New-York tribune., 1870-04-20
THE BOAT RACE.
THE RACE ON THE THAMES BETWEEN
OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE.
TWEEN
TPRoM oUR OWN coREEsPosDEST.I


throughout, and the result is one at which all
England rejoces. suppose an exception must bo
made in favor Of the nine Oxford men whose fate IL
was to be in the losing boat Defeat was none tLo
less bitter TO them because nine years Of victory hal
gone before In Darishres case il seems peculiarly
hard He has rowed in several University races and
won them all. There has been for years no stroke
oar to compare with him. After the victory over
Harvard-whch is valued perhaps more than any
other of Oxford's many triumphs-Darbshire in
tended to more Every effort was used at
Oxford to make up crew without him, but the dill
cultes proved too great, and at the eleventh hour,
less than three weeks before the race, Darbshiro
was sent for from London and consented 10 take h,
old place. His coming was hailed as an omen Of vic
tory. The dropping hopes of Oxford revived. Some
thing very like despair changed into confidence.
Defeat with Darbshiro seemed impossible. But il
turns ont that one man cannot an eight-oarcd
boat, three, nor five, and out of the Oxford
eight it would be difficult to select more than five
whom the utmost charity could rank as first
rate oars When the struggle came in COmey Reach,
the weak places in the Oxford boat became, flgEt.
fully conspicuous. Perhaps Darbishire never af'
peared to advantage, never rose 10 an effort 80
supreme that which was doomed to be unsuccess
full. All the same, cannot but feel a sympathy
with man who has yielded regretfuly to the de-
long career of hard-won victories.
After witnessing four great races on the Thames,
the spectacle still seems to me extraordinary az
ever. There were men our boat who had seen
dozen or more. Their enthusiasm not less than
that of the youngster who beheld the marvellous
panorama unfold itself for the first time to his wor
dering eyes. was curious to what an intelligent
foreigner, incapable of sympathizing with the
emotions called out by the struggle itself, would
think of the scene. Accordingly, asked NJ. Gustaye
FlOurens to go with me. he tried con-
scientiously to comprehend the intense inter
est of which the evidence was spread
before him. don't think he succeeded. l don't
think it is possible for any Frenchman to enter fully
into the English and American sentiment in these
matters. But NJ. Flourens nevertheless found the
scene as attractive as it was novel. IL was 10 him
study of English human nature, an opportunity of
seeing London turned out Of doors, and orgetfui Il
its stiff conventionaliues; the latter being phenom
enon that does not occur more than twice year,
at most There will always be differences of opinion
about such multitude. Some thought it less in
numbers than last year at the Harvard race Tho
general estimate made it larger, and with that |
agree Certainly, l never saw the banks on the Mid
dlesex side of the river filled with rows continuous
and deep as yesterday.
The ARRANGEMENTS for the race did not vary from
n. II.
that an act of Parliament had given special powers
to the Thames Conservancy Board to keep a clear
course for the boats But" he exclaimed, 1t ~,
then an affair of Statew AS before all traffic be-
tween Putney and Mortlake was absolutely sus-
pended for some hours. Commerce. which rules
everything else in England, gives way TO boa-race
Barges and steamers which found themselves after
o'clock in that enchanted water had to haul out or
the stream and make fast close under the banks.
hat fbnvI Ioafi in fina thew maIp nj
mutitudes who persuaded themselves that the race
race could be seen from the of
those extraordinary craft Small boats were
allowed to ply about subject to the law
which professed to eonine them within fixed
limits along shore during the actual progress OF tho
race This is the really difficult part of the police
work. steamer is big fellow easily laid hold of
and kept in Order but the little boats elude the grasp
OF the police as the gnats escaped from the steel
gauntlet that sought in vain to crush them That it
is not impossible to confne them proved in tho
Harvard race when the course was. with one signal
exception, kept admirably and perfectly clear.
Yesterday there were moments during the race when
the river close in front of the two outigge going at
a pace of twelve miles an hour, was black with IN
bering small craft BY some miracle they scrambled
ont of the way before the risk Of collision became
imminent but not before they had planted dire dis
may in the breasts of the two coxswans who had TO
divide their attention between keeping their proper
course and the chance of having to get out Of ita
few minutes later II wish coud have sunk all those
laundering navigators, would not have given much
for their lives
There was high debate how many steamers should
follow the The Universities wanted two each,
beside those for the Umpire and the Press Tho
Thames Board refused, rightly on the ground that
six steamers could not be perfectly controlled There
is scarcely for six to perfectly allowing for
all the difficulties of navigation. -Four would have
been judicious compromise, but owing to some un-
necessary heat of feeling on both sides compromise
became impossible, and in fact only the two indis-
pensable steamers were allowed. l say inds-
penssble, but that does not seem to be
the opinion of all the University men. for
some of hem, in their anger, proposed to
exclude eJtn the Press boat. Those young gentle
men are at very aristocratic period of life. To
them it is quite immaterial whether the public in
terest in their contest be satisfied or not But it is
certain that the race cannot be well seenindeed the
whole of it cannot possibly be seen at all-unless
from steamer following astem The fact that it
cannot is the best evidence of the extraordinary and
almost irrational excitement about the contest.
Among the hundreds of thousands on the banks few
see much of the actual rowing of the race. There
are points on Barnes Terrace and still better on
Barnes Bridge, from which a view of the river may
be had for some two miles. AT Mortlake the specta-
tors may see the finish which is exciting to the un-
initiated who don't know that the race is decided
elsewhere The real struggle has commonly
been, as il was this year, IN Corney Reach,
and judicous spectators who care for rowing
would do well to station themselves below Barnes
Bridge take the liberty to write Of these localities
as if they were wel-known as they ought to be, to