OLD OXFORD.

Otago Witness, Issue 2672, 31 May 1905, Page 71

OLD OXFORD.

Some of the Curious Customs Which

Cling About the Life of the Great University. —

The first instalment of Rhodes scholars has landed in England, and the American invasion has begun, writes a correspondent of a Pittsburg newspaper. It is not new for Oxford to be invaded by Americans, as it is on the itinerary of nearly all tourists ; but they only stay a few hours, and then rush off to see some other place, having in that time been to more places in the city than any student visits in four years, and seeing more things than the inhabitants know are to be seen.

Tourists are always captivated by the picturesque scenes, its crumbling, ivycovered Avails and its well-kept -lawns. An American lady asked a servant how they secured such preity lawns, and he replied, "We mows it and rolls it for about a thousand years." Everything seems so old and veneri'ble, while the worn steps, the cloisters, and the men in black gowns make it seem i fable of the Middle Ages instead of a tM r enticth-century reality. The foundation and origin and the names of many of the colleges are unknown,

though one celebrated its thousandth anniversary in 1876, when we were celebrating the one- hundredth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. One of them is called New College, because, when it was founded, and the first stone laid, in 1360, it was a new institution, and the name has remained it* spite of its real title. Students sit in the dining hall where Locke sat in days when he pursued his studies in philosophy and drew, up the elaborate Grand Model which was intended for the Government of the Carolinas ; they attend services in the catbedral where William Perm worshipped until he became a Quaker, refused to wear his gown, and was expelled. I have sat listening to lectures in the large dining hall where the light streamed through the stained glass windows and fell in coloured 1 patches on the floor, while paint in«s of Cardinal Wolsey and other worthies looked down upon us from the walls.

— Friendly to Americans. —

The Rhodes scholars a'-e fortunate. They will find the feeling toward America is one of extreme friendship. During the years 1 spent there I never heard nn unfriendly word 1 against "ihe States.' They do not call us foreigners, but Feeir. to divide the world into Englishmen, Americans, and foreigners : the London Times divides its news into Domestic, Colonial, American, and Foreign intelligence. The University is made up of many colleges, and to be a member of any oneconstitutes membership in the University itself. There are no uuiform entrance requirements, and a man can join one after having been refused by another. Once admitted, he begins to get ready for his examinations, the first of which may, however, be taken before he joins, provided he may have made an-angements to join some one college when he shall have passed.

Americans confuse tin=> examination with the entrance examination of American colleges, and so fall into the error of stating that you pass your entrance examination after you enter. In fact, most of the colleges require the candidate to be able to enter upon courses leading to honours, and he must then be well advanced in the subject he intends to pur sue, in addition to being able to pass "smalls," as this examination is called.

Everything depends \ipon examinations at Oxford. They occur "at regular intervals, some once a year, some twice, some four times, and the student havinr '-""d what he must do ir ' <vir<=' chosen, sets himself tv jiepare examinations in the order in which they occur.

There are no classes ; no sophomores, juniors or seniors ; each is going his own pace, attending the lectures on the subject he is taking, or else working i + up without such aid : it matters not 1 iie learns his work, just so he can pass. Two men may enter a college at the same time and receive their degree side by side without ever having met in examinations or lecture rooms.

Those seeking honours are required *r> finish their courses in four years from ' » time of entrance, and those who pass-<ue divided into four classes. This summer I picked up in the old Bodleian Library a recent book containing an alphabetical list of all who had graduated with honours from 1200 to 1901, and thought how little students must have imagined that their records would merit publication seven centuries later.

