OXFORD LETTER

Dark and obnubilated affairs

MERCURIUS OXONIENSIS

GOOD BROTHER LONDINIENSIS,

I am now (God be praised) out of the In- firmary, to which I was committed after

my misadventure in Brazen-nose Lane, and glad to be back in my college, where my good scout Mudge ministers to me as well as did nurse Bedpan there, and with less disturbance of my bachelour habits; and being now permitted by the doctor to write, my first exercise is to thank all those, and you and your lady Mercuria especially, who comforted me in my distress with fruit, flowers and other tokens of solicitude.

Unhappily I cannot yet go' abroad to dine, and so my news is but thin; but such as it is. I send it to you before I leave Oxon to repair my health in the house of my hos- pitable and true friend squire Todhunter at Quainton.

1 find the face of the university in some measure changed during my absence. First, we are to have a new Chichele Professor of History, Master Southern having judged it elevation to go from that chair to pre- side over St John's coll., a dull place north of Balliol but monstrous rich. In his stead, after a long election, which cost in all (as I am assured) four calendar months, three sessions, and two paralytick stroaks, the electors have given us Master Barra- clough, once of Oriel coll., but since then ambulatory. 'Tis hoped he will come hither to stay, though some doubt it, his being a restless spirit. This election has been vari- ously judged by our historians, some praising his pregnant parts, others, and especially the church-antiquaries, mumping in corners. These complain that Master Barraclough, though once one of them.

has long since deserted 'em. having been

struck blind, like St Paul at Damascus, anno 1943, by a vision of the battle fought at

Stalingrad in Tartary, wherein he saw all past history wither like a scroll, and since then has had ideas above their station (philosophy, etc.): which, they say, is hereticall and not to be endured.

The other great change is the death of Dr Simpson, the Dean of Christ-church: a magnanimous man, much regretted by all, though envied in the manner of his death;

for 'twas sudden and peaceful, aerate 77,

after he had compleated his new buildings for that society and been publiquely acclaimed at their great feast only four days before. He was a Canadian, born in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia. and had been at that House both as an undergraduate and as Hebrew Professor before being called to the deanery; in which office he quickly won the love of all, being a man of sound sense, warm heart and hospitable manners, though somewhat high in doctrine, which caused him, while he enlarged the college, to empty the cathedral. But his death. though happy for him, is very ill-timed for that coll., which now faces a hazardous succession.

For you must know that the Dean of Christ-church is both dean of the cath- edral of Oxon and head of that coll., and seldom is one man fit for both parts, as things now stand, the former requiring a clergyman of the established Church, the latter a man of humane learning fit to govern a society of schollers; so that some would seek an act of Parliament to separate

the two. But others oppose this as an affront to her Majesty's prerogative and the patronage of the Church, and to tradition, besides the difficulty of disentangling the property and other rights which, by now, have become so interwined that both might suffer shock if rudely severed. Hence in- geniose spirits have proposed, as a neater remedy, that her Majesty be petitioned to revive her antient praerogative and bestow the office, undivided, upon a layman; which she could unquestionably do, without any new statute or other fuss, deaneries being benefices sine curd animarum, and many worthy laymen having, in time past, served the Commonwealth therein. However, in both these courses some men sniff an ob- jection. For they say that the fault lies not merely in the narrow qualification of the client (being a clergyman) but also in the uncertain character of the patron (or rather, of him who exercises the patronage), which could render all such pains futile, if they were but to exchange a court-chaplain for a lay courtier.

Indeed. here lies the rub. For the power of appointment to this office, whatever you may have read in the Times and your other silly London gazettes, rests not with the college at all, but with the Crown; and whereas her Majesty's Minister has custom- arily, in the past, consulted the college and humoured its wishes, yet he is in no way obliged to do so, but may stuff in, mew arbitrio, whomsoever he wishes to recompense or honour, as Caligula his Horse or our present Chief Minister his Beatles. And 'tis not to be forgot that anno 1965 this same Minister consulted not the Fellows of Trinity coll. (the sister foundation of Christ-church in the other place) when he imposed upon them my Lord Butler as Master; which he did when he was courting the moderate men, having then but a slender majority in the Lower House of Parliament. But now the balance is changed. Now he is secure in the Lower

'Hello darling, you can go and get than fur coat you wanted: I'm going to stop a strike.'

