No. 4
Marcia, 1908.
PRIZE. COMPETITIONS:— I. SHORT STORY ^ 717 2, TYPICAL SPECIMEN OF A FRITILLARY CONTRIBUTION . . . . 718
1 . 11=;----. ,C7"--- _ /
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...._
Ogfor0; PRINTED FOR THE PROPRIETORS BY JAMES
A SONNET . . , A TOUR IN FRANCE ,
- 719
- 719 . OXFORD . . . 720 THE STUDENTS ABROAD. . No. III. . . . 720 . Ex1LE , - 723 WEST-COUNTRY ORCHARDS . 724 OXFORD STUDENTS' DEBAT. ING SOCIETY . . 725 OXFORD STUDENTS' LAWN TENNIS CLUB - 731 OXFORD STUDENTS' DRAMATie! READING CLUB . 731 OXFORD STUDENTS' UNITED HOCKEY CLUE . . - 731 LADY MARGARET HALL • 732 SOMERVILLE COLLEGE . ' 733 , ST. HUGH'S HALL. 734 ST. HILDA'S HALL • 735 SOCIETY OF OXFORD HOME STUDENTS 735
PARKER & CO., CROWN YARD.
Ebitor : Miss jACQU1ER, St. Hilda's Hall.
treasurer : Miss WALLER, Oxford Home Students. Committee : Miss Miss Miss Miss
MORTON,
Lady Margaret Hall.
Somerville College. St. Hugh's Hall. BRAMELD, St. Hilda's Hall. MORGAN-BROWN,
GORDON,
Miss MATTHEWS, Oxford Home Students.
MARCH.
No. 43. Vri3e Competition, 1140. 1. SHORT STORY.
The prize has been awarded to Miss Naoraji, St. Hilda's Hall, for the following short story.
Mott. COME, child, and sit beside me by this well-side, and I shall tell you all about it. But look how the patient bullocks draw the " kose " ; what a weird music is made by those large leather sacks, that seem to groan under the weight of the water they bring up from the well. But I see you are impatient to hear the story of that beautiful monument, that stands in the little wood we just passed. Ah ! you think, perhaps, some great prince built it, in remembrance of the first beautiful hart he slew ? or perhaps it is in memory of some great warrior, who died for his country ? No, it was built not in memory of some beautiful animal killed for sport, nor to the glory of some great warrior. That perfect monument stands to tell of a deed of a simple Rajput woman. She lived long, long ago, in the year —25. She was the nurse of the infant prince of J —, whose mother died soon after he was born. The father of the infant seeing Moti's worth, gave her the entire charge of the young heir. All the palace loved Moti, for she was kind and gentle, and loved the prince well. Now Moti had a child of her own about the same age as the infant prince. This little one is said to have had as much devotion for his prince as his mother. And the women at the palace used to say, that he would not feed before his little prince had had enough, he would not sleep before his little
1908.
prince had fallen fast asleep. So days went by and Moti nursed both the little prince and her own little brown boy, and was the mistress of the zenana. One bright and beautiful day, Moti sat on the rich satin cushions on the floor of the Royal nursery, watching the two little ones playing. She thought that her child and her prince had never looked so happy before. She watched the two as their tiny dimpled hands waved about in ecstasy, and now and again a gurgle escaped those baby lips expressive of the delight of their little lives. The day grew hotter and hotter, and soon the baby limbs, tired with too much joy, lay quiet in sleep. Near the little prince slept Moti's child clasping him in his brown dimpled arms, as if to protect him from harm. Moti sat gazing at the two sleeping forms, till she was suddenly awakened by a sound of the clashing of swords and angry words. She flew to the little carved window over-looking the guard-house, and saw the guards being overpowered by a band of men. From the colour in their turbans she knew that they were the enemies of the little prince. But before she could leave the window a guard rushed in crying, " Moti, they come to murder our lord the prince." For a moment Moti stood looking down on the two sleeping children. Then stooping down, she snatched up her own child and pressed him close to her heart for a second ; putting him down, she picked up the little prince and took from his head the jewelled cap and the rich royal robe, and put them on her own child, who lay smiling on the floor. Hardly had she done this, when the huge door of the nursery gave way and the ruffians rushed in, and Moti had just time to escape with the prince in her arms. " Ah ! " shouted one of the men, " so she has gone with
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her own child, and left the prince, whom she is said to have loved so well. Fools to believe that a woman could love another's flesh and bone thus." So saying they walked up to where little Moru lay dressed in his prince's robes. They took him up and left the palace unopposed. When they came to this little wood, so happy did little Moru appear, that one of the band wished to leave him there alive, rather than stain their " khfinjurs " (daggers) with his innocent blood. But another, laughing to scorn his words, stooped down and plunged his dagger into the little heart. It is said that the little one never gave one cry or moan, but died with a smile on his baby lips, as if proud to have died for his prince. The sun had set behind the hills long ago. And although it was " chand-rat " (full-moon night), the wood was dark ; for the moon, as if loath to look upon a sight so sad, glided behind large white clouds, that moved lazily in the sky. Here and there the bright patient stars looked on that little lifeless form, as it lay amongst the flowers and grass. There was a movement amongst the leaves ; and Moti stood looking down on the lifeless body of her child. The moon that had been behind the clouds all this time suddenly appeared in all her majesty in a clear blue eastern sky, studded with a thousand stars. The bfilbal on a tree close by sang sadly by fits and starts. Moti was awakened from her dream. She drew out a small bright dagger from her sari. She looked round, and her eyes fell on a smooth large stone; she picked it up and inscribed on it, " I have saved my prince, now I must go to nurse my child." When she had done that, she thrust the dagger deep into her breast, and lay down beside her child. Now, rise my little friend, you must not look so sad; what if few can see that monument, she yet lives. Come let us go into the wood and look upon it once more. NURGIS NAORAJI.
Vri3e Competition 14o. 2.
!
A SPECIMEN OF A TYPICAL CONTRIBUTION TO THE "FRITILLARY." THE Committee had difficulty in awarding the prize, but the contribution of Miss Gordon (St. Hugh's Hall) has been judged best. Miss Jephson (Somerville College) and Miss Watkins (Home Student) are to be congratulated for the contributions printed below.
Ube Poet's jitrocation to 1)0 illJtic.5e. I. " Muse, lovely Muse, come hither and be kind, Fill the sad vacuum of thy Poet's mind With song so rare as shall induce surprise, Print, laurels, fame, pecuniary prize. Let but thy wary feet avoid that pit, The obvious assonance of skit' and Frit.' Then come in whatsoever guise thou choose, Whether a musing or amusing muse The A.E.W. will smile to see Their child the Sappho of her century. :
II. Or why not emulate that tuneful fowl The Swan of Avon? In our Hall is hung A shield that beareth for its rich device A milk-white Swan ; the self-same gentle bird Adorns our envelopes, our hockey team Say not its verdant ground hetokeneth An intellect proportionately green Leave then, my Muse, thy couplet try blank verse. It may be better, and it can't be worse. :
!
:
IIL Blank verse is hard I grant you that ; Its very blankness is a snare To youthful poets hence beware It fall not too exceeding flat. :
:
IV. Nil desfierana'um, 0 my Muse,
Be innocently gay A tripping metre may excuse Thy imbecility. V. Or try a sadder, more suggestive lay Warble thy wood-notes in a minor key. The ploughman homeward plods his weary way, But why should'st thou plod heavily as he ? :
:
VI. Sweet Muse, in any metre only come !" And echo answered, for that muse was dumb. (A WOULD-BE COMPETITOR FROM S.H.H.)
THE FRITILLARY. Sonnet. (TOSSED OFF IN A MOMENT OF AGONY.) SMILE then upon me, dim depressing sun,
Heed not the sorrows of the sainted moon, Speak in eternal nothings, meaningless, And cease not though I pray thee as a boon. Red roses fade and lilies too expire, But smile on me and all the hidden deeps Of genius in me will awake in fire— My passionate strength and beauty only sleeps, My vivid mind, my all possessing soul, Will not run riot in an alien world, But soothed by misery will gently roll Like hammer by some frenzied hero hurled. And I, wrapt in myself, thrice doubly blest, Will seek and find myself in every blade Of simple grass and each fair tender flower, Save that /place them, everyone, in shade. A. J. JEPHSON.
t tour in trance.
