'Fourth' at Eton.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13655, 25 July 1908, Page 3 (Supplement)

'Fourth' at Eton.

HISTORIC A NXIVERSARV. The fourth of June is Eton's commemoration day. because it was the birthday of George 111., who \vat> to good a friend to the college. The celebrations on these anniversaries follow a fixed routine, but repetition never iinpaiis their interest and attractiveness. The occasion was favoured last June with ibe most delightful weather. It was almost too hot for the normal raiment of convention which used to be prescribed, for such ceremonies, but one of the most noticeable in recent fashiou Ir, the departure from established custom in this respect. The ladies who went to Eton were .arrayed in the lightest of .summer garments, and seemed to be in no way distressed by the excessive lieut ; but the men appear to have taken a hint from the opposite sex. and the straw hat and the flannel suit were quite as popular as

the regulation frock-coat and silk' hat. One felt surry for the Eton boys who are not yet emancipated from convention ; many of them in top hats and black coats swmed to bo sweltering in the playing fields.

The celebration began with the "sjieeehes-" in the Upper School. A distingnii bed gathering of old boys and parents of present pupils assembled in the hall, the oak pane.'s of which are covered with the carved names of pupils who have come and gone. Busts of celebrated Etonians adorn the walls but through the open windows came the liummiiig noi-e of many motor-cars on the road to remind the visitor in this venerable scat of learning that the whirligig of time brings its revenges, and even the his'oric fourth of June must conform to the changes of science. CLEVER BOY ACTOR. The fiiet "speech" wa* set flown on the programme to be given by "Birrell,"' who .is tlie son of the Chief Secretary for Iraland. He recited Mack worth I'rae l";s "To a Portrait," and displayed considerable elocutionary attainments, which were

enhanced by his flexible and expressive voice.

A scene from '"The Frogs" of Aristophanes •was enacted by D. H. Robertson, the captain of the school, Findlay, and Grenfcll, the son of Lord Dtsborough; and after a number of recita ions liad been given the first part of the entertainment concluded with a scene from

"Maitre I'atelin," an old French .play, full of quaint humour and characterisation. In this Millingtuii-Drake, llie captain of the boals appeared, and as the head master has publicly described him as the best boy actor lie has seen there was considerable interest in the performance.

The young actor certainly justified the comments which have been made on his his;rionic ability. He impersonated Patelin very skilfully and without self consciousness; and showed a nice appreciation of the individuality of the rascally lawyer. Later on lie recit d a passage from Moliere's "J-if.s Femih.es Savantes," and again evinced the pouseueiou of remarkable dramatic talents.

In the remaining "speeches" there was a pleasant blending of humour aud gravity, and the entertainment was brought to a merry close with the scene from "Much Ado About Nothing," where the watch have arrested Cotirade and Baracln'o on the strength of the conversation overheard between them. This was capitally douc.

Then the diVinguiihed visitors were entertained to lunch in the college hall, and in the afternoon there was a brilliant gathering on the lawns beside the river. Tlie heat was such that nearly all sought the shade of the majestic trees while they watched the progrtts of the cricket mabch between the school eleven ajid New College, and listened to the music of the Coldi-tream Guards' Band. "■ PROCESSION OF BOATS.

The picture here was exquisite. Through the trees there were glimpses of the niaj.stic castle looking down en the revel with sta ely dignity a mile away, and the placid surface of the old Father Thanus, who, for several centurius has given hospitable entertainment to many generations of Eton boys. The students of the present day walked about proudly with their mothers and fathers and fair sisters, and many old boys sunned themselves in the grounds and recalled the joyt, long past, of the days when in these fields "careless childhood strayed, a stranger yet to pain." A constant subject of conversation and congratulation was flic announcement, so appropriate to the historic gathering, that the manuscript of Gray's ''Ode on_ Eton College" had been presented to the library by six old Etonians, and had that day been banded to the Provost to be pet Ixeide the original manuscript of the " Elegy in a Country Churchyard."

of the "Elegy in a Country Churchyard." In renewing old friendships and discussing old days the time pa-sod by. Many men who have won fame in strenuous walks of life were there, and an inter'sting companionship was that of two eminent literary men. Mr. J. M. Barrie and Mr. A. E. W. Mason, who strolled round the cricket ground in close conveiee. As evening drew on there was an ominous change in the weather. The thunder clouds- drifted up, and the heat became more oppressive. These portente threatened the <i3ucc«.(3s of that picturesque spectacle, the procession "of boats, in which the "wet-bobs" of the upper and lower boats display their skill. Led by the Monarch—a ten-oared boat—'they pass down the river, in accordance with traditional cus'om, tossing their oans and making a Hue dii-play, the respective coxswains arrayed as admirals or midshipmen and carrying large bouquets-. Happily this spectacle was not interfered with by the elements, and (he Fourth of June celebrationis came to an auspicious close.