CORRESPONDENCE- We cannot be answerable for the opinions of our correspondents. The next Meteor will bepublished on the second Thurs day after the Easter Holidays. Contributions should always be sent in by the Thursday preceding the day of publication, written on one side of the paper only. Contributions will be received at the Advertiser Office, or at Mr. Pepperday’s, under cover to the “ Editor of the Meteor. N O T IC E S T O C O R R E S P O N D E N T S . “ In v estig a to r.” Y o u are hard upon the M id d le Sch ool. “ 7 f .” Y o u r sta tistics can scarcely be c o r r e c t; you cannot have seen 9 8 pairs o f han d s w ith ou t glov es in chapel on th e S u n d ay y ou m entioned. “ O .R .” T h ank y o u : b u t w e have no room for you r paragraph. “ J . H .” T h e Times is m ore adapted for you r com p laint than th e Meteor. “ W . M .” S it dow n and count 2 0 0 ; and you r m ind w ill b e less confused. To the Editor of the Meteor. Sir,— W o u ld it n ot be as w ell i f th e farce o f p lay in g th e B ig -sid e P iem atch as a trial for th e T w en ty -tw o w ere a t once abolished. Som e o f those tried d id n ot g e t even one in n in gs, w hile several w ho g o t in h ig h con trib u ted 0 to th e score. I f the T w en ty -tw o is to b e m ade up b y th e head o f th e E leven ’ s rem iniscences o f la st year’ s p lay ( o f w hich he g en erally know s v ery lit tle ), and b y th e char acters g iv en b y those w ho send in th e nam es, it would be better not to deceive fellow s w ith th e expectation o f p lay in g w e ll in th e P ie - m atch, and g ettin g th eir dark blue in conse quence.— I am , S ir, yours, H O U S E E L E V E N . To the Editor of the Meteor. Sir,— T h ough there is no d oubt th a t you r paper is a great and glorious in stitu tio n , and one th at ough t to be kep t up, y e t there is one th in g about it w hich I object to . E v ery b o d y w rites th eir ideas for im p rov in g and a lterin g th e old in stitu tion s o f th e S ch o ol. I f m atters g o on lik e th is, and everybody’ s h in ts are carried out as q u ick ly as those in you r paper have been as y e t, I am afraid th a t soon a ll th e old custom s w ill b e ch an ged, and w e sh all see the School re-m od elled . F o r in stan ce, I w as sorry to hear th a t th e S teeple-ch ase Course w as changed, after it had been what it w as fo r m an y y ears. I suppose th is was done on account o f th e le tter o f a C orres pondent o f you rs. W o u ld it n ot be b etter to have tw o Steeple-ch ases, one on th e old course, and th e other on th e new ? I am sure th e S ch ool w ou ld n ot m ind h a v in g another allow ance stopped, and it seem s a p ity to en tirely lose sig h t o f th e old plan. A C O N S E R V A T I V E . To the Editor of the Meteor. Dear Sir,— I f “ A R a d ical ” w ill tak e the trouble to con su lt a S ch ool L is t for th is T erm , he w ill find th at out o f 1 8 2 m em bers in th e U p p er S ch o ol, m ore th an 1 3 0 p la y F o o tb a ll either in H ou se T w en ties or B elo w C aps. S u rely i f th is b e th e case, B ig -sid e L ev ee can h ard ly be said to con sist in a g reat m easure o f fellow s w ho o n ly p la y L ittle -sid e s, o r an occasional Second T w en ties. B ig -sid e L evee m ay be a farce, b u t a “ R a d ic a l,” before he blam es it as u tte rly incapable, should tak e care th a t h is assertions be w ell grounded. A M E M B E R O F B I G -S I D E . P .S . T h e num ber 1 8 2 is exclu sive o f those w ho are absent. To the Editor of the Meteor. Dear Sir,— W h y is it there is never, or perhaps I should sa y seldom , any “ R u g b y ” N ew s in the Oxford Undergraduates Journal ? W h o is responsible fo r sending up such in form ation ? R e a lly R u g b y should n ot be behind h a n d !