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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (July 6, 1902)
Queer Things About the Great Oxford University a - -' . , -i 'i. ltL V jiirip r .' - ;'-r--n r. " ,3i33 ' .033. AN OXFORD COLLEOE LUNCHEON PARTY (Copyright. 1902, by Frank Q. Carpenter.) XKOI(ll. England, June 26. (Special I Correspondence of The Boe.) In IIIU StlllfllB UI IUD &1..1.I01. 1..J.. surrounded by the time-eaten col leges of EiiKland'l oldest uni versity, under the shadows of the mighty trees where for centuries the greatest scholars of our literature have walked, I write for my American readers. ny tho bequest of Ct-cll Rhodes, Oxford university I, lis become to us the most Interesting Beat of learning outside the United States. From now on a hundred picked American boys, two from each state and territory, are to be kept here at school. Mr. Rhodes' will provides that each student Is to be allowed 300, or ll.r.no. a year for expenses, and that the number shall be kept full by new appointments made through competitive examinations from year to year. For '.hla reason examinations for Oxford w.ll henceforth be as common In our country us examinations for West Point and Annapolis, and a stream of Oxford graduates will Hlowly permeate every part of the unii n. Hut first let me give you some Idea of the university and Its surroundlnKS. I despair of transmitting more than an Impression. Nathaniel Hawthorne has truly said that "The world hiis no plnce like It, and It would take a lifetime and more than one to comprhend and enjoy It satisfactorily." I have visited moat e.f the classic spots on the globe, but none like this. Oxford Is more Impressive than Athena and the spirit of learned antiquity seems to hover more closely over It than over the older ruins of India, China and Japan. For more than 1,000 years men have gathered here for study. Tradition ascribes Oxford's founda tion to King Alfred In 972. When It began It was connected with the monasteries, but for more than seven centuries It was a uni versity pure anJ simple. During the mid dle age It had as many aa 3,000 students at one time, and on through the centuries new colleges have grown up about It, and It has rr i v -ar e. . A. I PANQl'ET HALL. CHRIST CHURCH COLLEGE. the town of Oxford us will. The vice chan cellor can order objectionable persons to leave the city and can enforce the goin away of young women whose characters tend to injure the morality of the students. The officials can Imprison such characters and fine them, and they do their beBt to keep them out of Oxford. 1 lii.i C" sUM ..Ht.'.lli. Lit - . -v number varies according to the room and popularity of the Institution. At present . . . . ni,. ki,.f aiiiiiitinniil there are 3.&00 undergraduates g iing to II . 1 U 1 1 u u B uim wt " " ' " ' " Institutions of the world. Twrt-Tbrre nifferent ollr. school here. There are nrty proiessors and a large number of tutors. The system of Instruction la different Put let us entir the gate under whleii Big Tom hangs. It Is now noon and the heavy doors are thrown back. You can see a wicket In one of them through wlii. h the doorkeeper looks at night and takes the name of the student who calls after h(.urs and collects his tine. We pasa on Into the quadrangle. This Is an Immense hollow court of about four acres, covered with grass, shaved as closely as thoimh it were carpeted. There Is a fountain in the center and wide, well-kept walks radhite from this to the main entrances of the buildings. This Is only one quadrangle of the institution. Christ Church has five, but this Is the largest and finest. The ureat stone structure about It Is of only two stories, but the ceilings are so high that It has the e ffect of a four-story building tf the United States. The walls are entered by arched doors much like those of a great vault. A wid" stone pavement runs clear around the building, corresponding to the cloisters of some of the other colleges, and on this yo i may see students in black caps and gown.: walking. The many wicdows which look out upon the court have long boxes of flowers In them. These windows belong to the stu dents' rooms. Every man at Oxford has a suite of two or three rooms of his own. He has a bedroom, a sitting room and a bath room, and the colleges are so large thai there Is no crowding. The rooms are well t-hiif library of Oxford, and one of the great the college, and that If they are not they lighted, but the heating of them Is by Ubrurits of the world, giving reliable lntor- will be fined and punished. grateB. niatlon about the university. According to As soon as the bell stops ringing the two this the average man here spends his day proctors of the university start out with ,nt Life and Expenses. as follows. He gives bis mornings to work, their assistants to look up recreant stu- I made a number of inquiries about the his afternoons to play and his evenings to dents. The proctors m'ght be called the expenses of living at Oxford. I find th. such social recreations as please hlra most, chief of the college poliee. They are unl- the American boys with their $1,500 a year Inside nn Oxford College. 