June 1884 by StPetersYork

THE

PET[RITE Vol. . VI .

JUNE, 1884.

No. 44.

MAY MORNING IN OXFORD. [BY ONE OF ITS VICTIMS .]

ERHAPS some of our readers may care to hear a detailed account from a participator of a curious old custom, with which Oxford still, even in these levelling days, celebrates the advent of May.

I was fortunate enough upon the last day of April to find myself the unexpected possessor of an order to the Tower of Magdalen College, for the ceremony which takes place there upon every May Day, at 5 a.m . There are two ways only of " doing a May " ; the first and perhaps better way is to sit up all night ; it takes two at least however, to make a night of it, and I was alone in lodgings ; the other is to rise at 4-0 a .m. Having no friend with whom to pass the night in linked sweetness, long drawn out of tea (?) drinking, carding, and dicing, I was compelled to practise the virtue of early rising in a manner befitting my isolated and hermit state . My slumbers were curtailed at the other end by some neighbours, who persisted in anticipating the pleasures of the morrow by practising up to midnight a pianissimo upon the horn, whose use will be explained presently . After this I am proud of having awaked within five minutes of the time at which my landlady had (without even the alacrity with which she usually promises to carry out some order which, in her care for my welfare, she so frequently regards it her duty to leave unperformed) engaged to call me . I was thus enabled to be up and have some coffee ready for a friend, who, being in college, had been able to secure a companion for his night-long revels. At 1-20, or thereabouts, we were at Magdalen College gates, a very small portion of our journey . The unofficial public had to wait

MAY MORNING IN OXFORD.

some twenty minutes, before the rush for first places in the climb up the Tower . This is regarded as the most perfectly-proportioned in Oxford, rising straight from the ground to a height of 14C feet (I throw in a few odd feet to show my great accuracy of detail). After an Alpine climb up an immense ladder, we screwed ourselves on to a stone corkscrew staircase for about half an hour's steady treadmill practice, when the staircase, gradually narrowing to a point, was succeeded by a perpendicular ladder, up which we endeavoured to qualify as smart main top-gallant men . When we reached the masthead— I beg your pardon, I mean the top of the square tower, all among the pinnacles and lightning conductors, we found a broad plateau, capable of holding two or three score of people . There we enjoyed probably the finest view that there is to be got of this most beautiful city, serene in the majesty of its early morning slumbers, the clear air guiltless of kitchen-chimney smoke, in the stillness of—but I am not doing a trade as a penny-a-liner, so I may mention between ourselves that the " city's mighty heart " was not " lying still " by any means ; on the contrary, the whole juvenile population of Oxford did their best to point the contrast to the heavenly prospect we enjoyed by the discordant and unearthly bray of a concourse of tin trumpets, with which one and all they were provided, and did their best to drown all music but their own . What be the origin of this custom, whether separate from that of May Day observance or not, and who introduced it, as Ilerodotus would say, I do not know, but what I have been told that I relate. " Some say that the service on the Tower is a continuance of a popish observance, mass being said there oa that occasion in the pre-reformation days—and that the braying below is the expression of a protestant protest on the part of the puritan population of Oxford . Why mass should be said in such an unusual and uncomfortable place is one of " those questions which are worth asking, though they have no answer." In the absence of any proof that it ever was said, to the suggestion that the monks ever left their comfortable and beautiful chapel for a labour of difficulty like that climb, I can only say with the Americans " you bet ." Others say that the whole ceremony is a relic of sun-worship, and the proletariate below unite with the choir above in greeting in blissful concert—beginning, not with sackbut or psaltery, but upon the common or garden tin trumpet—the rising sun-god ; would that they had even

MAY MORNING IN OXFORD .

