The Fritillary, March 1895 by Oxford Women's Colleges Hub

No. 4.

March, 1895.

Contents. A NOTE ON CHINESE AND JAPANESE IDEALS -

LIFE AT THE WOMEN'S COLLEGES IN AMERICA. -NO. I. -

TO A SPECIES OF CHAPERON NOW EXTINCTTHE STORY

CHARACTER TER SKETCHES AT THE HALLS. 窶年o. I. USQUE Quo? 0.U.D. S. FAMILIAR SCENES DISCUSSION ON DEGREES FOR WOMEN THE UNITED HALLS DEBATING SOCIETY A.S.D.S. SOMERVILLE COLLEGE LADY MARGARET HALL S. HUGH'S HALL

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Zhe No. 4.

MARCH.

It 'Rote on Cbtnese ant' Japanese 3beals. IF we endeavour to grasp the Chinese interpretation of life, and to see into the sources which produce that mysterious, glittering, and unreasonable picture of an existence moving to such different measures from our own, we are led to speculate how far our notions of a life, according to reason, are fixed and absolute, how far they may be the modifiable result of custom and tradition. To a childlike perception of surface things, the world of China is surely a world entered " through the looking - glass." There so much appears unaccountable, a twisted, weirdlycoloured existence, that might almost seem to have been perversely arranged so as to clash with Western expectations. We find a people with whom white is the mourning colour, who write to their gods and to the dead, letters which are borne by fire, it is supposed, to their destinations, who for thousands of years have barely altered the fashion of their clothes, and wait for an official order before donning their winter hats ; a land where men play at shuttlecock with their feet, and boys repeat lessons with their backs to the teacher, where it is courtesy to keep on the hat and to place honoured guests on the left hand. These and a hundred other details quickly bewilder and trip up those who adventure

1895.

amongst Chinese ways. Contemporary tales of the statesmanship of China read like cuttings from the " Arabian Nights," somewhat diluted. Such an incident the Times not long ago recounted, in the disgrace of a Chinese consul. Found guilty, as are so many of his kind, of corrupt practices, he was recalled and set to write an examination paper by Imperial order. Proving himself to be rather shaky in the age-honoured classics of Confucius, he was degraded " from red button to white button," ostensibly on this ground. There is a touch of grimness in our hilarity, over such quaint applications of the Socratic conception, " Knowledge is virtue." Not in this point alone does the celestial people, the people of enduring sameness, seem to have laboured to act out on narrow lines, and in forms that look like travesty, ideas which belonged also to the Athenians, the race ever desirous of " hearing some new thing." It is however the flow of Japanese life that especially strikes one as a burlesque on that ef Athens, in certain aspects. Markedly indeed has Asia set her seal upon the little flowery people, quivering in the sunlight of earth, with that grey shadow of a Buddhist suicidal resignation upon them. But there is in them an acute sense of harmony and rhythm, which recalls the citizens of Pericles, a sense which being in the case of the Japanese, part of a more superficial character, though it is affected

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by beauty hardly less completely, gives to it expressions less deeply human. The impression of beauty, the feeling after symmetry, goes with them, or has gone till lately, into all spheres of life, alike the broader massing and the minor intricacies, but it is a lighter life, and hence a more trivial, restless charm, the prettiness of half-human things, of a universe that seems not fully informed as yet with the consciousness of soul. It may be the awakening of a sterner spirit in the fibres of this surprising people, which is at present struggling to manifest itself through the channels, partly inadequate, of martial doings and commercial enterprise. Attracted by the most striking examples of national force before it, and hardly perhaps full enough of its own spirit to strike out on its appropriate lines, it spends the fresh inrush of vigour in a hasty clutching at those ideas which have made Western races strong. To us, heartsick at times of our toilsome, if not monotonous obedience to our national ideas, this change in Japan is something of a disenchantment. The form taken here by the conception of labour, grown to such gigantic proportions as to seem almost independent of the labourer and a despot over him, does not wholly seem worthy of the admiration of mankind. There are amongst us some who cry out that the idea has had a fair trial, too much having already been sacrificed to it, and who look longingly for any way of escape and return to the service of a simpler, less fateful pursuit in life than this of manufacturing and commercial success. It comes as a disappointment, that things so familiar in the West, and commonplace as military ardour and commercial zeal should ruffle the surface of the ideally lightsome race that could make of suicide a frivolity devoid of cynicism. For, as nonsense is to " common or garden" sense

in the dream of childhood, so had been the vision of old Japan to many a grave frequenter of the beaten prosaic paths in English life. " Nonsense," writes Sir Edward Strachey, " is a bringing out of deeper harmony of life, in and through its contradictions."* This may seem a little too philosophical for the subject immediately under review ; nevertheless as there pass before us in dim outline, scenes from the various " experiments in living," attempted in different countries and at different epochs, and we strive to seize some principle according to which they may be arranged, we wonder whether the plausible distinctions between rational and irrational are not sometimes deceptive or unsatisfactory. Is it conceivable that the notions of reasonableness are as many, and as unlike, as the notions of beauty amongst different races ? The Eastern mind is encompassed by a spiritual atmosphere in which the Western hardly knows how to move and when a native of China or India realizes what England means by the life according to reason, he will admit that such a life is not the type at which the Oriental aims. To speak in terms of Kant, the Chinese would almost seem to take in the material of life under other forms than those of the European mind. There is much that demands earnest attention in the appearance in China, the outer garment at least, of the ideal that wisdom shall be power, and according to their knowledge shall men be classified. But here lies the greatest crux for the Western enquirer so perplexing to him is the shape assumed by knowledge amongst the celestials, so contrary to natural anticipation is the effect of high literary standards upon the race. It would seem that Pandora's box must ;

â&#x20AC;˘ Introduction to Lear's Nonsense Songs and Stories, quoted from the review in the Spectator, Nov. loth.

THE FRITILLARY. have been shut for China, before the sprite of progress was allowed to escape. It is difficult for us to conceive what kind of an educational force this can be, which appears to have affected the very sap of the race, without infusing the element of progress. Hardly the smallest drop of the acid of revolution has found its way into the intellectual draught, administered by China to her youth. Education is not there a disintegrating force, nor does knowledge bring with it the restlessness of scepticism, or the strength of a vivid realization of things as they ought to be. Neither is it the spirit of Chinese education to train minds to advance towards the new. The air is not shaken by the cries, here is knowledge, or there" ; no hurly-burly of questions do they hear as to what is knowledge, how far dependent on books, how much farther a thing independent, a way of grasping hold of life, and connecting the self with realities. The knowledge of China, mainly determined once for all 2,40o years ago, appears in the mode of answer rather than of question her people see where lies the charmed circle of wisdom, and where the entrance to it it is no ignis !alums, but clearly defined, and with that, limited. Curious is it to reflect that this conception, however distorted it may have become, through the practice of a lower kind of people than he conceived, is yet to be found in Plato's scheme of a perfect city. His rulers indeed are imagined to be in continual communion with the world of intellectual realities but it does not seem to be allowed for in the Republic, that acquisitions of fresh knowledge may continually modify the government and ways of men. The views of the universe and man's relations to it held by leading minds have always much to do with the manner in which the great mass face life, and !

