The Sun.
London, England, 1853-06-10 00:00:00

THE OXFORD INSTALLATION

FESTIVITIES.

OXFORD, THURSDAY.
The Christ Church dinner last night was the crowning
event of the festivities that have attended the inaugura-
tion of the Chancellor. The Earl of Derby is himself a
member of that collegiate body, and it was to be ex-
pected that an institution so proud of its renown as the
head of all the colleges of Oxford would offer a brilliant
reception to one of its alumni so highly distinguished.
The old hall, raised by the munificence of Wolsey for the
adornment of his favourite college, was occupied by a
distinguished and select company of more than a hun-
dred visitors, consisting chiefly of members, besides the
personal friends of Lord Derby. It derived additional
lustre from the presence of the Chancellor of the Ex-
bliequer, Mr. Gladstone, who is a Christ Church man,
having come from London to attend the dinner. The
banquet overflowed with good cheer and luxuries of all
sorts, and the tables were decked with a sumptuous
display of plate. Dr. Gaisford, Dean of Christ Church,
presided. The speaking throughout was of a com-
plimentary character, and marked by perfect taste
and good feeling. Mr. Gladstone's health was
drank with the greatest enthusiasm, and in return-
ing thanks be adverted gracefully to the facts of
the choice of the University having fallen on a
Christ Church man, and to the benefits which might be
expected to result from the inquiries of the Royal
Com-
mission, which had been issued by Government solely in
view of the advantages that would result, both to the
cause of educational culture generally and to academic
interests, from widening and purifying the channels of
learning. The following were the principal guests pre-
sent :—The Vice-Chancellor, the Marquis of Salisbury,
the Marquis of Chandos, Earl Bathurst, the Earl of
Malmesbury, the Earl of Hardwicke, the Earl of Shef-
field, Earl Talbot, Viscount Lewisham, Sir
Inglis, M.P., the Bishop of London, the Bishop of Ox-
ford, Dr. Jelf, Sir R. Murchison, Lord Stafford, Sir J.
Pakington, M.P., Mr. Disraeli, M.P.,241.r. Walpole,
M.P., Lord Dynevor, the Marquis of Lothian, the Earl
of Lincoln, the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P.,
Lord Valletort, Viscount Fordwich, Lord Redesdale,
Lord E. Bruce, Earl Delaware, Sir R. Fraser, the Dean
of Peterborough, the Warden of Merton, the Warden
of Wadham, the Warden of All Souls, the Principals of
Brazenose and New Inn Hall, Dr. Bull, Ogilvie, &c.
The masonic ball in the evening was a brilliant though
fantastic affair enough, the rage for dancing being not a
whit damped by the heavy rain that came on about 9
o'clock. The Town-hall had been gaily fitted up with
rich hangings at a cost of 1601., the principal feature of
the decorations being the arms of the different colleges
and masonic emblems. Lord Derby honoured the ball
with his presence between eleven and twelve o'clock,
when mirth and enjoyment were at their climax. In
the course of yesterday the committee issued twenty ad-
ditional tickets at three guineas each, the price to be
given to the Infirmary. It is satisfactory to learn that
the charitable funds of the town will benefit to some ex-
tent by the celebrations of the week, the collection for
the Radcliffe Infirmary at St. Mary's having produced
1291. The list of the company present at the ball in-
eluded all the elite of the fashionable world now in Ox-
ford.

The proceedings of this morning at the Sheldonian
Theatre were very much a repetition of those of Tues-
day, though less noisy and more tame. The procession
from the Radcliffe Library to the theatre was not so
numerous or brilliant, most of the bishops and a consi-
derable proportion of the distinguished visitors having
left Oxford. The area and galleries were little less
crowded than on the previous occasion, though the un-
der-graduates were not quite so clamorous. At eleven
o'clock the Earl of Derby entered and took his seat as
Chancellor, accompanied, as before, by the Bishops of
Oxford and St. Asaph's, the Earl of Malmesbury, the
Earl of Hardwicke, Lord Redesdale, Mr. Disraeli, M.P.,
Mr. Walpole, M.P., Sir J. Pakington, M.P., Sir E. L.
Bulwer, M.P., and those who were to receive the aca-
demic laurel. The first business was that of conferring
honorary degrees on the gentlemen named in the sub-
joined list :

The Hon. Joseph Randolph Ingersoll, Minister of the
United States.

The Hon. Martin Van Burn, formerly President of the
United States.

The Right Rev. George Jehosophat Mountain, Bishop of

The Right Rev. Charles Petit M'llvaine, Bishop of
Ohio.

The Bight Bet. Charles Wordsworth, Bishop of St.
Andrew's.

