Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1906-06-14
STUDENT LIFE AT OXFORD.
The Breakfast and Teas With the Col
Iege Dons.

From the quadrangleS number OF
staircases lead up to the students
rooms, which are, in the main, cOmfOr-
table and we'll furnished. Within the
same college and upon the same stair
| case we have students of every kind.
A theological man has rooms perhaps
on the same landing as medical or
| legal student. And thus these men,
living under the same roof become
acquainted with each other exchange
! visits, and naturally exchange ideas
| also. This, to my mind, is the essential
ADVANTAGE Of the residential system in
,opue in oxford In those universities
where students of the same subject are
accustomed to live together under the
same roof the inevitable result is the
production of narrow minded and
pedantic men. But at Oxford the as
sociation of oppOsites and the mutual
exchange of opinions lead to the forma-
| ton of characters which are neither
bIeoted nor prejudiced.
Unless a boy comes from a large and
lwell-known public school, such as Elton
or Harrow, and has in addition con-
siderable wealth, it would be foolish
| i'm the extreme to send him to one Of
the greater colleges, such. for example.
as ChristChurch or Magdalen, for the
inevitable result would be either the
tenpta ton to live beyond his means
anG incur considerable debt or to Oc-
cupy his rooms in college in solitude
and loneliness.
| Nevertheless, there is cOnSidera BILE
Intercollegiate sOriability between the
students, and it is the aim and ambi-
ton of most students to know and to
be known by the greatest possible num-
Der of students from other colleges.
These atquaintanceS are made in
many varieties of ways-On the football
field, in the common room, at the union,
or elsewhere, and are generally
followed by invitations to tea" or
coffee after hail"
There is one institution, however,
concerning which / ought to say q
word or two. This is the breakfast
1t is not altogether a student custom.
inasmuch as the 'dons" themselves
are the greatest offenders. If ever
there is an occasion when the average
man feels least amiable, it is when he
has to get up early, dress carefully, and.
probably furnishing with hunger, walk
half a mile through the damp morning
fog to breakfast with his tutor. Here
he must smile and look pleasant.
These are some of the disciplines to
which the student is subjected, and not
the least among these are the invita-
tons to afternoon tea with the wives
of the ''dons.' Here the chief difficulty
which the average student has to face
is to have constant supply of small
talk. which must not show any great
intellect or individuality, for to show
either quality on such occasions is a
deadly Offense. The first topic of con-
versation is generally that unfailing
one, The weather." which in Oxford
usually provides food for comment for
at least 4 quarter of an hour. | say
comment" advisedly. for conversation
seldom exceeds 4 few fatuOus remarks
in the midst of an audible silence each
person meanwhile nervously balancing
a cup of tea and a piece of bread and
butter i'll his hands. Things begin to
warm up. however, when the hostess
introduces the subject of football, row
ing. or some other sport, when the
topic is taken up for another quarter
of an hour, after which a second silence
/
the faces of the guests Each one
looks around furtively TO see who is
going to get up first. wish the hostess
"goOd-afternoon." and take his depar-
ture. The anxiety displayed on all
countenances is truly wonderful and
must strike any one possessing the
least sense Of humor as utterly
ridiculous. At length one bold spirit
arises and leaves. n great crowd now
gets up suddenly and follows like a
pack of sheep. and the levee comes to
an end. During this time there is none
of that vigorous. intellectual, amusing.
or cheerful conversation which we are
accustomed to associate with gather
ingS OF American people, nothing of the
'gemuthlichkeit' of the German no.
thing of the witty repartee of the
French. After such a deadly dull en-
tertainment it is small wonder if some
students come out with an irrepressible
desire to shout. get drunk, and burn
each others furniture as a sort of a
mental antidote
Convention is the Sarat idol which is |
in oxford, and the constant