the old
University custom of giving the son of a nobleman a gold tassel for his
cap has left a permanent mark in the familiar phrase 'tuft-hunting'; the
right of wearing this distinctive badge still exists for peers and for
their eldest sons[28], but they are at liberty not to avail themselves
of it, and it is practically never used. Academic dress has sadly lost
its picturesqueness, especially for the undergraduate; his gown no
longer reaches to his heels, as the statute still requires it to do, and
the injunction against 'novi et insoliti habitus' is surely a dead
letter in these days when Norfolk jackets and knickerbocker suits
penetrate even to University and college lecture-rooms. But what can the
University expect when M.A.s, in evasion of the statutes, come to
Congregation without gowns, and borrow them from each other in order to
vote, and when the University itself knows nothing of the 'exemplaria'
(models) which are supposed to be 'in archivis reposita'? Whether there
ever were these models of proper University dress, e.g. a doll in D.D.
habit, &c., is uncertain; what is certain is that there are none now. At
the present time the scanty relics of mediaeval usage are at the mercy
of the tailors; and though it must be said for their representatives in
Oxford that they do their best to maintain old traditions, yet there is
no doubt that innovations are slowly but steadily introduced, e.g. the
M.A. hood is losing in length, and is altering in colour.

The recent attempt on the part of the University to devise new gowns and
habits for the 'Research' Doctors is, it may be hoped, the beginning of
a better state of things; whatever may be thought of the aesthetic
success in this case, the subject was treated with seriousness and
expert evidence was taken. Perhaps in the near future Oxford may bestir
itself in this matter, and see that nothing more is lost of its
mediaeval survivals; restoration of what is actually gone is probably
hopeless. Such pious conservatism would be in accordance with the spirit
of the present age; for even the modern Radical, unlike his predecessor
of half a century back, cares, or at any rate professes to care, for the
external traces of the past.

[Sidenote: Oxford Hoods and Gowns.]

The following list makes no attempt to distinguish between the full
dress and the undress of Doctors; it is only intended as a help in
identifying the various functionaries who take part in the degree
ceremon