St Hugh's College, Oxford - The Imp, Jun 1921

THE IMP,

June, 1921.

EDITOR : M. M. DALSTON. YEAR REPRESENTATIVES ON COMMITTEE : M. PICKPORD—Third Year Representative, M. BowN—Second Year Representative.

K, HILLS—First Year Representative,

TREASURER; H. BURNETT.

THE IMP. No. 8.

1921.

JUNE.

CONTENTS. EDITORIAL TREASURER'S REPORT COMPETITION ENTRIES

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ANNOUNCEMENTS OF NEXT TERM'S COMPETITIONS ..

ALL HALLOWS EVE ••• ...

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LOST RAINBOWS

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THE ROTTINGDEAN ROAD ANTI-BOLSHEVISM A BOAT HOUSE RIME

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CLUB REPORTS SUMMER ••• I MP-RES SIONS THE PIPER SINGS

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MRS. BROWN SOLILOQUISES IN A BATH ...

AN OPEN LETTER COLLEGE PLAY

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EDITORIAL. BOTH in quality and quantity this Term's contributions have been more satisfactory—in some cases even encouraging. We are sorry, however, that the competitions proved so unpopular.

They are intended to give a point to the vague general purpose of ' writing something for the IMP,' which usually ends in writing nothing. But this time there appears to have been no purpose to point. The subjects set were within the scope of everyone, but only two contributors had the enterprise to attempt them.

We offer them the prizes with congratulations But we need no reminding that for many of us this IMP will be the last, and we should like to wish all those in the Schools this Term the best of luck, and those who are going down as fair a lot as'has been theirs in Oxford. For in their generation they have been doubly blessed—being in a unique sense both inheritors of the house of the old order, and builders of a new.

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THE IMP. TREASURER'S REPORT.

Because a College levy wiped out our debt two Terms ago, and we began our finances afresh, this balance-sheet is happily very simple.

RECEIPTS.

EXPENDITURE.

s. d.

J.C.R. subscriptions for Hilary, 1921

8

£8

o

o

s. d.

Holywell Press for printing of the IMP Balance in hand ...

0

7 7 12

6 6,

£8 0 0 HELEN BURNETT, Treasurer.

COMPETITION ENTRIES. TRANSLATION OF 'THEOPHILE GAUTIER'S ' CHINOISERIE.' CHINESE POTTERY. Lady, it is not you I love nor is it Juliet, Ophelia or Beatrice nor even Laura the fair with her large soft eyes. She whom I now love, is' in China in a tower of fine porcelain—for she lives there with her old parents by the Yellow River where the cormorants fly.

Her eyes slant towards her temples and her foot is so small that it can be held in the hand. More burnished is her skin than the copper of a lamp, and her nails: are long and tinted with carmine.

She looks out through her latticed window which the swallow skims in its flight and every night with a poet's skill she sings of the willow and the flower of the peach.

F. CAMOUS. A REVIEW. One is tempted to question the aptness of the title, for The Rough Crossing is, after all, so very smooth. There is distinct pleasure in the image of Elizabeth wrapped in her bath towel declaiming Mark Antony's speech of the holidays by the sea,

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when Elizabeth and Joan played brigands, and of the ' Society des Diablesses.' This society is for immoral purposes and for sitting on cushions.'

There are some shrewd bits of humour in the description of the garden city where Elizabeth attended the new kindergarten in Laurel Walk and learned the religion of beauty : ' Girls, Ruskin has called you lilies, be joyful and beautiful as and learned to cut little green and yellow paper mats, and of the vegetarian lady swathed in scarves, whom Elizabeth called the There is much realism in the account of the boys' bundle. school which she attended in Oxford, of the various masters, the school dancing class, the school theatricals. Thence she passes to a proper girls' school, largely attended by rich tradesmen's daughters, where she and the inseparable Phyllis and Dorothea were regarded as conspicuously lacking in esprit de corps, and school life became (like nail cleaning) a mere boring necessity in a life which concerned itself with wholly different matters.

It's so dud to be dull,' said Elizabeth. It is to this period that certain artistic reforms belong, the acquisition of a powder puff The girls' vanity is dwelt upon and various mild intrigues. throughout, and there is a certain praiseworthy if not altogether pleasant honesty in this character analysis. One is reminded of certain aspects of Miss E. M. Delafield's books, notably of the character of Zella in Zella Sees Herself, and in the faithful account of life at the Hostel in the war workers. For the unpleasant fact brought home to the reader is the deadly triviality thrust upon most girls' lives.

The final stage of the rough crossing is a boarding school, where Elizabeth is obsessed by the bleakness, the long white tables with a weary little fern in the centre of each,' and by the pettiness and confinement of the routine life in which Elizabeth's bath salts and the fact that no one has ever heard her kneel to say her prayers are subjects for earnest discussion. The worn house mistress, to whom a half-hour's personal talk ' with a girl is a great event, the silent and powerful Head who makes her influence felt everywhere, the ease with which Elizabeth accepts the dulness and smooths her way by assuming a role of sweet acquiescence, all these are depicted with a fidelity which is the book's chief merit. Nowhere does the writer permit the fostering of illusions. She does full justice to the cold calculating side of Elizabeth's character.