awaited his arrival . Whatever hypothesis we adopt, we cannot suppose the town come to hear the music, they are too well contented with their own even to allow others to hear . The chief gainers are the itinerant vendors of the early bun and hot coffee, who turned the honest penny at that early hour. Whether for sun worship or not, I put in the second sun-rise I have ever assisted at, and probably the last I ever shall assist at in the course of my existence here. For after we had remarked upon the fine view of the city, all the meaner brick houses being dwarfed out of sight, while the eye rested only on the graceful curve of the High Street (from which the Tower rises precipitately) and the assemblage of stone buildings, of which the Bodleian Library, the University Church, and the Old Examination School are the centre, we were suddenly called upon to turn away from Oxford, as the upper limb of the sun became visible over Ileadington Hill. Though the Tower was densely packed, with a large proportion of ladies among the audience, it was some time before the choir and scholars (or Demies as they are locally designated) put on their surplices—hitherto worn as comforters—for the performance of their functions . Having waited until the last clock had struck five, we then listened, as well as the British public would allow, to the choir—one of the best in England—singing the following old Latin hymn ; those who knew the words being (as always on such occasions) as well able to follow them as those who did not, were totally unable to catch a single word. Te Deum Patrem colimus Te laudibus prosequimur, Qui corpus cibo reficis Cmlesti mentem gratia. Te adoramus, 0 Jesu, Te, Fili unigenite, Te qui non dedignatus es Sabire claustra virginis. Actus in crucem, factus es Irate Deo victima : Per te, Salvator unite, Vitse spes nobis reduit .

MAY

MORNING

IN OXFORD.

Tibi, mterne Spiritus, 2Eterne benedicimus (Jujus afflatu peperit, Infantem Maria Deurn. Triune Deus, hominum Salutis auctor optime, Immensnm hoc mysterium Orante lingua canimus. The words are said to have originally formed the college grace, but were deemed—so certain wicked persons have legendarily said— too good or too long for everyday use, and so replaced an older form originally employed on May morning . The music is by Rogers, a wellknown musician, who was organist of the College in 1680, or thereabouts. Probably as a mere musical performance the College Services would be preferable, and the shivering and sleepy appearance of the " sweet and piping trebles " did not seem to indicate that appreciation of the benefits of early rising on a cold morning which one might in the abstract wish to see in the British school-boy. As soon, however, as the religious ceremony was ended, and we had put our hats on again, no one seemed any the less hearty in entering into the fun which as usual followed. The first item consisted in throwing all surplices over the battlements, whilst the dons watched as if they would have liked to follow suit with their own . After the few poor yards of fluttering cambric had floated upon their mission to earth below, everyone's attention was engaged in seizing his neighbour ' s cap, while retaining possession of his own, and launching it on the same errand as the surplice, the object being to send it to the greatest distance possible. As the crowded state of the Tower left very little room for getting up a swing while one's neighbours were wary, no very good times were done, the record, which is over the adjoining chapel into the cloistered quad, was never reached . It was curious, upon descending, to find the grass below turned apparently into a laundress's drying-ground, with square black patches over the white. This amusement terminated the entertainment (as our journalist friend would say), one of the most successful we have ever witnessed. N .B .—We have only witnessed this one . The tin trumpets play a

MAY MORNING IN OXFORD .

recessional hymn as we essay the descent, no less perilous than the ascent. It is now only 5-30, with an aching void of some hours before breakfast, and we begin to regret the impossibility of having the entertainment " laid on " in our own houses with the gas and water. However, as the mountain would not come to Mahomet, so we have had, like the prophet, to break down the barriers of reserve and assume the initiative. IIavin ;g• made these advances, we have to carry the thing through . So we take what is believed to be the orthodox way of killing time on these occasions—though privately, I think, more in theory than in practice—and climb the dark brow of the mighty Shotover, an elevation near Oxford, which has seen fit to assume the style of a hill . On this occasion it did the thing in thorough style, actually going to the trouble of having its summit shrouded in mist to assist the imagination. Through this we groped our way, passing numerous pairs of swains and swainesses—or is swine the feminine ?—who apparently chose for going a-Maying the hour when the British workman leaves his early couch, and the bird snaps up the early worm, while the bells of Magdalen College rang out through the drizzle in what, I suppose. was meant for

