Omaha daily bee., 1910-03-13
MAepALsM CoLLpsg .TeMERl EAon rAe wesr

beautiful university. in the
,ly,FTFVY, world. Cambridge Is it's great
est rival. but even Cambridge
SaaA8 men have praised the beauty Of
oxford In terms almost 100 warm for per-
feot loyalty to their own Alma Mater.
Wordsworth, a Cambridge man. delighted
In oxford and expressed his delight in the
following lines
Yet o ye spires Of oxford! domes and
Gardens and grovesl your presence over
The soberness of reason; till in sooth
1ranstormed and rushing on a bold ex-
I slight my own beloved Cam. to range
Where silver Isis leads my STRIPPING feet
The university holds its ancient seat on
the banks OF the Isis the classic name for
the Thames, which meanders along
through fertile rneads to London The
city of Oxford and the university. for
they cannot be separated, seen from the
vantage of Magdalen college tower. which
rises. pure white. against the blue. pre-
sents maze of domes and spires against
the soft. green background OF col
lege quads. Descending from the tower
and coming into closer intimacy with the
place. we find the colleges scattered
through the town, many facing on the
classic High" several on the "TIirl,"
NN'A~NS VIA 1858 AaHlOuS bul no lehb De&utlLul
thoroughfares. These colleges which were
founded in many periods Of British his
tory are to the student of architecture a
rich and varied field. The Norman tower
In the background is a souvenir Of the
strength and unscrupousless Of the days
OF the conquest. Gothic arches reflect the
spirit OF the middle age, when mems souls
sick Of the gloomy discomfort of earthly
life, aspired to the blue beauty OF the
sky, beyond which lay paradise. The
stately buildings of Sir Christopher Wren
speak to us of the days when men, freed
from the restrictions of superstitious
dogma could take as models the glorious
examples Of Greek art. The age OF the
house OF Hanover is also commemorated
In few dull and ugly edifices, which only
act as foil to throw into relief the ex-
0u'site beauty of Gothic and early English
architecture.
But the beauty of oxford Is not more in
the architecture OF its colleges than In it's
lovely gardens, which are an ever changing
and perpetual delight Bach college pos
sesses its own garden, and no small rivalry
exists between them. Often humber col
leges, like Worcester and st. Johns. NAV
outdo' In the beauty OF their garden the
more imposing Christ Church and MaEda-
len.
Oxford university consists of twenty-one
colleges which l give in the order Of their
foundation University, aBlnol, Merton,
Exeter Oriel, Queens, New. Lincoln, All
Souls, Magdaen, Brasenose, Corpus
Christi, Christ church. Trinity, st. Johns.
Jesus, Wadham, Pembroke, Worcester,
Hertford and Keble. These COLLEGES were
founded at different times for different
purposes. Most of the founders OF the
ancient colleges were ecclesiastics. and the
colleges remained monastic until a much
later day, Even now we find many sur
vIvals Of their monastio origin For in
stance, In the system Of teaching by lee
lures and in the gowns worn by all mem
bers OF the university, an adaptation of the
monks gown.
Each college has some special distinc-
ton, source Of inordinate pride to the
undergraduate. 1t may be in the beauty
OF her architecture or in the lovellness Of
her garden. or In the famous men, who
nave been taught by her, or in the prowess
pOt her crew on the river. For instance.
Christ church, where King Edward re-
ceived his education Is easily first in
wealth and Importance. MagdaIen, a very
fashionable college. was so magnificent
even in the days of Anthony Wood that in
most magnificent structure OF TIE learned
world. Balliol glorles In scholarship and
Justly. for more Balliol men have taken
double firsts in the honor schools" than
the men Of any other college Pembroke
men VIII tell you that Dr. johnson studied
there. Oriel, the college OF Cecil Rhodes
shines in the reflected glory of his mag
niteent generosity. Worcester college is
tained Tor the rustic beauty OF her gRrdens
OAtord In Its fascinating present must
not lure us from the equally interesting
OAA0ro or the past. Instead OF the lofty
hAlIS and beautiful towers OF modern OK
l0ru' itS Wide streets and VArigated gar
SeHs see IN its place, a squalid little
heulaeVh city nesting under a grim wall.
uhs houses flat and unslghtly, interlaced
py dark and narrow lanes Here and there
church of Norman build broad and
strong. reminds US that the conouerine
Normans held the little town in an from
grip. The narrow streets teem with bumhIa
townsfolk' with fat, we'll fed priests ana
with young boys in cap and ToUn NAM,
not more than 10 or l. the university r,a,,,,
OF those days. The university was In sx-
istenee before the oldest college was bnn,
No one can tell how It first came into he
ing Many claim Alfred the Great as the
founder but modern reseach looks askanca
at this claim The earliest record which
we nave OF the university is found In the
"Domesday Book" According 10 this re-
markable document which sheds SO much
light on early English conditions. the inhabi-
tants Of oxford at the time OF the conquest
were mostly priests or churchnien, aud
since the clergy in those days were the
learned folk Il was most natural mar
saxon fathers should send their sons 10
oxford TO be taught Its position, so CEN
sESl and az a walled city. II was compare
Nely peaseful. so learning and the teach
ina OF learning prospered. These favorable
conditions gradually attracted learned mon
not only from England. but from the con-
tinent who came to oxford as teachers.
In the twelfth century, the age OF the
guilds. these schoolmen formed themselves
into a guild or university for the teaching
OF theology. law and the arts.
Il y small wonder that learning pros