Indeed, she rather errs on the other side in transmitting in black and white her heroine's reactions without the emotional state which inspired them.

Being educated,' says Elizabeth on page one, is like blocking a hat. First you're new and untrimmed, and then grown-ups

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start trimming one, different sorts of trimming:, and when you go to new schools all the time its like being re-blocked and retrimmed.' And when she finally emerges re-blocked for the last time, and with that cool area at the back of the neck that indicates years of discretion, the reader can but recognise what a sound, convincing, jolly person she is, and admire the skill with which Miss Sylvia Thompson has avoided the pitfalls of pessimistic realism and of sentimentality.

R. G. RHOADS.

COMPETITIONS FOR MICHAELMAS TERM, 1921.

I.-PROSE. A short story (t,000 words). Prize 2/6.

2 . -VERSE. A translation of Horace: Odes, Book I, 5.

Prize 2/6.

1,01.4

MN.*

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ALL HALLOWS EVE. No more the daffodils desire thy feet, O shadow'd girl of gold and ivory— In all thy flowered dancing spaces see The serried armies of the Autumn wheat !

No more the flocks at twilight dost thou meet, O shadowy shepherdess, Persephone— For no bewilder'd lambs have need of thee, Nor dreams the herdsman at thy passing sweet.

Thou art our light to see the immortal flowers, But, darkling, we have felt that dew is theirs ; Thy flocks are scattered, and thy palace towers Are bannerless—see where thy Lover bears In his dark hands the fruit that gathereth Within its heart the smooth, bright seeds of death.

HELEN BURNETT. 11.11.4

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THE IMP.

LOST RAINBOWS. Yes, Bimbo was broken.

No, not only broken ; he was properly dead. Nurse had said so.

Such nasty rages ! ' she had exclaimed. ' What will your lady mother think ! Throwing your toys about like a nasty little beggar-child ! ' with many more marks of exclamation. But he had not thought of Bimbo when he hurled him at the window—Bimbo was only something to throw, something to make a smash and relieve the very hot anger in his heart. But now Bimbo lay in a hundred fragments, never to be cuddled in those arms again.

Yes, Miss Ellice,' Nurse was saying to the young lady who had just entered the nursery, there was I telling him to put on his outdoor things and go out, and he suddenly stamps, with his feet and says, " Won't go out; nasty horrid rain ! " and when I spoke to him he began to get wild and threw his china dog at the window, and it was lucky that he hit the wall instead. Yes, Miss, temper and nothing else.'

Poor old Toby,' said his cousin, looking down at him, can't Bimbo be mended? ' Nurse said no,' with a stubborn little face lifted to his interrogator.

I conclude Miss Ellice is here,' came a resigned voice from the doorway, and Toby's other cousin came in.

Jack,' said Ellice from her lowly position on the floor, Toby has broken his Bimbo and he won't be able to take the wee dog to bed with him to-night.' Nurse was heard to grunt in disapproval.

Get him another,' said practical Jack. ' What was it— temper ? ' It wasn't,' said Toby fiercely.

Yes, it was, but I don't see why it should have broken Bimbo—he hadn't done anything.'

It's just the way of things, Toby,' said the girl softly.

When you lose your rainbow, you've got to know that you've broken a beautiful thing as well as losing it.'

My dear Ellice,' impatiently from Jack, ' are we going into the garden or are you going to stay and babble nonsense about lost rainbows? ' But it is,' persisted Ellice. ' It's a lost rainbow—a lost hope—a lost love. And the only person who can find it again is Pan and to find Pan you must go, out on a moonlight night to

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the pine wood over yonder, and there maybe you will hear him, piping to the fauns in the shadows.

Pan's realm, enchanted ground, Where the broken things are mended And the lost things found.' ' I'm going, Ellice,' from Jack in the doorway.

She scrambled to her feet.

Oh, just wait a minute. Toby, perhaps you will wake up to-morrow and find the real Bimbo by your side. Pan might mend him. Rainbows are such horrid things to lose,' and she disappeared after her cousin.

Toby pondered it all as he lay in bed that light. Bimbo had not been consigned to the dust-bin : his various china bits lay under Toby's arm, tied up in one of his own handkerchiefs. The funeral was going to be the very grandest at which he had ever officiated—the tombstone was going to be larger than the canary's—but even that gleam of light was quenched, for the funeral would be over to-morrow, and after that there would he no Bimbo for ever and ever. He was a lost rainbow—cousin Ellice had said so—and only Pan could mend him. To meet Pan you went out on a moonlight night—the moon was shining through the window—but nurse said that little boys never went out at night. Why shouldn't little boys go out at night? Nurse was downstairs having her supper. The longer he waited the longer Bimbo would have to be dead and jingle about in the pocket handkerchief. Having brought his thoughts to a logical conclusion he listened. No sound from downstairs. A small figure arose, put on his jumper, knickers and sandals, and vanished softly out of the door. Nurse went on with her supper of sausage and mash, unmindful of the fact that the small figure had descended the stairs and let itself out of the door.

I like the night,' thought Toby as he dodged the bushes.

Everything's got a shadow, and what a lovely face the moon has ! ' The moon's got a face like the clock in the hall.'

Nurse said it was not true. Now I know why she was so nasty about going out. But I'm going out after this, lots,' and he gave a little hop of excitement.