a merry peal," though I have never yet met, in real

life, that pure invention of the newspaper correspondent . Perhaps our readers have never lived, however . within twelve feet of a church -steeple that has a habit of waking the echoes by the hour on a Sunday morning. Suffice it to say that we returned to our starting point at an early hour, and while my landlady " snorted " at having to rise to our demands for breakfast at that early hour, we kept up the circulation and spirits by going and pulling our more fortunate friends out of bed. Though that can hardly he regarded as the termination of the ceremony, the details of breakfast are " of no value to anybody but the owner, " and ours only differed from everyone else's in duration and extent. W . II . G.

CRICKET. The Old L'oys' Match is to be played on Commemoration Day Wednesday, June 25 . Any who wish to take part are requested to communicate with H. W. Rhodes.

THE INFLUENCE OF THE STAGE. (Continued.)

Goethe, in the dialogue representing shallow culture and true culture, makes Wagner say : " I've often heard it said at least An actor might instruct a priest ;" to which Faust answers : " Yes, if the priest an actor be, Which sometimes happens certainly. We fear this rejoinder of Faust's was too severe. However, it was a matter of great surprise to Archbishop Sancroft that actors, when speaking of merely imaginary things, contrived to affect their audience as if they were speaking of real things ; while on the other hand he found that clergymen, when speaking of real things, seemed only to affect their congregations as though they were speaking of imaginary things. lie asked the actor Betterton to give him his views on this question . Betterton suggested that it was because " actors spoke of imaginary things as though they were real, whereas in the pulpit real things were spoken of as imaginary . " But the chief reason of the strong influence of the stage Ss that it approaches the audience through the eyes as well as the ears . We all know the deep impression made upon us by a lovely landscape or a beautiful sky—such a majestic scene, for example, as the one which is so marvellously painted in words by the pen of Nathaniel IIawthorne in his " Marble Faun," as viewed by the sculptor Kenyon from Count Donatello's lofty tower of Monte Beni, among the Apennines in Tuscany. When such charms as these are reproduced on the stage, the details of the picture being filled up for us completely instead of leaving our imagination to supply them, go a long way to create a feeling of reality in the mind . In some minds, indeed, this feeling can never be so thoroughly produced as in a theatre . Yes ;—" the play ' s the thing," as Hamlet truly said, when he resorted to that stratagem to awaken the guilty conscience of the royal murderer, and thus caused him to convict himself of his guilt. It is this happy combination of beautiful scenery, with good acting, which has made the recent Shakesperian revivals at the Lyceum Theatre

THE INFLUENCE OF THE STAGE.

in London, under Mr. Henry Irving's management, such an unprecedented success, and has attained for the plays of Shakespeare such long runs as previously were considered impossible. There is another question which we must consider, and which has always been a debatable one, viz . : Has an actor more influence over his audience if he really feels his part ? It is stated that Betterton, when playing in hamlet, was actually seen to turn pale as the ghost appeared; and Miss Kelly used to relate that she felt the hot tears dropping from Mrs . Siddon's eyes as the great actress bent over her when playing one of her most pathetic characters . But it seems evident to us that, if such sensibility were exhibited night after night, it would soon become simply a habit . With our greatest actors the mere signs of artificial emotion, duly regulated by study and genius, could move their audience to the very soul . In proof of this statement we need only relate an anecdote told of Garrick . He was playing Lear with his friend King, and when by his broken voice and apparent grief he had left scarcely a dry eye in the house,—his own emotion being supposed to have quite overcome him,—he whispered to King, on whose shoulder he was supporting himself, at the same lime putting his tongue in his cheek, " D—n it, Tom, we are doing the trick!" Surely this decides the point conclusively ! Having seen the power that the drama possesses, it is the duly of every man, who has the love of' his neighbour at heart, to do his utmost to elevate the stage . It must influence men very ma t erially either for good or evil ; and, if support be given only to such productions as are of a healthy nature, all others will soon disappear . We have already spoken of the rapid advance in the morality of the stage, which has of late years taken place ; but we have also shown that this advance was merely the recovery of lost ground since the time of the Greeks and Romans. Much has been done ; but much remains to be done ; though we frankly admit that the faults that remain belong rather to the accidents than to the essentials of the theatrical profession . Let us, therefore, while lending a hand in the work of further reforming our stage, if we should feel discouraged by the errors that still remain, remember Shakespeare's warning : " Condemn the fault, and not the actor of it ! R . W . C.