I THOUGHT the Fritillary might be interested to hear about my trip to France. I do not suppose any of my readers have ever been in France, or indeed crossed the sea, but I will, nevertheless, refrain from describing this last very varied experience, and go straight on to the time when I landed. The first thing that caught my eye was a squalid town composed of houses arranged in streets, and there seemed to be an earthquake in progress as I stepped on shore. I was immediately deeply impressed by the natives, who spoke French in a manner which I—in spite of an excellent education—could scarcely rival, and even the children appeared remarkably clever in picking up the language, How can I describe the unexpressibly jolly feeling of a foreign town I The sky overhead, the earth underfoot, the trees in the "boulevards," as their streets are so often called, the trains which run so merrily about the public highway with a gay, light-hearted, Continental scorn for human life, the interesting and unique dogs that cross one's every step, the military manhood of France, seldom over 12 years of age, never over 4 feet- in height, and draped in -the " tri=color" which historical students tell 2
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us dates from the famous Revolution--all appeal intensely to the imagination, and made me personally feel almost as jolly as I do in College. It is useless to attempt to describe the varied scenes through which we passed in the course of the two days I spent in a foreign country, and I do not think it would be possible to convey to my English readers the atmosphere of typically Continental towns, villages, and rural scenes. It will be more suitable, therefore, if I dwell for a few moments for their benefit on La Vendee, and it will be exceptionally interesting for them when they hear that this beautiful " jardin de France," as it has possibly been called, is absolutely indistinguishable from the average English landscape. Trees and hedges and fields form its main features, with occasional low hills, and the whole country is intersected with roads. The country people are very charming, but I found on talking to them that they did not understand the best French. I must not take up any more of the valuable space afforded by the Fritillary, and I do not wish to strike envy to the hearts of any by my remarkable powers of observation, or to make those sad who have less opportunity than I have of thoroughly enjoying the charming change and merry " insouciance" of a trip to France. May I end with the words of Shelley—I -think they summarise my whole feeling with regard to that happy time :" I trod as one tranced in some rapturous vision." A.
J. JEPHSON.
If readers of the Fritillary appreciate my Tour in France I will be very glad to write about the Pyrenees or the Italian Lakes next time. I have never been to either, so cannot go so deeply into them as I have in the case of France, but I feel I could write sympathetically about either all the same.
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720
Ogforb. LIKE the waters of a river, Of a softly flowing river, Are the words of Alma Mater. Source they find in that great mountain Men call knowledge, which is wisdom Gathered in from all the ages Since creation had a history. Thence her gentle words flow onward, Through the valley of her deep thought, Through the meadows of her- fancy, Kept in bounds by sense of fitness And the love of truth, for truth's sake, Till they reach the mighty ocean Of Idea, in full perfection, Making for the dim horizon The Unknown and Infinite. Quay. Did the noble few who planned it,
Planned this competition weary, Hope to cull from carping critic Something funny, something dreary, Skit, or satire's bitterest thrust ? Or did they, by skilful action, Wish to offer great incentive, Wish to challenge every thinker To her highest, best endeavour, To an aim beyond her own ? We must leave unsolved this riddle, Leave it in the great unknown. DOROTHY WATKINS.
the %tubents tbroab. No. III. LIFE IN AN AMERICAN WOMAN'S COLLEGE. To generalize and also to particularize in my matter would be to burst the covers of the Fritillary. To merely generalize, in the face of this unexpected opportunity of extolling the charms of my Alma Mater, is quite beyond the reaches of my spirit. I shall not even descant upon the superior advantages of segregation over co-education, nor upon the superiority of my own particular " female college " over its most noted sisters Vassar, Smith, and Bryn Mawr, and half-sister Radcliffe. But this is more from the better part of valor than desire, since there are at present in Oxford an embarrassing number of loyal representatives of these other great colleges and of co-educational universities. However, Wellesley has maintained
unchallenged her title of "The College Beautiful," which may claim for her a little extra distinction. And there is, too, a pleasant excuse for presenting a little sketch of her to the women students of Oxford. Of 37 American women graduates registered in the Society of Oxford Home Students since 1887, representing a large number of institutions, fourteen represent Wellesley and five of that number her faculty. Now that she is "grown up" she acknowledges, for the first time perhaps on this side of the water, her traditional susceptibility to Oxford's charms and her debt of enjoyment and profit. Fifteen miles from Boston, on the edge of the town of Wellesley and the shores of a small lake, lie the 365 acres which constitute the Wellesley campus. On flat-topped mounds, the moraines and sand-planes of an ancient glacier, are set, singly or in groups, the many buildings of the college, in the midst of beautiful oaks. Between sweep great stretches of velvet lawns, charming meadows, orchards, groves or wilder woods. Through this park-like expanse swing the hard white roads. Here is the hollow where the rhododendrons glow in June ; there under the trees a miniature pond, on whose sloping banks Shakespeare is presented every spring ; there the daisy meadow, white as snow in daisy time ; here the slope, one flare of yellow buttercups, called the " Field of the Cloth of Gold " ; there the stately avenue of evergreens that, bending beneath their weight of deep fluffy snow, welcomed us back from Christmas vac. In secluded places nestle the tiny " chapter houses" of the various clubs or Greek letter societies, here the Shakespeare house at Stratford, there a miniature Greek temple. No change can be made in the grounds nor a building erected without the approval of a committee representing the 3,000 alumnae of the college. Adjoining the grounds on the water's edge are the lovely lawns surrounding the old home of the Durants, the founders of the College ; opposite are the terraced Italian gardens of a famous estate. On the lake flash the private boats and canoes of the girls, the shells and practise barges of the four classes, a few sail-boats of the village club. And -
THE FRITILLARY. through this bit of Arcadia go the girls—eleven hundred of them—the eager-eyed Freshmen hurrying to lectures, the crews going down to practise in their jaunty bloomer costumes and sailor caps, the basket-ball teams with braided hair and glowing cheeks, the tennis players in white, the dignified Seniors in cap and gown. The institution known as Wellesley College was founded in 1875 by a brilliant lawyer, Mr. Henry Durant, and his wife, and was the blossoming of a great bereavement. By their loving and thoughtful care of innummerable details pertaining to the spiritual and physical welfare of the students, the founders have left upon the college the stamp of their beautiful personalities, and made their names sacred. Only in its larger lines is life at Wellesley typical of the life of American women's colleges in general. For the distinguishing characteristics of the latter I must refer the " curious " reader to matter more detailed and erudite. At Wellesley the students reside in large halls on the grounds accommodating from loo to 300, and in " cottages " accommodating from ro to 6o. (Each girl has at least one year of the quieter and more homelike cottage life, if she so desires.) By various devices the house-spirit is kept most democratic. The breadth of view and interest obtained by living congenially, if not intimately, with a hundred different types in the same household, is one of Wellesley's cherished ideals analogous to the democracy of certain Oxford institutions. It is quite impossible to describe the course of study both briefly and in detail. Generally and ideally speaking, the educational policy of the college aims to lay the foundation for a broad culture, to interrelate, to a great degree, the student's knowledge, and to develop the powers necessary for specialization and research, rather than to directly promote a high degree of specialization. The latter is left for the post-graduate work of those that " are called." The college year consists of 36 weeks against Oxford's 24, and, roughly estimated, an average of about 4o hours per week of serious application, including lecture periods, is necessitated.
