1 62 ROUGH WAYS MADE SMOOTH. 



of Eton and Westminster men, and although it is a small 

 club, it has been repeatedly at the head of the river, holding 

 its own successfully against clubs which have sent in far 

 heavier and better-trained crews. But even more remark- 

 able is the fact that powerful college crews were sent from 

 Cambridge to Henley between the years 1860-69 which hare 

 actually been unable to maintain their own against Eton lads f 

 This of itself suffices to show that there was something 

 radically wrong in the style then prevalent at Cambridge ; 

 for in such races age, weight, strength, and length of practice 

 were all in favour of the Cambridge crews. 



When I first expressed these views about the Oxford 

 and Cambridge style in the 'Daily News' in April 1869, 

 several Oxford and Cambridge men denied that the differ- 

 ence between the two styles was that which I have indicated, 

 asserting that neither Oxford nor Cambridge oarsmen 

 advocated working with the arms in the beginning of the 

 stroke. It was so great a novelty to myself to learn, in 1858, 

 that London watermen row in the manner I have described, 

 and I found the very watermen who rowed in that way so 

 confidently denying that they did so, that I was not greatly 

 surprised to find many University men, and not a few of the 

 first University oarsmen, persisting that the rules laid down 

 in * Principles of Rowing ' before the modern racing-boats 

 were used are still valid and are still followed at Oxford as 

 well as Cambridge. It was denounced as a special heresy 

 to teach that work should be done by the arms at the be- 

 ginning of the stroke, instead of the old rule being followed 

 according to which the arms were to remain straight till the 

 body was upright in the backward swing, the work being done 

 entirely by the body and legs up to that moment, and then 

 finished by the arms. But before I ventured to enunciate a 

 theory on the subject I had been careful to apply a number 

 of tests not only while watching Oxford and Cambridge 

 eights, but in actual practice. I had inquired diligently also 

 of those who are not merely able to adopt a good rowing 

 style but to analyse it, so as to learn precisely where and 