THE UNIVERSITY BOAT RACE. Y whom was the Boat Race founded ? We can hardly say : it is probable that a race, the first race, was rowed in the year 1829, and that the credit, if due to any individual man, is due to Charles Wordsworth, then at Christ Church, Oxford, who subsequently became Bishop of St. Andrew ' s . Ilis father was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, and, staying at his house, Charles Wordsworth had opportunities afforded him of making friendships with the Cambridge boating interest ; and from the friendships thus formed probably resulted the institution of the race which is now one of the chief, if not the chief, aquatic event of every year . Boat racing was not an established institution either at the Universities or anywhere else—though it seems that such things as College boat races were not unknown even then at Oxford—and the race would certainly be got up in a private manner, for there was no University Boat Club at either Cambridge or Oxford. Many of my readers may have seen pictures of the boats in which races were rowed ; if they have, they cannot fail to be struck at the difference between the racing eight of that day and of this . If Peterites can imagine an eight three times clumsier than any boat at " Hill ' s," with higher keels, of heavier build, higher gunwales, and greater breadth, they may arrive at some idea ; still to the rising generation it is difficult to conceive justly the type of boat iii which our forefathers raced . Iu such boats oarsmanship was scarcely possible . The only

stroke that could be made (as I fancy many who read this will know to their cost) was in the well-known " waterman 's " style : i .e., a sharp short stroke, having no beginning or end, and consisting, so to speak, entirely of " middle . " The crews rowed over a short course of two miles, two furlongs, from Ilumbledon Lock to Henley Bridge . A long course in those boats would have been almost beyond the power of man to endure . The famous colours were not then invented ; the crews rowed, the Oxford men in Christ Church colours—the college which was head of the river in that year—the Cambridge men in white shirts with a pink sash, out of compliment to their captain, who was a Lady Margaret man . That race fell to Oxford . The fame of the men rowing contributed vastly to the interest of the race . In the Oxford crew were a bishop, two (leans, and a prebendary in embryo ; in the Cambridge boat were a future bishop, a future dean (Dean Merivale), and a future Chancellor of the Diocese of Manchester. This race is often quoted to show the

TILE UNIVERSITY BOAT RACE .

