MR IRVING AND MR BRIGHT AT OXFORD.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2205, 26 August 1886, Page 2

MR IRVING AND MR BRIGHT AT OXFORD.

If evidence v ere wanting of the vnnb and liberalising changes which have come over Oxford University, it has been abundantly forthcoming during the week in thp reception* accorded to Mr. Irving and Mr. Bright. The University and it* distingniKhed \ witorn are alike to be congratulate*! upon the fact that. as Tounyxoii hays, 11 the old order changeth, yielding place t<> new." Rigid rceleMastiral and political prejudice* have been lnoken down ; and the Oxford Don of a generation ago would have lifted up hi* Kinds in amazement had he been a««ured that a day would come when the foremost exponent of the drama and the greatest of Radical orators would receivo an enthusiastic welcome within the h>l lowed vails ot the UniwHty. Mr Irving'* dissertation upon the English school of acting was intere»tmg, both from the historical point of view and foi its sketches ..f our great actors from Kichard Burbage downwards. Excellent also were hit observations upon the actor'* art, and the plea for the study ( ,f nature; in contradistinction to artificiality. Burbage, Betterton, (iarnck, and Edmund Kean ,ue names illustrious in histrionic annals ; and all these men put nature first, art 01 artifice second. In acting the emotion-, take prece lence of mere intellect. NVe want inoi.- actor^ aft* r the >tyle of the older men— men like linrnck, who trod the »tag» n-, to the manner born. Mr. Irving claims that a good English actor is a far better interpreter of iShak>pere and (Joetlie than a thousand commentator-'. Although he naturally magnifies the actor's vocation, there can be no doubt that to the ma>» of mankind the actor is the ino^t lucid and convincing of interpreter-. The .stage may at len«t now congratulate itself upon the fact that it stands higher in the esteem of the privileged classes than ever before. For tins very mnch is due to Mr. Irving; and we tru*t his anticipations of a brighter future will be amply smd fully reali-ed. The all-absorbing event at the Oxford Commemoration was the conferring of the highest distinction of the University— the degree of Doctor ««f Civil Law— upon Mr. Bright. The same degree was deservedly conferred upon Doctor Oliver Wendell Holmes ; and, under other circumstances, that eminent man of letters \\oiild have been the hero of the dav. As it was, the honour naturally fell to Mr. Bright ; for it is n<>t ev.-ry day that the University honour-* itself by thus honouring *uch x man. The stand he has made, at the close of a long and honourable career, against the Irish policy of the (lo\ eminent, rendered him doubly popular with the undergraduates and the spectators. Rounds of cheering greeted "the old man eloquent,"' which were again and again renewed when he was described as among the worthiest and more just of English citizens, and as an ardent lover of his ronntry and nf liberty. Tho University of Ovford nrver showed itself in closer harmony with the be>t traditions of the nation and with the thoughts and aspirations of this progressive ape. than when it awarded its highest di-tmction to the Xcbtor of English statesmen.

