THE OXFORD COMMEMORATION.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume III, Issue 143, 9 October 1863, Page 5 (Supplement)

THE OXFORD COMMEMORATION.

We can confidently recommend to our readers the following extracts from tlio description in the Time s of the late Commemoration at Oxford, at which the Prince and Princess of Wales were present. Those who have been present at such scenes as are here described will readily appreciate the following description of them, and that those who have not must understand that the scene in the Sheldonian Theatre is not in any way unusual or different from that which is annually exhibited ; only on this occasion, nuturally enough more pains than usual have been taken in its description. There is always as much chaff and noise as it is possible to conceive, and therefore the presence of Royalty cannot elict any more, nor, as our readers will perceive, does it in any way tend to diminish it. —Press THE SHELDONIAN THEATRE. It was a comfort to leave the streets, ankle deep in mud and soaked with rain, and turn towards the Sheldonian, where through the open windows the hoarse roar of the undergraduates came, “ easing their minds,” as they called it, with bitter chaff of high officials, and giving vent to the pentup animosites of the academic year in a series of groans and cheers for unpopular or popular Dons, as the case might bo. The doors of the theatre were opened at half-past one, for, though nothing was to be done till three, as twice as many tickets had been issued as the theatre would hold, it was thought advisable to open early, that the late comers, if they had proper feeling, might see at once they had no chance of getting in. Within ten minutes after it was opened it was filled with quite as many as it could comfortably hold, and the numbers who were continually added made the place at last absolutely intolerable from its heat and the striding crowd. Of course, on such a day, the badinage and chaffing of the undergraduates in the gallery were ten times more rampant and boisterous than ever. On these days the sight of a white hat appears to exercise much the same influence on the undergraduate mind that a red flag docs on a bull, and the individuals who unwittingly strayed into the theatre witli these obnoxious articles of wearing apparel led woful lives, and in some cases were fairly badgered out of the place in a storm of yells. One unfortunate, a tall, lanky young man, who, to the indiscretion of white trousers and huge black stock, superaddedthe aggravation of a brilliant white hat, was reduced to a condition of subserviency that was almost pitiable. In vain he deferentially removed the hat and tried to hide it; he could not do the same with the other portions of his dress to which we have alluded, and which appeared to excite even as much ire as the obnoxious hat itself. He had been brought to a proper state of despondency and dismay at the pitiless storm off chaff ho invoked, and was slinking out when, fortunately a professor entered, even more unpopular than a white hat, and all the vials of undergraduate wrath were poured on his devoted head at once. Nothing could be heard amid the astounding clamour which this divine excited—a clamour so hideous and so prolonged that the staid constables of the A Division, to whom commemorations were tilings unknown, came into the building at once, thinking nothing less than the murder of of a Don could he going forward. This naive appearance of the * bobbies,’ as they were called, and the puzzled aspect with which they looked up at the ranks of yelling undergraduates, as if uncertain whether or no it was their duty to stop the noise and restore order, created shouts of laughter, and gave a new turn to the badinage. “ Why did you let in that chap with his hair parted so ?” “ Take out that chap with the two umbrellas Won’t there bo a row when the Proctor sees that fellow with the white hat” ; and so on. And as the police did look in the direction to which their attention was called, such endless instructions flowed upon them, that they had nothing for it but to retreat iguominiously as they came. Then the undergraduates concentrated onltho upper end of the theatre, and displayed such an affectionate solicitude for its welfare that the visitor who unwarily trod on it had a bad time of it ever afterwards. Then there were three cheers for the Queen, Prince and Princess—such shouts! Hisses and cheers for Mr. Gladstone, tumultuous applause for Lord Derby, the married ladies, the unmarried ladies; the ladies who wish to be and will be married, the ladies in blue bonnets, the ladies in pink dresses, and lastly, as embracing the whole scope of the fair sex, the ladies in crinolines. The clamour was deafening, the heat and densely swaying crowd fearful; it was a perfect academic Pandemonium, above.and below, everywhere save in the amphitheatre, where the ladies sat comfortably, though they could not coolly, and surveyed the uproarious scene around with a keen relish of its unmatched humour and banter, EECEFTION OF THE VISITOES. The Archbishop and Bishops, with the great dignitaries of the College, entered shortly before three o’clock, and some—such as the Bishop of Oxford and Dr. Clarke, the vice-chancellor—were received with enthusiasm; some merely damned with praise—not long enough, indeed, to quite drown out the hisses. Then, at three, the Prince and Princess entered, and a scene ensued which will not easily be forgotten by those who witnessed it. The whole assemblage rose, and the undergraduates, starting on their feet with a deafenin'* - J ~ A, •_ Viucctj wavcw gO»»Aioj uanuagiuiuciaj ill tiiO air, and stamped their feet in the ccastacy of their enthusiasm till the building trembled in a manner that was alarming. Never since the theatre was built have its walls echoed and vibrated to such a long, hearty, and absolutely deafening outburst as when the young Prince advanced bowing with his usual kindly, courteous grace from side to side and leading his fair young bride, who was quite unable to conceal the expression of absolute astonishment in her face at this astounding welcome. With a long experience of these royal receptions and festivites, wo can safely venture on saying that we have never yet seen such a welcome as was accorded to the Prince and Princess of Wales in the in the Sheldonian Theatre yesterday. THE CHANCELLOR'S ORATION. At last the chancellor rose, and would have begun his oration, when the audience was seized with a fresh fit of enthusiasm, almost as long and quite as loud as that which went before, and Lord Derby