He crept round by the gardener's cottage with great care, and then there was only the fence to cross. But when he really got to the pinewood he began to feel a little frightened. The pine trees were not many, and they did not stand close together, and the moon shone through and made curious chequered patterns on the ground. There was one part where the trees had left

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quite a bare space, and there were funny shadows further down the slope. Toby thought he would stay behind the bushes for a minute or two. And then he heard the pipe.

It was very clear, like a blackbird's whistle, but it did not make you think of dewy mornings, but of moonlight and mystery and strange, half-felt delightful thoughts. It was so soft that you felt it could not penetrate beyond the wood, and so clear that it seemed to fill everything around you.

Then Toby saw the figures. They stole out of the shadows one by one ; first little men with goat's legs and quaint, pointed ears, and then white ladies, like Cousin Ellice. And they danced, very silently and sedately. Toby watched them entranced. The ladies had short hair like his small friend Nell. And still the pipe went on with its plaintive music. But now they seemed tired; one by one they began to slip away until there was only Toby left. And now the great venture began. For the piper was Pan and Toby must go across the intervening space to find • him. His legs felt very trembly as he went ; the moon seemed to mock him with her cold face. But once he got across to the bushes on the other side he did not feel frightened any more.

For there sat the piper, and he was just Pan—a safe person, someone who would understand.

Pan watched him with his dark, mischievous eyes, but he went on piping. Toby went up to him with confidence. ' It's Bimbo,' he said, displaying the cotton handkerchief, and Cousin Ellice said you could mend him.'

Pan put his pipe down.

You're a very little boy,' he said, to come out alone. Do you like the . moon?' ' Yes,' said Toby, much better than the sun.'

But the sun is much safer ; the moon casts spells.'

Is that why she has got a face? ' Everybody has a face, only people can't always see it.'

He had taken the handkerchief and was undoing it.

Cousin Ellice said Bimbo was a lost rainbow,' remarked Toby. He had come quite close up to Pan and was leaning against his knee, watching the tender way in which he touched the fragments of Bimbo.

Yes,' said Pan, nodding his head, ' but he's easier to mend than most.'

Do lots of people come to you to mend things for them? ' Yes,' said Pan slowly, lots. But I can't always mend the things they bring. Sometimes they have to wait until the end of the end, when they can cross the fence for the last time, and come to my realm for good.'

Is it a nice place? '

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' Very.'

Toby watched the slender brown fingers flickering over the shiny fragments. •The pointed brown face bent over it and the forehead creased as the pieces were put together, and then changed and put together again.

I think Cousin Ellice loses rainbows sometimes,' said Toby, breaking the silence.

Yes,' said Pan, very often.' ' But Cousin Jack would never break things.'

Oh yes, even Cousin Jack breaks things sometimes. And soon, very soon, he is going to lose a very big and beautiful rainbow.'

Is it Cousin Ellice? ' enquiringly.

Perhaps,' and there stood Bimbo before Toby's eyes ; Bimbo in his old spottiness and perkiness, sitting up on Pan's hand.

Toby regarded him solemnly ; he felt quite quiet and happy ; the sort of happiness induced by a warm bath mixed up with the thrills that the organ gives in church.

Thank you, Pan,' he said simply.

Pan began to wrap Bimbo up in the handkerchief.

He'll be cold,' he said.

I like you, Pan,' said Toby.

Do you? I'm glad.'

And I'll always come to you when I want my things mended.'

No, not always. That's cowardly,' and he began to play softly on his pipe.

Good-bye,' said Toby, and he went up the wooded slope.

Never in my life did 1 see such petting and spoiling. Going all the way down to town to buy a toy for a little boy that can't control his own temper. Going down late to dinner so that they can come up and put it beside you in your bed. That's what your cousins have done, Master Toby, and it's more than I would have done, seeing it's not the first nor second time that you've flared up and broken things.' Thus flounced nurse at waking-up time. But Toby smiled quietly to himself. Of course, nurse and Cousins Ellice and Jack thought they had bought a new Bimbo, and of course he would go' and thank them very nicely. It was Pan who had arranged it all satisfactorily : Pan knew that otherwise there would have been tiresome explanations, and grown-ups never understand. And he smiled as he cuddled the real Bimbo. There would be no funeral to-day.

C. M. MORICE.

THE IMP.

THE ROTTINGDEAN ROAD. Give me not the lordly glint of gold, Nor priestly francincense, nor yet The sweet deliciousness of myrhhGive me not even the grey Mysterious splendour of an Alpine day, Whose majesty shall fold Silent, all concentrated stir, In golden radiance set.

But that my broken hurts be healed Give me one handful of the Weald; Grey barren curves that silent keep The secrets of the years asleep; A sea that's blue and green and purple all in one And yet—is none; Proud nakedness of cliffs that gleam Sheer in the sunlit afternoon.

These are for loveliness : would dream A life into an evening soon, But to make vigorous, and bind Into a perfect whole, and find The jewelled purpose therein set A girdle fair and clean— By sunshine blessed, by rains made wet, The road to Rottingdean.