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especially should this be so in China, where this influence has been more permanent and uniform than in any Western land. We should remember then that her foremost minds have for the last 2,400 years constantly breathed in the still, the somewhat stagnant air of Confucianism. We have only to consider what streams and currents, what hurricanes of thought have swept over Europe during the same time, to perceive how contrary must be the stamps of the two kinds of civilization. There has the spirit of China rested, absorbed, it might appear, in the one great idea that has visited and enchained her. Or has her seemingly faithful adherence been but a cloak for indolence ? The most subtle way of escape for intractable human nature from the infinitely exacting authority of ideas, has always been through loss of the idea in the form. To this great temptation, especially strong in China, because of the excessive formalism in Confucius' system and its trust in the edu= cational importance of ceremonial and manners, China has succumbed. She has become the most astonishing example of the retention of the shells and frippery of things, after the decease of the living things themselves. If we in the West, weary of the stream of new thoughts and mental creations that ceaselessly pours in upon us, are prone to desire the respite of a temporary pause, that the floodgates of literature might be closed, and we could resort for awhile in calmness to the wealth stored up for us and sanctioned by the past, we may be warned from the stagnation of such a state by the spectacle of inert China. By her are received no heralds from Modern science advising from time to time that the foundations of philosophy and theories of man be examined, lest the light of new knowledge approaching reveal their weaknesses. For,

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her no strenuous investigation of modern history suggests unwonted ideals. Without any spirit of change in her policy, or of true romance in her literature, she represents a world for ever classic and conservative, in the dotage, not the manhood, of classicism and conservatism ; she forms a people that seems to have lost the true sense of real reform, and for whom reform would have little intelligibility. To adequately dwell upon the condition of China and the enormity of her adoration of simulacra we need a Carlyle. We can imagine the author of " Sartor Resartus " telling us that earnest Germany could wear China " in a ring on her little finger." Surely the collapse of China before Japan is the shivering of a world of husks and phantoms at the prick of a more serious force, a power that has at least laid fast hold of a living thought. The spectacle of China's helpless ignominy, Europe can watch without much emotion. It has never understood the temper of that vast people, which seems to us to have fewer of those touches of nature which "makes the whole world kin " than has Japan. Certain ideas which have looked very fair in the dreams of Europe, the Chinese have dragged in the mire, and to the Western mind there is something almost repulsive in their mode of dealing with the problems that constantly trouble thinking beings. Nevertheless, let us not refuse to acknowledge that the note which China has sounded in the world, though weird, and far distant from our own in harmony, is yet worth listening to a moment, if it can be, " overheard," and that the murmuring of human voices from the beginning would be less interesting, if the voice of China had been HILDA OAKELEY. mute. * Carlyle used this metaphor of the relations between Jean Paul Richter and Wordsworth.

Mite at the Velomen's Colleges in Emerica. I. THERE are six standard colleges exclusively for Women in the United States : Vasser, Smith, Bryn Mawr, Wellesley, Radcliffe, and Mt. Holyoke colleges. Now many of the first-class colleges for men also admit women on equal terms with the men. Of course besides these, there are numerous smaller colleges and coeducational institutions which women attend. Co-education is becoming more and more an important factor in our system of higher education. In this article I wish to give you a glimpse of the social side, the " play-time" of the women's colleges. We do work, oftentimes, more hours a day than is wise ; but I think no class of people, whether in England or America, knows how to use and appreciate their recreation as well as college girls. Since I know Wellesley best, I will describe her social life, but it is typical of that at the other colleges. The college is delightfully situated in the midst of a large park consisting of about 40o acres of land, and on the border of a beautiful lakeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Lake Waban. So every opportunity is offered for all kinds of athletic sports, concealed as we are from the gaze of curious men. The eight hundred students have ample room for exercise and for the enjoyment of their favourite out-door amusements. In the fall, there always is great excitement caused by the tennis tournament played for the championship of the college. The tennis association is large and wellorganized. Golf has also recently been introduced. Basket base-ball is another game which is thoroughly enjoyed, and I hear also that football has its devotees. If you should visit the college some

THE FRITILLARY. pleasant day, and should see a number of girls running excitedly through the fields and over the hills, in search of a few bits of white paper, you might know that a game of hare and hounds was in progress. This game was introduced from Oxford by one of our teachers who formerly studied here. There is an enthusiastic bicycling club, and Dominic Dunkett, our coloured factoturn, does a flourishing business in teaching the girls how to ride, and renting machines. But the most popular amusement is boating. Each class, which consists of all the girls who entered college the same year, has a carefully selected boat crew, and there is almost as much rivalry between them as between the college crews in Oxford. Although racing is rarely indulged in, these crews are trained during the year, and on one of the festive occasions peculiar to Wellesley, called " Float Day," they show their skill to their admiring friends. The Freshman class, unlike the other classes, has no special class crew, but eight or nine crews, and from these crews the best oarsmen will be elected as members of the class-crew at the commencement of the second year. Towards dusk some beautiful evening in May the eleven or twelve crews, dressed in varied and bright-coloured boating costumes, march down to the boats with merry songs and floating banners. It is the one evening, when an indefinite number of guests may be invited, as there is room for all on the hospitable bank. So thousands of people gather to witness the rather unusual scene. After rowing for some time to exhibit their skill as oarsmen, the crews come together, and floating gently along, sing their varied crew songs, written for the occasion. The electric and coloured lights

upon the bank give to the bright faces and gay costumes an added charm, while the sound of the merry songs is wafted over the water. Many private boats are seen upon the lake in the wake of the float, and a genuine Venetian gondola, with gaily dressed gondoliers, adds to the picturesqueness of the scene. Sometimes two of the class-crews will try a short race, amidst much enthusiasm, but the race is additional, and not one of the timehonoured institutions of the occasion. Another festive occasion peculiar to Wellesley is " Tree Day." It is a day sacred to the Freshmen and Seniors, or fourth-year students, but all the four classes take some part. The Freshmen plant a â&#x20AC;˘ class tree amid appropriate ceremonies, and the Seniors at their tree, which was planted four years before, utter words of wisdom and advice for the benefit of their younger and less experienced fellowstudents. Each class appears in fancy costume, and so far as possible carries out the idea suggested by the costume. So on that day all ages and peoples may be seen, from Robin Hood with his merry archers to the Court of Tennyson's Princess, from Gypsies to the New Woman. In our second, or Sophomore year, our class wished to represent something typical of the year. Since the name meant " wise fool," we decided to represent owls as being most suggestive of the name. This is the only distinctive College day, when we all meet as one united family, and in the speeches college jokes and hits are made ad libitum. To an outsider it may appear as foolish, and unworthy the time of intellectual women, but to those of us to whom every word is pregnant with meaning it is surely a " feast of reason and flow of soul." There is much class spirit in the form