—How To Get In.—

Two -weeks o-r more before the- examination one intends to take, he secures permission to enter from the proper official in the college to which he belongs, and pav3 his fee. So after on all the official bulletin boards he sees the. announcement in Latin concerning the eximination, a-nd a list of all who have entered. As soon as possible after the examination there is posted an announcement of all who have passed, and the list looks like the return of the Light Brigade. But on the day of examination the student puts on a black coat and white evptutig dres-s tie. his cap and gown, ths remainder of his costume being oi his own choice, and waits in the hall of the examination building until the bell rings and the crowds surge to the various rooms, where the little tables J^re set in alphabetical order, each with an ink well, blotting paper, two or three quill pens, and, last, but. not least, a question paper which keeps him busy for the next three hours. If he uses steel pens he must bring them along Should a" student get in wearing a tie other than white, or a coat other than black, is cast forth like the mart without wedding garment : only in this ca&e an official "accomprmie.. him to see that he does not get any assistance while changing his costume. There is no commencement corresponding to graduation of students in America. Degrees are conferred every two or *hree weeks duriner the terms, and consist merely in being presented to the Vice-chancellor in a little set speech in Latin, to which be replies, and the student passes out, takes oil" his sown, and puts on a bachelor's gown and hood, and it is all over. There are no speeches, or flowers, or _ presents, and the government does not get a flow of eloquence on the way affairs should be managed. There are no invitations, no displays. If you have satisfied all requirements, and vow make your "supplication" before 6 o'clock the evening previous lo degree day, you pay your fee next morning and receive it. There is no graduating ctoss, and therefore no baccalaureate sermons or addresses.

— Eacli College Has Its Own Buildings. — Each, college has its own group of buildings, comprising chapel, dining hall, library and rooms for the students and other members of the college, and it is so arranged that at about 10 minutes past 9 o'clock, when the big bvll of Christ Church Colkge finishes its mighty curfew of 101 strokes, the college gates ure closed, and students who are out can only get in by Itnockine at th© ea*» *s»»l fee»» k£»uH«£

to the college by a porter, who puts down their na nes and the time of their entrance ; they aie then fined a small sum, which is jvut down each week in their expense account, and which goes to the porter who attends the gate. Thus students are not suffered to run -wild, as they are in American colleges

In some colleges a man is fined a sovereign every time he is out later than midnight, and if this happens many times in a term, he is requested to withdraw his name — a request equivalent to a command. So about midnight the streets are deserted save for some belated students hurrying to get in before the multitudinous bells over the city proclaim the beginning of a new day. Within the college itself, however, students go from one room to another and sit tip as late as they please. Every student has two rooms, a bedroom and a sitting room, and a servant, called a 6cout, to wait on him. The scout attends to eight or ten students, wakes them in the morning, makes their fires in the sitting rooms, and has breakfast ready by the time the student has arisen ; breakfast -md/ lunch are served in the student's sitting room, where he eats alone, unless he has invited some others to breakfast with him.

In his room he has a cupboard with dishes, tea, coffee, milk, cake, biscuits, and such things, and after breakfast the scout washes the dishes and clears the things away, while the student settles down to study or don his cap and gown and g( es off to a lecture in his own or some other college.

Academical costume is required when attending lectures or chapel, at dinner in the dining hall, when calling officially on officers of the college, and while on the streets after dark. It is not a picturesque costume tented for a few days before commencement, and to wear when you have your picture taken on graduation.

— Serve Tea to Each Other. —

When one student calls on another in the afternoon, it is customary to serve tea. The English are tea-drinking people, and they know how to make good tea. I had to learn, and I well remember my first morning in college when my scout taught me the art. So when you have a caller, you put on the kettle, get out your tea things, and have tea together, leaving the dishes to be put away by the handy scout, who generally takes the remnants of cake and otherwise "bags" things in the line of eatables.

The college servants in term time keep their families on the fragments that remain, which tb«iy frequently supplement by drafts on the supply kept by the student. One of the men of my year kept a tin of tea hidden, and used from it, and at the same time the tea in the can in the cupboard became less and less. Once my scout expressed regret at my having a roll instead of a small loaf of bread for my breakfast, becavise there was not so much of the roll left.

No day passes but that you are the guest of another student for some meal, or have others invited to yonr rooms, and the work of host at lunches and breakfasts and teas has an influence on a student quite different from the manners cultivated at eating clubs.

In fact, men are sent to Oxford more for the polish they receive than for intellectual attainments. As a school reader in England puts it, "Oxford is a place where they turn men into gentlemen." During their first term fn college, freshmen are not supposed to invite to their rooms men wiio are senior to them. The seniors, on the other hand, invite the freshmen to meals, and to coffee parties at nights, and thus give them a chance to see how they are supposed to conduct such functions.