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Professional lecturing and teaching is the rule. Assistants and instructors have charge of minor details and elementary branches. Frequent written reviews, papers, and two regular sets of examinations, in January and June, keep the finger of reckoning on the student's work. To obtain her B.A. degree the student must pass with distinction in at least half of the studies of her entire four years' course and at least half of those of her senior year. In its religious aspect Wellesley is distinctly nonsectarian, Clergymen of all Protestant faiths preach in her lovely chapel. Girls of other faiths receive special permission to attend their own churches one day of the week. The daily chapel service is simple. Nevertheless, the spirit of the college fosters a strong religious life which manifests itself in many ways. Student control is vest'd in the students themselves, subject to the advice and suggestion of the faculty—the system known as student-government which is finding great favour in America. The girls allow themselves an astonishing amount of freedom, but a freedom which they themselves jealously safeguard. The very thought of the complex social life, the various activities, customs, and traditions of the college sets my pen to wobbling helplessly. There is space but to mention the many activities —the social and intellectual clubs and societies whose name is legion—the strong and democratic work of the Y.W.C.A., the Bible and mission study bands, the college settlement work in Boston, the various sports, the general social and dramatic society known as the " Barn Swallows," which turned the interior of the old big barn of the estate into a charming dancing room and wellequipped theatre, the weekly, monthly, and annual publications, &c., &c. What with these activities and a score of miscellaneous engagements, and incidentally with her studies, the Wellesley girl finds herself " on the jump" from the rising bell at a quarter before seven to the bell for " lights out " at ten o'clock. That she is able to maintain a high degree of scholarship in the midst of so complex a life and without detriment to her health is due to several reasons—the stimulating climate,
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the regularity of the life, the short distances, and the rule that if her health or scholarship declines she must suspend her social pleasure in part or wholly, until she has regained her normal status. The customs and traditions of the college create a chain of happy memories. College and class spirit is very strong. Otherwise the life is most democratic. On arrival the Freshman is taken in charge, at the very threshold, by her hereditary enemy, a Sophomore, who conducts her steadfastly through the first trying days. On the first Sunday at chapel the 1, I oo girls are in pure white, and the sermon is always " God is love." The next week comes the Y.W.C.A. reception, which the entire college attends, students and faculty. The Sophomore escorts her Freshman, sees that she meets the people she ought especially to know, and that she has an unforgettable happy evening. Then the " grind " begins, and runs its kaleidoscopic course until the May Day fete. Early in June comes the beloved fete of the year, Tree Day. The grounds are closed to the public, the entire student body is in costume out of doors, and all the details of the doings are profound class secrets. The Freshmen plant their class-tree, divulge their class-flower, sing and " yell," and present an original dance symbolic of their Freshman history. The Sophomores hand on to the Freshies the historic spade for the planting, with many a condescending word of criticism and advice. The Seniors take leave, in beautiful ceremonies, of their class-tree--the symbol of their Alma Mater. Every year the pageant is different and utterly lovely. A word as to the costuming may be of interest. The materials are bought and carefully cut into patterns by a committee. All the busy students have to do is to sew up these patterns helterskelter to last, by good luck, through the day. Nevertheless, the massed effects are exquisite. A particularly lovely Freshman dance comes to mind. At the behest of the despairing " Princess " the winds wooed the class bud to unfold her tight calyx. In vain they raced roughly or whirled airily about her. Then came the rain-drops in filmy grey, floating by in long slanting lines—
but vainly. Then from far over the lawns came gaily dancing the Prince of the Sunbeams with his train of archers in bright gold. Softly they surrounded the Bud, wooing her coyly and lovingly until she slowly unfolded her calyx and bloomed for the Princess a blue cornflower. In the evening the Juniors, still in their costumes, burn, in secret, their hated forensics. One Tree Day night I happened on a strange torch-lit procession of Greek Psyches with bare arms, unbound hair, and multicolored wings. They were beating their breasts, " tearing " their hair, and uttering a mournful Greek chaunt. Carried aloft was a golden vessel containing the ashes of their forensics, which they buried solemnly at the foot of their class-tree. " Float " is a great fete just before the dissolution—an invitation affair to some 6,000 guests, who assemble on the shore of the lake just as the sun is setting. The crews in their racing shells compete for honors not by their speed, nor strength, but by the excellent " form " of their chosen stroke. As darkness falls hundreds of Chinese lanterns gleam out under the oaks, a military band plays, frappe glasses clink, illuminated private boats swarm out on the lake, water fireworks are set off from a circle of " floats " far out, and in the focused light of a half-dozen calcium reflectors the crews, with the glee clubs in barges, gather in the form of a star to sing the beloved college songs. Lusty Harvard, Brown, Tech., Tufts and Yale throats cheer from the shore. At so o'clock the campus is deserted and the grass trodden down. On the final evening in June the college gathers for its last " sing " on the steps of the chapel. To the words of the last verse of the favorite song, " Where oh ! where are the grand old Seniors ? They're out in the wide, wide world," the grand old Seniors march slowly down from the uppermost steps and away into the twilight with full hearts, while each of the other classes moves solemnly to the place above it. The character of Wellesley's policy and studentlife has always been in a state of evolution, in-
THE FRITILLARY. fluenced by its growth, the needs of the times, by strong personalities among its presidents and faculty, and even among its students, and by the united sentiment of its alumnae. She has of course her faults and limitations both peculiar to herself, and in common with other institutions of her kind, but all in all she is a joy and a noble inspiration. Happy are those of her daughters who have reason to believe that—, "They are known and loved there still, Though they come back no more." M. E. W.
FEW experiences are so universal as the sense of exile. Almost all feel sometime or another excluded from the place most congenial to them, and it is not surprising to find this feeling expressed by poet after poet. "By the waters of Babylon we sat down and wept," is the cry echoed again and again. The Saxon wanderer as he broods over the past, Bolingbroke as he trembles on the brink of banishment, Christian as the vision of the Celestial City fades away, Wordsworth at Calais, Byron on board the out-going ship, all feel that their Sion is their all, and that away from her they cannot sing their song of joy. " Patriotism " but poorly describes their devotion, for the word carries with it some idea of a love which must make common cause with that of others against a common foe. The love which some men bear to the place of their birth or of their adoption, is a more intimate and holy love than mere patriotism. Gaunt's platitude : " All places that the eye of heaven visits Are to a wise man ports and happy havens," touches them not at all, for they are in love, and cannot be satisfied with such stony comfort. What is it, this love of place, and why is it so irresistible and uncommunicable ? Its cords are as strong as those which bind us to human friends. Of no other love, except of that for persons, do we find it so hard to speak. Nor
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do we wish to pass it on to others. When a man is in love with a cause or with a work of art, he longs to inspire others with a like devotion. But his friends and his " home " he is content to keep to himself. For this place which he loves above all others is his home. To it he will turn when other ties are loosed, in it will he look to find his most faithful friend, even when the companions who shared it with him are no longer at hand. Not everyone has such a home, but those who have know the sense of being completely under'stood which return after exile brings. The very trees and buildings seem to understand, and seem to have the power of making a man feel at peace with himself. It is the give and take of personal intercourse which has produced this sense of home. The man has received from the place inspiration and strength ; he has given admiration and love. His thoughts and hopes have given, too, a meaning to the place, and have, as it were, given to it the power of speech. And in the days of exile, how can he bear the silence ? Truly not by trying to forget, but by turning the pain of exile into the joy of deephidden, life-long possession of the far-off home. Swinburne understood when he sang of the Italian exile :" In the desolate distances, with a great desire, For thy love's sake, With our hearts going back to thee, they were filled with fire, Were nigh to break. On the mountains of memory, by the world's wellsprings, In all men's eyes, Where the light of the life of him is on all past things, Death only dies. Not the light that was quenched for us, nor the deeds that were, Nor the ancient days, Nor the sorrows not sorrowful, nor the face most fair Of perfect praise." A.