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classes and not only for the four years, physical and mental well-being of the but for always, the members of a class students. We all, whether English or are loyal to their class interests and to American college women, have the same each other. Many ingenious class socials aim, that of developing true womanhood, and receptions are enjoyed. Almost imand of equipping ourselves for whatever mediately upon entrance to college, a class sphere of action the future years may bring organization is formed, and the classto us. May the future years bring into meetings necessary to transact business the world, through us, increased wisdom, are a great factor in exhibiting the differpurity, and nobility ent characteristics of the girls and in EVANGELINE HATHAWAY. cementing friendships. (Wellesley, I 89o.) The college societies are of value in promoting more general social intercourse, and in destroying the tendency to class cliques. The Greek letter societies, Phi to a %pecies of Chaperon now Extinct. Sigma and Zeta Alpha, are literary in OF Oxford—chiefly North— Sing the glorious day's renown, their aims. The Shakespeare, Art, and When to lectures first went forth Classical societies all do work in accordWe who sought for learning's crown, ance with what is suggested by their And our ranks along the Broad proudly shone. names. A comparatively recent member of these societies is the Agora, which is We issued not alone From our Halls to enter quads devoted to the discussion of political Thou wast there, 0 Chaperon, questions. Thou wast there, with frowns and nods Another side of the social life of the To restrain our youthful chatter and our smiles. college is formed by the general receptions and fête occasions in which all join, For those early savage days students and faculty alike. Needed thy protecting smile, Lest some youth with flippant gaze Had you visited Wellesley last HalShould remark our want of style, low-e'en, in the Hall of the main building And should hint at reformation in our clothes. where three hundred students assemble for meals, an oppressive stillness would Thou hast vanished, Chaperon, have been noticed at dinner-time, quite From the lecture-room at least For our garments now have tone, different from the deafening "buzz." The Though our learning has decreased, girls were dressed in gay attire, but no one And we pay profound attention to our hair. uttered a sound during the first course. At the second course they did reach the But the subject of my song, stage of infancy and lisp in words of one Although hitherto obscure, syllable, until by the end of dinner words Is thy hand that hath so long With a kindly grasp and sure of several syllables were used. An occasional " mum " dinner is amusing and Unto learning's fortress led us bravely on. perhaps beneficial. Thou whose wisdom proved abroad This is simply a brief sketch of the That our efforts were sincere, typical social life of our colleges. This And who made the world applaud life is intended to be as healthy and as Work at which it used to sneer, useful as possible for promoting both the Unto thee our thanks are given, Chaperon r ;

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THE FRITILLARY. 'Moe %tory. WHAT do we not owe to the writers of fiction—those wonderful people who can not only " think of it all," to use a delightfully vague phrase, but who actually take the trouble to write it all down for our delight ? And trouble it must be, in spite of the "work-joy ; " as we cannot fail to see if we try to realize the physical labour involved in writing—we must not say a three-volume novel now-a-days,—but one of those " four-and-sixpence cash " volumes which are so temptingly displayed in booksellers' windows everywhere. Truly the value of a book is not to be reckoned in money. From the great writer, dramatist, poet, or novelist, whose creations are " not of an age but for all time," to the most ephemeral scribbler whose magazine-story serves to awaken our interest and sympathy during those half-hours when the everyday world becomes too oppressively realistic,—surely an unceasing tribute of gratitude and praise should be unweariedly paid to the story-teller. And so it is,— though it is too often marred by the meaningless praise of those who do not read, or reading, understand not, what they think it the correct thing to admire or by the unsparing criticism and censure so unmercifully dealt out by people who forget that few can create, but any fool can criticise. Hardest of all for the story-teller to bear, perhaps, is not the condemnation of poor stories, but the depreciation of the story generally as a form of literature. " It is only a novel" is a common phrase—"only," as a great novelist herself has well said, " some work in which the greatest powers of the mind are displayed, in which the most thorough knowledge of human nature, the happiest delineation of its varieties, the liveliest effusions of wit and humour, are

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conveyed to the world in the best-chosen language." When we consider that a good novel is all this, it really seems incredible that any one should boast that they seldom " waste time " in reading novels ; but some people actually do seem to think they deserve credit for such meritorious conduct However, the Law of Compensation has its revenge—such unfortunates are commonly sunk in the deepest slough of realism, and there we may leave them. It is a very different class of people who regret that they have no time to read novels,— and in their case the above-mentioned law acts in another way; for that ideal element without which life is mere existence is not confined to one channel, and they do not lose hold of it by their abnegation of the delights of novel-reading.. In childhood, however (and, happily for us, we were all children once), the story is the main avenue by which we approach the " ivory gate and golden "—that portal which if we can once succeed in opening will never again refuse us admittance to the enchanted land within—a veritable Forest of Arden whither !

" Go we in content To liberty and not to banishment."

And surely that gate did open for us sometimes while we were sitting curled up with a book by the fire or in the window, living absolutely for the time in our story, in spite of that feeling somewhere in our mind that those tiresome grown-up people, who could not possibly understand how much we wanted to know what was going to happen next, were just going to tell us that it was bed-time or tea-time, or some other equally intolerably dull and inconvenient time (dear me ! how different they seem now !), or, most annoying of all, would declare that we were " spoiling your

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eyes trying to read by this light. Now shut up your book, like a good child : you have read quite enough for one day." As if that were possible, when there were still ever so many of those entrancing pages to read ! A gifted writer has lately inimitably described the " search for the story " which makes up so large a part of the mental life of an imaginative child—and what child is not imaginative ? It is because our childish imaginations are too often starved, or improperly fed, that we grow up so terribly matter-of-fact. The blank feeling in the childish mind when a book is finished, the joy of a new book, especially if it were one which would take " quite a long time to finish," the disappointment given by " stories that were no stories,"— all these things come back to us as familiar, and happy are we indeed if we have not outgrown them altogether. But what is it that was and still is so supremely delightful about the story ? Surely it is that, whereas there is so much in real life which is irrelevant, uninteresting, and inartistic—(not necessarily ugly, but lacking proportion and harmony)—the story isolates the essential, takes us round to the back of things, shows us the connection between the elements of the real, and the true meaning of the seemingly irrelevant. We do this for ourselves when we build castles in the air out of the infinite possibilities of the future, leaving out all uninteresting and inconvenient details. Nay, when real life becomes specially coherent and interesting, do we not instinctively say " It 's just like a story " ? But the power that does all this is that marvellous faculty without which all science and art alike would perish, unanalyzable because creative, the imagination—that faculty by which we can live

in an ideal world, can free ourselves from the common-place, the matter-of-fact,— not from the real, for that would be no true boon, but from the realism of the real—the faculty, in short, by which alone love, hope, and faith are possible. Like the Promethean fire, once caught from heaven, it will leap from torch to torch, and will be kindled afresh in each mind that comes in contact with one where it already glows. The imagination by which a story is conceived and told is transferred to the reader or hearer. To understand it he must be carried along in the imaginative flight. He may lag behind, but he will, none the less, be the fitter to try his wings for himself another time. He has been taken out of himself, out of his narrow circle of interests ; the world has become larger to him, and the boundaries of his own personality have been pushed farther back. It has been well said, " But for this master-light of all our seeing' how small a circle of light would lie about our feet, how vast a darkness would engulf the world " It is, after all, the delight in the, story that is at the root of our interest in history. Even the scientific historian would not deny this the difference is merely that he tries to unravel the story of the nation rather than that of its prominent men the complexity of the task demands a wider sympathy and a keener imagination, that is all. Our interest in the story of Hercules or of Jack the Giant-killer does not differ essentially from that in the History of Civilization—they are both rooted and grounded in the social instinct, in sympathy with all that is hum an.1 But perhaps it is presumptuous to seek to analyze the charm of the story, or to detail the uses of fiction. Most of us will never write a story, we cannot even repeat one well; that penetrative insight, that !

