THE OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE BOAT RACE.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXV, Issue 1695, 23 May 1866, Page 3

THE OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE BOAT RACE.

{From the Pall Mall Gazettt.) It was still an hour before dawn when, through the darkness on Barnes Common, the men who were soon to confront tliegaze of so many eager and curious eyes took their last training walk and " breather." There was a dreary breakfast by candlelight at live a.m. Soon after at the scene of action " dark blue" broke the monotony by launching for a paddle and a couple of short starts, to the, steamboat pier and back again. Cambridge remained in their quarters, and as the Oxford crew came back to theirs the gun appeared; and then the scene was lively enoiwlv; By seven rival-•head»quftrtenrWere* thronged with veterans who came to djspel the fears and cheer the hopes of the competitors. A quarter past seven brought down the umpire, the classic, cricketing, Varsity st«»% Chitty, and before Putney tower tolled out half-past seven, the move'was made to the boat-house. Cambridge wondered whether the tide of fortune would ever turn when Oxford won the choice of stations for the sixth time running, and then, in good heart and earnest of purpose, they got afloat. Cambridge was.first away, Oxford pot .a minute they paddle to stations, their even, sivihg, accurate time, and'long reach, call for eulogies for both, from friends and foes alike. There should be no 2to 1 against Cambridge if that bit of rowing u>any cri-: terion; but such, somehow, is the curreut state ot the odds, which have been thrown out of all gear by the wholesome speculations of bookmakers, trusting to the ...prestige of Oxford, but not knowing An,oar from a broomstick. 'No. delay at thiJ start—no ,j waterman's "fiddling." They strip nnd are forward all in a twinkling. Suspense is soon broken ; they are off. A good start in good style; but Oxford have the best ,'o'f it, going away more evenly (with a ,: fe«f fefet to the good at Simmonds's), settUnrdoffr to thirtynine strokes a minute, Cambridge force on two a minute quicker; and are up to them and ahead before they reach the London lowing Club boathouse. Oxford keep on steady as ever, and Cambridge career by them, not so rapidly as last year, but still at a passable pace. At the Point, Forbes takes Cambridge very wide, but they are threefourths of a length in front, and in making the "shoot" an entire length. The same at the Crab Tree, the boats not spurting upon each other, but rowing each their own pace, and playing their own game. The positions are about the same under' Hammersmith Bridge, which they .shoot at 8.20, both in the centre arch; Oxford, if anything, slightly overlapping. The sporting world isglad.to, see Cambridge win, and the whole mKss'of' spectators, in carriages, on foot, or. hanging in the chains of the bridge,-cheer them as' they dash by. Signs of a west wind and rough water are already visible outside the house under the lead mills,, and soon the coxwains warn their men to feather high, and hold tight. The boats are still tn statu quo, neither gaining nor losing. But presently, as the head wind increases, the labour of getting forward endangers the length of the stroke; the Oxford stroke-oar slackens, nnd keeps his men together, losing but little way 'comparatively, and preserving form and strength, Cambridge steers into the bay out -ty the; strength of the tide, where they are'more' sheltered from the wind. A ■ lumbering barge, tacking up with the/tide, swings full across the race, and danger is imminent. Oxford sheer to the right, and Cambridge follow them but lose far more ground than the others, by having further to go, Both then make for the. shelter of the Middlesex shore, and the advantage of this corner is everything. Cambridge have hud the pull in corners ever since tho Crab Tree, and Oxford cannot afford,to lobo this advantage; so that while Griffiths forces the race, Brown follows suit, and at last lets his men go in real earnest. They have been rowing within themselves, biding their time, and when they are called upon they " come.'.' Yard by yard, and rowlock by rowlock, they close up—swinging, sweeping, and slashingin better form than ever, and before the curve is rfyi-licd they take the lead, for the first time in three nnd a half miles, except during the first half minute, Here the race resembles that of last year, but Oxford now take lonjier to pasß by their rival, and never got so far ahead as in the former match. j\'or do the Oxonions here Bhoot away at Buch a pace as when they took the lead last year. It is stilt hard fighting, and though they draw away, there is barely daylight between the boats as they shoot Barnes bridge in 19 min. 40 sec. But from this point all ij over, and Oxford draw slowly. They are a clear length at the White Hart, and increase the distance in the last half mile, winning by three clear lengths in 25 min. 50 sec. _ To lose such a race is no disgrace, and against such a crew; and Cambridge, if not victorious over Oxford, have at last conquered themselves.