Full oft with thee I've urged the bounding ball, And joyed to see the slender wicket fall; Full oft we've roamed through fields and spacious woods, Where nature's songsters hide their downy broods; Full oft with thee, while yet 'twas early dawn, From the still stream the greedy pike I've drawn, On clear water watched the dancing float, Or with strong arm impelled the gliding boat; Traversed the frozen pool with footsteps light, Or urged with snowy bolts the playful fight; Schemes ever-varying filled the jocund breast, Each had its day, forgotten all the rest.
LETTERS Oxford Trinity Term 1974 Readers may be surprised to find an Oxford Letter in this issue, after the minor disturbances of the last few months have led the press to make out the University to be a second Essex: devastated, torn by bloody insurrection and deserted except for a rabble of dirty-jerseyed drop-outs and the dons, cowering in their studies as they see their colleagues led off to be strung up on the Martyrs Memorial. The truth is that life here is much the same as it has been for a thousand years; perhaps the most noteworthy change was when we finally broke our run of outrageous fortune and beat Cambridge in the Boat Race last term. It does seem, though, that O.P.'s are more political than formerly. What better example than John Williams? Apart from such comparatively trivial achievements as becoming regional chairman of the Federation of Conservative Students, and representing Oxford at the N,U.S. conference at Liverpool (when he voted against the black-listing of speakers) he was the first person from Queen's College to hold office in the Union since Brian Walden in 1957. Having served as Secretary this term, he has now been elected Treasurer. We wish him luck as he bids next term for that most coveted of all positions—the Presidency. John has been President of the Conservative Association, organising it to steer our Conservative M.P. (in a marginal seat) back to the Commons in the general election. Rodney Lund has now completed his Oxford career, in which he manfully struggled to keep the Labour Club in the hands of "sound social democrats" and spent the rest of his time "fighting against Commies and Trots in the Students' Union". He also took a second in Law and is going to Guildford Law School, in February, to learn how to be a solicitor. Neil Roberts has been in contact with both these gentlemen "regarding the political scene in a vague sort of way", which sounds not so much vague as just plain devious, and comes as no surprise from a Welshman who has grown a beard and spent last summer grave-digging in Syria. 68