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THE FRITILLARY. selective power of seizing the essential and leaving the irrelevant, which is the secret alike of good style and good matter—these are denied us : we can never make the world the richer for our imagination ; but at least we can be grateful, and we are, beyond words, to those who do. C.J.M.H.

Character Sketches at the Falls. NO.

I.-THE REBEL.

SHE has tersely said that rebellion is another way of spelling progress ; and I suppose we are justified in calling her an advanced young woman. Her outward appearance is not rebellious, it rather suggests submission ; and it is only in the privacy of her own room, and in the comfort of her own armchair (feet on mantelpiece), that she gives way to her revolutionary and abnormal views of things in general. She is really the greatest example of a living fraud that I know even among women, of whom the greater number are m ore or less consciously frauds or imitations. The Rebel is not an imitation : she is herself, affable, pedantic, rebellious. To see her all three at once is a sight reserved for the gods and her particular friends. For the general herd of Hallites such bliss is unattainable ; but by careful watching they may notice a stray beam of affability—perfect in its way, though shortlived—in her manner to her superiors. They may notice the unctuous twist of her lips as she enquires gently after their doings in vacation, whether they slept well last night, and so on, and admire her wonderful deftness in fashioning respectable bricks of breakfast conversation with such poor wisps of straw. This quality of hers

is a perpetual booby-trap for freshers, but in your observation you will notice a subtle difference in her manner to them. It is affability d la sauce y5iquante, of the kind whose sting does not penetrate till halfterm, or, if you are not particularly sensitive, till even later. This is the more strange, for in her fresh-hood her manner was always perfect ; that subtle mixture of shyness and flattering deference which for some reason is always regarded as the befitting dress of a fresher. (It has been suggested that all other is displeasing to the senior eye). Like well. cut hypocrisy, however, it may cover a multitude of sins ; and in this case it certainly covered some qualities which the Rebel finds now distinctly dangerous when in conjunction with her Halliotic feelings. Ne novis horninibus confide. The Rebel is an example of the irony of preconceived impressions. At home, so at least she assures me, she is the most respectable, law-abiding member of her family. I said, I remember, I wished she would introduce me to the other members ; I always did love disreputable people. " No, but I assure you you are entirely mistaken : I am the most respectable member of the Hall." I shook my head and grinned knowingly. I've been there myself. " But I tell you I have never had such a thing as a flirtation in my life." I roared with laughter ; it was a clinching argument, and beside many a Hallite she stood white indeed. No matter ; she has a reputation ; and even though she hang her exceptionally moral principles round her neck, rosaryfashion, she will not rid the public of the impression that they are counterfeit. Besides, she is a rebel, though in a local fashion. Not one of our little Hall rules but has been dragged across the burning coals of her sarcasm. At first it is rather startling to an ordinary mortal to be on familiar terms with

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the Rebel, it taxes one's mind so, and when one boasts more brain than mind it comes a little hard. She has an atrocious way of coming up to you, just as you have helped yourself to the last piece of nice pudding at lunch, and taking this for the text of some abstruse philosophical argument. You are only safe if you agree in tato and dexterously turn the conversation round to_hockey. For â&#x20AC;˘what does a plain woman do with searchings after the origin and nature of morality ? " The one has its root in custom, the other in art." But such things are entirely beside our life, where the ordinary is moral and the extraordinary the reverse. You may think to trip her up by translating her jargon into ordinary English ; it is no good. She climbs into her imaginary pulpit at the east door of the dining-room and harangues the pudding-bolting, soup-swilling audience, quite oblivious of their one-eared attention. To rouse her ire you must talk in an assured fashion of the ineffectiveness of heathen philosophy ; such Philistinism always draws her successfully. To calm her again, discuss the merits and defects of the United Eleven, and be sure you compare her unfavourably with her rival in the field. There is a subtle charm in this which appeals to her. Her great chagrin in life is her utter want of mathematical skill. She puzzles hopelessly by the hour over the old question of a hen and a half and an egg and a half; etc. Curiously enough, she is very fond of propounding remote problems which she never has the faintest idea how to solve. I overheard her a few days ago making an elaborate calculation of the number of people who could be accommodated on the Cher between the lower boathouse and Marston Ferry. She is athletic, but no skater. She wields a hockey-stick more dexterously than she commands her feet. Her practical philosophy of life comes in here, for she picks

herself up off the ice, expands with laughter, says " Right y' are !" and drives forward before the wind. This sketch is the result of much personal investigation and private research ; and while making it the writer has been much struck with the curious phenomenon that the most systematic rebels are in the eyes of dons the most perfect examples of humility and submission.

'claque Quo ? THERE was once an Article whose existence was such an anomaly that the general opinion inclined to the theory of its having certainly out-lived its day, if; indeed, it had ever had one. Its origin was involved in obscurity ; but a few legends were current of a vast and allembracing beneficence which in the dim past had intended great things for humanity by means of this Articleâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;edification, entertainment, and a number of social virtues. As a matter of fact, the Article accomplished great things, but of quite a different kind. This Article was not a thing which, when once created, would last unchanged to the end of time, nor did it contain in its nature the means of spontaneous renewal. A certain number of people were required for its reproduction, and these hated it with a soul-absorbing hatred. Occasionally they went further, and hated each other. It was these people chiefly who experienced the great things of which the Article was capable. It can scarcely be claimed for them that the result of their labours was all that could have been desired ; and this was not in the least surprising, since the two incentives to good work were wholly lacking : love was

THE FRITILLARY. conspicuous by its absence, and money was a minus quantity. At this particular age of society it was considered suitable for a great number of persons to possess the Article, and a good deal of moral suasion was exerted on those unenlightened members of the community who failed to realize their responsibility in the matter. Therefore on a given day, recurring at fixed periods, the well-disposed and the over-persuaded assembled at a given spot, and possessed themselves of the Article, which they then proceeded to treat according to their respective idiosyncrasies. Some of the more credulous were disappointed, and these murmured loudly and slanged the producers. The stronger spirits grimly analyzed their possession, submitted it to the test of a corrosive criticism, and succeeded in extracting from it more entertainment than would have at first sight seemed possible. A few, who were so unfortunate as to take life seriously, banished the Article from their sight, and, as far as they could, from their recollection, being oppressed with a sense of its uselessness and saddened by the thought of their own slavish subservience to a mistaken theory. " Which thingsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;."

EXPERIENS.

