LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

     I Christ church, the cathedral from the garden
    II st. Mary’s spire
   III view in Radcliffe square
    IV Sheldonian theatre, etc., Broad street
     V balliol college, broad street front
    VI Merton college, the tower
   VII Merton college, the library Interior
  VIII oriel college and st. Mary’s church
    IX high street
     X new college, the entrance gateway
    XI new college, the tower
   XII Lincoln college, the chapel Interior
  XIII Magdalen tower
   XIV Magdalen college, the open air pulpit
    XV brasenose college, quadrangle and the Radcliffe library
   XVI Corpus Christi college, the first quadrangle
  XVII Christ church, the cathedral from the meadow
 XVIII Christ church, the hall staircase
   XIX Christ church, the hall Interior
    XX Christ church, “Tom” Tower
   XXI st. John’s college garden front
  XXII Wadham college, the chapel from the garden
 XXIII Wadham college, the hall Interior
  XXIV Hertford college, the bridge
   XXV st. Peter-in-the-east church and st. Edmund hall
  XXVI Iffley, the old Mill
       Oxford from the east [End papers]

INTRODUCTION

In what does the charm of Oxford consist?  Why does she stand out among the cities of the world as one of those most deserving a visit?  It can hardly be said to be for the beauty of her natural surroundings.  In spite of the charm of her

    “Rivers twain of gentle foot that pass
     Through the rich meadow-land of long green grass,”

in spite of her trees and gardens, which attract a visitor, especially one from the more barren north, Oxford must yield the palm of natural beauty to many English towns, not to mention those more remote.

But she has every other claim, and first, perhaps, may be mentioned that of historic interest.

An Englishman who knows anything of history is not likely to forget of how many striking events in the development of his country Oxford has been the scene.  The element of romance is furnished early in her story by the daring escape of the Empress-Queen, Matilda, from Oxford Castle.  The Provisions of Oxford (1258) were the work of one of the most famous Parliaments of the thirteenth century, the century which saw the building of the English constitution, and the students of the University fought for the cause which those Provisions represented.  The burning of the martyr bishops in the sixteenth century is one of the greatest tragedies in the story of our Church.  The seventeenth century saw Oxford the capital of Royalist England in the Civil War, and though there was no actual fighting there, Charles’ night march in 1644 from Oxford to the West, between the two enclosing armies of Essex and Waller, is one of the most famous military movements