White dust that is healing and sweet, Strong from the tread of the blistered feet— Grey mother of the tearsome birth Of this rough, broken, crusted earth, Of your sharp travail throes were born Grim scarlet poppies in the corn, The crimson-purple of the Downs, And the grey stones of little towns, Curves mellowing to infinity And the ever-changing, changeless sea, Gold sheets of mustard that will glow Full kindly as the sun steps low, The thunder of the grey-green reef Austerely setting their relief.

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White heat of great desire, Wrought pure through chastening fire.

O road ever beckoning, patient, dumb, These all moan through your call I come. ....011 10.1104 P.111.4

ANTI-BOLSHEVISM. It was about the middle of the Term that I began to realise how, at College, one loses' touch with really big things, for I was faced with a deep problem. I began to grasp how the unanswered questioning of the human mind develops into tragedy.

Gradually I found my mind absorbed by the ever-recurring question, ' What happens to the bathroom soap? ' Having ten times relied on fresh cakes, seen in the morning, and ten times borrowed from. mynearest friend, I began to think about solving it. Her withering scorn does rouse one in time. Incidentally I forgot to return the soap.

In one of those pauses, common to all literary genius, before the rush of inspiration on some historical personage who, not having been read up, has to be fitted in from imagination, my mind drifted back again. Casually I began to put down possible solutions (I) (2) (3) (4)

Some one person removes it.

All the College remove it.

It evaporates.

The College cleanliness is too much for it, &c., &c.

three pages of borrowed foolscap and then I It ran into remembered that I should have to borrow some more for the essay, and the sudden descent to! earth broke the train of thought.

After that I decided that any one solution was too simple, and! that, judging by economics, the only way to! solve a problem, was to look for the most complicated method. Working on that basis, the cause of disappearance was probably due to a combination of all the three pages of suggested factors, and it merely remained to decide upon their several functions I was interrupted by the arrival of the cocoa party, which I had forgotten in my excitement. By way of apology I put before them my latest conclusions. After ten minutes they decided that it was (a) a nervous breakdown, (b) Schools fever, Or (c) the un,

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accustomed strain of using the brain. They then put me forcibly to bed, and, by way of starting the rest cure, talked to me until I slept in sheer desperation.

Next day I was carefully guarded, and only light literature allowed. My restless eye, roving for quiet over the printed page, while my thoughts revolved ceaselessly round the problem, was arrested by a word, ' anti-bolshevism.' The pure inspiration of it dazzled me I Controlling my excitement, I asked, ' What was that Greek word that Aschimedes used when he discovered something in Physics? ' My guard said she had never done Greek in Smalls, so I kept cool for the afternoon in an argument as to whether this was Greek or Physics, and for the evening by trying to remember the word. At least the effort kept me awake until five minutes to twelve, the time to test my inspiration. I leapt out of bed and down the corridor, shut myself carefully into the bathroom, and uttered the Pass-word. (Oddly enough, I have since forgotten it.) I was right ! Out of nowhere appeared an army of soap of all ages. ' Then it was because you objected to being the property of the Community? ' I gasped.

Their general assent gave the final fllip to my memory.

Eureka ! ' I cried, and fainted. At least, I conclude I must have done so, and, anyway, there were quite enough of them to carry me back to bed, where I found myself, and you can go and try the experiment for yourself, if you happen to be able to think of that Anti-Bcilshevik Pass-word.

M. BELLAMY. 1■ ••■ •• •••■■ • MM.*

A BOATHOUSE RIME. I. The scullers went smashing down to Eights, Pull bow, pull stroke, pull all, They got in the way of every craft, They made the punters nearly daft, Ware bow, ware stroke, ware all.

The scullers came wearily up from Eights, Ware bow, ware stroke, ware all.

Their rowlocks were all completely smashed, Their crews both languid and abashed, Pull bow, pull stroke, pull all,

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The punts came swiftly through the crush, Graceful the pole glides in and out, Two punters planted firmly stand, There are skilful in strokes on either hand, And the ripple sounds under her throat.

III. Canoes went rollicking down to Eights, Paddle swiftly, skitfully steer, Some held but one, when the end showed all out, In other were found, a regular rout, Paddle swiftly, skilfully steer.

Canoes came gingerly through the crush, Paddle swiftly, skilfully steer, With rents in their sides and a staved-in floor, Yet they managed to reach the boathouse door, Paddle swiftly, skilfully steer.

A P.N.* 1.11.111 •••••■■

MRS. BROWN SOLILOQUISES. Only a Barry Pain could do justice to Mrs. Brown, but I can at least vouch for the truth of this fragment of one of the many (rather one-sided) conversations that I was privileged to have with her. Her name is not Brown, but her words are as reported here. To get the same effect the reader must take a deep breath and hold it till the soliloquy is read.

Enter Mrs. B. to do my room. She begins half-way up the staircase :

THE IMP. ' There, my dear, I've spread yer a nice tray for tea, with some nice butter an' a nice disherjam., an' four nice cups fer yer visiters, all as nice as I kin mike it. Yes, Miss ! Now you'll 'ave the little cloth? Yes, Miss. This table's not as nice as the nice shiny one downstairs, is it, Miss? More common like.

