separations, trials, and
catastrophes. And for the better insuring this result, a
correspondence, regular as the recurring months, was to be
maintained. It had already lasted through the long vacation and
up to Christmas without sensibly dragging, though Tom's letters
had been something of the shortest in November, when he had lots
of shooting, and two days a week with the hounds. Now, however,
having fairly got to Oxford, he determined to make up for all
short-comings. His first letter from college, taken in connexion
with the previous sketch of the place, will probably accomplish
the work of introduction better than any detailed account by a
third party; and it is therefore given here verbatim:--

_"St. Ambrose, Oxford,_

_"February, 184-_

"MY DEAR GEORDIE,

"According to promise, I write to tell you how I get on up here,
and what sort of a place Oxford is. Of course, I don't know much
about it yet, having only been up some weeks, but you shall have
my first impressions.

"Well, first and foremost it's an awfully idle place; at any rate
for us freshmen. Fancy now. I am in twelve lectures a week of an
hour each--Greek Testament, first book of Herodotus, second
AEneid, and first book of Euclid! There's a treat! Two hours a
day; all over by twelve, or one at latest, and no extra work at
all, in the shape of copies of verses, themes, or other
exercises.

"I think sometimes I'm back in the lower fifth; for we don't get
through more than we used to do there; and if you were to hear
the men construe, it would make your hair stand on end. Where on
earth can they have come from? Unless they blunder on purpose, as
I often think. Of course, I never look at a lecture before I go
in, I know it all nearly by heart, so it would be sheer waste of
time. I hope I shall take to reading something or other by
myself; but you know I never was much of a hand at sapping, and,
for the present, the light work suits me well enough, for there's
plenty to see and learn about in this place.

"We keep very gentlemanly hours. Chapel every morning at eight,
and evening at seven. You must attend once a day, and twice on
Sundays--at least, that's the rule of our college--and be in
gates by twelve o'clock at night. Besides which, if you're a
decently steady fellow, you ought to dine in hall perhaps four
days a week. Hall is at five o'clock. And now you have the sum
total. All the rest of your time you may just do what you like
with.