THE FOOT DEAG 35 



parisons (I hope, iuodorous) of beagling at the two Universities 

 with my intimate knowledge of the matter from the Cambridge side ? 

 In most matters, inter- University comparisons are less than 

 iuodorous: they are, from an almost exact correspondence, insipid. 

 Take rowing, for example. Exactly the same round of events recurs 

 every year on both the Isis and the Cam. The only differences 

 are that Oxford has barges and we boat-houses, that the tow-paths 

 are on diverse sides of the rivers, that our sisters, cousins, and 

 aunts have further to go, to Ditton Corner and the Pitt Lawn, to 

 see the summer races, and that we take our freshmen out in crock 

 eights, while the Oxford rowing authorities employ fours. Add to 

 this the hackneyed remark that Cambridge has nothing which 

 corresponds to " the High," and the fact that Oxford has no " Jesus 

 Lane" and a certain difference of "manner ";i and that is all the 

 difference there is till you come to beagling and field sports generally. 

 The root of the difference is made manifest in the tliree following 

 letters received in answer to my inquiries (for the inevitable com- 

 parison) as to beagling at Oxford. 



Christ Church, Oxford, 

 Nov. 10, 1910. 



Dear Sir — In answer to your letter, the Ch. Ch. Beagles are 

 confined to Christ Church. They are not exactly a subscription 

 pack, as they are supported by a grant out of the College Amalga- 

 mated Club subscription, i.e. one subscription to cover all College 

 games and sport, beagling, hockey, football, rowing, cricket, etc. The 

 Master and Whips are always House men. The Ch. Ch. is the 

 oldest of the three Oxford packs. The present pack was started in 

 1875. There had previously been a pack of beagles in 1859, which 

 had given way to a pack of harriers by 1866. The harriers were 

 given up by 1872, and the kennels were empty till 1875. In 1886 



1 A witty description of the difference is ascribed to the late Dr. Mandell Creighton 

 as follows : "An Oxford man walks down the street as if the world belonged to him : 

 a Cambridge man as if he didn't care a damn who the world belonged to." A critic 

 laughs at this as I write. She say.s it is a "chestnut." But it is a good chestnut, 

 and must stand ! 



