OXFORD IN THE SHORT VACATION.

Otago Witness, Issue 2661, 15 March 1905, Page 80

OXFORD IN THE SHORT VACATION.

«s> By E. Seahi.e Geosmjanx, M.A.

in —OUTSIDE THE COLLEGES. Even npait from its colleges,, Oxfoid has much to ofier the visitor. Off ths m.iin thoroughfares one often comes upon old shops and houses, sometimes even a, ■whole row, such as cannot be found in the main streets in London. Even in the main streets, in amongst the modern buiklmgs, there are many must pictuiesque hJuses with upper storeys projecting over the streets, dormer windows, peaked gables and euves. Many of these are of plastered brick or stone, with panels and woodwork of black oak, a,nd with red tiled loofs. The Mitre Hotel has the outside wall of the ground floor of handsome polished wood, and inside are carved owk ch-iirs. Of all the buildings of Oxford street that are not colleges or their chapels the Bodleian is the most famous. It takes a specialist properly to appreciate a collection of this kind. It is something in the nature of a museum, and one must go provided with a special kind of appetite to digest all the various contents of a museum or a library. For my own part. I have fallen into a habit of strolling around, lighting on one or two objects that happen to interest me, carefully ignoring everything else. So in the Bodleian I lingered over a few relics of Shelley, amongst them two lovely miniatures of the poet and of his Mary — Shelley in his sky blue vest with that singularly celestial iairness of his looks all ready to be transported to the pkies and stars, much fitter for wings than Most Italian cherubs. A fascinating study might Ue made of tlie valuable MSS. in ancient, and in modern languages — Greek, Hebrew, - Armenian, Egyptian, and languages of the Far East, down to Javanese. Even to the ignorant eye, there is interest in these varied characters, and one cannot help wondering what relation each bore to the nation- or race that produced it. Surely they have a tale to tell, these clear, regular, graceful lines of the Greek alphabet, like cultured flowers ; the strong, deeep-cut, large characters of Hebrew ; the queerness of Chinese, the long, curving lines and fantastic grace of some of these MSS. from the tropical regions of tine- Far East. A letter from an Egyptian schoolboy of some two thousand years ago tells a more definite story for itself. The translation affixed to it runs, as nearly as I remember, in these words : — "Cleon to his father Cleon — greeting. What a fine thing it was of you not to j take me with you to Alexandria ! Send me a lute, I beg you. If you don't, I won't play, I won't sleep, I won't eat, so there !" After reading this I came away, wondering whether after all the modern schoolboy has so sadly degenerated from his predecessors in his attitud-e towards parents. He seems to have been a good deal more human than guardians nowadays generally suppose. The portrait gallery of the Bodleian deserves a long description, but all that lingers in my memory now is the portrait of Mary Stuart, said to be almost the only authentic one of her. It is at least almost the only one' that gives r.he impression of really great beauty. Some of the churches at Oxford are rot college chapels. The most striking of all these is St. Mary-the-Virgin's, the church of the University- It has been altered from age to age, and is not in reality so nucient as it looks. Nor does one part altogether agree with anothei. And yet to the imagination that is not fettered by rules and canons of art, it is most beautiful. Its porch, dating back to the early seventeenth century, is profusely ornamented. A statue of tlie Virgin and child is in the centre, and on each side of the arch are twisted pillars and traceries. The effect on the mind is not unlike that of our New Zealand forest trees festooned with coiling vegetation and decorated with Dative grass plants and moss and fern. It is interesting to contrast as well as to compare the two impressions, the fantastic grace and wild freedom of Nature's handiwork and the solemn unchanging sense of permanence in the efflorescence of the stone. This porch is the most lavishly decorated of all the exteriors, though it may not be the most artistic. Above the walls rises the beautiful spire, with its numerous decorated pyramids, making St. one of the most striking features of the High Street. A totally different impression is left by St. Michael's, of the North Gate. It is a solid square tower of rough grey stone, with iron fastenings holding together the stones, that are already crumbling with decay. It stands at the corner of the Com Market and Broad street, near theMartyrs' Memorial. The same character of primitive undecorated simplicity belongs to the oldest of Oxford's churches — St. Peter'?, in the epst. The visitor comes upon it and its churchyard when turning from the archway that leads out of New College and walking down tlie lane at the side of Queen's.