Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1920-12-02
AMERICANS AT OXFORD.
By Louis M. lights.

ed in borrowing three-pence worth Of
stamps from Wilder, making it pos
sible to send you this note. How
ever, | am determined not to borrow
any more stamps from Wilder; his
memory is quite remarkable.
Before l begin to insult my CO.
mates in exile / must describe to you,
quite seriously, one of the most beau
tiful and picturesque things in Ok
ford. The thing that l speak of is
the College Chapel at Keble. H. K.
Douglas, from Alabama, and a resi-
dent of Keble College was kind
enough to show me this magnificent
site and explain its wonders. The
Chapel was erected as gift to the
college by one man. This generous
person directed the architect to build
as noble a chapel as he could re-
CARELESS of the price.
Immediately upon entering one is
attracted by the beautiful stained
windows. AS ones eyes become ac-
customed to the subdued light he is
permitted to see magnificent mosaics
placed around the entire room. 1t
does not take an experienced eye to
see that these are the works of a
masters hand. These mosaics are all
religious pictures. One is of Noah,
another Moses, another Abraham,
the crucifixion, the Resurrection, etc.
The words of the great Rev. Locke
when speaking of the decorations are
very appropriate just here. "Amid
all it's variety and manifold diversity
there is one dominant note: it is
that of the divine overruling of his
tory, the saving and protecting Pres
ence of God. 1t guards Noah in the
flood; it blesses Abraham; it con-
trolls the life of Joseph and the work
of Moses; it is manifested in fullness
in the Incarnation, the CrucifXon,
the Resurrection, the Ascension Of
the Lord; and it centers in the living
Lord seated among the churches,
guiding and judging men, to whom
the saints of all ages look back; and
so it shall be until the last day of
judgement reveals the true character
of all men,"
TIE last named Mosaic. that of the
Lord seated among the churches. is
placed just back and above the altar,
and is. Of course, the most notice
able of them all-that is, if one can
be more noticeable than another.
In the chapel is the famous pic
ture, "The Light of the World" The
master, Holman Hunt, has painted
the picture SO lifelike and yet so aw-
some that you can almost feel your
self before a living presence.
I will not mutilate this wonder by
even trying to describe it in detail,
so shall only give a brief outline.
Christ is portrayed carrying a
burning lantern. The lantern is so
painted that it seems to actually
give the light for the picture. Christ
is knocking at a cottage door, whose
hinges are full of rust, and which is
covered with vines as tho it had sell
dom been opened This is presumba-
bly, the door of the soul Apples are
seen at the feet Of Christ, portraying
wildly, The Fall Beneath the pic
ture is this inscription-"B Behold, |
stand at the door and knock. If any
man hear my voice, and open the
door, l will come to him, and will
sup with him, and he with me-"
And now let US betake ourselves
from the sublime to the ridiculous;
from Keble Chapel to the American
Rhodes Scholars. If some of my Am
erican friends should see this | would
very likely receive several sweet little
rebuffs. Aye, truth has many ere
mics.
Really, one must expect blunders
from the man who is suddenly trans
planted in foreign country among
people whose ideas are different.
whose customs seem strange, An fact
whose only great similarity is the
LANGUAGE !, say the LANGUAGES are
similar: they are both English. in
a wav. | do not know whether the
English have forgotten the English
language or the Americans have new
er learned it, but I'm sure there has
been mistake somewhere. But
seriously there really are many
phrases that sound strange to US an