A loud murmur of applause arose from the
gownsmen who filled the hall. The Commissioners were furious. Search was
made for the offenders, but in vain. Then the rage of the whole board
was turned against Hough. "Do not think to huff us, sir," cried
Jenner, punning on the President's name. "I will uphold His Majesty's
authority," said Wright, "while I have breath in my body. All this comes
of your popular protest. You have broken the peace. You shall answer it
in the King's Bench. I bind you over in one thousand pounds to appear
there next term. I will see whether the civil power cannot manage you.
If that is not enough, you shall have the military too." In truth Oxford
was in a state which made the Commissioners not a little uneasy. The
soldiers were ordered to have their carbines loaded. It was said that an
express was sent to London for the purpose of hastening the arrival of
more troops. No disturbance however took place. The Bishop of Oxford was
quietly installed by proxy: but only two members of Magdalene College
attended the ceremony. Many signs showed that the spirit of resistance
had spread to the common people. The porter of the college threw down
his keys. The butler refused to scratch Hough's name out of the buttery
book, and was instantly dismissed. No blacksmith could be found in the
whole city who would force the lock of the President's lodgings. It was
necessary for the Commissioners to employ their own servants, who broke
open the door with iron bars. The sermons which on the following Sunday
were preached in the University church were full of reflections such as
stung Cartwright to the quick, though such as he could not discreetly
resent.

And here, if James had not been infatuated, the matter might have
stopped. The Fellows in general were not inclined to carry their
resistance further. They were of opinion that, by refusing to assist
in the admission of the intruder, they had sufficiently proved their
respect for their statutes and oaths, and that, since he was now in
actual possession, they might justifiably submit to him as their head,
till he should be removed by sentence of a competent court. Only one
Fellow, Doctor Fairfax, refused to yield even to this extent. The
Commissioners would gladly have compromised the dispute on these terms;
and during a few hours there was a truce which many thought likely to
end in an amicable arrangement: but soon all was again in confusion.
The Fellows found that th