The Sun.
London, England, 1860-06-21 00:00:00

UIIVV.EI4S.ITY INTELLIGE2VCR.

THE COMMEMORATION—OXFORD, JUNE 20.
The morning of the Commemoration day broke
inauspiciously with heavy showers, and, though
there was cccasionally through the day a promise
of better things, yet on fhc whole the weather must
be pronounced to have been nearly as execrable as
it could be. A heavy muggy air made every
covered place oppressively hot ; and, unless
under shelter, there was no security from the
pelting pitiless rain-storms, which drenched to
the skin in a few minutes, and against which
umbrellas were a protection that availed but
little. After a hasty bieakfast most strangers
bent their steps to the theatre, where the great
spectacle of the week was about to be repre-
sented. Ladies and undergraduates were admitted
at ten o'clock, while masters, bachelors, and
their friends did not obtain entrance ti'l a quar-
ter past ten, or a little later. On entering, the
semicircle and the ladies' gallery appeared already
tolerably welt mica. --me coup trCeli was Kr/icing,
but less so than usual, owing to the great pre-
ponderance. of white dresses and bonnets, which
were but sparingly relieved by ribands, scarfs, and
gloves of mauve, Magenta, or other colours. The
undergraduates at first observed a somewhat por-
tentous silence, and it was feared by some that the
notice issued against improper disturbance was
about to receive the tacit disapproval of an absolute
silence. These fears, however, were not justified by
the event. The quiet mood did not continue very
long, and, when broken, was succeeded by the
usual amount of cheers, groans, and voci-
ferations. Obnoxious individuals who forgot to
remove their hats were assailed with the accustomed
objurgations, and the political and other opinions
of the undergraduate body were expressed with
the freedom common on such occasions. Frequent
cheers were given for the Queen, the Prince of
Wales, Lord Derby, the Bishop of Oxford, Lord
Palmerston, the Proctors (late and present.), the
"Dons," the ladies, &c. Three groans followed the
names of the-Pope, the King of Naples, the Emperor,
Lord John Russell, and the Radicals. " The pre-
sent Ministry" raised a long and close struggle
between groans and cheers, as did " The Bishop
of London" and "the Times newspaper." Mr.
Gladstone's name, frequently given, was al aray3
quarrelled over, and seemed distasteful to the gene-
rality. Cheers were given for Bryan King, the
Bishop of Exeter,-the Bishop of St. Andrew's, the
Public Orator, Charles Kingsley, "Tom Brown's
School-days," &c. " Cambridge University" was
also heartily cheered, as were "Public Schools,"
while " Private Schools" fell flat and were
cheered by scarcely half a dozen voices. " The
Penny Prep" elicited groans mixed with laugh-
ter ; while a storm of disapprobation greeted
Ihe Record, which appeared to have scarcely a
friend in the building. A' few cries, supposed to
be facetious, were given—as "The ladies in pink,"
" The ladies in blue," " The ladies under 21," "The
young ladies," " The old ladies," " The ladies with
bouquets ;" and again one, which was peculiarly
effective, " 'Three cheers for everybody, except
John Bright !"
At nearly 11 o'clock the great doors were thrown
open, and the procession entered the theatre. The
Prince of Wales, by virtue of his rank, took
precedence, being followed by the Vice-Chan-
cellor, after whom came the Heads of Houses and
other doctors of the different faculties, the pro•
cession being closed by the Proctors. Among
the doctors were the Bishops of Lincoln and
Oxford, while a seat near the former was given to
an American bishop, Dr. Potter, the Bishop of New
York. The Vice-Chancellor opened the proceedings
in the usual way, and was only slightly inter-
rupted by occasional cries from a few of the Under-
graduates, which were met by cries from others of
the body, of " Order 1" and " Turn him out!' The
honorary degree of D.C.L. was hisconferred upon
Excellency Count Platen (theSwedish;e/kcienbivaedadi
wiort) ;
upon Lord Brougham,
M'Clin-
o
great applause, which he awclehnoowwk, leaidsgeudobn Sir R.
repeated'
bows;
upon Count Strzelec
Sir F,
undergra-
duates. F
Bethell, Sir F. L. M'Clintock, and thep American.
t e writer,k
B,a.Aslre.v
d. tihnrotpheA,feoys
t teleyo.f
ently,
the hero of the day, and a perfect tempest o f
applause greeted him as he received his
degree.
Great cheering also followed the conferring of an
honorary M.A. degree on the Rev. J. H. Harris,
chaplain at Lucknow during the late siege. Three
hearty cheers were at this point •
given for the
Prince of Wales, who graciously acknowledged
them; after which the Crewian Oration was
recited t y Mr. Arnold, the P •
rofessor of Poetry.
The prizes were then rehearsed in the fol-
lowing order ;—the
English Essay, by Mr.
Holland, of
,E t
xe er ; the Latin Essay by
Mr. Broughton, of Balliol ; the Newdegate, by
Mr. Symonds, of Balliol ; and the Garsford (verse)
prize, by Mr. Chute, of Balliol. All were heard
with attention, and the Newdegate received no
small amount of applause. The proceedings ter-
minated a little before 1 o'clock, having passed off
without any disturbance or unpleasantness—a
change from recent years, which it is to be hoped
Will be permanent.. .
The distinguished visitors were entertained in
different college halls soon afterwards, and were
then enabled to attend the Masonic Musical Fete
in St. John's-gardens, where an excellent band (the.
of the Second Oxfordshire Rifle Corps) was
attendance, and the Orpheus Glee Union also
per-
formed a number of celebrated pieces. Thelve era,";s,
e
however, entirely ruined this portion of thean,
.1d
with
entertainment, the day closing, as it b g
long and heavy showers,