Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 7.djvu/468

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NOTES AND QUERIES. [io s. VIL MAY is, 1907.

Restoration Day, I may note, is the annual commemoration on 25 October of the return in 1688 of the President and Fellows ex- truded by James II., when the toast " Jus suum cuique " is drunk. But the Restora- tion cup, from which this toast is drunk, really records the earlier eviction of the Fellows in 1648, and their restitution after the Restoration.

Mr. Parham, after mentioning that he has been present on Magdalen Tower on ten consecutive May Mornings, says :

" Some people say that ' this ceremony' is a relic of sun-worshipping days, among them, apparently, Mr. Holman Hunt, it the venerable patriarch m his famous picture is truly, as we were always told, a priest of the sun."

The figure referred to is, I think, a Parsi ; and among others represented in the picture (1890) one may discern portraits of the President, Dr. Bloxam "Awful John," as he was nicknamed from the severity of his attire and the organist. A silver-gilt bowl given by Sir John Harpur, a Gentle- man-Commoner of 1697 and pupil of Addi- son, is also shown.

"At 4.30A.M. on 1 May the choristers and the choir gather in their surplices at the foot of the tower and ascend to the top, where the leads are divided by a rope one half being reserved for the choir, the other for such visitors as have obtained tickets. At ten minutes to five the sun rises in a blaze of splendour, and as the great bells strike the hour of five a hush falls on the tower and on the waiting crowds below. Taking their note from the last stroke of the bell, the choir sing a simple Latin

hymn of five verses The last chord lingers in

the clear air, the bells ring out a May Day welcome, while the great tower rocks with their motion, and the famous ceremony is over. It is very short, very simple, very disappointing to those who come ex- pecting much, yet indescribably charming to those to whom such rites appeal. Older and more barbarous generations of choristers delighted to convey bad eggs to the top of the tower, which they would throw at the coach as it passed in the

street below Breakfast in Hall followed at

6 o'clock, to which full justice was done by appetites sharpened by the keen air. After which, as May Day is always a whole holiday in the School, we ran wild in the College until chapel time the one day in the year upon which we were allowed to do so.

"The first Monday in Lent," continues Mr. Parham, " was always known to us as 'Twopenny Monday,' and was marked by a curious custom. At morning chapel on that day, instead of the ordinary Benedictus, a quaint metrical version was used. The President, Vice-President, Fellows, and Demies were present ; and while it was being sung the Bursar walked round the chapel and distributed to the President sixteenpence, to the Fellows eight- pence, to the Chaplains sixpence, to the Demies iourpence, and to the choristers twopence each, ' to buy medicine to keep them in health during Lent ' (or ' ad uberiorem refectionem 'the benefaction of

John Claymond [10 S. v. 363], John Higdon, and Robert Morwent).

" Another benefactor, Simon Perrot [10 8. vi. 204], left to the choristers halt-a-crown each yearly, which was given to us upon St. Mark's Day, and came in extremely useful, I remember, upon our whole holiday on 1 May.

"The two great events of the Summer Term were the concert and the Gaudy. The former took place in Commemoration week, and was and is famous for the beautiful madrigal singing which forms so much of the programme. But the singing of the madrigals requires practice; so for some weeks beforehand we used to go into College on Saturday nights to a practice in the Hall, which was invariably followed by supper a most festive meal. The Dean usually presided, and he had a stock of the most splendid stories. Of the concert itself there is nothing to tell ; though I have a vivid recollection of one when the other solo-boy and myself each sang a little song composed for us by Dr. Harvey and a duet together. But each year when it was over we had a great supper in the Summer Common-Room. I think the College must have realized that a boy's heart is situated some- what low down in his anatomy, for certainly they appealed to it with wondrous blandishments, and these suppers were the j oiliest meals of which I have ever partaken.

" The Gaudy, which ended our ' choral year,' if I may so call it, was, like all college gaudies, a meet- ing of past and present members of the foundation. The choristers were all present, and sang a long Latin grace after dinner, the senior chorister saying 'Gratiarum actio' from the middle of the Hall. After that we drank a toast with great solemnity and in the traditional fashion. A loving- cup was passed round, and each boy in turn stood to drink, with one standing upon each side of him, saying, as he did so, ' Floreat Magdalena ; Floreant choristse.'

" But the crowning day of the whole year the most delightful of all my recollections of Magdalen was Christmas Eve. The School 'went down' at the usual time a few days before Christmas leaving us in sole possession ; and during this ' extra week ' we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Free leave was given to go into the town ; there were, of course, no lessons ; one evening we generally dined with the Dean ; often some kindly person would read aloud to us ; and, in short, we had an extremely good time. On 22 December there was a practice in Hall of the Christmas Eve music, followed by the invariable supper ; and on 24 December the festivities themselves, originally introduced by Dr. Bloxam. At 9 o'clock the full choir went into the College Hall, which was crowded \vith such Fellows as remained in resi- dence, and past members and vistors who came up for the occasion. In the centre of the Hall was a grand piano, and behind it a huge Christmas tree, reaching up nearly to the roof the whole Hall being decorated with holly and mistletoe. The choristers' first care was to examine their presents, which were ranged on a table under the Christmas tree ; and lovely presents they were. I still take many photographs with the stand and snapshot cameras which were the last two Christmas presents I received. Shortly after 9 o'clock Dr. Varley Roberts, the organist, began the overture to Handel's ' Messiah ' upon the piano, and we then sang straight through the first part of that