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IlVtestocountrp Orcbarbs. I. A STRIP of terraced garden, grassy and neglected, with a few spring flowers and three jail cypresses ; below, a sloping orchard, white with the blossom of plum-trees ; beyond that miles and miles of a flat and wooded country-side, studded with hamlets and villages, stretching away to a line of hills— this is the direct outlook from that window "toward the sunrising." But when one turns to the southward view, the garden-strips mass together, in a harmony of golden cypress, dark yew, snowy fruit-trees, and palest apple-green buds. Above them rises the clear outline of the Abbey Church, warm grey shading into pink or brown as the sunlight touches its stone, drawing out the hidden tints of these hewn blocks until they share the glamour of beautiful 'Changes with the hills, from which they may have come. For the hills rise up behind the building, undulating in fold after fold, green and brown, wooded and bare. Long ago, the poet knew it all—he knelt beside the round Norman pillars, or chanted penitential psalms in the chapels, "and saw the wonderful storied windows, with their stiff little portraits of the noble donors. Perhaps he sometimes made sarcastic comments—for he still remembered them bitterly many years afterwards. He was a moralist rather than an artist, and the beauty of the world was always dimmed for him by the thought of wrong—he may have known that oppression or uncharity had helped to raise the veils of glowing colour through which the sunlight came with a delicious dream-like warmth and unreality. His soul would not be lulled into a selfish peace which was no peace indeed, and he records no vision that came to him in the dimness or many-hued light that filled the church. His tall ungainly figure climbed the hills, and he looked down upon his little world—the town of busy men and women, the abbey of monks and priests, and the tiny, beautiful shape of the church, dainty and toy-like as the models carved in the arms of statues of pious founders. He was alone with the hills, the streams, the sunlight and the wind—but before
his eyes was the world of men, and within his heart an angry love and a hopelessly high ideal. So below the poet in the wide, almost map-like landscape, the trees of the orchards were white with blossom—but to his mind the trunks and branches gleamed blackly through the veil of snowy petals, and the " field full of folk " was a study in black and white. II. "A place of apple-trees, by the thorn-tree Wherefrom St. Joseph in the days past preached." Shallow willow-bordered streams meander around the little town—a row of gaunt poplars (so old that they are almost bare of leaves even at midsummer) sway gently and whisper faintly—and beside the road in orchards and gardens ancient apple-trees with sloping, twisted, gnarled and mossy trunks, are reminiscent of fairy tales and medieval missals. From time immemorial there have been apple-orchards here ; and a weird spell seems to hover about them—a sense of romance, remorse, and tragedy, of fallen blossoms and blighted fruit. The little town lies between two hills—one low and long, where the thorn-tree grew and bloomed from the staff of the weary saint ; the other is a landmark for miles, a high for crowned by the tower of a vanished pilgrims' church. There the winds blow roughly, and the coarse long grass waves and bows before it, with silver gleams in the sunshine, and dark grey masses of shadow when clouds pass over the hills. Down in the quiet valley, hidden by trees, are the legend-haunted Abbey ruins. Saints and heroes were buried there, and ladies and knights who were neither have lived and sorrowed there— according to tradition. Beyond the west end of the church, where the grass is long and rank, the monks professed to find a forgotten tomb, the grave of King Arthur and Guinevere—and her hair was golden still, but crumbled to dust in a moment. On one side of their long-ago resting-place there grows a bush of the winter-thorn—on the other, an orchard of apple-trees stretches along the whole length of the Abbey ruins. And the
THE FRITILLARY. king's ideal was white as the thorn-blossom (the world was white with May on the day he wedded Guinevere)—but the petals fell and the bare black thorn remained with him. There was all earth's beauty, of warmth and colour, life and love (but hatred and death withal) in the rose-tinged appleblossom—fair as Queen Guinevere, fading as soon as the rapture of vain desire and earthly joy. For these petals also fell, and the fruit was blighted and bitter. Spring's promise was unfulfilled, and the tree-trunks were darkly weird and ugly in the winter of remorse that followed broken vows. The orchards of Avalon still live through the Arthurian myth of hope and joy and failure—and hope renewed—with their wealth of blossom and leaves in spring and summer, their meagre crops of fruit, and their winter bareness of uncouth dragon-like shapes, until the tender buds start again from the knotted twigs and branches, in the wonderful common-place renewal of life. And still the descendants of St. Joseph's thorn-tree bloom (as the legend states) on Christmas Day. M. F. H.
Ogforb Ztubents' rebating %ocietp. December, 19 o 7. President—Miss JACQUIER (St. Hilda's Hall). Secretary—Miss DESSIN (Somerville College). Junior Treasurer—Miss HEATH (Lady Margaret
Hall). AT the last debate of the term the motion was :—" That the Natives of India should be granted a greater degree of representation." Mover—Miss RooKE (L.M.H.). Opposer—Miss MATTHEWS (O.H.S.). 3rd Speaker—Miss SNOW (S.C.). 4th Speaker—Miss DOBBS (S.H.H.). Miss ROOKE, who made a most earnest discourse, said that England had lost sight, over India, of the principle of government, that it should exist for the good of the governed. She did not take up the cry of the agitators : " India for the Indians," but she deprecated the ignorance 3
72 5
of the Anglo-Indians who impose upon the natives that feeling of inferiority which, as Lord Salisbury has said, makes government impossible. Miss Rooke stated abuse after abuse for which the English rule is responsible. It has brought famine ; India is become daily poorer, and the natives are too poor to buy corn. It will not grant necessary reforms. India wants the judicial functions separated from the legislative : she cannot obtain it. In 1833 it was declared that no native should be disabled under the East India Company from holding office, and this was repeated in 1868, but the promise has never been fulfilled. For example, the Indian Civil Service examinations are held in London, and thereby the majority of natives are debarred from entering. The case of Mysore has proved the Indians fit to govern. The Maharajah of Mysore chooses*, his own Council. The Prime Minister lays before the Council the programme for the year. A Legislative Council has lately been formed; the trade of rubber flourishes in the State ; the Maharajah has taken most successful precautions against plague, and the whole State is in a flourishing condition. As to the question of unity, the Indian Congress has met 22 years, and all classes and religions have met together in it, and their good entente proves all ready to join together for the good of their country. Miss MATTHEWS, in opposing the motion, maintained that ever since Queen Victoria became. Empress of India, England has been making India. The country is honeycombed with religions and races, and, at present, were the motion put into force, we should be confronted with the awful revolution in which the Bengali would claim India for the Bengali, the Hindu for the Hindu, and so on. Imagine Europe conquered by the Yellow race ; imagine, if in after years self-government were accorded us : would not the Frenchman demand power for the Frenchman, the German for the German, and so on ? The Hon. Opposer based the rest of her remark s on the inability to rule of the Indian. In the point of honour the Indian is clay and the
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THE FRITILLARY.
Englishman rock, she said ; the Indians, moreover, have no administrative power ; the great mass of them are superstitious and uneducated. Let the English teach them more before they grant them any self-government. Miss SNOW (S.C.), 3rd speaker, answered the last point of the Hon. Opposer. She obviously meant that the Indians were only temporarily unfit to rule, but if so Miss Snow considered that the only means of improving matters was to let them try. Indians are made English as to education, and have to remain as to responsibility in the place of Indians. The root of the evil is selfishness ; let England remember that what is to the English advantage may be to the disadvantageof the Indian. Miss Snow then quoted Mr. Kipling in support of her views. Miss DOBBS (S.H.H.), 4th speaker, remarked that the taxes and so-called abuses in India are mostly devoted to the great agricultural works, to irrigation, and to educating the natives ; far from causing famine, the taxes are used in its prevention, and, moreover, famine was in England before the English. The social life of the Anglo-Indians is protested against, but in point of fact polo and the pleasures of the English passes money into Indian hands. England does not draw much. Mysore, she conceded, has been well ruled, but the present Maharajah was, during a long minority, under English tutelage for some time, and the government is on English principles. Suppose India had self-government, would India keep up an army ? If not, Russia would step in. The Amir of Afghanistan is organizing a system to use the motor-car, and it has reached to the very Khyber Pass. If so, cannon could get up too, and the invading army would easily become master of the situation. In the discussion much real feeling was displayed, but, curiously enough, all on the one side. The opposition evidently quitted the field early. Miss CHAMIER (S.Hil.H.) testified to the lamentable condition of Mysore under British rule. She explained away several fallacies. £40,000,000 is lost to India every year under the present system, and the natives of India may so far be exonerated from the charge of dishonesty which
the Hon. Opposer had hinted, that all the largest failures in India in the last zo years have been English. She complained of the doctrine of indigenous trades, and the consequent impoverishment of the ryots. Miss EASTON (S.Hil.H.) dwelt on the incongruity of a European government for India. The arguments of Miss NAORAJI (S.Hil.H.) necessarily interested the House, and carried a greater weight by reason of the practical and personal knowledge behind them. She said the question did not involve the good of the British nation or of India, but of both. She refuted the charge of want of unison between the races of the Indian peninsular. She gave some account of a meeting of the Indian National Congress, and quoted one of many letters addressed to its President, Mr. Dadbhai Naoraji, which assured him of the single aim of the different races. She spoke warmly of the good feeling between governed and governors, and remarked that no military force could do anything against 300,000,000 of people if England should one day entirely forfeit the loyalty of India. Be it remembered that before the English came India was not barbaric. Miss STOCKS (L.M.H.) reproved the opposition for comparing the non-educated of the Eastern races with the educated of the Western. She disapproved of the policy of the expansion of England. Miss NAORAJI spoke again, and the Hon. Mover summed up. On the division there voted for the motion, 25, and against, 15. January, 1908. President—Miss ROOKE (Lady Margaret Hall). Secretary—Miss BRAMELD (St. Hilda's Hall). Junior Treasurer—Miss TREE (St. Hugh's Hall).