0. Ia.

ONCE again our Oxford has been delighting herselfâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;or the reverseâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;with the annual gala provided for her amusement by her younger sons. The Society, we believe, pleads as one of the excuses for its existence, its intention to expound those of Shakespeare's plays, less known to the world through the means of theatrical representation. On what ground, then,

may we ask, did it choose the " Merchant of Venice "? We know for a fact that this has been played before. However, though the intentions of the Society have been frustrated, it is pleasant to see an old friend again, and however old the play, new incidents are sure to cheer the patient audience on its way. Miss Percival Clark, who took the part of 7essica, was perhaps the most successful among the ladies, while those who most deserved commendation among the men were Mr. Bonnin (Shylock), Mr. Ellis (Gratiano), Mr. Comyns Carr (Antonio), and last but not least, Mr. J. Hearn (Launcelot Gobbo). Lorenzo, too, made love very prettily, although it was hard to have to preface his most telling scene with a remark on the appearance of the moon. The Prince of Morocco is to be congratulated on supplying many of the new and welcome incidents mentioned above,- for which the audience was duly grateful. The calmness with which he beheld a carrion death (what is a carrion-death ?) in the casket, instead of Portia's portrait, was one of the most striking things in the whole play. It was only equalled by the fortitude with which he bore his dismissal from Portia herself. Portia's part was taken by Miss Emily Bass. She deserves much praise for her careful elocution not one of her speeches was lost, even in the dialogue with Nerissa which the stagecarpenters so perseveringly tried to drown. Her acting and gestures, however, were lacking in animation, and in the casket scene especially she gave one the impression of a disinterested spectator. She was not at all the merry, quick-witted Portia one imagines, who masqueraded as a judge, and laughed at her lovers, and teased her husband for the lost ring. Nerissa too was very inadequate. The last thing one would expect of Nerissa is to be inaudible, the last :

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but one that she should be inclined to melancholy. The " convenient speed" of Balthasar' s exit, on one night at least of the performance, amused the audience greatly, and the discrepancy between Portia' s hands and Antonio's gloves also appealed to their sense of humour. By far the best scene was the last, which though short, was very bright and pretty, and was in fact the only one (except that between Gobbo and his father) in which the lighter touches in the " Merchant of Venice" were brought into any prominence

familiar Zcenes. (Oxford, Feb., 1895.)

I SLID along the slippery street, But not a soul I chanced to meet, Though Tom was striking three; Till from an ironmonger's door A 3outh emerged, who walked before ; I thought, "I'll follow thee." And soon we reached the classic scene Where Christ Church smiles with stately mien Upon a meadow fair; But where the daisies ought to grow Was one expanse of ice and snow, And all the world was there. And first we passed the siren throng, Who with their never-ending song Decoy men from afar. I heard not all the words they sang, But in my ears their chorus rang— "'Ere y' are, Sir 'ere y' are !" And so we join the motley crowd, The school-boy with his laughter loud, The maiden wrapped in furs ;

The hunting-man who, skating too, Because he's nothing else to do, Will take his skates for spurs. Historians pass with smile serene, And doubtless all recall the scene (I 'm rather weak at dates), When Empress Maud across the snow From Oxford once escaped, you know, But not,—I think,—on skates ? And he who scans dimensions strange, Whose intellect has for its range. Space and infinity, Looks with a rapture seldom matched To see if on the ice he's scratched A much misshapen three. And one who draws from day to day, By all the wise things he can say, The scholars round his seat, Now slipping, looks as though inclined To give his nicely-balanced mind For nicely balanced feet. A Freshman and a Don sedate Upon a snow-heap tete-a-tete We pity as we pass ; They only smile—they do not mind, For people's spirits rise, we find, Inversely as the glass. And Age and Youth don't find it hard (In spite of the immortal bard) For once their sports to share ; For here, amid the skating band, Are "six" and "sixty" hand in hand, And make a pretty pair. O may the spirits ne'er be lost That thirty-two degrees of frost Have not contrived to chill ! May they survive that fearful bore, The quite inevitable thaw, And leave us cheerful still ! V. C. H.

THE FRITILLARY. discussion on 1Deorees for Women.

a good thing, students on coming up to the University are not always the best judges for themselves. She agreed with the first speakers abOut the difficulty of making clear to the outside world any Oxford course, unless defined by a Degree ; and considered that as all thought, in this University as well as others, seemed to be tending to the same Degree for women as men, the best and natural course would be to give up our separate way, and take our share in the existing University as it is. Miss Gurney also very aptly pointed out that if women wish to take up a separate line they should do so in some different place, such as Holloway, and not at the old Universities. Miss WFIELPTON summed up by saying that the opponents of Degrees make too much of them in implying that they would revolutionize education and put pressure on Oxford students, but too little in underrating the disadvantage suffered by Oxford students as the result of not bearing a degree. These two views seem incompatible. The degree in itself is not important, but a mere stage in Women's Education, which would yet be of practical use. The meeting was closed by Miss Rogers, with thanks to Miss Soulsby for lending the room. The whole discussion showed spirit and interest, and put a clear idea of the subject before those present, though at some points the Debate extended to educational questions rather wider than the Degree.

A MEETING was held on February 19th last in connexion with the U.A.W.T., at the Oxford High School, to which those ladies interested in the subject were invited, to discuss the question of asking for the Degree. Miss Kircaldy, as Secretary of the U.A.W.T. Branch, first read the minutes of their last meeting. A paper was then read by Miss Whelpton dealing with those cases in which Oxford students have found the absence of Degree a practical disadvantage ; this applies chiefly to private posts, as facts are becoming known to those in charge of public posts, but private teaching is of more importance than is usually remembered, and has the power of reforming all education. Miss MAITLAND spoke next, and besides dwelling more fully on the same practical questions, she mentioned the proved advantages of an intermediate School, and the value of a little Greek to a person already cultured in other ways. Mrs. A. JOHNSON read a paper, in which she showed the disadvantage it would be for women to give up the liberty they now have as to choice of study and examination. She considered the value of a University School sufficiently well known, without the badge of a Degree, and though certain that it would come in time, thought it best to keep our liberty, and dispense with a " red ribbon " and a slight knowledge of Greek. The Cambridge authorities were quoted in defence of her opinion. Mrs. Green suggested some minor difficulties, but The chief arguments against the Degree seem to took no definite side. Miss Soulsby raised the be that :question of the difference between woman's educaI. The freedom of study now allowed to women tion and man's, and suggested that they should would probably have to be given up. develop on separate lines, each with its own fitness. 2. Men's system of Examinations (as illustrated Short speeches were made on various single by the Pass B.A.) are by no means ideal, therefore parts of the subject by Miss Baker, Mrs. Haldane, why should women seek to conform to their reguMiss Smith, Mrs. Scott, Mrs. Pickard, and others. lations ? A letter was read from Mrs. Rhys concerning the 3. In some cases women have less time and Welsh Universities ; while German and Swiss money to spare for an Intermediate Examination. Universities were discussed by Miss Wardale. 4. Pressure would increase it would be hard on Miss ROGERS pointed out that the special Girls' Schools, and force students to strive merely privileges belonging to women students in Oxford for the B.A. rest on an insecure basis, and might be removed at 5. An Oxford School is already sufficiently well any time quite apart from the Degree. At the understood. Mistakes occur regarding men's same time, though freedom in study may often be achievements as well as women's. :