The freshmen may, however, invite men of their own number during their first term, and during subsequent terms they return the invitations of thoss who have entertained them. Instead of being obliged to entertain the freshmen, and set them a social example, the American second-year men gather in groups and haze them. The Englishman prides himself m being a sportsman ; he would about as soon put rabbits in a barrel and shoot them as to indulge in such pranks. On the other hand, on account of the rivalry among the colleges in Oxford, the members are greatly interested in the success in sports and examinations attained by tlvcse of their numbers; and feel it keenly if the conduct of any is liable to bring reproach to their college. A man once said to me, "You know pretty well ; would you mind telling him to wear clean collars and cuffs?" They will not suffer members of the college to wear soiled linen or go several days without shaving. Their "boots" are always blackened for them, so> there is no excuse for untidiness.

— Lodging Houses are Licensed. —

Another reversal of our customs is in the senior having to vacate his rooms in college and go and find lodgings out in town to n^ake way for the freshman. He goes forth to seek rooms in licensed lodging houses, for only those families who have licenses are allowed to lodge students. This license is given after an. examination of the house by the lodging house delegates, and specifies the number they are allowed to keep, each lodger having two rooms, as in college, in on© of -which his meals are served, just as in college, and he entertains in the same way. The family is required to lock the door at 10 o'clock, and not to pei'mit the lodger to carry a latch key. If he comes in later than 10 t-L-ey make a note of the fact, and are required to send in a report each week to the college to which the man belongs. Would students in our colleges put up with such restrictions ?

In Oxford, however, the authority of the University is supreme. They have a member of Parliament elected by their governing body, and also elect some of the members of the police force. They can dismiss any student at any time, without a hearing, and there is no appeal. They can try a student for a crime by a court appointed by th© officiak. and can send a convitrtad.

student to jail. One morning I saw a student hurrying past just after an inter view with "the chief," and I inquired what the iratter was. He said he had been sent for and told to leave before 11 o'clock tLat morning, and by that time the place kr.ew him no more.

I have been often asked about the method of instruction where each works independently, and there are no classes. It seems to me that their system is ideal. TLere are a host of tutors belonging to the different colleges, and the students are assigned to these teachers. A student visits his tutor at stated times, and is advised by him what to study and what lectures to attend ; he also takes him any work that ho has been assigned, and gets assistance in Ms difficulties.

To an American the office of a tutor is to teach children, privately or to coach and cram students for their examinations in college, so that the office is not a very dignified one. But in Oxford it simply mt-ans that each student comes into personal contact with an able instructor, and the advantage of this method over th,e American plan of attending classes under an instructor who does not know his men personally is obvious. The method is somewhat like that of Socrates and others who are known, not by their writings, but by thair influence on those whom they taught.

There are- many customs and restrictions wkich will appear odd to American students. A student is supposed to be a "gentleman" in the English sense of the ■word. That is, he is not supposed to do any manual labour, and is obliged to pay others for doing many things lie would rather do for himself. To receive a degree, in addition to p-assing his examinations, he must reside in Oxford a certain number of terms, and if he passes all examinations before he has been there the required time he has to remain, anyhow.

It is the belief that residence in Oxford is as valuable as the studies pursued. The vacations are long — about six weeks at Christmas and Easter, during which many make trips to the Continent, while students devote the time to working up the lectures they have attended during tli© previous term. Many students do nearly all their •work in the vacations, and have a social time during the term. Curiously enough, a student must have permission from the authorities to remain in Oxford during the vacations. Of course, a few years ago the only way of getting to Oxford was by stage, and it took long vacations in order for students to get to their homes, and poor ones used to walk. The men of Exeter College were accustomed to say that they never could sleep the last few nijhts of term on account of the men in Jesus College driving nails in their bcots, getting ready to walk home. Jesus College is patronised by Welshmen, and .so the lays of modern Oxford contain the following; stanza: — There wa3 a proud freahman of Jesus, Whose looks were intended to freeze us; In his boots he wore nails, And his home was ia Wales, And lie lived on the strong beer of Jesus.

This reminds me that the buttery of the college, from which the students may get supplies of eatables,- marmalade, biscuits, tea, and such necessary things, at prices somewhat above the prices charged m the shops in town, also supplies them with wine, ale, and other beverages. Fancy an American university running a wine shop for the benefit of students ! But, then, they do tfcmgs differently in England, and no American need drink intoxicants unless he chooses. You see it stated at times that unless you drink in England you are looked down tipon, but I cannot imagine in what class of society such, a condition exists.