The first meeting of the term was held on January z8th. The motion before the House was—" That Socialism would be fatal to the well-being of the nation." Miss PENNY (S.H.H.), in proposing the motion, said she knew that anti-Socialists are accused of
THE FRITILLARY. not having the well-being of the nation really at heart. This is an unfair charge. They do, however, consider Socialistic schemes Utopian and impossible. The doctrines of Socialism, that all men are equal, and that every man has the right to work, merely show that it is an ideal system, based on ideal grounds. It is a new system, so that no examples can be cited from history in its support. Greece was not really Socialistic, since it had a large slave population. How can Socialism put down luxury, when it sets forth a materialistic view of life ? The Hon. Mover went on to point out some of the practical evils which Socialism would bring about. Government would control all means of production ; with a fixed wage and State education the individual would shirk his responsibilities and shift them on to the State. The State cannot take the place of the parent. Moreover, the incentive to good work—that of bettering oneself and one's family—would no longer exist. Music, poetry, and art would not progress. Inventions would cease, since the State would not supply the necessary capital. The Socialist aim of educating each man suitably would cause discontent. Miss Penny concluded by asserting emphatically that unless men are ideal, Socialism cannot succeed. The Opposer, Miss DESSIN (S.C., ex-Secretary), pleaded the cause of Socialism with intense earnestness and conviction. She admitted that from some aspects Socialism was mechanical and material, but it appeared to the House that she was more impressed by its sublimity and idealism. She defined Socialism as " a scheme of government by which the means of production and exchange are in the ownership or under the control of the State," and went on to quote the basis of the Fabian Society (which, however short, is much too long to reproduce here). Leaving the more material side, Miss Dessin went on to assert that the aim of Socialism is to assure to each human being a full life, as the expression is understood here in Oxford. At present drink and music-halls form the pleasures of the poor. The cause of this degradation is poverty, which Socialism would abolish.
727
There is a problem to solve, though even in Oxford people are found who are careless of its existence. There are to-day twelve million people on the verge of starvation, whom Socialism would help. Many agree with Socialists' aims, but disagree with their methods. The methods of Socialism are scientific, the empiric stage has been passed through, its principles have been adopted in party legislation. Socialism goes to the very root of the disease. The Hon. Opposer quoted from Mrs. Sidney Webb to show that Socialist influence on the administration of the country would take the form of (r) Collective Regulation, (2) Collective Provision, (3) Collective Taxation, and (4) Collective Ownership. Socialism intends to lead up to its ideal by sound, scientific, political steps ; its vision of general prosperity is not an amiable dream to be brought about by Lord Hugh Cecil's " laborious archangels with private means," but will rather be compassed by the very ordinary person ; (we cannot refrain from quoting the speaker's own words) "You and me, and perhaps a few men." Far from being a danger to the nation, it is the beginning and necessary condition of the perfect life. Miss Dessin impressed the House, even if she failed to convince it. At least, it will not easily forget her vivid picture of the awful conditions of 12,000,000 starving men, women and children ; nor will any member present venture "delightfully to express " her indifference by the phrase " keen on other things." Miss SWINBURNE (O.H.S.), who spoke third, dealt very ably with the question of nationalisation of land. She maintained that such a fundamental change would be too great in practice. If compensation were attempted, the enormous capital needed would involve financial failure. Rents must be determined in open market, or favouritism is inevitable. Socialism will never succeed except as a religious system, when it would cease to be Socialism. Miss Swinburne made an extremely good speech,
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THE FRITILLARY.
but the rapidity with which it was delivered, coupled with the unique stupidity of the reporter, rendered it impossible to reproduce it at all adequately. Miss COOKE (S.HiI.H.) insisted on practical points. She pointed out some of the evils in the industrial system of to-day. Business men praise competition, but they try to suppress it by means of trusts. A large part of the community loses work, and those who are employed receive too low wages. Socialists aim at keeping wages above a minimum level by law. The wealth of the country cannot be left to the unfettered freedom of individuals. The object of the employer is to gain ; consequently, he pays low wages, and the result is that goods of a poor quality are produced. The standard of manufactured goods would be raised if they were examined by the State. Socialism is aiming at a combination of co-operation with competition. Miss Cooke touched upon the horrors of the sweating system, which Socialism would remedy. Socialistic ideals are high but not too high to be practical. In Public Discussion, Miss AUSTIN (L.M.H.) propounded a long series of questions, somewhat in the following manner :(r) If A worked better than B, would he receive more pay ? (2) Must there be a minimum wage if a man cannot work ? (3) Would manufacturers take the trouble to make a profit if it was to be taxed away ? And several more. Miss Dessin replied : (1) That if A does better work than B, he will have a higher wage. (2) A man must have a minimum wage or else he dies. (3) Production would be for use and not for profit. If the State did not want an article, it would not be produced. Miss Austin remarked that if there is a demand there will be a supply. -Miss BAILHACHE (S.C.) said that it depended what part of the nation wants the article. For instance, there was at present a demand for boots, but not an efficient demand, since those who
wanted boots most could not pay for them. Miss Bailhache was delightfully clear and convincing. Miss SEGAR (O.H.S.) asked a question about State-produced matches, which was answered by Miss Bailhache, to the effect that the matchindustry would probably go out of the country. Miss BELL (L.M.H., ex-Jun. Treasurer) said that if England adopted Socialism, other countries would not follow her lead. Miss Dessin said that they would, especially Germany. Miss Austin recommended the House to patronise non-sweating shops. Miss Bailh ache replied that there is no shop which guarantees not to sell sweated articles. The C.S.U. white-list shops merely paid their employs fair wages. Present remedies for sweating are only palliatives ; Socialism would sweep out the corners. The Debate continued for a considerable period, being carried on principally by the four last mentioned speakers and Miss Segar. It terminated in Socialist declarations that men would be willing to do the highest kind of work for low wages, and that unpleasant work would be volunteered for. Miss SNOW (S.C.) succeeded in discomfiting the anti-socialists by pertinent questions, and finally routed them on the subject of " dirty work." There also spoke :—Miss UPCOTT (S.C.), Miss DOBBS (S.H.H.), Miss WILDY (S.H.H.), Mrs. SIEVEWRIGHT, MISS MACRAE (L.M.H.), MISS ROBINSON (S.H.H.). The President having forgotten to ask the Hon. Mover to sum up, there voted for the motion 49, against 23. The House is possibly not aware that one of its ancient conventions was :—" That no member shall speak more than once in public discussion." This unwritten rule, with the slight modification of " once " to " six times," might, one would suppose, be observable, when 72 members are present to support discussion.
729
THE FRITILLARY. February, 1908.
The second debate was held on Feb. r rth, when an unusually minute House met to discuss the motion :—" That the great influence of journalism in modern life is highly to be deplored." Although, apparently, no one took the slightest interest in the subject, the debate was interesting as evoking several excellent maiden speeches from veteran members of the House. The Hon. Mover, Miss DAVIES-COLLEY (L.M.H.), opened the subject by saying how much is heard now-a-days of the " Freedom of y6British Press, the Bulwark of the Nation," &c., &c. But is the press really free? It is monopolized by a few rich owners. The influence of journalism is deplorable as appealing to the lower instincts. It encourages curiosity about the affairs of unknown persons, and panders to the popular taste for horrors. Journalism is not literature, and its slap-dash style has a bad influence on the language. Papers are read to the exclusion of all else. The journalist is devoid of conscience, he only aims at smart writing, and is ready to accept unfounded rumour as established fact. The Mover instanced the Oxford Crew and its fictitious egg diet. Readers have not time now-a-days to form independent opinions. She went on to quote Mr. Churton Collins :—" No slavery is worse than the chains of hired journalism." The influence of journalism is great, and greater than ever before, but its power is abused. Miss Davies-Colley spoke with some seriousness of purpose, relieved with delightfully humorous touches, which charmed the House. Miss PAXTON (O.H.S.) opposed the motion, even though she took it to refer to newspapers and cheap magazines. Their influence as a whole was not deplorable: The large proportion of their readers consists of members of the lower and middle classes, who want something to stir them and appeal to their emotions. Besides, if they did not read the newspapers, they would read nothing. Even in half-penny papers there are good leading articles. The trashy magazines are a boon to poor women in their dull lives, and after all, they are harmless enough. Probably
those people who rely on newspapers for their opinions would not in any case make up their own minds. Papers are not all in the hands of one party, and readers can get both sides of an argument by buying two papers. The press makes great disasters rapidly known, with the result that relief can be quickly afforded ; it also calls attention to abuses. So long as the public press does not fall into the hands of a few rich people its influence is on the whole good. Miss Paxton made her points well, and her delivery is remarkably good. Public Discussion took the form of unusually short speeches, but their length was compensated for by their number, which was 29. Miss OTTLEY (S.H.H.) pointed out the harmful results of a press which caricatures a whole foreign nation, as the French press has done in the past. Miss STOCKS (L.M.H.) touched lightly on Woman's Suffrage, and was answered later by Miss SWINBURNE (O. H.S.) Miss WILDY (S.H.H.) said that in the present age of progress, newspapers form the best means of spreading new ideas about important matters. Miss STOCKS told a frivolous anecdote, and was suitably suppressed by Miss PAXTON, and regrettably supported by Miss SNOW (S.C.) Miss WEAVER (S.Hil.H.) deplored that details of crimes should be published in newspapers, but pointed out that the punishment is also made known by the same means. Miss OTTLEY said that papers try to stop the course of justice by appealing to the public. Miss BRAMELD (S.Hil.H., Secretary) believed that it was not as bad as that in England yet. She also answered some of the Hon. Mover's arguments about literary criticism. There arso spoke : — Miss DE SAUSMAREZ (L.M.H.), Miss NEALE (L.M.H.), Miss HENDERSON (L. M.H. ), Miss ROOKE (L.M.H., President), Miss SINCLAIR (L.M.H., ex-Jun. Treas.), MISS
WRIGHT
(S.Hil.H.).