Yes, Miss. Now yer see, me dear, ye'll 'ave the four corners of the cloth—yes, Miss. Well now, I'll jest do yer room up a bit, shall I, Miss? Not that there's much ter do—not like a lot of little children-like, is it, Miss? No, Miss! Miss X., now, she's a tidy little thing, too. I'm very fond of 'er. Yes, Miss, a nice quiet little thing—orlways a smile fer everybody, no matter wot 'appens. Very quiet spoken she is. Yes, Miss—she's that meek yer kin read 'er little sowl. She's bin 'avin' a lidy friend styin"ere. Yes, Miss. A nice little thing—so bright in 'er idears 'n all. I 'opes 'as 'ow she'll marry some nice man if she do marry—one with a bit o' money like. Yes, Miss. When a gel gets a bit old she do seem to need somethin' more than a lidy friend, don't she, Miss? More of a companion like? Yes, Miss.

Now, Miss X., she's more at Christ Church College, Miss.

Yes, Miss. W'en I was with Mrs. — she 'ad a lot of lidies styin' there for the lectshures at Christ Church College. Yes, Miss. They did say 'as 'ow England was gain' to be' a Roman Yes, Miss;. Hawful it is. One of their Catherlic country. preachers 'as been turned out of one of them great cathedrals in Folkeston I believe. Yes, Miss. I don't 'old with 'em. No, Miss. Ow, look at that now (pointing to invisible cobweb on the rafter). 'Ow them little creatures do get about at this time er year. Yes, Miss. Now I wouldn't like yer visiters ter see that bit er web. No, Miss. W'en a visiter comes into er room their eyes do go up an' round like, don't they, Miss? Yes, Miss.

Now w'ere's a chair? Ow, thank yer, Miss. 'Ow tiresome it is ter be short. Yes, Miss. Not but wot I doesn't 'arf reach, up to me 'ighth. No, Miss, not 'arf up to me 'ighth. Now w'ere shall I 'ang this, Miss? In 'ere?' Yes, Miss. Stylish, that, isn't it, Miss? Yes, Miss. Now this bodice I 'ave on, Miss, I cut meself. Yes, , Miss. Reel clever with me 'ands I alwis was. Cut it out, ter fit me, I did, an' its lasted me these five years.

Yes, Miss. Reel stylish, ain't it? Them sequing. things is nice, ain't they, Miss? Yes, Miss. Now that jumper o' yours. Simple little thing it is. Not much work in that. No, Miss. Nice these flowers are, ain't they, Miss? Bluebells, did you say? Ow, daffydahlias—well, now, that's reel kind of yer, Miss. My William will be pleased. My William—'e was in the Shopshire regiment, yer know, Miss. Yes, Miss,. Pore boy, 'e was that dull at 'ome, so I bort 'im a gramyphone ter cheer 'im up. Nice little thing. Yes, Miss. Well, me dear,

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now there's your room all nice—not like a lot of little children I always says it is, Miss,. No, Miss. Now, you'll 'ave the four corners of the cloth, ye see, me dear? Yes, Miss. Daffydahlias, did yer say? Yes, Miss. Good mornin', Miss.

(Exit, panting, leaving me to recover.)

IN A BATH. I don't sing at the Coliseum, Or go to Bach ' at the Museum With lucky dogs (I'd like to gi'e 'em My jealous wrath !)

But though my voice is—just erratic, I warble melodies chromatic, And feel I'm rather operatic— Within my path.

And when the water's speshly ' hot, And thoughts pursue—as whose would not?— A studded with forget-me-not, Poetic path, And, lying in a blissful glow, I dream of damsels lost in snow, And delicate, exquisite woeMiy good old bath !

But in my deepest meditation, I have to leave this delectation, This sponge of droll configuration, This super-bath, This soap with sweet Erasmic smell— To all I splutter a farewell, There goes the second dinner-bell !

(Last line obscured by splashes.)

N. HORA.

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AN OPEN LETTER. May I take this opportunity of offering two suggestions for the consideration of anyone interested in things dramatic? I feel sure that there are others who also feel that the merits of two excellent stage settings in this College, namely, the library and the garden, are being overlooked. Both of these, of course, are suited to particular types of play only, but for the production of such types I am sure that they might be unusually effective.

But let me be more explicit. It seems to me that the north end of the Library would make an almost perfect setting for a small Christmas masque, or mummers' play, such as the ancient St. George,' the advantages which at once spring to mind being the minstrels' gallery, the convenience of three entrances (the door, the stairs, and the east alcove), and the dark colouring of wood and floor. The audience, of course, would occupy the body of the Library, while the point of concentration ' on the stage would be the middle alcove, lit by headlights only, hung low so that the actors on the floor might receive the full benefit from them, while at the same time the minstrels' lanterns would appear to advantage.

My other suggestion is for a performance of Comus ' in the garden, on a summer night. The ' wild wood ' is obviously to hand, in the shrubbery on the left of the lawn, and Comus might make a most effective entrance from it with his court, for a wild torch dance on the grass. For the other scene, the palace, audience as well as stage would have to change, by turning towards College. There the, Lady, with Comus beside her, would be seen, as it were, on a dais, seated between the pillars, of the south porch. A single lamp would throw all its light on them, amid the brilliant hangings of the room, while the satyrs would crouch about the steps in the half-dark.

But I must apologise for the crudity of these mere blobs on the canvas, as well as for the inadequacy of the ideas which they are meant to express. I write only in the hope that someone more skilled•in these matters than I may see the picture I should have liked to paint and perhaps feel drawn to complete it.

