The Sun.
London, England, 1863-06-17 00:00:00

OXFORD COMMEMORATION.

Yesterday their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Prin-
cess of Wales were received at Oxford with becoming state
and rejoicing, but the event added another to the long list
of disappointments as regards the weather where the Prince
is concerned, for the morning was ushered in with a damp
chilly drizzle and ended in as steady and as heavy rain as
ever spoilt an out-door holiday in England. This mis-
chance damped out a great deal of the enthusiasm of the
reception, and quite marred what would otherwise have
been a gay and most attractive spectacle. The High-street
was thronged with spectators ; every window and balcony
was crowded with ladies; the houses were dressed with
rosettes and evergreens, and banners, mottoes, and devices,
more or less suited to the occasion, fluttered in all direc-
tions. The reception took place on Magdalen-bridge, which
was, of course, the great centre of attraction; for, though
the decorations were feebly prolonged down the Iffiey-road,
till they were brought to a sudden stop by a most scrubby
arch, in the style known as carpenter's gothic, yet, as far
as real and becoming preparation went, it may be said to
have ceased entirely on the Oxford side of the picturesque
old bridge which spans the Cherwell at Magdalen. Viewed
from beyond this bridge, the scene was one of striking
beauty, with all the towers and pinnacles of Oxford peering
through the trees, with the Botanic Gardens en the one
side, and the old gray windows, filled with flowers, and the
noble tower of Magdalen filling up the middle distance, on
the other. The university and civic authorities arrived here
only a few minutes before the time fixed for the reception
of the royal visitors. The Archbishop of Canterbury, with
theßishop of Armagh, the Bishop of London, the Bishop of
Winchester, and the Bishop of Lincoln, followed by the
Vice-Chancellor, Deans, Wardens, Heads of Houses, and
Doctors of Divinity and Medicine, in their Academic robes,
headed the procession, which was brought up by a crowd of
Masters of Arts and College dignitaries. Hardly had this
grave and learned assemblage drawn up in double lines
along the bridge when the rain, which had until now been
gentle, came down with swamping vehemence, and, of
course, in the midst of this the Royal cortege drew up. It
was a plain travelling chariot drawn by four horses, and
preceded by two outriders in scarlet liveries; while in front
of all came the Duke of Marlborough, as Lord Lieutenant
of the county. Just on entering the bridge the Royal car-
riage stopped, and, though the drenching rain might well
have justified their Royal Highnesses in keeping the vehicle
closed, yet the Prince gave orders that the hood should be
thrown back, and for the rest of the route to Christ Church
they both sat exposed to the heavy, pitiless shower with the
most perfect indifference, and looking almost as if they liked
it. Both the Prince and Princess were in plain morning
costume, and looked pleased with the extreme warmth of
their reception. Unfortunately, just as the cortege reached
the bridge, the pressure of the country people who had
gathered in the Iffley-road quite overpowered the police and
volunteers in their efforts to keep the pathway clear; and
the Royal carriage was instantly surrounded by a mixed
crowd, whose boisterous and hearty cheering and pushing
to see the Princess marred the very meagre ceremony which
constitutes the presentation of an adiress. These coarser
elements, which so sadly interfered with the University
display, were with some difficulty weeded out by the police,
and the Royal procession continued its course up the High-
street, amid the most enthusiastic demonstrations of wel-
come, in spite of the drenching rain, which now came down
in streams.

Early in the forenoon the academic seclusion of Christ
Church had been rudely disturbed by the arrival of numer-
ous visitors, armed with passports from the Dean. These
licensed invaders were chiefly ladies, who tripped recklessly
over the velvet sward, transformed the terraces which sur-
round the largest and noblest of Oxford quads into a gay pro-
menade, and, even scaling the dingy staircases, took posses-
sion of the rooms overlooking the square, and filled the quaint
old windows with their pretty faces and brilliant bonnets.
Shortly before noon the University Volunteers marched into
the quad, and took up a position in a continuous double
line, forming two sides of a triangle, and reaching from the
gate to the centre of the upper terrace. This peculiar
arrangement was rendered necessary by the fountain and
basin which occupy the middle of the enclosure, and cause
a diversion of the carriage drive. Recruited as they are from
the flower of English youth, and trained at the head. quar-
ters of muscular Christianity, the University Volunteers
are an unusually fine body of men, and their goodly pro-
portions and gallant bearing, which the smart gray and
blue uniform displayed to full advantage, elicited very
favourable criticism, especially from the ladies. But when
the volunteers had been duly inspected time began again
to hang heavy on the hands of the spectators. For more
than an hour a thin, misty rain had been drizzling down,
and many anxious eyes watched the clouds over Tom Tower,
growing every moment ominously blacker and heavier.
Gradually the narrow patches of blue sky and feeble un-
certain bursts of sunshine, which had served to justify the
hopes of the more sanguine, disappeared. What was at first
made light of as a mere passing shower soon became a
settled rain, and those who had no choice of places sought
the shelter of the porches, while those in the front
rows, unwilling to quit their vantage ground, huddled
miserably together under umbrellas. The situation was now
decidedly unpleasant, and it was a relief to all when, about a
quarter to 1 o'clock, the great gates of Tom Tower swung
revealed the owfatshearogyeanlepraaryl furilnintgheoirf
accept the rain in a non-natural sense, and to hold that all
umbrellas, scarlet
eatnldiv re
erayvs e.
though there was a unanimous agreement to
covering was superfluous, even for the most delicate dresses
or the most gossamer bonnets. All at once the dismal mass
of silken and gingham screens which marked the terrace was
changed, like a trick in a pantomime, into a variegated
throng of gaily-dressed people, as fresh, brilliant, and many-
hued as the prize bank at a flower show. At the same time
the band struck up " God Save the Queen," the Volunteers
presented arms with credible precision and harmony,
and amid general cheering the Royal cortege drove up to
the flight of steps at the upper terrace, whore they were
received under an awning by Dr. Liddel, the Dean of Christ
Church, Archdeacon Clarke, the Sub-Dean, and the other
dignitaries of the College. Giving his arm to the Princess,
the Dean led his illustrious guests to the apartments
provided for them in his own house, Lady de Grey and
Ripon, Lord Mount Edgecurabe, Lord Harris, Lieutenant-
General Knollys, and other members of the Royal suite,
followed in the other carriages. The Duke of Newcastle
and Lord Granville arrived a few minutes afterwards.
During the next quarter of an hour the spectators again
retired gloomily under their umbrellas, from which they
were not to be seduced by the sight of the Volunteers