164 ROUGH WAYS MADE SMOOTH. 



the water, driving the oars through with a hit like sledge- 

 hammers, while the boat jumps out of the water several 

 inches at each stroke.' These last words again relate rather 

 to contrast between the boats than to the actual lift. The 

 ' drag at the end ' in the Cambridge style used always to dip 

 the nose of the eight, whereas the quick disengagement of 

 the hands in the Oxford style prevents any dipping, so that 

 by contrast the Oxford boat seen beside the Cambridge 

 seemed lifted at the end of each stroke. In reality there 

 was very little if any lifting, though the sharp grip of the 

 water at the beginning of the stroke caused the boat to dip 

 a little as compared with her position at the end. Theoreti- 

 cally, the less change of level throughout the stroke (from 

 feather to finish) the better ; but if there is any such change, 

 it is far better it should be of the nature of a lift above the 

 flotation-level than of the nature of a dip below that level. 



Again, towards the close of the same article 'Wat Brad- 

 wood ' made the following pertinent remarks respecting the 

 Oxford style in 1868 and generally: 'The general style ot 

 Oxford has not deteriorated ; though many outsiders fancied 

 that Oxford rowed a short stroke, it was more that the time 

 occupied by them in slashing the oar through the water was 

 short than the reach itself ; this deceived inexperienced eyes, 

 especially when compared to the slow ' draw through ' 

 (query * drag ') of Cambridge, which often appeared for 

 similar reasons a longer stroke than it really was. 1 He at- 



1 This agrees closely with my own description written later, but 

 independently, and flatly contradicted by more than one Oxford oarsmar 

 at the time : ' In the case of Oxford, ' I said, after describing the 

 lightning feather following the long sweeping stroke of Cambridge, ' we 

 observe a style which at first sight seems less excellent. As soon as 

 the oars are dashed down and catch their first hold of the water, the 

 arms as well as the shoulders of each oarsman are at work. The result 

 is that when the back has reached an upright position the hands have 

 already reached the chest, and the stroke is finished. Thus the Oxford 

 stroke takes a perceptibly shorter time than the Cambridge stroke ; it 

 is also necessarily somewhat shorter in the water. One would therefore 

 say it must be less effective. Especially would an unpractised ob- 



