October, 1852, down to his lamented death in December, 1861, upwards of nine years. The dignity is understood to have been conferred upon Prince Alfred by an unanimous resolution of the Court of Elder Brethren, and His Royal Highness was graciously pleased to accept it. The ceremony took place in the court-room of the Corporation at their house in Trinity-square, Tower-hill, before Captain Arrow, Deputy Master, Lord Northbrook, Sir John Pakington, M.P., and many more of the Elder Brethren, convened as a special Court for the occasion. His Royal Highness, attended by Lieutenant Haig, arrived punctually at two o'clock, the hour appointed, and was received with every mark of consideration and respect by the whole Court. Their resolution conferring the office of Master upon the Prince having been read, His Royal Highness was formally inducted, having previously taken the oaths of allegiance and supremacy, and of fidelity to the Corporation of the Trinity House and its interests, which were administered by Mr. Berthon, the secretary. He then received the hearty congratulations of the members of the Court, with which the ceremony ended. From the court-room His Royal Highness was conducted to the banqueting-hall, where he partook of luncheon with the whole of the Elder Brethren who had attended the installation. Such of the members of the Government and of the Opposition as are Elder Brethren had been invited to the ceremony, but a Cabinet Council convened for the same hour prevented the Government being represented on the occasion. The Earl of Derby, much to his regret, was detained by indisposition.

24. THE UNIVERSITY BOAT-RACE.-For the sixth time in succession, Oxford carried off the great aquatic honours of the year by defeating Cambridge, though not till after a very severe struggle. Oxford won eventually by a considerable lead, but only by a most gallant effort, which taxed the powers of both crews to the utmost. None but those who have regularly attended these contests for the last ten or twelve years can have any idea of the extent to which the public interest in them has increased. Little more than twelve years ago, they were not annual, but may rather be described as only occasional. Even when they did become of yearly recurrence, the public feeling was as nothing when compared with the excitement with which the race is looked forward to now. The disappointment, therefore, was great and general when it was found this year that the absolute exigencies of time and tide made it necessary to row the race not only early in the severity of an English spring, but in the still greater inclemency of early morning. The race of last year was probably one of the greatest ever seen. It was rowed in the middle of the day, the season was more advanced, the weather superb, and not even the Derby ever drew such a concourse together as that which thronged the banks of the Thames on that occasion, and cheered on Oxford to its well-won victory. There was not so much of this great public interest shown this year, as might naturally have

been expected, owing chiefly to the time fixed for the contest, and the cold tempestuous night which preceded it. Still, the attendance of spectators was very great, and the number of steamers which followed the boats was even larger than usual. The competitive athletic sports between the Universities, resulting in almost equal honours to both, have, no doubt, done much to keep alive the interest in the boat-race, and led to its being looked forward to as the final test of supremacy. Oxford, from the very first, was the favourite. But those who had seen the two crews in training could never see any thing in their performances to account for the wide difference which prevailed in betting estimation. The Oxford men seemed rather to have departed from their long, deep, slow stroke. They both rowed quicker and feathered higher than is usual with them, and this on rough water gave them an appearance of looseness which the neat, close rowing of the Cambridge men never showed. The latter in their trials on the Cam were admitted to pull well, and the rowing of this day showed beyond a question that Cambridge had seldom, if ever, sent a finer crew to London. At a quarter to eight both crews simultaneously manned their boats, and paddled out to their respective stations, amidst the plaudits of the assembled multitude.

Oxford, having won the toss, took the Middlesex side. The start took place off Simmon's yard at ten minutes to eight o'clock. The oars of both crews caught the water at exactly the same moment; the boats, answering to the stroke, were immediately under weigh, neither appearing to gain any thing upon the other for the first dozen strokes. Cambridge, settling to her rowing sooner than her opponents, inch by inch stole away until, off Craven Cottage, she was a quarter of a length in advance. The shouts from the partisans of Oxford induced Mr. Brown to quicken, but the Cambridge stroke was not to be hurried from his steady, well-rowed-through drag, with which he was gradually working his crew to the front, and at the Bishop's Creek, Cambridge, well out in mid stream, were three-quarters of their length ahead, but this was partly attributable to the Oxford hugging too closely the Middlesex shore. At this point both crews were rowing forty strokes a minute. Mr. Brown here quickened, and the spurt, after three or four strokes, was taken up by his crew, which brought them nearly level with Cambridge. Mr. Griffiths was not to be entrapped into hurrying his stroke by this gallant challenge of his