House and (having grown impatient of the Lords' House, and they of him) is seeking to appease rather the Root-and-Branch men who bark at his tail. Therefore (say some) 'tis not impossible but that he may use this deanery as meer politique patron- age, to reward one of your fanatique par- sons, such as believe in dropping bombs on our brethren in Africa, but in little else, and some of whom ('tis thought) have long been squeaking at him for such preferment.

For the present, the Christ-church men are assuming that the Minister will follow custom and hearken to them, and so (1 understand) they are now in earnest session debating whom they shall recommend; who will doubtless he one of their fellow-col- legians (for those brought in from outside seldom prosper, it requiring long habitu- ation to govern these fractious corpor- ations): of whom Dr Chadwick has been named in the Press, an eminent scholler, in every way fit for the office; but he is not alone in election, for others, apprehending a long reign, would have an older man, in whose brief term they would work to change the whole office. But they should take heed lest, in speculating on the future, they lose the present, and let the Minister insult over their division.

If the college prevail (whomsoever they prefer), the Church will have a moderate man as Dean, and the opposite party of High Spikes, seeing this rich plum snatcht from their mouth, will doubtless be much mortified. However, these last are vigilant men, not to he caught napping; and so they too have taken up arms, of the spiritual! sort. They have advertiz'd a requiem mass, with absolutions for the repose of the late Dean's soul, and other popish top-dres- sings, to be solemnized in one of your London churches by one Dr Mascall, who describes himself as an Honorary Student of the House. with 'other alumni' as his acolytes: a gross impertinency, that Dr being, re vera, neither an Honorary Student nor an alumnus of the place, but these Puseyites use not language as we do. Were I in good health, I would go thither myself, to enjoy the comedy: for no doubt there will be incense enough to choak 'em all, and transvestite capers round the altar, and stuff'd pigeons let down from the ceiling, and suchlike flim- flams. But what good all this conjuring will do to the late Dean's soul, or to that party in the Church (unless they can promise, by their incantations, to secure victory for the Minister in the next generall election), I leave to your surmise.

So all roads lead hack to that great states-man, whose springs of action remain dark and obnubilated. He may indeed, as all hope (save the High Church-spikes), con- firm the choice of the college; but he may equally. as some fear (who trust him not an inch), take 'em by surprise, as a thief in the night: so that they may wake up one morning in Margate or Portofino or Ben- becula_ or whithersoever the Long Vacation has scattered 'em. to find themselves spurned and some giddy court-parson put in to rule over them. However, if that should happen, they have a remedy in their hands which they will surely use, if there be any of the old spirit left in that society. For whereas 'tis the undoubted right of the Crown to present the Dean, nevertheless that presentation carries not all' with it, there being rights, powers, privileges and emoluments which the Dean enjoys by allowance of the college only and which, by a mere vote, can all be taken away and

transferred to another officer whom they can elect as their Provost or President (call him what they will); and so they can, de facto, not only sever the college from the chapter and deprive the Dean of all his executive powers in the coll. (for he can act only mediately, through the Censors, whom he can neither appoint nor remove), but also, in effect, abridge the Crown of its power to appoint their head, reducing that succulent plum of a college headship to a dry church-prune, far less tasty in some mouths which now water for it, which would be a very proper rejoinder and may well discourage any such rash in- trusion.

For the rest, the student stirs are now quite evaporated and forgot, so that in Trinity coll. (as I am told), a gyant meet- ing being called to discuss Master Hart's report, only two responded to the call. The only murmurs still to be heard are in a few colleges whose silly seniors, by their folly or feebleness, do invite 'em, so that we may now say, as Master Hobbes hath writ of reformation in the Church, that all these clamours do proceed from one only cause, viz: windy dons; amongst whose number you may rest assured that you will never find your loving brother to serve you MERCURIUS OXONIENSIS