compatibility of 7rat=La with i7rat&a (to use the somewhat inflated language of a book lately published, called the History of the University Boat Race) ; and though, with nothing as an argument of course, they remark that the theory is supported by statistics . A Mr . Clarke, who rowed in the Oxford boat of 1859, has shown that while the . .average of first-class men, non-athletic, is 30 per cent ., among cricket men it is 42 per cent ., and among rowing men 45. For the next seven years there was no race, though a challenge was once sent in 1831 by Cambridge ; but though it was accepted, the race fell through on account of the cholera, which was then very prevalent in London . When at last it was rowed it fell to Cambridge, and was the first of a series of eight wins, with one break, for the Light Blues . They may appropriately be called by that name, for it was in '36 that the light blue was adopted . At the moment of starting it was noticed that Cambridge were about to row without colours. One of the crew jumped out and ran to the nearest drapers and took the first piece of ribbon he could get . It was the Eton colour, and has ever since then been adopted by Cambridge as her colour . Oxford, by way of contrast, chose henceforth dark blue . The race was rowed from Westminster to Putney, six miles . This race marks an epoch in the history of amateur rowing. Cambridge had obtained a genius for its cox, who, by his thorough theoretical knowledge of the art, had taken his own College boat up to the head of the river . It was principally through his agency that the C .U .B .C . was founded . Ite broke through the tradition which had hitherto prevailed at both Universities, of engaging a waterman to train his crew. IIe saw that not only were professional rowers unfit to train in other ways, but that they knew less of rowing than amateurs—a fact which is more striking nowadays than then . It was through his teaching that Cambridge were enabled to win till another reformer rose at Oxford as keen-sighted as he. The next race worthy of notice is that rowed in 1842, the fifth race on the Westminster and Putney course . This is the real turning point in Oxford ' s career. It was in this year that the reformer I spoke of in the last paragraph arose. His name was Menzies, and he was of Univ. College . IIe completely revolutionised rowing at Oxford . IIe protested against the waterman's stroke, and tried, though for some time in vain, to introduce the style recognised at this day, viz . : the long sweep with the catch at the beginning . He introduced beneficial changes also in the actual training of the crew, gave them food of a

TIIE UNIVERSITY BOAT RACE.

sensible quantity and kind, made them have the matutinal exercisebefore breakfast, with other improvements too numerous to mention. His opinions did not, as I have hinted, gain ground for some time ; but he had taught and trained the Univ. College crew in such a way that his opposers were forced to give way, and he was elected President of the O.U .B .C . (which it should have been said was founded the year after the C.U.B .C.) . He had had a firm supporter in Arthur Shadwell, who had learned to row at Cambridge, which had all along been ahead in these matters of the sister University . Mr. Shadwell had migrated the crew, and thus was able to steer Oxford in their second victory. Mr . Shadwell, I might add, trained several crews at St . Peter ' s ; and he had the credit of training Lesley, who is, so far as I can find out, the first Dark Blue oar St . Peter's has turned out. Not only did the Oxford crew of this year beat the Cambridge boat with considerable ease over the Westminster course, but the excellence of Menzies' system was proved in a most remarkable manner at Henley in the same year, in the famous " seven oars race . " Oxford were matched against the Cambridge Subscription Rooms, for the Grand Challenge Cup . Menzies was taken ill during the Regatta, and it was impossible for him to row without endangering his life . Oxford asked to be allowed to row an untrained man in his place. The "Rooms" refused, and the Dark Blues determined to row without a stroke at all —or rather, No. 7 rowed stroke, and bow rowed in No . 7's place. The result was a win for the seven oars, after a hard race. The year 1845 is remarkable as being the first year in which the race has been rowed over the course, which has since, with one or two exceptions, been adopted . 1846 is also noteworthy as the first year in which outriggers were used, and with great success . And now the tables were turned as completely ilr favour of Oxford as they had been in favour of Cambridge hitherto ; and in '62 the number of races won by the two crews, counting the races at Henley, were equal . In 1849, it is true, they were beaten ; but they were obviously the better crew . The fault lay in their boat, which was far too light for them . The danger of being underboated is hardly, if at all, appreciated . bi reality it is a far greater danger than the opposite one, viz ., of being overheated. There were people who saw the defect even then, and the result was that Oxford challenged Cambridge to row again that year. The challenge was accepted ; and, though, technically, Oxford won on a foul, they showed themselves indisputably superior

TIIE UNIVERSITY BOAT RACE .

