Related article: cessively exploding in showers of
many-coloured sparks that threw
a mantle of light over some iso-
lated college pinnacle, we became
aware of a fervid glow spreading
over a quarter of the sky. There
was undoubtedly a great fire
somewhere. There was no ex-
citement in the town, no fire- Buy Cheap Dramamine
engines were charging madly to
the rescue. Order Dramamine Online Could it possibly be
that all restraint had been broken
through in the Order Dramamine premier college
I899-]
OXFORD REVISITED.
91
and that pandemonium had been
let loose ? What will the Dean
say to-morrow ? More rockets,
more jets of flame and colour as
of many Roman candles. This
must be very, very serious. But
see ! in another quarter there is
another glow, another scintilla-
tion of pyrotechnics. Has the
whole University united in one
explosion, rending the bonds of
discipline and asserting the un-
controlled licence of the under-
graduate ? We were told that
there might be some sort of
festivity to-night but we did not
anticipate that it would take a
form so contrary to all the tradi-
tions in which we were nurtured.
We remember that we have
been invited to look in at our old
college and, shall we confess it ?
with the fear and trembling that
come of old association, we pene-
trate into the revered precincts.
We Buy Dramamine could not have believed it.
The quad was alive with men,
who were revelling in the hand-
ling of squibs, crackers, Roman
candles, Catherine wheels and
other alarming explosives, which
kept up a row like that of a
pitched battle and produced a
most suffocating and pernicious
smoke. In the middle a huge
pile of faggots was blazing
merrily and was being constantly
fed from the college stores of fuel.
This was no place for grey-haired
eld and, by a back way, we man-
aged to arrive at a window from
which we could look on the scene.
Well, at any rate all the actors
were obviously sober. They
were doubtless a little excited,
but there was not a stagger in
the whole crowd. Every pre-
caution had been taken against
the chance of serious damage and
the whole thing was winked at
by the dons as a harmless safety
valve for exuberant spirits. It
was more than insinuated that it
was only the freshmen who found
pleasure in the saturnalia. The
veterans of two or three years'
standing who had taken advan-
tage of indulgence once or twice,
cared little to do so again.
It seemed to us that the modern
dons are wise in their generation.
They have realised that youth
must have some outlet for its
vivacity and they think it is
better tacitly to ignore a little
harmless anarchy than, by old-
fashioned stern repression, to
make anarchy a thing to be
sought after for its own Purchase Dramamine sake, as
a form of rebellion by turbulent
spirits against Dramamine Online established rule
and custom. They seem like the
wise confectioner who allows his
youthful shop assistant to eat of
sweets to repletion, knowing that
thus, once for all, the taste for
such indulgence will be obliterated.
After all, what is the net result
of such a frolic as we beheld ? A
few coats are singed, a few
windows are Buy Dramamine Online broken. Even the
men who have had their fling
would be extremely bored by its
repetition and when another oc-
casion comes round that must be
celebrated in an unusual way,
there is no great excitement,
such as would be caused if the
celebration involved the charm of
rebellion, the daring of a great
conspiracy.
And in other respects too, there
seemed to us to be now a good
form and decency of conduct
among the undergraduates that, to
our sorrow let it be said, was not
always the case in bygone years.
The days of wine parties, as we
knew them, have passed away.
Well we remember how a youth,
on hospitable thoughts intent,
would spread an elaborate dessert
in his rooms and provide many
strong drinks and much tobacco
for the entertainment of a dozen
friends. He had spent, or gone
92
BAILY S MAGAZINE.
[February
on tick for, a sum which, Purchase Dramamine Online under
the fostering care of an Oxford
tradesman of the day, sometimes
reached appalling dimensions. The
guests arrived. The dessert (we
all then had the blessing of a
sweet tooth) was quickly ravaged
and we began to toy with the
most potent and fruity port, the
brownest and headiest of sherry.
But after a time, even these rather
robust drinks became too mild for
the occasion. A steaming bowl of
highly-spiced and sweetened punch
made its appearance and, little
knowing how great was our
daring, we boldly mixed our
liquors. Toasts were proposed,
speeches (a little thick in utter-
ance) were made, songs (not
always the most proper) were
sung and as often as not a round
game was played, at which such
gambling took its course as might
be credited with some harm to
purse and disposition. Sad was
often the end of such an orgie. Some
men of course, endowed by nature
with strong heads and iron diges-
tions or sensible enough to be
reasonably moderate in their
potations, went home soberly
enough. Some steered a very
zig-zag course to their cubicles
and some, alas ! required much
friendly assistance. The following
morning there were aching brows
and mouths dry as a Latin gram-
mar. Study of any kind was an
abomination ; reasonable athletic
sport almost an impossibility. By
the way, however, it was always
noticed that those men who had
greatly exceeded overnight, were
the most punctual in their attend-
ance at morning chapel. Perhaps
comfortable sleep was not to be
wooed. Perhaps they thought
that by showing themselves alert
they might convey the impression
that they lived on toast and water
and never heard the chimes at
midnight.
But as we said before, all this is
a thing of the past. Heavy and
premeditated carousing has dis-
appeared from Oxford as Generic Dramamine from all
other good English society.
Doubtless, the undergraduates
enjoy their modest cups at fitting
times and seasons, but they do
this within very limited bounds.
As in the army, the navy and
other professions, everybody is of
necessity terribly in earnest about
both work and play. Good form