3 ORIEL COLLEGE, OXFORD. WHICH CECIL RHODES ATTENDED. from anything we have at home, and It sucu iucihi rrticuua as ctcooc uuu woi. cun-i ui iud lunrfis i ue nic uui- mo nuiernuu uoya wun ineir 9i,ouu ii year The town of Oxford has now 60,000 people. J tnat tne Amercan boys will He entertains hie friends at breakfasts, verslty men, and each has four assistants will be better provided for than the aver lt Is situated about sixty miles from Lun- () tQ uke uuchcone and wines, and often goes in for taken from the town people to help him, age English undergraduates. The best au don In the heart of rural England. It Is ml,.,ill, .nrVln hard in the rowing, cricket and foot ball, which are the so that In all the posse of college police thorltles state that a man who is careful v.- i.t - iTnnur Thames and nonors wiinoui '"' " " . .v.. i..,i,,,,i i k. ...ui... i. ..... j . . .. t . ,v...u.i k lhA iu nr Unner Thames and the Cherwell. whlih here Join and How on United States. ..kl.,f - n f.f Ilia Itiat It lltliMl I haVA V, I . V. , 1. I . nkt.. .1 ..... V. ll . .. a - n tm . L. .. . The system seems to be ",lT - wunu wnnn uikuu; iuuuu huuiucii u ime i uxiura ou 5uu a year. 11 ue uaa lameu wim uuiu nuuooui "-w vu. iuu uhuibiuuis are caiiea puuaogs- a nome ai wmcn to snenu DIB vacations. to Umdon. as the Thames to the sea. The imreiy " " . . ani ag far al I can learn the men here have they might be called bloodhounds, for It is He Is at Oxford only six months, and this colltf s are scan m an over iiw.. " . . scholarshlD Is In mucn more elsur ,nan ,n our American their business to track down the fleeing means an average of a little more than are not like our great scnoois auu juu - colleges, and to many or mem . . . . L . .. w r,,i.nn nam na oni at the end of the term. e-acn . et no Hiea OI inem uy uiu v..i...r' - - - ... . ,, . . ........ . n.,. . aimlent is auoDosed to have a tutor, who Oxford universuy is urn .-., a i. - m course la more play than work. university undergraduates. The proctors first make $133 a month. Some men cut down their their regular round of the billiard saloons college life to about $500 a year, but a and beer houses and warn the students great many spend mor. The entrance fee that they must go in. If they find a man at most of the colleges is $23. In addition on the streets without a college cap or a deposit of $1.",0 is required to cover gown they accost him with a question. kitchen and other fees. The matriculation "Do you belong to the university?" fee is $12.50, and it cests from $100 to $300 If the man answers "yes" his name and to furnish one's rooms. I have in this ' . . .. . - 1 - li. . 1. n r, A ...11 lull. It l.iim lima ... .. n.m I. I. ...... 1. twenty-three colleges. Eut conn nu m visum, i .-r... own buildings massive stone structures of to time, but the average man does not wark o and Three "rles. surrounding green half a. hard a. the American student and I can give you a better Idea o colleg, ,?r.! or ouadrangles with mighty trees the education given is undoubtedly far be- life by taking you through one of these In nnirth?re7t.Tn ront o them snd park, low that of our chief unlversitle.. stltutlons. Let u. visit Christ Churcl "D "K .ATI.;- .! h.r- shout them. It Is commonly said that more study Is college. It has 300 students and Is th are (.aiincu . . . . . . i n wr.....4 kan In plkat m n A mml a rl a nf Tn t it rt tha la'an. oic-vo hriignimlw lnnnl..il u I. 1. .. 1 jttRtempnt r tlllftiri tVia nmtnHa ularlina hi nv .onie the Uls and the Cherwell now ana requireu in prrpumui.u mi "- - . o h a.eu - - . ' . ' ' . . . -.rio. nlil the earrvini out of the college course. The ty-three colleges which make up the unl- why he is out without his gown and caD American mcney. lu OlD.tr . . . nHA ..,...,, , V. u u ..i a aa fur tha v.pbIIv Tha ntk.ra iril mnph tha annua Rtlil la nritnrpH in en In at rxnn. nA . F!nph R 1 11 ii . n t Tina hla .tnme In tha rnl- lege free of rent, but he must have bis own furniture. The custom is to buy the furnl- Th h.va their cloisters looking taken at home, and If a boy has a good lurge outside of Oxford. The buildings of punishment. If he creates a disturbance tur of tne laa' occupant. The college has 1 UCJ Uvw III ..... . , i . .. . i f l. V. ..I. In . . v i . . . 1 w I.I. . V. .. A in t V, . . . . . ... . ... a n-A..;nnnl . . . 