New-York tribune., 1909-04-04
OXFORD T0RPIDS
DANISH DIGNITY
R4RELEGGED DtjNo HIDE
BO4TS YELLING.
Odd Nurture of Medigroi'sm ana
Nodernitg IN the Old College
TOrCn.

TOJCn.
rF-on II Occasional Correspondent o. me
r,rford March 25--Hilary Term Is IL
when Oxford IS most itself and can pest oe s.
&c the secluded. dreaming city Of uau'''n- "
almost all other months il IS swept .!
<rorn every coun1ry-America- Of course. io's-
- - si,-a,, over TO cosmopolitan festiNlties-
:, Hilary Term it Is free from any pageantS OF
great visitors. and is really the gray. am town
~ she Middle Ages-breathins the same alIllVS
,,bere that Erasmus rode into in l4F'- i"e
little crooked medieval streets are oafh' i''
tl,e laxs are ver- short and the street lamps
NOT too plentiful and the towers ana tu'ie's
are shrouded almost always in mist anu
through the fog that creeps up from 'iie
Won see The black robed undergraduate scu'''ihe
20 his freside and his books anc Tea isi'0i'
do ro- -ar, to visit the colleges in this bleak
eark time of year. You can hardly persuade
f-iend 70 speud a weekend with You -" | sh-h-
These universities in winter they say Win
shi,ers mindful Of the freless bedroom me one
candle. the black iron bed. the colo TN oa'ill'o
,,7,der The ,ed But. nevertheless. If You can
once give over shivering. snuffiing and hanging
70 the fender and sall> forth TO Sc what can
he seen. there is much in Hilary Term TO repay
The observer
There vas. for instance. the other day a
SPLENDID academic gathering u celebrate me
oentenar, Of the birth Of Charles Darwin
Though Cambridge as -Darwin's university. VIII
Of course tav, greater commemoration Of HIM
70 last whole week of the spring term--oN-
ford. it viii be remembered. is very closely con
nec1cd with Darwinism. since ii was in Oxford
thar 7h9 then strange and startling ideas Of the
origin Of species were most bitterly contested IN
1869 1t was at the Ashraoiean that Huxley
keen gladiator and prince of debaters. measured
himself against the ablest bishops OF the day
And though last month Professor Poulton- the
chief biologist in oxford. IN his address TO the
assembled guests. assured Us that these diner
ences are now forgotten am not SO sure.
The dean OF Christ Church grew a little red
when RuxIey's contests with the bishops were
brought TO memory Still he applauded all the
fine things that were said OF Darwin. and so
did every Churchman there; and it was alto
zsther gala day for science. The three biology
professors. with orchids in their buttonholes and
blandness in their smiles. stood At the head IF
the grand staircase and received q brilliant
throrg of deans and provosts- wardens. masters
proctofs and doetors-aI in the resplendent red
Of oxford gowns The ladies were there. too
OF course, but what is professors wife beside
z professor, especially when he gets on MS
medieval millinery?
FOUR OF DARWIN'S SONS.
Four Of Darwin's sons were present-Mr. Will
ian Darwin. Professor Sir George Darwin.
{ b 2 r s Mr. Francis Darwin and
MAJOR Leonard Darwin president Of the
Royal Geographical Society. Among the ushers
were two grandsons Of Thomas Huxley. now
students al Balliol College. one OF the best
things III Sir tieorge Darwins little speech OF
rerniniseence was the account Of how as a
small boy. Ee used to help his father in some
mathematical calculations. and how naIvely de-
lighted the great scientist with the same;
for II seems that Darwin was no great hand at
mathematics and regarded the schoolboy's cal
culations as little short of miraculous.
There were no undergraduates there except
two. PASSED in as Ushers by the bribe Of orchids
10 wear: and even then they grumbed AT being
kept out OF bed beyond the proper hour. for they
- in training for "torpids
''Torpidsr consume = large part Of an under
graduates linle in Hilary TerIn-or rather 1
shoulc say "toggers' do-for 'rtoggers" is the
fashionable dimnutiye for -'torpids'' tail oxford
slang tends 70 "er-such as -'brekker'' for break
fast. -'lekker' for lecture etc. i you ask what
.'toggers'' are sou viii be told they come be-
fore eights~ and all the world knows that
eights are the spring boatraces. Togsers are
set OF test races to enable the coaches 10 pick
out the best oarsmen for eights. and since they
are held in February they do not offer much
JOY to the outside world Of visitors But Febru-
ary weather means nothing TO the English boy,
and every afternoon the college world leaves its
books ana trots down TO the river in shorts
Nothing could better illustrate the straight
forward directness ef the Anglo-Saxon langua ge
than calling rowing trousers shorts" They are
short. a Highlanders kilt is a monkish robe
compared 10 Oxford shorts" But nobody but
outsider sees anything carp at in the sight
Of dozen young gentlemen strolling down the
street at O'Clock making their way in shorts
sebonairiy through crowd OF shoppers woman
tea drinkers and fashiona bles.
This is one Of the Ways in which oxford still
shows itself 10 be q medieval town. There is so
much that is grotesque and uacivilized preserved
along with the aspiring stones of the Divinity
School and the chimes of Magdalen Tower You
feel it pest in the High street. Even IL you
never lifted your eyes TO the spre of ST. Mary's
or the turrets Of All Souls you would know IL
was oxford b. the people streaming over Mag
dsien Bridge-Cowley Fathers in their long
dark skirts; soldiers up from Aldershot; a Eel