Sir John Buller Yards Buller, Bart., M.P.
Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton, Bart., M.P.
Sir Thomas Gladstone, Bart.

Sir Roderick Impey Murchison, F.R.S., Knight.
Sir Archibald Alison, Knight.
The Hon. Mr. Justice Haliburton.

Sir Charles Eastlake, Knight, President of the Royal
Academy.
Philip Pussy, Esq.
George Alexander Hamilton, Esq., M.P.
Colonel Mure, M.P.
Charles Newdigate Newdegate, Esq., M.P.
Lieutenant• General Reeve.

Samuel Warren, Esq., Q.C.
Richard Bright, Esq., M.D.
Forbes Winslow, Esq., M.D.

George Grote, Esq. - -
Professor James D. Forbes.
Professor W. E. Aytoun.

John Henry Green; Esq.
William Thomas Brande, Esq., F.R.S.

The next feature of the proceedings, and the only one
which must distinguish them from those of Tuesday, was
the performance of the Installation Ode, by Mr. Claugh-
ton, the Professor of Poetry. It is a spirited composi-
tion, and rises up to, if it does not surpass, the ordinary
level of such effusions. It is as follows :

REOIT. (Tenor.)
" As when a mother home from far clime
Welcomes her son,
Who in the strife of men for masteries
By bold advont'rous deeds of high emprize
Hath well fulfill'd the promise of his prime—
Ev'n thus Oxonia welcomes back to day
With plaudits loud and pomp and bright array,
One who her fairest meed of praise hath won.
—Skilful erewhile to weave the flowers of song,
He wand'ring woo'd with soft Virgilian strains,
Isis, thy pleasant fields and groves among,
The tuneful Nine ;
And, duteous, offer'd here at Learning's shrine
The first fruits of his sweet poetic pains.
" But these delights his ardent soul forbore :
For well he knew
That whose would achieve a nobler prize
And wield a mighty nation's destinies,
'rom heights serene the world's vast field must view;
Dwell with the pure and just in every age,
Drink in their burning words ; in histr'y's page
The wide far-stretching wondrous past explore;
Men, Maxims, countries, laws therewith compare;
Trace in th' ungovorn'd heart's deprav'd desires
The wasting fires
That desolated cities great and fair;
In peaceful happy states progressive see
The glorious dawn of Truth and Liberty.
RECIT. (Bass.)
" Nor yet alone within these ancient walls
Learnt lie this lore ;
For ere he left his old ancestral halls,
Hung round with portraits of the good and great,
Who in the storied ages long before
Imperill'd lands and life for England's state ;
Beheld from donjon keep and turret hoar
Spears wave like corn, and streams run red with
gore—
Oft, as from honoured lips their praise he heard,
A spirit stirr'd
Within his youthful breast ; he felt the fire
Kindle through all his veins, the strong desire
To live as they had ]iv'd, for truth and good,
To strive as they had striv'n, ev'n unto blood.
" For who of Stanley's line could ere forgot
That woful day,
Bernet-abed still in many a mournful lay,
When Derby's Earl through Bolton's thronged street
On a vile palfrey rode, that death to meet,
Which he had courted oft on fields of strife,
The patriot's meed and crown. Ears tingle yet

To hear his words, the last on earth he spoke
Ero fell the stroke
Which tore that noble heart from love and life.
Thus sang the martyr, as his failing eye
Sought still, through death's dark mist, God's
Sanctuary.
SOLO AND CHORUS.
Prais'd be his Holy name for ever and ever. Amen.
Let the whole earth be filled with His Glory,".
RECIT. (Tenor.)
" And where was she, thy mate and true oompeer,t
When thou to God
Didst render up thy soul and kiss the rod ?
QUARTRTT.
" In lonely sea-girt isle afar she sate
Waiting the dreary tidings of thy fate ;
Hemm'd in with traitors, full of grief and fear._
RECIT. (Bass.)
" Not as when erst in Lathom's leaguer'd tower,
Knowing that God could curb unrighteous power,
Unmov'd she heard the storm of battle roar !
The winds that whisper'd round the citadel—
The waves that rippled on the rocky shore—
The sea-bird's shriek
Had something in its tone, that seem'd to tell
How traitors on her Lord their wrath did wreak.
AIR. (Tenor.)
" Shades of the mighty dead !
If in those spheres sublime
Where spirits rest from earthly toil and care,
Some dim and distant sense
Of mortal hopes and fears
Thrills through the peaceful mansion of the blest—
" If, as on earth we trace
Through azure fields of light
The swift-revolving courses of the stars—
So souls that dwell apart
In mirrors clear behold
The ever-varying phase of human destiny.
" What sweeter purer joy
Can blessed spirits know,