Boat Racing at Oxford'
1. The First Bump
2. The Head of the River, taken from 'Tom Brown at Oxford', by T. HUGHES , and read by MAURICE BROWNE
In the sequel to ' Tom Brown 's Schooldays ' Thomas Hughes takes his hero on from Rugby to Oxford, where he became a member of St. Ambrose's, and in due course rowed in the College boat. Two chapters in the book describe the thrills and frenzies of the races in which St. Ambrose's went Head of the River, and Mr. Maurice Browne will read the passages that describe the first bump and the final triumph over Oriel-the author's own College, by the way.
Although, as readers of 'Tom Brown at Oxford ' will remember, conditions of training were very different in Tom Brown 's time from what they are today, once the starting - gun has gone, things are much the same. Many former rowing men will thrill to the vivid story of the first bump in the Gut, and the epic struggle in which St. Ambrose's catch Oriel within a few yards of the finish.