had to resume his seat until this had passed away like the rest. At length comparative quiet reigned, and the Chancellor rose again, and a silence fell on the whole assembly so profound as to be almost startling in its contrast with the previous din. Even the crushed and heated occupants of the body of the theatre seemed to forget their long and tedious sufferings as the proceedings commenced with a very long and quickly delivered oration in Latin from the noble Chancellor. To this address the undergraduates listened attentively and rewarded the well-merited, yet simply paid, compliments to the Prince and greatful allusions to his bride, with stentorian bursts of applause. There was not the same freedom of delivery which marks the vigorous flow of his lordship’s eloquence in the House of Peers; on the contrary, ho stumbled in his sentences once or twice; but every word of the oration, though occasionally delivered with far too great rapidity, was distinctly audible in all parts of the theatre. The Prince, of course, understood every word of the adddress, and listened to it with marked attention ; while the Princess, who must with difficulty have followed the flow of the discouse, if she was able to follow it at all, at least took the hint from the undergraduates, and bowed gracefully as they applauded. The oration is not to bo given to the public till it has been freed of one or two inclegencies of style, which even a scholar so accomplished as the noblo Chancellor may admit without a blush, when an interval of thirty years devoted to public life has been passed since ho quitted his studies at the University. The general opinion among the learned was that, barring these minor defects, the whole oration was a fine specimen of classic oratory, and one worthy both the speaker and the occasion. THE UNDERGRADUATES 1 POEH3. As specimens of they were bad ; as specimens of how the undergraduates committed their studies to memory, they were worse ; and as specimens of delivery, they were worst of all. It was, perhaps, a trying thing to address such an assembly, and the confidence of the young men TTaS OT TiO jTictiuS restored. by tliO rlUlmug COuiments of the undergraduates in the galleries—their cries of “ Speak up, sir,” “ Oh, look at his gloves,” &c., and the open smiles with which what were meant to be the pathetic portions of their recitals were received. But there was no excuse for these gentlemen not knowing the odes they came to recite. The first orator came to a dead stop, notwithstanding the continued aud perpetually audible prompting of a friend at his elbow throughout the whole poem. The second was even move unsuccessful. He faltered aud halted continually, and apparently missing some parts of the poem took it up again at the next line which came to memory, and, turning towards the Princess, said “ the loving trustfulness of those eyes,” and then stopped again. There was no resisting this—it was apropos to nothing which had gone before, and seemed so much a kind of confidential compliment to her Royal Higlmcs that there was a shout ol laughter, in which the Princess could not but join, though she blushed till her face quite glowed again. Nor did the next lino mend matters, when in a plaintive tone, the speaker, looking up to the undergraduates, added, “ Oh, bliss whin out alloy !”—an appeal to which the undergraduates inhumanly responded, by repeating “Oh!” “Ah!” and “Ha in tones which could not have had much effect in restoring the speaker’s self possession. At length the odes were over, and with this the special congregation closed, and amid the same cheers and shoutings the Prince and Princess left. ANOTHER SCENE IN THE SHELDONIAN THEATRE. As early as nine o’clock on the following morning the undor-graduates were admitted to their gallery in the Sheldonian Theatre, probably in the hope that if they gave full play to their lungs during two hours and a half previous to the ceremony, they would be reduced to a condition ot inarticulate hoarseness when the proceedings of the day really commenced. The young men, as was expected, cheered lustily during the whole of the interval, but at the end of it, as was perhaps not expected, their energy seemed to be increased rather than impaired, for the roof rung with their voices until they quitted the theatre. The topics to which they referred in their concise, stentorian way, presented the usual wide range. The ladies, as they gradually filled what might bo called the boxes ol course received the gallant notice of the “ gods.” There were cheers for the “ dark girls dressed in blue,” for the ladies in white, and for the ladies in pink, for the married and the single, and when a voice suggested a cheer for the “ pretty girls,” some one of more catholic taste insisted that there ought to be no invidious distinctions and that the compliment should be made to include all the ladies present. These delicate attentions to the softer portion of the audience were alternated with expressions of hatred and contempt towards the male visitors generally, and especially to such as on entering did not defcrentiallly uncover on the threshold, or who had white hats. It may readily bo imagined with what deafening execrations the entrance at one moment of three men so lost to all sense of shame as to wear hats of the obnoxious hue was greeted. It was resented as a deliberate conspiracy to outrage the feelings of the most refined class in the University. Theology next engaged the consideration of the undergraduates. The author of “Hypatia,” as may bo supposed, is an old favorite but the rumour that he had proposed as a candidate for honors, and rejected on account of the alleged heterodox tendencies of some of his writings has added tenfold to his popularity. There were repeated cheers for Kingsley, and groans for Pusey, although soon after Pusey was cheered too. Jowett and Coienso were also named with applause, and then the heretics, being rather sore in the throat subsided, and the orthodox bellowed their best in honor of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Oxford. The mention of these respected prelates at once suggested, it can bo supposed by way of antithesis, the name of General Butler, for whom the most cordial and emphathetic groans were given. Cheers for the South and for Poland followed, the Northern States and Russia being growled over as oppressors. A political turn having thus been given to the proceedings, two or three all at once claimed a hurrah for Lord Palmerston, which was given accordingly.

