider has

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been obliged to form very second-hand opinions on the various boats.

Of the Torpids, which commenced on Thursday, it is needless to say much, so vide Field and Land and Water for details of the racing.

Pembroke has fallen from her high estate, and Trinity will probably maintain the position gained by her on Thursday, unless Keble I. succeed in catching Pembroke this afternoon . Queen's is decidedly above the average, and Daniel's rowing at 6 is remarkably good—he is quite the best man in the boat in our unprejudiced opinion.

Keble II . will find her level, we fear, in the 2nd division ; it is greatly to her credit that for three years her second boat should have been so high.

The 'Varsity Boat has greatly improved since our last, and in the opinion of those who have seen both boats, ought to leave Cambridge a length or so in the rear . Cambridge will have to content herself with the Football victory she gained the other day—thanks to the Umpire's mistake ; we have been told by one of the players the match should have been a draw.

The " Proctorial Nuisance " has been the subject of an enlightened Undergraduate correspondence in the pages of the U ... f The writers imagine a vain thing if they hope to break the Proctorial bands asunder with their pens . Personally, we confess to a weak liking for one or two of the present guardians of our peace . We have been so nearly burnt, that our respect for the fire has been increased.

The Tramway scheme has fallen through, owing, we understand, to a remonstrance on the part of the " Doge of Venice . " It is a pity ; trams are convenient ; hansoms are expensive ; and we are in an age of progress . Witness our beautiful new id . stamp.

On dit that a ghost has made an appearance in the precincts of Wadham, but on the arrival of a Proctor and some bull dogs was obliged to take refuge 5/-'s worth of blue flame !

The " Messiah " is to be given next week by the Choral Society , Lloyd and Miss Orridge are advertised, and a good performance anticipated.

Strange stories have reached us of practical joking, and in a College where such things should not be, and on a Freshman too ! Shall we say Peterite ?

We heard from an O .P . lately resident in Oxford, the other day : his letter was full of pathos—ten miles from a civilized town ; one postal delivery per week ; no tobacconist ; only the groom to cut your hair, and with the stable clippers, too! Let us bestow sympathy where it is due.

February,

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CAMBRIDGE LETTER. HE engrossing topic with us is, as usual this term, " the boat

race : " as far as we can see from newspaper criticisms the crews T seem very evenly matched, Cambridge being slightly favourite, though

Oxford is now the heavier . Since the dismissal of the two heavy weights who scaled respectively I3st. Xlb . and I ;st . I21b . the pace of the boat has visibly improved, though it is a doubtful point whether Baillie at stroke is physically capable of fulfilling the requirements of the position . Peterite sympathies are presumably with the Oxford boat, as Hargreaves is rowing in it ; we only wish that St . Peters could be represented in our crew . Prest unfortunately is deterred from rowing by his Tripos ; and this brings us to our next most important subject.

There are eighty-three men in for this year ' s Classical Tripos, of whom Perry, of Ding' s, is expected to be Senior . Our only Candidate is J . P . Hubbersty, whom we hope to see in the first class.

Dr . Zukertort, the great chess player, visited Cambridge last week, and played a dozen blindfold games with the best team the University could produce, performing on Saturday the wonderful feat of playing forty-five simultaneous games against all comers.

We expect to have a good "look in '' in the Inter- ' Varsity Sports .

We have a capital mile man up this year—Hough, of Corpus, who ran the mile yesterday in 4min . 3o -sec . ; East, of John ' s, is still available for the Weight and Hammer.

We hear that the Prince of Wales is coming up this week to preside at the Commemoration Dinner of the A .D .C. The Lent Races begin on March loth, and last four days . Most of the crews are in training, and the river is quite alive with boats.

We reserve all comments on their merits till our next letter .

K .K.

THE BOATING SEASON. HE Boating season has again come round, and everybody seems to be practising with greater energy this year than ever before . Most if not all of the hour-oars have appeared on the river, and, from what we can at present see, some very good races are promised us . To begin with the House boats, we may feel pretty confident that Mr. Adam's senior will not carry off the prize for the third time, all their last year's crew having left

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the School . The race between the Day-boys and Mr . Stephenson 's, however, will be exciting, although there is little doubt that the former will win, their crew being better than it was last year. The Junior Fours will probably be carried off again by the Day-boys, with the same crew as last year. The Civil boat appeared on the river for the first time to-day (Feb, 24th), and certainly it is a splendid crew, pulling well together, and getting a good swing on : at the same time the Sixth Form boat, which Mr. Stephenson has been kindly coaching, intend to make them pull hard for it as far as they can . The School boat has not so good a chance as last year, as most of the crew have either left or entered the Civil ; yet the crew is by no means a bad one.

We hope to give full reports of the races in our next number : they are expected to begin within a fortnight . The Captain of the Club this year is A . H . Wood, with Watson and Greenhow for Committee men.

CORRESPONDENCE. To the Editors of the Peterite. wish to call attention to what seems to me a slight defect in your otherwise admirably conducted magazine : that is the absence of a chatty article of School news distinct from the various items such as " Boating, " " Football, " " Cricket, " &c ., which now appear.

As an illustration of the want which I think exists, I may mention that I happen to know personally that a new Junior Mathematical Master has been appointed . No notification of the fact has appeared in the Peteritc, and probably it is not known to many Old Boys.

Perhaps such items might be embodied in " Notes and Items," but I think that " School Table Talk " would be better, or something equivalent . Doubtless amongst the budding geniuses of the Sixth Form there are several who could write an interesting and amusing —especially the latter—article . Hoping that the subject may be ventilated in future numbers of the Peteritc, I remain, yours obediently, SIRS,—I

GARRUI,US.

P .S .—Perhaps " Notes from the Monitorial Tea Table " would be interesting and instructive.

[This question has already presented itself to the far-thinking minds of the much harassed Editors, as Old Peterites are constantly asking for more School news . We thank " Garrulus " for his suggestion, and will endeavour to act upon it .—Fos .]

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CORRESPONDENCE.

To the Editors of the Peterite.

SIRS,—I should wish through the medium of the Peterite to call the attention of the President of the above Society to the fact that five weeks have already passed, and no effort has been made to renew its meetings. The Boat races will soon be here and then members will have a fair excuse for staying away . Could we not at once fix its meetings to take place every Saturday from 4 to 5 p .m.

I remain, Sirs, yours faithfully, A MEMBER.

THE NEW FIVES COURTS. The Subscriptions to the Play-ground Improvement Fund have amounted in all to 1129 2s . The Fives Court and workshop together have cost about fro5 . It is proposed to apply the balance to completing the roof of the Fives Court, which can be done for about 12o . This will make the court available for a complete game in wet-weather, and considerably enlarge the utility of it . A list of the subscriptions and details of expenditure will be published in the next number.

TESTIMONIAL TO SERGEANT SMITH. We have received the following for publication : DEAR SIR,—I acknowledge the receipt of the cheque for twenty-one pounds, dated the 19th December, 1879.

I am sincerely thankful for your kindness and trouble you have taken in getting up my Testimonial . kVill you have the kindness to convey to the Past and Present my very best thanks for their kindness and liberality they have shewn to me in presenting me with the very handsome Testimonial . Wishing all concerned in it every success in the School and after leaving, I am, sir, yours respectfully, JOHN SMITH, SERC .-MAJOR. "

A Trip through Scotland " is reserved for our next number.

OBITUARY. FEBRUARY 29TIr, AT YORK,

WILLIAM PROCTOR, M .D ., AGED 64 YEARS.

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