55-

by arriving home before their opposers, spite of the foul. This is the only foul that has occurred in the Inter 'Varisity Races, and in all probability is the last that will occur, for it is now a point of honour with coxswains, if they see any danger, to steer right out of their course rather than run the risk, as they actually did in 1877. The next few years were uneventful, the majority of races falling to Oxford . It is worthy of note that all this time Messrs . Egan and Shadwell were training and coaching either crew indifferently ; their aim being apparently to promote the art, not to win the race for their own University, and so make their love for rowing subservient to their patriotism . It is an example that might be followed in more things than rowing. '59 is the next landmark, and is memorable for the sinking of the Cambridge crew in the race . It was only luck that enabled the Oxford crew to get home that day . The wind and waves were very high, and filled both boats ; the Cambridge boat succumbed, having its gunwales lower than the Oxford one . The pluck of the Cantabs was specially admired . Several of then could not swim, yet they hung on like grim death to their oars ; while the coxswain, who, I believe, was one of those who could not swim, never swerved the boat an inch nearer to the shore . Fortunately no life was lost. 1873 was the year in which sliding seats were first used, the invention being of a later date than is generally supposed . I believe there is no detailed account of the race to be had, but Oxford lost, through want of strength in the boat, though their style was exceedingly good . The race of 1877 is memorable as resulting in the only dead heat on record . Oxford had got the lead as far as the " Bull ' s Head," when bow broke his oar. This heavily handicapped the Dark Blues, who were thus carrying a dead weight for a great part of the course . The fact that so handicapped they managed to make the race a dead heat would seem to be evidence that they were the better crew, and some dissatisfaction was expressed about the decision, though without just ground . The rest of the races are probably well known to my readers . I may add that in 1869 was rowed the first race between the Oxford and the Harvard College, U . S ., fours, over the Putney course . Oxford were underboated, but the crew was an exceptionally great one, and they easily won, Oxford have won altogether, counting the races on the Henley course, 25 out of 46 races, and are therefore four races ahead of Cam– bridge ; in the races over the Putney course they are three ahead .

OXFORD LETTER.

It is said that the interest in the 'Varsity race is dying out . It may be so ; the number of people who go to see the race is annually decreasing. Still this does not detract from the value of the institution. The good the race has done to rowing is incalculable . And it may be added that scarcely one of the old Blues, who has gone in for rowing, after leaving the University, has failed to distinguish himself whereever he may have rowed . I need only instance, among many others, Ware, Woodgate, Lowndes, J . C . Edwards-Moss, Bagshawe, Lawes, to prove my point . If for nothing else, it is of value as being the race of all others in which outsiders may have perfect confidence, as being all fair and above board. It may be interesting to note the distinguished men who have rowed in the race. The chief among them are four bishops, Wordsworth, and McDougall, and both the Selwyns ; four judges, viz. : Chitty, Brett, Denman, and A . L. Smith, with several deans, and Q.C .'s ; last but not least, albeit perhaps his notoriety is not quite enviable, Mr. Lawes, the sculptor. Of the schools which have contributed 'Varsity oars, St . Peter's is by no means last, though Durham is a long way ahead of it . They have contributed two for the Oxford boat, Lesley and Hargreaves ; for Cambridge, three and one coxswain, G . L . Davis ; the oars are Forster, who rowed in '53, and is now an engineer at Newcastle ; Hawkins, now vicar of Hensall, near Selby, with G . II . Eyre . With proper training there is no reason why they should not contribute a larger proportion, with so good a river close at hand . Eton, of course, heads the list with one hundred and thirty-five Blues ; Rugby is next with thirtyone ; Westminster with twenty-five is next . Winchester, Harrow, and Durham follow after these ; Marlborough, Shrewsbury, and then, I believe, St . Peter's .

OXFORD LETTER. ERHAPS I am expected to commence my letter with a dirge over the Boat Race, as boating is now the general topic of conversation . Never could a defeat have been borne with more cheerful resignation, amounting occasionally to positive pleasure . No one grudges the Light Blues their victory . The reason of our defeat was twofold—overtraining on the part of some members of the crew, and

OXFORD LETTER.

