The Sun.
London, England, 1865-03-28 00:00:00

The University Boat-Race.

Certain representatives of our two great Universities
make their appearance in a locality not a hundred miles
from the metropolis during the present week. They are
not members of parliament, neither are they heads of houses,
therefore we may treat them pleasantly rather than gravely,
and_ dismiss from our minds the solemnities of cap and
gown, and the boredom of blue books, and " I hold in my
hand a paper, sir." The gentlemen, we expect, are young
—indeed, in the first blush of manhood ; but they are big
men, and they are strong, and in their present state of bulk
they weigh exactly 203 stones 111bs. This is an American
method, perhaps, of introducing eighteen gentlemen to the
public; for the Yankees, when they have told you the
income of their celebrated man and accounted for his accre-
tion of wealth, described the colour of his every-day coat,
and added, by way of zest, the peculiar scandal connected
with his name, finish by giving you his weight and what
he measures round the waist. It is not, however, in this
kind of spirit that we mention the weight of these repre-
sentatives of Oxford and Cambridge. Weight is an im-
portant element in the cause they are sent here to uphold,
because with them weight mostly represents strength, and
strength success. Our readers will see from this that the
eighteen gentlemen in question come to the spot we have
obscurely hinted at to compete for something. And yet
the something they are about to contend for is nothing but
honour. Hotspur, we know, thought it an " easy leap,"

" To pluck bright honour from the pale-faced moon
Or dive into the bosom of the deep,

And pluck ur. drowned honour by locks."
And although these strong men of the colleges may look
upon the pursuit of honour a trifle more seriously than
Hotspur did, they come to us in Henry Percy's spirit, and
with all his self-sacrificing gallantry. But to make the
matter clear, we must divide the eighteen gentlemen by
two ; range each division under its proper colours, and so
arrive at the fact that nine Oxford men have come to Putney
to meet there nine Cambridge men, for a friendly contest
of skill, strength, and endurance. As we have alluded to
the gross weight of the competitors, we may mention that
in this respect, when the two bodies of men are separated
they come to us upon remarkably fair terms. Put all the
Cambridge men into one scale, and the Oxford men into
another, and there shall be no kicking of the beam. Tho
difference will be only just one pound ; and although the
imposition of a single pound on a horse's back has some-
times decided the result of a race, the extra pound carried
by the gentlemen from the Cam can scarcely be looked
upon as likely to influence the result of the contest for
which they are making preparation. A very able critic of
a former University boat-race said that "good big men
were better than good little men." He meant physically,
of course. But upon this occasion there will be no room for
drawing the distinction, the representatives of the two
seats of learning being so well matched in point of bulk.
Shylock himself would have thought little of this extra
"pound of flesh," and we only refer to it to show how
nearly alike in the matter of weight tho competitors
really are.
And what is the object of this notable competition ?
Simply, then, the winning of a boat race, but a boat race
upon which the eyes of aristocratic and middle-class Eng-
land are fixed with an interest second to none taken in
popular sports and pastimes. For 35 years has this interest
endured. In 1829 the students of Oxford and Cambridge
first contended as oarsmen at Henley-on-Thames. Oxford
won " easily" we are told. In 1836 the contest was resumed,
and in a race from Westminster to Putney Cambridge left
the Oxonians behind, and had a minute to spare. 111-luck
attended the men of the Isis in the three succeeding
struggles; but in 1842 they "pulled the thing off," with 13
seconds to spare. Then Cambridge again for three years
resumed the mastery ; then Oxford for three ; then the
victory alternated between the crews, till, in 1861, Oxford
inaugurated a long series of successes, scoring, with last
year's race, four triumphs in regular sequence against the
unfortunate wearers of the light blue ribbon. To show
what kind of work these men do, we may mention that ono
rough day—the 15th of April, 1859, the tumbling water
surged into the Cambridge boat, and at Barnes Railway
bridge swamped it with all hands. Happily there were no
lives lost; but a more curious shipwreck cannot well be
imagined. The Cambridge craft was light—too light, and
long before she reached the scene of her sudden subsidence
her men were pulling hard ankle-deep in water. They -
made no attempt to leave the wreck : it left them. As
to turning ashore to avoid the catastrophe they scorned
the action, and the eight-oar went as calmly down at
Barnes Bridge as did the Royal George when she heeled
over at Spithead and took in at her open ports the weight
that carried her to the grave. What was this but trying
to pluck up drowned honour by the locks ? We cannot
well call that year's contest a positive defeat for Cam-
bridge.
Strictly speaking, however, Oxford must be credited with
the honours of that incomplete struggle, and therefore we
find the more ancient University coming to Putney this
year with the prestige resulting from the odd victory-
Cambridge has carried off the palm ten times, Oxford
eleven, and we shall shortly see whether the men of the
Cam are able to make things even or not. In a contest
like this there is always that perfect honesty and good
faith which are the life and soul of lofty emulation. We
may depend upon our athletaa when they don the dark,
blue of Oxford or the light azure of the sister University.
Each seat of learning has its natural esprit de corps—its
earnest desire to see its men victorious; but beyond this
wholesome feeling there is none of the vulgar partisanship
common to some less admirable trials of vigour. As we
have said, as far as the immediate contest is concerned,
there is nothing won, nothing lost, but honour, There IN
not even the " tin pot" which rewards the aspirants to
aquatic fame in some other competitions. Pure emula-
tion, unadulterated love of excellence, move these Uni-
versity men to • put themselves through a course of hard
training, to be as obedient as children to the word of com-
mand, and to practise a self-denying ordinance, that to
some minds would seem sackcloth and ashes, a hair
shirt, and unboiled peas in the shoes of pilgrimage.
Many of our readers may not know what this " training"
—this
system
pride o
off preparation is. They see these men
their youthful vigour, instinct with
einaset,hegrace, and, withal, decent modesty. They cannot
choose but admire this perfection of early manhood. How
is it acquired? Without going into the minutiaa of the sub-
ject, without making a catalogue of what these selected
oarsmen eat, drink, and avoid, we may say that the system
they adhere to in their training is one of practical virtue:
The old sin that emasculated the Romans—the sin of luxury
—they are strangers to. They work hard, and they in-
dulge their appetites in moderation. They represent Bent-
ingism "with a difference." Early to bed and early to rise
are essentials of their discipline. Indeed, they do all that
which men of their class are too often apt to neglect or to
undo. And the result we shall see on the Bth of April neact
Oxford has come to Putney early this year ; and Cambridge
will follow after a few days' interval. Whether the one
University or the .other carries off the honours of the
contest is a matter of no such moment as the fact that
these eighteen gentlemen are engaged in upholding the
strength, skill, and stamina of the gentler society to which
they belong. In this respect they call for our best recog-
nition ; while, at the same time, the struggle they are pre-
paring for is one of the most wholesome of the many that
afford delight to all well-conditioned Englishmen.
To-day, we believe, the gentlemen of the dark blue rib-
bon take their first paddle over the course ; and, no doubt,
many will be "there to see." The excitement arising last
year from the fact that the honours of the odd victory
were in question, will this year be almost equalled by the
pretty general expectation that a great, a close race, is in
prospect. We hope this feeling will not be disappointed.
It will be more satisfactory to both crews should an almost
neck-and-neck struggle end in a well-won victory.—
Herald.

THE YELVERTON CASE.---A petition of appeal
against the recent interlocutors of the First Division of
the Couit of Session was on Saturday presented to the
House of Lords at the instance of Mrs. Lonvvorth Yet..
verton.