1 . . . . a Y. . . iub iiicni ur Keiv iuio iroutlle OI any inuiconuiiai vaiuaiur, KUU uc i"' amount to be paid, and the incoming stu dent adds such things as he pleases, and takes away such furniture as he wishes The colleges are Indescribable In their requirements are about the same as for the verslty. The others are much the same, and Is ordered to go In at once and report time worn and venerable grandeur. Many classical course of Yale. Harvard or Trlnce- only smaller, although every one cover without delay before the vice chancellors' .h.n. .,. mora like monasteries than col- ton. Examinations, for instance, may be several acres and would be considered court at 10 the next morning for fine and or mem rw u1'" " . . ... . . . . a . k,. v.. . i i..i i . Tk. k.. . i .i i n ..i.ni.i, v. .. . , .a.,m h..la rlnlstars lookina iHKrii a i Qume, auu n m " " iui uui.inD ui uiivu. i uunuiuea ui v uuiauiucu l. 11 ii o iTraies a QisiurDance out UDon the ouadrangles and through their foundation tn Latin and Greek he gets In Christ Church, with their quadrangles, in the streets or gets Into trouble of any Hived doorways you may expect to see a without trouble. After admission he attends mu8t have an area of ten acres. The chief kiud he is called before this court, and the monk In sown and cowl come forth. The lectures as closely or as loosely as be .tructure fronts on Cornmarket street, not man who is out after 12 has a serious time ii .r. falrlv chewed by the teeth of pleases, the only requirement being that he fur frow the Thames. Its front Is longer with the authorities, wans are iairiy 1 1 r ... .t. .. ... i 1 1 n . i 1. 1 . . i , .. v, i i. n. i , . . . . l ui iiuna i n m xa in imiiuu. time. The pillars nave noies in iobiu un those In the bark of a mighty tree long af . Mo,.h siuily since dead, and on the roors or some me . t - ......... 1. I .... I ..a .1 slate is as worn ss lno u .un.... f , Each college has Its It'KVI. ii uuiuiuan j uua iui .u.w y - The university course of study Is prac- hnuse 100 years old. chapel and dining hall, with Its windows of stulued glass, many or them paintea oy the old masters. Some have walls beauti fully carved, some are paneled In cak and wondrous architecture meets you at e-erjr step. How Colles Are Cosltut-d. Each college Is Independent of the others. Each has Its own students. Its own pro but each year Is divided In half, and one- than a big American city block, and with its great tower at the end It looks more like a fort than a college. There is a gate in the center with a statue of Cardinal Wolsey above It and a stone tower rising over It. At the gate there is a doorkeeper always on guard. He closes the gate at Fines and I'unlahmeula. There is a regular scheme of fines for being out late. Each college has Its own penalties, but in general the charge for ab sence between 9 and 10 is 1 penny; be half of It the student spends at home, or n. wltn ,,. dnnr. .na lrr,lnl,pl B"a."' - Plnce- Bnl between 11 . . . r...i iki. n. h. I. " una I.. I sway from Oxford. During this time he U carefui. aM who go Into the college during after upon his departure. Many of the rooms are magnificently fitted up. They have easy chairs and luxuriant couches. On their walls are fine pictures and on the floors Turklbh rugs. The stitdents live In the colleges much as In a hotel. Each man has a servant, whom he shares with seven or eight others. The servant Is known aa a "scout." He runs or errands, takes care of the rooms and serves the shilling. The man who Is out supposed to be studying by himself, but this h daytime " may be flned 1- or 5. or . ' ikin .la. me aayiime. even more, according in 'ih. .. Th.7le.veV?hre;lye.r;T..rm;uth. ech. fc wl the great a,so liable to be gafed-tbat U. tob.7.pt IZl.0' " or eighteen months for the college course. T Z . .t . B. . lne co,lege 8fter 8 o'clock every night " Our colleges require four yeara of at least Tom. and t nightly ring, the curfew of for a week, a month or perhaps a whole Eaeb colIee ba common kitchen, nine months, or thirty-six months In all. tne, university The bell weighs eight tons. term. The fine, for misdemeanor, run as where ,U ,ne oklng 4- "d each i. i. ... that th. American atll. and US ding-dong can be heard for miles high as 125. and In ln,i. ...... .... has a Common dlninir rnnm nr tmnnnol hall Kacb USB IIS own aiuuruia, im vwwu r auu i L ia i . i w i - -" . . , , ... . - - -. . u u v v.aca ids SlU- . " . - fessors and its own lecturers, although the dent gets In more hard study in one month bou' Oxford. The curfew bell li i rung a dents are sometimes represented by coun- here " the 'tudentt meet In the evening .rudent. -f the various college, may at- of thl. time than the Oxford man doe. In minute .past 9. At this time the sound sel in college court. for dinner. In the hall there is a reading tend lecture, where they please. The two. I h.ve before me a book recommended J 0l trok-a is heard, earning the stu- The university bas complete control over de8k- at wblcn one of the professors stands atudent. of a college II- It. and tt. br th. head of th. Bodleian library, th. dent, that they mu.t be In their room. In ,h. students, and In m.ny respect, over (Cnn, M ,