MARY 14P. RALSTON.

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THE IMP. COLLEGE PLAY. ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN.'

CHARACTERS: M. PICKFORD. King Claudius of Denmark V. MISKIN. Queen Gertrude Hamlet (Queen Gertrude's son, betrothed to Ophelia) M. SINLCAIR. K. HILLS. Rosencrantz (a. Courtier, in love with Ophelia.)

-A. BROUGH. Guildenstern (a Courtier) M. SAVORY. First Player - I. MOBERLEY. Second Player 0. EMTAGE. Ophelia Courtiers, Pages.

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LORDSHIP (Treviso, 1312). '

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CHARACTERS :

- IM. CHILTON. Sanazzaro da Casa Trevisan noblemen PA. PRICHARD. Stefano della Rangone E. REYNOLDS. Guecello da Camino, brother of Riccardo - M. DALSTON. Riccardo da Camino, Lord of Treviso E. N. DENTON. Monna Gilia, daughter of Riccardo I M. HOLT-HUTTON. Caterina N. CLIVE-SMITH. Carmosina Tire-women K. I. HIND. Verde H. BURNETT. Sandra, a boy from Areto JR. LAYNG. Cecchino di Sabbia Trevisan noblemen 1M. BOWN. Rolando da Castelbarco} - A. BROUGH. Clemont de Beaujeu, a Provencal poet M. HOLT-HUTTON. Antoine de Baif, a French Knight M. SINCLAIR. Jacopo Rossi, a sculptor -

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GiOSUei peasants

Ugo Fiametta, a girl Susanna, a peasant woman Marta, an old woman Giacomo,a soldier

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L. HILLIARD. I A D. EDWARDS REES.

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Peasants, Soldiers, Pages, Ladies.

V. DEANS. -

M.

BOWN.

E. MORGAN. R. LAYNG.

THE IMP.

17

The perforinance of ' Lordship' was an achievement. To give life to an obscure bit of history, to reanimate characters whose names are not endeared by association, to reproduce the original atmosphere and yet to bring the situation home with vivid force to a present day audience—this is no light task. That it was accomplished is due to the unity of effort and to the fact that acting, costumes, setting, all details received the same masterly and complete attention. There were no flaws. To coachers and coached alike belongs credit for the high standard of acting maintained throughout. The minor parts were excellent in themselves. While the colour schemes of the costumes lacked unity in the mass, the costumes individually were . beautiful and historically accurate. The settings were often charming, the grouping well done, and the mob scenes managed with almost professional . skill. Taken throughout, it was a very finished production.

Of the play itself, apart from the acting, it is not my province to speak. Excellent as regards climax, it lacked the minor continuity of character development, absent except in the part of the boy Sandro. Monna Gilia we only see after she is enmeshed in the net of circumstances, which reduces! her to tragic inaction.

The strong contrast of the play lies in her outward passiveness while the fortunes of those about her rush on to their appointed end.

One would wish to do adequate justice to the simplicity of the really lovely lines, to the dignity and convincingness of the atmosphere, to such perfection of detail as the close of Scene IICarmosina quietly reading from the great book ; Monna Gilia, weighted with jewels before her mirror ; Ricardo grimly exultant over the chees board ; Giosue fanning the flame of discontent in the streets of Treviso—these are figures vivid in retrospect.

Perhaps the greatest virtue of the play is the economy of detail which makes each touch significant, an integral part of the picture.

As to the characters' : Miss Denton in the idle she had created, interpreted admirably the passive, restrained, yet acutely vivid part of Monna Gilia, than which few things could be more difficult. Miss Dals•on as Ricardo carried conviction in a no less trying part. Hers was the strong central character that bound together the various scenes and gave unity to the whole.

Miss Burnett acted a passionate and sensitive, if somewhat sophisticated Sandro. The parts of the noblemen were excellently differentiated, and the three tire women formed a gracious and sympathetic background for Monna Gilia. Of the minor characters, Miss Hilliard's Giosue was especially good in that

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THE IMP.

her every gesture foreshadowed the assassination. Miss Holt Hutton demands special praise for her treatment of two such different roles as Caterina and the French knight, and Miss Morgan and Miss Deans for the creative interpretation which they gave to two minor parts.

The whole had the remote unreal charm of tapestry figures.

If the glowing scenes left one a bit baffled or cold it is because they' dealt with things intangible, hard to put into words, and harder still to get across the footlights, because Monna Gilia's helplessness in the face of conflicting destinies is the real tragedy, and that final despairing gesture is typical of it.

The weakness and the strength of Lordship ' is restraint.

It was a stroke of genius which contrasted that restraint with the almost tearful mirth of R.osencrantz and Guildenstern.'

Miss Pickford bore her ermine very well, and presented a moving spectacle of the unsuccessful dramatist, and Miss: Emtage made a resourceful Ophel.ia ; but the palm belongs to Miss Sinclair's temperamental interpretation of Hamlet, more than reminiscent of Patience,' and to the Ros:encrantz of K. Hills, whose every speech dissolved the audience in mirth.. That difficult bit of the ' play within, the play ' was perhaps the crowning success of the piece.

