The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-08-07
ny ROBErT wEILF:s RTTCHIE

ter with otford? -
/ Under normal circumstances II any
| thing were the matter with Oxford.
( which Is n sleepy village Of 8O0-odd
souls In the shire OF Kent. the neigh
boring hamlet OF Seven Oaks might
be interested, but certainly not Codus,
Iowa. or Selma Cal. Because I think
Il have discovered something tho mat
ter with Otford which will be- good
rcading back of the soda fountain in
J Whosis drug store on Codus main
street. or under the awning of Selma's
leading general store. I'm writing this
piece.
I It's because the trouble that's Itch
ing Oxford is the seme that's plagu-
ing every English and Scottish and
Welsh rural community In this time
of the great change. and may be. In
lesser degrees. even annoying keokuk
and San Jose, that l believe there's
! a story here.
I FIRST bird's-eye view Of otford.
! 1t lies In n little valley just twenty
two miles from London--so close to
i London. In fact, that there's a line
OF raw trenches stretched across the
crest of one of its bounding hills.
dug during the panic of the nrst
/ m onths OF the war. Just a single
street stretching from the railroad
station to the Old Mil by the rivera
street of crazy houses with tiled roofs
which lean against each other for nu-
tual support In their extreme age.
None OF them Is less than 800 years
old, and the hoariest dates from the
days Of Bluff King Hal. back in the
sixteenth century.
Oxford II rich IN the lore Of hygone
days and In nothing else. Back OF
Ye Olde Bull Inn there's a field where
the workers cut hay with old fashion ed
scythes: that field once was the scene
OF a decisive battle between Danes and
Saxons unnumbcred years ago. Flank
Ing the ancient battlefield to the east
stands an Ivy covered ruined tower
i of red brick. last remnant OF Oxford
castle. which once was the home OF
Thomas a'Becket, lawyer. martyr and
saint. His SQUAT. square lowered
church. twice rebuilt since that day
when Henry Seconds wicked knights
did the archbishop In at Canterbury.
lifts it's spire above the yews just a
few yards away from tho ruined castle
i Yes and there's the miraculous well
which the aforesaid Thomas caused to
bubble by a simple stroke OF his stan.
Moses-like. The Bull inn has Beckets
OF its tap-room. Over one OF its spaci-
Gus fireplaces In the original oAken
panel with the heads Of King Henry
VIII and Katherine OF Arragon. carved
In intaglio on its smoked surface.
1t was at Otford that this same gallant
and careless monarch met and woed
Anne Boleyn. The Fair Rosamond.
Henry Seconds light GLOVE. lived In
this same valley
nance and the invitation TO dream
;p Int that. what's the matter
with Otford this day.
! From the time OF Thomas a Becket
ito the year 1914 Otford's population
lived in contentment. barring only
4 the Wat Tyler rebellion and the
troubles of the Reformation. This be-
cause clifford folk were attached to the
land. Once they were called serfs:
later they passed under the name OF
yeomen: but always they were attached
4 to the land. They worked for the
squires and the lords OF the manors
thereabouts. 1t was no concern OF
theirs that during the troublous times
sof the rebellion In the seventeenth cen
fury relatives Of Oliver Cromwell
acquired most Of the estates belong
ing to Loyalists. They went with the
land, just as the oxen and other beasts
OF burden.
Perhaps during the early years Of
tHc iASA COiiNofy cCHAG Va eAAcSE wv
men managed to lease certain small
tracts from the owners. That made
no difference with the system. OF
ford's folk, man and child. worked
the land for a wage and they were
content
Then came the great war in 1914.
OF Otford's 500 odd souls. little more
than 500 were caught up IN the mad
ness and went away. OF these 800
- -
never returned. You can see their
names on pitifully engrossed scroll
nailed to the door OF Thomas a'Beck-
cts church. Greater love hath nc
man." etc. Says the behowered let
tering at the top Of the honor roll.
OF those who returned several came
minus limbs: two were in darkness
because their eyes were shot out. They
came back to the village. these wound
ed, these demobiiixd men, to take up
the task their grandfathers and great
grandfathers before them had carried
They came back to 20 on the land.
, But here we begin to see what's the
: matter with Oxford.
7 Eycx Opened On Return.
Tom came back from Mesopotamia
via Carlo. Dick had been az far as
! India; knew Malta, Port Said and
J Iarseilles Harry. who'd served In
FRANCS, IeMSHOCIGQ lu0 OTSAIy
trenches only a. a blurred vision. but
had very strong impression Of the
sidewalk cafes Of Paris fixed on his
mental retina. In word, these men
and boys Of Oxford who went away
in the mold OF their forefathers re
turned cosmopolites. These creatures
, OF the land had seen the world that
lies beyond the span Of plowhandles.
The first thing the returning soldiers
, heard over the sloppy bar of the Bull
inn---which Is the only club In clifford
---was that the two brothers who had
been lords Of the most extensive
manor thercabouts had been killed in
the war; nobody could md their willis
both were unmarried: what money
they hid in bank would never volun-
tarily be acknowledged by that banl,
such silence being ''perquisite" OF
hanks in Britain: In the absence oi
heirs Somebody would sell their es-
tates and Somebody's would get the
money. Who was going to pay the
! wages for work on the lands Of tina:
manor? Nobody knew.
Well qouth Tom and Dick and
Harry--in. conversation with me over
the Bulls sloppy bar-''whoever wants
us to follow the plow'il have to pay
more than the old guinea-a-week
That's past. We want mems wages
We saved this blarstcd country and