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The chief arguments in favour of the Degree seem to be that :r. Freedom of study might still continue if advisable ; but it is already precarious, and is not always a. good thing for students. The experience of many Universities has proved the use of an Intermediate Examination. 2. If women wish to set up a system separate from men's, they should do so at some other place, and not at Oxford. Here they should influence as well as share the existing system. 3. The Degree is sure to come, as it is the next stage in the advance of women's education ; and it would be better to secure it now than merely to obstruct the movement. 4. The addition of more Latin and some Greek would not revolutionize girls' education ; as, in the present state of society, the number of those training for the University is limited. But any difference thus made would be an improvement. 5. Fractical experience proves that Oxford students have suffered by the absence of a Degree, especially as the work done at Oxford varies so widely that a misunderstanding of it is excusable. This has a wide application, but particularly refers to private posts. Both these sets of arguments can be judged on their own merits, and will enter into the discussions on Degrees for Women, which are beginning to come forward. M. W. WHELPTON.

the inttea balls 1Debating Society. THE first Debate of term was held at Somerville College on Tuesday, Jan. 29th, Miss Deverell (S.C.) being President, and Miss Hatch (S.H.H.) Secretary. The motion before the House was " That in the opinion of this House the modern Novel is not a legitimate development of the Art." Miss LINDSEY (S.C.), the Proposer, began by giving a brief sketch of the history of fiction, which, she said, was the most modern of all literary forms. Since the

first Novel came out there has of course been a great change in Novels, due to the change of the times, and of the circle of readers. The speaker complained that it is said that the Novel-reading public consists chiefly of girls of from sixteen to twenty years of age. This, she maintained, is not the case, but the change in the style of the plot of modern Novels shows that the Novel-reading public consists rather of the workers, the speakers, and the thinkers of the age. We were to consider, then, whether this change was a legitimate development of the art. In answering the question, we might, she said, put aside altogether the penny dreadfuls and shilling shockers, which could not enter into the discussion, and reserve our consideration for two classes of novelsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;(t) the Novel with a Purpose, and (2) the Realistic Novel. It was, she declared, the abuse of these forms of the Novel which made them illegitimate. Taking the first class of Novel, the Novel with a Purpose, the Proposer quoted Dickens as the best writer of the kind, and said that the fault of our modern writers, and especially of women, was that they did not mix the moral well up with the story. She compared their work to an illmade soda cake, with disagreeable lumps of unmixed soda. The moral ought to pervade the whole, but it should not be apparent in any one place. As to the second class, the Realistic Novel, she pointed out that its aim was really to paint men as they are, not as they should be. If this were all that was pre-supposed in the Realistic Novel, those of Miss Austen would be perfect examples of the kind But unfortunately Realism is always taken to mean something hideous and revolting. "Need this be so, however ? " she asked. " Is the ideal always shining and vapid, and is the Real in!

THE FRITILLARY. variably ugly and wicked, as the Realistic Novel would have us suppose ? If we are to be realistic at all, let us by all means be so really, and not conventionally." She then touched upon a third class of fiction,—the Short Story. This, she said, it was difficult to criticise, as so much depended on one's individual feeling about it. As the Realistic Novel arose out of the dearth of plot, so the Short Story was the outcome, she supposed, of the general rush of the nineteenth century. In conclusion, she said that it was remarkable that there is scarcely one author of successful short stories who has not failed in his attempt at larger novels. Miss WILLIAMS (S.H.H.) opposed. She said the first difficulty in discussing the motion lay in defining the word Novel. Two words in the motion help us a little towards doing this—art, and development. If Fiction is an Art, as Mr. Walter Besant and the Society of Authors maintain, then it must be governed by certain laws. The scope of fiction, she said, is quite unlimited, for it treats of men and women, and there is ever something fresh in human character. As to the form which this fiction is to take, it must be remembered that the greatest art of the novelist is to be able to tell his story, to make his characters live, and to be human actors working out the harmonious whole. As to the style of the Novel, she pointed out George Meredith as one of the greatest masters of the art of rousing an inward vision by the work of his pen. Coming to the question of the aim and object of the Novel, she said it was quite true that it was to amuse, but why should not fiction also be a teaching power, like the other arts,—music, painting, 4ulpture ? Indeed it must be so, of necessity, for the story of life is in itself a moral. But although certain general definitions of the Novel are

possible, yet it must not be trammelled by hard and fast laws ; it is capable of endless developments : any style is permissible which is strong and forcible. One rule only, she said, must never be violated — the sense of proportion must be maintained. She then remarked that in every art there are but a few representatives of it living at one time, and that she thought that there are now great representatives of the Art of Fiction living and working. She quoted especially Meredith, J. M. Barrie, Marion Crawford, and Hall Caine. Each of these is a great teacher, without ceasing at the same time to be an artist. Dealing with these authors separately, she pointed out that the interest of Meredith's works consists in the way in which the characters of the actors gradually unfold themselves, aided only by the comments of the author. His style is one of great intensity, due to the vivid descriptions and often startling metaphors. His comic types are treated in a delightfully tender manner, and his general moral is a healthy optimism. Speaking of Barrie, she described his characters as living in scenes of everyday life. Through the marvellously detailed setting of their surroundings, by which the reader unconsciously makes up a picture, the characters are revealed. His humour, an essential feature of his universally charming style, is never bitter or contemptuous. Finally, she said that the great test of his teaching power is that while he is a realist, he is never in despair. As to Marion Crawford, she observed that he takes people of many nationalities for his characters, and is not bound by unity of place. His characters are placed in unique circumstances, and reveal themselves not by words, but by actions ; they live, however, for the story itself is the

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purpose. His theme is human life, swayed by love. In describing Hall Caine, the opposer said that either he must hold the highest place in our estimation, or none at all. He possesses a marvellous power of awakening and sustaining sympathy. As a teacher he stands high, and shows how unrivalled uncontrolled passion carries with it its own punishment. Surely, the speaker concluded, with these four giant living artists bpfore us, we need not speak of the modern novel as being an illegitimate development of the Art. Miss CRAIGIE HALKETT (L.M.H.), in supporting the Proposer, said that indeed the four charming writers quoted by the Opposer were those upon whom the mantle of the Prophet had fallen, but they must not be taken as representatives of modern writers ; and in considering the question we must look rather at the majority of authors, than at exceptions such as these. She observed that the wording of the motion presupposes that fiction-writing is an art. As such its essential necessity is to be beautiful, and its essential function to please. There are three characteristics which mark the works of great masters of fiction, and the speaker called attention to the utter absence of these features in most modern novels : namely (f) proportion of arrangement, (2) a sense of humour, and (3) fine delineation of character. She spoke of the modern Novel as being guiltless of plot, and showing a want of that care and intense devotion which all art demands of its disciples. Miss WILKINSON (S.C.), supporting the Opposer, regretted the prevalence of the Short Story as the most modern form of fiction, but said that in their way they have attained to much perfection. As to the attacks on the Realistic Novel, she said

that she did not see why the art of fiction should be compressed within narrow limits, while music and painting are permitted to go to any extremes. She mentioned Robert Louis Stevenson as the most perfect master of modern fiction, and refused to say anything concerning such works as " Dodo " and " Yellow Aster," which she said were a fungus growth, arising from the unhealthy feeling of a few individuals. She described them in the words of Punch as being "neurotic, erotic, and tommy-rotic " (laughter). Miss KERSHAW (S.H.H) said that as four great living writers had been quoted in one generation, it is a proof of the superiority of the modern fiction : for all the classic writers that have been quoted were the products of many generations. There spoke also Miss Fry, Miss O'Brien, Miss Ellis, and Miss Oakeley. In summing up, Miss I,INDSEY said she thought it was a degradation to the art that it should be used as a mouthpiece for every new fad or idea that people want to draw attention to. She also said she did not think the humour of the modern Novel which had been quoted during the discussion was humorous. She also mentioned the forcing of novelists when they have written some good work, and the immediate demand of the publishers for a second. Art cannot be developed in a hurry. The motion was lost by 25 -votes.