the short stroke rowed by Currey and Blandy, which prevented the giants at 6, 5, and 4 from getting a proper reach and swing . Further than this, the Police steamer nearly swamped us . The reason of our equanimity is to be found in our almost unlooked for win in the Sports, the certainty of wiping out the stain at Henley, and, I am sorry to say, to some degree, the great unpopularity of one member of the Eight. As to the Eights, which are rowed in about a fortnight, Exeter will keep head—at least this is my prophecy—and Corpus go up to second . Exeter will have much the same eight as they had last year, especially if Pinkey will row . Corpus will be even stronger, as they have llornby and De Havilland . B .N .C . have Pulley rowing, and may get Magdalen, who have no " blue," tut have an excellent stroke in Unwin . Christ Church is almost sure of five bumps, if not seven, as they start twelfth . Paterson is rowing again for Trinity, with all his well-known vigour . Baskett and Kaye " toss the well-rounded oar " for Queen's . We saw the former pulling stroke for a while—he did not seem to be enjoying his post . Balliol and New will probably rise, while University, who have refused to avail themselves of any of their Torpid, and are compelled to fill vacant places with those who have never rowed before, will probably find their pride resulting in a serious fall . Our Cricket prospects, especially for next year, are very bright. Of last year ' s NI ., Kemp, Hine-Haycock, Page, Asher, Bolitho, Bastard, remain, though the last two may lose their places . Leslie cannot come into residence on account of business, but will play for us twice, I believe, if not oftener . We have sustained a serious loss in Robinson and Walker . Of the freshmen, Key and Brain have been before the public last season with great success . In Higgins, Buckland, Blair, Nicholls, and Ricketts, we have the pick of public school bowlers, while several of them are very good bats . Of the Seniors, the best are Tristram, Money- AVigram, Barmby, Arnall, and Pember, a Balliol scholar, recently elected to the Ireland, who made a good score against us for the M .C .C . last year. April 29th will be a red-letter clay in the University calendar . The Statute " providing that parts of the University Examination for Women should be conducted by certain of the Public Examiners and Moderators " was submitted and carried by 464 to 321, in spite of the opposition of the (pugnacious) but (able) Dean Burgon . The day itself

OXFORD LETTER.

told of the coming struggle . From east and west, and north and south in flowed the ceaseless stream of black-coated white tied enthusiasts . Personal interest of the most telling kind was used, recalling Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire and the all hated Westminster election to mind . Some amusement was caused in the Senate house when the Senior Proctor, who seemed unable to add up the votes, was called upon to " get some of the girls to help you ! Proctoral activity has now reached its climax . Two " dons " were actually apprehended by mistake in the streets at night for smoking ; and the bull-dogs pounced upon an inoffensive undergrad . for gazing up at the moon. He was discharged unfined. Possibly the Proctor shrank from persecuting an embryo Newton. Poor Mr . Ruskin is dissatisfied beyond measure, because his Art Lecturas, delivered at Oxford, over which he says he spent more time and trouble than he has on anything else, are not " read and quoted daily! " But what else could he expect from Matthew Arnold's " young barbarians ? A good story is going the round, about the Vice, of course . At table d'hote somewhere he met an undergrad ., proverbial for his " firsts on all papers " in Mods ., but also notorious for his unlimited confidence in his own abilities . " Have you ever read the fragments of Anaxandrides, " the young gentleman is said to have asked of Dr . Jowett. " No, I never have ." " IIave you ever read those of so and so then ? " —some obscure Greek poet, recently exhumed . " No, I am sorry to say, I have not ." " Then what on earth can you have read ? " This to the Regius professor of Greek ! Another story is also told of the Master of Balliol . Some men stayed up during the Long Vac . one year, and, according to the Statute, the Master was obliged to be in residence. After a while he became very tired of it ; and began to put on earlier chapels and make the dinner in hall very scanty. The majority then dropped off one by one, but still a remnant of very hard workers was left . By dint of more chapels and poorer dinners he got rid of all but one, who stayed on until more coercive measures compelled him to ask leave to go down, which was promptly and characteristically given . As he retired from the Master's study, the Professor gazed at him with his piercing look and remarked, " This kind goeth not forth except by prayer and fasting." CALLOO .

