The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume 1 by Lewis C. S

Author:Lewis, C. S. [Lewis, C. S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2009-06-23T00:00:00+00:00

(1) I mean the President of Magdalen of course, not Big Brother.

TO HIS FATHER (LP VIII: 297–9):

[University College]

Aug. 14th [1925]

My dear Papy,

Since our last interchange of letters I have been almost continuously employed in my usual summer task of examining. This year I had been promoted from the post of examiner to that of awarder. An awarder is one who besides examining himself revises the marks of the other examiners and so produces a final verdict: the principle being that if Mr A gives six marks where I should have given eight, then 85 should count for a pass in the candidates I have looked over, while his will get through on 75 or 80. In each department there are two awarders, one from Oxford and one from Cambridge, and the work is done alternately year by year in either university. This year it was at Cambridge and about forty Oxford people went over.

We were all put up in Queens College where I must say they did us like fighting cocks. It is all paid for by the ‘Board’ which I take it means the taxpayer, through the ministry of education. As I knew many of the Oxford people I had quite a good time. Cambridge is beautiful beyond description: more so, in many ways, than Oxford. My rooms looked out over the river. Unfortunately our work took from 9 a.m. till 7 p.m. and so I had little time to see the town. My Cambridge colleague was a man of no breeding–the sort of person who referred to the candidates as ‘kiddies’–but quite a pleasant fellow and we got on comfortably together.

We were a good deal delayed by the carelessness of the examiners whose work we had to use: some of them were erratic and a great deal of the marking had to be completely revised. We also had to deal with the difficult problem of papers which seemed to have been tampered with by a schoolmaster after they had left the boys’ hands. We came to the conclusion that the evidence was not strong enough to justify us in making such a serious accusation–but I still feel rather uncomfortable about it.

By an arrangement previously made, W. biked over from Colchester to take me there for the week end on the Saturday. We got away by five o’clock and after a journey through pleasant but tame country, we made Colchester at nine. The authorities have again taken advantage of our Colonel’s good nature. The mess has broken up and every one has gone on maneuvers: W. has had to sacrifice the hope of long days in the saddle and short nights in the open air, forced marches and alarms and excursions under the suns of Salisbury plain, and content himself as best may with a suburban lodging house, short hours, books, and sea bathing. He bears up very well.

On Sunday he took me to the sea where we had a capital swim: it is the first time for several years that I have been in salt water.

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