The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-10-24
STUDENT LIFE At OXFORD
Written and Unwritten Laws of
the University.
Rules Concerning Dress md Social
Etiquette - Homage Required of
the Undergraduate to the senior
Not COnsidered Good Form to
Carry Parcels Through the Streets.

According to the statutes the students
must wear a garb of "subfusc" hue. II
| anyone introduces new fashion in dress,
| are to sit in judgment upon it. Cap and
gown must always be worn in public.
Fines, or lines are to be the punish
ment of those who refuse to comply with
| the vice chancellors orders.
| The undergraduate must be reverent to-
ward his seniors-even the Bachelors
| have claim on his respect; he must not
wander or linger in the town; he must
not enter the houses Of the townspeople
| without reasonable excuse; he must not
attend the town council meetings. the
sessions, or the assizes. Taverns, wine
| shops. and similar places of resort are
forbidden joys, while shops where "herba
nicotiana (sive tobacco) Ordinare vendi-
tur' are anathema maranatha, and may
be visited only Eek causa nccessaria ct
urgenti per vice-chanceliarium aut proc
torres approbanda." The scholars must
abstain from games which cause danger
to life; hunting, archery. and hawking are
forbidden. Undergraduates must not drive
in carriages unless they are sickly, and
may not keep horse or servant unless
they have written permission to do so.
Almost all these regulations have been
modified In striking manner by unwrit-
ten law; the garment OF "subfusc' hue is
no longer compulsory, and the Times" in
a leader some months ago, remarked: THE
Undergraduate of the early years Of the
century affected gorgeous waistcoats and
was more or less of dandy; his fin de
steele successor walks the High or the
Kings Parade in the costume of an aero
bat or of groom Cap and gown. at Ok
ford at least, are now compulsory only at
lectures and other college functions, and
after dinner in the evening. Lines" are
abolished as punishment: taverns, or, at
any rate, restaurants are tolerated.: tobac-
CO shops are universally and shamelessly
frequented. The phrase games which
cause danger to life has been held not to
include Rugby football. The rule as to
driving is curious instance of the capri
ciousness of unwritten law; one can OBJ
tain leave to drive dogcart; driving tam
dem is, however, strictly forbidden and
sternly suppressed.
One of the best features of Oxford is
| this, that mans parentage is never dis
cussed or enquired into. 1t is taken for
granted that he is gentleman, whatever
his appearance may be, unless he proves
himself to be the contrary. This is. of
course. only general rule, to which there
are exceptions. Sometimes we may hear
| a man express contempt for his neighbor
! because he is nobody. and complain that
the university is open to "all sorts Of
Founders" nowadays. Such men are hap
PLY rare; in general. patrician and Pile
beian live on terms of amity with one
another, and meet on terms of equality
with one another. to their common advan-
tage. This is hardly the case with the
unattached students (they call them
'toshers" in varsity slang. Living apart.
and outside the pale of college life. they
do not get the opportunities which come
in the way of the college men, and
they have none of those feelings of soli-
darity and esprit de corps which knit to-
gether men OK the same college and tend
to place them on the same footing. Hence,
1t is always well to enter at a college IL
possible. at any rate during part of ones
time at the varsity, for 1t Is the college
life which supplies thatGpeculiar training
which is one of the chief virtues and ad-
vantages Of a university career.
Readers of that inmitable novel, Yer
dant Green,' will remember many mis-
takes made by the hero They were mis-
takes which he could not; well avoid. as
they were breaches of unwritten law,
which, as law of details, is most difficult
to learn. Some Of the rules of etiquette
seem too trivial to be mentioned; they COIL
Germ dress, the proper way of wearing
academicals, and thousand other details.
One curious point is that undergraduates
never shake hands with one another. II
you ask twenty freshmen to breakfast the
probability is that eighteen of them will
instinctively hold out their hands to- you
on entering the room. Ask the same TWEEN
ty men a week or two later. and not one
will do so; good morning" and nod
will be all that you Will get. This custom
applies only to undergraduates, and not TO
dons. 1t is customary to shake hands with
don. Indeed, good story is told OF
young varsity man, elected fellow of his
college at early date. Shortly after his
election he gave breakfast party to sun
dry OF his college friends who were still in
statu pupillari. To his horror. when they
came in they all shook hands with him.
They looked on him as a don. though he
had spent his undergraduate days with
them.
The etiquette OF dress is most confusing.
AS mentioned above, the subfusc' hues
of the statutes nave been changed by COM
mon consent Still, up to quite recent
times it was considered CONNIE il faut to
put on dark clothes on Sundays. Now this
custom is dying out, and varsity men may
be seen in knickerbockers and Norfolk
jackets on the day of rest. For this change
the bicycle is partly responsible. 1t is
only fair to add that a large section of
undergraduates condemn the spirit of in
novation which allows light coats and BIZ
cycling on Sunday. But theirs is a lost
cause. Time was when even the river was
a forbidden Joy on the Sabbath: now it
swarms in the summer with punts and
Canadian canoes. Caps-that is to say.
cloth caps-were tabooed on that day: now
they are to be seen in thousands. though
the prejudice still exists. Smoking a pipe
In the streets on Sunday is still looked
upon with great disfavor. In the present
state of the law both caps and pipes are
considered undignified on the Sabbath. and
those who wish to don the one and smoke
the other during their Sunday walk usual
ly sneak out of town by some byway. A
few more years will pass and this neces-
sity for concealment will die out. 1t is
only a few years since smoking OF any
kind and on any day in the street was
thought low; then came the concession in
favor of cigars and cigarettes; next the
pipe smoker was enfranchised. except on
Sundays; now he is in fair way toward
attaining his right on that day also.
Carrying parcels through the streets is
forbidden by general undergraduate con-
sent. 1t is possibly a good custom from
an esthetic point Of view, but it is GER
tainly nconvenieEt when one has half
dozen friends to tea Unexpectedly and has
to go out in the town to forage for proven
der. Some punctilious men. under the
aforesaid circumstances walk out in cap
and gown, and dexterously conceal the Of
Tending package in the folds of the latter
part of academic garb. This savors of sub
terfuge.
a common mistake OF freshmen, and one
(which never fails to arouse the laughter
Of the onlookers, is to go for walk in
cap and gown. The guileless youth in his
first term has vague idea that he is