— Y o u rs obediently, __________ M E T E O R . To the Editor of the Meteor. Sir,— I f y ou w ill be good enough to bear w ith m e a little , I should lik e to m ake a few THE METEOR. 11 rem arks about “ A R a d ica l’s le tte r .” I am n o t g o in g to deny th a t o f late years a t least B ig -s id e L evees have often been m ere farces, y e t w h ile I adm it th is, I m ain tain th a t th e U p p e r School o u g h t to b e as it is, th e a ctin g g ov ern in g b o d y . B efore d iscu ssin g the m erits o f our present sy stem , le t m e ask you r correspondent w h at he hopes to gain b y h is ? A m o n g those w hom he proposes to ad m it to h is council o f th e w ise are m em bers o f H o u se T w en ties, H o u se E leven s, and w inners o f S ch o ol p rizes. N o w he m u st doubtless be aw are th a t b y far th e la rg er num ber o f these are a lread y in th e U p p e r S c h o o l; and o f course he cannot suppose th a t th ose, w hom etiq u ette n ow h inders fro m speak in g in a despicable L ev ee, w ill ever dare to open their m ou th s w hen con fron ted b y th e aw fu l d ig n ity o f th e n ew a ssem b ly. S o then it is from the ran k s o f th e M id d le S ch ool th a t our friend exp ects h is new orators to arise, from am ong th ose w ho have grow n old and bearded in th e depths o f th e L ow er M id d les, and th e few lu c k y new fello w s w ho have g o t in to then- first tw en ties, o r perhaps have w on th e fiv e- fo o t tw o . T hese, w hen associated w ith th e few “ sw ells o f th e first w ater ” are to be th e lead in g sp irits o f the S ch o ol.— A h ! b u t I fo r g o t;— o f course th ey ( I m ean th e older m em bers o f the M id d le S c h o o l) w ill be an im m ense a cq u isition, fo r tw o re a so n s; first, because th ey are w e ll practised in m ak ing speeches, as any one m ay find o u t w ho takes th e trouble to stan d for a few m inutes after prayers on the rig h t side o f the o r g a n ; secon dly, because o f th e im m ense experience th ey m u st have acquired in th e art o f govern m en t, th ey w ho have so lo n g retained a firm u ndisputed sovereign ty in their respective F o rm s. T o counterbalance th is advantage I w ill c a ll atten tion to th e fa ct th a t it does n ot appear q u ite fa ir th a t H ou ses should alw ays be on term s o f eq u ality, as w ould be th e case i f you r correspondent’ s proposal w ere carried o u t, i f w e excep t the w inners o f prizes, & c., w ho are n ecessarily a v e ry sm all num ber. F o r every one m u st confess th a t a t seasons variou s H ou ses do sin k dow n into a state o f ab ject degrad ation, and su rely it is n ot ju s t th a t w hen in th is condition th ey should have equ al w eig h t w ith the b est. N o w our present system adm irably provides fo r th is, for w e n early alw ays find th a t H ou ses w hose m em bers are as a b od y v e ry lo w in th e Sch ool, are lo w in F o o tb a ll and gen erally dow n in the w orld . B esid es, now , w h ile the sw ells at gam es have th eir ju s t preponderance (a n d w ho can deny th a t th ey have ? ) , every class is to a certain exten t represented and I m ain ta in th a t there are v ery , v ery few m em bers o f B ig -sid e w ho have n ot a th orou gh know led g e o f and a liv e ly in terest in a ll our gam es, even i f th ey do n ot p la y any them selves. T h a t new rules are often passed w ith ou t due consideration, ow ing to fello w s b ein g hindered fro m expressing th eir opinions, cannot be d e n ie d ; b u t I th in k th a t th is m ig h t b e g o t over, i f exertions w ere m ade b y th e m ore in flu