Great Britain -- Description and travel; Railroad travel -- Great Britain; Railroads -- Great Britain
From New College we will go on to Magdalen, the finest--the wealthiest of all:
it cannot be described, it must be seen; with its buildings occupying eleven
acres and pleasure-grounds a hundred acres, its tower whereon every May
morning at daybreak a mass used to be and a carol is still sung, and its
deer-park. Here we may say, as of New College, is too much luxury for
learning.
The sons of dukes have become mathematicians; we have known an attorney's
clerk, the son of a low publican, become an accomplished linguist in his
leisure hours,--but such men are mental miracles, almost monsters: a fellow of
Magdalen or New College who works as hard as other men deserves to be
canonized.
We have not space to say anything of the other Colleges. St. John's is noted
for its gardens, Pembroke because Samuel Johnson lodged there for as long a
space as his poverty would permit.
The Colleges visited, we proceed to "The Schools," which contain the Bodleian
Library, founded by Sir Thomas Bodley in 1573, and by bequests, gifts from
private individuals, by the expenditure of a sum for the last seventy years
out of the University chest, and the privilege of a copy of every new British
publication, has become one of the finest collections in Europe; especially
rich in Oriental literature. The books are freely open to the use of all
literary men properly introduced, and the public are permitted to view the
rooms three times a week.
The Picture Gallery contains a collection of portraits of illustrious
individuals connected with the University, by Holbein, Vandyke, Kneller,
Reynolds, Wilkie, and others. Among these are Henry VIII., the Earl of
Surrey, and Sir Thomas More, by Holbein. Among the sculptures are a bust of
the Duke of Wellington by Chantrey, and a brass statue of the Earl of
Pembroke, Chancellor of the University from 1616 to 1630, which is said to
have been executed from a design by Rubens.
There is also a chair made from timber of the ship in which Drake sailed
round the world, and the lantern of Guy Fawkes.
On the ground floor are the Arundel marbles, brought from Smyrna in the
seventeenth century by the earl of that name.
The Theatre, close at hand, built by Sir Christopher Wren, will contain three
thousand persons, and should be seen to be appreciated when crowded by the
elite of the University and of England, on the occasion of some of the great
Oxford festivals, when the rich costumes of the University, scarlet, purple,
and gold, are set off by the addition of England's beauty not unadorned; as,
for instance, on the last visit of the Queen and Prince Albert.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account