The second debate of term was held on Tuesday, Feb. 12th, at the Hostel, Lady Margaret Hall. The motion was, " That in the opinion of this House, Action is a higher form of Self-Realization than Thought." â&#x20AC;˘ The Proposer, Miss HODSON (L.M.H.), defined Self-Realization as meaning the outward shape that we give to our character, or the making real of ourselves. She described the weak points of Thought.

THE FRITILLARY. (r) There is a strange indolence connected with Thought of any kind, deep or shallow. As an example of this she quoted our so-called " thinking," which often really consists in sitting in an arm-chair before the fire, while the untouched essay lies on the table beside us (laughter). (2) The impotence of Thought. Political Economists have done little, she said, to grapple with the storms of social difficulties raging on all sides. What had even Mill done to produce any result ? (3) The monotony of Thought. The same arguments are brought forward again and again. How many and often useful suggestions were made at the time of the strikes, that there should be more generosity on the one side, and more contentment upon the other. She then showed how narrow the effects of Thought were compared with those of Action ; how the thoughts of even the highest thinkers only serve to elevate the few ; and how it is only the very few, indeed only equals or superiors, that can understand the noble thoughts of the noblest minds. But there are at least twenty people who can follow an Action to one who can understand a Thought. Before Self-Realization can be attained, she went on, theory must be put into practice, Thought into Action ; and Action constrains others to a SelfRealization to which they would never have attained by themselves. In conclusion, she pointed out that as Thought is a step to Action, without which it would not be complete, therefore it is lower than Action. Miss ALDER (L.M.H.) opposing, began by saying she thought that this was a strange motion to bring forward in Oxford—the home of thought— (laughter). It was one, however, which had been discussed in another city, also the home of learning, where Aristotle triumphantly asserted the superiority of Thought over Action. She defined Self-Realization as being the process by which we approach nearer to the ideal of our lives. It is indeed an ideal rather to be sought after, than to be attained to. She quoted the words " Man is a rational— a thinking animal," and asked, What kind of man is looked upon with the greatest admiration ? She said that it was the Genius, not the man of action, and compared the value of the work of a carpenter

with that of a literary man. It is impossible that any man should self realize while he is working for his bread and cheese. Taking the Proposer's argument she turned it round, saying that as it is impossible to separate Thought from Action, and as Action is impossible without Thought, therefore Thought is the highest, the noblest, the most necessary. As to the people who spend their life thinking, she pointed out that all Thought must ultimately help on the world it may lie dormant for ages, but it will one day be brought out into expression, and will be useful to mankind. In science, she said, the same truth applies. We want science for its own sake, work for the sake of finding out the truth, thought for the sake of thought. In conclusion she quoted the words of Shakespeare as the aptist expression of Self-Realization :" To thine own self be true ; '

And it must follow, asthe night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man." Miss- ETLINGER (S.H.H.), supporting the Proposer, defined Self-Realization as the perfect development of our powers. Thought is passive, she said, and it could not therefore attain to SelfRealization till it had crystallized into Action. Quoting from " The Manxman," she said that Philip the man of intellect, the thinker, did not attain to such Self-Realization as Pete the man of action. She also compared the philosophical nations of the East with the practical ones of the West, and showed that it was the latter which had most attained to Self-Realization. Miss O'BRIEN (S.C.) quoted Browning in supporting the Opposer. He says that we are judged by what we aim at, not by what we attain to, and that therefore our Thought is more important than our Action. The subject being open to general debate, a lively discussion ensued, which turned chiefly upon the relative merits of Jews and Greeks, the one nation representing Action, and the other Thought. The following members spoke :—Miss Ellis, Miss Dampier, Miss Wilkinson, and Miss Saunders. Miss JOSEPH (S.C.) combated the Proposer's remarks on political economy, and said that in speaking of the usefulness of economists who had .

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Ricardo even at their fingers' ends she had confused memory with Thought. Summing up, the Proposer denied that in Science Thought was greater than Action. It is always agreed, she declared, that experiment is better than hypothesis, which is only allowable very occasionally and from the greatest minds. The Debate taking place at the time of the great frost, she created much laughter by declaring that the Opposer's words hardly held good, and that at the present moment "Oxford on the river did not exactly present the appearance of a thinking city." The motion was carried by one vote.

The third debate was held at S. Hugh's Hall, February 26th, the motion before the House being, "That thrift in the sense of provision for old age is never a virtue and always immoral." Miss LACY to avoid misconception proposed to narrow the proposal to thrift as a provision for old age. She also excluded the case of a rich man putting by capital from a large income. The standard of morals has passed through various stages :(r) In pagan times the idea of morals was based on a sense of measure and proportion. (2) In the middle ages we find an ascetic ideal based on the conception of self-mastery and selfabnegation. (3) The modern ideal is based on disregard of self,â&#x20AC;&#x201D;in a word, on altruism and it is from this standpoint that the morality of thrift must be regarded. The aim of every individual should be to increase his working efficiency ; he has no right to store up for old age what is necessary to him in the present. When he grows old his maintenance is the duty of the community, so long as he is useful when no longer useful, gratitude for past services should secure his maintenance. The age is not perfect, therefore it is doubtless worldly-wise to provide for the future ; but worldly wisdom is not a virtue. The only argument against this is that in not making provision for old age we shall in the future be dependent on the community. But if we stint ourselves in the present we rob the age of working ;

efficiency, and the saving to the future generation is not equivalent to the loss of the present generation. To sum up, our lives are given to use for the good of the community. There is, however, a twofold danger,â&#x20AC;&#x201D;firstly, that we may take what is not necessary to working efficiency ; and secondly, that having attained that efficiency we should not make use of it. Our guiding principle must be to look on ourselves as merely tools to be used for the good of others. It is therefore immoral to provide for old age at the cost of present efficiency. Miss MACAULAY began by showing the use which could be made of the capital saved by thrift, and the deterioration of character in the thriftless person, with its consequent bad effects on the community at large. She then proved that thriftlessness was incompatible with either the Aristotelian or Kantian code of ethics. Aristotle says that the chief good is attainable only in a state of leisure, and this is impossible to the thriftless person who is engaged in a bare struggle for existence. Kant's great maxim is, Be automonos. Action in accordance with law is the chief good. But if thriftlessness were universal how would this be possible ? Intemperance, early marriages, and mendicity would be everywhere prevalent. Miss OAKELEY said that the question of the morality of thrift was a question of character it must affect the whole life. She would substitute Plato's ethical system for Aristotle's. Miss SAUNDERS objected to the narrow sense given to the motion. Thrift as a provision for old age might mean provision for others as well as for oneself. Mrs. JOHNSON did not agree that thrift was immoral, though she did not consider it a virtue. It becomes immoral, however, when parents exercise it at the cost of their children's welfare. Old people have a claim on the new generation but the best insurance for maintenance in old age is a good temper. Miss WORDSWORTH said that thrift was very necessary for single people the records of the Governesses' Benevolent Society were enough to prove this. Nature teaches thrift, and the looking forward to old age is a natural instinct which leads on to thinking of the future life. :