adversary, and preserving his form, being still well backed up by his crew, again drew to the front, and when opposite the Dung Wharf he had placed his own oar level with the bow of the Oxford boat. The Oxford coxswain appeared determined not to be washed, and calling on his crew they answered in a determined manner to his appeal, and by the time they commenced to divide the reach in making for the bridge the nose of their boat was once more up to the bow oar of Cambridge. The latter, without quickening, kept their own till past the Soap Works, when Mr. Brown, again not to be denied, tried another spurt, and this time Mr. Griffith accepted his offer, slightly sharpened his crew, and shot Hammersmith Bridge three quarters of a length ahead, in 8 min. 15 sec. from the time they first dashed their oars into the water. Oxford here seemed to lose her form, two or three of them appearing to show the effect of the continuous spurts which the indomitable pluck of their stroke had demanded of them. From this point up to the tail of Chiswick Eyot, Cambridge, still in excellent form, and kept in the proper course, gradually improved her position, and by the time they had reached the head of the island there was an interval of a length and a half between the contending boats. The race was here pronounced to be over, but "there's many a slip;" and a boat race, composed of crews of the proper material, is never finished till one of them has passed the flagboat. Corney Reach, with its troubled waters, was now entered, which, always a severe task to be overcome, on the present occasion opposed unusual difficulties; but instead of succumbing to adversity both crews actually seemed to improve in form and strength. Another spurt on the part of Oxford somewhat diminished the distance between them. Up to this point the steering on the part of Cambridge was without a fault, but, unfortunately, a barge was here standing across the Middlesex shore, astern of which they should have been taken, whereas Mr. Forbes, misjudging, no doubt, the speed both of his own craft and that of the barge, made up his mind to go ahead of her, so that nothing but a sharp spurt, and a great sheer of the boat, saved them at last from being run down. This severe call upon the powers of the crew enabled Oxford at this most critical period to come up with and almost magically to take the lead of the Cambridge boat; and it could easily be understood how such a sudden change in the state of things would affect a crew already nearly worn out with the tremendous struggle. We do not mean to say that this unlucky barge actually settled the race one way or the other, for the strong wind then blowing was evidently telling more on Light Blue, who were here more exposed to it, than their opponents, whose rowing against it seemed to come more from the legs; and here, too, might especially be noticed the singular vigour and well-maintained form of No. 5 in the Oxford crew, who worked throughout this race with that precision_and apparent ease which mark only the consummate oarsman. In a moment the Oxford rowing, which had at times been rather wild,

B

assumed an entirely different form; and their chief, giving a longer stroke than he had hitherto done, appeared as in a moment to instil the proper art into his crew, which they never lost again. Barnes Bridge was reached by Oxford in 20 min. 25 sec., Cambridge being half a boat's length astern. From this point Oxford gradually, foot by foot, crept away, not withstanding the judicious course taken by the Cambridge coxswain, in abandoning the Middlesex shore and the wash of his opponents, and seeking for, at any rate, dead water in the centre of the river. Though astern so near the fatal flagboat, Mr. Griffiths, did not attempt to hurry his crew, still maintained the excellent stroke he had rowed throughout, and thereby preserved his own and their form to the last of one of the severest races that has ever been witnessed upon these waters. The goal was not yet attained, for, in consequence of the start taking place opposite Simmon's, the winning boat was placed about 200 yards below Barker's Rails, and was passed by Oxford in 25 min. 48 sec., and nine strokes or 15 sec. ahead of Cambridge.

Both crews used the boats in which their predecessors of last year rowed, and both were built by Messrs. Salter, of Oxford. Mr. J. W. Chitty, of Exeter College, Oxford, was umpire.

Time by Benson's chronograph: Started 7h. 49 min. 49 1-10th sec.; arrived, 8h. 10 min. 11 sec.; time occupied, 20 min. 21 9-10th sec.

28. AUTOGRAPH LETTER OF THE QUEEN TO MR. PEABODY. — The eminent American merchant, Mr. Peabody, having added to his splendid gift of the preceding year for the improvement of the dwellings of the poor of London another munificent donation, Her Majesty addressed to him the following autograph letter:—

"Windsor Castle, March 28, 1866.

"The Queen hears that Mr. Peabody intends shortly to return to America, and she would be sorry that he should leave England without being assured by herself how deeply she appreciates the noble act of more than princely munificence by which he has sought to relieve the wants of the poorer class of her subjects residing in London.

"It is an act, as the Queen believes, wholly without parallel, and which will carry its best reward in the consciousness of having contributed so largely to the assistance of those who can little help

themselves.

"The Queen would not, however, have been satisfied without giving Mr. Peabody some public mark of her sense of his munificence, and she would gladly have conferred upon him either a baronetcy or the Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, but that she understands Mr. Peabody to feel himself debarred from accepting such distinctions.

"It only remains, therefore, for the Queen to give Mr. Peabody this assurance of her personal feelings, which she would further

wish to mark by asking him to accept a miniature portrait of herself, which she will desire to have painted for him, and which, when finished, can either be sent to him to America, or given to him on the return which, she rejoices to hear, he meditates, to the country that owes him so much."

The following letter was transmitted to the Queen, through Earl Russell, in reply to Her Majesty's gracious letter:

"The Palace Hotel, Buckingham Gate, London, April 3. "Madam,-I feel sensibly my inability to express in adequate terms the gratification with which I have read the letter which your Majesty has done me the high honour of transmitting by the hands of Earl Russell.

"On the occasion which has attracted your Majesty's attention of setting apart a portion of my property to ameliorate the condition and augment the comforts of the poor of London, I have been actuated by a deep sense of gratitude to God, who has blessed me with prosperity, and of attachment to this great country, where, under your Majesty's benign rule, I have received so much personal kindness, and enjoyed so many years of happiness.

"Next to the approval of my own conscience, I shall always prize the assurance which your Majesty's letter conveys to me of the approbation of the Queen of England, whose whole life has attested that her exalted station has in no degree diminished her sympathy with the humblest of her subjects.

"The portrait which your Majesty is graciously pleased to bestow on me I shall value as the most precious heirloom that I can leave in the land of my birth, where, together with the letter which your Majesty has addressed to me, it will ever be regarded as an evidence of the kindly feeling of the Queen of the United Kingdom towards a citizen of the United States.

"I have the honour to be your Majesty's most obedient servant, "GEORGE PEABODY.

"To Her Majesty the Queen."

APRIL.

2. UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH.-INSTALLATION OF MR. CARLYLE AS RECTOR.-Mr. Thomas Carlyle was installed in office as Rector of the University of Edinburgh, and delivered his inaugural address. The event had been looked forward to with the keenest expectation, and the demand for tickets was far beyond the power of accommodation of the Music-hall. The students, as the constituents of the Rector, especially looked forward with enthusiasm