The regatta has usually been an occasion upon which numerous guests are invited on board to witness the prowess of the cadets with the oar, and also to enjoy a little harmless recreation in the shape of dancing. The editor of the _Britannia Magazine_ evidently considers that there is too little looking on and too much dissipation in the way of dancing and attending to fair guests. The regatta of 1886 was held on a very bad day, the rain coming down heavily towards the end. The editorial remarks are a little bitter:-- "It is hoped that the next time the officers will have an opportunity of seeing some of the races, as they are naturally interested in the performances of the cadets. As at present arranged, we think that their hospitality to their many visitors must make them utterly unable to see a single race." And again:-- "Dancers had been driven by stress of weather from the poop to the middle deck, and were enjoying 'Sir Roger' when the drowned rats appeared." It does appear to be somewhat of an incongruity that the cadets should row races in pouring rain without the satisfaction of having their officers and the visitors in the "gallery"; but the editor does not see any improvement next year, and is down upon them savagely. After referring in a somewhat caustic vein to the inevitable notice, "If Wednesday be wet, the regatta will be postponed until Saturday," and the folly of holding a regatta on equinox day, he proceeds:-- "Let us for the future have the cadets' regatta on August 12th, and then we shall have no doubt about it. There need be no cadets here: that will make little difference. A few blue boats can be set to row up and down, with crews from the shore, hired for the occasion. The officers of the ship will entertain the fair ones from the neighbourhood under a blazing sky, and the only difficulty will arise at the end, when the finish of the races usually brings an accession of strength to the dancing men, and ladies who have been without partners for too many dances find that the opportunity of a valse with a sailor, which they have looked forward to all the year, has failed them. [Illustration: A CLASS AT THE GYMNASIUM. _Photo: Smale & Son, Dartmouth._] "It is not well to be cynical (!), but to row in hailstorms, and to make sport for spectators who do not look on, has soured our feelings, and we have only to look forward to our next regatta with hopes of better things." This is the editorial sledge-hammer with a vengeance, even the ladies who love to dance with sailors are not spared. The note of exclamation above is _not_ the editor's; it is merely inserted as an outlet for the feelings of the reader of this extract. The athletic sports include the following events:--