The evening times., 1896-03-28

London, March 2s.-Tbe annual rowing
contest between Oxford and Cambridge
University eights took place over tie course
from Putncy 10 Morulkc today, in the
| presence OF the usual crowd Of LoDdoncrs
and provincial *, and was won 10y Oxford
| 10y Il quarter of Il length. The weather was
extremely disagrceahle, but the fact had "A
very slight deterrent effect upon the thou
sands oI enthusiasts. VINO line the banks
OF the Thames, aud crowd the decks Of
pleasure steamers each year 10 cheer them
selves hoarsc in enCoura cement OF lhelr
respective crews.
At9 O'Clock the wind was blowing hard
and the rain icli III torrents. by IL cinck
the rain had ceased and The wind Iuilru.
lnis condition WAS followed by giiml>es
OF sunshine, nut scvcr.,t I III,.s Elt.r Incrc
were heavy hailsturEls OF snort duration.
Al noon thr wind hSw In gusts from the
west and the rain fell quite heavily. The
Cambridge men were ont m'tneir BOAT at
IL O'Clock 10 see that cvcrNJ hing WIS
right. Tnt.v" rovtd it:trd for ten strohcs
and then paduled for half a minute and
returned TO the iaIsiins stage. Aiterward
the oxford men made "a siIDilar trial.
HARD RACE PREDICTED.
The betting had not undergone any
change over night, and everybody wa. pre-
dieting "A hard race" both crews being
greatly above the average in form, Cali.-
bridge having shown the greater speed IN
time tests made within the last rev uayS,
was more HUiLIrtl tndH HtF rival, 'ti'i IL
was regarded as quite probable that size
would upset the. calculations OF the On
ford men, that the latter would add one
more 10 her string OF SIX consecutive VIC
tories.
The usual crowds witnessed the launch.
ing OF the boats, and both crews were
heartily cheercd as they padded away 10
the starting point.
The Cambridge crew were the first to
make their appearance, and the crowd went
wild over them. They were quickly fol-
lowed by the oxford men, anu the chetf-
ing was renewed. Cambridge Won the toss
for position and took the surrey SIDE. Tie
water was rough and Il sirOaE bead WIND
was blowing.
a good start. Cambridge began with her
best rowing, pulling inirty-cIght strokes
the first minute, and whcn opposite inc
lighthouses was IN the lead more than her
fore-Canvas. Both crews were then row
ing at a high rate. Cambridge was leading
by a quarter OF length, and at the soap
works had increased her lead 10 half
length. -
Al Hammersmith bridge Cambridge still
held her lead OF half length and at CHS
wick she was nearly Il length ahead. Botn
crews were sLrainlng every nerve and mus
Gle but Cambridge seemed 10 be the strong
err and ut ThcrHc ycroit> was Il full length
In tue lead.
OXFORD BEGAN TO GAIN.
Both crews were pulling hard and doing
some splashing, but Cambridge seemed 10
be putting more pDNt iiilb UCE htlphcs, anu
upon approaching Barnes she was nearly
two lengths in ADVANCE OF the Oxford boat
Both crews were now showing signs oI tre-
nenduus strains upon them, the severity
Of the struggle being apparent TO every
body.
From this point. however, Oxford began
to gain anL nearing the bridge, drew rap.
idlyup on the leaders, whohadlostmorcth than
half of their advantage. and We're only Three
quarters Of Il length ahead. In shooting the
bridge Cambridge was hampered by Tie
Rough water and failed to maintain her iead.
UA4urd gradually Crept up on the CamDrlhse
boat and the excitement on the banks and
on board the boats following the racers De-
came intense.
oxford ; official time was 20:o1.
CREWS AND THEIR WEIGHTS.
Following are the crews and the last
weights posted, but the men were each
about a pound and Il half lighter at the
start than these figures indicate:
oxford j. j. De Knoops, New, bow,
l5s pounds; {. h. Phillips, New, IL;
+ G. Sherwood, Mlgdalen, $50; {. ID. Bur
nell, Magdalen, lSl; +. X. Baliour, I'M
ycrsity, ls0; X. Carr, Magdalen, l1S' w.
L. Crum, New, III; Il. Gold, AaGdai'ii,
stroke, 159; Il. fecheil, Brasenoz, COX
Cambringe-T. b. Pope, Trinity Han, bow,
l55 pounds; II. y. Game, First Trinity. l1o
ID. Pennington, Caius. Ia: X. Y. Bonsey,
LADY Margaret, $50: W. y. Bieber, Trim
ity Hall, 1SO; T. j. u. Duncanson, Enanuei,
l95: A. S. Bell, Trinity Hall, lIO; ". J.
Fernie, Trinity Hall, stroke, 40; T. X.
Paget- Tomlinson, Trinity Hall, coxswain,