THE FRITILLARY. Miss O'BRIEN spoke in favour of the motion and the Misses SAUNDERS against. Miss LACY in summing up said that most of the arguments brought up were based on misconceptions, thrift being understood as opposed to waste. The only argument that weighed with her was that stored capital meant power for the future. It was a question of course for the individual to decide whether present efficiency or power in the future was of most good to the community.

A MEETING of the A.S.D.S. was held on Saturday, February gth, at 5 p.m. Miss Legge moved, " That the minor poet is a mistake." Mrs. Ball opposed. After some debate, Mrs. Nugent Jackson moved as an amendment, "That the modern serious versifier is a mistake." Mrs. Dyer seconded this. Finally Miss Legge withdrew her motion in favour of the amendment. On the amendment being put to the House, it was carried by a majority of five.

%omerrille College. THE Hockey Club much regret the loss of their former captain, Miss Philips, but welcome Miss Nicholl as her successor. The constitution of the club has been slightly altered, the committee now consisting of four : captain, Miss Nicholl ; vicecaptain, Miss Pope ; treasurer, Miss Marett ; and secretary, Miss Russell. On account of the frost the levelling of the new field at the end of Norham Gardens, which was to have been ready at the beginning of term, has not been finished. For the same reason there has been very little play, and two matches, against the Bedford Ladies' Hockey Club and Iver Ladies' Hockey Club, have had to be put off. THE BROWNING SOCIETY continues to meet fortnightly, and the meetings are well attended. Besides short pieces, we have read "A Soul's Tragedy," and are now reading " King Victor and King Charles."

This term we have two new members, Miss Scott and Miss Oakeley. SCIENTIFIC AND PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY.â&#x20AC;&#x201D;SinCe

the last issue we have had three very successful meetings. At the end of last term Miss Legge read a paper, before a large gathering of members and friends, on " Greek Art," describing in detail many statues on the Acropolis' at Athens, and illustrated by numerous beautiful photographs. Miss Legge has most kindly conducted parties through the University Art Galleries, in order to give members of the society a more complete knowledge of the subject. At the first meeting of this term Miss Wilkinson read a paper on " Vibrations "; this was followed by discussion, and afterwards a small wasps' nest was exhibited, and some account given Of the habits of wasps when building. Our heartiest thanks are due to Mr. Wells, of Wadham, for his most 'interesting lecture on the " History of the University." The Gymnasium was filled with an appreciative audience, who followed Mr. Wells' clear description of the various stages of development of the University, with much enjoyment. Over seventy lanternpictures added greatly to the pleasure of the evening. MISS S. B. WILLIAMS, Somerville College, arrived in Travancore, S. India, on January 2 1st, and met with an extremely encouraging reception from the teachers and pupils of the Sirkar Girls' High School, Trivandrum, of which she has been appointed Lady Principal.

ILabtâ&#x20AC;˘ Margaret Fall. to the long frost there has been very little hockey and tennis, and hardly any boating. Skating, however, has been prosecuted with much vigour, and some of us have even achieved the mysteries of outside edge. We are very sorry to lose Mrs. Johnson from the Secretaryship of the A.E.W., but we must congratulate ourselves on having obtained the services of Miss Rogers in her stead. We much appreciate her kindness in thus undertaking one more duty in addition to her already numerous and arduous ones. OWING

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Three of our number had to go down at the end of last term,—Miss Clarke, Miss Gascoigne, and Miss Moberley. The absence of the latter two is, it is hoped, only temporary. We have four new students, Miss Philips, Miss M. and Miss C. Sanders, and Miss Thicknesse. We much regret that in our last number no mention was made of the fact that Miss Forster and Miss Boone had each gained a First Class in the Modern Language School. We offer our apologies to these ladies, and our somewhat tardy congratulations. A representation of W. D. Howell's farce, "The Mouse Trap," was given by the students of the Hostel on Feb. afith. The cast was as follows :— Mrs. Miller Mrs. Cumin Mrs. Bemis Mrs. Roberts Miss Mayhew Jane Willis Campbell Amy -

Miss Wilkinson. Miss Steel. Miss Ash. Miss Skelton. Miss Baylay. Miss White. Miss Sellar. Miss Carruthers.

Miss Sellar as Willis was excellent, while Miss Carruthers gave a natural and sympathetic render ing of the character of Amy. The minor parts, especially that of Mrs. Bemis, were all well sustained. The entertainment was in aid of the Hockey Club. The new path is being proceeded with spasmodically. The more sanguine among us prophesy that it will be open by the end of this term. The Hall has not escaped from the prevailing epidemic, but fortunately the cases have been neither numerous nor severe. From the frost we have suffered little ; the gas, as George Meredith would say, occasionally shone with a "dark radiance," but our water supply was never interrupted, and we were one of the few houses in Oxford where baths were indulged in daily during the recent cold.

lbugb's ball. 'term a few alterSHAKESPEARE ations have been made in the working of this Society. Members have kept the same parts throughout the play (" King Lear "). There have SOCIETY.—This

been five meetings, one act being read at each. By these and a few other slight changes flagging interest has been revived, and there has been a marked improvement in the reading. SHARP PRACTICE SOCIETY Still pursues the even tenor of its way, notwithstanding the small number of its adherents.

lbome Stubents. THIS term we have four new students :Augusta Egerton. Katherine Hawkins. Mary Sudakewitsch, St. Petersburg. Violet O'Kelly, St. Hilda's.

lRewnbam ?Letter. THE chief interests of this term, so far, have been skating, influenza, and " Commemoration." Skating on the river was largely taken advantage of, and one or two adventurous spirits skated to or from Ely. Influenza has been doing its dire work among us, and has laid students one by one temporarily on the shelf. Nearly all the cases have, however, been slight. Our Commemoration Banquet celebrates the anniversary of the passing of the Graces on February 24th, 188r, which admitted women formally to the Tripos Examinations. It is always an occasion for much gathering together of old students and a general display of loyalty and enthusiasm for our College. Speeches are made, and "Auld Lang Lyne" is sung in extenso and something more. Hockey has been seriously interrupted by the frost ; but now it has been begun again with zeal. There is going to be a College Concert, also another Debate. The last one was on the advantage conferred on society by the existence of a leisured class. The House decided that the existence of such a class was desirable. [The Letters from Girton and Holloway Colleges arrived too late for insertion.—En.] Oxford: Printed by ALDEN & CO, LTD., Bocardo Press.