having summed up, there voted for the motion 17, against the motion 18. MISS DAVIES-COLLEY
The next debate was held on Monday, February 24th, the date having been changed, at great in-
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convenience, in order to fit in with a meeting of the Fabian Society. In spite of the motion, " That this House would deplore the adoption of a Protectionist policy in England," the House could hardly have been smaller if the date had been unaltered. The Hon. Mover, Miss BAILHACHE (S.C.), announced her intention of treating the subject from the Socialist point of view, which she accordingly did, with possibly an added dash of Little Englandism at the conclusion. She pointed out that a tax on a common article of food presses most heavily on those least able to bear it. Moreover, the weight of taxation lies on the consumer, so that the natives of the country suffer and not the foreigner from whom the goods come. Protection raises, not wages, but the price of goods, and so decreases the demand. If a Protectionist policy were adopted, wages would decrease, and unemployment increase. All foreign goods imported are paid for by exports, which are produced by labour in the country. Protection, far from giving an artificial stimulus to the export trade, would cause its decrease. As regards the Imperial question, the benefits of Protection would be entirely with the Colonies, and not with England. We cannot afford to increase our difficulties, already so great. Miss BELL (S.Hil.H.) in opposing the motion affirmed that there is a decrease which only preferential tariffs can remedy. She declared that we are at the beginning of a down-hill descent. Cobden only adopted Free Trade in the belief that all other nations would follow England's lead, which, of course, has not been the case. Granted that England has been prosperous, Protectionist countries have been more so. England started well, with a practical monopoly of manufacturing certain things. This monopoly has been lost. We have not maintained our lead because isolated Free Trade can only succeed when other nations are undeveloped. The Hon. Opposer instanced certain industries which have disappeared from England as a result of Free Trade. The iron and steel trade was particularly important, and manufacturers all over the country were agreed that only protective tariffs could save it. This decay
of industries, due to Free Trade, is the cause of unemployment. In regard to the "poor working man," Miss Bell said that Protection would not permanently raise the price of food. She then touched on the Imperial aspect of the question. Four-fifths of our corn-supply depends upon foreigners ; can we nbt be self-contained ? We go dreaming on till our Colonies will leave us in disgust. Our laissezfaire policy is short-sighted. Preferential tariffs would bring about the consolidation of the Empire. At the recent Conference of Premiers there was a distinct request for mutual preference. The Hon. Opposer concluded with an appeal against being carried away by false liberalism, and assured the House that " Charity begins at home." The third speaker, Miss MACRAE (L.M.H.), objected to Miss Bell's arguments that Protection would decrease unemployment and cheapen food. Food is dearer in Protectionist countries (Germany, France, Italy) than in England. The result of a Protectionist policy in Germany was that a few persons acquired great wealth, while the mass of the people suffered, owing to the high prices. Miss Macrae instanced Egypt, where England has insisted that no preference should be given to British goods, and yet her trade has not suffered at all. Miss Bell had supported retaliation, but this would lead to a tariff war, which, as Lord Monson has pointed out, has been so disastrous in the case of France and Italy. Miss Macrae concluded her speech in a sound economic vein. Miss WILDY (S.H.H.), who spoke fourth, drew a frightful picture of England as the dumpingground of Europe, foreign goods landed in immense quantities on our shores. Imports are rising and exports falling. Our industries are vanishing. _ .41,000 was spent on Belgian iron rails for Vauxhall Bridge, because it was cheaper than the home-manufactured article. Free trade under present conditions is not fair trade. By the present system the life-blood of England is being slowly sapped. In Public Discussion, Miss STOCKS (L.M.H.) astonished the House by a confession of ignorance. She asked if the proposals of the wage-boards are
TFIt FRITILLARY. carried out, would not a certain amount of protection be necessary ? Miss DESSIN (S.C.), ex-Secretary, replied that that would be the only excuse for Protection. Miss SNOW (S.C.) remarked with some flippancy that if, as the 4th speaker had said, the shores were strewn with foreign goods, she herself would have no scruple in appropriating some of them. Miss Dessin pointed out the fallacy of saying that money goes out of the country, since exports and imports are complementary operations. Miss WEAVER (S.Hil.H.) asked whether the mass of the people is not poorer now than before the repeal of the Corn Laws ? The Hon. Member went on to say that Adam Smith never contemplated England's exercising Free Trade alone. Why should we admit foreign goods to the detriment of our own industries ? Miss BELL (S.Hil.H.) made a remark in connection with Free Trade about what she believed to be a socialist doctrine, i.e. the equality of men, when Miss Dessin, in a protest, reassured a House somewhat nervous of Socialistic principles, that no Socialist doctrine maintained that all men should be the same height. After some further debate the Hon. Mover, in her summing up, cast doubts on the infallibility of Adam Smith, insisted that it is the condition of the masses which really matters, and reiterated her former assertions about the self-seekingness of the Colonies. The motion was lost by a majority of one.
Oxforb Ztubents' lawn tennis Club. Captain—Miss WOLFERSTAN (S.C.).
Secretary—Miss DREW (L.M.H.). Treasurer—Miss TREE (S.H.H.).
Miss Maclean having resigned the office of Treasurer of the Club, Miss Tree has been elected to take her place. Meetings have been held every Wednesday during term, and at a Selection Meeting held on
731
Feb. 5th, the following new members were admitted :Miss Wells (L.M.H.). Miss Kenyon-Stow (S.H.H.).
oxfora StuDents' Eramattc liteabing Club. President—N. NAORAJI (S.Hil.H.). Secretary—I. BRAMELD (S.Hil.H.).
At the first meeting of this Society it was decided to read modern plays this term. Bernard Shaw's " Caesar and Cleopatra," Browning's " Strafford," and Ibsen's " Master Builder " have been read. The last meeting of the term will be held on Monday, March 9th.
Orforb Stubents' taniteb ibockev Club. Captain—M. MACK (S.H.H.). Secretary—R. JOBSON (L.M.H.)
We have not been able to have many practices this term for various reasons, but there has been great improvement in the play of individual members, and of the team as a whole. The combination of the forward line is not yet perfect ; the left inner and centre especially ought to pass a great deal more, and be careful not to pass too hard ; the outers are both very good. We have only played one match this term—the second one, v. Wycombe Abbey, had unfortunately to be scratched. The team showed excellent form against London, and give promise of being able to offer Cambridge a harder match than has usually been the case before. Matches.
v. London United, drawn, 2 all. v. Wycombe Abbey, scratched. v. Cambridge United, not yet played (March i7).
THE FRITILLARY.
732
1Labp Margaret bait. HOCKEY CLUB (Captain, R. F. WESTERN; ViceCaptain, M. MOORHOUSE; Hon. Secretary, R. JossoN).—There have been many unavoidable changes in all three teams this term, and consequently it is difficult to criticise them in detail. We were especially sorry to lose Miss Drew for the rest of the season. Nothing can be said on the results of the matches as a whole, since whilst seven have been played, there are still six more to come. Match Results.
