~134~~ he hopes to make the _Land of Promise_,{11} anchor his bark in the _Isthmus of Grace_,{12} and lay up snugly for life on the _Land of Incumbents_."{13} "For heaven's sake, Tom," said I," speak in some intelligible language; it's hardly fair to fire off your battery of Oxonian wit upon a poor freshman at first sight." At this moment a rap at the _oak_ announced an addition to our party, and in bounded that light-hearted child of whim, Horace Eglantine:--"What, Blackmantle here? Why then, Tom, we can form as complete a trio as ever got _bosky_{14} with _bishop_{15} in _the province of Bacchus_,{16}! Why, what a plague, my old fellow, has given you that rueful-looking countenance? I am sure you was not plucked upon _Maro Common_ or _Homer Downs_{17} in passing examination with the big wig this morning; or has Tom been frisking{18} you already with some of his jokes about the _straits of independency_{19}; the _waste of ready_{20}; the dynasty of Venus,{21} or the quicksands of rustication{22}. 11 Land of Promise--The fair expectations of a steady novice in Oxford. 12 Isthmus of Grace--Obtainment of the grace of one's college. 13 Land of Incumbents--Good livings. 14 Bosky is the term used in Oxford to express the style of being "half seas over." 15 Bishop--A good orthodox mead composed of port wine and roasted oranges or lemons. 16 Province of Bacchus--Inebriety. 17 Maro Common and Homer Downs allude to the AEneid of Virgil and the Iliad of Homer--two books chiefly studied for the little-go or responsions. 18 Frisking--Hoaxing. 19 Straits of Independency--Frontiers of extravagance. 20 Waste of Ready, including in it Hoyle's Dominions-- Course of gambling, including Loo tables. 21 Dynasty of Venus--Indiscriminate love and misguided affections. 22 Quicksands of Rustication--On which our hero may at any time run foul when inclined to visit a new county. ~135~~ Cheer up, old fellow! you are not half way through the ceremony of initiation yet. We must brighten up that solemn phiz of yours, and give you a lesson or two on college principles? If I had been thrown upon some newly-discovered country, among a race of wild Indians, I could not have been more perplexed and confounded than I now felt in endeavouring to rally, and appear to comprehend this peculiar phraseology.