CAMBRIDGE LETTER. NCE more we have returned to our respective Colleges—some of us, alas ! for the last time, there to be tantalized by seeing enjoyment everywhere around us, but not with us . However, in five weeks' time, these unhappy ones will have experienced a happy (or unhappy) release from all their troubles, and we trust that the School Blue Book will record some victories. To speak plainly, six of our number are, this Term, in for their Triposes, while another looks to the Special for his Degree. But to turn our thoughts in a more pleasing direction, we remember that the Boat Race has not yet been referred to by the Cambridge correspondent. It is a subject upon which we are rather inclined to be garrulous, but since our readers are probably already primed with all manner of details respecting it, we will endeavour to confine our ideas to a limited space. Three successive years has your correspondent visited the Osier Beds, at Key-, to witness the final struggle ; twice he has been grievously disappointed, but at last he has felt the delightful sensation of seeing the Light Blue oars in advance of the Dark Blue as the boats dash under Barnes Bridge . The victory was a popular one, and will, no doubt, give a stimulus to rowing up here. Great praise is due to Gridley—the President—for his persevering efforts to work a strong rough crew into the form they displayed on the Thames. The School should feel proud—as it doubtless does—that one of its old members achieved the enviable distinction of rowing in a winning 'Varsity Boat . Eyre fully deserved his place, and more than once he was held up by a leading " daily" as an example to the rest of the crew. The writer visited Lillie Bridge next day, and his astonishment grew greater and greater as he saw event after event go to the Dark Blues . The " a priori " probability of the result was, beyond dispute, in favour of Cambridge ; and on paper it seemed that we might even score six or seven out of the nine events . These rosy expectations were not realized . The Mile and Three Allies were both looked upon as moral certainties for us, but thanks to the unusually brilliant running of Pratt and to an injury received by Eliot, both fell to Oxford. The Quarter was a magnificent race between Payne, Tindall and Blair, and at the finish not more than a yard separated first and Last . Altogether the Sports

NOTES AND ITEMS.

were excellent—the races were close and at times good . The Weightputting and the Mile both resulted in 'Varsity records, whilst Colbonrne ' s High Jump of 5 ft. 10 in. and Pollock's time in the Hurdles (16 secs .) were exceptionally brilliant . The latter is, we are sorry to hear, dangerously ill ; we trust that he will have a speedy recovery. Turning to Cricket, our prospects seem fairly promising . With eight of last year's XI., there should be little difficulty in choosing the complement . Marchant and Greatorex, two of the finest players among the Public-school men of last year, have both come up to Trinity and will probably occupy two of the vacant places. We have very little personal news to give this month . Few of our number seem to patronize the Cricket Field—Stevenson, of Christ's being the only O . P . we have seen representing his College . Eyre will be unable to row in his College Boat this May—Tripos preventing. Peters is rowing 2 in the Corpus Boat . Mallinson has been up for a few days coaching the Christ's Boat, which will doubtless profit by his advice . We note with pleasure that Alan Grey of Trinity, who is now, we believe, organist at Wellington College, will give an Organ Recital at Trinity, on the 15th inst . To-day, Dr. Naylor of York Minster has been performing. We cannot conclude without expressing the great pleasure we have all felt in having our old Head Master amongst us for a few days. Mr . Adams was also up the other clay for a few hours, but had not time to call upon his old pupils.

NOTES AND ITEMS. On .11 ill 30th, the Rev. J . R . HUSBAND, Christ ' s College, Cambridge, h ok his M .A . degree. CLIFFORD ALLBUTT, M .D ., having completed 20 years' service on the staff of the Leeds Infirmary, has retired, and takes the position of Consulting Physician to the Institution. E . W . CROSSLEY, of St . Bartholomew's Hospital, has passed the Primary Exam . of the Royal College of Surgeons in Anatomy and Physiology. REV . E . S . Fox has been licensed by the Bishop of London to the curacy of Holy Trinity, Paddington .