Tni: Bishop of Oxford sent to the church -wardens in his diocese a circular of inquiries, among which was : " Does your officiating clergyman prench the Gospel, and is hii converaation and car* riage consistent therewith ?" The churchwarden of Wallingford replied: •' He preaches the Gospel, but does not keep a carriage." A TKKRinLE catastrophe has occurred at Minneapolis, United State?, where a wall fell, killing eight men nnd injuring nearly a dozen others. Kvcavations wore going on near a building at the corner of Second-street and First Avenue on June o. The wall was five storeys high, and fell with a cra«h, burying about thirty men. Mo-t of them crawled out uninjured, buteigh^ were killed. Apropos of the low-necked dress question, the " Rochester Democrat'' retails the story of the young Irish girl who attended a large bill in l^ngland years ago in the " good old times." She was evidently from the country, and as she entered the ballroom there was a thrill of dismay when it was discovered that there was a marked discrepancy between the hem of her dress and rhc top of her boots. Fashionable ladies blu«bed to the tips of their exposed shoulder blades, and one of them finally remonstrated with the wondering Kathleen. Her reply was pertinent and should become historicril : "Show my ankles, do I ! Indeed I do ; and so would you, madam, were your dress pulled up round your neck where it should be." Some recently published articles on "Society in St". Peter>hun4 '' have attracted great attention in Paris according to a correspondent of the Daily News :— " According to Count Paul Vas'sali (the author), the Oar i3 not a popular sovereign ; that is to say, he ia powerless to excite the enthusiasm of the masses. He is above all. frank, honest and straightforward, but lacking deplorably in regal qualities, being shy, diifident and afraid of being brought unner the influence of interested people. He wastes his energies in bureaucratic details, has bound himself round with red tape, and is unable to form a rapid judgment on anything. He is behind the age, and is ignorant of his country's needs. A sort of Chines wall separates him fiom all who could inform him of the wishes ot bis people, and of the reforms which the (Government is in need of. With all his defects he is gifted with a sound judgnu-nt, is a sincere patriot, and has the dignity of true honesty. He will resolutely, should occasion offer, defend the national honour, and will never bend before his enemies. In the Afghan question he showed a strength of will, we aro told, which surprised everyone, esptcially as it was unsuspected. He would have gone to war had the necessity been apparent, and he will goto war without hesitation if it be required in Russia's interest. ' The Pkoit/f/.s P\i,\ck for East London. — The lV.uimont tru-tees announce thtit the £70,<>00 required br the 2Stli inst.int to complete the building of the people'* palucc in Ku^t London hug now been subscribed, Mr Wilberfono Byrant huviujr promised £2,800 to make up the deficiency. The c.irrj injr out of the scheme in its entirety will oust at tea>t £100,000. Groat preparations aro being made in Whitceh.ipel and Mile-end-road to giv-^ the Pririce and Princess of Walesa hearty welcome nn the occasion on their viait to East London next Monday, to lay the foundation-.-.tone of the palace. On the .site itself stands have been erected to accommodate 0,000 people. Four triumphal arches are to be erected on the line of route, which will be via Aldirate, Whitechupel road, pa-t the London hospital into rho Mile-end-road. The admittance of ticket-holder* on to the site will be stopped at four o'clock punctually. The nearest underground station to the site i» tho Mile-end station of the District railway. The Golden Jubilee of Pope Leo X7II. and the Golden Jubilee of the '^uren of, England chance to fall in the same yeai. At the time that the \ounp t^ueen was accepting the full bin den of hei inheritance, the young piie-t wa- undertaking the <-b seuie dignities of the«Aceid<>tal orhee, which implied for him, though he did not dh me it, the so\eieif?nty of the Catholic Clnuch in the distant futuie. The onlination of Joaehin Pecci in 1X37 was .>n event de* tined to be i.f great importance to the woild, but recognised in its day a* monientoiis to none but the .-oul in who-i* experience it took its place. The (Jne. n s e\ent vwi- a proclamation, the prif-t"- .v -•net. Foi though a vouu«,' man's ordination is done betoie. the world, the e\ent is so ordinary and m a -iMbe so im^r^on d that thoie is no kind of secrecy in th.it verv openness, Oiieen Victona had already woin herciounfoi some years, and Leo Xfll. was still f.u tiom hi-, own clowning, when the Ku^lish < v Hieen and tho Papal Nuncio met atHnisxeK We mayhope that tlio lenioinbrance will not be absent fiotn eithbi jubilea. Yvs ! It is certainly true. Ask any of yoi'r friends who hive purchased there. Gnrhck and Cranwoll have numerous unaskrd for and vcr} favourable comm »ndations from country i ustomers on their excellent packing of Furniture. Crocker), and Glass, ftc. Ladies and Ktntlemon about to furnish should re-neri >er tra (i irlick and Cranwell's is thk Cheap l-ur-nisluntr AVh.irehouse of Auckland. Furniture to suit all cl isses , also Carpets, Floor Cloths all Hotist Necessaries. If jour new hou^ is nearly hnished. or, >ou are ui>tng to get marred, visit Garhck and Cr.tnucll, Queen-street and Lorne-street Auckland. Intending pur ctaacrs can have a catalogue Mnt ixoo.