R. G. RIIOADS. 1 ,•■ •■11 ■■ ••■ •

When I saw you first I loved you for your beauty, You were so slim and white.

I loved the movements of your limbs, The curve of your soft breasts, Your pale hands and your smooth bright hair.

And more. I loved the calm assurance of you, The disdainful air of you, The proud way you crossed the room.

And when you spoke Your voice was clear and cool.

N. CLIVE SMITH.

••int ■

sir.

sue.

THE IMP.

19

CLUB REPORTS. LITERARY SOCIETY. . The College on the whole seems to have taken kindly to the Literary Society now that it is being run on somewhat new lines.

Five new members joined at the beginning of this Term, which brought the total number up to thirty. At least four meetings are held each Term, at two of which papers are read by members, selected by the simple process of drawing from a hat, or, more accurately speaking, an ornamental flower-bowl. The other two meetings are devoted to the reading of plays or poetry. One paper has already been read this Term by Miss McCall on Mediceval Women, and there has been one play-reading, the play chosen being Dekker's Shoemaker's Holiday. At the next meeting Miss Taylor will read a paper on Superstitions, which promises to be an extremely entertaining subject.

The Society held one open meeting this Term, when Mr. J. C. Squire gave an amusing and instructive lecture on Some English Women Writers. Notices were sent to other colleges, and quite a considerable number of peOple were present. A charge was made for admission to cover expenses. It is hoped that a similar meeting may be arranged for next Term.

TENNIS CLUB. Although the membership of the .Tennis Club is' even larger than it was last year, it has not been so difficult to obtain courts, as we have the two new courts at the Lawn. We were drawn against St. Hilda's, for our first Cup tie, but the match has not yet been finished. We are playing L.M. H. on May 26th, S.C. on June 3rd, and the O.H.S. on June 6th. Several games have been arranged with other colleges. On May 13th we played mixed doubles with Wadham, and we are playing with Balliol and Worcester later in the Term.

On May 27th the Second VI are playing Somerville Second VI, and towards the end of the Term matches have been arranged for them against the Oxford High School and the Headington High. School. The Second, VI is not yet quite settled,.

There were many entries for the doubles tournament which took place earlier in the Term, and we hope to arrange another one later on. We are •very fortunate in having two new members of the Oxford VI, Miss Leys, and Miss Lagden, who will both be of great value to us in the Cup matches.

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THE IMP. The VI is as follows :— 1st Couple 2nd Couple 3rd Couple

f Paterson.

1Leys. f Lagden.

1Godley.

f Clarry.

1.Ramsay.

BOAT CLUB. Captain--J. L. WHYTLAW. Vice-Captain—M., DALSTON. Secretary—M. SHARPE.

The river is always doubly popular in the summer, and the full boathouse and the before-breakfast coaching list show that this Term has proved no exception to the rule.

The Second, as well as the Third and Fourth Years, may now boat on Sundays.

It was found that scullers obstructed the afternoon traffic of the river, so in the ordinary way they have been out before breakfast only.

The First Year has shown great keenness in punting and canoeing, and the standard, on the whole, is high. Competency captains fully justified the permission given them: to take private boats to Eights, by enabling practically everyone who wished to do so to go down by river, and lightening the responsibilities of the captains. Apart from Eights, however, we should like to remind competencies that while the Boat Club exists in its present form, their qualification is intended for a help and not a hindrance to a captaincy. It is obviously unfair that those who have been given this help should shirk helping others in their turn.

The Four progresses gradually, but thanks: to Mr. Lusk, continuously. There are now sixteen people who row, and we have hopes of going in an Eight this Term.

Apart from their more serious occupations, the Boat Club is •looking forward to a rag regatta, like that held last year, on the last Friday of Term.

The following have qualified this Term :— Scur.uNo.—Captain: Walford ; Half-Captain: Linton, Smith, Garner, Marr.

PUNTING.—Captain: Whytlaw, Harnibrook, Lagden, McCall, Wright, Pickford; Half-Captain: . Rogers, Crosthwaite, Marshall,• Wait.

CANOEING.—Lagden, Sharpe, Michell.

THE IMP.

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SUMMER. Like petals flung into a cup of gold The western colours shine—slowly they fade.

The moon hangs gleaming in the night's blue fold Like a great pearl. Gloriously arrayed June sleeps in the dusky meadows. Now 'tis sweet Alone to wander and to feel the cool Silken caress of grass beneath bare feet ; To see the moonlight glint upon the pool Where water-lilies all uncared-for lift Cups to the stars that elfin-folk may drink Their dewy sweetness. Shadows slide and shift Under the tall trees ; as their branches stir, Their long fantastic chains lie link on link.

The faint breeze brings the smell of pines. The whir Of beetle's wings is heard. The cattle stand Knee-deep in buttercups that milky show Thick in the fields. Lovely in the land Art thou, 0 Summer ! Wherefore dost thou go Leaving us mourning? Autumn's brave array Hides but a heart that at thy passing grieves Because so quickly spent is thy brief day And, dream-like, but a jewelled memory leaves.

M. COOK. IMO..

004 0.1.1.41

IMP-RESSIONS. Nevertheless our IndeHeat is apt to produce lethargy. fatigable Imp is faced with as many Imp-ressions to be recorded as ever.