en tial m em bers o f th e S ch ool to p oint o u t th e e v il effects o f th is fa lse m od esty, and to encourage as m uch as possible anim ated debates. S u rely you r correspondent, th ou gh undoubtedly h e is a R a d ical, cannot call h im self a L ib e r a l; fo r is it n ot a very narrow m inded p o licy w hich w ou ld subordinate th e w h ole S ch ool to one exclu sive sect, and, in stead o f b len d in g a ll its m em bers into one united w hole, w ould ten d s till m ore to w iden th e w id e g ap w hich even now separates the sw ells from those w ho are n ot ? and does n ot he a ll th ro u gh h is le tter d isp lay a sp irit o f intolerance w hich re-echoes th e old L ow er S ch ool m axim , “ O f all contem ptible people, those th a t w ork are th e m o st.” O f course in th is age o f R eform I should a t once be set dow n as a b igoted T o ry , w ere I to h in t th at som e deference should be paid to th e w isdom o f predecessors, w ho selected th e U p p er School as a b od y in w hich a fair average o f com m on sense m ig h t be found, w ell kn ow in g th at, th ou gh there m ig h t be, as there som e tim es are, a few illu striou s exceptions, the sam e cou ld n ot be said o f th e M id d le Sch ool. H ow ev er, I hope and believe th a t, a t least till som e far better schem e has been su ggested , neither a S ix th nor a B ig -sid e L evee w ill ever consent to a change w hich w ould in flict so severe a b lo w on the old associations o f R u g b y Sch ool.— I rem ain, S ir , yours tru ly , ' M A C E D O N IC U S P .S . Can you inform m e w hether i t w as n ot passed a t a Levee about tw o years ago th at there m u st alw ays be a t least a n om inal opposition, so as to g iv e an opportunity to every one to vote a gain st a m otion i f he choose ? I have g o t a fa in t recollection o f som ething to th is effect, b u t v ery possibly it is en tirely m y ow n invention. To the Editor of the Meteor. A p r il 3. Sir,—I w as v ery m uch stru ck b y a letter w hich appearedin your la st im pression, w hich, although evid en tly im practicable in itse lf, m igh t lead to good resu lts. I m ean the letter o f “ A R a d ic a l,” w ho proposes an 12 THU METEOR, am endm ent o f B ig -sid e L evee. A lth o u g h th is w ou ld m ost probably be im possible (a s I believe th a t B ig -sid e L evee is one o f D r. T em p le’ s in stitu tio n s) w e m ig h t fo llow the exam ple o f H arrow , w ith regard to their P h ila th letic C lu b , w hich is form ed only o f those w ho are “ sw ells ” a t gam es, and w ho decide upon th e sort o f questions w hich “ A R a d ic a l” g iv es us an instance o f. O ther questions w hich have n ot so m uch connection w ith gam es m ig h t be decided b y B ig -sid e L evee.— I am , yours tru ly , X . Y . Z . To the Editor of the Meteor. Sib,—I m u st apologise fo r in tru d in g on you r space again , b u t there are one or tw o poin ts in “ G ’ s ” le tter w hich I th in k ought n ot to rem ain unansw ered. T h e first state m en t to w hich I tak e exception is, h is asser tio n th a t th e H ouses seem to m atch each other uncom m only w e ll. T h is I adm it to be tru e as far as it goes, b u t it is certain ly n ot th e w hole tru th . U n d er th e present system it seldom happens th at a H ou se has tim e to p la y even tw o H ou se m atches, w hile w e often see three or fou r H ou ses so n early equal as to render it difficult to decide betw een th em , unless th eir relative m erits have been deter m ined b y the one fa ir test, a H ouse m atch, and since th is test is w ithheld it is le ft to the unaided ju d g m en t o f th e head o f th e E leven to say w hich tw o H ouses sh all p la y the S c h