After this vigorous ’performance the “upper classes ” were not equal to the exertions required to do justice to Lord Derby. So the rested for a miuute or two paying only faint compliments to Mr. Gladstone and Sir Stafford Northcote, and then raised a greater cheer for the chief of the Conservatives. In the general laudation, “our noble selves ” of course did not escape favorable notice.

l<y and by, when the list of topics was becoming exhausted, the ladies were again proposed as quite an original and novel idea, and accepted as such by the students, who repeated a good many other cheers in the same way. A division of the metropolitian police, who are in Oxford on special duty, have created a good deal of interest there, and as they have managed to keep on excellent terms with the students, there were several cheers for the “ London Bobbies,” and Superintendent Walker. 1 CONFEEEING HONOEAEY DEGEEES. The Chancellor read in Latin, the list of candidates proposed to be admitted to the honorary degree of D.C.L. The names were then severally put to the vote, the Chancellor asking, “ Placetne voiis doctores, placetne magistri ?” There were of course a few absurd “ non placets ” from the upper gallery, coupled with such reasons as “ Certainly not; he doesnt [shave,” “He’s not good looking,” “ His hair won’t curl,” and so on. The proposal was, however, declared unanimously carried, and then the “ silver pokers ” marched off and brought in the candidates, who were each introduced in a graceful and appropriate Latin speech by Dr. Travers Twiss, the Regius Professor of Civil Law. the ceewian oeation. This ceremony over, the Rev. R. Mitchell, D.D., the public orator, delivered the Crewian Oration in praise of founders and benefactors. The students, however, were in no mood to hear the discourse, and treated the unfortunate orator as badly as a boxing-night audience generally does the soliloquising villain in the drama before the pantomime. He was assailed with a running fire of personalities, and there was a ceaseless accompaniment of shouts and groans to Tiis sonorous Latin periods. The Chairman was appealed to not to permit the “ man in the rostrum to make faces at him,” and to punish him for his bad grammer and false quantities. Now and again, when the orator made himself heard for a few words, there were patronising cries of “That’s good for you,” or, “ What a jolly old lunatic,” in the drawling Dundreary style, and once when the orator paused in disgust, some one called out “ He’s going to faint; give him a glass of water,” which at once elicited a unanimous shout, “ Oh, dear, he never drinks it.” It was impossible to resist a feeling of compassion for a grave and reverend seignior thus set up in a pulpit to be bated by the students, for it is much the same every year, but then one must remember that lie is more than a match for the young men at any other time. The prize compositions were next recited by the successful competitors, who received a little more patient hearing.

AxtACK OK tut tuKtaOtlE SiOCk Ann;. During the time the stockade was being attacked by the rebels, firing was also heard at Mr. Eurtt’s bouse, three miles from the stockade, where Mr. Watson and his family have been residing. Yestesday morning three of the boys were in a paddock, when they saw Maoris approaching towards them. They fired at one of the boys, who was only fourteen years of age. The other two saw him fall and ran up towards the house, and found it surrounded by Maoris. They at once came down to Drury, a distance of about five miles, and a detachment of the artillery went off. The boy was supposed to bo dead, and great apprehensions were at first entertained as to the safety of Mrs. Watson and her two daughters. Subsequently information arrived, leading to the belief that the boy was not dead, and that Mrs. Watson and her family -were safe. About two o’clock yesterday afternoon, continued firing, which lasted for a quarter of an hour, was heard in the direction of Eazorback, but paiticulars of the cause of it had not arrived. The escort, to and from the Queen’s Eedoubt yesterday, both arrived safe at their destination. All was quiet at the front.

RETURN OP CATTLE Slaughtered in tluTNapier District from 1st July, 1863, to 30th Saptember, 1863, inclusive. Place of Slaughter, Cheat Cattle. Sheep. Pigs. Calves. Lambs. Total. At Napier 95 507 11 2 13 623 At other Slaughtering Places 34 184 48 ' 0 6 272 Total 129 691 59 2 19 900 THOMAS SCULLY, Inspector of Slaughterhouses.