The first week of Term was entirely taken up with preparations for the College plays, or rather, play and curtain-raiser.

Night after night the holy calm of the J.C.R. was broken by the sound of declamatory voices, and the occasional thud as of some heavy body falling was, so to speak, wafted from the dining-hall. For days members of the cast went about with beetling brows and cheeks whose hectic flush gave proof of the staying powers of rouge and grease-paint, while the apparent

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alarming outbreak of the ' bobbing' craze caused our Imp some anxiety. The passage of time, however, has relieved all apprehension on this score, and has restored the very last of the borrowed properties to their rightful owners. A full criticism of the plays will be found elsewhere in these pages, but we should like to say that the committee satisfied even the most ardent seekers after originality by choosing one written by a member of St. Hugh's. Miss Denton is to be congratulated both as the author of Lordship and on its highly successful production, while to the credit of the immortal Gilbert and of those who took part, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, which served as curtain-raiser, was received with acclamations and laughter. If Lordship is the first instance of a play written by a member of St. Hugh's being chosen for the College play, let us hope it will not be the last.

While we are on the literary tack we should like to remark that the Literary Society is in a very flourishing condition. One open meeting has been held this Term, when Mr. J. C. Squire lectured on Some Women Writers. It is hoped that some other illustrious personage may be induced to come and speak next Term.

Eights' Week, in the general opinion the most important event of the Term, is safely over. Although there is at present no St. Hugh's eight competing (un ye-votTo1) the performances of our fellow-colleges (if we may now be permitted the expression) were watched with the greatest attention by members of the College in large numbers. With all due respect to Magdalen, we should like to say that the satisfaction of seeing New College's fine crew keep their hard-won place at the head of the river was general. We also think that St. Hugh's should congratulate itself on not having, to its knowledge, lost any of its members in the scrum between and after the races.

We wish the Tennis Six the best of luck in the Cup matches.

Two Clippers, against St. Hilda's and Lady Margaret Hall, are in process of being played, the weather and other circumstances having prevented the matches from being played out before.

The ever-enterprising French Club has contested with both the O.U. Spanish Club and the O.U. French Club this Term.

In the first case ' Bull-fighting ' was the subject under debate, and in the words of the President, much sanguinary knowledge was displayed, the motion was lost, and the proceedings ended with dancing.' The motion before the house on the occasion of the second debate was, Qu'il vaut mieux passer le dimanche a la francaise qu'h l'Anglaise.' The discussion was heated, and again, alas for the shocking flippancy of the present generation, the debate was concluded with dancing.

THE IMP.

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A very successful dance was held in the third week of Term'.

The use of the garden for sitting out relieved the sociable secretaries of a good deal of trouble and the ground-floor passages and main staircase of much congestion. A heavy shower towards, the end of the evening rendered the cushions out of doors somewhat damp, but had no effect upon the ardour of the dancers.

We understand that the second dance has been fixed for Saturday, June ith, and it is hoped that no little item such as Final Schools will be found to prevent the Third Year from being present.

This Term's list of social functions is to be concluded with Miss Jourdain's garden party, to which the whole College is greatly looking forward. Let us hope that the weather, which behaved itself so well during Eights, will hold good for the last Saturday of Term.

It is rumoured that the College, not content with endangering itself on the Cher under the watchful eye of captains, qualifying and otherwise, proposes to risk its life in a regatta, which is to take place in the early hours of the morning some day towards the end of Term. Bathing dress, it is believed, will prevail, as there seems to be a general feeling of conviction that someone will get wet.

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0•••■ •••

THE PIPER SINGS. When I put on my singing robes, Of peacock's feather green, As soft as little waterfalls And silken as the sheen Of starlings in the sunlight, or chestnuts newly ripe, And play the tune of windy grass, Upon my silver pipe— Then you shall take your dancing suit Of spindleberry red, And catch a feather falling down, And wear it on your head, And take your mortal sandals off, And dance about the lawn Until the ringing hunt is up Against a primrose dawn.

THE IMP.

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Then from the gardens of the East We two will wander forth And in the valleys of the south And hilltops of the north Will feel the wide winds gird us round And hear the curlews cry, And none shall be in all the world But only you and I. •

And' when the elfin horns of dusk Have called the heather bee, We two will walk by the world's edge, Beside the endless sea, And on the shimmering sunset track Will seek the Inn called West, And there mine good host Hesperus Will give us starry rest.

M. M. DALSTON.

•

HOLAVELL PRESS, ALFRED STREET, OXFORD.

CONSTITUTION OF THE COLLEGE MAGAZINE. L.—That the name of the Magazine shall be called THEE

a

.

—That the officers of the Magazine shall be an Editor and a Treasurer, elected by the J.C.R., and a representative from each year, elected by their own years.

3.—Contributions shall be accepted or refused by the decision of the majority of the Committee, the Editor reserving the right of the casting vote.

4.—The Committee shall not be held responsible for any opinions expressed in the Magazine.

5.—Nothing of intrinsic merit shall be excluded on account of views expressed therein.

6.—The anonymous character of contributions shall be respected when required.

7.—Contributions from the Senior and Junior Common Rooms, past and present, shall be accepted.

8.—The Committee shall be empowered to invite contributions from anyone not a member of the College at their discretion.