Michaelmas Term. ist XI. v. St. Hugh's Hall, lost 4-5. Hilary Term. 1st XI. v. Miss Simpson's XI., lost 3-1o. v. Etceteras I., won 6—o. v. St. Hugh's Hall, won 5-1. v. Pinewood, lost 4-6. v. Somerville, not yet played. (Cup Tie Finals.)
v. Old Students, not yet played. Michaelmas Term. znd XI. v. Graham Street High School, won 3-2• Hilary Term. znd XI. v. Somerville II., won 9-3. v. St. Hugh's Hall, draw 3 all. v. St. Hilda's Hall, not yet played. v. Etceteras II., 1) 99 v. Home Students, )1 ))
3rd XI. v. Etceteras III., won 3—I. v. Somerville III., not yet played. 1st XI. The team as a whole suffers from want of confidence in each other ; as a result their play is of an uneven quality. All need to cultivate quick and accurate passing, and to force an attacking game. The forwards are improving in attack, but must beware of hesitancy in the circle. The right-wing is a fast and strong player, and has played consistently well throughout the season. The rightinside shoots on occasions remarkably well ; she
might with advantage increase her pace. Centreforward is indefatigable, and has the majority of goals to her credit; she should however work her insides more. The left-inside has hardly had time to settle into the line, practise in dribbling and receiving short passes is what she chiefly needs. Of the half-backs, right-half is very reliable and marks her wing skilfully, but should combine better with the right-back. The centre-half has added to her reputation, and does most to back up her forwards. Left-half is the fastest of the line ; she might exercise more judgment in passing on occasions. The halves form a strong, dependable trio. Right-back rarely makes mistakes and clears hard and quickly, but should take care to cover her partner's advance. The left-back plays as usual her own cool, sure game, and is equally at home in attack or defence. The goal-keeper maintains her high standard of play ; her judgment is admirable. Forwards : Misses Creighton, Wingfield, Moorhouse, Holt, Western. Halves : Misses Sinclair, Andrews, Gifford. Backs : Misses Tomkinson, Stocks. Goal: Miss Macrae. znd XI. In spite of various alterations in their line, the forward combination is very creditable. The right-inside in particular shows a promising capacity for shooting, and is fast in mid-field. The halves have played well, but might feed their forwards more judiciously ; centre-half is energetic, but must beware of wandering. The defence is good, the goal-keeper being very reliable, though perhaps inclined to concede too many corners ; the backs tackle well, but might combine better with the wing-halves. Forwards: Misses Tanqueray, Werry, Heslop, Austin, Dalton. Halves : Misses Nolting, Johnson, Powell. Backs : Misses Leary, Henderson. Goal : Miss Davies-Colley. 3rd XI. The team shows distinctly improved combination on last term. More attention how-
THE FRITILLARY. ever, should be paid to individual marking and careful passing. The forwards must practise shooting quickly and following up their shots. The left-wing and left-inner play well together ; the former gets away quickly, but should beware of fouling when centring the ball. The halves are a hard-working line ; they might, however, take more share in the attack. The defence is good-though the backs are inclined to muddle the goalkeeper. Left back in especial has distinguished herself. Forwards : Misses Heath, Meates, Milne, Keyser, Moore. Halves : Misses Peel, Thomas, Christie. Backs : Misses Bond, Mackenzie. Goal : Miss Barnard. SHARP PRACTICE (President, H. GIFFORD).— This term again Sharp Practice has alternated with more serious debates on political subjects : compulsory military training and the State feeding of necessitous school children. At Sharp Practice proper there have been fairly animated discussions on whether conversation is a lost art, and the higher education of women.
(Captain, H.
Vicehas been one early morning practice, at which most members succeeded in being punctual. One general alarm has also been held. FIRE BRIGADE
Captain, K.
GIFFORD ;
TANQUERAY).—There
(President, A. E.
HEATH ; Secrethe first meeting of the Essay Club this term Miss Wordsworth very kindly gave a reading from Fanny Burney's Memoirs. Miss Bond has read a paper on Plato's Conception of the Philosopher, and Miss Macrae on The Franciscans in Oxford. ESSAY CLUB
tary, H.
GIFFORD).—At
second reading was carried by a majority of ten votes. On March 5th the House will impeach a former member of the Government for High Crimes and Misdemeanours. BOAT CLUB (President, R. I. M. MEDLEY ; Secretary, C. F. HICKS ; Treasurer, E. RYLE).—The
test which, but for the bad weather, would have taken place at the end of last term, was held during the second week of the present one. All half-captains were tested, besides the aspirants recommended by the captains. The results (in order of merit) were as follows :Captains: Vaudrey, Harrison. Half-Captains, 1st class : Byrne. and class : Wakefield, Northwood, Smith, Sulman, Fletcher, Jephson, Blacker. 3rd class Scott, Walton, Wolferstan, Gwynne, Renold, Frank, Wiltshire, Byrom, Richards, Viney, Simpson. It is hoped that another test will take place at the end of this term. Much energy and keenness has been shown, and there are now very few of this year's members not yet out of the inrig. The Club has been profiting lately by practice in rowing, as since the half-term a " four" has been hired ; the captains and half-captains have taken full advantage of their opportunities of going out in it, and it has not been idle any afternoon. We hope that it will much improve the style of the Boat Club, and that, though it is the first experiment of the kind, it will not prove the last, but be tried again next year. Our sincerest thanks are due to Mr. Carter and Mr, Boughton, who have most kindly spent time and trouble in coaching us.
lighter,
PARLIAMENT (Prime Minister, H. WALTON ; Leader of the Opposition, H. M. ECKHARD).—
The Conservatives were put ' in power' this term. Only one meeting has been held, at which an Irish University Bill was introduced. The
(Presidents, MISS GWYNNE, Secretary, Miss HARTNELL; Fire-
SHARP PRACTICE Miss HOCKIN ;
Somerville College.
733
Miss FINLAYSON).—The Society has met regularly during the term, and on the whole the discussions have been good, though we could wish that the burden of debate was not left almost entirely to the first-year students. The House was particularly interested in deciding whether the wearing of jewelry was vulgar, and whether corporal punishment was good for children.
THE FRITILLARY:
734 ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETY SHAW - PHILLIPS ; Secretary,
(President, Miss Miss J AcKsoN).—
Little work has been done by the Society. Stained glass is the subject which has been chosen for study, and Miss Burton read a paper on the early history of the art, and Miss Meikle another on stained glass in Oxford. HOCKEY CLUB (Captain D. SULMAN ; ViceCaptain, R. FLETCHER '• Secretary, D. E. DE ZOUCHE ; Treasurer, W.MORGAN-BROWN).—The ,
weather this term has allowed more frequent practices than we were able to have last term. As the floods left our own field in a very soft condition, it was decided to rent one of the •Summertown grounds on Mondays for the first month of term. Another experiment has been three afternoons' coaching from Mrs. Helby ; she is an excellent coach, and there have been signs of distinct improvement in both combination and individual play. As the Club numbers fewer members than for several seasons, we have been glad to accept the arrangement suggested by Lady Margaret Hall for joint 3rd XI. practices. First Eleven. Forwards: Misses Harrison, Blacker, Sulman,
Hartnell, Fletcher. Halves : Misses Dixon, Morgan-Brown, Ellis. Backs : Misses Hicks, Blake. Goal : Miss H. Walton. Second Eleven.
Misses M. Walton, Gwynne, de Zouche, Northwood, Hughes. Halves : Misses Jones, Byrom, Nanson. Backs : Misses Edmonds, Rushbrooke. Goal : Miss Woolley. Forwards
Third Eleven. Forwards
Misses Lewis, Bland, Scott, Green,
%t. Ibugb's Fat. HOCKEY CLUB (Captain, M. MACK ; ViceDUGGAN; Secretary, B. ScoTT).—Al-
Captain, E.
though we have been hampered by having to play short sides at the practices, both teams have improved steadily. The main fault with the 1st XI. is still that it is a great deal too slow ; if the rest of the forward line would try to equal the pace of their centre, there would be good hope of a few more goals to our credit. The halves are too much inclined to play a defensive instead of a pressing game. This is the first season that we have been able to boast of a 2nd XI. So far they have remained undefeated. First Eleven. Forwards : D. Moore, M. Roechling, M. Willans, M. Tudor, M. Tree. Halves : E. Duggan, L. Bickmore, B. Scott. Backs : M. Mack, D. Penny. Goal : G. Irwin. Second Eleven. Forwards : B. Lindsay, P. Nott, A. Davis,
G. Smith, E. Herdman. Halves : M. Maurice, M. Baines, E. Barber. Backs. M. Godwin, D. Kenyon-Stowe. Goal: A. Dobbs. Matches.
1st XI. v. Etceteras, drawn 2 all. v. Lady Margaret Hall, lost 1-5. v. Old Students, not yet played. v. Somerville College, „ 2nd XI. v. Etceteras, drawn r all. v. Lady Margaret Hall, 2nd XI., 3 all.
Viney.
Halves: Misses Wadsworth, Rackstraw, Simp-
son. Backs : Misses Finlayson, Macphee. Goal : Miss Meikle. Matches.
