The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

154
THE BEITISH ISLES.
projections, may still be seen. Broad lawns surround the old towers and gabled
buildings with pointed windows, fountains send forth jets of sparkling water
in the centre of the courts, statues decorate the streets and open places. The city-
walls, dating back to the eleventh century, can still be traced through almost the
whole of their course ; but the remains of the castle are reduced to a solitary
tower, the Norman buildings which occupy its site being of modern date. From
the banks of the Cherwell or Thames, where the rowing clubs engage in their
trials of strength, the domes, spires, and stately towers of colleges and churches,
rising behind masses of dense foliage, form a picture of incomparable beauty.
The panorama to be enjoyed from the roof of Radcliffe Library is unique of its
kind, for we look down upon what appear to be the palaces, monasteries, and
churches of a mediaeval city. Each of the twenty-five colleges and halls which
cluster in this seat of learning leads a life of its own, whether it be University
College, whose foundation dates back to 1264, or Keble College, only opened in
1870. Each has its special history, and boasts of the possession of ancient charters,
precious works of art, valued libraries, or other treasures. The buildings occupied
by several of the colleges are remarkable as works of architecture, foremost in this
respect being Christ Church, which boasts the noblest hall, and has attached to it
the cathedral church of Oxford. Each college glories in the men of mark whose
names appear upon its roll of members. Oxford, more than any other town of
equal size, has shaped the common destinies of the nation, and many men, illus-
trious as statesmen or in the history of art and science, have been trained there.
Yet the power of the ancient university has in most instances been exercised in
resisting the march of progress. Not a stone can fall at Oxford but is religiously
replaced by another of exactly the same shape. Similarly there exists not an
ancient idea or a custom of the olden time which the learned dons, in the retire-
ment of their time-blackened colleges, do not seek to perpetuate thi'ough their
influence and erudition. Although Wickliffe was one of the professors at Oxford,
the university ofiered a most powerful resistance to the spread of Protestantism in
England, and the learned Cranmer, Ridlej', and Latimer were bui-nt to death in
front of one of the colleges, that of Balliol, in the reign of Queen Mary. At the
time of the Revolution Oxford took the side of the Royalists, and it was within its
walls that Charles I. established his head-quarters during the war. Since that time
Oxford has taken a pride in being looked upon as the stronghold of Conservatism.
Of late, however, its traditions have received a rude shock. Some of its professors
and students are being carried along by a current of new ideas, and Oxford may
now be said to send forth champions who ably represent the most extreme views
of either side. Nor is there another town where, thanks to the labours of the
past, arguments in favour of the most opposite views can so readily be commanded
for nowhere else, not even in London, are similar facilities for study concentrated
within so small an area. Laboratories, libraries, and scientific collections are
attached to every college, and, in addition to these, there are the ever-increasing
collections of the university. The new Natural-History Museum—it was only
built 1855-60—is rapidly growing into importance. The " Taylor Buildings "
;