o o l; and even in crick et, the head o f the E lev en ’ s ju d g m en t cannot alw ays be in fallib le. M y previous assertions have been often verified, and n otably in th e sum m er o f 1 8 6 5 , w hen M r. A rn o ld ’ s H ou se never had the chance o f p lay in g either the School H ou se or M r . B la k e’ s, the tw o H ou ses th at played th e Sch ool, and I w as certain ly n ot the on ly one w ho th ou gh t th e A rn o ld ite s h ard ly treated . N e x t, as regards “ G ’ s ” argum ent th a t th e w orst H ou se m igh t be called upon to p la y the b est, I w ould call attention to th e fa ct th at n ot even th at consideration has in th e least interfered w ith th e success o f th e H arrow p lan ; o f course it is a draw b ack , b u t it is n ot insuperable. In d iv id u a lly , I w ould propose th at there should be a C hallenge C up, for w hich all such H ou ses as chose m ig h t com pete, and I th in k m ost H ouses w ould go in. T h ird ly , I do n ot believe th at Form P iem atches are a source o f enjoym ent to those B elow H ou se E leven s, as bein g bow led out n early first b all b y som e eleven fellow , and fieldin g short le g or lo n g Blip does n ot com e up to m y idea o f enjoy m ent. I f th e Meteor's ex cellen t su ggestion about p lay in g H ou se M atoh es on one end o f N ew B ig -sid e w ere a cted u p on , th ey w ould approxim ate m ore clo sely in in te re st t " those footb all stru g gles w hich R u g b eia n s d eligh t in . B elieve m e sin cerely you rs, X X I I (O .R .). P .S .— I fo rg o t to sa y, should m y proposal be th ou gh t w orth acceptin g, I w ou ld g la d ly subscribe m y guin ea for such a cup as I have m entioned. R U G B Y “ M E R I T .” To the Editor of the Meteor. Sib,— In m y le tter to y o u la st m onth on th is su b ject I used th e fo llow in g w o r d s:— “ T o produce n oth in g b u t a dozen b rillian t lum inaries w ho sh all w in U n iv e rsity prizes, and sh all tak e a h igh p lace in th e U n iv ersity class li s t s ; th is, I am sure, w as n o t the ‘ m e r it’ w h ich A rn o ld strove to realize in R u g b y , th is w as n o t h is a im .” I w as unaw are at th a t tim e th at A rn o ld had ex pressed any opinion on the su b ject, ancLbut a few days ago I lig h te d upon th e fo llow in g passage in S ta n ley ’ s “ L ife o f A r n o ld ” :— “ T he generation o f h is scholars to w hich h e look ed b ack w ith th e greatest pleasure w as n ot th a t w hich contained m ost instances o f individ ual talen t, b u t th a t w hich had altogeth er w orked stead ily and indu striou sly. T h e U n iv ersity honours w h ich his pupils ob tained w ere v ery considerable, and at one tim e u n rivalled b y any school o f E n g la n d , and he w as unfeignedly deligh ted w henever th ey occurred ; b u t he never laid any stress upon them , and stro n g ly deprecated a n y system w hich w ould encourage the notion o f th eir b ein g the ch ief end to b e answ ered b y school education. . . ‘ W h a t w e ough t to do is to send up boys w ho w ill n ot be p lu ck ed .’ A m ere p lod din g b oy w as above a ll others encouraged b y h im . . . ‘ I f there be one th in g on earth w hich is tru ly adm irable, it is to see G od ’ s w isdom b lessin g an in feriority o f n atural pow ers, w here th ey have been h on estly, tru ly , and zealously cu ltiv a te d .’ In speak ing o f a p u p il o f th is character he once said, ‘ I w ould stan d to th a t m an hat in hand and it w as h is feelin g after the departure o f such an one th at drew from him th e m ost personal, perhaps the only personal praise w hich he ever bestow ed on any b oy in his serm on s.” I am , S ir, y ou rs, & c. A . B A B IN G T O N .