Hall beat West, 6-3. 1st XI. v. Pinewood, scratched. v. St. Hilda's Hall and Home Students Combined Team (Cup tie), won 2-0.
v. Lady Margaret Hall, not yet played. v. St. Hugh's Hall, v. Etceteras, 2nd XI. v. St. Hilda's Hall, won. v. Etceteras, won. v. Lady Margaret Hall, lost 3-9• v. Wycombe Abbey II., scratched. v. Dons and Graduates, won 6—o. 3rd XI. v. Etceteras, scratched. v. Lady Margaret Hall, not yet played. )5 J/
1/
27
71
BROWNING SOCIETY (President, E. M. TUDOR).— We have been reading " Sordello " this term and have of course met with great difficulties. However Miss Moberly read Dean. Church's essay on Sordello last week, which has considerably cleared our minds, and we hope to finish the poem this term.
SHAKESPEARE SOCIETY (President, F. M. KNIPE). —The Society has met on Friday evenings, with great regularity, to read Hamlet. The attendance is good, and the parts have been well rendered, that of Hamlet especially being interpreted with great dramatic insight, while the ghost was extremely impressive. The Society displayed an aptitude for comedy in its appreciation of.Polon ius .
THE FRITILLARY. BOAT CLUB (Captain, M. H. ROECHLING).—We have not been able to use the boats much this term owing to floods and bad weather. When the gales have permitted an afternoon on the Cherwell much keenness has been displayed, and many members of the first year especially show signs of considerable ability, which speaks well for the future.
5t. bilba's
735
FIRE BRIGADE.—(Captain, I. BRAMELD ; Lieutenant, M. GRIcE).—The Brigade is now quite
competent to save itself and every one in the house. It needs slightly greater alacrity in answering the alarms. BOAT CLUB (Captain, J. S. DAVIDSON).—Boating has been very brisk during the last few weeks, and " Eric " (or Little by Little) might have been seen down at Torpids almost every day. Two half-captains and one boat-captain have been appointed this term.
DEBATING SOCIETY (President, A. BLAKE ; VicePresident, I. BRAMELD ; Secretary, B. COOKE ; Committee Member, N. NAORAJI.)—Two debates
have been held this term. At the first the motion before the House was that : The white man has no justification in imposing his civilization on the black man." In two interesting speeches Miss Dolling proposed and Miss Brain opposed the motion. In Public Discussion the sympathy of the whole house proved to be on the side of the white man. The second debate was a sharp practice on whether Becky Sharp or Amelia Smedley is a higher type of character. The rather hazy notions which some people had of " Vanity Fair" proved a slight drawback to animated discussion. One more debate is to be held on March 6th. CLUB.—(Captain, A. BLAKE ; ViceBRAMELD ; Secretary, E. BELL).— The team has suffered this term from several losses, notably that of its goal-keeper. It has been difficult to get sufficient numbers to make really good practices. In the cup-ties we united with the Home Students ; the combined team played Somerville and was defeated 2—o. We have played a match against Somerville and XI., and were defeated r r—i ; next week we are to play St. Hugh's Hall and Lady Margaret Hall and XI. HOCKEY
Captain, I.
ART CLUB (President, G. E. EASTON).—This term the Art Club has continued its study of the French and English Painters of the ath and early r9th Centuries. Lawrence, Crome, Wilkie, Morland, have been dealt with in turn. It is an invidious thing to single out isolated students for special mention, but we should like to thank Miss Susemihl for her paper on Constable. Foreign students seem to excel English ones in courage as far as language is concerned. The open meeting is to be addressed on February 2 9th by Mr. Henry Pfungst, who is very kindly giving us a lantern lecture on Gainsborough.
Zoctetv of Oxford bottle Ztubents. DRAMATIC SOCIETY (President, Miss PLUNKET). The Society has only met twice as yet, at the invitation of Miss Butler and Miss Poulton. Bernard Shaw's " Cmsar and Cleopatra " proved so severe a tax on the intellect, that the puzzled members found it necessary on the first occasion to break off and betake themselves to lighter sports ; the second evening witnessed the completion of this epoch-making work, but left the Society still bewildered and sundered into two opposing camps.
HOME-STUDENTS AND ST. HILDA'S COMBINED HOCKEY TEAM.—The second of the Cup Tie
Matches (rst round) was played on Saturday, February 22nd, under the worst possible climatic conditions, the opponents being Somerville and a combined team of Home Students and St. Hilda's. Our team was as follows :Centre : Misses Harrison, O.H.S. ; Wright, St. Hilda's Hall. Forwards : Misses Blake, Brameld, St. Hilda's Hall. Halves : Misses Howse, O.H.S. ; Bell, Doncaster, St. Hilda's Hall. Backs Misses Waller, Tyndale, O.H.S. Goal : Miss Maclean, O.H.S. The game was a very fast one in spite of the keen wind and torrents of rain, and both sides pressed a great deal. Miss Brameld (left wing) many times took the ball right up the field, and within shooting distance of the enemy's goal, and Miss Bell's play also was strikingly deserving of praise. On the whole our defence was good ; Miss Maclean, as was to be expected, did great good service in goal—though we should like to have seen her playing half—her usual place. The two backs combined excellently. Much credit is due to the team for the vigour of its game and for
736
THE FRITILLARY.
the way it played together considering how few practices it had had. The first half there were no goals scored by either side. The second half, Somerville, 2 ; Combined, o.
DEBATING SOCIETY.—This Society was inaugurated towards the end of last term with the object of giving Home Students an opportunity of practising speaking, particularly impromptu speaking. Every alternate meeting is conducted on the lines of the O.S.D.S., the others being devoted to sharp practice. Some very interesting papers have been read, and some of the sharp practice meetings have been very spirited. The committee would be glad, however, if members would attend the meetings more regularly. Amongst the subjects on which papers have been read or longer speeches made have been " That on the whole a savage is happier than a civilized man." Miss Paxton proposer, Miss Gouldsmith opposer. "That too great a devotion to study on the part of a woman is destructive to her individuality." Miss Segar proposer, Miss Paxton opposer. " That childhood is the happiest time of life." Miss Swinburne proposer, Miss Watkins opposer. Some of the subjects under discussion at the sharp practice meetings have been " The value of conventionality," " That the cult of taste tends to materialism," " That knowledge adds to enjoyment." The officers of the Society for this term are Miss Segar, president ; Miss Watkins, secretary. They would be glad to hear of Home Students wishing to become members.
COMMON ROOM (Hon. Sec., G. M. THATCHER). —There is nothing new to record in connection with the Common Room this term. Some fifteen members have been very faithful in their attendance at the Socials, but the majority never put in an appearance at all. On one regrettable occasion the guests arrived in advance of the cakes, and a member of committee had to be despatched in haste to discover the reason for the non-appearance of the latter. At length, however, they came, and were appreciated the more for the delay.
BOAT CLUB (President, G. M. THATCH ER ). — Two new members, Miss Salmond and Miss Huggard, have joined the Club this term. After a little more practice, we hope that they will be able to become Responsible Members, for their unflagging energy certainly deserves this reward. We regret that Miss Swinburne was
obliged to leave Oxford when the term was only half-way through, but hope that she will be back again next term to share the duties of the diminished number of Responsible Members.
HOCKEY CLUB.—The
results of the matches
are :— v. St. Hugh's, lost 1-3, v. North Oxford, lost 2-4. Our team has received a valuable addition this term in Miss Tyndale, and we all feel that in her and Miss Waller we have two excellent backs, upon whom we can rely. There is already one match to be played, v. Lady Margaret Hall, znd XI., and we are hoping to be more successful in this than we have been in those already played. TENNIS CLUB (Hon.Sec., C. CRuTwELL).—Owing to the small number of members this Term the Club has only been able to engage the Court at S. Hugh's for one day a week, and the weather has been so persistently unfavourable on this very day that the members have found it almost impossible to meet at all.
New Students. Mary I. Atchison (Mother Mary Amadeus), Convent of the Holy Child, Mayfield. Laura B. Cameron, Abbotsford College, Stroud. Margaret J. Fryer, Home Education. Felicite E. T. Metcalfe, Convent of the Sacred Heart, Roehampton. Mabel A. Molyneux, Home Education. Lucy H. ROd, Otto Andersjen's School, Christiania. Marcia E. Tyndale, Oxford High School and " Les Marroniers," Auteuil. Emily M. White (Mother Mary Theodore). Miss Isabella Drummond has accepted the post of Science Mistress in N. London Collegiate School. Miss Louise Perks has obtained an Exhibition at the Training College, Cambridge, and is now in residence there. Miss E. Morgan, has left Oxford, having accepted a good post in Yorkshire. Miss M. Fripp, a student-member, has returned, and taken up the work for the Geography Diploma. Miss B. B. Rogers, has also returned to work with Dr. Herbertson. Printed by JAMES PARKER & CO.,
Crown
Yard, Oxford.