Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1907-09-09
A Maine Girl In Europe---V.

| oxford University, England, during
Commcmoration Week, Could any
tour of inspection be more npp"rtunoly
timed? Coming from Warwick, after
| delightful visits To Stratford-On- Avon
| ana KenilwOrth, We found everything
| about the city If OXfuri in festive ar
| ray-thc streets hung with flags Of the
| county and CDil, Gr- ir various com
| biI;itiDnS, and an occasional stars ami
| stripes. bunting was fcstooned along
| the fronts of the buildings, people
| thrOngcd the place, and Il general air
| Of celebration was over all
| When we started to visit this famous
institution Of learning, we found, to
be impartial, we must divide our time
| between the tWcntY-onc colleges. be
| sides other organizations. comprised
| under the on" grand hcad-Oxford
| University This was trilr discour-
| aging our time was limited, and
even though the English say Amcri-
| cans are marvellous sightseers and
| skip all over their little Island before
u native born gets his boots on.
| We decided to honor the more noted
| places with calls, ana having selected
| one, soon found ourselves in front Of
the customary high wall ana entrance
! gate, which is a manner of surround
ing things they have in England. ami.
il. fact, all over the continent. Many
9: cur colleges are, of course. some-
what similarly "cncl0scd." but he
| tendency in the land Of the free"
| seems to be to take down the fences
and allow the people to enjoy our trim
| lawns and sytinga bushes; to carve
| 10 h.,
feel perfectly at home. We urge the
! pablic to come in. But here. one
| walks along the streets and gazes at
stretch after stretch of cold forbddng
| masonry. around public and private
buildings alike. over which the "envi-
| Gus ivy" spreads and where The tops
| Of the trees sfIpkc their heads at you
~; You stand on the outside and p. er
| through locked gates at the loveiincss
| within. II really i. not necessary to
| put up: Keep off the Grass" signs.
| You somehow feel the owner of all this
| grandeur will not be watching for YOU
on the doorstcps. or rush out into the
| highways and hedges and compel you
to come in. Sometimes. by humbly
| Frustrating yourself before the keeper
Of The Lodge, and begging him TO accept
/
AID You wander in to make friends
| with tn. pcacocks, and enjoy the bcau-
| tIful interior of the mansion
| There are many of these show places
| which open to the golden key
| Put during Commemoration Week.
| which corresponds to our Commence
| ments at home, all college gates are
| aiar to Jew and Gentle alike and one
1 L.
| We first left our cards at Merton
! College, which is said to be the dean,
| though there is discussion as to that
| fact, University College claiming a
| moro remote date Of Incorporation. As
| both go back to the early part of the
| twelfth century, it would seem to be
| immatcrial | was reminded of last
| year, when attending picturesque class
| day at Harvard which institution
proudly refers to its dim and dis
| tant past" When one associates ia
| miliary with dates which wander back
| toward the II. G. mark. it makes even
our oldest institutions appear quite
| youthful. We cannot wonder that the
| Mother Country GaZcs in blank aston
| ishmcnt At the surprising" develop
ment Of her strenuous child-thc Colo
nies-who would not lie in the cradle
ana play with a rattle
Once inside the gate. and across the
| stone paved court. the English College
appears to differ most nnticcably from
| others "Wc have known" in possessing
| the stamp Of solidity AMI age and also
| IN the Landscape gardening effects of
| its campus, which is not a campus at
all. but Il quadrangle. or quad. Things
| nav" III" appearance of Il carefully
| Kept private estate, with beautiful
| loral arrangements, ornamental and
| Shad" trees, while against the dark
| gray stone Of the severe and Substan-
| tial buildings ::rc window boxes. filed
with the gay bloom Of many plants
| There are paths which wind through
IN" greencry with Cnticing vine COW
| cred arborS at intervals. 1t is all most
| attractive and makes one feel as if he'd
| like to sit down and stay for a few
| hundred years,
There are the usual college buildings
surrounding the quad, comprising the
| PRESIDENTS s. or chief officials house, the
library, chapel. lecture rooms and the
| living apartments of the students
The ancient kitchen, with it's massive
oaken LEANS is shown in one place
| its method Of cooking and serving be-
| ing most interesting. We We're told that
the only meal at which the students
meet for the day is the evening dinner,
the others being served in the rooms
or obtained elsewhere. An expressive
sign noticed was: "Gooseberry tarts
all round: Apple tarts half way
round" This recalls the school days
of Oliver Twist, who evidently sat on
the apple tart side!
The ''twenty-one' must have a gen.
eral meeting place and there are the
University buildings-the Convocation
House, where certain degrees are con-